ANIMATION DISCOURSE S2

[u/CryptographerLost825]

So it seems like since the last episode dropped, there’s been a lot of discourse around the animation for Season 2 overall. I’m going to try to give my most level-headed thoughts on this. As a passionate fan of the comic, after seeing how they adapted the fight on Thraxa, in my opinion the fight lacked and underdelivered on the sheer visceral gore and ferocity in the comic. This is one of the first few times I think that the show paled in comparison to the comic in terms of the scale, spectacle and amount of detail that was put into the comic. The issue is less about the blood and gore being shown in the episode, it’s more about the level of detail of the gore, battle damage and destruction. I think there’s nothing wrong in constructively levying criticism to a property I’ve immensely loved and only want to see thrive and constantly improve. In season 1 a lot of the focal moments like Guardians massacre, Machine head fight, Omni Man/Invincible showdown and by extension the Atom Eve special episode were massively improved and the elevated in grandiosity, scope and brutality, which is what I was expecting for the Thraxa fight but unfortunately its came off a bit weaker for me than the source material. Now overall I do think that S2 has stepped up the animation in terms of the character models, lighting and lack of CG models in the background, but it hasn’t made the animation really count where it matters most like in S1.

I think a lot of the fans that have concerns about how certain moments will be adapted in terms of the animation are valid. The comics only get crazier in blood, gore and spectacle from the Thraxa arc and if this animation we got for Thraxa is emblematic of how future moments will get translated, I think it’s alright to be mildly concerned. Now is it possible that they repurposed most of the budget towards the second half and namely the finale, where we’ll see the animation shine and pop off, sure. Until then I can only judge off of what we have so far. What do you guys think?

[u/Da_reason_Macron_won]

I mean, yeah. The animation is just not that good. What makes it weird is that Invincible seems to be quite a pop culture phenomenon so you would expect the budget to be there if people asked for it.

People will shit on it comparing it with anime, but even if you compare it with other US action show with much less of a cultural impact (see: Young Justice or the Powerhouse Animation stuff) it still doesn't look that good. It's not bad animation, but it's not up to the quality you would expect for Amazon's flagship animated series.

[u/schebobo180 → u/Da_reason_Macron_won]

Tbvh I would not be surprised if most of the budget went to the cast.

I mean, the cast is phenomenal, but yeah the animation is incredibly average, and at times poor.

[u/ARandomGuyThe3 → u/schebobo180]

But the cast is also PHENOMENAL you have to admit. Some of the best VAing out there

[u/KWash0222 → u/ARandomGuyThe3]

The cast is great but there are definitely times when you can tell they are not seasoned voice actors.

[u/TheG-What → u/KWash0222]

As much as I love both the character of Debbie and Sandra Oh as an actress, she’s the prime culprit for this. Her voice acting is often straight up bad.

[u/KWash0222 → u/TheG-What]

Agreed. Sandra Oh is awesome and Debbie’s character is excellently written. But there are some rooough moments, not the least of which is her over-the-top crying

[u/YoelRomeroNephew69 → u/KWash0222]

Ok I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this way. I like Sandra Oh, but I'll be real here. I don't think her voice acting is the best. She can't really... cry well with her voice.

[u/Traditional_Shirt106 → u/KWash0222]

She’s not an actress with a lot of range. Her schtick is she plays very down to earth characters, like you can believe she’s a regular slightly-hot American Asian lady going through regular family or professional drama. Dustin Hoffman and Kathy Bates are other examples - normal looking people who don’t chew on the scenery, they don’t tear their eyes out and go over the top.

[u/schebobo180 → u/ARandomGuyThe3]

It is. But if indeed it was a sacrifice to the animation… then it honestly is not worth it.

One of the most popular animated shows currently deserves MUCH better animation.

Honestly episode 4 was the first time I became really worried about how they do things going forward.

The way they put in THREE b subplots to be running parallel to the battle was one of those brain fart moments they had that reminded me of how they handled Amber in season 1.

[u/Rae_Rae_ → u/ARandomGuyThe3]

I love that my favourite character of 2 Kirkman adaptions are played by the same dude.