My expectations and mindset over the franchise have reached the point where:

#1. I think they should just drop the mask and give them giant robots to pilot, along with cameos from Super Robot War, and a OP by Jam Project. Because Tsuzuki have been doing the wink wink nudge nudge for a long time already.

or

#2. I watch them go SSJ or Bankai.

Thanks again... anytime I can make someone smile...

hahaha that was pretty good.

Things do seem to be changing over in Japan. I'm definitely not seeing anywhere near the same number of moeblob shows and drama seems to be making a return as well. Decently written drama at that. Also male characters and action seem to be back in force, almost making me feel like anime as I know it is finally making a comeback on the TV series front (just as I was getting ready to write TV anime off forever) as opposed to the weirdly niche almost unrecognizable stuff we've been dealing with for a while.

Only Kyoani doesn't seem to have taken the hint that the all-female cast "slice of life" formula is getting tired. Everyone else really seems light years ahead of them at the moment and as I mentioned in the thread it's going to be really interesting to see how they respond to failure and what they do next. Maybe they'll actually put their animation talents to use again and put out something that isn't just pandering to a niche. Though they'll desperately need writers and directors for that. Honestly I'm not entirely convinced they actually have a real writer on staff at the moment. I could swear they've just been fudging it on account of all of their stuff being pre-written and the author of the source material's tendency to work directly with them compensating for this in shows like Haruhi, Full Metal Panic and the Key stuff which are at the very least functional as narratives.

For the record the other all-female cast "slice of life" show in A-Channel bombed pretty hard too so I think it's safe to say Japan is tired of that stuff. I'd like to think that the likes of Gundam Unicorn helped in reminding everyone that anime can be more than just an ultra niche thing if you just put some effort into what you are producing and I'd also like to think that maybe Madoka Magica also helped remind everyone that it's possible to do more with cute looking characters than to just stick them in the same mundane scenarios over and over again with them occasionally doing wild takes every few minutes.

OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCHHH! Holy shit so they are capable of not supporting Kyoani through thick and thin over there. This turns my whole world view upside down. I mean my goodness it didn't even make 1,000. Wow......I mean......I'm speechless...just going to look for some more information.

Ah, Nichijou and all of its glorious 900-something copies. I don't know whether to say I told you so to all of its fans or to feel pity for KyoAni. This is either totally bombing in the comedy department or consumers just got sick of seeing the same thing over and over again. No wait, 09' showed that KyoAni can get away with that. Regardless, their 4-koma bubble burst and maybe now we can get moar Haruhi or Key, not an adaptation of some Ordinary Life (bleh. Couldn't resist).

I'm surprised that you're surprised that people on this message board are suffering a severe disconnect with reality.

Well... I actually think HanaIro and AnoHana both should have gotten subforums, so I don't have a problem with that. Not that Steins;Gate doesn't also deserve one - though the mods downplay it post volume is obviously a factor, and this will be over 4K before it's done. It's also a board fraught with potential spoilers and it would be nice to have a place for them, so you don't have to avoid the whole thread if you want to be careful...

That custom title

Vivid is actually readable and does a better job at worldbuilding than Force. Force, on the other hand, distance itself further from what made Nanoha "Magical" in the first place, and, in my opinion, turned the franchise into Tsuzuki's love letter to Super Robot War. And if you think that discussing about whether QB from Madoka was evil or not was bad enough, it's actually way worse in the Force thread. But yeah, I don't like the "mechanization" of the franchise, I hate the ship tease, and I hate how Tsuzuki seems to beat around the bush when it comes to do something very serious and that have substantial and grave consequences for the characters and the franchise. I prefer the gravitas of BetrayerS much better than what I see in Force.