I can’t remember the exact one, but the finale of Akebi’s Sailor Uniform continues to live rent-free in my head. The visual quality there is pure excellence.
I can’t remember the exact one, but the finale of Akebi’s Sailor Uniform continues to live rent-free in my head. The visual quality there is pure excellence.
Bocchi the Rock!
I don’t know who decided that a 4koma should get some of the most inventive and expressive animation of this decade, but they’re a fucking genius.
I only learned about it from seeing a webm of the Blender scene, and I thought “ok, this is kinda hilarious, I gotta give this a shot.” I was watching happily until episode 5, when I thought “wait, are they gonna play the whole song? They are aren’t they. Wait a minute, this song fucking rules.” And every single episode after that was banger after banger. One hilarious bit, stylish animation cut, and kickass song, one after another.
As an aside, I watched My Dress-Up Darling season 1 before Bocchi, and watching season 2 now, and you can tell how much Bocchi the Rock influenced Cloverworks. Season 1 had good animation, but it was fairly standard. Season 2 they’ve been much more experimental and it has been a joy to see it all.
Oh yeah, I’m only at episode one of MDD, but it has the fingerprints of BTR all over its animation. You could tell the BTR team is working on it. Likewise, from what I see of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, it builds upon the quality of Akebi.
It’s why I love Cloverworks so much as a studio.
There is precedent for a music-themed 4koma adaptation having great animation, full songs, and just being generally good. It’s called K-On.