Just Anime

Is there any way to tell which anime has the best fight choregraphy of the following? Would it be one that looks accurate and compelling,one that has had lots of real world research put into it or is it all about aesthetics which might focus on one aspect like bombastic power?

Some shows I'm thinking about in particular for a like comparitive analysis are Afro Samurai (Afro Samurai:ressurection in particular since it's the only one I watched),Naruto,Digimon series 1&2 and DBZ.For instance in Afro Samurai:Ressurection there was an obvious emphasis on armed combat and the fight themselves with all their movements kind of told a story but they never really dealed with to much over the stuff besides some robots.Their was also a lot of blood which added to it's aesthetic.

In Naruto you get a whole diversity of fighting styles added with idiosyncratic repertoire of moves both physical and non-physical.Digimon being a monster anime also showed a whole bunch of idiosyncratic moves (not as much but more powerful then Pokemon) but there your also dealing with non-humanoid beings.It was a good chance to see humanoid beings vs. giant beings though like in the Metalgarurumon & Wargreymon vs. Melomyotismon fight.

What people think about the fight choreography in DBZ is what I'm most curious about.I mean in the original DB the fights were at least always visible which was'nt always the case in DBZ which infamously used recycled animation sequences and emphasised energy moves to deliver the bombastic and frenzied power struggles which so many came to love.I'm totally open on people's opinions on the fights in these anime shows and anymore.

@sidetrack: The actual choreography, not animation but the things the characters are doing, is just about being aesthetically pleasing for me. That could be really simple and realistic or crazy complex.

I think it's actually less important to me than cinematography or whatever the animated equivalent would be. The camera angles and movements can make something look dull or great. The biggest and easiest example of how camera angles and movement can make something look way better than it actually is is this clip from Shippuden.

Shino and Hinata are basically doing the same movements 4 movements over and over and over again. When it's in one spot it actually looks kinda dull to me and it exaggerates that they're just doing the same thing. However, the fights gets visually appealing to me when

• the camera starts panning around them,
• they add in slow motion or shakes during a powerful hit,
• they shoot the fight overhead and through tree leaves,
• they have show Kiba talking but the angle is him behind the legs of the people fighting

None of that really involves the choreography, it's more cinematography. It took something that was kinda dull and made it a lot more visually appealing. Combine cinematography with good choreography and back all of it up with decent animation and magic happens.

One thing I like about anime and one thing I really grade it harshly for is cinematic perfection. A live action movie has physical constraints about what type of camera angles and motions can be captured. Some things just aren't possible to capture or perform and CGI still has a ways to go before the gap is bridged in a way that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. Anime doesn't suffer from that. You never have to worry about breaking a camera, the physical limitations of your shooting location, the danger and physical impossibilities of capturing a scene. You'll never have to worry about something looking "fake" compared to another part because the whole thing is fake. The only real limits are creativity and people's ability to communicate their ideas to each other. Perfection is possible on a frame-to-frame basis, which is pretty much impossible in any medium other than animation.

If you're really into animation, Crunchyroll does a weekly highlight of quality animation ranging from fights to dancing to people crying and everything in between. They kicked it off with an article discussing Japanese animation techniques which is pretty great if you're into it: http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2011/05/23/talk-of-anime-in-motion