Yen50414 said: People are looking too far into their anime, that's what I learned from this show and reading this forum. It's a slice-of-life, we got to see these characters doing every day things they normally do. Not everyone's interesting every minute of their life.
The show made me laugh and kept me entertained for 20 minutes every week. Wish the ending was more conclusive, there might be an OVA that clear some things up.
Here's where I think this series went wrong, and especially when we compare this to other P.A. Works anime.
They tried to make this anime more "atmospheric" and "artistic," however, the problem people are having with it (including myself) is that they didn't even bother trying to tell a story or build characters. A big reason why I kept watching this was due to it's atmospheric nature and mystery revolving around the "fragments of the future." I was okay with the slow pace. I'm more of a person who watches more for the characters than the plot, although this anime was a bit of an exception to the rule. I was interested in seeing how this would play out and how the "fragments of the future" storyline would play out. I do like supernatural elements in anime, so it piqued my interest. However, they essentially went nowhere with it. Okay, so did it at least develop it's characters? A little, but not nearly enough to make me emotionally invested. So was the story at least decent? Not really. It didn't make a whole lot of sense and episode 12 THREW ME FOR A COMPLETE FUCKING LOOP!
This is where it fails compared to other P.A. Works anime. Examples...
Nagi no Asukara - An interesting as all hell plot combined with gorgeous animation and an outstanding soundtrack made it worthwhile. While I did agree with a lot of people that the characters could be frustrating, the series did at least make things clear by the end. You know who ended up with who and it concluded everything that it needed to.
Uchoten Kazoku - This one was pretty much the exact opposite of Nagi no Asukara, but had the same effect. It's characters were OUTSTANDING and it's story was rather unique and interesting. Visually, it wasn't anything outstanding and I didn't care so much for it's soundtrack, although it fit the theme of the series. For me though, it built strong, unique, and likable characters and that's what made the series for me. The lessons behind it stressed the importance of family and that is something I can get behind.
RDG: Red Data Girl - Let it be known, I HATE THIS ANIME! However...even I'll admit it's better than Glasslip. At least RDG had a GORGEOUS artistic style and a breathtaking soundtrack. It did these things WAY better than Glasslip and at least it did a better job of explaining the supernatural elements, albeit I felt like some of it was rather bullshit in this series. At least they made sense of it...to some extent.
Another - The best features of this anime were it's creepy atmosphere and interesting plot. The dreary storytelling method and atmosphere had me coming back week-after-week to see who would die next and how it would all end. Overall, it was a decent series (even though I know there are a lot who would disagree with me) that had a rather satisfying ending (at least in my opinion). I also found it "conclusive" which is something Glasslip was not. While both Another and Glasslip were both mysterious in their own ways, Another had a better way of selling that mystery.
Hanasaku Iroha - Fantastic character development and a charming story. Of the comparisons so far, I'd say Hanasaku Iroha is probably the closest in comparison to Glasslip...since it fits more of the "slice of life" mold. However, Hanasaku FAR excels Glasslip because Hanasaku GAVE A DAMN ABOUT IT'S CHARACTERS. It actually took the time to develop each one, giving them their own personality quirks, and resolutions. Glasslip? Not even close.
Angel Beats - Uh oh, you knew someone was going to go there, didn't you? I'll say this right out. Angel Beats is (arguably) my favorite anime of all-time. I'm not saying it's the best anime of all-time, I'm saying it's my favorite (for personal reasons). With that being said, Angel Beats was atmospheric as well, but it's big selling point was being able to tell strong, gripping stories about the series' side characters to make you invested. Seeing each character get their own small story and resolution was comforting to me. While I'll admit, the finale was a bit on the weak side, at least it ended with the general idea of knowing what happened. Glasslip? It didn't tell gripping stories about any of it's characters, so I couldn't get emotionally invested in them.
I know, I know. I'm not making comparisons to all of P.A. Works' series. Tbh, I haven't seen all of them so I only made comparisons to the ones I saw.
The point I'm trying to make is P.A. Works is capable of FAR better than this. I truly thought RDG: Red Data Girl was going to be the worst anime I've ever seen P.A. Works make. It's a sad day when I actually need to DEFEND RDG when being compared to another P.A. Works anime.
The only way I can describe Glasslip is the cliched "it's all style and no substance." There was absolutely zero substance to this series whatsoever, so when it finally ended, all I felt was empty and discouraged. There was nothing I could take from this anime that made it feel it was worth watching (which sucks because I usually find at least one thing to take away from an anime, even the average ones).
I truly did not want to hate on Glasslip. I watched this series from 1 to 13 with the utmost hope the series would somehow find a way to make it work. It flat out didn't and left me with a sour taste in my mouth. |