Amazing Animation Analysis
In 2 Minutes!
Naruto is a Ninja show about
Ninja kids doing Ninja things.
This shot is Animated by Shingo Yamashita.
Who also Animated
This.
This.
And This.
So what the heck's up with this!?
Audiences said it was bad.
But animators said it was good.
So who's right?
In Scott McCloud's book, making comics
he says that if you want your
audience to understand your work
Clarity and communication
are your primary goals.
And producing just
enough split-second confusion.
Can yank readers out
of the world of the story
And your intention gets lost.
But what’s the intention of this particular shot?
What is it trying to convey?
I would say a sense of speed and anger.
But why do it in this weird way?
Why not be clear and on model?
Well in animation we can
heighten our communication.
And if it’s done well we can pull the
audience even deeper into the story.
For a sense of speed we can look
at the sasuke vs orochimaru fight.
Orochimaru speeds up and goes so fast
That everything distorts around him.
People didn't get mad.
They were excited!
So why does it work here?
This is imagery we’ve seen before.
You want a speedy character?
Add some speedlines!
In live action this would be a blurr.
Also, Orochimaru is kind of like
a snake, so this fits the character.
As for anger? Anime has often
used rough and scratchy lines.
Like these.
These are symbols we get and that
have been used time and time again.
This however, is so far from
everything else we’ve seen.
In the world of imagery and in the world of naruto.
The idea might be speed,
but this isn’t immediately apparent,
The audience is confused, yanked
out of the story and intention is lost.
Also, this doesn’t really fit
the character’s stoic personality.
The animator himself
said that for a similar shot
He was referencing slow motion footage
of a water balloon being thrown to the ground.
It’s an interesting approach using new imagery.
But Naruto is a mainstream anime
trying to appeal to a mainstream audience.
So to the audience,  if you feel 
this animation takes you out of it,
that’s very valid.
But that doesn’t mean
the shot in itself is bad.
Just badly directed.
And animators,
if you like it,
That’s cool.
But you need to get off
your high horse and realize,
This is made for an audience.
And if a large portion gets
pulled out of the experience,
You need to listen.
It’s made for them after all.
So who's right?
Understanding each other
Thanks for watching!
Support me,
Support Animation,
and support each other!
Love ya! Bye-bye <3
