Giles

What are some of the best anime titles that merge the two animation techniques to excellent effect

an example would be

- Blue Submarine #6

and... I'm drawing a blank...

thoughts, recommendations.

fujishig

I'm assuming we're talking 3-D CGI, not computer animated stuff in general?

I wasn't that impressed with Blue Sub #6's integration, though admittedly it was at the forefront of the technology.

I think we mostly see it in stuff with mecha, like
Cowboy Bebop
Escaflowne
Samurai 7
Yukikaze
Last Exile
Burst Angel
Macross Plus
Macross Frontier
leaving the CGI for the mech action. I can't say that all of these are good, as the transition can be jarring at times, however I recommend all but Burst Angel of the above list as far as decent anime to watch overall. Gonzo in particular seem to love it.

GITS:SAC also had cgi backgrounds as well as mechs, didn't it?

slop101

Ghost in the Shell 2 and Metropolis did it pretty well too.

[FWIW, GitS2 has a fantastic looking bluray]

Ash Ketchum

Ditto on "Last Exile" and GITS2.

I would add that some of the last few Pokemon movies have done this very well, including DESTINY DEOXYS, LUCARIO AND THE MYSTERY OF MEW, POKEMON RANGER AND THE TEMPLE OF THE SEA and the most recent to be released here, THE RISE OF DARKRAI.

visitor Q

Fantastic film!

I actually think that the blending of the two styles appears more nature in Metropolis, overall better than Innocence (which is tough to claim since Oshii is next to God in my book).

Sky Crawlers on the other hand looks phenomenal.

edstein

Appleseed?

fujishig

Isn't that all CGI, though? Just like both Final Fantasy movies.

Ash Ketchum

There are three APPLESEED movies, one from the '80s that's all 2-D hand-drawn cel animation, and two from the 2000s, both all CGI. None of them is any good. Stick with GHOST IN THE SHELL, which, like APPLESEED, is also based on a manga by Masamune Shirow.

arminius

I liked both Appleseed and Ghost. Vandread has CGI for the space battles and its a pretty good series. Funny too.

dugan

Serial Experiment Lain.

fujishig

Isn't the first Appleseed animation an OAV? And has no CGI at all, so I assumed he was talking about the movies. I liked the movies a lot better than the 80's one, but the manga is better still.

slop101

Along the same lines as the two Appleseed movies (and from the same creators), Vexille also blends CGI with some hand drawn animation.

Giles

have this in my NetFlix queue, gonna move it up on my list.

arminius

Just saw Sky Crawlers. The CGI dogfights were very good. The story was a little slow but intersesting.

RocShemp

DIdn't Freedom blend CGI and cel animation? I've read so many good things about it that I long to get it but $99 is really steep.

LeRoy

I enjoyed this show quite a bit and I did like the visual style especially on Blu-Ray. You should be able to get it for under $99. I snatched it up on the day it was released for about $68. You just gotta shop around a bit.

Brent L

How about Wonderful Days (Sky Blue)? It hasn't been released in the US, but I believe there is a region free release in the UK. It's one of my favorite looking films of any kind of all time:

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Deaddan26

I really enjoyed Karas the prophecy. it did a great job blending cg and cell.

toddly6666

Can you link to where the DVD is sold? I can't find it. Does FREEDOM have English subtitles?

WTK

The DVD release was split into 2 releases. It was originally planned for a single complete collection, but it was scrapped. Most retailers should be carrying the DVD releases.

As for the Blu-ray boxset, it will be heading OOP for those who are still waiting for them...

toddly6666

Thanks for letting me know. I could only find the two at Best Buy and watched the whole thing last night. Pretty entertaining! I even bought a Nissan Cup of Noodles today - their advertising worked!