Which season has your favorite art style?

[Froakie]

Natsume had a very distinct artstyle in DP. Those were the ones I enjoyed the most.

 

[Grave-E]

Uhh...well....I guess mid-to-late DP and Best Wishes are both consistantly nice, animation-wise, and they brought in a lot of livelier facial expressions and all round more appealing and competant movement. They also have the best background art by far, as Kanto, Johto and even AG are kind of bull in comparrsion.

That said, I liked Kanto's character art, like how Jessie and James had more angular eyes and Meowth wasn't quite as lanky as he is now. But still, everything is generally better and more expressive now.

As for AG? Well, it had Tokuda, and they went to town with Haruka for a while. No, not in that way.

 

[Irie!]

Kanto & Johto are the best. Take a closer look, and you'll notice that the line is very different. Somehow it looks more authentic than in the later seasons... Especially in those recent HD-series, the line is pretty bad, and colouring looks too much, well, mechanical...

 

[Jukain]

I can't say I know what you're talking about in regards to animation, but the art style has changed over the years. I like to think it's both a natural progression of styles, and changes in staff. Which do I prefer? I don't know, I have no preference.

 

[Owain]

i like DP/BW more, but that's because i don't know s*it about art, but i think digital looks cleaner and nicer to see.

 

[Pikachufanboy]

... I just got used to Ash's eyes. It's not like my avatar (that's a special effect, not a permanent change)...(And again, it is kinda careful what you wish for- I WANTED to see the brown eyes more, and this is what GAMEFREAK gave us)

I think I see where you are coming from. Back when the art style didn't show the brown at all times, it was distinct. As in, you saw the brown when something really emotional happened. Now that doesn't have any more effect as it did in the past. Now I am fine with the way he looks, but I do see where people would have the problem.

 

[Trainer G]

Kanto and Johto (+ OI) mostly 'cause I saw that style to have more emotions, than Hoenn or Sinnoh. They weren't so carefully drew; there were mistakes and more curve lines.
Well, Isshu looks fine so far. It's so different it fascinates, but I have to say I really don't like Ash's new eyes...

 

[Lavender]

My favourite art style is from late Johto. The lines were thinner and the colors were really vibrant.

 

[amphetamine]

uhm, AG and so on. because ..it was actually drawn and colored nicely.

 

[ashfangirl07]

i'd say late Kanto up until the end of Johto... I guess cuz i grew up watching those episodes especially, so they mean more to me than the new animation... but i do like the AG and DP art styles as well. And I'm starting to get used to the BW art style... still have some getting used to lol.

 

[Masurao]

Either AG, or DP. Both of them had pretty good art styles.

 

[Trainer Lisa]

My favorite art style is from Hoenn.

I loved Ash's hoodie, and the way the artists drew him back then. =)

And I also like the art style from the Johto seasons (from Johto Journeys to Master Quest). I found the artwork quite charming for those episodes.

 

[sonic10158]

I like how advanced the DP era looks, especially when compared to even the first movie.

 

[C.S.]

There have definitely been some changes over the years... for example, in the Indigo League and Orange Islands days there was a very pastel look to the backgrounds that make it look more hand drawn.

So yeah, Indigo League and Orange Islands had the best art style, I think. I can't think of anything in later years that's anywhere near as beautiful as episodes like "Mystery at the Lighthouse" and "A Shipful of Shivers". Especially Mewtwo Strikes Back. That movie is gorgeous.

 

[Hyatt]

I like the smooth and the bright/rich. I like DP to BW and I also like the Raikou Special.

However, I like some of the older eye styles. I like the old style irises because they were odd and unique.

 

[Cybersai]

BW18 had a really amazing forest landscape. If BW has more backdrops like that, I think its easily going to be the best looking.

 

[Nick102]

New member speaking.

I was actually working on the Bulbapedia, but I couldn't help but notice this topic, which is something that was just on my mind now, and thought I'd come in and share my own thoughts. I personally prefer the original Pocket Monsters art style the best, as well as the first few movies. The reason is mainly because of the fact that they were still done in traditional cel animation before they switched to doing things digitally. I grew up with a lot of cartoons on TV (back then I didn't understand a thing about anime, so the original series was another cartoon to me) and a lot of them started out with cel animation, and as I kept watching them I have noticed how some shows eventually changed their techniques.

I mean, there's a pretty obvious difference comparing this...

...to this.

It's hard for me to explain what it is that bugs me about watching digitally animated shows. I think the best way I can describe it is the colors. When I look at screencaps of the newer episodes, every single image seems to have these very loud colors that scream "digitally colored". But back when characters and backgrounds were all drawn and painted by hand I felt that there was more of a richness to it and I got more quality out of watching it.

I also know that they have these more CGI type of backgrounds and effects now, and to me it comes off as feeling kind of fake-ish sometimes when I see the characters standing in front of them.

I don't think they really blend into them as well as those old hand-painted backgrounds.

I guess in my case it's not so much art style as it is the technique being used and the feeling I get out of it. For some special reason animated shows seem to look better in cel animation than they do digitally in my opinion. It also makes me think of how The Simpsons look today compared to the much older episodes that I remember, or comparing Batman: The Animated Series to the Brave and the Bold.

BTW, this is all coming from someone with a very strong passion for animation, so I don't mean to make anyone think that I'm hating on B/W or anything like that.

 

[Electivirus]

B/W definitely takes the cake for me. The vibrant colors and consistent animation quality certainly help.

I honestly can't stand anything from Kanto through early-mid Johto. It just feels so... amateurish. I don't get this "charm" that people keep referring to.

 

[Joshawott]

New member speaking.

I was actually working on the Bulbapedia, but I couldn't help but notice this topic, which is something that was just on my mind now, and thought I'd come in and share my own thoughts. I personally prefer the original Pocket Monsters art style the best, as well as the first few movies. The reason is mainly because of the fact that they were still done in traditional cel animation before they switched to doing things digitally. I grew up with a lot of cartoons on TV (back then I didn't understand a thing about anime, so the original series was another cartoon to me) and a lot of them started out with cel animation, and as I kept watching them I have noticed how some shows eventually changed their techniques.

I mean, there's a pretty obvious difference comparing this...

...to this.

It's hard for me to explain what it is that bugs me about watching digitally animated shows. I think the best way I can describe it is the colors. When I look at screencaps of the newer episodes, every single image seems to have these very loud colors that scream "digitally colored". But back when characters and backgrounds were all drawn and painted by hand I felt that there was more of a richness to it and I got more quality out of watching it.

I also know that they have these more CGI type of backgrounds and effects now, and to me it comes off as feeling kind of fake-ish sometimes when I see the characters standing in front of them.

I don't think they really blend into them as well as those old hand-painted backgrounds.

I guess in my case it's not so much art style as it is the technique being used and the feeling I get out of it. For some special reason animated shows seem to look better in cel animation than they do digitally in my opinion. It also makes me think of how The Simpsons look today compared to the much older episodes that I remember, or comparing Batman: The Animated Series to the Brave and the Bold.

BTW, this is all coming from someone with a very strong passion for animation, so I don't mean to make anyone think that I'm hating on B/W or anything like that.

I dunno, I prefer The Simpsons with digital animation; the older episodes really didn't care about ruining proportions and stuff.

As for Pokémon...I'm going to say, I prefer the style used in AG. It had the 'authentic' feel that the original series had, but the colours were still vibrant.

Although, seeing the Pinwheel Forest episode of Black & White does make me think...

 

[RamboBabe]

I like BW's art style. It's different and gives people something new to look at. I was tired of seeing the same style for YEARS!