Source: http://gph.is/29a3QRI

Question: Why do Anime characters run with their arms behind their backs?
Answer: It reduces the number of drawings needed for the animation.

Other examples in the same category follow.

Kung Fu Panda 2 — costs savings through lower quality animated flashbacks

The animated movie, Kung Fu Panda 2, uses reduced quality drawing for exposition and flashbacks. Compare the quality of animation for the following two images:

undefinedOn the left is a fully animated scene from the movie, of pandas farming in the panda village. On the right is a reduced animation scene of Shen’s flashback. License: fair use. Source: a blog reviewing Kung Fu Panda 2.

The first image, shows a fully animated scene from the movie. The scene is so beautifully rendered, you can see the sun’s rays coming through the clouds, perfect shadows, light reflecting off the water. The scene on the right is animated as if hand-drawn with much simpler figures.

The cost of rendering a full scene like the one on the left is at least an order of magnitude higher than the other scene.

Voltron — save costs by repeating scenes across episodes

The 80s children’s cartoon, Voltron, was an animated television series featuring a team of five space explorers who individually piloted robot “lions” which could combine to form a giant super strong fighting robot known as “Voltron”. In any 20 minute episode (see YouTube link below), the following scenes are obviously repeated across different episodes thereby saving the creators drawing costs:

  1. Show the team running and entering their respective lions: 56 seconds (13:40–14:36).
  2. Show Voltron forming: 64 seconds (17:51–18:56).
    If you were a fan of the show, this was always the highlight of the episode.
  3. Show Voltron’s body, toe to head: 5 seconds (19:02–22:17).
  4. Voltron takes out his sword: 12 seconds (20:03–20:15)

Thus, approximately two and a half minutes of a 20 minute show, or 10% of the entire content needs be rendered exactly once and can be repeated across the entire show. That’s a pretty good cost savings. (I’m sure a more careful analysis will show greater savings.)

Costs Matter is a series that asks different questions all of which have the same answer: to keep down costs. The series focuses narrowly on the impact of costs. It does not claim costs are the only reason things are as they are. To read more stories in the series, visit https://medium.com/galileo-onwards/costs/home/.

Image generated by author using the program figlet. License: Public Domain.