The new version looks lifeless, feels weightless and has a cold atmosphere. I refuse to believe it's nostalgia or a bias. There's just something completely off about it.
Couldn't agree more with this and it definitely isn't nostalgia biased since I never watched the original rurouni kenshin when I was younger. I only started watching it when the new version came out.
A couple of other differences I find fascinating. Compare the fight scenes from the new adaptation (2:09 - 2:13) to the original adaptation (2:38 - 2:45) and there's a stark difference in presentation. The new adaptation is very flashy and in-your-face with the rapid sword swings and the entire screen flashing each time the swords connect. Conversely, the original adaptation is both more subdued and impactful. That scene is mostly just a bunch of stills, so there's less "animation", but each still frame is held for about half a second. The first few stills are from Jinei's perspective where we see Kenshin's expressions, the second set of stills flip the perspective so we see Jinei's expressions, and the third set is a series of wide angle shots showing both characters, each from different angles. There's also still a light flash, but it's not the whole screen-it's just an animated flashing effect at the impact point of the swords to convey that impact. Likewise, the transition between each set of stills is sort of like the camera rotating to change perspectives, which properly connects each set of stills. Despite being "less animated", I think the original adaptation is more beautiful and engaging-it really sells the tension and seriousness of the fight because it's not focused on trying to be flashy or fluidic. The other difference I really enjoy is comparing Kaoru's kidnapping from the original adaptation (6:45 - 6:51) to the new adaptation (7:14 - 7:16). Right off the bat, you can see in the timestamps that the new adaptation shows the full kidnapping in 2 seconds vs. 6 seconds, meaning it happens thrice as fast. This is a common issue in the new adaptation-the pacing is too fast and the show never never lets anything sit, nor does it know which scenes need added emphasis. When we get into the actual depiction of each scene, starting with the original adaptation, Jinei kidnapping Kaoru is done in a single take with the camera following them before cutting to Kenshin for his reaction. Part of the scene is also overlaid with some kind of magenta filter. Compared to the new adaptation where Jinei flashes on screen before immediately hard cutting to him having already grabbed Kaoru and then cutting yet again to Kenshin's reaction. At no point in the new adaptation do we actually see Jinei grab hold of Kaoru, there's no motion of Jinei and Kaoru moving down river, and the back-to-back hard cuts make the scene frenetic, which is hard to parse. Going back to the original adaptation, Jinei pops into the scene and we see him grab Kaoru, where the rest of the scene is played in slow motion with some kind of afterimage effect to add weight to the abrupt tonal shift (both of which are carried over to Kenshin's reaction), giving us extra time to comprehend what's happening. Likewise, the magenta filter I find is a nice touch because it helps sell the jarring nature of Kaoru's abrupt kidnapping by Jinei. The directing in the new adaptation is sorely lacking. I miss a lot of the stylistic choices made in 80s and 90s anime, particularly with lighting, a greater emphasis on shot composition, the use of filters, and color selection (have you noticed most anime from the 2010s onward is very saturated?). I think your comparison videos highlight these differences well, even if they're points you specifically bring up.
I agree with you 100% Thanks for making this video. Keep doing you. Love your passion and hard work! You're awesome and fantastic! Looking forward to way more! Much love!
Ah yeah, I get that too. It kind of feels like they're trying to do everything in their power to keep your attention during the action scenes, but it's a bit much.
Being a loyal fan of kenshin and having the anime as my number 1 of all time, it makes me sad to see the direction the reboot as gone. I was excited for this reboot when it was first announced. After watching the first episode of this reboot, it immediately felt off and lifeless. I tried watching more but the more I watched, the more it continued to feel off. At that point I had to go back and rewatch the OG to understand what was different about it. It's good to know after watching your Three Videos on this that I'm not the only one who feels this way about the reboot. I'm still going to watch it due to my undying love for the series as a whole but at the sametime I'm just waiting for when the new arcs get animated that the old show never brought.
Yeah I have to agree on this one, the new version feels pretty lifeless. Kenshin just doesn't feel like Kenshin at all, kinda reminds me of ufotable's fate adaptation.
I now realize why I dropped the new anime..even if technically the new one is more accurate to the source material..it lost all that made the Anime legendary in the first place
@@etheri0n959 being honest I am quite bothered by the new *shiny look trend that all anime looks like nowadays. But some of em actually pull off good direction like what you said. Its very impressive that you picked up on these rather subtle cues that I guess piles up making one drop this version. I even felt guilty for a while lol since I know this is more faithful to the manga but for some reason I could not get myself to watch more of it. You are the way underrated man keep it up
Thanks for the kind words man. And there's no reason to feel guilty when you're compelled to drop something. That's just called having taste and it's always a good thing if you have it! Oh yeah and I don't like the shiny look to modern anime either.
The original series is my favorite anime of all time and it’s appalling how poor and bland the directing of this new series was. I am definitely staying tuned for the rest of this enjoyable series. I’m really worried how the Kyoto arc is gonna come out.
Yeah, every time I switch from the new adaptation to the old one, it feels like a breath of fresh air, like the difference in quality is that astounding.
9:36 thank you! I find it so pretentious that people think humor makes something immature. Comedy lightens tension and also help dive into deeper topics in a light hearted way. The problem with these remakes they make it extreme bland or edgy when approaching topics and just glossing over said topics. That’s immature writing cause it’s not fully realizing the ideas it’s trying to portray. This happened with aang in the avatar live action series. He’s now exposition dumping to the audience he’s a goofball but is serious and somber all the time. But wait showing fight scene is mature. Yeah sure.
From what I remember, he was similar to how he was in the new version of the show, but it was a lot more restrained because of how quiet manga is as a medium. He didn't leave that big of an impression on me, but he seemed inoffensive
It's the reason I said at the end of my video. I was getting too preoccupied with writing the script and I just wanted to get this video out. Sorry if it felt underwhelming.
I strongly disagree the new anime is better than the 90 anime the animation better the voice acting much better.Comedy doesn’t fit this anime its an action drama.
An action drama can still have comedy in it and thinking that's not the case is pretty silly to me. The animation in the new version is blinding and messy, the voice acting is stilted, but that's just my opinion. Also your logic means the new rurouni kenshin is also bad since it also has comedy in it, not good comedy, but still comedy. If it's an action drama, then that kind of thing doesn't fit the show.
