Takuan_Soho said:AnimageNeby said: I mean, when one would be consistent in following your reasoning, and a company would say: well, we only get ONE episode, so we're going to cram in as much as possible
Japanese TV doesn't work that way, unlike the US where you can be cancelled after a single episode and the hope is to create a hit that will be extended, in Japan things work differently. Shows are committed to a single season (11-13 episodes) and the complete season will generally run no matter how horrific the ratings; the animation market, particularly the late night animation market, will almost never have cancellations because the Production company generally has pre-purchased the time. Ad revenue consequently is of far less importance. So the producers of Aoki knew they had 11 episodes before they even started to animate it, thus the story was altered to fit this time frame.
All this planning and coordination takes time (which is why even shows that are big hits, if a second season wasn't planned with the first, generally take 2-3 years to air - the production team first has to decide whether they want to do it, then they have to line up the tv slot, try to find some advertisers, work with the talent to get them all free, and then when that is all done, only then do the animate it). That means the plot of this story was decided on in 2010-2011, when of course there was far less material to work with. The producers probably decided then to do their own version.
I wasn't trying to say Japanese TV works that way or not, I was only indicating that the reasoning used, when applied consistently, is rather nonsensical, because ALL subpar anime, even crap, can be considered 'fairly good given the constraints', if those constraints are severe enough. But that doesn't cut it. Surely you must see that as well? If you step into an airplane, and it has all sorts of difficulties, including landing, are you seriously going to find the explanation "well, it went reasonably well, considering two engines were broke and the wing/tail was rusted solid"? EVEN if it were true the airplane performed admirable under those conditions, it still would be crappy flying and bad.
AnimageNeby said: it's a lot, and a mean a lot, less good than what it's supposed to be based off.
This is why I almost never watch an animation I read, I am very seldom happy with the adaption. Had I read it I may have been in the same camp as the manga readers. But because I know this I either DON'T read or I just assume the animation is something completely different. As long as the story is interesting and is internally consistent I really don't mind.
AnimageNeby said: so reasons from a meta-perspective ('it's to appeal to a larger audience', 'it's to make more profit', etc.) just don't cut it. .....I'm always baffled by people who do not seem to get the point that it doesn't matter what the *cause* is for something to make something not too good, to acknowledge that it is not very good. (Again: making the point in regard to the reasoning used, not saying the series itself is crap.)
But see you are sort of arguing against yourself. Even though you believe this show could have been better, you are not willing to say that it is bad. That means that the adapters have done a good job. Great job? Probably not, but a good job. And considering that probably 90% of the people who are watching this show have never read the manga, a smart job.
Denying market forces is ridiculous. The producers are the one risking their money, they make decisions based on what they think it right. And they have the right to do this. Given the fact that this shows seems to be doing better than forecast, again this shows that the adapters are doing a good job.
Your reasoning seem to lack some logic in the area of deduction. Why would I argue against myself? I don't. I think it's your personal take (aka, your interpretation) of what I say that you think is counter-arguing. But your interpretation is incorrect. I'm saying the series is crap at worst, and fairly good at best (depends on the episode). All in all, it hoovers between mediocre and reasonably ok. This does not mean, as you say, that they did a good job. They did an ok job at best. (Ok, it depends on what one understands under 'good' and 'bad' and 'great', but I set the sight high.) If one would put it on a score of 10, then 5 or 6 isn't good, it's passable.)
But there is where the crux our difference lays, I think. You're satisfied with what 80% of the populace would find good, or even great. I don't. And it's not entirely due to the fact that I read the manga; I would have noticed some inconsistencies and the lacklustre characterisation, plot holes and contrived coincidences EVEN if I hadn't read the manga. (I had the same problem with the completely illogical 'philosophy' that was being portrayed in Gargantia, where a 'peaceful' fleet doesn't want to kill one single life of pirates, who are robbing, raping, pillaging and murdering them. I liked Gargantia, but that was just BS. No civilisation could survive on those terms. And yet, even after saying all that, they started to shell and bomb the enemy ships.... what? They wouldn't kill anyone with that??)
Well, anyway, point is, an attentive reader/watcher notices those things. And those things undermine the coherency of the portrayed world. The fact that 80% would think it's good, only shows that 80% does either not notice and do not have the necessary discerning quality to do so, or they're satisfied with just mediocrity (ship to ship action, one poster called it: aka; action (violence) and ecchi (sex).
You also seem to think that because they had to shorten it, they could not do anything else as what they did. This is untrue. If they REALLY had done a *good* job, no inconsistencies would have been present, for instance. It doesn't mean they can't cut entire scenes out, it means you must make sure the things you cut out don't interfere with the logical flow of what you DO show. With some slight changes, they could have made it far better, even considering they don't have a 24 episode-series. Or, they could have decided to stop the series on another point in time (the battle at Iowa, for instance), and flesh the other episodes more out. One can go about it in a myriad of ways, in fact. But they did what they did, and they made a passable series, but not a very good one. The consequences of their decisions, however, do not change; it doesn't become any better just because one realises they had constraints. When I compare the quality of the anime, I look at what one would consider elevated standards to which a high quality anime should adhere to, not at something like 'they did their best given the circumstances'. See my analogy with the airplane. If I did my best of making a videogame, and it was only mediocre and had bugs, people would still be right to point that out, even if I could argue that I only had 12 hours to make it. They would also still be right if I said that 80% of the people still liked the game, or that I did it as a promotional stunt, or to make sure I got some profit of it. That can all be true; but the bugs would still be bugs, and the video still be subpar, or, if you prefer 'ok' or even 'fairly good' ...but still not as a good, finished videogame should be.
Also, I'm not denying market forces. I'm saying market forces are irrelevant in the appreciation of the anime itself. As I've said before (http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=685565&show=80#msg26287015) it's all good and well that the producers want to make a new season, or that they want to promote CGI, or the company wants to maximise their profits, etc. That's all understandable from their point of view. It does not, however, in any way change the quality of the anime they make.
Edit: Reading it back, I realise it may come off as being too negative, which isn't my intention, but happens because one focusses on the negative parts when one is criticising, obviously. If I'm generous, I'm still of the opinion that the anime can be considered *fairly* good at moments, and is still worth watching (most other anime this season are way worse, btw). It's just that I get annoyed of this "it's good enough" attitude, and all the excuses with the meta-reasons like they want to maximise profits and have only 11-12 episodes. No, god dammit! "Good enough" is NOT something to strive for, and no, the facts of the inconsistencies and diminished world-coherence does not go away by the fact that they have to end it in 12 episodes. While I acknowledge there ARE real-world considerations like the 'market forces' at play, I would like to hear the opposite too; that people recognise that the anime could have been far better with a little bit more effort, and that there ARE faults and inconsistencies introduced.
It doesn't mean it's become unbearable to watch, but it's not not as good as it could and should be, let's face it. I refute the appeal to be blind for its faults or to be satisfied with just 'good enough' as the new standard where no criticism is warranted anymore.
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