#animation analysis

This is a real frame from Look Back (2024).

You might assume this made it into the final movie because of its director Kiyotaka Oshiyama (押山清高) doing HALF the key animation for the film and only fully finishing it A WEEK before it's festival debut.

And well, you might be partially right about that. But more importantly, this is the movie embodying its themes through its unconventional production process and the very lines on the screen!

In an age of digital tools, CGI, AI, and other combinations of letters ending in I, Look Back is an ode to art and the labor that goes into it, no matter how tedious or imperfect.

Every thought, every little decision, every stroke made by a person puts a little piece of that person onto the screen, and the imperfections that come from that process can be beautiful in the sense that they're evidence of the thoughts and process that went into creating an image. So in keeping with the plot of the movie itself, Oshiyama made a point of leaving those remnants - lines that are scratchy, overlapping, or half-erased, and normally would have been cleaned up in 2nd key animation (第二原画).

Ayumu Fujino has a tight grip on how she expresses herself, having this image to uphold as the perfect prodigy girl. She's afraid to let people see too much of her, lest that perfect image be shattered.

But at times the mask does slip, like this moment of sheer panic after she accidentally drops what is really an extremely rude manga strip under her rival's door by accident.

And it's these moments when that rough imperfection shines through the most! So this breakdown of polish in the art functions simultaneously as both a connection to the human labor that went into creating it, AND an impressionistic representation of Fujino's mental state within the world of the movie.

Not only are the edges of her backpack visible through her arm, her face even disappears completely, replaced by just the roughly sketched dividing lines that indicate the position of her eyes. At least personally, I never would have noticed this fully unfinished frame at full speed because the shot is just so well-executed! The framing is dramatic with Fujino surrounded by these mountains of sketchbooks in the foreground, and the motion is so believable, her posture - hunched over to the side to support the weight of the bag while maneuvering around the books, and the way her legs twirl around each other frantically, rotating this way and that.

But more importantly, this is a frame that an AI program would never draw, because it has no REASON to. There's no thought process, no decisions being made about how to express a feeling. Even if you did train an AI specifically to mimic these human imperfections, in Oshiyama's words, "It would just be a design. It would be a fake. The lines have meaning because they were drawn by humans. […] There's value in that." (MANTANWEB)

This is an adapted excerpt from this video! Go watch it or I'll dox you.

✨Ramshackle✨ by Zeddyzi -> why it’s amazing and why you should watch it :D

she’s a mood fr

No.1: Vinnie is usually the first to panic

while none of trio are 'in charge' -nor should they be- Vinnie does take the lead more often than Skipp or Stone do {these two also tend to look at her before taking action, which is actually adorable} so it's pretty cool to see she's not oblivious to dangerous situations like her archetype tends to lean into -> also Stone's totally contemplating breaking the window to get away from the pageant zombies

No.2: Stone is super protective, despite acting like he's not

but he does it in a way that doesn’t come across as thinking the other two are incapable, it’s more like: you totally could’ve dealt with that, but im right here so you don’t have to

No.3: Skipp isn’t helpless, nor is he treated as such

this is really awesome bc trios typically have that one character that’s really bright and bubbly but that’s also often infantilised by both their peers and the fandom -> Vinnie and Stone are totally confident in his feral capabilities though, and apart from briefly scolding him when it was necessary- they don’t treat Skipp like a child {which is an extremely refreshing change of pace}

No.4: ✨FOUND FAMILY✨

you got the black cat, doberman, and orange cat all in one with these silly guys! + stone's small smile when they fist bump, my heart!

No.5: The black cat is a softie

surprising absolutely no one, Stone has a hard time saying no to his family. that's not to say he can't express a boundary, like how he feels about physical touch, but he does let Vinnie and Skipp cling to him for brief intervals -> he also is already accepting that Maggot's going to be a fixture from as soon as the other two are leaving the alley way

all in all, this pilot does a mind-blowing job of portraying archetypes in a new and refreshing way that doesn't feel forced -> the animation style is beautiful, the characters are multifaceted and complex and it walks the line between silly and badass perfectly

definitely go watch the pilot on youtube!

There’s something fascinating about hearing a professional give an answer that tells you everything you need to know… especially when they almost soften it, and then decide not to.

I was listening to Jim Cummings’ podcast, and he did a whole special on Darkwing Duck. Naturally, the question came up about the 2017 DuckTales episode “The Duck Knight Returns!” You know the one. The big meta episode. The “legacy” episode. The one where Cummings himself shows up as Jim Starling, the original actor who played Darkwing… who then spirals into obsession, tries to murder the new guy, and becomes Negaduck.

And Cummings’ response?

Pause.

At first, it sounds like a diplomatic answer:

“The story didn’t work for me.”

But then he immediately undercuts that.

“I hope nobody heard that… actually I hope everybody heard that.”

That tells you everything.

Because now you’re not just hearing a polite, professional deflection. You’re hearing someone catch himself softening his reaction… and then consciously decide not to.

That’s not accidental. That’s intentional.

That’s him recognizing, in real time, that what he’s saying might be taken as criticism… and choosing to let it stand anyway.

And that hits very differently.

Because this isn’t some random viewer tossing out a take. This is the guy who is Darkwing Duck. That’s not just a voice actor reading lines. That’s someone who helped define the character’s personality, tone, rhythm, and soul. You don’t get Darkwing without Cummings.

And honestly… I get it.

On paper, “The Duck Knight Returns!” is clever. It’s very much in line with what DuckTales 2017 liked to do. It’s meta, self-aware, commentary-driven. You’ve got the “old guard” vs the “new guard.” You’ve got fandom baked into the premise. You’ve got the idea of legacy, ownership, and reinvention.

All of that sounds like it should work.

But here’s the problem.

It reframes Darkwing Duck through a lens that feels… cynical.

Jim Starling isn’t just an outdated version of the character. He’s not someone who’s struggling to adapt. He’s not even tragic in a meaningful way. He’s bitter. He’s delusional. He becomes violent. He tries to kill his replacement. And then he becomes Negaduck, because of course he does.

So what’s the underlying message here?

Let go of the past… or you’re toxic.

And look, I understand what they were going for. This is clearly about reboots. About fans who can’t move on. About people who feel entitled to a version of something that no longer exists.

But when you build that metaphor using a character that is someone’s life’s work… you’re playing with fire.

Because whether it’s intentional or not, the parallels are obvious. The “original Darkwing” is a stand-in for the guy who was Darkwing. The “new Darkwing” represents the reboot. And the story positions the original as something that needs to be discarded… or else it curdles into something ugly.

That’s a hell of a thing to hand to Jim Cummings and say, “Hey, want to play this?”

And yeah, he did it. Because he’s a pro.

But that doesn’t mean it sat right with him.

And beyond that, there’s a deeper issue that just comes down to characterization.

Darkwing Duck, at his core, is a character built on ego, yes. But also sincerity. He wants to be a hero. He’s ridiculous, he’s flawed, he’s self-aggrandizing… but he’s trying. That balance is what makes him work. You laugh at him, but you also root for him.

Jim Starling strips that away and replaces it with something meaner. Smaller. It’s not an evolution. It’s a deconstruction that doesn’t quite remember why the original worked in the first place.

And that’s where the episode loses me.

Because this is something I keep coming back to, whether we’re talking about Gargoyles, Babylon 5, or anything else I love. There’s a difference between examining a character and flattening them into a commentary.

This felt like the latter.

And the irony is kind of incredible when you think about it. An episode about legacy ends up feeling like it doesn’t fully respect the legacy it’s pulling from.

Which brings me back to that moment.

“The story didn’t work for me… actually I hope everybody heard that.”

No rant. No trashing the show. No burning bridges.

But also no hiding what he really thought.

the tonic doctor made me laugh so much. underrated KPDH character!!!

otherwise, I thought the animation was STUNNING. People constantly praised Spiderverse for its unique animation, but KPDH was at the same level, with even more visual gags/facial exaggerations/squash/stretch/etc.

I'm only on the outskirts of kpop as a casual (but interested) enjoyer, but I've also been into a lot of anime idol media lately *cough idolish7* I had watched a lot of analysis videos from creators with Korean cultural backgrounds who talked about references in the film, so it was really fun to catch those throughout my watch!!

(I'll post some of the videos I have saved over to my tiktok blog soon!)

the only weak-ish spot was the transition from just speaking to songs--especially for Free. I still liked the scene, but the abrupt transfer and the way their voices sounded a lot different from speaking was a bit jarring. I still loved the song and visuals tho!

also loved how they let the girls enjoy food and be weird and have their own personality quirks. Mira and Rumi and Zoey were all their own distinct person with their own focus and it was fun to have the trio (and see them writing music together!)

Really loved the Gwi-ma fire design. Representing the big bad with fire reminded me a lot of Promare (one of my fav animated films everrrr).

I also loved the gameshow sequence so much alksjdhakljshd I've seen more of the JP ones with idol/voice actor interviews, but this one was so great.

I will leave you with some songs to finish <3

In episode 1 of season 2, Sonic and Shadow finally confront each other about their world's destruction due to the prism.

When Shadow leads Sonic back to the cave where it all started, they find the prism as a ghost, unfinished with a single fragment remaining. (A sign of their unity and division.)