Animator Explains Why ZZZ Cinematics Look So Good

Check out this video where I ranked ALL of Honkai: Star Rail's ultimates: • Animator Ranks ALL Hon...
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Edited by @AbnormalSloth

[@professorGoo]

Should I react to more cutscenes from ZZZ?? If so, which ones would you recommend? 👀

[@Anak1t]

The one with Neko where she's soloing a bunch of gangsters. The amount of squash and stretch and bouncing made me feel like I was watching a Looney Tunes Episode XD

[@AB-jt4rs]

This one looks so sick kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIiseJxng7qke6csi=-bUjf3wGKR3d-aSo

[@Anak1t]

Also, Belobog vs the unknown Ethereal

[@thaqifkhirudin6610]

Every character entry animation and how it shows their personalities. Or ultimate, just to rank which are cool to your preference

[@krasusable]

Something involving Von Lycaon.

[@KatarMilak]

One detail I really like they measured each character's squash and stretch. Characters like Anby and Miyabi don't have a lot because they're very disciplined and precise with their movements, and the devs use more smears instead. Meanwhile, Billy or Nekomata are much more energetic and carefree, so they get tons more.

[@emberthecatgirl8796]

Yeah, I was suprised Dillon didn’t focus down on that. Miyabi, Lycaon have the camera parented to them, putting them as the “center” of a chaotic environment. Anby is less skilled than them, so she might not get the parenting treatment to show her mastery, but the camera is focused on her. On the other hand, Billy and Nicole are all over the screen, even when Billy had the camera parented to him, he was flailing while he shot. This is a perfect example of showing character traits via animation.

[@FoxYinnyy]

Omg that's so amazing, thanks for pointing it out! It makes me appreciate the animations even more. I'm glad I've been able to experience something new and fresh

[@eveam_2781]

Fr

[@ignacioperez5479]

Billy is supposed to be Made of metal, but You can tell me he is Made of jelly and i would believe it

[@AzureAetherXx]

So many people complained about the characters having bouncy and cartoony animation as a downside. It breaks my heart because ZZZ is Hoyo's best animated game imo. The squash and stretch on display is SOOOOOOO good. It really helps the characters to animate and emote in ways that are just fun to experience and play. It also really fits for the tone that ZZZ has. Its a high octane fun game with a style that has to take inspiration from Jet Set Radio. I wish more games had this type of squash and stretch.

[@plvto1]

I've learned that people will complain about basically anything and everything so it's best to not pay too much mind to those people.

[@andrewjamesking8038]

People will hate anything that is not their game

[@suwooshi]

I've seen nothing but praise for their animations

[@synthdream]

The same people memeing it are the same who love it. It's okay to make fun of how Tom and Jerry exaggerates movement and love Tom and Jerry.

[@luckystarplays1837]

@@synthdreamI definitely get what you mean but pre-release and during the early days of its release, a lot of people were calling it adhd TikTok animation and saying that they hated it

[@かんちょう-q9p]

Finally someone who know stuff and not just call it adhd animation, yes, there is actually someone call it adhd animation

[@cry-o1436]

Who

[@YOUHUOUGGHHH]

brother that's because it is. Every dialogue oozes with gen z speech, paired with this tiktok animation for the kids to not loose attention. Edit: i didn't even bring up wuwa but you sexless friendzone zero kids gotta bring it up because you have a inferiority complex.

[@MintJammer]

@@YOUHUOUGGHHH What the heck is Tiktok animation.

[@YOUHUOUGGHHH]

​@@MintJammeroverly animated characters so kids with their crippling attention span are able to sit down and watch without losing attention

[@YOUHUOUGGHHH]

​​​@@MintJammer like i feel its a no brainer who their main playerbase are. The story is so low stake, no dark themes, and they all speak with all these gen z slangs its embarrassing to read as an adult. On top of these childish cartoon panels they sprinkle in as another form of medium so kids can stay interacted.

[@Vee_231]

I can't help but find it sad that I'm learning more about poses, camera angles, and 3D Camera tricks from this video than I did in 3 year's worth of animation classes. We got taught how to DO the animating, but not enough on how to make it look good. Thanks for the video, Professor!

[@shinigamisensei2517]

so true

[@spinylightgaming]

Wasnt the point of classes was the fundamentals? Tips and tricks are more if the professor wanted to teach more

[@Vee_231]

@@spinylightgaming Our school was a bit of a mess and I’ll leave it at that.

[@LoachAo]

Dude, so real. I wanted to be an animator but I decided that i wasn't cut out for that and switched my focus to comics, and let me tell you. I'm learning so much about interesting paneling and angles, and especially silhouettes lol. I don't think i'll ever draw a scene without thinking if the silhouette would pass the professors test lmao.

[@ObviOneKenobi]

@@spinylightgaming in 3 years? yeh that sounds like a fuckin scam to me

[@IshimurA99]

to be able to tell what ZZZ's Animation looks like, like we are watching an anime but in a more fun way

[@Player22095]

This really needs a part, 2 man. ZZZ's animation is like a field day for some animators doing reviews.

[@BrainIyy]

5:22 small knitpick but The rules of gravity don't actually break here entirely. It actually makes a lot of sense. Anby was falling vertically from a building, her speed increasing from gravity. When she entered the portal, she came out of the the other end, horizontal, completely perpendicular to the position she came into the portal at the SAME speed. Anby is shooting out of the portal horizontally at the same speed she was falling vertically. She actually not going completely horizontal, but she is dropping slowly, like a horizontal arc, due to her preserved momentum from her vertical fall and being shot out horizontal. You can tell that she is dropping since she is above the beams initially, and ends up below them after being shot forward for awhile.

[@pallingtontheshrike6374]

portal gamer moment now you're thinking with -portals- spatial rifts!

[@calnus]

When you learn something and watch without skipping you know the content is great. I'm no animator but I can understand pretty much everything you talk about beside the animation term.

[@soku330]

You have now. He described some examples and break it down in the vid

[@dalhaval283]

WAKE UP PEOPLE, PROF GOO JUST UPLOADED!

[@YOUHUOUGGHHH]

This is a paid ad, bro doesn't even care about what he's watching. Its so painfully obvious when you look at his recent pgr react compared to this. So much more detailed analysis compared to this, its even longer as well.

[@exgenesis4457]

​@@YOUHUOUGGHHHmore like Kuro paid him for a lecture tbh...

[@dalhaval283]

@@YOUHUOUGGHHH nothing wrong with that

[@Cciigt432]

​@@YOUHUOUGGHHHFound the kuro bot 🤣👉

[@skarhabekgreyrukh8601]

sinar teraaang biji....

[@IshimurA99]

Although it is also a gacha game, ZZZ has many unique features of its own, from anime-like animation to the fact that it has a song when gacha This makes it even more interesting

[@seeleveliona]

Having a song during summons isn't really unique to zzz

[@gachaalyrics]

I hate everything else to the game which is completely werid since I love all of hoyos games. I don’t like how they announced the game as a combat game but its puzzle based and has less combat then genshin,honkai and honkai star rail. Combat and lore is everything to me and zenless zero is lacking And I feel like I am the only one that sees that XD

[@nebula5737]

@@gachaalyrics def not the only one, tons of people have quit because of that

[@xyndraxyndra9645]

@@seeleveliona it changes based on wether you got a s-rank AND if you won or lost the 50/50

[@rownr.6013]

Many features of its own, but pointed out only 2 features And the way you wrote “it has a song when gacha” is vague. I know you meant the rap lyrics when you get an S-rank agent, but it’s so misinterpreted. Otherwise, gacha games with high production value does compose a jingle, or a short music segment when you pull.

[@arcarc2663]

Surprised you didn't look at any of Nekomata's animations, especially with her in the thumbnail. All her character movement is especially exaggerated and over-emphasized.

[@lyravain6304]

Just be glad he didn't get any of Grace's feet animations. He'd HAVE to comment on that because of how deliberate it all is.

[@tianova4649]

I wandered in wondering what he would have to say about Nekomata as well. She's so animated. Over-animated. But I think it works because of the tone of ZZZ!

[@Aquabzs]

@@tianova4649 Plus it gives the same energy of when a cat is moving all over the place with her movements like when Ellen's weapons is chucked at her and she reacts so much to it has the same feel of when a cat gets scared and they just flail all over the place

[@nitroblaze6696]

I love Nekomata's over exaggerated animations, it just reminds me of how a cat stretches and moves which she basically is

[@asyakostra3347]

I hoped to see animatic from Grace's story...

[@Igor_PS]

13:16 Bro, the tension buildup for this scene is CRAZY. I've watched this clip multiple times and it still gives me the creeps when the monster looks at the camera. Those siren/whale sounds as it passes over our heads are TERRIFYING.

[@Lin-ij9vk]

a neat fact I noticed in the gameplay of ZZZ (thanks to a mod) is that when Nekomata does her heavy attack (where she basically slides back and forth cutting the enemy) the game uses still 3d models of her after image (in the mod, it still shows Nekomata's after image, meaning it's a seperate object or image)

[@ishiro325]

Honestly I love ZZZ animation so much and I really like your analysis, pointing out good and bad stuff. I kinda want to see your reaction to watching every piece of animation from ZZZ. Animations in game, cutscenes as well as promotional materials. There is just a lot of great stuff here. Waiting for more ZZZ from you

[@itsdantaylor]

2:23 I noticed that ZZZ tends to hold the 'impact' for extra emphasis on a lot of their shots. I watched the Zhu Yuan trailer and she hits a ethereal with her car. The car is moving REALLY fast but the second it hits the hollow there's a noticeable second where the car stops moving to show it hitting the ethereal and then speeds off again.

[@sibsart2039]

Ya they pause/ slow down animations at the point of impact and at the end of the animation to show the pose. Billy is a perfect example of this, every move he makes he has a few frames pausing in a pose

[@aKirchik]

3:20 she's not a cat, she's a kitsune/fox

[@rez-ye]

Out of everything it was Miyabi right at the very end completely stopping her momentum that I loved the most ngl. So cool

[@razlunar2642]

dude his surprised face is HILARIOUS everytime i see it

[@Odd_Magus]

ZZZ is an animation gem, and it makes me so sad people don't appreciate it enough

[@Law33n]

I do

[@Stinker-rf4tf]

me too. i love the animation

[@TheColonelKaijuVT]

I absolutely love the way this game uses Squash and Stretch in its cutscenes. It gives all the characters such an incredible sense of kinetic energy that's honestly second to none

[@ItsShimaru]

I need another part with more cutscenes :o

[@JustOnlyHallow]

One thing that ive noticed is that the caracterization of Anby via animation, shes less bouncy that for example Billy or Nekomata, this makes the effect that she is more grounded that the other 2 giving her more serious and no nonse personality during missions

[@Goatman_Gamer]

Billy’s movements are my favorite. He feels so rubberhose and jiggly. The squash and stretch is turned up to the max and it’s amazing.

[@sleepy_swirls]

The squash and stretch make the characters feel so much more alive, like they're really reacting to the situation instead of just going through the motions. The added bonus is that the cutscenes are really funny when it's really obvious and you manage to catch some hilarious smear frames.

[@celty228]

The anticipation in every shot of ZZZ makes the cinematics near perfect to my taste.

[@sollordri8592]

Theres an animation that i really liked. Theres a part where lycoan has to run and jump to a blimp, and the animation is like pure treadmill frames with constant stops so it looks like hes animated on less frames per second

[@therranolleo468]

the one thing I really love about that animation is that you can feel the struggle he had to go through to go THAT FAST THAT FAR, it's not like most speedster shot where they move really fast and leave behind no impact, Lycaon's scene really shows each giant step he took to catch the blimp while climbing up the tower, and the final shot at the end where he's against the moon is just *chef's kiss*

[@Slysheen]

Something else I really like is the outcome. In a less polished story a section like that would only focus on the badass doing the thing. He'd get up to the blimp fine and that would be that. But he needs help from Billy to actually stick the landing, so it's a display of teamwork as well as letting Billy contribute. I think that's why I like Billy more than any recent comic relief character. Yes he's silly, dramatic, and a little naive but he _does_ _his_ _job_ and contributes the same as any other cast member to the story.

[@pallingtontheshrike6374]

the miguel o' hare shot yeah! it's amazing

[@Karan-pn7xs]

8:53 That lycaon is my personal favorite love how he goes from ferocious to gentle in a snap just like that

[@Draylin41]

It's interesting to see animations like this come back after so many studios stuck to mocap for 3D animation. Not that you can't make that good when going for a more realistic look, but you lose the flare that can be present in the body language of a fast-paced scene. I remember watching a breakdown of an old League of Legends cinematic where a character rotated his torso so much it would have broken his spine, yet it looked super fluid and cool when all put together in the .5 second that it happened.

[@lotte7695]

i just want to mention that as you said, the poses in this game are SO good - i am not an animator but an artist and i actually started screenshotting the wipeout screens you get after battles and using them as anatomy and pose practice references - it works wonders you guys. also i looooove how even when you trace just the pose without any discerning characteristics (outfit, face, weapons...) you can STILL tell which character it was based on, just because each one is so unique and meticulously characterized. this game is insane and i don't even care if it's gonna beat the gooner allegations or not lmao

[@alternant.]

That final count down that Fairy gave got me rolling when I saw the cut scene in game

[@pwnorbepwned]

You slowing down the treadmill part made me notice something else. She delivers two mid-air kicks, but right before the second one, she uses her other foot to kick off of the ground beneath her, to resume her forward force that was lost after the first kick. Brilliant attention to detail!

[@1234andrewjacksmith]

6:58 Proxy is more the role he/she plays, short version main character is a proxy who has the unique tech to use Bangboo body double, that specific one name is Eous

[@leonhard3944]

This is so good! After you pointed out the impact frames and squash and stretch, I was able to notice them in later scenes

[@azurerider812]

FYI: Proxy is a job title. The player job title in fact. The name can either be Wise (for male) or Belle (for female, the voice used in the clips)

[@darkmega24ify]

Bro... Your mouth tracking is so good it keeps distracting me from the -- addmittedly fascinating -- video XD

[@ImpendingJoker]

While you focused on Miyabi's left foot at 3:50 you missed a detail that really sells who the character is at 3:34 you see her do a toe drag bringing her right foot under her to show her elegance and poise, in even the smallest of movements, and to me that is the best animation point of the whole landing, because even in the ultimate failure of her attack, she is still calm, poised and in control of herself. It is true poetry in motion.

[@Kurdati]

Something i appreciate with the scene in 11:43 is that it almost looks like Zhu Yuan is getting flung higher from the inertia. So it doesn't look like she's stationed when she shoots in the air, but the camera panning out makes it look like she's getting the receiving end from her shot, kind of how blowback form firearms works, i.e. pistol caliber

[@numipinkpanda5486]

YESS! I was waiting for you to do these. Loving ZZZ so far

[@violincameos2464]

that victoria housekeeping cutscene is one of my favorites in the game XD so beautifully smooth and all the agents are helping the proxy along! heartwarming and gorgeous all around

[@AutryGeorge]

I LOVE how I'm getting some insider knowledge about ACTUALLY 3D ANIMATING! I'm in school for a degree Computer Animation, which covers modeling, animation, rigging, texturing, and compositing/vfx. I wanna focus on animation, but all the professors are so nit-picky about things like foot sliding and making sure the characters look good in shot-cam AND X, Y, and Z cams. I can't fully blame them since they began mostly in 2d animation with like old Disney and Dreamworks, etc., but it's still a CONSTANT STRUGGLE to do the stuff I wanna do with my animation work, even if they're not portfolio worthy.

[@Inqway]

Awesome breakdown @professorGoo I love this kinds of animations and hearing you explain the theories behind them is amazing! Although there is one thing I disagree with, and don't worry there's a tldr at the end ;) About Lycaon landing at 10:25 where Goo talks about how he'd "drop" Lycaon down a bit to seem as if he drops to the floor I actually disagree with(as someone completely uneducated in animation mind you so take it with a grain of salt) is that in the same way that the closeup on Miyabi's sword at 2:56 - and specifically how still it is - shows Miyabi's complete control over her sword, Lycaon not "dropping" to the floor as he lands - ie. the **lack** of vertical movement - I think is meant to showcase Lycaon's complete control over his weapon: his own body. If we go back to the shot of Lycaon spin-kicking into landing and bowing we can see that his torso is always in the center of the shot with his legs and arms seemingly rotating around that focal point. Notice also how throughout that sequence his legs are essentially always horizontal or he has his feet pulled up, almost as if he's squatting in the air. I think that in the same way as Miyabi's animation showcased her "control"; Lycaons animation showcases his "balance". Think of it like this: considering that his legs throughout are lifted off the ground in some way it makes sense that when he extends his legs back down to the ground - if his hip was as far off the ground when his feet are in the air as when he stands on the ground with his legs extended - that his torso would stay at the same height. The whole concept is very similar to what real world runners try to achieve: avoid wasting energy in creating upwards/downwards momentum, and instead focus on making sure that all of the momentum is focused in the direction they want it ie. forwards. Another way to picture it is to imagine a 2D top-down view, and you have two characters that can each move at the exact same speed. Both of them want to go as far to one side as possible, however one does so in a "wavy" line and the other in a straight line; who do you think gets to the goal first? That's right: the straight line, because the wavy line has to travel a longer distance. Similarily in this scene they're racing somewhere, so the desired direction of movement is a forwards line that is as straight as possible. TLDR: I think that the lack of a "drop" when Lycaon steps back on the ground is an excellent showcase of how well Lycaons body control is, going where he needs to go with as few unnecessary motions as possible.

[@ren_MY]

8:45 oof almost spoiled myself there... I'll watch this part later (haven't reach this part yet)

[@IceHeartAlpha]

lol same

[@knosmangu]

yo everytime you do these videos, i learn so much. thank you

[@alekseyp.9124]

The animation is literary the reason I picked up the game. I passed on every gatcha on the planet, but this is the one that hooked me. And the animation is probably the main reason.

[@SMZahin-bb3gx]

6:48 it's so great to finally see someone who not only knows his stuff but also understands these references.

[@omegaprime223]

12:50, the sound design here is absolutely supposed to evoke the same feeling as the motion tracker in Aliens, the echo only adds to the tension of the character's panic, the animation team deserves the high praise they're getting, but having played the game for a while now the sound team have some serious skill as well.

[@Zeresrail]

Ive been a fan of you are your team for ages, and I never knew this channel existed. Its fascinating hearing you analyse animations like this!

[@caffeinegg]

One of my favorite animators breaking down the animation for one of my favorite games. Its a good day today

[@depictiongames9758]

These are some of the best animations I’ve ever seen. And the music just pulls it all together so perfectly

[@yukinoyukinoshita9]

I have been waiting for your reaction

[@SupiSuki]

Hoyoverses animators and illustrators are probably the most unsung heroes in the history of gaming, it's like the ability to cook is integrated into their neurons

[@tkak4]

As an animator, i started playing zzz cause of the art and the cool animations

[@sakon5147]

Thankfully on this day a great injustice has been resolved, as someone who plays HSR/WuWa/ZZZ...the algorithm suggested your vid...love the content, time to binge.

[@MigsUdon]

Zzz is not my favorite gameplay-wise, but the cinematics, the animations, the ost, the vibe - immaculate! They found a way to make their more simplistic combat style REALLY satisfying too. Might just be my new fave Hoyo game

[@LUCAS420BLZ]

It's so nice to look at the cinematics I still hold out hope hoyo puts out the millions they make into an anime because these games are bogged down by the lack of embracing the amazing parts, it's always a mixed bag

[@Y4ngCP]

Its the only hoyo game that im playing... love the animations and references of pop culture

[@brawler5760]

I actually like this game way more than Genshin and HSR, ngl. This game has taught me that gameplay isn't everything.

[@kuronya3582]

Zzz have best gameplay of all hoyo games currently

[@pallingtontheshrike6374]

try looking into high-level Billy Kid gameplay, if you try it can be anything but simple. unless you mean it's already too hectic in which case i can't help you lol

[@primodragoneitaliano]

That's really something I wish was more known about ZZZ: the absolutely insane quality of the animations. On a side note, you know it's good too when a pro animator goes "8O" xD

[@waffles8940]

1:36 duck jumpscare

[@ardynamberglow3124]

The thing I love about how bouncy and flashy the animation is--is that it adds this staggering amount of weight behind each movement. When someone swings their arm out with anticipation you _feel_ the impact.

[@thebaku818]

5:36: anyone else find it funny that the background footage he uses as he says she isn't breaking the laws of physics is a shot that shows anby traveling in a sort of spiral even without the camera movement?

[@solit2709]

It's a completely new style of animation to me and I love it. I'm so glad to see someone elses enjoying it.

[@TheOridionz]

I'm amazed you didn't view the animation of where they showed all the groups 1 by 1 in a trailer. that one is REALLY something else in terms of transitions and fluid movements.

[@かんちょう-q9p]

Right, I hope he react to it in the future

[@hatsurrin]

Which video was that?

[@Karma-pq9fi]

@@hatsurrinthe release trailer it’s on the zzz official KZbin channel.

[@hatsurrin]

@@Karma-pq9fi ah thank you 🙏

[@zozihn8047]

This is fantastic. Thanks for reacting to this and sharing your knowledge.

[@grimneko7]

They're been cooking for years when it comes to animations so I'm not surprised just how good they keep getting. Hi3 cinematics is what got me interested in 3D anime style animations and now ZZZ is bringing me a new wave of motivation to continue learning.

[@kingnekogon]

I'm glad to see this game taking the chance to blend 2d and 3d principles in such a blatant fashion. Breaking bones, squash n stretch, impact frames, etc. are one of the reasons I started learning art and animation a few months back. So much potential that doesn't often get used, that I *want* to use in my own films. Can't quite capture that same vibe in live action.

[@nitroblaze6696]

There's so many people complaining about the cartoony animations in ZZZ, that's literally the fucking point, it's supposed to be cartoony if you don't like it then don't play the game it's not thay hard, if the animations don't appeal to you then that's your problem not the game's problem

[@yamanaka223]

I can't wait for your combat animations one. Anby has a lot of really good animations, and the weightiness of Piper's animations is amazing. They really put a lot of effort even into the A rank agents!

[@-Raylight]

The cinematics are just 👨‍🍳💋 ZZZ has so many cool concepts. Feels like playing Jet Set Radio but it's an action gacha game

[@kerintor5063]

Bro just drop his jaw from a first 5 seconds from the video run xD I've already know that this video will good

[@sebastianuber4085]

The Video: "Thats a cool idea! I might steal that idea"

[@dothacker333]

Only made it 5 minutes in before i needed to like and sub. You are so smart, know how to explain animation(and vocab) to someone with no experience, while making it fun to listen to. 🎉 Lets go!!!

[@codesymbi]

I'm pretty sure the thing with Gravity and Anby is because of the rift We see how she's falling vertically but the rift in the hollow expulses horizontally while keeping all the vertical momentum from the falling from the building Just like the game Portal

[@dracotias]

Hoyo have always been REALLY good at animation but ZZZ so far is on another level, the stylization and often over the top nature of things has really given them an outlet to flex and it's glorious.

[@AuroraMercedesVT]

rubberband animations isn’t new to anime. There are serious moments, tense moments, and silly moments. Silly moments like these are really good to emphasize panic, surprised, up to silly and goofy. But when it gets serious, it’s the most Shonen shit that it can get. And people complain about this? This game is shonen EMBODIED.

[@ven7165]

So I do have questions regarding animations. How is 2D effects/animations combined with 3D ones? I can understand XYZ Position, Play 2D effect/animation there. But how is the layer controlled, in which the 2D effect may be on top of or behind the 3D model? Is a 2D effect like a flat panel in the 3D space, and when you make the two "interact" you just angle the perspective and size right to make it look like they are a combined 2D-3D instance? When transitioning from 3D to 2D, like that effect at 3:28, is the 2D "hand drawn" stuff just overlayed on top of the 3D space between the camera and the model? Or does it transition like ending a game cutscene and then playing a 2D video? When Anby is falling and flying through the air, is she physically animated moving that distance? Is the animation actually moving her that distance? Or does her body have an animation it plays, and some other instance moves her? As in: if you played her falling/flying animation would she remain at the same position and you need to implement something else to move her model? Or would playing the animation physically move her model too? I notice the animations in ZZZ are really expressive, really bouncy and lots of cool facial expressions. This is much better than any other animation I've seen in other 3D games. Is this "expressiveness" due to sheer good work and effort by the animators, or is it due to something else such as how the models are rigged/the animations occur (im not an animation guy so idk the words, but basically is something about the model or how it's setup influencing the animations)? Could this quality of animation be transferred directly to say Genshin Impact's character models, or is there some setup work to do to make the same thing possible? Is it just animators working on every single part of the body, applying animation to all of it? With the existence of body tracking in this day and age, how much of an animation is hand-animated these days? How much is done through body tracking and then applying the saved data onto a model? I assume the two forms can be transitioned between, but can they be combined? If a physically tracked animation (that was saved from an actual person doing something) is playing, can you hand-animate an effect onto that animation, such as turning the wrist or foot in a different direction? For flat surfaces that do have animations, I just assume this is a 2D animation that plays like a video on the surface. I don't quite understand impact frames. I know (i think) that they are what you call the moments before/during/after a big collision or something alike occurs. But what do they do differently from "normal" frames? A pause? A big flash? Less animation for more instant effect? For effects such as when a weapon changes its surface appearance (like Ellen's weapon with the heat effect at 9:15), well... how? Is there a "skin" applied on top of the weapon's current skin/appearance? Like a second coat of paint, that animates itself like a video. How does it know where to be applied? Does the software exist to specify where the effect should occur (like "draw circle here" and just throw in the animated effect) or do you make a custom skin/model/area for every time you want to apply that effect? For when the ether monster dies in that same situation, I assume you just play another "skin" animated effect onto its model and then poof it into nothing, but have the color-changing cube effects play at the same exact moment. Also when playing games with 2D effects/animations, some of those effects freeze when I pause the game whereas some continue to animate, but just not move their XYZ position (if they're not meant to dissipate). I had assumed that every effect like that just animates/plays without stopping because in my experience I've never seen a non-video 2D animation be pausable or follow a play-pause functionality. So I wonder is this video-like play-pause mechanic something that is also physically animated or is it tired to the progress of the 3D animation too? Regarding the smears seen in the animations, I assume those are just a 2D effect applied on the screen at the location of the character (on the 2D screen). I also guess that smear can move? I wonder what other effects are used like this? Maybe those 2D animations I mentioned earlier, about overlay in front and behind 3D models.

[@hisuijin8038]

You didnt comment on the katana shot following it thru the slice, its very fast i know but I find it pretty unique... Would have loved your feedback on that (First clip with katana fox)

[@zero-uy7ji]

I just wana say , first time i see holy animation like this , its so smooth

[@Sn0w7ir3]

Yeah she’s broken 0:44

[@Recycledhero]

Great break down! ZZZ has some fantastic cutscenes, one of the reasons it keeps me coming back.

[@gamingmango7017]

1:02 feels like the ending of arcane

[@number-1-furina-fan]

10:55 goo calling the ethereal a dog made me think of “what the dog doing” lol

[@scarfbit7354]

This game is made by animators, for animators.

[@bestkingu]

ZZZ is like my dream game for real. My favorite studio anime is Trigger and ZZZ's animation fluidity reminds me of that. My favorite game of all time is P4 and ZZZ's vibe and ost reminds me of that. This game is so good, idc what people say.

[@mm-mi7eb]

日本人からするとZZZのアニメはアニメよりカートゥーン的で派手ですが欧米のアニメーションよりおとなしく感じるので、ZZZのアニメーションの伸び縮みする動きに一部批判の声があるのが不思議で興味深いです😮

[@raflusthebanana5838]

i was WAITING for this video dude

[@noraakaru4426]

Billy is the one guy that love break all the 4th wall mechanic

[@thewhutnow5795]

@@noraakaru4426 I don't see any scenes where billy is breaking the 4th wall. Can you explain?

[@mr4d653]

​@@thewhutnow5795 Afaik he fixed the camera one time.

[@OurJynx]

ZZZ's animation is either "The Impact Frames Collection" or "Squash 'n' Stretch Central" and it's great.

[@samlovespizzas7478]

u should check out wuwa's cinematics (featured and story are both good) too, especially 1.1

[@VladislavBespalko]

Thank you for the detailed analysis. The video is very useful and interesting!

[@danboy12342]

Dont lie to us it wasnt your editor, you just play this game

[@agusanto162]

13:43 I was so focus in the animation, I didn´t expect your face

[@fatcat5323]

I clicked on this video because of Nekomata, but it turns out it was just clickbait.

[@mr.tv001]

if zzz was an anime no one would ever even think to complain that its not drawn

[@DanaOtken]

So essentially, a lot of this is the basic animation techniques artists have been using pre-Disney because they look good to humans. And these have been somewhat forgotten with the switch to 3D computer graphics because the exact reason people are using 3D - letting a computer casually calculate perfect perspective and basic physics - suddenly makes it take much more work to use them. Thank you for going into more detail, though; while I might have been able to say the preceding I'm not an animator and a detailed analysis would have been beyond me.

[@Fastollis]

Yessss. I’ve been waiting to hear animators gush about this game!

[@willanrac]

I got two pet peeves on who chose the videos for Goo to watch. One, if we are concetrating on animation, why isnt the clips in english so he can watch the scene with out reading subs. Two why choose japanese? Its a chinese game. Shouldnt you choose chinese if you wanted to listen to origional actors? That last one is just a pet peeze for any chinese media where people show japanese dubbed only clips.

[@Vasarcdus]

Awesome breakdown, dude! Would love to see more. I especially recommend Nekomata's combat cinematic from the end of her story mission. It's very good as well, and also has one of the most hilarious moments I've seen in the game so far. There's another really good one with Zu Yuan as well involving a construction crane.

[@Vergil_694]

React on pgr 2nd generation characters ultimate😊

[@cl5016]

FINALLY!!! Been waiting for this since the game's launch!

[@FD-wl7xq]

The fact that wuthering waves players say zzz animations are bad is crazy

[@hieple4164]

Literally no one say that? At least not unironically?

[@thewhutnow5795]

it's not the worst but WuWa just have the better animations by a looot and end game is also better. Teccy explains this better in one of his videos.

[@zacknothere9982]

no one said that bud,zzz animation is top quality i dont see people flaming on its animation but just its gameplay

[@Baldhead-d2s]

​@@thewhutnow5795shitty waves trashy and stiff animation

[@goodietwoshoes7238]

@@thewhutnow5795 why would I listen to a non-animator's opinions about animations what? VFX ≠ animations btw (as in they're not necessarily inclusive and you might be talking about combat VFX than character animations). and ZZZ has made it clear that they don't want too much VFX to prevent making the screen so convoluted that you can't see what's going on anymore

[@foadmoalem4908]

not even 30 seconds in and you’re already going oOo