There's something about shoujo manga that seems to make it difficult to translate over to a proper anime. For some reason, the art looks stiffer, the romance scenes aren't as romancy, and in general I don't get the same doki doki feeling I get from reading the manga.
In the anime, the only thing actually animated was Usui's scarf blowing in the wind. Really.
Skip Beat! had the same problem with stiff artwork, but it was saved by some fantastic voice acting (I submit that it's impossible to go wrong with Katsuyuki Konishi). Maid-sama, unfortunately, doesn't get that save. Overall, I'm pretty disappointed with the art and direction in the anime, but I must admit that it's still great to see it animated. And despite my complaints about the art, the comedic timing is excellent. If you can make me laugh at a joke I already know the punchline to, then you're doing something right.
--Ou-bento
2 comments:
I have to agree with your assessment of K wa Maid-sama, but I don't ascribe the poor animation to shoujo, but to a recent trend. It seems that in order to get good comics out sooner, the animators are skimping on cells/etc. I loved Skip Beat, actually. But, Kimi Ni Todoko didn't appear as good as the manga. However, the nighttime scenes were so beautifully detailed, that I forgave them. But, you're right. KWM doesn't have good voice actors, artists or writers, which makes it distracting. However, if you notice the ending credits actually include really nice artwork.I just wish they would incorporate that into the anime itself.
The Kaichou wa Maid-sama manga has become one of my all time favorite next to Skip beat but I have to say I am a little disappointed with the direction the anime has taken... The drawing is wonderful (though in some scenes if it was taken into account how the manga was drawn, the anime would have so much more emotion to it. As shown from examples on the main page pertaining to this manga from this site.) as well as the voice actors but, I'm sad with the way the anime has not been following the manga, event wise. The attitude, emotion and sense of romance build up is overwhelming in the manga but, unfortunately (in my opinion) is not felt through the tv animation. The anime seems a bit rushed and doesn't seems to be in sync with the manga portraying each individual characters point of view and aura to it's fullest. It is though in fact nice to see the manga be transfered on the screen but, unfortunately did not come to life and it's potential still waiting to be unleashed. Though I do enjoy the amine and am thankful for the efforts the studio put into it, it is still a little heart breaking to watch.
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