>>56308252Corporate greed and awful art direction, I fear.
And it's true these examples are from the movies, but the scenery from the actual anime had a lovely style too.
I really don't get what's the problem they have since late Gen3 and especially Gen4 onwards with this cozier art style.
You can absolutely make assets that imitate the watercolor/pastel look instead of going for those atrocious neon teal plastic backgrounds.