Chunky effects can also be seen a great deal lately in many art styles as well, such as TRIGUN and FUSHIGI YUGI. In both of these titles (both manga and anime), the normal art style will change to an extreme character expression if the artist decides to go for a comical effect. This sudden change in the character model is jarring to both the eye and to the brain that must make the connection that this deformed and twisted object is the same beautiful character that was on the other page. This is usually quite effective as a comical technique, but sometimes quite different art styles can be blended into a new, composite art style. TENCHI-MUYO, for example is quite a hybrid of styles. There is no way that salad-bowls-for-eyes Sasami and Darth-Vader's-Helmet-for-hair Ayeka look like they are even from the same planet, let alone that they are sisters. Mix this with the different art styles for the other characters, and the differences hit you over the head. AIC was able to use this jarring effect as staging for the comedic tone, and the hybrid works (at least in the eyes of TENCHI fans…).
Computer graphics are providing the anime industry with a wealth of new opportunities and techniques that had previously been unavailable, as well as many new opportunities for smooth and chunky styles. In PATLABOR 2, computer generated graphics were used primarily to generate images on computers in the movie. This ensured that even if the art style was completely different, it made sense to our brains (computer graphics should look like computer graphics after all). In GHOST IN THE SHELL and MACROSS PLUS, the computers assisted in a great deal of the action shots providing camera angles and digital effects that would have driven animators into insane asylums in record time (1 year to the loony bin, aka the cel painting department, instead of 5). The first is an example of good chunky, and the second is an example of good smooth since one is jarring and the other is homogeneous.
Still, many companies are accidentally adding chunky style with their application of computer assisted animation. Shows like ST. LUMINOUS ACADEMY demonstrate animation techniques decades behind the animation accomplishments of the same studio when it uses cel technique. For example in one scene, the characters walk down the corridor in a jerky, up and down motion, not unlike really ineffective pogo sticks. Other shows such as DUAL, which in and of itself look pretty good, suddenly introduce pure computer graphic shots of the mecha, which are completely startling. Unlike the effects shot where the jarring adds to the effect, the sudden transition to CG, and the completely off-model (i.e. don't really look like the drawn images) mecha and backgrounds make it look like the viewer has accidentally changed the channel. Bad nuts are bad nuts.
Different people will obviously be more or less sensitive to different things. I am sensitive to chunky animation. Either off model characters, poorly integrated computer graphics, or bad voice acting. My philosophy is pretty simple—in order to be convincing any form of entertainment must draw you into its little universe and keep you there to have a real impact. Anything that distracts your brain to focus on anything but the entertainment's intended environment is bad chunky. Bad chunky is distracting, and distractions take people out of the mood and out of the direction of the show. It's a bit like taking your mom along with you on a date—you really can't get anywhere you want to be.
Sometimes the chunky nature of the scenes will only be temporary, or will even reinforce the mood of the show—that's effective direction (animation direction, art direction, etc.). There's no real recipe for direction, because the moment someone tries to make a formula, products will become too homogeneous, and the first person that breaks the formula may be hailed as a genius. Besides, different settings and mood require different techniques. Think about it the next time you watch something and ask yourself: is it chunky or smooth? Got Milk?