One of my favorite "YouTube Content Creators" (as he must dread being known), JonTron, complains about games like Bubsy which he describes as "Floaty", a term that is somewhat popular as a way of describing games that lack the solid gravity physics, the most essential environmental properties of a platforming game, that something like Super Mario 3 or DKC have. But can this concept be expanded further? It seems to me like some shows can be written and animated in a way that gives them a sort of floaty feel that makes them seem as insubstantial as Bubsy.
I was disillusioned towards web cartoons for a while as they've seemed to get worse (Maybe due to what Ross O'Donnovan talks about in this video?) while cable shows seemed to go in the opposite direction. I remember liking the first season of Oishi High School Battle. It had a strong premise and the dynamic created by mixing anime and American high school tropes was entertaining, even if the satire was sometimes subtle when it was there at all.
But when I watched the new season, there was something off. The animation had improved, though it had lost some spirit. That wasn't it, though. The new season is relatively ungrounded, or floaty. After tiring of the show's original premise, the creators had moved to exploring different secondary characters, timelines in the show, etc. And while this kept the show from being stale, it made it floaty. The plot now floats from character to character. Plotholes are everywhere and locations and the way the characters transport between them seem arbitrary.
This is just something I've noticed that often ruins shows. Or webcomics. Hell, half the webcomics I see exhibit these traits, especially when they're just starting out. Try to correlate actions and scenes well so that when things happen in places you can draw the line from one to the other easily. Pro writing class everybody. Just kidding disregard this. I'm a terrible writer you really shouldn't take my advice (but isn't that what any real writer would say? False modesty. Appalling)
-Riese (listening to Morning Phase - Beck)
I was disillusioned towards web cartoons for a while as they've seemed to get worse (Maybe due to what Ross O'Donnovan talks about in this video?) while cable shows seemed to go in the opposite direction. I remember liking the first season of Oishi High School Battle. It had a strong premise and the dynamic created by mixing anime and American high school tropes was entertaining, even if the satire was sometimes subtle when it was there at all.
But when I watched the new season, there was something off. The animation had improved, though it had lost some spirit. That wasn't it, though. The new season is relatively ungrounded, or floaty. After tiring of the show's original premise, the creators had moved to exploring different secondary characters, timelines in the show, etc. And while this kept the show from being stale, it made it floaty. The plot now floats from character to character. Plotholes are everywhere and locations and the way the characters transport between them seem arbitrary.
This is just something I've noticed that often ruins shows. Or webcomics. Hell, half the webcomics I see exhibit these traits, especially when they're just starting out. Try to correlate actions and scenes well so that when things happen in places you can draw the line from one to the other easily. Pro writing class everybody. Just kidding disregard this. I'm a terrible writer you really shouldn't take my advice (but isn't that what any real writer would say? False modesty. Appalling)
-Riese (listening to Morning Phase - Beck)
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