On a Reddit forum, users have been engaged in a
lively debate over which animes have seen the most significant
changes in animation from season to season . Opinions vary,
with some highlighting impressive improvements while others lament a noticeable
decline in quality.
The animation of an anime can improve in a
second season for several reasons. First, the success of the
first season can attract more funding, allowing animation studios to
invest in better resources and hire more or better animators. This results in
smoother animation, finer details, and greater consistency in visual
quality. Additionally, viewer feedback can provide creators with a
clear idea of where they need to improve , allowing them to adjust
and refine their work to better meet audience expectations.
On the other hand, scheduling and logistical
issues may be resolved after the first season. Studios
can have more time to plan and execute the production of the second season,
thus avoiding the difficulties and errors that often arise in a first attempt.
The experience gained during the creation of the first season can also be
invaluable, as the teams become better familiar with the characters, style, and
tone of the anime, allowing them to deliver more polished animation in the next
installment.
However, this is not always the case for
improvement. In many cases, the animation may get worse in the
second season. One of the main factors is budget reduction .
If the first season was not as financially successful as expected, studios may
face financial constraints that directly affect the quality of the animation.
There may also be changes in the production team , where new
directors or animators may not be as aligned with the original vision,
resulting in visual and stylistic inconsistencies.
Tight deadlines are another common
problem. The pressure to release a second season
quickly can lead to rushed production, compromising the quality of the
animation. Additionally, studios may be working on multiple projects
simultaneously, which spreads their resources and attention thin, negatively
affecting the quality of each one.
Overwork among animators is an endemic
problem in the anime industry. Long hours and
lack of rest can lead to a decrease in the quality of work due to exhaustion
and lack of motivation. Even if the team is talented, these conditions can
prevent them from reaching their full potential.
- « The
infamous second season of Yakusoku no Neverland. In story quality yes, in
production quality probably not much .
- « Hataraku
Maou-sama. The difference between the two seasons is almost 10 years, but
the first season is significantly better than the second in every way:
quality, animation, plot, characters and their motives. As a fan I was
glad that a good anime had a new season after many years, but the second
season was a substantial letdown . »
- « Nanatsu
no Taizai. The first two seasons, animated by A1 Pictures, were amazing,
but the third and fourth, produced by Studio DEEN, were horrible »
- " Seasons
2 and 3 of World Trigger were a big improvement over the first ."
- « The
two seasons of Gunslinger Girl, released four years apart, mark a drastic
change in direction and style. The subject matter is increasingly darker,
while the character design and everything else is brighter and less
detailed .»
- « Kingdom
is a series where things get better as the seasons go by. The first season
has a lot of bad CGI, but it is also criticized for its heavy censorship
and skipping story arcs »
- « Initial
D has also seen many changes to the animation and character designs
throughout its many seasons and films, although this sometimes makes some
characters almost completely unrecognizable compared to their previous
representations. Here is an old graph that shows this .
- « The
improvement in production quality from the first to the fifth seasons of
Symphogear is mind-blowing. From a purely artistic and animation point of
view, the first season is not too special (although it is not bad by any
means, just a little inconsistent), but the gradual improvement from
season to season is very noticeable. In season five, the production values
are insane. A good way to illustrate this is by observing the
transformation sequences .
- « Golden
Kamuy, but I had it backwards. The further it goes, the more quality it
has. Same for Kingdom »
- " Nanatsu
no Taizai is the perfect example of how it should not be done ."
- « The
Rising of The Shield Hero. The change in quality between the first and
second seasons makes you wonder if it's the same series ».
- « Knights
of Sidonia S1 was a sci-fi space battle anime. Knights of Sidonia S2 was a
harem anime ».
- « K-On
had a fairly significant difference between their seasons. Not in the
animation, but in the writing and pacing. For comparison, S1 covers 2.5
manga volumes. While S2 spans 1.5 volumes and yet the season is twice as
long as the first. This shows how much KyoAni has expanded the script.
While the first season was a relatively solid series, the second has
become the best Slice-of-Life anime and one of the three 10/10s I have
ever seen .
- « I
wouldn't say there has been the BIGGEST change in quality, but the
difference between the first season of Full Metal Panic and that of Kyoani
is quite notable .»
- « The
fourth season of Danmachi was far above the previous ones. The second
season of Clannad was a big step forward. Graphics-wise, the later seasons
of Kingdom got a lot better. The first season was shit .
- « Date
A Live has undergone some drastic changes. 2 was better than 1, 3 was
worse than 1 and 2, and 4+5 had a completely different animation style, so
they can't even be compared .»
- « Oregairu.
They completely changed the studios and style between the first and second
season. They even changed the protagonist's hair from green to blue .
»
- « The
quality of Goblin Slayer has changed. The first season relied on CG to
render his armor and movement, while in S2 it was drawn more by hand .
- « Tokyo
Ghoul, one of my favorite series and the one I hate the most at the same
time. It's really impressive how big a piece of shit it is. I've never
seen anything like it. One of the best first seasons I've seen for a
series. It sets expectations through the roof. Then it gives you the most
confusing second season possible. Which moves away from the original
material. It's not bad, but you wonder if they're going to explain
something in the next season. Then go back to the source material, ignore
everything that happened in the second season. It leaves you with a
thousand questions, it tells you to go to hell and it makes a huge jump in
time and replaces all the characters .
- « If
the source material starts to go downhill and the anime is very faithful,
does that count? ».
- « Classroom
of the Elite after the first season got so bad with pacing and animation »
- « It's
not the biggest change in an anime, but Arifureta Season 1 was very poorly
animated overall, but season 2 has a big boost. I hope season 3 in the
fall lineup is even better . »
- " D.Gray-man
was released in 2006 and DGM Hallow in 2016, both are made by the same
studio, but the pacing, art style and even the seiyuu are different ."
- « Kyoto
Animation turned Full Metal Panic from a mediocre romantic comedy drama
into one of the funniest comedies ever with Fumoffu. Then they did it
again with The Second Raid and turned it into a mecha drama show. And
those were their first two anime . »
- « Since
no one has mentioned it, I've seen a lot of comments elsewhere saying that
Tokyo Ghoul after the first season is too different from the manga, a lot
of scenes are cut and people don't like it. The truth is that I haven't
seen it yet. Another is Psycho-Pass, they say that only the first season
is good, personally I have only seen the first two seasons and one movie.
I liked the second season and I still don't understand the hate this
season receives, the movie wasn't that good for me .
- " Terra
Formars, I will never forgive what they did to that season 2. "
- « It’s
an obvious answer, but it’s so tragic how much of a drop in quality there
is between One Punch Man Season 1 and 2. Personally, I don’t think it’s
horrible as it still has humor and fun, but the animation made Season 1
exceptional so you can really tell the difference . »
Source: Reddit
