The sci-fi twist and collective groaning

Picture the scene- your elusive quest for the perfect fantasy series that satisfies all your needs and even sidesteps the usual clichés seems to have finally come to an end. The series you have identified has likable characters and a well grounded fantasy world filled with different factions, and then the writers go and put in an unwelcome twist- this entire world is just the far future of some contrived sci-fi Earth. Everything that made that fantasy world worthy is now pushed aside in the wake of a huge spiel of revelations about how the technologically advanced Earth came to be in this state, and how its future history is vitally important to the plot of the series.

I have to admit there are times when it can be interesting to see a less developed society’s perspective on a piece of modern technology is, but if we put this novelty aside, there isn’t much left to praise. No longer is the setting a well constructed alternate world, now it is just yet another future Earth, with technology providing a convenient deus ex machina and generally undermining the earlier setup of the story. If you want a sci-fi story, then make that plain from the start- don’t lead people on with the promise of a good fantasy, only to take it away shortly after.

Scrapped Princess, commonly regarded as good

Nonetheless, there is one case where the fantasy to sci-fi transition produced a good series- Scrapped Princess. Whilst far from being perfect or a top ten candidates, Scrapped Princess managed to produce an enjoyable series, perhaps because it introduced the sci-fi elements quite early on instead of saving them for the final arc, but most likely due to its pleasing designs and strong cast of characters. Yes, the plot was open to being parodied, with certain events playing out a little too conveniently, but overall the series was solid, entertaining and memorable.

Diverging for an “in hindsight” rant about Utawarerumono

On the opposite end of the scale, we have Utawarerumono, a series that always, in my mind, had great potential, but at various junctures along the way proceeded to throw it away. When I first saw the trailer for the anime, I knew I had to delve deeper into this wondrous fantasy world of various furries, but extended experience with both TV series and game left me in mourning for what could have been.

The reason why Utawarerumono’s world stands out in the first place is because, at first glance, it seems to be a well realised place. There are different tribes and clans, each with their own history, a world map with countries and alliance, religion, unique animals and a healthy dose of mysteries. In the right hands, who knows what complex stories could have been drawn from this backdrop, tales worthy enough to resemble the fantasy greats, or perhaps an empire-building game in the vein of the enjoyable Suikoden series. Instead, all we are given is one man’s quest to conquer the world, uncover his past and sleep with as many women as possible on the way.

To that end, instead of exploiting such a well-constructed setting, Utawarerumono opts for the easier route. As a lead character, Hakuoro is able to rally villagers to his cause, and within a matter of episodes he overthrows the evil ruling lords Sasante and Inkara (appropriately fat, ugly and self-serving minor villains) before taking his place as emperor of the country of Tusukuru. From then on, Hakuoro would go on to recruit more women to his cause even as he rallied against a procession of one-dimensional villains, from Niwe of the evil laugh to Kuuya, who wanted to bring peace through acts of unprovoked genocide.

All that, however, paled in comparison to what was to come in the final twist of the story. Everything about the world became suddenly insignificant in the face of the revelation that this was yet another future Earth where nuclear war caused mutation into furries, and Hakuoro had some hideously complex past as a frozen “Iceman” who turned out to be half of a sundered god. In this new phase, each revelation was more ridiculous than the last- the other half of the god somehow possessed Dii; Kamyu turned out to be the reincarnation of Iceman’s daughter Mutsumi and Eruruu was a descendant of “early furry” Mikoto who just happened to have the key to open an ancient lab where the scientists had been turned into immortal slimes. Even mecha got a look in in the form of the armoured Avu Kamuu, leaving both viewers and players so overwhelmed with rushed plot points that it would not be until much later that they could step back and realise how ridiculous it had been. None of the fantasy material seemed to matter anymore- even the mystery of the murderous Rak Shine was never satisfactorily answered (yes, Orikakan was tricked into thinking Hakuoro was Rak Shine, but who was the real one and where did he go?).

These revelations have left me in an odd possession with regards to Utawarerumono- even now I am drawn to it for what it could have been, but each exposure can only further highlight the disappointment. As I have said before, it is not so much that Uta was bad (since there are plenty of series that are worse than it), but that it could have been a lot more than it ultimately turned out to be.

Final Thoughts

Although Scrapped Princess proved to be the exception to the rule, turning fantasy worlds in post-technological age planet Earths is rarely a good move, with the end result usually squandering its early promise in favour of wild plot twists that ultimately create the disappointing endings they were presumably meant to avoid. Whilst it is clear that the fantasy genre in anime needs to evolve, it needs to remain separate and distinct from sci-fi if it is to make its mark.

Record of Lodoss War OVA

The Lodoss War OVA is generally regarded as THE classic fantasy OVA, complete with six heroic warriors and forces of evil determined on bringing chaos and destruction to the island of Lodoss for no apparent reason. It can hardly be said to be complex or thought-provoking, but it’s good entertainment and ultimately, it encapsulates all the key elements of a typical fantasy series, from dwarves and elves to magical swords and enchanted sceptres. With this in mind, can any other series do any more than be a copy of the original- and can that possibly be enough in these days of more sophisticated storytelling? In other words, since Lodoss War adequately fills the niche of classic fantasy, surely only the most dedicated of fans could want to watch more series that do exactly the same thing.

Unintentional Hilarity

Even so, even Lodoss War itself had a sequel, in the form of the Lodoss War TV series- a further twenty-seven episodes that packed in even more dragons, heroes, enchanted objects and misguided villains than ever before. There’s no doubt that the TV series was a case of taking things too far- after all, what was entertaining once only shows its cracks the more you go over the same old ground. With this in mind, there were only two ways to approach the series- you could either let yourself be disappointed that the classic formula wasn’t really up to being tested to destruction, or you could take a step back and let it be a mixture of mild entertainment and unintentional amusement. With even the writers poking fun at the storyline with the comedic “Welcome to Lodoss Island” skits at the end of the episode, you wouldn’t be alone in laughing at some of the more implausible aspect of Lodoss War TV, such as the villain being saved from a fall into lava through a last minute teleportation spell, or random commoners being considered suitable to become a king just because they happen to be named characters.

Ultimately, then, Lodoss War TV seemed to mark the start of a new era for the classical fantasy formula- one where laughing at the clichés, inconsistencies and well-known plot holes made for just as entertaining an experience as taking it seriously had once done. And, unsurprisingly, the apparent gap in the market for comedic fantasy had already been exploited.

Don’t take yourself too seriously

Although it came before Lodoss War, the long-running Slayers franchise already knew the pitfalls of playing it with a straight face, and refreshingly chose a light approach. Slayers was the answer to everyone who had wondered why the posturing swordsman didn’t get blown away with a fireball before he has a chance to swing his blade, or why it wasn’t a good idea to spend ages standing motionless in order to complete a lengthy incantation. Yes, it could get a bit tiresome and predictable (see the Premium movie for an example of when even a thirty minute movie can seem too long), but it also knew how to get the laughs.

In more recent years, the highly entertaining Rune Soldier once again exploited the fusion of fantasy and comedy with amusing results, following the adventures of an inept sorcerer after he becomes the resident magic user on a previously all-female group of adventurers. Ironically penned by the creator of Lodoss War and set in the same universe, Rune Soldier was the easygoing younger sibling of the fantasy giant, offering another much needed dose of hilarity that did not outstay its welcome.

Nonetheless, whilst poking fun at something can extend its lifespan somewhat, it cannot keep it going indefinitely. Intentional or not, the amusement can only last until the jokes start getting old, and ultimately this too will feel clichéd and stale.

Wearing a bit thin

Whether you try to take it seriously or find the funny side of a classic fantasy series, there are plenty of examples that indicate that the genre has had its day. Straight RPG adaptations such as Arc the Lad are notorious for being generally mediocre, with the added sting that there is no battle system or exploration to distract you from an average storyline- all you can do is sit and watch.

In more recent times, however, the greatest offender of them all must surely be Deltora Quest, the anime adaptation of an Australian series of fantasy novels. At first, it seemed as if Deltora would at least weigh in heavily on the amusement scale, with scenes such as the one in which the main character’s parents claim they had always been waiting for the moment when their untrained son would set out to save the world. Sadly, even this vestige of hope withered away as fast as the series’ animation budget when our hero’s confrontation with Seven Evil Men proved to be as slow-paced and boring as they come.

Final thoughts

It seems clear that the traditional fantasy has long since had its day- no longer is its simplistic storytelling enough to satisfy demanding modern audiences, and even those who feel a degree of nostalgia can simply delve into the existing catalogue of such titles. If fantasy wants to continue to attract viewers, it must start building more complex worlds in which to tell its stories, abandoning tired convention in favour of exploring the largely untapped potential of a fully realised alternate world.

In an upcoming follow-up to this article, we take a look at the effect of revealing a fantasy world to be sci-fi driven, discuss the success of the enjoyable Scrapped Princess and examine how Utawarerumono could have been a great, but was merely average.

For a while now, there have been several editorial titles sitting on my computer, but the effort needed to actually write such pieces has always seemed to be just beyond my grasp. In an attempt to clear out the backlog of ideas so that I can feel less guilty about not blogging quite as much, however, I have decided to forge ahead and just write the damn things.

First up, in case you couldn’t guess from the title, is the study of faithful adaptations- that is, anime series which follow the original manga almost word for word. Do we experience a sense of satisfaction in seeing something we love so accurately transcribed to the screen, or is it dull and boring to have to experience the exact same events all over again, only this time at a pace set by the demands of television rather than at our own reading pace? The answer is usually dependent on the series in question, and so we must look at some specific examples to see just how and why some faithful adaptations work, whilst others do not.

The Good and the Bad
There are times when anime producers must feel that they just can’t get it right. If they adhere too faithfully to the original manga, they risk alienating the existing fanbase by producing content they have already read at their own pace, and aren’t particularly interested in creating a carbon copy of. Change too much, however, and you run the risk of stepping into the realms of filler and Gonzo-esque rewrites that destroy much of what made the series worthy in the first place.

The series which seem to fare best in this sort of adaptation often prove to be those with no real overall plot, such as Aria, Mushishi, early School Rumble and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Each of these is episodic in nature, with a single chapter usually being turned into a complete episode or ten minute segment. Not only are these series very good to begin with, but they are free of an overall feeling of “I’m bored with this arc, when are they going to get to the next one?”. Instead, each episode can be taken on its own merits, and in the case of these series, everything that makes them enjoyable is properly brought to the screen- the beautiful artwork and well written content is still very much in evidence, with an added helping of colour, music and quality voice acting that was not available in the original.

With animation and music being the main things the animated version can add to the existing material, however, it becomes clear that skimping on them can only lead to trouble. Take xxxHOLiC for example; like the series mentioned above, it is episodic and many stories are taken from the manga, but with its slow pacing and lacklustre animation, it takes away the unique style that made the original so compelling.

What about series with a plot, then- are they doomed to always being inferior in carbon copy adaptation? Unsurprisingly, it depends on the quality of the original- if the story is good enough, then you won’t mind experiencing it twice in whatever form, but sometimes the act of going through it all again is just one time too many. Take Death Note, for example- the visuals and music were well done, but with each episode there was a sense of “well, this part was dull, but the next arc will be better”. Was such an exposition heavy series really a suitable candidate for animation in the first place?

Final Thoughts
For completists or devoted fans of a series, watching and reading the same content over and over will be little problem, but getting everyone to invest in the same content twice will require either an exceptional series or top notch animation and sound. Much as we may complain about anime-original content, maybe it is the differences that keep us watching.

Excel Saga

The Story: The ideological organisation of Across has but one goal- to conquer the ignorant masses and take over the world. To that end, Lord Ilpalazzo and his underlings- the enthusiastic yet incompetent Excel and the terminally ill Hyatt- plan to start by conquering F City, but with ultra-cute aliens, the Department of City Security and a general lack of funds to contend with, they may never actually get around to it.

Excel Saga marked my first exposure to this type of series, and in many ways, it was a case of being thrown in at the deep end. With dialogue rattled off so fast that it is hard to follow in either Japanese or English, and a screen littered with AD-Vid Notes in the DVD version, Excel Saga was an unrelenting audiovisual barrage that one really had to work at to get much out of. Watch it once, and you probably won’t like it; give it a second chance and you may find yourself warming to it.

In terms of content, each episode parodies a different genre of anime, and unless you have an overwhelming familiarity and love of them all, the result is somewhat mixed. Episodes such as the sports, dating sim and Fist of the North Star rip-offs all have their hilarious moments, but equally there are some instalments that will leave viewers completely nonplussed- and that’s before we even consider the two budget-saving clip shows and the ultra crude episode twenty-six (a DVD-only episode that is effectively a collection of everything that is too explicit or obscene to be aired on TV). In fact, although the preceding twenty-five episodes cannot even approach that forgettable instalment in terms of content, it is best to have a strong stomach if you wish to attempt Excel Saga- this is, after all, a series where the leads are frequently killed and resurrected, and one of the characters’ prime traits is coughing up blood.

On the subject of characters, it should come as little surprise for a series of this type that the extensive cast is generally comprised of one-joke personalities, and whilst some of them are amusing, others are just plain annoying. Of particular note is the now infamous Nabeshin, the afro-bearing avatar of director Shinichi Watanabe, a character who shoehorns himself into so many scenes that he becomes more of an irritation than a welcome presence.

Final verdict: It certainly has its funny moments, but with its blunt approach and fondness for crude slapstick, there are times when Excel Saga can be equally tiresome. Some episodes work, some don’t- and by the time it gets to the end, you’ll have probably had enough.

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

The Story: Sashi (Satoshi) and Arumi are childhood friends who have lived all their lives in the Abenobashi Shopping Arcade. Unfortunately, the arcade is now set to close down, and Arumi will be moving away. Before that can happen, however, the pair find themselves thrust into a series of themed alternate realities, each based on the original shopping arcade. Can they ever get home- and, more importantly, does Sashi even want to go home?

At first glance, Abenobashi looks to be a retread of Excel Saga, with each episode parodying a different genre in the form of an alternate world. Unfortunately, even at this early stage, the series crippled itself by forcing each episode into the tiresome formula of making the leads have to find and defeat a goblin before they could move to the next world. Instead of being able to sit back and enjoy each world, the knowledge that we would have to see the leads chase after a goblin yet again soured the experience.

Worse yet, in the second half of the series, Abenobashi attempts to meld a serious plot with its random world voyaging, and whilst certain parts of this plot are not too bad when taken on their own (the flashback episode about how the shopping arcade was originally built is actually one of the series’ finer moments), when combined with the parody world elements, everything just becomes a bit too messy for its own good- all ready to culminate in that sort of awful ending that only Gainax can manage. By this point, Sashi’s character has become so irritating and insensitive that even the viewers can feel Arumi’s frustration as a rift opens up between them due to Sashi’s inability to explain the truth of events to his friend.

In fact, most of the Abenobashi cast are such hideous caricatures in both appearance and personality that their presence alone is enough to sour one’s feelings on the series. No matter which world we see them in, the sight of the world’s ugliest trap or the bouncing breasts of the appropriately named Mune-Mune quickly become too much to bear.

Final verdict: Others may have found it funny, but Abenobashi never really clicked with me. Aside from the aforementioned flashback episode and an amusing RPG rip-off episode, whatever humour there was to be found in its parodies was all too often obscured by the irritating cast and crippling presence of a main plot that, when mixed with the less serious elements, resulted in a hideous mess.

Keroro Gunso

The Story: Sergeant Keroro and his platoon were meant to lead the glorious invasion of Earth by the froglike Keron people, but when he blew his cover and got caught by the Hinata family, the Kerons withdrew and left him stranded on Earth. Now effectively stuck as the Hinatas’ live-in maid, Keroro plots to reassemble his other platoon members, complete the conquest of Earth and keep his collection of Gunpla up to date.

A tale of alien frogs causing havoc on Earth, Keroro isn’t as wholeheartedly devoted to parody as the other series on this list, but it still takes whatever opportunities it can to rip off tip its hat to popular series that have come before. Even so, what can be comedic for fifty-one episodes does start losing its lustre the longer it drags on, and even as we receive the news that it will run into a fourth season (bringing the total up to over two hundred episodes), it is hard to muster up enthusiasm for what is most certainly going to be more of the same. I’ll discuss this point more thoroughly in a future editorial, but suffice to say that Keroro is the best example of how stale comedy can become when the same situation is played upon too greatly.

Final verdict: Monster may have left me wanting more even after 74 episodes, but that same amount of Keroro was more than enough to convince me to drop it.

Pani Poni Dash!

The Story: Rebecca Miyamoto is a genius who graduated from MIT at the tender age of eleven, but now she’s about to face her greatest challenge- teaching at a Japanese high school. Join Rebecca, her eclectic class and the perpetually ignored rabbit Mesousa as they prove that high school life can sometimes prove to be anything but routine.

Although it took me a few episodes to properly get into, having watched the entire series, PPD has become my favourite entry in the parody genre. Even compared to the others, it is completely random and often bizarre, but therein lies its strength; since the series is in no way restrained by even the vestiges of a plot, it is free to drift along wherever the whims of the writers take it, without particularly worrying about conforming to any sort of requirements. Of course, ‘drift’ is perhaps not the best word to use since the series often barrels through no end of parodies and references from all corners of the globe at nothing less than breakneck speed.

Like its fellow series, PPD has no shortage of named characters, and whilst they remain the usual one-trick personalities, they are not only a lot more aesthetically pleasing, but they have a vitality and enthusiasm that somehow sets them apart from the average overpopulated cast. It can be bit overwhelming trying to get to grips with them all at first, but give it time and you’ll come to appreciate them all.

Visually, PPD is everything such a crazy series needs to be- brightly coloured, well animated and unafraid of adopting a different style where it better suits the flow of the jokes. And if that isn’t enough to win you over, just take a look at the characters in the cute chibi forms they often adopt.

Final verdict: Suspend your disbelief and accept that this is a world where talking cats living in vending machines is one of the least bizarre occurrences, and you too will find yourself won over by the unashamed randomness of Pani Poni Dash.

Final Thoughts
Comedy is perhaps the most subjective of genres, so whilst everyone will have their own unique take on these four series, for me, crazy comedy works best only when the writers are brave enough to go the whole way and completely abandon any pretence of a framing plot. This isn’t the easiest of genres to get into and it most certainly won’t appeal to everyone, but in those moments when you can just go with the flow and let the series in question take you along for the ride, it becomes thoroughly entertaining.

As I said before, transforming a story that was meant for one medium into something that was meant for another is never an easy task, and in the case of manga, it was one that often seemed to result in an inferior task. Unlike the static case of manga, however, many games already have movement and sound, or, in the case of visual novels, a more detailed story than is possible to convey in the speech bubbles of manga. Does this offer any advantage when the time comes to create an anime adaptation?

RPGs
It’s easy to say that no good can come of RPG adaptations, and indeed, when looking at the line-up, there isn’t really a great deal to disprove that statement. The root cause of the trouble probably stems from the fact that the vast majority of RPGs follow the typical ‘classical fantasy’ tale of one band of heroes facing off against the Lord of Darkness and his minions. We’ve all seen it so many times by now that whilst it may fly in a situation where the player also has a battle system, levelling up and choosing the best equipment to distract them from the storyline, when it comes to just sitting and watching events play out on screen, there isn’t really much to entertain. A teenage boy with an oversized sword? A generic Lord of Evil who sits in a chair and wants to take over the world for some reason? Excuse me whilst I try to find something a little less overused.

That being said, even RPGs that dare to break the mould don’t necessarily translate into good anime. In principle, a cutscene-heavy sci-fi epic like Xenosaga should have been ideal material to turn into an anime, but somewhere along the line changes to the storyline and a laughable virtual reality episode left the result as little more than mediocre. Others, such as the hilariously ironic Disgaea, seemingly spent their entire budget on the trailer, leaving the actual series to become a poorly animated and decidedly juvenile rehash of the same three jokes.

Even so, it is hard not to want these adaptations- somehow, the desire to see our favourite characters in a new form remains strong despite the failures that have come before. Who didn’t watch the Suikoden III opening and think “if only there was an anime of this?” (speaking of which, I must read the manga someday). Who hasn’t seen anime style cut scenes of certain games and secretly wanted more? Is there any way to ensure that the result is not simply a depressingly weak story animated on a shoestring budget? Can the production studio be convinced to put more effort in when they know the fans will most likely buy it anyway?

One possible answer is to reduce the overlap between the anime and its original game, perhaps by using the anime to continue the story (a la .hack) or flesh out a character or scenario that the original game never really had time to devote much attention. As we can see from the likes of .hack//Roots or (dare I provoke the fanboys?) Advent Children, this isn’t a guaranteed recipe for success, but it would allow the writers more freedom to create something better suited for anime, instead of turning another twenty-six episodes into a forgettable plot about the Lord of Darkness.

Action Games
When it comes to action and beat-‘em-ups being given an anime, you can usually depend on one thing- it’s not really supposed to be about the quality. Amidst the various mediocre fight-fests, however, there is one title worth mentioning- Gungrave. Although it does degenerate into a series of boss fights by the end, the earlier episodes make for an interesting mafia-centred character drama, proving the point above that expanding on something not explicitly covered in the game itself may be the way to ensure better quality.

Visual novels, dating sims and eroge
When it comes to visual novels and the like, the concerns about making an anime adaptation are somewhat different- after all, these games are arguably geared more towards plot than gameplay. With page upon page of text scenario to work with, there should be no shortage of material upon which to base an anime story, but here a different problem arises- there may well be far too much to include, forcing the anime to include a pruned version of the story which neglects a lot of the character development that actually made the original game worthy. Certainly Fate/Stay Night, Utawarerumono and Higurashi, whilst hardly perfect in their original forms, demonstrated their flaws more plainly when showed in a more bare bones form.

Of course, when we come to the seemingly endless seam of games created to enable the protagonist to interact with as many members of the opposite sex as possible, we probably shouldn’t expect much in the cases where they are just directly transformed into standard harem or reverse harem series. The likes of YoakeNa might have some nice (non-H) CGs, but they prove to be too forgettable to even pass as light entertainment. Meanwhile, the Neoromance series of games (Haruka, Corda, Angelique) has thus far provided three uninspiring anime adaptations, each of which is filled with unnecessary angst, personality deficient bishounen and either an entirely predictable storyline or no discernible plot whatsoever. Perhaps the only success in this department is Meine Liebe, which deviates from its dating sim origins and just makes all the bishounen involved HARD GAY for each other.

Fortunately, however, there are successes to be found as well, such as the curiously addictive and bittersweet Air, the mystery of Tsukihime and the heart-rending yet satisfying emotional drama of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien. For series like these, it almost seems worth enduring the failures.

Final thoughts
It seems hard to find a good game adaptation no matter which genre you look at, but amidst the sea of low quality and eminently forgettable titles, there are a few eroge adaptations that do stand out. With more and more games being turned into anime, we can expect a continual influx of the average and mediocre, but nonetheless we can also hope for the odd gem to turn up now and then.

I’d like to do a Part III concentrating on light novel adaptations, but that will have to wait until I’ve read more of said novels.

From some viewpoints, this may seem a little strange- surely black and white pictures squeezed onto an A5 page cannot compared to something that has colour, movement and sound? Admittedly, this is often case for action series; trying to follow a battle via static images is often a futile cause, but most other genres seem to lose something in the transition from page to screen. Not only is manga a medium in which the audience can easily set their own pace, but a story designed to fill a certain number of pages may simply not adapt well to being squeezed into a set amount of 25 minute episodes- all too often, the pace of the anime becomes too slow at the start and too rushed towards the end. Whilst this is a general complaint, however, there are many other causes which affect specific series, some of which I will try to cover below.

• Catching up with the manga. For long running series, this may mean the inclusion of the dreaded filler arc, anime-original material which rarely lives up to the manga and often drags on forever, but which ultimately keeps the franchise warm.
• Anime original endings. If the manga is still ongoing, or the anime simply doesn’t have enough episodes to cover the whole story, it has no choice but to create its own ending, which all too often is inconclusive and unsatisfying finale that seems destined to make frustrated viewers turn to the manga.
• Sticking too close to the original. There are a number of series which are very successful examples of remaining faithful to the manga, but it can be a bit of a double-edged sword. For a series like Death Note, familiarity with the story adds a degree of impatience to the viewing experience, since there is always a sense of just wanting to get on with it. Viewers may equally not want to waste time and money on experiencing the same story twice over.
• Alternatively, diverging too much is not always wise, as Gonzo’s adaptations often seem to demonstrate. Whenever an element is changed, you run the risk of damaging the very qualities that made the series enjoyable in the first place; arguably it is a risk worth taking to see what new qualities can be brought to the franchise, but it is all too often a gamble that does not pay off.

Contradictory as these points are, they are all factors that must be considered when bringing a manga series to life, and all too often they prove to be stumbling blocks that damage the respective anime.

All that being said, I thought it would be interesting to point out the series that have broken the trend and improved on the foundations of their respective franchises.

Angelic Layer
As I pointed out in my recent review, the Angelic Layer manga isn’t bad, but it does suffer from being very fast paced. In contrast, the anime does perhaps drag on a bit, but it has more time to devote to character and story development. Since each version of the story has its own strengths and weaknesses, I find it hard to pick out which one I prefer, but both are good for some low-demand light entertainment.

Aria
As with several of the other titles to come, Aria is not so much a case of improving on the manga as simply maintaining the standard; whether brought to life by an animation studio or Kozue Amano’s beautiful artwork, the sweet and simple tale of the undines of Neo-Venezia is a touching story that will always have a special place in my heart.

Hikaru no Go
The HnG manga was a good story that could only have been improved by not ending so abruptly, and the fact that the anime was so faithful to the manga (bar some of the later material) means both are worthy of note.

Honey and Clover
Since I haven’t read far enough in the manga to compare it to the original, I won’t comment on Honey and Clover II, but both the first season and the corresponding manga chapters weave an absorbing story of a group of people making the transition (or not) from college life to the real world.

Hunter X Hunter
Whilst HxH is a worthy concept in any form, the manga suffered from rough artwork and an overly fast pace in certain arcs. The anime cleaned things up, added some filler material that was actually good, and generally created a superior product overall.

Kokoro Library
The Kokoro Library manga suffered from its very short chapters; each instalment was more like a brief snapshot of life at the library than something that told any kind of story. In animated form, we were finally able to get to know the characters and setting a lot better, and thus properly enjoy this appealing story.

La Corda d’Oro
It’s still early days for the English manga release, but so far the story hasn’t quite lived up to the animated version- with its sparse page content and less aesthetically pleasing character designs, the manga does not exert the same draw as the anime. There is still plenty of time for it to improve, however, and hopefully it will find its feet soon.

Le Chevalier d’Eon
The first chapter of the Chevalier manga was not at all what I was expecting; where the anime is a historical fantasy that manages to excel despite stepping close to the realms of cheese, the manga seems to be more of a straightforward action series featuring a magical transvestite who switches between laid back bishounen and evil-fighting Otome wannabe.

Mushishi
Be it anime or manga, Mushishi is excellent whatever form it comes in. The anime adds colour and music to the manga stories, but whilst it has superior presentation, the manga has more chapters and thus a wider selection of stories to choose from.

Ouran High School Host Club
Like many comedy series, Ouran is simply that much better in animated form- what can be static and confusing on the page becomes vibrant and enjoyable onscreen. In particular, the manga version suffered from the fact that it was not always possible to tell certain characters apart- a factor which was never a problem in the anime- whilst their respective VAs really brought some additional vitality to the lively characters of the Ouran Host Club.

Pretear
I would hardly call Pretear an especially good story under any circumstances, but the anime and manga complemented each other nicely by offering a slightly different perspective on the same events. Together, they make a mediocre story rather than two poor stories.

Read or Die
Flame me if you like, but I read the first volume of the ROD manga (Die, not Dream), and I didn’t really like it. Much as I liked the idea of seeing Nenene and Yomiko’s past, I couldn’t follow the action, and the dialogue was so heavy that it gave me a headache. I really enjoyed the OVA, but this manga did little for me.

Rozen Maiden
Despite the lack of those little inconsistencies that plagued the anime, the Rozen Maiden manga simply lacks the impact of the animated version. Where the manga has somewhat scrappy and simplistic artwork (and reputedly increased harem leanings as the series progresses), the anime has high quality visuals and music- perfect for establishing the goth-loli atmosphere. Nonetheless, I must read the later volumes to see what the story was meant to be, as opposed to what it was in Traumend.

Tactics
Most Tactics fans prefer the manga and slate the anime, but even if I stand virtually alone in this, I really enjoyed the Tactics anime- despite Kantarou’s hideous personality, it was a worthy fantasy series that filled my need for such an anime. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough- I could do with a second season.

Tokyo Mew Mew
It can’t be denied that the TMM anime is mostly filler, and while that in itself is somewhat tedious, it did give the supporting characters a chance to do something. The manga was so highly focused on Ichigo and her boyfriend that hardly anyone else got a look in, but the anime finally brought the more interesting characters to the fore, even if it was via a monster of the week format.

Final Thoughts
Adapting a story that was conceived with one medium in mind is never an easy task, and whilst most studios are up to producing an anime that is at least reasonably entertaining, more often than not, they simply cannot live up to the original. With that in mind, it isn’t likely that I’ll stop saying ‘the manga is better’ any time soon.

Coming soon: Part Two- anime based on games.

EXTRA ADDITIONS

Koi Kaze
As already mentioned in comments, the Koi Kaze does indeed improve on the manga, taking a story which is solid and turning into something where the viewer becomes completely absorbed by the characters and their situation. A quietly powerful series, Koi Kaze demonstrates just how much colour and sound can enhance a story as opposed to detracting from it.

Pani Poni Dash!
PPD and its original manga share the common trait of being completely and utterly random, but what works onscreen is not always as successful on the page. Watching a colourful and crazy anime can be entertaining, but trying to follow similar events on the page just leads to confusion and an inability to get into the series at all. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with Pani Poni, which carries the viewer along in anime form, but leaves the reader cold as a manga.

REC
The REC anime may have been a little too short, but at least it was also a reasonably enjoyable mix of drama and romance. In principle, the manga should be better since it takes the story further, but unfortunately, it is not as desirable as it would first seem. Not only do the characters continually get stuck in endless ruts of angst, but the content verges on the uncomfortably adult at times, with everything from an attempted rape to one of the female characters spilling her drink all over her exposed crotch.

]]> http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2006/12/21/can-anime-surpass-its-source-material-part-one-manga-based-series/feed/ 12 http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2006/12/07/second-seasons-second-rate-part-two-remakes-spin-offs-and-alternate-universes/ http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2006/12/07/second-seasons-second-rate-part-two-remakes-spin-offs-and-alternate-universes/#comments Thu, 07 Dec 2006 21:44:59 +0000 Karura http://azureflame.ikimashou.net/?p=414 Those with the ability to recall trivial and largely useless information may recall that some time ago, I wrote an article about second seasons that directly followed on from the first, and whether they were always destined to be inferior to their predecessors. The conclusion seemed to be that, actually, despite the stigma attached to them, there was a fairly even distribution of both good and bad second seasons. Nonetheless, at the time, I promised to cover spin-offs and remakes in a separate article to see how they compared, and now, at long last, that time has come.

Unlike the direct continuations covered before, remakes have a dubious advantage in that there is no need to come up with fresh storyline- the writers merely need to retool the original, presumably improving upon it in the process. Conversely, spin-offs need not be anything like the original; all they need is one or two familiar faces to draw in fans of the franchise, and from there the creative staff are left to their own devices. Despite these key differences, both types of continuation have an air of moneymaking about them, but is it really fair to tar them all with the same brush? Are there some continuations out there which are genuine improvements on the original, or are all they all simply sub par attempts to squeeze the last few drops of money out of a flagging franchise? Naturally, the only way to find out is to look at some examples.

Were these continuations a good thing?
Series in red did not fare so well compared to their respective first seasons; those in black were able to maintain quality or even improve upon it. I’m not going to include the massive headaches that are the Gundam and Macross franchises; not only do they deserve articles of their own, but my incomplete experience of each franchise hardly puts me in a position to be able to write a definitive piece about them. I’ll also be neglecting film and manga spin-offs and remakes for the most part.

.hack second generation
The “first generation” of .hack was already something of a multi-platform moneymaking scheme, but back in those days, the series actually had worth. SIGN was an atmospheric tale with excellent music, the games were oddly addictive, LOT had bright colours, Ouka and a giant grunty and Liminality was…forgivable, at least. Unfortunately, the much anticipated second trip to the well could not live up to the originals- Roots was a slow and dull tales that meandered around insipid characters without even exhibiting signs of a plot, whilst Online Jack was amusing only in its awfulness.

A.D. Police OVA
I haven’t watched the AD Police TV series (completion decrees I must, but enthusiasm puts it off indefinitely), however, the less said about this three episode OVA, the better. Instead of being an interesting alternate perspective on the BGC universe, AD Police is a generic cyberpunk series that might as well have been set in any dystopian future. Unless you have a hankering for naked androids, blood, and generic characters, there isn’t much incentive to watch this.

Ah! My Goddess TV
Given the length of the AMG manga, a five episode OVA didn’t really seem enough, but unfortunately, the TV series remake took things to the other extreme by choosing to continue for too long. With a premise that is basically nothing more than light harem entertainment, short and sweet is far more desirable than long and drawn out, and thus the TV series was doomed to get old eventually- especially when it ran into its second season.

Adventures of Mini-Goddess
A spin-off of five minute episodes featuring the adventures of the chibi goddesses and rat Gan-chan, Mini-Goddess had some cute character designs but little else going for it. Over the course of its forty eight episodes, Mini-Goddess occasionally managed to breach the realms of light entertainment, only to quickly sink back down into the domain of the pointless and bizarre (or, in the case of the mould monster Gabira, the sickeningly disgusting).

Akane Maniax
Having thoroughly enjoyed the drama of KgNE, it seemed only right to try this OVA spin-off featuring supporting character Akane. Unfortunately, the OVA also featured a new character in the form of mecha and baseball fanatic Gouda, a personality so irritating that he seemed to be the ultimate fusion of all the brash and moronic testosterone-addled males that had come before him. Although there were some vaguely touching moments in the third and final episode, the vast majority of this OVA was something of a chore to get through.

Angel Links
A spin-off series set in the Outlaw Star universe, Angel Links shifts the action away from Gene Starwind and his band of outlaws, instead choosing to focus on teen prodigy Meifon Li, captain of the starship Angel Links. To its credit, Angel Links tried to include an interesting plot that slowly unfolded over the course of the series, but without the likable cast and vibrant energy of Outlaw Star, it could only manage a generic and clichéd space story.

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040
A remake of the original Bubblegum Crisis OVA, Tokyo 2040 is often criticised by hardcore BGC fans for altering the characters’ personalities, but whilst this TV series is the kind of thing you can only really enjoy when you’re just getting into anime, I have to say I find it an improvement on the original. The story may have lost momentum and even coherence towards the end, but the 26 episode length provided valuable opportunities for character development, whilst the basic character designs were cleaner and more refined.

Erementar Gerad: Flag of Blue Sky
I freely admit that I have only read a single chapter of this spin-off manga, but even at this early stage it lacks the appeal of the original. The artwork is still as excellent as ever, but action scenes are confusing to the point of making it entirely unclear what is going on, whilst a promo video I watched paints this series as a somewhat generic cross between Burst Angel and The Third.

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
This alternate universe comedic take on the FMP universe is my personal favourite from all three series; as FMP proved in the first series, it simply isn’t very good at tackling serious storylines, so what better step to take than to remove them entirely? Admittedly, I had my qualms before viewing it, but Fumoffu actually turned out to be a light-hearted and consistently amusing experience that entertained without ever outstaying its welcome.

Futakoi Alternative
Where Futakoi was a standard harem story with the twist that all the love interests were twins, Alternative kept the twins and threw everything else out in its attempt to make a sequel that only bore the vaguest of resemblances to the original. Each series is enjoyable, but for its own reasons- Futakoi is light, harmless entertainment, whilst Alternative is a strangely addictive combination of likable characters and completely bizarre situations. Admittedly, it could be argued that they don’t even need to be considered part of the same franchise, but it is actually interesting to pick up on their few common threads without having enjoyment of one series overshadowed by memories of the other.

Future Hero Retro Story
Another Outlaw Star spin-off, this prequel manga features a boy from Earth who inherits his grandfather’s spaceship; as potentially entertaining as it might sound, however, the mangaka has packed so much action and craziness into each page that it is very difficult to even follow the story.

Ginga Densetsu Weed
Weed and Gin are held in such regard by their devoted following that I always feel guilty about critiquing them, but that’s never stopped me before, so I’m not going to hold back now. Weed was something I could actually watch- it was an odd mix of shounen clichés, bloody violence and brown dogs, but it was perfect for parodying. Unfortunately, at fourteen years its senior, the original Gin series had not weathered well enough to entertain me as much as Weed did; the screencaps reveal an amusing HARD GAY trend, but the actual story does not enthral.

Hellsing Ultimate
Personally, I’m not all that enthused by the Hellsing franchise as a whole, but the OVA remake at least has the crowd-pleaser of not being animated by Gonzo sticking closer to the original material.

Kanon 2006
My feelings on Kanon should already be well known, but in the interests of completion, I’ll summarise them here. Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of either version of Kanon, the Toei version had the advantage of pacing, whereas KyoAni can only go so far in its attempts to balance treacle-slow development and an overly sarcastic lead with top quality animation. Admittedly, Kanon 2006 has some way to go, but right now it is struggling even to be parody worthy.

Mai-Otome
Ah, Mai-Otome, what haven’t I already said about the disappointment that you brought? Suffice to say that whilst HiME was hardly perfect, it did at least contain action scenes and a plot, elements that Otome did not seem to feel it was necessary to include. Perhaps Otome could have gone somewhere if it had had 26 more episodes, but as it stands, it just strung us along for the seventeen weeks it took to realise that it was never going to deliver.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Although Nanoha went on to eclipse its predecessor Triangle Heart in terms of popularity, I have to admit that I would rather have seen a Triangle Heart TV series. Where Nanoha was always something of an on the rails magical girl show which traded on its production values and loli appeal, Triangle Heart offered a more interesting premise by casting Nanoha’s siblings as a pair of sword wielding bodyguards.

Paradise Kiss
Both ParaKiss and its prequel Gokinjo Monogatari are similar stories about a group of students at the Yazawa School of Arts, but where Gokinjo was a slow starter that sometimes felt like a bit of a struggle to get through, ParaKiss is a sharper, faster-paced experience. The animated version also benefits from actually looking as stylish as a fashion series needs to be- a far cry from the ugliness of the Gokinjo anime.

Parasite Dolls
Yet another Bubblegum Crisis spin-off, this three episode OVA collects together a trio of stories about a secret branch of the AD Police- unfortunately, it suffers from the exact same problems as the previous AD Police OVA. The characters are insipid, the stories are standard, and there really is no reason to care about anything that happens. It’s a shame, as this could have actually been a decent spin-off if it had been a full TV series.

Pretty Sammy
Even Tenchi had a spin at magical girls with this OVA (which later spawned a TV series of its own). Unfortunately, despite its apparent attempts to be a tongue-in-cheek parody of a standard magical girl series, it ended up as nothing more than a clichéd example of the very genre it was trying to mock. Aside from some decent character designs and the novelty of seeing familiar Tenchi characters cast in different roles, there isn’t much to recommend this.

Tenchi Universe
The first Tenchi TV series retells the Kagato story from the first OVA, and whilst purists always insist on putting it in second place, I have a confession to make- I saw Tenchi Universe before I even touched the OVAs, and it is actually my favourite incarnation of this story arc. Despite the inevitable filler that crept in, the series was able to explore the characters a lot more over the course of 26 episodes, and can also lay claim to having one of the most well-resolved endings of any anime series (I still feel a pang of emotion when “Dimension of Love” begins to play).

Tenchi in Tokyo
Conversely, the second TV series chose to tell a completely original story, and marked the beginning of the franchise’s downward spiral. A monster of the week series with generic enemies, reused jokes and awful animation, Tenchi in Tokyo has a few entertaining moments, but even hardcore fans are disinclined to praise it.

Tenchi GXP
The third Tenchi TV series, GXP is actually set in the same universe as the original OVAs, but introduces an entirely new cast of characters. Unfortunately, what could be an interesting story about life as a Galaxy Police officer turns out to be nothing more than an over-the-top and fanservice laden harem series that makes the original Tenchi look tame. The gimmick of making the lead a young man with incredibly bad luck is also one that gets old fast, and is only the first in a long line of jokes that the series runs into the ground.

Sakura Wars TV

A retelling of the first Sakura Wars OVA, Sakura Wars TV encapsulates both the good and bad aspects of a typical OVA to TV series transition. The plot may err on the side of the monster of the week formula, but the added episode count offers the opportunity to fully explore the characters, even if Reni and Orihime are unable to get in on the act.

X TV
Neither a two hour movie nor a 24 episode series can really do justice to an 18 volume manga series, but clearly the latter has a better chance of at least conveying the essence of the story. Where the movie made so little sense that it was hard to even remember the characters’ names afterwards, the anime was a lot more coherent. It may have diverged from the manga in the latter half and been in sore need of a second season, but for now, it is the best animated adaptation of X that we have.

Final Thoughts
Based on the number of titles in red, it seems that remakes and spin-offs are even worse at living up to their predecessors than direct continuations. Whether retelling a story or creating an entirely new one in the same universe, perhaps it is just too much work to completely step out of the shadow of the original.

Fair enough, you say, if the existing material is complete and self-contained, but what about stories without a proper ending? Don’t they deserve some kind of conclusion, be it in OVA or TV series form? This is indeed a valid point, and in fact, several series, such as Fushigi Yuugi and Hunter X Hunter, have successfully continued or concluded with the help of a few extra OVAs. The problems arise, however, when the writers either end up with more episodes than they know what to do with, or don’t have the courage to actually put an end to the series. After all, if a second season can generate some more profits, why not leave the door open for a third? Who needs to worry about quality when you can just squeeze as much from a franchise as possible? And in that case, are the fans equally at fault for continuing to support their favourite shows long after they have ‘jumped the shark’?

Regardless of the reasons behind their existence, the fact often remains that as a viewer, second seasons all too often fail to live up to the standards set by the first- and what better way to quantify this effect than to look at some specific examples? Note that for this article, only direct continuations are considered- alternate universe spin-offs, retellings, or follow-ups based on different characters will be covered in Part Two.

Were these continuations a good thing?
Series in red did not fare so well compared to their respective first seasons. Those in black were able to maintain quality or even improve upon it. Linked titles lead to existing rants and appraisals about the series in question.

Ah! My Goddess Sorezore no Tsubasa
There were only so many times we could hear “Keiichi-kun!”, “Belldandy!” without getting bored of the situation, and where 26 episodes would have been fine, 52 were far, far too many. Four episodes in, the series seemed gently entertaining, but by the tenth, each instalment was nothing more than a 25 minute stretch of tedium and pain.

Aria the Natural
Although it probably wouldn’t be the case in practice, Aria is one of the few series that feels like it could go on forever without losing its charm. Since there are plenty of manga chapters to draw from and no main plot to worry about in the first place, The Natural’s 26 episodes are easily able to stand with the thirteen instalments of the original series.

Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
(Fumoffu qualifies for Part Two)
Neither FMP nor Second Raid are particularly good, but with its shorter episode count and lack of filler, Second Raid manages to pull ahead of the original by some way.

Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 2^nd Gig
Although I will no doubt incur the wrath of fanboys for only the 500^th time since I started writing about anime online, I really don’t rate Stand Alone Complex as the ‘best thing ever’ that most people make it out to be. Yes, it has excellent music, and it’s fairly entertaining, but as far as I can see, it isn’t so much clever as ‘lengthy exposition scenes masquerading as something clever’. Nonetheless, 2^nd Gig manages to come in ahead of its predecessor for one simple fact- it actually had some episodes devoted to character development. At last, the likes of Saito and Paz could finally be characters with more depth than “guys who stand in the background and support the main three”, whilst even Motoko and Batou became more interesting personalities.

Honey and Clover II
My feelings on Honey and Clover II should already be well-known, but nonetheless I’ll be reiterating them here. I absolutely loved season one; from start to finish, every episode seemed to be right on the mark as far as quality was concerned. Then along came season two, and everything became a lot more inconsistent; some episodes were undoubtedly good, but others had a meandering focus, unable to settle on which tone or storyline they wanted to adopt. Mayama became a one-dimensional stalker, debating on whether or not it would be better to break into Rika’s locked room, Shuu’s love of Hagu became almost creepy, and minor character Kaoru suddenly surged into the spotlight from out of nowhere.

Keroro Gunso season 2
Admittedly, I have only seen a short way into Keroro season two, but so far, it just doesn’t quite capture the spark that made season one so entertaining. The early episodes of the season clearly suffered through a lack of Giroro and Dororo, but even their return hasn’t brought things up to speed- what once was hilarious is now merely partially amusing.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s
The first season of Nanoha was so completely and utterly by the book that A’s couldn’t help but improve upon it to some extent. The story may have been only slightly more interesting than the original, but A’s pushed itself forward with new characters and powered up battles to feast the eyes upon. Better still, Nanoha now actually seemed to be contributing to the battles a little more, rather than just standing there and letting Raging Heart do all the work.

Maria-sama ga Miteru ~Spring~
Both seasons of Maria-sama are equally drenched in angst, but ~Spring~ had the advantage of having already introduced the characters and setting. Where the first thirteen episodes had been a bit of a slow burn that took some getting used to, ~Spring~ could just pick up right where they left off, and thus proved a more consistently enjoyable experience.

Meine Liebe Wieder
Meine Liebe will never be renowned for the complexity of its plot, but season one more than compensated for that with some absorbing character studies and intriguing one-off stories. At first glance, Wieder seemed to promise a lot more, such as new characters, shifting relations and even simmering tensions with another country that must inevitably lead to war. Unfortunately, whatever potential Wieder had was lost in the mires of parody as the series itself devolved into character angst, undeveloped additions to the cast, and a main storyline that proved to be a carbon copy of the first season (oh look, Beruze is behind yet another generic duke who wants to overthrow the king! I didn’t see that coming!).

Rozen Maiden Traumend
Like Wieder, Traumend was series that tried to convince us it would be more epic than its first season, and in exactly the same fashion, it failed to deliver. The new characters were dislikeable, the storyline seemed to contradict season one in places, and the promised battle royale not only failed to materialise until the last possible moment, but was given a disappointing ‘let’s leave it open for a third season’ ending.

School Rumble Nigakki
When School Rumble’s second season began with a battle royale style survival game, it immediately became clear that this series would be aiming for ‘wackier’ humour than the last. Nonetheless, if never up to the standard of the first season, for a time, it was a highly enjoyable experience- until slowly, a rot crept in. At first, each three-part episode would have one segment that was a little too nonsensical or pointless to be worthwhile, but over time, such segments became increasingly common. By the latter half of the season, the vast majority of episodes (now with added filler) completely failed to entertain, until finally the whole thing limped home to a sorry ending.

Tsubasa Chronicle season 2
Whilst Tsubasa can hardly be said to be top quality at the best of times, the first season at least had the advantage of drawing from the manga for 25 of its 26 episodes. Unfortunately, everything went horribly wrong in season two, when the anime went too quickly through the Piffle arc and ended up in danger of catching up with the source material. In order to stave off the threat, a series of filler worlds began to appear, each more dull and pointless than the last, filled with generic characters, tedious storylines, and a distinct lack of animation. With a third season still to come, the future does not look bright.

Final Thoughts
Based on this somewhat limited study (unfortunately I can’t include what I haven’t watched), it seems as if second seasons aren’t always bad news after all. Nonetheless, with good series so easily able to be brought low by sub par sequels, and dull shows like Jigoku Shoujo equally likely to be renewed for yet more tedium, it is no wonder that I will always regard news of any follow-up season with apprehension.