I was actually joking, but yeah, Lucy is a much earlier example.
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Winter 2012 Anime Thread 2.22: You Can (Not) Outpost Cajunator
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I was actually joking, but yeah, Lucy is a much earlier example.
I wonder how much of Bakemonogatari's success is due to whatever built-in fanbase the novels have.
The noteworthy part of Madoka's success is that it was a completely original production.
I didn't care much for her, I DID feel sorry for her having such abhorrent parents though.
Hey Arnold was such a great show
The noteworthy part of Madoka's success is that it was a completely original production.
I didn't care much for her, I DID feel sorry for her having such abhorrent parents though.
Hey Arnold was such a great show
Lots of people here knew exactly who that was, and they were excited about it as a result.
I recall the show being popularly referred to as "Chidamari Sketch"
Jex
Member
Exactly. Even among 'serious' anime fans, such as people who'd actually bother posting in an anime thread, he wasn't exactly a household name.
I think he's just unknown outside of Japan because he was mostly known for working in media that are mostly inaccessible to the moon rune-illiterate like VNs and light novels. I'd never heard of him before Madoka.
Crash Station
Member
I actually played Saya no Uta because of Madoka, so it was mostly the other way around for me.
I had to look him up right now.
Obviously there would be a circle of people who knows who he is and what type of work he does. But not enough to significantly contribute to the type of reception Madoka thought.
If anything, I'd figure most of the hype came from "Shinbo Magical girl show + Ume designs" before anything else. Feel free to correct me of course.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
Saya no Uta had a bit of a cult following perhaps, but Urobuchi wasn't especially popular and certainly not a hot seller.
Ah, I hadn't considered that. I don't know about how the TM fanbase overlaps with the Madoka fanbase though.
Yeah he did a lot of stuff with Fate VNs or something.
I'm pretty sure Gen Urobuchi is pretty well known in Otaku circles.
Now as for why Madoka hit the mainstream more, THAT I don't really know.
It seemed pretty "standard anime fare" to me.
Jex
Member
You talk like people know writers/directors!
Ultimadrago
Member
Could it be the
elements mixed with mahou shoujo?
Maybe it was a peanut butter/chocolate fusion for a lot. However, I haven't watched much magic girl to begin with. For all I know, it's a textbook element!
time travel
Maybe it was a peanut butter/chocolate fusion for a lot. However, I haven't watched much magic girl to begin with. For all I know, it's a textbook element!
Doubt it. that sort of stuff came later in the series.
I think it was just a mix of factors. cuteness, a darker theme, mahou shoujo fans, butch Gen fans, curious anime fans, curious non-anime fans, crazy people, Kyubists, and fans of Ume Aoki.
After I finished the series I was looking around for other impressions, and the internet considers it to be the evangelion of magical girl series. Or something. It just panders well to anime fans, I think.
Jex
Member
As if we need more reasons than this.
Also if you could identify the exact factors that make a show extremely over other titles then, well, you'd be one extremely clever person - certainly smarter than the majority of the people who work to produce anime right now because the majority of them don't make that kind of money.
I don't think it can be left up to one specific element or cause, people were just really engaged with it. It was the execution of the sum of its parts, and at time of airing no one was really second-guessing themselves as to WHY they liked it, they were just along for the ride and enjoyed it as it was happening.
That month-long wait after the best episode in the airing probably did it.
Well, it's not like shaft is the one really reaping the profits of their shows.
KO Traveling Hobo
Member
If you want to understand what made Madoka so popular, it might be worth checking out the GAF thread to see what people were saying.
Mind = blown.
Personally, I think that took away from my hype/enjoyment. It totally dropped any sense of momentum the show was building.
Damn tinypic ban ruining my OP
Time to update each and every pic!
I resent that accusation. I know nothing about writers/directors.
It was beautiful, once.
Literary girl looks pretty awesome. Maybe I should check out that series.
I love that pic.
I want a kyubey plush ;_;
I resent that accusation. I know nothing about writers/directors.
It was beautiful, once.
I love that pic.
I want a kyubey plush ;_;
Ultimadrago
Member
Shut up and take my offering!
83 pages?
That's all I needed to see.
You want to make a wish to be a magical girl?
Don't do it, hardly any of the gags are funny.
Jex
Member
That's what you get for running with a bad crowd.
Such the defeatist!
....You've cracked the SHAFT code. Both Bake and Madoka had those long ass gaps in between airings and ends; sold gangbusters. Soredemo aired normally; bomba.
Ultimadrago
Member
I am Commander Shepard and Regulus bringing up Space Jam mixes is my favorite part of that Madonka thread...on the Citadel.
Why didn't I see this coming?
Why didn't I see this coming?
This will be proven wrong once Nise outsells both of them!
Last Nise episode to air six months from now confirmed
I think that "Evangelion of mahou shoujo" is at least a partially apt comparison. I think it refers in part to the massive swell in popularity of Madoka, not necessarily just that it's a dark subversion of its genre like Eva.
If you're talking about best literature girl (Danshi Koukousei), she might be too much even for you.
Wait until the delay!
Getting insight into why Madoka is popular is worth your time, yo.
You likely don't have to go through it all, just read the last 20 pages or so
Why do you say that?
I waited eight months for the final episode of Denpa and it probably didn't even break even. Soredemo needed more fetish scenes, not more episodes.
She's made me literally make a HNNNNNNG noise out loud. I can't say that about many characters.
Still, Nichibros is probably the best comedy anime in years and you should watch it anyway.
I will become a Doctor in the field of SHAFTisims. Every day I study post-release habits, delays, headtilts, and toothbrushes.
Truly, the dawn of a new era in education has arrived.
Neko Mimi Mode
Member
Stellvia of the Universe 11
To let the less discerning viewer know that things have become more relaxed following the near
, space is now colored a light safety red instead of an intense danger green. Apparently this "red matter" has the side effect of making people unrealistically forgetful, as The Big Four go back to treating the Stellvia crew like children.
no really.
It's back to business today and Stellvia has quite a few surprises in store. All of the characters, support and all, get quite a bit of development here. Before that though, we've got the usual piloting antics. This time round there's some test failing of the Bianca's at high speed flight with the new "DLS system".
Jexhius posts his thoughts on the latest Nisemonogatari episode...
They never quite fully explained why they replaced the old navigational system, which seemed to work well, or what the DLS system actually improves on but, yeah. Professor Wikipedia insists that DLS is a correct term standing for "Deep Lens Survey" and referring to "an optical survey used to produce maps of the large-scale structure of the mass distribution beyond the local universe". Apparently they haven't discovered Mass Effect relays yet. I don't want to live on this Stellvia any more.
Impressive usage of correct technobabble though, I haven't given this show nearly enough credit for realism, but it does make an effort while other shows would pull a deus ex machina out of their asses.
Anyway,
Good news guys, second wave have passed. bet HYI.
Shortly after, we get treated to the sights and sounds of the Stellvia gang in the sick bay. Apparently a system like DLS, which relays compressed information DIRECTLY INTO YOUR BRAIN via your optic nerves, can have possible health side-effects. Who knew? Anyway, this scene is more interesting than I first expected.
Good lord, that was some episode. Dat character development, dat romance, dat epic conclusion and cliffhanger. This show just went from great to awesome in the space (see what I done there) of a single episode. I never saw
and everything else was just fantastic. Nearly disappointed I'm not marathoning this show now, but suffice it to say I've gained even greater appreciation for Tatsuo Sato and would like to erect a statue of him in my bedroom and worship it day and night.
If any of you guys haven't seen Stellvia yet, you seriously don't know what you're missing.
To let the less discerning viewer know that things have become more relaxed following the near
destruction of life as we know it
So what if you saved humanity, the Earth, Moon, colonies and my sorry ass! You're still younger than me har har!
It's back to business today and Stellvia has quite a few surprises in store. All of the characters, support and all, get quite a bit of development here. Before that though, we've got the usual piloting antics. This time round there's some test failing of the Bianca's at high speed flight with the new "DLS system".
Jexhius posts his thoughts on the latest Nisemonogatari episode...
They never quite fully explained why they replaced the old navigational system, which seemed to work well, or what the DLS system actually improves on but, yeah. Professor Wikipedia insists that DLS is a correct term standing for "Deep Lens Survey" and referring to "an optical survey used to produce maps of the large-scale structure of the mass distribution beyond the local universe". Apparently they haven't discovered Mass Effect relays yet. I don't want to live on this Stellvia any more.
Impressive usage of correct technobabble though, I haven't given this show nearly enough credit for realism, but it does make an effort while other shows would pull a deus ex machina out of their asses.
Anyway,
the usual candidates fail pretty bad (Jojo, purple haired guy etc) and even the better students struggle. Shima's turn comes about and she does really well, the whole time she couldn't get her mind off potential love interest Kouta though. I'm getting the feeling there's going to be big romantic developments coming soon. Maybe even as soon as next episode. It's been obvious for a while that he likes Shima, which makes two of them, but slowly but surely she's been coming to realize her feelings for him also. Heart warming stuff.
They have a chat later about the exercise with three groupies watching jealously from the sidelines. They go away talking smack about dat Shima saying she's "completely normal", yeah, aside from the fact she only SAVED THE WORLD. Anyway, this is all overheard by the perenially awesome Arisa. Obviously they all want a piece of Kouta and are already seeing Shima as a threat.
Speaking of Kouta, he intentionally does the exercise half-assed to get a C grade AGAIN. I'm wondering if it's actually modesty or if he's really just trolling. I hope they explain it soon regardless.
They have a chat later about the exercise with three groupies watching jealously from the sidelines. They go away talking smack about dat Shima saying she's "completely normal", yeah, aside from the fact she only SAVED THE WORLD. Anyway, this is all overheard by the perenially awesome Arisa. Obviously they all want a piece of Kouta and are already seeing Shima as a threat.
Speaking of Kouta, he intentionally does the exercise half-assed to get a C grade AGAIN. I'm wondering if it's actually modesty or if he's really just trolling. I hope they explain it soon regardless.
Good news guys, second wave have passed. bet HYI.
Shortly after, we get treated to the sights and sounds of the Stellvia gang in the sick bay. Apparently a system like DLS, which relays compressed information DIRECTLY INTO YOUR BRAIN via your optic nerves, can have possible health side-effects. Who knew? Anyway, this scene is more interesting than I first expected.
Jojo, or Captain Failure, (the short mauve haired dude who generally sucks at anything/everything) notices Akira (the closest thing to a Stellvia tsundere, cute chick with long green hair) crying. He had noticed her feeling down earlier in the episode too. It's pretty clear there's some feelings there, at least on Jojo's part. He knows right away what's getting her down (failing at class) and finds out the trick behind using the DLS from Kouta, just to cheer her up. I have no shame in declaring I now ship them both. Come at me bros.
I can't get over the character development they squeeze into these episodes. Rinna is apparently leaving soon to go back to the not-destroyed Ultima. She's a little down about it, so Shima tries to cheer her up. When Shima is cheerier than you, you KNOW you're depressed.
Yayoi gets accosted by Ayaka from The Big Four about whether she's the one teaching Shima how to not suck. Ayaka has several jealousy-induced monologues. The other Big Four members praise Shima during training. Ayaka has several jealousy-induced monologues. Repeat.
She asks to see Shima "after class". Due to lack of bike sheds to hide behind, they meet up at a launching pad. Shima thinks it's all just a nice wee chat, for some reason, but Yayoi knows something's up. She hears that Ayaka has asked Shima for some private training and runs to the launching pad in a panic. Luckily Kouta happens to be there, to whom Yayoi lets slip that Ayaka will "destroy Shima". Buh?
Queue serious music. I don't think she's kidding guys! Well anyway, she doesn't. It's episode 11 out of 26. You can stuff your serious music, Shima isn't going anywhere.
Apparently Ayaka did the same thing to Yayoi and, it is implied, was the reason she nearly died two years ago! Holy crap. Ayaka is JUST about to destroy Shima's Bianca when Kouta flies in and saves the day by mauling her with his C-mask firmly off.
The episode ends with the Stellvia bosses saying Kouta must be "the one". Like Neo or Highlander, I guess.
I can't get over the character development they squeeze into these episodes. Rinna is apparently leaving soon to go back to the not-destroyed Ultima. She's a little down about it, so Shima tries to cheer her up. When Shima is cheerier than you, you KNOW you're depressed.
Yayoi gets accosted by Ayaka from The Big Four about whether she's the one teaching Shima how to not suck. Ayaka has several jealousy-induced monologues. The other Big Four members praise Shima during training. Ayaka has several jealousy-induced monologues. Repeat.
She asks to see Shima "after class". Due to lack of bike sheds to hide behind, they meet up at a launching pad. Shima thinks it's all just a nice wee chat, for some reason, but Yayoi knows something's up. She hears that Ayaka has asked Shima for some private training and runs to the launching pad in a panic. Luckily Kouta happens to be there, to whom Yayoi lets slip that Ayaka will "destroy Shima". Buh?
Queue serious music. I don't think she's kidding guys! Well anyway, she doesn't. It's episode 11 out of 26. You can stuff your serious music, Shima isn't going anywhere.
Apparently Ayaka did the same thing to Yayoi and, it is implied, was the reason she nearly died two years ago! Holy crap. Ayaka is JUST about to destroy Shima's Bianca when Kouta flies in and saves the day by mauling her with his C-mask firmly off.
The episode ends with the Stellvia bosses saying Kouta must be "the one". Like Neo or Highlander, I guess.
Good lord, that was some episode. Dat character development, dat romance, dat epic conclusion and cliffhanger. This show just went from great to awesome in the space (see what I done there) of a single episode. I never saw
Ayaka's betrayalaton coming
If any of you guys haven't seen Stellvia yet, you seriously don't know what you're missing.
Ultimadrago
Member
Oh, I've already watched it. Just surprised to see that many pages of discussion over the show.
Edit: Oooh, thought you said "why Madoka is worth your time." My bad, bad speed reading will be the death of me.
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