Yeah, I should have been more specific but I was typing too fast like usual. It was heartbreaking and I almost posted right after that happened as I thougth that was the end for some reason. There are a ton of better pictures for more feels online, but they all have spoilers, so this one from S1 was the best choice. It really was an excellent story throughout. and your're right, the writers did an amazing job crafting the story they way they did. Everything fits together like a puzzle at the end even when you feel like it doesn't, God, that was tough to stay sane watching everything unfold The feels stay though, I mean, I can still feel it a couple hours later,, amazing..
Clannad was and remains one of my all-time favorites. It's definitely not perfect and there are things that, given the chance, I would rewrite, as I'm not really a huge fan of the
magical fix
, but it's not my choice. As it is, the show works wonderfully. Perfection is not something I believe exists in something as subjective as entertainment, but everything Clannad set out to do -- deliver a message about enduring love in an everchanging world, creating likable characters, delivering wonderful emotional moments -- it did magnificently. The show is beautiful, it has a wonderful soundtrack and stellar performances all around.
Yes, there are plenty of things I could nitpick about pacing, some misplaced attempts at comedy, some disjointedness due to the nature of the source material, making Nagisa about ten times more awkward at the start of their relationship than she is in the game...removing one of the game's better characters...the
reset button
ending. But I don't seek perfection; I seek entertainment. And Clannad entertained me like very few other series. It's a masterpiece and definitely my favorite Kyoto Animation production, if not my favorite anime period. (Evangelion is the only other show I'd consider for the honor.)
Clannad was and remains one of my all-time favorites. It's definitely not perfect and there are things that, given the chance, I would rewrite, as I'm not really a huge fan of the
magical fix
, but it's not my choice. As it is, the show works wonderfully. Perfection is not something I believe exists in something as subjective as entertainment, but everything Clannad set out to do -- deliver a message about enduring love in an everchanging world, creating likable characters, delivering wonderful emotional moments -- it did magnificently. The show is beautiful, it has a wonderful soundtrack and stellar performances all around.
Yes, there are plenty of things I could nitpick about pacing, some misplaced attempts at comedy, some disjointedness due to the nature of the source material, making Nagisa about ten times more awkward at the start of their relationship than she is in the game...removing one of the game's better characters...the
reset button
ending. But I don't seek perfection; I seek entertainment. And Clannad entertained me like very few other series. It's a masterpiece and definitely my favorite Kyoto Animation production, if not my favorite anime period. (Evangelion is the only other show I'd consider for the honor.)
It's not really what was the outcome, but how it was presented to get there, by literally draining you of any and all emotional fortitude you have in your body; simply amazing writing and presentation. I actually want to go back and watch the last episode again just for the experience, but the first impression was incredible.
90s anime gives me such a pleasant fuzzy feeling. I cant explain it really, but the look and music always brings me back to a specific time sitting in front of my old DVD player TV watching Those Who Hunt elves or Magic Knight Rayearth. Cardcaptor Sakura captures this feeling perfectly, even though I watched it much later (DVDs used to be hard to find)
I felt that way about Trigun too lol. I was rewatching of a couple of good oldies and holy hell, the animations are lower in visual fidelity (480p brehs) but the quality and number of frames (its so fluid its nuts) put in are so much better than a lot of the crap put out nowadays. When are we gonna get the 90's back?
Hmm hmm. Kinda enjoying it enough to keep going for now. Can't say I'm a fan of this purity plot we got going but eh,at least that'll be over soon with this quite alright pacing. I can already see it:
Yamato: "Takeo...I...I'm not really pure actually. I want to ki...kis... I WANT YOU TO SCREW MY FUCKING BRAINS OUT YOU STUD!"
Honestly, the announcement that its an OVA series and not a TV series is like Toei realized how completely shit they've been and are saying "We're trying NOT to fuck this up."
Clannad After Story Ep. 20-END:
Wow, I mean, wow... Talk about a tear jerker. I mean, complete tearjerker; I still feel a little mushy after finishing the last few episodes of this one. I'll have to contemplate the meaning of that last episode as it got confusing for a few moments there as I was busy holding back tears from what was happening already; it was all a blur.
but tell me if I'm wrong here:
Tomoya was feeling really down once Ushio got sick like Nagisa and was regretting everthing that had happened back to the time he met Nagisa. Saying it was his fault everyone had to go through all the hardships.. Then, when Ushio lost conciousness and collapsed on the way to the train station, she awoke the miracle from the girl in the other world the robot was Tomoya then? The miracle in this case, was to turn back time to the moment Ushio was born and allow Nagisa to live instead of die during the birth? He was granted the miracle because of all the "light" he had brought to the people of the town throughout his time in HS and with everything he had done for others; we saw the light in a few of the arcs in the After Story. Then during the scene he chose to not regret his actions and forget meeting Nagisa in the past so with that decisions he was granted the miracle as if it was all just a dream going back to the time of Ushio's birth, so thry could both fullfill their dreams of staying by each others side forever.
IThis was an amazing emotional ride throughout. Through the music and atmospere of each episodes, you can feel the tone change and start to sense a greater force at play (look at my post last night, my worst fears were true today) and it forshadowed itself constantly in very subtle ways. S1 was only establishing the basis of the friends and families involved, but the After Story blow those up and was there to focus on the main pair with Tomoya and Nagisa through their growth, trials and tribulations of a conversion from school age to real life and how that goes back to their own families. The last 10-15 episodes can take years off your life if you are not emotionally ready for the roller-coaster of events that happen. This is not just a regular love story, but one of friends and the importance of family in your life. The childs perspective is not always reality of what the parents are dealing with and vice versa. Overall, this was an amazing story that pulls at your emotions in ways I haven't even thought of.
The play, the play from season 1!!! How, what, how?
, I almost want to go back and watch certain episodes from S1 to see how many places they looped everythig back together like that one. That ending just left me speechless, utterly and completely speachless (and I almost posted halfway through it before I noticed there was still 15 mins left) I couldn;t believe what was happening and what lead to the choices being made. between Tomoya
Accepting Nagasi and their time spent together despite the pain and tragety that will happen to the actual miracle
then that damn Dango so, that made no sense, no sense at all throughout the whole damn series. Until the last few episodes, it complely makes sense with every word in the song; you miss the meaning early, but then it hits you right inthe face later. Damn. excellant, excellant writing. I know some people hate these types of ending (yes, I clicked on that spoiler later) and I get it, but to me it was irrelavant because of the way it was presented. It wasn't a
wave yoru magic wand and "tada" moment, it was much, much deeper than that.
I wanted to post pictures because they are so damn cute, but they are all major spoilers so I couldn't. I'm also pretty sure most of you have already watched this, (with me still being new to anime is still playing catch-up) but if you have not, jump on Hulu and give this one a whirl, stick with it because a lot of little details that are meaningless early really come back much later; just bring some tissues and keep them close.
I feel like I should watch this. Like, all of it. I enjoy me a romance when it's well done, I can't count how many times I've seen people rave about this show. The only thing that puts me off is the art in it. Dem huge eyes are huge lol.
Honestly, the announcement that its an OVA series and not a TV series is like Toei realized how completely shit they've been and are saying "We're trying NOT to fuck this up."
If they were trying not to fuck up, I wonder why they had a marathon of the original series leading right up to a video basically saying "fuck all those actors in the thing you just finished watching".
I feel like I should watch this. Like, all of it. I enjoy me a romance when it's well done, I can't count how many times I've seen people rave about this show. The only thing that puts me off is the art in it. Dem huge eyes are huge lol.
I felt that way about Trigun too lol. I was rewatching of a couple of good oldies and holy hell, the animations are lower in visual fidelity (480p brehs) but the quality and number of frames (its so fluid its nuts) put in are so much better than a lot of the crap put out nowadays. When are we gonna get the 90's back?
I honestly have no words other than the ones above for how disappointed I am.
yeah 90s anime looks kinda rough visually, but makes up for it with god tier animation and style. It is part of my greatest anime memories so naturally I always think of it fondly.
Honestly, the announcement that its an OVA series and not a TV series is like Toei realized how completely shit they've been and are saying "We're trying NOT to fuck this up."
I dont see what the problem here is. so its a 6 part movie/OVA? Thats how anime used to be done. I seem to recall it working quite well that way. Animation quality was higher because it wasnt spread out over many episodes.
Well, people thought it was going go be a TV series that was going to air in Spring. Now it's a much shorter (?) project which they probably won't be able to watch until next year at the earliest.
Well, I get the frustration of something being pushed back.. but that doesn't mean anything about its quality. 6 OVAs are going to be same length as one TV cour as well, or longer. In my experience, they're generally higher quality too. Which is a great thing considering the standard quality that comes from the company producing it.
Speaking for myself, I'm less disappointed about the OVA status (although it's a pretty severe bait and switch), but I'm livid that they've recast all 8 main characters. That's some bullshit.
I was excited for a new series featuring the original characters. This might as well be something completely new, because I have very little interest in hearing some third rate impersonators.
I feel like Toei dicked me around for nine months with egg rubbing, fake teasers, and lots of additional stuff only to pull the rug out and basically say "fuck your childhood" after marketing childhood nostalgia for nine months. It's a pretty bizarre move.
This doesn't really make sense to me either. The characters are much older, it would be jarring for teenagers to sound similar to kids who were 12 and under. Especially the younger ones, like Takeru.
Did they ever say this was going to be a TV series airing in spring with the original voice actors? I wasn't following the thread too closely, but it seemed mostly like speculation to me.
If they were trying not to fuck up, I wonder why they had a marathon of the original series leading right up to a video basically saying "fuck all those actors in the thing you just finished watching".
If they were trying not to fuck up, I wonder why they had a marathon of the original series leading right up to a video basically saying "fuck all those actors in the thing you just finished watching".
Well, I get the frustration of something being pushed back.. but that doesn't mean anything about its quality. 6 OVAs are going to be same length as one TV cour as well, or longer. In my experience, they're generally higher quality too. Which is a great thing considering the standard quality that comes from the company producing it.
Did they ever say this was going to be a TV series airing in spring with the original voice actors? I wasn't following the thread too closely, but it seemed mostly like speculation to me.
It was only announced to be public in spring (either airing on TV or opening in a theatre). Anything else was speculation.
Combined with Sailor Moon Crystal and Ninja Slayer, I'm starting to become convinced at the immense difficulty there is to air something outside of the late night timeslots if a production doesn't give immense money to a TV station to air it. Digimon, Dragon Ball, and Sailor Moon's original productions had TV stations leading the production costs, but only Dragon Ball has a TV station in its new form (either Kai or Super). These are popular franchises and if they can't get on TV during an mainstream timeslot (that's not kids related), it's going to be near impossible for something else. Even the stations that sponsor anime (excluding NHK-E and MBS's Saturday/Sunday 17:30 timeslot) tend to run it later at night anyways.
I'm more convinced that there were issues getting a station to sponsor this (as well as Crystal) and so their forms ended up as they are. (I'm not going to open the can of worms for Toei quality; that's another issue entirely.)
I feel like I should watch this. Like, all of it. I enjoy me a romance when it's well done, I can't count how many times I've seen people rave about this show. The only thing that puts me off is the art in it. Dem huge eyes are huge lol.
I was hesitant at first, but good God is it worth it. There are some luls in season 1, but the After story completely and utterly makes up for it and brings it to new amain heights. Just keep in mind it's not just a romance anime, it's an anime about love in family and friends as well as a romance story unlike any other. Man, the absolute cluster of emotions you go through is both draining and amazing. Go all-in and enjoy the ride from start to finish, you cannot be disappointed. It's free on Hulu.
This doesn't really make sense to me either. The characters are much older, it would be jarring for teenagers to sound similar to kids who were 12 and under. Especially the younger ones, like Takeru.
Did they ever say this was going to be a TV series airing in spring with the original voice actors? I wasn't following the thread too closely, but it seemed mostly like speculation to me.
Well, Takeru could have been his 02 voice. All of them were last played when they weren't that much younger than they are currently. If Toshiko Fujita was fine as 14 year old Taichi, why not 17 year old Taichi (especially when Masako Nozawa plays Goku all throughout his life).
The original voices were the characters. They can obviously project their voices to sound older. It's also worth noting that Jou and Yamato had male voices to begin with, so there's really no point in recasting them (and hell, Koushirou's new voice is still female).
Beyond that, this is a nostalgia driven show. Replacing the original cast makes no sense.
For most of them? Two months ago, when a new audio drama was released along with the Blu-ray set (which was also specifically part of the hype cycle for this).
Taichi wasn't in that, but Toshiko Fujita did play Taichi again in Young Hunters back in 2011, as well as in the 2013 PSP game.
Takeru's original VA is the only one who hasn't reprised the role. She's out of voice acting and spends her time threatening legal action against people who criticize her on the internet. But I had expected his 02 VA to return in that case.
It was only announced to be public in spring (either airing on TV or opening in a theatre). Anything else was speculation.
Combined with Sailor Moon Crystal and Ninja Slayer, I'm starting to become convinced at the immense difficulty there is to air something outside of the late night timeslots if a production doesn't give immense money to a TV station to air it. Digimon, Dragon Ball, and Sailor Moon's original productions had TV stations leading the production costs, but only Dragon Ball has a TV station in its new form (either Kai or Super). These are popular franchises and if they can't get on TV during an mainstream timeslot (that's not kids related), it's going to be near impossible for something else. Even the stations that sponsor anime (excluding NHK-E and MBS's Saturday/Sunday 17:30 timeslot) tend to run it later at night anyways.
I'm more convinced that there were issues getting a station to sponsor this (as well as Crystal) and so their forms ended up as they are. (I'm not going to open the can of worms for Toei quality; that's another issue entirely.)
Sailor Moon & Digimon already have built in international fanbases and Ninja Slayer, if it were more like a traditional anime, has a lot of elements that would appeal to Western tastes. Japanese companies, when they have properties that already have proven successful in the West or could likely be successful in the West, should look more into financing and partnerships with companies outside of Japan. The anime industry is a little too inward looking for its own good. That extra influx of cash (even if the cut would be relatively smaller) could only help the quality of the final product.
I was hesitant at first, but good God is it worth it. There are some luls in season 1, but the After story completely and utterly makes up for it and brings it to new amain heights. Just keep in mind it's not just a romance anime, it's an anime about love in family and friends as well as a romance story unlike any other. Man, the absolute cluster of emotions you go through is both draining and amazing. Go all-in and enjoy the ride from start to finish, you cannot be disappointed. It's free on Hulu.
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun episode 8: So many misunderstandings, the best kind of comedy.
The boxes scene absolutely cracked me up. I remembered that I'd seen a video of that scene before last year or something, but didn't know what anime it was.
Well, Takeru could have been his 02 voice. All of them were last played when they weren't that much younger than they are currently. If Toshiko Fujita was fine as 14 year old Taichi, why not 17 year old Taichi (especially when Masako Nozawa plays Goku all throughout his life).
The original voices were the characters. They can obviously project their voices to sound older. It's also worth noting that Jou and Yamato had male voices to begin with, so there's really no point in recasting them (and hell, Koushirou's new voice is still female).
Beyond that, this is a nostalgia driven show. Replacing the original cast makes no sense.
I wouldn't point to Goku as a good example of a voice not changing.
I guess maybe I don't get it since it's not nostalgic for me. I'm watching Adventure for the first time. I'm more concerned about Tri being an enjoyable series to watch than I am about them preserving elements from the first series. I don't think the original VAs were really that spectacular that this is a giant loss.
Saying this as someone who thought Heartcatch was pretty good; the things I have to say about precure in this age of Sailor Moon Crystal would get be banned.
Scrapped Princess
This was a pretty cool series. They developed a fairly interesting fantasy world with scifi elements. The characters are for the most part enjoyable even if they sort of feel archetypal. I am confused with
why humanity made the ultimate weapon to escape in the likeness of their traitor though. The guardian gene makes sense as they were both on humanity's side and talented individuals so their genes should be used, but, having Pacifica be a "clone" of Mauser is weird. There were likely other psychics to use to engineer just as effective weapons as Pacifica so why do so.
I wouldn't point to Goku as a good example of a voice not changing.
I guess maybe I don't get it since it's not nostalgic for me. I'm watching Adventure for the first time. I'm more concerned about Tri being an enjoyable series to watch than I am about them preserving elements from the first series. I don't think the original VAs were really that spectacular that this is a giant loss.
Certainly if you don't have nostalgia it won't be as big of a deal. But without nostalgia, I'm not sure what the point of this show is. They've specifically said it's targeted at fans of the original, they tied this in with a blu-ray release of the original, and built everything around nostalgia.
And my opinion will probably never be completely rational on this. I grew up with the original voices. I knew the names of most of them before I ever knew the names of any other actors, and I've spent 15 years listening to them through the episodes, image songs, etc. For me, Ai Maeda is Mimi. Without her, Mimi just isn't the same. And the same goes for the rest of them, too. I can't even conceive of Koushirou, Jou, Yamato, etc without their original voices. They gave so much personality to the characters.
And it feels very much to me like Toei have deliberately mislead people. They released a brand new audio drama with the original cast. They heavily advertized the fact that the Digimon voices were returning. This feels very much like a bait and switch.
And at the end of the day, we're left with a nostalgia driven sequel that has no staff from the original, replaces the actors for all the main cast, and seemingly has no reason to exist whatsoever. Who is this even for at this point?
