Mizue Ogawa, a veteran animator who has worked on many acclaimed anime productions including Bleach, recently criticized the newly introduced “light anime” format proposed by Imagica Foss. The format is intended to reduce production costs by 90% through simplified animation and other shortcuts. Ogawa condemned the light anime format, questioning whether there is any point to creating such crude, basic adaptations. She suggested that if cost-cutting measures demand such drastic compromises, it would be better to stop making anime adaptations altogether and let people experience the stories through manga and novels instead
Mizue Ogawa, a veteran animator with credits on many acclaimed anime productions including the popular supernatural action series Bleach, recently posted harsh criticism on social media platform X regarding the newly announced “light anime” format.
Light anime has been touted by major animation studio Imagica Foss as a way to produce anime content at just 10% of the current cost through the use of simplified animation and other shortcuts.
In her social media post, Ogawa condemned the light anime format, questioning whether there is any point to creating such crude, basic adaptations.
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She remarked, “If you’re going to force anime production to cut this many corners, shouldn’t you just stop making anime adaptations altogether and let people experience the stories through manga and novels?”
Artistic Vision Betrayed
Ogawa speculated that the original creators of anime source material would likely hope for a quality, dedicated adaptation of their work, not an overtly simplified version.
みんなのツッコミが止まらない
— 安彦 守 (@styuunagi) December 27, 2023
She bluntly stated her belief that there is no need for anime productions that seem “half-hearted” in their execution just to save money, implying this light anime concept seems to disregard creators’ wishes and artistic integrity in favor of budgetary concerns.
Her post expressed disdain for the light anime format as a misguided attempt to produce anime on the cheap, one that fails to properly honor the source material or meet audience expectations.
Ogawa evidently sees the format as an unacceptable lowering of anime production standards in the name of cost-cutting.
