CG doesn’t have the best of reputations in anime.

It’s not that CG itself is a problem, for most people, anyway, but many examples of it tend to look, at best, out of place, and at worst . . . yeah. Yet, despite the perception surrounding it, it’s still been used many times in a variety of clever and creative ways for both long-form and short-form projects, sometimes being so subtle that you might not realize it’s even there, other times popping up in and becoming the highlights of things you’d never expect, and other times still being integrated so seamlessly into the aesthetic of a work that it becomes an integral part of it, the latter of which I may come back to in a later video. I may love hand-drawn animation, but I also get just as excited by the opportunities that CG and 3D provide for an animated work.

And today, I want to talk about this interest by looking at one of my personal favourite shows, whose use of CG not only became one of the most well-regarded examples of its artistic potential, but which effectively used those elements to set the stage for a haunting story of loss and growth that to this day still lingers in the back of my mind.

It’s a little hidden gem from 2017, based on the manga of the same name, that you might have heard of, called Houseki no Kuni, or, as it's known in English, Land of the Lustrous.

LINKZ!
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♣| Come Fly With Me! |♣
- On This Channel: http://bit.ly/2n4xEJi
- On Twitter: https://bit.ly/322Uq77

♣| Watch More: https://bit.ly/321JFiu |♣

♣| MUSIC USED |♣
- Sour Apples - RAGE
Check Out The Artist: http://bit.ly/2xKQZlK

- Battle - Yoshiaki Fujisawa
Part of Houseki no Kuni (Anime - 2017)'s soundtrack
Available here: https://bit.ly/323O6d6

- Unrest - ELPHNT
Check Out The Artist: http://bit.ly/2Eg5HF4

- Generations Away - Unicorn Heads
Check out the Artist: https://bit.ly/2WqaPOv

- Synergy - Geographer
Check out the Artist: https://bit.ly/2oCQTrE

- Special Ed - Rondo Brothers
Check out the Artist: https://bit.ly/2v6W5ri

- Cinnabar - Yoshiaki Fujisawa
Part of Houseki no Kuni (Anime - 2017)'s soundtrack
Available here: https://bit.ly/323O6d6

- Early Afternoon - Yoshiaki Fujisawa
Part of Houseki no Kuni (Anime - 2017)'s soundtrack
Available here: https://bit.ly/323O6d6

- Down - Joey Pecoraro
Check out the Artist: http://bit.ly/2KjfxZ7

- For We Are Many - Cooper Cannell
Check out the Artist: http://bit.ly/2MumMzU

- Exhale - Lena Raine
Part of Celeste (Game - 2018)'s soundtrack
Available here: https://bit.ly/2CwHEOw

- Hypnothis - Kevin Macleod
Check out the Artist: https://bit.ly/1MyqBJz
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://bit.ly/1rMF155)

♣| FOOTAGE / MEDIA USED |♣
- Handshakers (Anime - 2017)
- Berserk (Anime - 2016)
- KADO: The Right Answer (Anime - 2017)
- Lupin III: The First (Film - 2019)
- Cassette Girl (Short Film - 2015)
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Anime - 2019)
- Promare (Film - 2019)
- Hill Climb Girl (Short Film - 2014)
- Yuri On Ice (Anime - 2016)
- Houseki no Kuni (Anime - 2017)
- Houseki no Kuni, by Haruko Ichikawa (Manga - 2012)
- Houseki no Kuni - Promotional Trailer
- Gate (Anime - 2016)
- Houseki no Kuni - Behind the Scenes
- The Simpsons (Animated Series - 1990)

♣| SOURCES / FURTHER READING / ETC |♣
Interviews:
w/ Takahiko Kyougoku
- Sakugablog translation of Animate Times interview - https://bit.ly/2Ao5iiD

w/ Haruko Ichikawa
- JapaneseTranslationBlog translation of エンタメ Week interview - https://bit.ly/2H3asFP
- DijehTranslations translation of ‘Kono manga ga sugoi!’ interview
-- Part 1 - https://bit.ly/31RSmwt
-- Part 2 - https://bit.ly/30UhyRA

Episode Breakdowns (Sakugablog):
- Episodes 1-6 - https://bit.ly/2vFg8xC
- Episodes 7-9 - https://bit.ly/357yl6Z
- Episodes 10-11 - https://bit.ly/339fGWF
- Episode 12 - https://bit.ly/35fyYf4

#housekinokuni #landofthelustrous #3danime #cganime #studioorange #traventalks #videoessay #anime #animation