Season 2 of Beastars once again sets the bar for 3D CG anime

Beasts, and his free-running crime-mafia-romance melodrama is back. The second season of the critically acclaimed anime, produced by Japanese animation studio Orange and based on Paru Itagaki’s popular manga of the same name, premiered on Netflix in North America last weekend after it ended on Japanese television last March.

With the return of director Shinichi Matsumi (Steamboy, Land of the Shining), Beasts Season 2 deepens the main cast’s relationships and arcs, with protagonist Legoshi – spurred on by his intricate affection for his herbivore classmate Haru – takes on the task of chasing down the culprit behind the murder of Tem the alpaca. Meanwhile, Louis the Stag, Legoshi’s rival for Haru’s affection, leaves Cherryton Academy for a dark and winding journey of self-discovery as the new boss of the Shishigumi, the carnivore criminal family whose former leader killed Louis at the end of the year.

Aside from the captivating characters and Byzantine emotional storylines, the anime is arguably the strongest element of the Beasts Its animation is its attraction. The quality of 3D CG animated anime can be quite successful as a whole; for each Land of the Shining or Dorohedoro, There is a Ghost in the shell: SAC_2045 or Ex-arm. However, Orange cracked the formula on how to create a compelling 3D CG anime with the aesthetic flair and skill of traditional 2D animation.

Image: Orange

Beasts presents a modern civilization made up of anthropomorphic animals à la. is populated Zootopia or BNA: Brand new animal, with society unofficially divided between carnivorous and herbivorous species. The majority Beasts takes place at Cherryton Academy, one of the few boarding schools in the world of Beasts where herbivores and carnivores live side by side.

Of course, with so many characters and species on screen, how can all of these different variables be animated in a way that looks natural and fun without looking creepy or mechanical in motion? Orange masters this challenge through a combination of several techniques; The first of these is to design each character to be roughly the same proportions, if not size, as the main character Legoshi. The choice has a practical effect: Similar designs facilitate the workload that would otherwise have to be put into creating new animations for the entire cast of the secondary characters. Orange also uses motion capture technology to capture the facial expressions and physical performance of the show’s voice actors, allowing staff to create more natural and nuanced character animations.

Image: Orange

But most of all, the beauty of CG lies in the fact that the frame rate regularly changes between selected scenes and sequences throughout the show, depending on what is happening. This allows the show to mimic the nuances and feel of 2D animation in certain scenes, e.g. For example, when characters have conversations and move across the background, while in others she emphasizes the smoothness and fluidity that 3D animation offers, especially when panning or dynamic quick shots. moving sequences in which characters physically fight.

In selected moments, Orange will also intersperse two-dimensional representations of characters and frames in selected moments in the series. It’s especially noticeable when used to portray infrequently recurring characters who only show up for a moment or two of the season, like the squirrel, moose, and dog in business attire dining at a council meeting that includes the new Beastar or the split-screen exchanges between members of the council meeting at the beginning of the second episode.

Image: Orange

These scenes serve not only the practical purpose of reducing the time and effort required to animate these characters in 3D so that the audience will never see them again, but also to represent reactions and emotions that may otherwise be strange or would look scary if rendered in 3D. We see it again during the climax of the final episode of this season, when Legoshi competes against Tem’s killer. Without going too deep into spoiler territory, Legoshi stands hunched over, the hair on his body brimming with intense intensity, his muzzle dripping with blood as he storms forward for another fight against his opponent. It’s a stunning and memorable shot, all the more so as it blends in seamlessly with the show’s distinct cel-shaded aesthetic without hiding the fact that it’s traditionally drawn.

Ironically, many 3D CG anime productions suffer from an over-reliance on 3D CG with little regard for the principles of traditional animation such as tempo, composition, and cinematography. Even with motion capture, the characters move like stiff robotic dolls with smooth, malleable faces pantomiming facsimiles of human expression as they move in front of backgrounds with a barely perceptible sense of impact or interaction. A sloppily implemented lighting animation when watching certain 3D anime, such as: Ghost in the shell: SAC_2045, with shadows that either move irregularly or disappear completely.

Image: Orange

In addition to the technical aspects of series production, the strength of Beasts’ Animation is the focus on effective blocking, pacing, and camera work. The stylized details of the silhouettes and the casual expression of the characters are impressive, with the detailed animation of Legoshi’s hair and angry tail wagging particularly noteworthy. It is all thanks to the skillful direction of Matsumi combined with the impeccable character designs of Nao Ootsu that exalts Beasts about his CG-animated contemporaries.

There are no scenes that can be compared to those of the first season whimsical stop-motion animated opening courtesy Michiya Kato and produced by Dwarf Studio of Rilakkuma and Kaoru Fame, still Yoko Kunos stunning painted animation sequence in the seventh episode of last season, the second season of Beasts is still impressive evidence of how CG animated anime can be made, and most importantly, good.