How does Ikuhara do it? Even with it’s low budget, his 1997 anime Utena is still the best directed of all times
How does Ikuhara do it? Even with it’s low budget, his 1997 anime Utena is still the best directed of all times
Jacob Ward
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Wyatt Clark
Based
Ethan Stewart
Low budgets tend to lead to creative choices.
Carson Hall
It looks like shit most of the time, so I'm not sure if it's worse those few really well composed scenes.
Ian Cooper
Was it actually low budget?
Anyway, Ikuhara's background is in theater, so you can see the influence in the use of symbolism and flat staging.
Hudson Cook
WORTH*
FUCK
Brandon Young
>It looks like shit most of the time,
I can take about 150 screenshots of the first episode that look good.
Sebastian Garcia
First episodes do tend to look better than the rest.
Sebastian Williams
Yeah, it's pretty cool that he got an avant garde theater music guy like J. A. Seazer to do the music. Made a huge difference in the feel of the show.
Samuel Thomas
You know it’s good when even /lit/ worships it
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William Campbell
>Utena is still the best directed of all times
Nah, not really. I'd argue it's not even Ikuhara's best directed show (at least not by a large margin).
Easton Campbell
>Was it actually low budget?
Yeah, they worked with a very limited budget. That's why they used a ton of stock footage, recycled footage, etc. Even the shadow play stuff was conceived as a way to save money. They were pretty clever with the resources they had, and even the recycling of footage helped to underscore the themes of the series.
Sebastian Taylor
What would your pick be?
Lucas Gutierrez
Penguindrum, with Utena being a very close 2nd place.
Jeremiah Miller
Nah, every board is bad when it comes to media outside their area of expertise. /lit/ isn't so bad as other boards (e.g. Zig Forums, /tg/) but they still markedly prefer shows which are overtly artsy.
Henry Thompson
Ikuhara isn't even Satou-tier, and stylistic storyboards doesn't make "good direction".
Alexander Bell
>ikuhara
it was BE-PAPAS
BE PA PAS! HELLO!!! stop giving ikuhara all the credit.
John Ortiz
Are you implying Utena isn’t well directed?
Carter Foster
This man taught him everything he knows.
Dominic Wood
ikuhara directs nothing like sato. are you blind?
ikuhara's is much more heavily inspired by terayama shuji, particularly in utena.
Grayson Kelly
I'd say that Dezaki and theater had more influence on Ikuhara's style than him.
Lucas Stewart
His comedy and transformation sequences, basically the most "anime" parts are definitely influenced by Sato.
Ryder Rogers
Could Juri have freed Anthy?
Luis Davis
Ikuhara was Satou's understudy. Not so much inspiration because that's a personal draw, but direction experience and tricks of the trade he got directly from Satou.
You can see a part of Ikuhara's style in Satou's early work like Maple Town Monogatari and Haai Jun Step and even in later works like Doremi and Princess Tutu.
Brayden White
that art is really pretty, but were juri's boobs really that large?
Carter Moore
I don't even remember what their entire deal was anymore. God I need to rewatch this show.
Christopher Hill
I'm not making that claim, but there's more to what a director does than draw storyboards. Ikuhara is one of the best and most stylistic storyboarders in the industry, but that doesn't mean it's the "best directed anime evaa!".
Something like ESPer Mami I'd say is better directed because each episode is able to fit in a well-rounded portion of comedy, antics, character progression, and fantastical animation. Each episode is a full experience and there's always a clean progression from one to the next.
Yuyama Kunihiko is another favorite director of mine because he can make any episode seem meaningful and fun, even if it's a braindead 80s OVA, Minky Momo, or Pokemon. He has an addictive quality to his shows.
Ikuhara anime, while neat to watch, always make me feel tired and drained due to the constant intensity of his storyboards. Sometimes the comedy doesn't hit it's mark, sometimes his shows are too exposition-heavy. These are the qualities of an ambitious storyteller, but perhaps not a #1 in the world director.
Julian Gomez
Don Quixote has nothing on Utena
Robert Cooper
There are times where you can get away with style over substance, but you need a really competent staff to pull it off, especially on a low budget.
Gavin Ward
To be fair, Ikuhara and a lot of other directors take cues from Dezaki
Easton Wright
Certainly. It's an integral part of the medium at this point, just like Oobari's action sequences.