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From my basic understanding, anime (or any animation) is drawn frame-by-frame. With that in mind, why are countless character designs made with spiky hair and other complex parts such as chains, intricate design patterns, etc?

An animator would have to re-draw every single strand and detail which would take longer for the animation to be made, so therefore I thought there would be less flamboyant hairstyles yet they prove me wrong every season, in fact each design being even MORE complex. Why?

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    I have a feeling that part of it may be that the complexity actually lets them get away with being a lot less consistent than they would otherwise have to be; it can just be a bunch of spikes of approximately the right length.
    – kuwaly
    Apr 1, 2019 at 3:52
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    Giving characters cosmetic quirks and details seems much simpler than, say, drawing detailed backgrounds in all the scenes. Wherever cost cutting is necessary, you'll often notice that backgrounds are not given too much attention because its the characters that catch the viewer's eye.
    – najayaz
    Apr 1, 2019 at 14:25
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    I may be wrong but I'd like to add my two cents. In an industry that has created millions of characters, there really are only a few things that set one character apart from another; hair, accessories, clothes, etc. So, one of the reasons could be to create characters that stand apart from the rest and are visually discernible even in scenes where characters aren't the main focus. Secondly, I'd say it's determined by a character's disposition and cultural aspects. Check this out.
    – Matte
    Apr 2, 2019 at 16:13
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    Lastly, your question can be generalized to this: "Why is effort put into something time consuming?" Because the results must be worth it. Like any other industry, this one too is driven by a balance between what the audience like and what generates money. And with all the new tech being invented to aid animation, it's easier to depict a character with more detail now than before.
    – Matte
    Apr 2, 2019 at 16:17
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    That's great insight. Thanks for the response. I just think it's very intricate and time-consuming but the rewards do outweigh the effort at least for a large percent of the time for animated works.
    – skinnymike1
    Apr 3, 2019 at 18:31

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