the anime Wandance It has become one of the most talked about cases of the season, although not precisely for the reasons its creators would like. Produced by studios madhouse and Cyclone Graphicsthe project promised a youth story focused on modern dance, but has ended up being criticized and mocked for its questionable CGI animation.
Clips began to circulate on social media showing the anime's dance scenes, where the CGI looks clumsy, unnatural and lacking in emotion. The movements of the characters are rigid and the gestures are almost non-existent, resulting in a visual experience disconnected from the spirit that a work of this type should convey.
Among the main problems highlighted are:
- The use of a Overly rigid CGI that breaks the visual immersion.
- Lack of facial expressivenesswith expressionless faces during the choreographies.
- Hair and proportions poorly achieved, which show the defects of 3D modeling.
This is especially serious considering that dance is the narrative core of the anime, making its visual errors a central obstacle to enjoying the story.
A production with good intentions, but poorly executed
Despite the poor visual section, some viewers have highlighted that plot and voice work They are competent. However, the most important aspect of the project—the movement—has been so poorly received that it overshadows the successes of the rest of the team.
Sources close to the production indicate that Cyclone Graphics was directly responsible for the CGI, while madhouse collaborated in general supervision. The decision to prioritize fluidity of movement over aesthetic quality seems to have been the source of the problem.
Context and possible causes
It is believed that the project had a limited budget and a secondary production within the Madhouse schedule, which could have reduced work time to polish the animations. Additionally, reliance on outside studios for the 3D effects would have made visual coherence with the rest of the 2D material difficult.
In contrast, previous productions such as Ballroom and Youkoso and Dance Dance Danseur They demonstrated that dance can be represented with precision and dynamism in traditional animation. The case of Wandance evidences the opposite: that misuse of CGI can destroy the essence of its own genre.
Do you think Wandance Will it be able to redeem itself in the next episodes or will it be marked as the worst dance anime of the season?
