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Made in nl
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Decrepit Dakkanaut






Cozy cockpit of an Imperial Knight




Uncanny valley vibes galore.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2019/02/17 22:06:40




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I get what they are trying to do with Alita and maybe over the course of the film it will be something you get used to. But in the trailer it just looks freaky. Really the arms would have been more than enough to show she's a cyborg/android. No need to CGI all over the actresses face.
   
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Somewhere in south-central England.

They've done that to make her look like the original manga character.

It works in the sense that it has succeeded, but like you say, it's a bit uncanny valley.

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Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

Yeah I have to agree that's what annoys me the most. Also she's the only chararacter they've done it too (barring the full cyborgs) which leaves one feeling that they've just cherry picked her face out of all the faces to mess with. Time will tell if it works and over a whole film it might work, but if her eyes bugged-out any more they'd pop out. Also didn't the anime manage quite alright without going into silly bug-eyes.


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Monarchy of TBD

I am really looking forward to this! Battle Angel Alita was weirdly one of the first animes I owned when I picked it up as a random VHS tape from a Blockbuster sale as they updated to DVD. Alita looks suitably scary, even in the face of monstrous combat cyborgs.

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Those eyes are outright annoying. I liked the old animated movie and the other visual elements look pretty cool but I'll pass just on the basis of those eyes. I could barely watch the trailer, I wouldn't be able to stand looking at that for more than a few minutes let alone full movie.
   
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SoCal

Frightened Hamster Alita. Her eyes are the only part of the trailer that isn't painfully generic.

   
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Terrifying Doombull




Bah. If I want to watch BA Alita I'd go do that. This is a weird mess, both visually and thematically. And as introductions to the characters, very off putting.

Someone tell hollywood that certain mediums simply do a better job at certain stories, and trying to replicate them doesn't work.


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It kind of reminds me of one of those cartoon live action mashups like who framed Roger rabbit.
Is it really so bad that its unwatchable? I personally don't think so and would like to see it.
   
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Fort Worth, TX

Oddly enough, the eyes didn't bother me at all.

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They're trying to emphasize how inhuman Alita actually is with the oversize eyes. The only organic part of her is a brain, so her appearance isn't constrained by human biology. It's a really bold choice IMO, and it may backfire on them, but I think it's having the intended effect. They went full CGI on her anyways, so uncanny valley was going to be unavoidable.

What the trailer really needed, though, was some of that sweet rocket hammer action. And no Tiphares tattoo on Doc Ido's forehead (though there seems to be one on another character)?

   
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 John Prins wrote:
They're trying to emphasize how inhuman Alita actually is with the oversize eyes.

Which is why it's the wrong approach. The oversized eyes on cartoon and anime characters has been a thing for decades- it isn't there for inhumanity, it's there for cuteness, to make the characters more appealing in a puppy or kitten sort of way. It sometimes doesn't work (and in this case gels badly with the plasticity of the cgi work), but the response such things are suppose to evoke is 'want hugs' not 'kill it with fire'

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/12/09 17:03:04


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 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Frightened Hamster Alita. Her eyes are the only part of the trailer that isn't painfully generic.


That's because the manga is over 20 years old. You're probably used to modern manga that have drawn on the production design of Alita.

The large eyes, though, have been typical of Japanese manga since the 1960s.

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Voss wrote:
 John Prins wrote:
They're trying to emphasize how inhuman Alita actually is with the oversize eyes.

Which is why it's the wrong approach. The oversized eyes on cartoon and anime characters has been a thing for decades- it isn't there for inhumanity, it's there for cuteness, to make the characters more appealing in a puppy or kitten sort of way. It sometimes doesn't work (and in this case gels badly with the plasticity of the cgi work), but the response such things are suppose to evoke is 'want hugs' not 'kill it with fire'


I said bold, I didn't say correct. The correct approach would have been to not do a live action movie in the first place, but a high quality traditionally animated one. But they're trying for something here, and they're not being subtle about it. Heck, the lead asks "Can you accept me even though I'm not completely human?" They want it to be polarizing.

   
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Voss wrote:
 John Prins wrote:
They're trying to emphasize how inhuman Alita actually is with the oversize eyes.

Which is why it's the wrong approach. The oversized eyes on cartoon and anime characters has been a thing for decades- it isn't there for inhumanity, it's there for cuteness, to make the characters more appealing in a puppy or kitten sort of way. It sometimes doesn't work (and in this case gels badly with the plasticity of the cgi work), but the response such things are suppose to evoke is 'want hugs' not 'kill it with fire'


This.

It's also because "the eyes are the window to the soul" and realistic sized eyes are difficult to see in manga panels. We easily accept cartoon exaggeration in cartoons, but not in almost life-like artworks -- hence the uncanny valley.

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UK

Exaggeration also works from the Manga's (which many anime are based off) as it helps to tell different characters apart from each other with the general simplistic style that many manga use. That's why you often get those insane hairstyles as well


As for animation, Hollywood has decided that animation isn't "serious". Traditional drawn animation is for kids only, even the same style done on digital is for kids only. The only hang on animation has is as things like Southpark - ergo "super adult" that they'd not get away with for kids - that and the Simpsons.

Pixar and such manage to hold out with all CGI animated movies, but they are again "kids/family".


It's a huge shame as the 80-90s had some really great animations and films produced by groups like Studio Ghibli continue to show that they can have an adult appeal. It's a shame, I really wish the USA would follow the French more so and take up animation in a more serious way (heck even in comics the artistic quality, detail and style is often superior in a lot of French based ones)

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Those eyes creep me out. No way I am watching that, even with Waltz.

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Rocket Hammer....that's me sold

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 usernamesareannoying wrote:
It kind of reminds me of one of those cartoon live action mashups like who framed Roger rabbit.
Is it really so bad that its unwatchable? I personally don't think so and would like to see it.






I don't think the audience would have sat through Roger Rabbit if the main character had been Judge Doom and had him staring everyone down the entire film. Roger Rabbit woks because it's meant to be a cartoonish world intermixed with reality, not a serious genre. Even within the cartoon setting Judge Doom was a bit of a stretch.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/12/09 17:53:26


 
   
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We'll find out soon enough eh.

I don't watch animoo so whether it's a genre convention or not and for what reason doesn't really matter to me - I don't see the issue? I don't have any desire to see the film - I'm not really the target audience for films about young girls discovering their inner power or whatever they're going for, though it's good that they're making more such films and that more of them are "genre" affairs with a setting other than Mopey-Emo Urban Fantasy - but if it's a story about a brain in a totally robotic body, why not emphasise the artificial nature of that body with full-on uncanny valley facial design.

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 Kilkrazy wrote:
 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Frightened Hamster Alita. Her eyes are the only part of the trailer that isn't painfully generic.


That's because the manga is over 20 years old. You're probably used to modern manga that have drawn on the production design of Alita.

The large eyes, though, have been typical of Japanese manga since the 1960s.



I am more familiar with older Manga, not that I went in much past Dragonball. Sure, at the time what's now old was new, but knowing that something used to be groundbreaking didn't save John Carter. Perhaps if they put an actual character or plot hook into the trailer it wouldn't feel so much like Ghost in the Shell in the uninspired live action disapointment genre.

   
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The last new manga that excited me was Biomega. I am re-reading it now.

It has the problem of looking totally awesome while having a confused mess of a plot.

At least it comes to an end, though.

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

We're not very big on official rules. Rules lead to people looking for loopholes. What's here is about it. 
   
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UK

I like the eyes, although I can easily see why many won't,

it'll be interesting to see if it can best the 'well that was adequate' response the live action Ghost in the Shell movie got

(I like both anime, but prefer GitS so it's got a slightly lower barrier to cross)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/12/10 22:33:29


 
   
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If you follow the manga the 3rd series Alita Mars Chronicles comes out in January.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1632366150/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_19?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Last Order was endless and dull but from what I've seen of the Japanese this will be more like the first volume with real character growth.

It's split between a flashback of young Alita in the wartorn wastes of Mars and modern Alita seeking her history.

 
   
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The original was one of those things I liked when anime was rare enough that it was pretty much all awesome. It's definitely not held up but the core ideas are strong enough that there's potential in a remake. The eyes are weird when the trailer over emphasizes them, but they're less odd later when they get to the action. I'm curious, not all in or out either way.
   
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I bought a couple of issues of it when first released, but I never got into it from the start, and that meant I never had the full set as I didn't try to collect it.

I liked the trailer better the second time.

It's interesting to contrast the uncanny valley of Battle Angel Alita with Paddington.

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

We're not very big on official rules. Rules lead to people looking for loopholes. What's here is about it. 
   
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The giant eyes are exceedingly distracting.

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The eyes are a bit overdone, to the point of distraction, given that nobody else has anime eyes. I can forgive Gally's eyes if the Gunnm story and ethos is otherwise adapted faithfully. Given how long this has been in development, I hope so.

   
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Somehow I doubt the long development was caused by a desire to be MORE faithful...

But we shall see

 
   
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SoCal, USA!

Indeed, we'll see. I do like how pretty her first set of arms are - the transulcent pattern is very nice.

   
 
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