Has a series you love ever changed art style SO much?

[tinnako]

Hey, all!

Sometimes it's natural for a series to have artwork that evolves. Naturally, if a mangaka is working on a project for years, they will mature, meet new influences, and evolve as an artist. And sometimes they might even hurt their arm in the process (the name of such an artist escapes me, but I think it was the one who did D Gray-Man). Anyhow, this is to share (feel free to include pics!) and discuss series you feel really changed in terms  of their art style, and whether you liked it.


For me, D. Gray-Man really changed in its style (I might post pics another time). At first I liked the changes, but as the series kept on evolving more and more over a short space of time, I started to not like aspects of the artwork (it became more angular, characters started to look quite different). Naturally, I'm supportive of the artist growing and especially if they hurt their hand that might change things, but I do think artists should bear in mind where their art and characters started out, so that it still looks reasonably similar.  I notice art style changes in all reasonably long manga, which is normal because the more they draw, the more polished their art style gets, but maybe if a mangaka wants to try something really different it's best to leave it til their next series? What do you all think?

[Angel~]

I agree with you that too much change over the course of a manga is not the best thing in the world.
Now that I'm considering it, I have noticed the same things in the reasonably long mangas as well. For example my all time favourite Black Cat has the same things. In the beginning the artwork is pretty pretty basic, and over the course of the manga, the art evolves, becomes more intricate and interesting.

[verdandi]

Fruits Basket! The art was a little rough but still pretty in the beginning, around the middle 1/3 area it became a bit cleaner but still pretty, but by the end it had changed altogether and was very tidy, but not very pretty.  The only thing I've seen by the mangaka since is Hoshi wa Utau, and it has the same art style as the end of Furuba but even more plain.  I'm not a fan of it at all, but the story is heartbreakingly good so I read it anyway.

[tinnako]

I haven't read black cat, but I do agree that it doesn't always have to be a bad thing when the art improves. There are few series where the art doesn't improve if it lasts long enough, probably.

I think it matters that a lot of mangaka are still starting out when they get their first popular series and still have a way to go to become confident. But then, like Fruits Basket (love that series too!) there reaches a point where the mangaka's gone beyond 'getting more experienced and confident' where perhaps they are experimenting with their art style. And sometimes it leads in a direction where the art looks a bit less pretty (at least in the opinion of some of us fans). I do agree, Fruits Basket's style got a bit more plain right near the end.

I really like it when an artist's style is unique and of course not all have to be incredibly talented with a realistic drawing style, but what I can't really stand is when a style becomes really general. Like if it could literally have been taken straight from the pages of any random moe series or BL doujinshi (which are fine by themselves, because part of these sub-genres' appeal is that like harlequin romances or smething, they are all rather alike so if you like one you will like most of them). I think a typical plot does fine with a typical style, but if a mangaka wants to go for something more unique their style has to have quirks.

[verdandi]

I think it should also suit the type of story; like slice of life manga are so much better suited to simple, clean art styles, while romantic drama should have some more flair.  And comedy of course does well with a lot of big, open expressions and funny faces.  For the most part, I think mangaka tend to write stories that fit their art style, or vice versa, but it's really off-putting to find one that doesn't match up well.

[tinnako]

That's definitely true! An action series needs realism and clean lines (so you can tell what's going on), whereas a romance series needs a good focus on the characters' emotions and expressions. Art style is a lot about personal taste, as well. I'm really surprised when I recommend a manga I like to a friend and they say they just can't read it because they don't like the style (and I like the style), but then when people recommend some series, I have to admit that the style isn't my thing sometimes. Ah, well, at least there are so many styles in manga that it doesn't matter :)

[Angel~]

And it is great that we get to have so many choices, that we are all satisfied. This is the one thing I love so much abput manga and what has kept me glued to it is the variety in the styles, because there are so many, you can never get bored.

It is a very open artstyle, because there is something for everybody, and in regular western comics, this harder to find. You don't have any shoujo specific for example, the western comics are more aimed at boys. They are not.bad, but they could learn about some.variety and acceptance from manga. Somehow comics are viewed as dorky in the western world, whilst manga is not in the eastern world.

well end of rant for today :) please forgive any typos I made, my phone is not the best to type long texts with...

[Blobsndrees]

there's this one called tenshi na konamaiki, at first the artist was drawing in like 80s style manga with square faces but as time went on, you could see people become rounder and cuter, background, storyline, everything becomes better. So nice to see the author grow up along with the manga.