One thing I already don't like about Three Houses

[WeAreNewcastle1053]

Just by looking at Three Houses, I can tell that something's wrong - it's all flat-out anime.

Now don't get me wrong, I like anime, but not everything HAS to be anime. I know there was anime in Shadows of Valentina, but I honestly haven't seen much of it. I've only really noticed now (don't judge me).
But with Awakening, Fates, Heroes, Warriors, and some of the earlier games, they had their own artistic style, it was somewhat realistic, and in the later games, more 3D-ish, instead of being generic anime. Yet as I said before, I'm not shitting on anime, but not every darn game has to have that style. It's a bit like how Microsoft went from Windows 7 to Windows 10 - again, not shitting on Windows 10 by any means, but Windows 10 was feeling less like Windows because of all the graphic changes, something more noticeable with Windows 8 and 8.1 (which I GENUINELY hate).

But just because something's popular and well-liked (e.g. anime), doesn't mean it has to be in EVERY GAME! I was enjoying FE's semi-realistic animation style in Awakening, Fates and Warriors, and that was one thing that made the games interesting, because they didn't copy off other people's art styles, they were more original. And that's one thing that makes artists themselves so interesting - they have their own unique styles, instead of all being one "good" style. Pokémon has their own style in-game, Super Mario Bros have their own style, Star Wars: The Clone Wars had their own style, which is why all these franchises are so interesting.

 

Now, I'm not shitting on anime by ANY means, but think of it this way; just having anime is like only being able to eat your one favourite food... which you'd get sick of eventually... I would just like it if Fire Emblem kept to having a unique style, instead of just trying to copy off the popular cartoon styles.

[Ottservia]

so what you're saying is that you think the artstyle is a little generic. I can get behind that. Personally I don't see much of a problem with it but hey different strokes I guess

[Guest Thereb]

I cannot believe that after all of these years, Fire Emblem turned anime.

[Armchair General]

I think you're waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too late for the "FE is anime" complaint...

[thecrimsonflash]

honestly, if they went outright "generic anime" I would have liked it more, it just looks bad now IMO.

Edited May 5, 2019 by thecrimsonflash

[eclipse]

Don't worry, I won't warn you for disliking Windows 8!

This particular artist has that kind of style, so eh.  That's on IS to hire different artists.

[berriicoco]

To be honest, I will never understand the “Fire Emblem is too anime” complaint. This franchise has always used the anime aesthetic, why are people complaining now (Or when Awakening first came out, I guess)? 

The FE art styles always reflected the anime aesthetic of the decade. FE 1-5 looks exactly  like the 90s anime I grew up with. The GBA and Tellius games look like the ones from 2000s. Just because they’re from a different time period, doesn’t mean they’ve never been anime. Anime always retains its basic art style which all FE games have. 

If I showed my friends and family members who don’t watch anime Fire Emblem and ask them if this is anime, they’d laugh and say: ‘Of course!’

Frankly speaking, this whole “this game looks like anime” is pretty nonsensical in my eyes. Sorry for being blunt.

[Flere210]

The Aestetic of Fire Emblem was always greatly inspired by whatever is currently popular in anime.

For example, the Jugdral Games are clearly inspired by Gundam and LOGH by Kaga own Admission and Berserk influences are noticeable as well. There wasn't a single Fire Emblem that was not anime. It just that anime 20 years ago is something different than Anime now, and anime-like games changed as well.

[NekoKnight]

I can understand disliking certain anime tropes and cliches but I don't see how you missed the fact its always been anime art styles.

[know_naim]

How else should Fire Emblem look if not anime? There's never too much anime in FE, it's just different artists employing different styles that cater to different audiences. Personally I loved Yusuke Kozaki's flashy character art but Awakening is, I think, where the complaints about it being "too much" started. There is some merit in having that discussion, since the art pretty much sets the tone of a FE game. Ridiculously overdesigned outfits may be a turn-off but they meshed well together with the equally ridiculous story (even more so in FE Fates imo).

So, I'd like to think that the developers had something in mind when choosing Chinatsu Kurahana for Three Houses. Even if I'm not too hot on the actual character designs, I'm curious if they'll tie into some bigger concept. 

[Gocciole]

"Anime" is not an art style.Saying something looks anime is saying nothing.

[Slumber]

Fire Emblem's always been super anime.

I find Three Houses to be less overtly anime than Fates and Awakening, since Kozaki's artstyle is suuuuuuuuper angular and stylized to be so. Three Houses is super anime in a different way.

But like, FE3-5 were straight up the shoujo artstyle of the early-mid 90s, and this trend continues to FE10.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Slumber

[Shrimpica]

5 hours ago, WeAreNewcastle1053 said:

it's all flat-out anime.

oh boy, i've always loved that ''it's too anime'' complaint

because it makes so much sense

[𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥]

5 hours ago, WeAreNewcastle1053 said:

Just by looking at Three Houses, I can tell that something's wrong - it's all flat-out anime.

Now don't get me wrong, I like anime, but not everything HAS to be anime. I know there was anime in Shadows of Valentina, but I honestly haven't seen much of it. I've only really noticed now (don't judge me).
But with Awakening, Fates, Heroes, Warriors, and some of the earlier games, they had their own artistic style, it was somewhat realistic, and in the later games, more 3D-ish, instead of being generic anime. Yet as I said before, I'm not shitting on anime, but not every darn game has to have that style. It's a bit like how Microsoft went from Windows 7 to Windows 10 - again, not shitting on Windows 10 by any means, but Windows 10 was feeling less like Windows because of all the graphic changes, something more noticeable with Windows 8 and 8.1 (which I GENUINELY hate).

But just because something's popular and well-liked (e.g. anime), doesn't mean it has to be in EVERY GAME! I was enjoying FE's semi-realistic animation style in Awakening, Fates and Warriors, and that was one thing that made the games interesting, because they didn't copy off other people's art styles, they were more original. And that's one thing that makes artists themselves so interesting - they have their own unique styles, instead of all being one "good" style. Pokémon has their own style in-game, Super Mario Bros have their own style, Star Wars: The Clone Wars had their own style, which is why all these franchises are so interesting.

 

Now, I'm not shitting on anime by ANY means, but think of it this way; just having anime is like only being able to eat your one favourite food... which you'd get sick of eventually... I would just like it if Fire Emblem kept to having a unique style, instead of just trying to copy off the popular cartoon styles.

here we go again...

the art has always been "anime" since FE1. what has changed over the years was only the drawing style from all the different artists that have worked on FE titles in the past.

the main issue regarding the artworks of 3H is not that they're anime, is that instead of being unique like in previous games, they're way too similar to the art of another well known and popular franchise, hence why there's plenty of disappointment around the internet about the new artist.

all in all, i doubt IntSys will ever change their approach to FE visuals, since they've always been working with Japanese artists and mangakas starting from the 90's. it's a J/SRPG after all, so it's normal i guess.

[Cysx]

5 hours ago, Ottservia said:

so what you're saying is that you think the artstyle is a little generic. I can get behind that. Personally I don't see much of a problem with it but hey different strokes I guess

I guess that's what I'm getting from your post too? Because beyond that, it doesn't strike me as more anime, know what I'm saying?

I do have to say though, I'm not saying your dislike isn't genuine, but this kind of things tend to become secondary really quickly once you start playing the game. What it really determines is whether you'll be attracted enough to buy the product, which, let's be real, for most of us isn't really a question.

Of course things could also be wildly inconsistent and constantly take you out of the experience, but that doesn't seem to be a major problem here.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Cysx

[redlight]

I find the artstyle of FE in recent years do be divided into 2: anime cut-outs or RPG designs. With how Kozaki's artwork is inserted into the game at least in Awakening it feels like static anime images. SoV has RPG like character designs. The best way I can describe it is... They're more shaded and feel like a piece of art.

While people criticize XBC2 for being too anime, the character designs feel like they belong in a RPG. It's just how they look when rendered in-game. But that's just my opinion.

Regarding the whole "FE is anime". Anime itself has changed a lot over the years. "Anime" 15 years ago is wildly different from "anime" today because of trends, cultures and a whole bunch of stuff. Might just be me, but I find the LN and idols/moe industry to have had a massive effect on the anime one in more recent years.

Edited May 5, 2019 by redlight

[know_naim]

27 minutes ago, Fenreir said:

is that instead of being unique like in previous games, they're way too similar to the art of another well known and popular franchise,

I would kill for a Fire Emblem with Soejima art. TH doesn't even come close to the stylishness of Persona. Don't know why people keep referencing P5 apart from Edelgards red thights. You have a point if you say "Three Houses looks worse then Persona 5" but that sentence stands true with 99% of jRPGs imo.

I'd also argue that there is absolutely nothing unique about pre-Kozaki Fire Emblems and the current style is more in line with previous entries, hence "boring" in the eyes of folks who got used to FEA/FEF. 

[DragonFlames]

I like the Persona-esque character designs, to be honest, even if I see many, many other red flags in this game - one in particular DOESN'T sit right with me, but we're getting off track here. Safe to say, none of my personal "red flags" have anything to do with the art style the game is going for. Sure, it's not Persona 5, but then again, few games are. On the other hand, the art style is so far the only thing that managed to make an impression on me. Everything else, I'm still really skeptical about.

I'm honestly glad they didn't bring back Kozaki for this one. Nothing against the person, but that particular art style is not to my tastes. The characters of Fates and Awakening look far better when they're drawn by other artists, but again, that's just me and a matter of taste.

My major gripe with the art style would probably be that they didn't rehire the person who did the character design for Echoes, which is some of the best the series has had yet, in my opinion of course.

[Book Bro]

I'm detecting two complaints in the OP.

One, the art style being too generic. Two, the cutscenes being 2D (it's the only way I can make sense of the claim that Awakening and Fates were less anime than Three Houses).

And yeah, I agree with both. While I've been getting more used to the art style for this game, it's still my least favourite of the post-NES games. It feels a bit soulless tbh. And it's a shame that for the first HD FE they went with 2D cutscenes instead of building on what they'd accomplished from PoR-RD to Awakening and Fates.

[Stroud]

Well yeah, I am also not too hyped about the art style. I am more fond of Manga with art styles like Berserk, Vinland Saga, Wolfsmund, Sun-Ken Rock or something korean like GOSU. (Not a big fan of Moe, but that is how it is. It sells and to be fair I also have certain tropes I prefer).

After all I just think Insys tries to decide on what might be popular and most accepted and well it sucks for you if it is not your cup of tea,  my guess was they have chosen the artist especially to tempt more female fans on this one. So why not give them this chance to do so.

I just give the game a chance and I think I can live with the art style here. Hopefully the characters show something appealing to me which I cannot see through their designs.  

[Strullemia]

Eeh, I've watched a decent amount of anime and I can tell you that most anime does not look like 3H does.

SoA, Re Zero, Shield Hero, Goblin Slayer, Sword Art Horizon are all the typical "modern anime" and if anything they look more like Awakening/Fates. Chinatsu Kurahana is the artist for 3H and aside from two other anime she's been mostly working on Uta no Prince sama, which compared to some of the anime I mentioned before really isn't all that popular.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Hekselka

[NegativeExponents-]

I mean... that’s not really anything new since you could easily tell it was anime since the first trailer and not to mention Chinatsu Kurahana has done multiple work in anime, manga, visual novels, otome games, etc. so the artist this time around is all about that anime.

I don’t even think her style is generic. At least not as generic as Kozaki’s.

And like multiple people have already said, this isn’t even new to the series. FE as a whole has always been very anime.

As for whether I like Three Houses art style or not... I actually really like it so far. She’s no Hidari, Kita Senri, or Wada Sachiko but I still find it charming.

I’m just glad it’s not Kozaki again.

[Guest Dia]

I do not really get the "FE is Anime" complaints either. Sure the art style is really different this time but changes do occur in Long running francises. FE is no exception to that.

And not only the art style changes , so does the "Spirit"/ Gameplay / the world of FE. And while These changes may not always have been for the best.... it is exciting to see where FE goes next. What FE developes/evolves into.

I as a new Player want to see the whole Journey of FE. From the humble beginnings to the "modern" days. And if the devs nail it with the characters , the world, the lore , the mechanics and maybe some RL Topics then I should have no Problem to accept that.

Even if Kozaki was involved in 3H , I want to Play the game first before saying "I would rather have another Artist , etc...".

Regarding "2D Cutscenes" and maybe "predictable Tropes/Story" : It would make sense if the devs played it save with 3H. Like...establishing a "Base" for future FE Games on the Switch.

Regarding Art style being like "Persona" : The art style of FE 3H reminds me more of "Danganronpa" than "Persona" .

 

[Bloom]

I agree OP, I dislike how the game looks so much like Persona now. 

I want to go back to the Awakening style. :(

 

Edit: The ART is fine for me, I dislike the graphics style they chose. 

Edited May 5, 2019 by Bloom

[Ottservia]

3 minutes ago, Guest Dia said:

Regarding Art style being like "Persona" : The art style of FE 3H reminds me more of "Danganronpa" than "Persona" .

Really? I don’t see it. Danganronpa’s artstyle is very distinctive and not replicated easily. If anything kozaki’s artstyle is closer to danganronpa if you ask me. One of the hall marks of DR’s artstyle is it’s very pop-up story aesthetic combined with a somewhat twisted but pleasing anime style giving it a feeling of familiarity yet uncanniness at the same time which is a feeling I don’t get with the 3h art style