3D Animation in Anime: What’s the Point?

In November, the fourth and final season of “Attack on Titan” took a global audience of millions by storm. As one of the most popular anime series internationally and one of the root causes of the popularization of anime in the West, the newest season was met with immediate praise from both fans and critics. However, there was one small complaint that many people had: season 4 of “Attack on Titan” used 3D animation. A lot of it too. “Attack on Titan,” as its name suggests, has plenty of oversized character models, whose detailed and constantly changing positioning almost always require CGI to animate. With this season’s short production schedule, and the show’s general reliance on involving some very big characters in high-speed action, Mappa Studios had no choice but to fall back on a heavily contentious alternative to 2D animation.

CG animation is a weirdly controversial subject with anime fans. While few would argue that it’s as aesthetically pleasing as 2D is, in many cases, it’s just an inevitability of the limits on time and money animation studios face. At face value, it’s unclear why exactly most 3D animation in anime often looks so sloppy in comparison to the 3D animation in America, which is clean, refined, and widespread. Everyone from Pixar to Grubhub uses CG and, regardless of the content of the animation, it's clearly polished and well made. There’s no shortage of anime-style CG animation either––just look at video games. Games like “Final Fantasy,” while clearly drawing from the same inspirations for character and world design as anime, use a high-definition 3D style that is both visually impressive and functional for fast-paced action. What’s so difficult about bringing that quality into anime?

The challenge of using 3D animation in anime arises from two main problems. The first most obvious is the distinct style of anime, which doesn’t aim to look realistic but instead to emulate the manga they’re based on. While it might seem easier to render simplified, cartoonish drawings than photo-realistic models with thousands of polygons, most manga characters are heavily stylized. Imagine trying to make a 3D model of Bart Simpson, who always has two eyes facing the viewer regardless of his position or direction. Mangas, and cartoons in general, aren’t created with precise character proportions in mind, and even rely on the freedom of dynamic proportions to give more punch to their features. Hence compared to 2D, 3D anime often feels stiff and lifeless. Some still remember “Berserk” (2016), which sought to bring to life one of the most visually stunning and critically beloved manga series of all time with 3D animation but achieved an effect akin to a child throwing action figures at their wall. The characters' faces were expressionless, their movements were clunky, and the show’s visuals were miles from the intricate panels of the manga. It may seem obvious, but to emulate hand-drawn illustrations as best as possible, the simplest way is to have people working by hand.

The other problem with 3D animation is that almost no studio has genuinely tried to use CG as a central feature of their anime. 3D animation is only ever used to make production easier, faster, or cheaper. 2D animation, even with the sweatshop-like conditions and atrocious pay animators are subjected to, is a timely and expensive endeavor. But while it’s true that to get 3D animation to a passable level of quality takes less work than with 2D, genuinely good CG animation is still not something that can be achieved without investment. “Berserk” was made with 3D animation because the studio didn’t have the budgeting capacity to adapt such a visually detailed series by hand. More than that though, “Berserk” was so underfunded that its only hope of even being animated was with the lowest quality, cheapest 3D. By relegating CG animation to only supplementary roles or projects without the resources, time, or artistic talent to succeed, studios have guaranteed that 3D animation will only ever be implemented in a clumsy, careless way.

But those are the reasons CGI has been historically unsuccessful in anime. Though it is undeniably difficult to preserve the artistry of manga in 3D, it’s by no means impossible if producers are willing to commit to it. With skillful lighting and complex, often unintuitive character models, studios can reap the benefits of 3D without losing the stylization of hand-drawn images. “Attack on Titan” season four looks excellent, with the criticism of its animation seemingly directed at the very use of 3D and the accompanying changes in art style, rather than any tangible decrease in quality for the final product. Furthermore, the show’s choice to use 3D animation allowed for it to experiment with new techniques that would have been inconvenient with standard 2D. Rotating the viewpoint or animating dynamic camera motion is incredibly difficult by hand, but can be done easily with computer animation to bring a great sense of energy and momentum to a series.

Admittedly, “Attack on Titan” may not be the best example of 3D animation in anime; it still relies heavily on 2D and boasted a budget few shows could match. Perhaps a better sign of the future of CG is another one of Mappa’s shows, “Dorohedoro” (2020). Entirely in 3D, “Dorohedoro,” shows how intricate and smooth the 3D style can be under a normal budget and a talented production team. With highly detailed character designs and fast, free-flowing action, the show simply could not have been made in 2D, and it points to the real viability of CGI as an alternative in anime.

Worth mentioning alongside the television series are stylized anime videogames like “Dragon Ball Fighter Z,” which have been at the forefront of many of these advancements in 3D animation. Forced to use 3D by the sheer number of possible interactions and frame rate requirements but also compelled to keep the art style of their inspirations, a lot of the most convincing CG in the style of hand animation can be found in these games.

Though it’s doubtful that it will ever match the highest budget 2D animation, 3D animation in anime certainly has its advantages, and fans shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss its potential. While producing good 3D animation is difficult, it can give animators artistic mobility not possible with standard animation. “Attack on Titan” is the biggest 3D animated show that anime has ever seen, and its success will hopefully make CG a more viable option for studios in the future. And at the very least, CG animation deserves a fairer shake from audiences and producers alike.