CGI backgrounds are pretty normal in anime these days

So you agree with me. Some studios took the risk years back, other studios built on that work, and now “these days” no one’s complaining about that kind of CGI.

Static background CGI work like what you’re talking about is now a solved problem.

Between that and not paying your employees, you’ve got a safe way to stretch the budget.

the only thing GoHands is doing special is not even trying to match them to the foreground

What are you talking about? GoHands is notoriously unique. Their unique style is one of the things people complain about the most. In just one episode, you’ve got:

• A 720 orbit shot of a character, starting from under the floor.
• A knee level tracking shot of a moving carriage with animated pedestrians in parallax.
• A continuous establishing shot of a fully rendered city.
• Crowd shots where every background character is individually animated.

Every week, GoHands puts out six minutes of genuinely new, experimental animation work. Sometimes it makes you nauseous, especially when they spend the rest of the runtime showing it to you over and over again.

They’re not hiding behind industry best practice, they’re taking creative risks and pissing people off, while putting out full seasons and paying their employees on time.

Maybe a few years from now, more studios will take what works from GoHands’ anime, and crazy cinematic continuous shots, individually animated background characters and fully rendered cityscapes will be “pretty normal in anime these days”.