Oh right, well then we understand each other. Also it's worth considering what the outline in Borderlands 2 looks like, a game that's refined this thing quite a bit by now: http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/09/17/Borderlands2_2012-09-17_21-52-28-55.bmp That's nowhere as good as what ASW is doing.
Arc System Works has been researching this for YEARS. Ever since they realised that the sprite process for Guilty Gear was just ridiculously painstaking they've been r+d'ing to get 3D in. They did a lot of 3D work for BlazBlue. It shows that they still draw over things, its a perfect marriage of 2D and 3D: More info: Part…
I see what you are saying, yeah - killing the shading is probably the only way to get that look just right, and it can totally make the average "creepy anime CG model" look more like the intended 2D look. Thanks for mentioning Star Ocean, I didnt give that one much attention before. More neat stuff to look at ! hehe. It…