The final top 5 of 2017 list and this week I am focusing on those shows that I just found interesting to look at for whatever reason. Maybe they were pretty or set somewhere interesting, or maybe they were just plain bizarre, but they are shows that when I think about them I remember the visuals as keenly as I remember the story or characters. I’d love to know which shows you found visually interesting in 2017.
Please Note – Some spoilers below.
Honourable mentions this week goes to The Laughing Salesman.
Number 5: KADO The Right Answer
There’s certainly room to argue that the mix of 2D and 3D as well as copious amounts of CGI didn’t really go so great in KADO. I found it very interesting to watch but found the characters and their movements to be at times really unnerving. That said, the visualisation of the inside of KADO and some of the devices was really impressive. All and all, with an interesting story and characters, the visuals still managed to be a large part of what defined KADO as a show and it is something people remember after the viewing.
Number 4: ACCA
ACCA first caught my attention because of its character designs and colour scheme which aren’t exactly pretty but certainly are eye catching and at least feel a bit different from the norm. However, what earns ACCA its place on this list is that each of the districts Jean visits have quite distinct visual feel about them. As Jean travels around from episode to episode, the scenery is never dull and the world constructed in ACCA is one that becomes quite interesting and a lot of that is because of the way each setting is visually presented (though attention to small details in each of these settings also helped). Whichever way, while ACCA may not visually appeal to all, it was certainly distinct.
Number 3: Land of the Lustrous
This show is stunning and beautiful and captivating and pretty much any other adjective I can throw at it. While I’m not a big fan of CG Land of the Lustrous manages to use the style to create its own alien feel that fits perfectly with the story and characters being portrayed. This is a case where the visuals have been masterfully thought out to bring out the best of the story and it really should be celebrated. While I really don’t want every show to adopt this style, Land of the Lustrous shows us what possibilities are out there as we increasingly blend old and new technologies in animation.
Number 2: March Comes in Like a Lion (first and second season)
This one may not be as pretty as Land of the Lustrous, but the visuals get my attention for the simple reason that they do a lot of the heavy lifting in conveying the story and the emotional tone of the episode. Normally visuals are an after thought for me as a reviewer but in March Comes in Like a Lion it is the powerful visuals that need to be discussed more often than not because very little of the story is explicitly said but rather it is visualised through symbolism on the screen. How the show manages to continue to perfectly convey each moment is truly wondrous and the impact of these visuals is quite clear given how emotionally invested I’ve become in this show and these characters.
Number 1: 18if
For a show that ultimately isn’t very impressive as a story, the visuals are what will really stick. Each episode is a new dream and has a new art style and this makes for a fairly fascinating experience as you never really know what to expect from the next episode until it is upon you. Some styles are better than others, but overall, 18if remained a visual feast even when the narrative didn’t really hold up its end of the deal. As a result, it is the anime I found the most visually interesting throughout 2017 even if I didn’t think much of the anime as a whole by the time it was done.
Which shows in 2017 caught your eye?
Thanks for reading.
Karandi James
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I guess in ACCA’s case Natsume Ono’s original designs probably did some favour in creating a distinct look, since they never seem to look like people’s conception of “anime” and look more like people’s conception of “graphic novels” or “arthouse comics” instead.
The only one of those shows I haven’t seen in any capacity is March, but otherwise yeah, that list is very visually distinctive.
Glad you liked the list. March in itself isn’t that distinctive with its characters and settings, however it uses its visuals very well throughout episodes to emphasise feelings and ideas and that is something I really love about the show and it leaves the audience with some striking imagery.
You picked the first five that came to my mind. Those were certainly visually interesting shows (and not in a bad way of course).
This was one of the easier lists I wrote reflecting on 2017. While some of the ordering on the list took a bit of sorting, I knew exactly which anime had stood out to me visually last year.
I’m right there with you. Enjoyable post as usual 🙂
I really loved the visual aspects of Kado. As you say, not every element in it worked, but there was certainly enough in it to enjoy. Overall I found it very beautiful. The other one for me was the second season of Attack on Titan. I really loved the way that looked to, and it was even better than season 1 😀
I have to admit, Attack on Titan certainly has a distinct look. I’m not a huge fan of it but I can see what you mean.
Gonna be totally biased and go for Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu the visual kinda compensate for the lack of plot.
Acca was really pretty visually too, oh and I know it’s not complete yet but Ancient Magus Bride.
I’ll agree that Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu had fairly striking visuals. And Ancient Magus Bride is really pretty, particularly the magic.