IMO:

Anime is an art style, just like WAR's cartoonish look is an art style.

Aion doesnt look anything like the classic anime. I do see some aspects that remind me of clasic anime, but its not classic anime. I see some anime in WoW too.

I call Aion's art style "3D Anime" I dont know if there really is 3d anime out there. I dont watch cartoons (except the simpsons) so dont flame me if there really is 3D anime i have not seen it.

Originally posted by suu141

 

 Sorry guys but this game is definitely anime style.

 Take a look at this:

 

 

 

Oh wait, my bad. Wrong pic. I meant this one:

 

 

 

You could walk down the streets of Tokyo for 10 minutes and most likely see dozens of girls who look like it. Aions character models look to realistic and not like the distortion of most anime.

Originally posted by chrono73

Originally posted by suu141

 

 Sorry guys but this game is definitely anime style.

 Take a look at this:

 

 

 

Oh wait, my bad. Wrong pic. I meant this one:

 

 

 

 

You could walk down the streets of Tokyo for 10 minutes and most likely see dozens of girls who look like it. Aions character models look to realistic and not like the distortion of most anime.

Well, actually the bottom one looks anime. Large eyes, cute hair.

http://upload1.zoopy.com/files/photo/2007/09/03/701/11888228553_small.jpg

And yes, you could walk down the streets of tokyo and see somone who looked like that.

http://www.simonsellars.com/images/tokyo_girls.jpg

Those pics show some of Aions customization..the very bottom pic sure it looks anime, but look at the rest not so anime to me.

Originally posted by alin1209

 

---

Originally posted by suu141
 
 Sorry guys but this game is definitely anime style.
 Take a look at this:
 
 
Oh wait, my bad. Wrong pic. I meant this one:
  
 

---

So...this game may be anime in your vision and maibe it is but at least it have soo many option on creating your look that can breack a bit this anime thing.I personaly like it.But lets be honest what game out ther use some realistic stile that is also a good game to be played?...Can u give me a good game example?

 

*Gives alin a big hug*  Thank you! I'm glad you're open-minded unlike some people here.

To answer your question: No. To me, this is the very first game where they have enough options to make it look both Anime AND normal and much, much more.

Sorry about the first post, I was trying to be sarcastic.

Originally posted by girlgeek

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by girlgeek

Originally posted by Galadourn

well, it might not be 'officially' anime by definition, but it looks oriental enough to be regarded as such by Western players.

 

Well, it definitely is NOT anime, and the Asian "look" to it doesn't make it so.  Incidentally, I'M a "western player" AND an art major, and I certainly do NOT think it is anime.  As a matter of fact, I think it's actually a laughable comparison and I wholeheartedly agree with the OP.

 

Actually, I'm not so sure you are correct (Art major or not) as I just did some checking and it seems that the term "Anime" encompasses quite a large pallete of styles.

This is what Wikipedia has on the subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime

 

You are actually correct.  I should have used the term "manga" instead of anime, because that is the TYPE of anime that Westerners are most used to seeing on television, etc.  Good catch!  But, even with all the STYLES of anime......I still say that the artwork in Aion, does NOT appear to be anime to ME, at least. :)

95% of all anime comes directly from popular manga books, so it's pretty much the same thing.

The funny thing is, Koreans don't make anime, there's only a few Korean "manga" publishers, which the art style is entirely different from Japanese ones. Anime is Japanese, not Korean, not even Asian.

I'm starting to wonder if people who try to say "Asian", the word "Anime" comes out of their mouth instead.

I would imagine that anime doesn't refer solely to looks, but to moves as well (?)

and the animations in Aion (at least the combat ones) are a bit too jittery and overreacted.

Originally posted by suu141

I'm starting to wonder if people who try to say "Asian", the word "Anime" comes out of their mouth instead.

And we have a winner!! That's exactly what happens.

Anime is an Asian approach to comics.

Originally posted by Cynthe

Originally posted by suu141

I'm starting to wonder if people who try to say "Asian", the word "Anime" comes out of their mouth instead.

 

And we have a winner!! That's exactly what happens.

AGREED!!

Honestly, I get sick to death of people immediately making generalizations and sometimes just assumptions about a game's art style, and throwing about words that truly don't describe it accurately at all, just because it was made in Korea, Japan, or freaking Sweden, for that matter.  That's just dopey!  LOL   In my opinion, Aion is not even REMOTELY anime.  It's just very very good ARTWORK.  

Originally posted by stayontarget

Originally posted by chrono73

Here is a pic of Aion



Here is a pic of what an anime would look like if it was created into an mmorpg ( Famous anime series , DBZ )

Note the huge difference in styles.

Thank you for posting the pic's.

WHERE did you get that pic and is it available to be played?! :D

Originally posted by FiresealMMO

 

WHERE did you get that pic and is it available to be played?! :D

The game is being developed in Korea. No information on possibility of a release on western markets at all yet.

Cheers!

Originally posted by singsofdeath

Originally posted by FiresealMMO

 

WHERE did you get that pic and is it available to be played?! :D

 

The game is being developed in Korea. No information on possibility of a release on western markets at all yet.

 

Cheers!

Well it seems to be confirmed that namco-bandai will be publishing DBO online in the west. If you're interested a good site for more info on DBO is www.dbmmo.com/

Originally posted by chrono73

Originally posted by singsofdeath

Originally posted by FiresealMMO

 

WHERE did you get that pic and is it available to be played?! :D

 

The game is being developed in Korea. No information on possibility of a release on western markets at all yet.

 

Cheers!

 

Well it seems to be confirmed that namco-bandai will be publishing DBO online in the west. If you're interested a good site for more info on DBO is www.dbmmo.com/

Heres to hoping they make it fun. 

Originally posted by girlgeek

Originally posted by Cynthe

Originally posted by suu141

I'm starting to wonder if people who try to say "Asian", the word "Anime" comes out of their mouth instead.

 

And we have a winner!! That's exactly what happens.

 

AGREED!!

Honestly, I get sick to death of people immediately making generalizations and sometimes just assumptions about a game's art style, and throwing about words that truly don't describe it accurately at all, just because it was made in Korea, Japan, or freaking Sweden, for that matter.  That's just dopey!  LOL   In my opinion, Aion is not even REMOTELY anime.  It's just very very good ARTWORK.  

No I'm sorry, but I have to disagree yet again.

Things like Anime and Manga are very popular in the east (and here too for that matter). Art does not exist in a vacuum therefore it stands to reason that there will be influences. This is not a bad thing.

And, given that Anime actually encompasses a great range of styles, I think one could point to a variety of things that coud be Animesque.

So yes, it seems that Anime is originally Japanese. But is it so far beyond the pale to believe that other eastern countries have borrowed from it? Especially since my talks with some game makers informed me that they did actually borrow a lot from each other (not just cultures but other artists) and it was considerd fine to do so.

If one were to take a picture from final fantasy or Aion or Lineage 2 or any number of games or even from manga and show it to someone and then ask the question is this eastern or western, chances are people are going to say "eastern".

So sure, it might be technically incorrect to assume that Anime is chinese or Korean, but it does show that these games, movies, magazines have similarities among them.

I mean, there is a dragon ball Z hairstyle in Lineage 2 which is a Korean game after all.

The problem here is that everyone is so sure that art (or music, theater, etc) should be viewed in such exacting terms that they forget that it all can be viewed so differently depending on who is viewing it, where they are from and yes "when" they are from.

So here is a picture:

http://www.anglik.net/waterhouse3.jpg

A friend of mine was ripping on the preraphaelites (I think waterhouse was part of the group but he could have been one of the influences/influenced by) as romantic clap trap.

What he didn't realize is that the preraphaelites were cutting edge modern artists who were shunned by the status quo. They had to beg, borrow and steal just to get their work seen in salons and many thought that they were just too modern.

Now you all look at that and you might grimace and say "modern?, hardly!", but that is the fact.

So there is a lot that goes into an artistic style and art borrows from so much of what is popular for a region that it is not really a bad thing for someone to call something as part of a movement, especially if that movement is borrowed from.

We seem to look at things with our 21st century eyes and want it to be so pure or so "from a certain style" that we might overlook that there is a lot of bleed through.

So in the same arguement, here is an anime pic:

http://www.freefever.com/hi5/hi5graphics/glitter/anime2.gif

Here is a pic from Lineage 2, a Korean game:

http://static.lineage2.co.kr/info/race/imgDwarfBg2.gif

There are similarities.

anime:

http://animedownloadsunlimited.com/images/anime.png

Lineage 2

http://chaosregion.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/1.jpg

and Aion? Well, isn't the head Artist of Aion also the one who designed Lineage 2? I believe so. There are similarities that one can see.

So "is" Aion actually Anime? Well, I think Anime is supposed to refer to animated movies so no. But is it influenced by anime? I would say it is. This is not bad or wrong, it just is.

Heck, even on an anime site http://www.oakwoodanime.net/newage-anime.php you see information about Aion.

Yes Sovrath, there's no denying that Koreans copy Japanese art styles.

In fact, Japanese anime is extremely popular in Korea. So popular, many become art students so they can move to Japan and work for an Anime studio, just like the thousands whom already move there and work as cell paint artists and graphic designers. I wouldn't be surprised if one or most of the NC staff had a previous career there.

When I first saw Aion, I automatically assumed it was Korean made, if not, Japanese.

Why, you say?

Because western artists usually never include Asian-looking characters.

It's natural for an artist to make a figure that reflects him/herself. Same with Asian artists.

What I don't understand is how you can compare the art styles of FFXI and Lineage 2 with Aion. Regardless of whether or not it's the same artist, all I see is an enormous gap where Aion looks more human and realistic.

The real question is: if you take out all the Asian and obviously anime-looking toons out of the game, would everyone still call it Anime style?

@Sovrath

EXCELLENT intelligent, educated and informative posting there, my fellow gamer!  BRAVO!  I love it!  And I do agree that there is obvious anime influence in the art style, I just don't agree with the poster that flat out called AION's art "anime."

And you are so correct about art, and "good" art (whatever defines good...heh), being essentially in the eyes of the beholder.

I get that the art style of AION does not appeal to everyone.  My only disagreement was with sticking the "anime" label on it and dismissing it as what most Americans, at least, upon seeing the term "anime" attached to it, assume is manga.  AION is definitlely NOT manga.  Unfortunately, the North American exposure to anime is predominately to manga style cartoons, and when you throw out the word "anime," that is what most people think you are saying.

Loved your post.  Very exciting to see something written based on obvious knowledge on the topic.

Originally posted by suu141

The real question is: if you take out all the Asian and obviously anime-looking toons out of the game, would everyone still call it Anime style?

Those characters are a part of the game, whether or not the game would be labelled differently without them is irrelevant because they are not going anywhere. This discussion is about those characters, obviously if they were removed the grounds for this argument would no longer exist but they do so its pointless to ask what if they weren't.

In regards to the discussion at hand, I have to agree with Sovrath. While yes, it is ignorant for people to see something that is obviously influenced by eastern art and label it as anime in the same way that people are labelled for the way they dress or their hairstyle. Art, people, and everything else for that matter can't be so easily put under such broad definitions since there are so many different blends of style and art in between.

Both looking at Aion's characters and reading information from developers give the impression of many different influences having gone into the game's artwork and anime just happens to be one of them.

The people that are arguing that the game isn't anime are making the same, just opposite, bias towards the game's artstyle. It doesn't have to be one or the other, it's something in between, much like everything else in this world. Most of you obviously like anime so Aion being influenced by it should be a good thing. To me, western game art, at least for mmo's is bland and has no flare, so I for one enjoy the creative artwork that has gone into Aion's character design.

Anyway as Sovrath said, things don't exist in a vacuum, they all blend and mix to create something new and unique so stop trying to put things under labels, thats what your complaining about in the first place anyway.

Originally posted by suu141

Yes Sovrath, there's no denying that Koreans copy Japanese art styles.

In fact, Japanese anime is extremely popular in Korea. So popular, many become art students so they can move to Japan and work for an Anime studio, just like the thousands whom already move there and work as cell paint artists and graphic designers. I wouldn't be surprised if one or most of the NC staff had a previous career there.

 

When I first saw Aion, I automatically assumed it was Korean made, if not, Japanese.

Why, you say?

Because western artists usually never include Asian-looking characters.

It's natural for an artist to make a figure that reflects him/herself. Same with Asian artists.

 

What I don't understand is how you can compare the art styles of FFXI and Lineage 2 with Aion. Regardless of whether or not it's the same artist, all I see is an enormous gap where Aion looks more human and realistic.

 

The real question is: if you take out all the Asian and obviously anime-looking toons out of the game, would everyone still call it Anime style?

 

 

Thanks girlgeek, appreciate that...

Originally posted by girlgeek

@Sovrath

I just don't agree with the poster that flat out called AION's art "anime."

 True, it's not anime per se but just shows influence.

@suu141

I say that it is similar to L2 because many types of armor and weapons that I've seen utilize highly florid and ornamental inlay surrounded by a border or overlapping material. It's very clear to me that they are artistic successors.

Aion:

http://img.hexus.net/v2/gaming/e3_2007/aion.jpg

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/7017/aionsourcesignatureal8.png

http://www.mmodump.com/wp-content/gallery/aion/aion_the_tower_of_eternity_-_asmodian_character.jpg

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/videogames/videos/aion-clothing._SX320_CR0,0,0,0_PIen-us-vendor-play-shuttle-off,BottomLeft,0,43_.jpg  ***

Lineage 2

http://www.lineage2.com/images/item_screens/sealed_armor_of_nightmare.jpg

http://www.lineage2media.com/pictures/lineage2wallpaper11linehi0.jpg

http://evelynrodriguez.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/28/elvenwarrioress.jpg  ***

And with final fantasy my feeling is that the characters are artistic ancestors. With this you can "almost" see lineage 2 colors and lines

Final Fantasy xi

http://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/images.gamezone.com/screens/17/2/64/s17264_pc_5.jpg

Lineage 2

http://www.wallpaperez.net/wallpaper/games/Lineage-2-Interlude-1330.jpg

Aion

http://www.aionsource.com/photoplog/images/1/1_Aion_May_25_07__52_.jpg

Remember, we are not talking about graphic quality, we are talking about artistic influence.

Originally posted by Niirnaeth

Originally posted by suu141

The real question is: if you take out all the Asian and obviously anime-looking toons out of the game, would everyone still call it Anime style?

Those characters are a part of the game, whether or not the game would be labelled differently without them is irrelevant because they are not going anywhere. This discussion is about those characters, obviously if they were removed the grounds for this argument would no longer exist but they do so its pointless to ask what if they weren't.

In regards to the discussion at hand, I have to agree with Sovrath. While yes, it is ignorant for people to see something that is obviously influenced by eastern art and label it as anime in the same way that people are labelled for the way they dress or their hairstyle. Art, people, and everything else for that matter can't be so easily put under such broad definitions since there are so many different blends of style and art in between.

Both looking at Aion's characters and reading information from developers give the impression of many different influences having gone into the game's artwork and anime just happens to be one of them.

The people that are arguing that the game isn't anime are making the same, just opposite, bias towards the game's artstyle. It doesn't have to be one or the other, it's something in between, much like everything else in this world. Most of you obviously like anime so Aion being influenced by it should be a good thing. To me, western game art, at least for mmo's is bland and has no flare, so I for one enjoy the creative artwork that has gone into Aion's character design.

Anyway as Sovrath said, things don't exist in a vacuum, they all blend and mix to create something new and unique so stop trying to put things under labels, thats what your complaining about in the first place anyway.

I'm not the one placing labels. Frankly, I don't care about other people's opinions, because they're just that, opinions.

When people start twisting around facts and opinions to the point where nothing is making any sense, I'm not gonna sit around and just read all this garbage.

It's getting to the point, going by Sovrath's logic, for example: If you place a few asian and anime characters in WoW or WAR, you, Sovrath and a few others will call it new and unique. Do you think everyone else would just label the entire game as an anime game?