The Video Game Connection and the Next Generation
Of course, one of the most obvious uses for digitally assisted animation is in the creation of video games. However, this doesn't mean that anime is going to be overrun with VIRTUA FIGHTER-style 3D animation. Many studios have turned their eye towards systems like Animo to create anime-quality 2D cut scenes and openings for video games. Production I.G., for example, has used computer-assisted animation for SAKURA TAISEN 2, TALES OF DESTINY, and of course, the GHOST IN THE SHELL PlayStation games. Many other game companies and studios that work on games also use computer assisted animation. Some have also begun turning their attention towards doing anime as well as games.

Production IG's GHOST IN THE SHELL and SAKURA TAISEN 2 video games utilitized computer animation to achieve different effects.

GONZO is another studio that has been doing digital animation for some time. They have worked on many game titles, including the MACROSS: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE game and SILVER STAR STORY. In these games, computer animation was used to create some of the new anime footage for the game, and to enhance certain other scenes. The difference in quality is noticeably higher.

AO NO ROKUGO used a lot of 3D animation in conjunction with 2D animation.

However, GONZO is perhaps best known for their current work on AO NO ROKUGO (BLUE SUBMARINE #6). In the case of AO, GONZO undertook the task of marrying both 3D and traditional 2D animation together. Past efforts at this had been met with limited success, as seen by the early PANZER DRAGOON OVA. However, the technology and technique of the artists has come a long way in just a few years. And this approach does not attempt to "disguise" the 3D aspect of the animation, but rather to integrate it successfully into the medium.

Left: Digital Shipyard. The wireframe construction of one of the ships in AO NO ROKUGO. Right: A finished version of the ship placed in the scene.

In fact, mecha shows would seem to be ideally suited for computer-assisted animation. Such thoughts are becoming common in the industry. Sunrise, for example, has started to use computer effects for mecha. However, most often, they are not using a 3D system, but are instead using a 2D coloring system to create special effects. Airbrushing, for example, can give a more shiny, metallic edge to the robots and result in a more "real" appearance. And of course, it's much easier and faster to do this on a computer. Shows that have used these techniques include GUNDAM W: ENDLESS WALTZ and KING OF BRAVES GAOGAIGAR.

This GUNDAM W image was computer-enhanced. GAOGAIGAR also made use of computer-enhanced special effects, like this ripple.

Then again, it should come as no surprise to anime fans that Sunrise is pursuing computer-assisted animation. After all, the versatility of the medium was highlighted in its 1995 runaway hit series, THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE. And Sunrise Producer, Masami Masahiko, had also said that the director of COWBOY BEBOP wanted to use more computer animation in his show. For example, in the space scenes, the planets are all done in 3D, and computers handle some of the special effects as well. This represents a growing trend in the industry.

Left: COWBOY BEBOP used digital animation for the planets and, as shown here, during flight in hyperspace. Right: digital effects were used for the pyrotechnics in this scene from ENDLESS WALTZ.

Another area where computer animation is really starting to take hold is in the opening and ending titles. Since the opening is intended to showcase the best the show has to offer, animation companies often pull out all the stops to deliver a high-quality, and often very stylized opening. The shows that have used computer animation in some form or other in their openings are becoming too numerous to mention, but include TAIHO SHICHAU ZO!, RUROUNI KENSHIN, and more recently, BUBBLEGUM CRISIS TOKYO 2040, SILENT MÖBIUS, NAZCA, and STEAM DETECTIVES. While not always subtle or carefully blended, the use of computer animation in titles is on the rise.

What They Do and Don't Do
Although computers are being used in animation more and more with each passing year, many in the industry are still wary. Creators want to be sure that they use the best tools available to achieve the desired results. And while some, such as Sunrise and Production I.G. have enthusiastically hoped on the computer-driven bandwagon, other companies have not.
Most industry professionals agree that computer animation is good—in limited amounts and for specific things. No one, for example, does their drawing on the computer. Instead, the drawings are scanned into a computer and then painted, rather than being drawn with a mouse on the computer using an illustration program. Manga artists who use computers often only use them for coloring and the addition of special effects, rather than actually drawing their manga on a computer.

Despite the increasing use of computers in anime, character art still tends to be drawn by hand before it is scanned into the computer.

Another common use for computers is creation of backgrounds. Once a very time-consuming task, computers allow background illustrators the freedom to put in more details without adding additional work. Depending on the production, the backgrounds can be simple 2D images that would look the same had they been generated with traditional methods, or they could be complex, detailed, backgrounds with 3D aspects, like many of the backgrounds in AO NO ROKUGO. The ease with which these backgrounds can be created allows for more detail without adding time to the production schedule.
So computers ink and paint and assist in background creation, but they don't draw.