In all my anime watching, my favorites have always been martial arts series.
I'm an animator with a very big ambition; that of making a martial arts tv series that actually gets somewhere (kinda like Avatar, but with less corniness). So i've got a question for those who care to answer:
What kinds of things do you all like to see in a martial arts animation series? Do you like Dragonball Z? If so, why? Do you like Naruto? What keeps you hooked on it? Do you like Avatar? What keeps you watching every week/day/dvd?
Also, another, and probably more important question: What DON'T you like about the martial arts animation series you've seen in the past? What made you want to turn the tv off or send the dvd back to where you got it?
I'd really appreciate any input you all can give me, and if you have specific examples that i could use for a future point of reference, that would be really helpful as well.
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Anonymous2007-07-17 14:17 ID:TDjdckxT
Have you seen Hokuto no Ken (a.k.a. Fist of the North Star)? No?
You are not qualified to make a martial art anime. Come back after watching it. Also, consider reading the manga, as well as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
I have seen Fist of the North Star (the animated movie, anyway), and i thought it was fun and really over the top, but a little too much so. And definitely WAY too bloody. I'm not really going for that.
I've seen quite a few martial arts anime of varying quality levels; i listed those three in particular because they seem to have the biggest fan bases internationally (though i mostly included Avatar because it's newer than the other two).
Anyway, thank you for that slightly relevant comment, and i'll consider Fist's storytelling elements in my research.
The series, watch them. One is 109 episodes and the other 43. The movie kind of sucks, but I guess it beats the filler in the Shin story arc.
What's so good about Hokuto no Ken is that it is fucking badass. Also, it doesn't try some hugely complex storylines, it's just go rescue girlfriend, rescue girlfriend that was thought to be dead, etc. Also, manly tears. Manly tears. Don't leave them out.
Yes, the epic fight are awesome, you just can't surpass them since they don't make that kind of anime any more.
"Badass" doesn't really give me that much to work with. What makes it badass? The animation quality? The story? The sheer amount of fighting? Help me out, here.
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Anonymous2007-07-17 16:39 ID:jXIQDG4I
Well, I think, what makes a martial arts series good is interesting fights, and badass characters. Being over the top helps, I'd say. Especially in fights. The more out there the fights are, the more people will remember them. I mean, Dio taking on Jotaro with a steamroller is something that people aren't likely to forget happened in a while.
You can throw in as many warped storylines and back stories as you like, if the fights scenes are fun to look at, people will like the series. But, it's worth noting, the people have to agree with the reason why people are fighting, and like the characters who are doing the fighting, or at the very least, find them interesting characters.
Various things make a good fight scene, but really, all they need to have is a fast pace, and with new ways of defeating enemies popping up every once in a while.
I'm not saying "you need a power-up every five episodes", I'm just saying the fights need variation. In fact, I'd go as far as saying power-ups are bad. The best way to keep everything varied is to get the surroundings involved.
On the character side of things, it's a plus side if nearly everyone fighting is pretty badass. Try to avoid having the typical whiny lead, unless you're sure you can do something with it.
I think I kind of went off on one with this post, and I'm sure half of what I've said isn't useful at all, but eh, I tried.
Really, the only thing I recommend you read to get a grip of what I like is Jojo's Bizarre adventure, and Hokuto no Ken.
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Anonymous2007-07-17 16:42 ID:N0tEizaK
When he says bad ass, he means people with the body type of Rambo making other men of similar size explode or get ripped to pieces using only their bare hands.
What makes a series badass is hard to define, but really, it just means having fast-paced fighting between characters that aren't whiny faggots.
The fights shouldn't get repetitive either, and the fights should be there for a reason and the characters should come off as respectable, although, it might help to make the bad-guy a total dick, as it makes it easier to give the main character a reason to fight.
Well, everyone puts a slightly different spin on the word badass, but I hope what I said helps.
Actually, i'd say this helps quite a bit. Gives me some things to think about.
I have to say that i'd like the fights to be a bit more serious and reality based, and actually focus on the different techniques. I'm not sure how realistic that is, to make fights in an animation realistic (heh.. redundant sentence, but you get my meaning?). I mean, in a movie its probably easier, because you only have to do it once, or only a few times, but in a series... i dunno. Do you think it's worth shooting for? And would fans actually like that?
If you mean actual real martial art techniques, you'll have to make it so that the people watching know what's going on and what technique is which. But, you'll also need to do that without making it so there are about 4 characters that are basically there to stand around and comment on the fights.
As a type-moon fan, if I were to write something, I'd be all for completely unrealistic powers, as it gives me a lot of scope and makes the characters more memorable.
Realism is all very nice, but, you shouldn't dwell on it, or let it get in the way of watcher's enjoyment. It's up to you if you want to limit your characters to what is real, just make sure you can do it well. You'll also have to have the knowledge to back it up. If you're keeping things real, the facts behind what's what have to be real too.
>w< well, now whats makes a martial art anime a better anime is the script/ story. Without it, I did pretty much avoid them as due to that. Take Naruto for example, at first everyone was hyped about it but at the end many was disappointed with the overstretch filler episodes and blame it for not continuing the main story.
Another point if you are to make a new anime about it, you might want to make something totally new, out of the stereotypes. This make you anime get the deserved attention =w=
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Anonymous2007-07-22 15:25 ID:mgKd1sAz
We all know that you need to have pointless plot holes to make the viewers feel like they are thinking