December 06, 2005
Elfen Lied & Gustav Klimt
The opening titles to the anime Elfen Lied are some of the most stunning ever created. The artwork is an homage to Gustav Klimt. These two graphics should make the provenance obvious.
Here is a point-by-point comparison with Klimt's oeuvre.
 The top graphic is from The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. |
 The Elfen Lied version is an almost exact reproduction. Note especially the positions of the hands and fingers. |
Here is a point-by-point comparison with Klimt's oeuvre.
Labels: anime, personal favs, pop culture
Comments
Anime hair color is a topic that deserves a dissertation all of its own. In fact, you can fine one here.
As I read it, it comes down to three basic reasons: first, in a country where everybody has black/brown eyes and black/brown hair, it helps differentiate among characters; second, hair color is often highly representational of personality, the classic case being Ranma, who has red hair in his female (supernatural) form and black hair in his male (normal) form; third, especially in anime, it's an adaptation to budgetary and artistic limits. Texturing hair is a pain, so color is used as a substitute. This can be seen in the recent digital production of Appleseed, in which hair is left in a blocky, "anime" type style. Rendering the hair alone would probably have doubled the budget. I recall a documentary about making Monsters, Inc. and what a major accomplishment rendering Sulley's hair was. And no Japanese studio can approach Pixar in terms of time, technology and operating capital when it comes to producing a film.
As I read it, it comes down to three basic reasons: first, in a country where everybody has black/brown eyes and black/brown hair, it helps differentiate among characters; second, hair color is often highly representational of personality, the classic case being Ranma, who has red hair in his female (supernatural) form and black hair in his male (normal) form; third, especially in anime, it's an adaptation to budgetary and artistic limits. Texturing hair is a pain, so color is used as a substitute. This can be seen in the recent digital production of Appleseed, in which hair is left in a blocky, "anime" type style. Rendering the hair alone would probably have doubled the budget. I recall a documentary about making Monsters, Inc. and what a major accomplishment rendering Sulley's hair was. And no Japanese studio can approach Pixar in terms of time, technology and operating capital when it comes to producing a film.