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In the first Shingeki no Kyojin opening, I've seen some scenes with lower
contrast or brightness, something like this:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lalI7m.png)

And later, in the same sequence, a scene appears without that contrast change:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/tEJhYm.jpg)

I've seen this kind of contrast change in the HxH remake as well, and the
first thing that comes to my mind is that legendary Pokemon episode where a
lot of kids suffered of photosensitive epilepsy attacks in Japan thanks to
Pikachu and Co.

Does it has some relationship with that or there is another reason? Maybe a
new law in Japan related to these flashy images on TV?

It seems this change appears only in new anime (I don't remember seeing
something like this before last year). Any clue around that time?

**===UPDATED===**

It's not just in the opening; here are more examples:

One of many scenes where the image is normal:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lGuF2m.jpg)

Then comes the darker scenes. Maybe it cannot be appreciated in the snapshots,
but all are a full sequence of images appearing quickly with a bright
background:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QFW5Fm.png) ![enter
image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3Nofmm.png) ![enter image
description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/z4Ac7m.png)

And then it returns to normal:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WQSPhm.jpg)

This is from the last HxH episode. At first, the image looks fine:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yGIAam.jpg)

Then comes an attack and the image looks darker. Maybe the effect is not so
intense as in Shingeki no Kyojin, but it is still there. Look, all these
bright flashes coming from the hits seem not as bright as they should be:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/J3g7dm.png) ![enter
image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Eua2Ym.png) ![enter image
description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/bymHjm.png)

And then the image looks normal again - compare the smoke color before and
after:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/PvSYgm.jpg)

As @JonLin notes, maybe it could be some kind of TV censorship, despite that
there's nothing to censor besides all these flashy lights. Is it just me being
paranoid or is there something more behind all this?

**==UPDATE 2==**

I've found a Blu-ray rip of the Shingeki no Kyojin opening (no subtitles, no
credits) and I took some shots of the same frames that I already put. To the
left, the TV version and to the right, the BDRip version (click for more
detail):

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lalI7m.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lalI7.png)
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/M9foym.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/M9foy.jpg)

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/tEJhYm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/tEJhY.jpg)
[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8vl5ym.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8vl5y.jpg)

So it is not an effect to make things more dramatic, but rather an effect
included only on TV. I suppose the same applies to the other shots (at least
in SnK).

So my question comes again, why, lately, are there some anime with darkened
scenes? My conspiracy theory is that it is related to those bright changes and
possible photosensitive attacks. If that's true, why is this being applied
lately? And why doesn't it appear on DVD/BD?  
If not, what else it could be?


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2013-09-03T16:40:00.723
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question
anime-production
Why are there sometimes darkened scenes in new anime?


IMO, this is simply the artist accounting for or playing with the lighting. In
the first image, the character is silhouetted against the sun. This is pretty
much how it would look in real life if somebody were to come directly between
you and the sun.

The second image is a sunrise/sunset twilight shot.

The rest are a mixture of cloudy, smoky, and sunny backgrounds. The flashy
lights are the sun peeping through clouds, reflecting off stuff, and so on.
Where there's sun, there's shadow too.

I don't see any censorship or anything else similarly irregular.


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2013-09-05T05:37:10.067
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answer


Upon thinking about this again, I decided to do some research into this
phenomenon. You correctly identify that there is some unusual darkening of
scenes in TV broadcast anime that is not present in Blu-Ray releases. It looks
like you are also correct that this has something to do with laws1 requiring
broadcasters to avoid airing content that may cause seizures in people who
suffer from photosensitive epilepsy (though I don't think you could reasonably
construe this as "censorship").

As you probably know, the issue of photosensitive epilepsy became prominent
following the airing of the Pokemon episode Electric Soldier Porygon back in
1997. For more about this, see this article on Bulbagarden: [Japanese Episode
038](http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep038.html).

That was then; nowadays, all major broadcasting companies impose restrictions
on broadcast television as a sort of countermeasure to epilepsy.2 For example,
[a page on TV Tokyo's website](http://www.tv-
tokyo.co.jp/main/yoriyoi/eizoukouka.html) says the following:

> **Guidelines for the production of anime/etc. with regard to the effects of
> video**
>
> As part of TV Tokyo's efforts to do everything possible to avoid exposing
> viewers to dangerous stimuli, we have developed the following guidelines. By
> producing and broadcasting anime in accordance with these guidelines, risk
> associated with viewing television can be almost entirely eliminated.
>
>   1. Avoid displaying more than one flash of light per one-third of a second
> (8 frames on film, 10 frames on TV).
>
>   2. Since abrupt scene changes and rapid motion produce the same effects
> [as in (1.)], avoid using these techniques more than once per one-third of a
> second.
>
>   3. Flashes of light and scene changes mostly or entirely in red are
> dangerous. Scenes of equal brightness using colors other than red are
> acceptable.
>
>   4. Patterns with regions of differing brightness (e.g. stripes, spirals)
> should, in general, be avoided.
>
>

It seems to be the case that, rather than producing anime that meets these
guidelines, anime is produced however the production studio wants it, and then
post-processed for TV broadcast by darkening bright scenes and (temporally)
smearing out flashing.

As to why you don't see the same alterations on Blu-ray: Blu-ray is not a
broadcast medium, and so the laws pertaining to the nature of broadcast
television do not apply. If you think about it, that makes sense - it isn't
really possible to inadvertently view a Blu-Ray, whereas it certainly is
possible to inadvertently watch broadcast television, and so the government
steps in to protect viewers in the latter case but not the former.

* * *

1 I am not actually sure whether the practices I have described here are
backed by force of law, or whether they are just voluntarily undertaken by
broadcasting corporations.

2 These restrictions are most commonly relevant for animated television, since
live-action television typically won't contain the sort of flashing patterns
that trigger seizures (since the real world itself typically doesn't either).


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