Dean Winchester anime character design

[agt_spooky]

So the other day we had the Sam character drawing for the upcoming Supernatural anime, and today, thanks to andreas_ri, we've got what Dean's going to look like:




I'm not as thrilled with what Dean looks like, compared to Sam. I like the full length shot of Dean, but something's...off about his close up expressions.

What do you guys think?

Comments

[cadia58.livejournal.com]

No bow-legs????? Capital FAIL!!!!! But I´m no anime type, so what do I know, right?! :-)))

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

ROTFL!! OMG, why did I not pick up on the non-bowlegs?? That's it! I demand this artwork be redrawn!

[louisiane-fille.livejournal.com]

The hair is wrong, the nose is too pointy, his mouth looks weird...I could go on, but what's the point? Not loving it at all.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

It's the nose that's bothering me the most, too. At least he's got his amulet!

[zazreil.livejournal.com]

I think the nose shape is about right - but it is too large in proportion - compared to Jensen's I am wondering if this is an age indicator again. Looking at Sam's character design they de-emphasized the ski-jump and the size of his nose - I think that if they kept the same proportions of Jensen's nose if it would have made the character look younger, I think that is also the reason for emphasizing the eye shadows

Zaz

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the late reply! I've been on vacation and just returned.

That's actually kinda funny - the larger the nose the older the person is. :-)

[queeberquabbler.livejournal.com]

THe profile especially is off. Ah well. Jensen's already a work of art--it's hard to capture that in a pencil sketch ;)

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

It's the nose that's bothering me. It's too...pointy.

Jensen's already a work of art--it's hard to capture that in a pencil sketch ;)

LOL! Then he should be honored his handsome-ness can't be duplicated on paper!

[phyllis2779.livejournal.com]

The nose is definitely off. Dean's nose is definitely straighter and more blade-like.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. The nose is bothering me as well. At least he's got his amulet!

[celtprincess13.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I like the full length, but the closeups not so much. I think they have the 'cuts' of his eye sockets too deep/shadowed. It almost looks like he's got that black stuff under his eyes that football players use.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're right, it looks like he's got two black eyes or something. And his nose is too pointy. At least he's got his amulet on!

[cologne-chick.livejournal.com]

He really doesn't look like our Dean :-(

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

I'm seeing it's not just me who thinks Dean doesn't quite look right. What is it with artists not being able to capture Jensen? First were those horrible statues and now the anime!

[riveryklown.livejournal.com]

His mouth is too wide, his hair is too long, his eyes are too... "popular kid in US high school." especially the first one WTAF. Also, Dean has pixie ears, not... this, whereas his nose is not pixie like at all. Why does Sam look like Jared but this guy looks nothing like Jensen?

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

I have no idea! What is it with artists not being able to capture Jensen? First were those horrible statues and now the anime!

[riveryklown.livejournal.com]

Obv he's too pretty for the human hand to truly capture *blink blink* :D

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

[snort] Amen, my friend!

[lausbub0402.livejournal.com]

Uh-uh,nope don't like him like that,Sam's way better.
But I guess it's really because it's impossible to catch the pretty with a pencil ?! And I do miss the bow-legs,too. ;o)

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

I'm seeing it's not just me who thinks Dean doesn't quite look right. What is it with artists not being able to capture Jensen? First were those horrible statues and now the anime! Perhaps you're right - he's too handsome to recreate! LOL!

[tonicollins.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the eyes are wrong and the chin is too pointy. It's startling to me because I think they did so much better with Sam.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Exactly. After seeing Sam and liking his drawings I wasn't expecting to have them to be pretty far off the mark with Dean. And since he's my favorite, it's kind of disappointing.

[deanvica23.livejournal.com]

i don't like it don't look as my dean

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

It's close but not quite right. They did a great job with Sam, but Dean's just a bit off to me.

[cherrymmm.livejournal.com]

Uh.....NO! Where are the bowlegs???? And his nose, mouth and eyes are wrong! His hair looks like weird bat hair. Just no, no and no!
I really liked the Sam one but this one is just bad. Looks nothing like Jensen and also, is he supposed to have black eyes or something? Did he just get his ass kicked? Just no.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

The nose is what's bugging me the most and the shading under the eyes is a little severe, too. I don't mind his hair too much. And at least he has his amulet! Would've been funny to see him with the bow-legs. :-)

[tracys-dream.livejournal.com]

I think he looks cool!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you like it! I hope the anime turns out to be great. :-)

[jarejenfan.livejournal.com]

No bowed legs, Dean has no pointy nose...None of them resemble him to me. But, I know nothing and can't even draw this well!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Ha, the pointy nose is what's bugging me about the drawings, too. Would've been funny to see him with the bow-legs. :-)

[khek.livejournal.com]

I think the reason I don't like these drawings is that the character looks like the reactionary overly-expressive butt-of-all-jokes characters that most anime series have. The one that always reacts with a "!" over his head in the drawn anime, that no one thinks has a brain.

I hope they do fix it, because I really don't like this view of Dean, and I won't be able to watch him.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

The one that always reacts with a "!" over his head in the drawn anime, that no one thinks has a brain.

I do wonder how over the top this anime may go with exaggerated facial expressions and things like that. One of my favorite anime series was Decendants of Darkness, which was pretty serious, but whenever the one main character got anywhere near sweets and desserts he sprouted cat ears and a tail and went bonkers. Let's pray they don't do that with Dean!

[zazreil.livejournal.com]

You know Dean with Cat ears and a tail could be hysterical -

I am amused just thinking about it

Zaz

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

No! No! It should be SAM who sprouts a dog tail and ears for his patented "Sam Winchester Puppy Dog Look." [snerk]

[seesmooshrun.livejournal.com]

Opinions are very harsh since it is so hard to capture the work of art that is Jensen in anime, and I suspect the artists are going for the character archetype at least as much as the actor likeness. And I'm pretty sure that a bow-legged anime character would have a completely different "meaning" than this one. Sam's likeness is supermodel anorexic to emphasize his tallness, but the hair and face are reasonable -- that is, recognizable as Sam -- likenesses, and these are reasonable estimations of Dean. Particularly if you were to see the two together you would instantly know them as The Brothers Winchester, and that's really all you can hope for. I hope my friend zaz weighs in since she has given me what little education I have in anime characters and art, regarding eye shapes, expressions, hairstyles, etc. Frankly I find the art here for both Sam and Dean to be far, FAR better than anything I ever saw in those damn comic books. Before I stopped reading them halfway through the second series, anyway. I'm still stoked that the guys are going to do the voice-overs for the first couple episodes at least -- yay!

icon by iwantpie

[zazreil.livejournal.com]

yup sweetie I did -

Grin - I could write lots more but it is past time for bed

The decision for not making Dean bow-legged probably had more to do with the animation of running and walking as anything else. Based on who the directors are I expect the show to be primarily cell animation, and when you are doing cell animation you need to keep the lines simple - we will probably never see the anime boys in plaid flannel. Legs which are so key to movement in a show like supernatural are easier to animate properly if they are not bow legged. The telling point will be when we actually get to see Dean in motion - but I suspect that is the reason.

On a different note I am so hoping that the extras included with the Japanese boss set are cool - I would even be willing to pay the horrendous import fees i they are. - The Japanese are hugely creative with their box ands speciality sets and their model makers are the best at this sort of thing - it is big business in Japan - you would not get anything like the hideous stuff that is currently being sold in the US

Zaz

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's no doubt that this anime art is head and shoulders above all three SPN comic book series art. God, that first series, Origins, was horrendous!

I'm just saying that I think the art for Sam's anime is closer in approximation to Jared than Dean is to Jensen. It's not terrible by any means, but they were spot on with Sam and IMO, not so much with Dean.

The bow-legs comments were more of a joke than anything, but it would've been amusing to see. :-)

[zazreil.livejournal.com]

I agree - the comic books have been a major disappointment

Actually I was thinking about the bust of Dean - man that is so so horrible - or even the Impala models that are all 2 door when the Impala is a 4 door - So I am hoping that the show will be a big hit with the Japanese so they make cool extras

Zaz

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Good lord BOTH of those busts of Dean are horrendous! Did they hire a blind sculptor?? I wonder if Jensen's actually seen them. Poor guy!

So I am hoping that the show will be a big hit with the Japanese so they make cool extras,

That would be awesome?. At least the Japanese know how to make cool anime toys.

[zazreil.livejournal.com]

I am a big anime fan and so I find the character designs very interesting and revealing. They are recognizably Dean and Sam from season 1 & 2, - but they are also following some anime character design conventions, that the Japanese and avid anime fans key in on subconsciously to tell us things about the character's personality. As this show is more realistic. stylistically, the cues built into the character design are not blatant as you would find in other shows, but they are still there. Notice how much Dean's hair pokes up - yes Jensen's hair was spikey, but not to that degree, They are with in limits of this style, giving Dean what is generally known as antenna hair (one antenna is sometimes called stupid hair but not always). Antenna hair is hair that gives a feeling of the character having one or more antenna. Notice the little V lines coming off the center of the forehead - those are the Antenna. Antenna hair is given to characters who tend to have the following traits, curiosity, child like characteristics, a silly or humorous streak. Sometimes the antenna come and go depending on how what the character is doing - Rurouni Kenshin is a good example - Kenshin would have antenna, but the battousai - his battle mode - did not. The designers have combined the antenna with what is sometimes referred to as shonen (boy) hair - is is characterized by messy spikey hair. The Designers did the best they could with Dean's super short hair to give it that messy spikey look. The shonen hair indicates a character who is very aggressive, impulsive but good hearted, a rebel with a disrespect for existing rules, they have been known to make snap decisions in moments of great stress that backfire on them and can drive the story from there.

Looking at Sam, Jared has foxy narrow eyes, pretty but those kind of eyes have a different meaning on an anime character so the designer made Sam's eyes are wider than his really are. Though they have jared's tilt they are onlyy slightly narrower than Dean's in anime wide eyes indicate friendliness and trustworthyness. Narrow eyes are usually seen on the villain. Which is not to say that good characters can't have narrow eyes. however these are usually found more on the anti heros or on antagonists to the main character even if they are on that characters side. Or they are the sexy romantic leads who start out antagonistic but end up the love interest. If the first season does well, then we might see Sam's eyes narrow in season 2 of the anime, also one would expect Castiel's character design to have narrow eyes.

Also interesting to note is Sam's physique compared to Dean's, even though we know from Hell House that Sam was a deliciously built young man in order to emphasize his youth and inexperience compared to Dean the body style that's used follows the conventions used for teens in anime - and by teen I mean - 14 to 16 tops. Sam is quite thin and his legs are almost storky looking because of the skinny jeans- partly this is to emphasize Jared's height but mostly it is because youth is visually indicated by a willowy figure. Amusingly that trope is more of a female one but it works for Sam too. Dean, though by no means fat has more bulk to his body, you can see his shirt pull across the muscles in his chest and his jacket actually fits him better than in the show emphasizing that he is a full grown man - where as Sam's shirt does not pul across his chest and his hoody is looser than in the series - which emphasizes his youth.

I have to go to bed and and have not time to write more but I probably ought to post this on Heavy Meta - with diagrams and pointers - grin

Zaz

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for all of the info. I'm an anime fan myself so I knew quite a bit of this but I'm sure most folks who visit my LJ don't, so thanks for taking the time to explain all of the characteristics.

The bow-legs comments were more of a joke than anything, but it would've been amusing to see. :-)

[zazreil.livejournal.com]

Your welcome