AnimeSuki Forum - Deltora Quest

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/sonhex/dq01.jpg

Based on the best selling fantasy books by Aussie novelist Emily Rodda, the Deltora Quest anime airs on 1/6/2007. Emily Rodda agreed to the anime on the condition the studio did not change the story. I haven't read the books but I find that encouraging nonetheless. Check out the trailer here (horrible Flash thing so be warned).

There's no synosis on the website's yet, but here's blurb from Book 1:

Quote:

The evil Shadow Lord is plotting to invade the land of Deltora and enslave its people. All that stands against him is the magic Belt of Deltora with its seven stones of great and mysterious power.In secrecy, with only a hand-drawn map to guide them, two unlikely companions set out on a dangerous quest. Determined to find the lost stones and rid their land of the Shadow Lord, they struggle toward their first goal--the sinister Forests of Silence.

Who's making it, who's in it etc... click below:

Spoiler for staff/cast:

If you want to check out the designs of the three main characters, click below:

Spoiler for characters:

So it's a 'traditional' fantasy epic i.e. swords, magic, wizards, dragons and taverns (and ale no doubt). Instead of the One Ring, we have the One Belt, the Deltora Belt to be precise. Deltora stands for Diamond Emerald Lapis-lazuli Topaz Opal Ruby Amethyst (which I think is rather neat). The novels are numerous (well eight) and the plot labyrinthine (well as labyrinthine as it gets for 8 year olds); which means there's plenty of material for the series and that's no bad thing.

On a serious note I kind of like this stuff (when it's done well) and thankfully this show seems to have MONEY behind it, so I'm keen to see how this turns out. The trailer doesn't really give much away except they're using CG, which I'm a little nervous about as it looks a bit clunky but promos are often not the best thing to bet on. I like the character designs, they seem quite 'old school', if that's the right phrase to use? I'm not expecting it to be Record of Lodoss War or Scrapped Princess (the only two 'medieval' type fantasy anime I've watched) but I'm hoping it'll be FUN.:D

wow ..I am looking forward to see this anime, it looks interesting and I hope it has a great plot :p

Apart from my initial misgivings regarding the usual collect-the-rings plot device there, it sounds like it could turn out to be pretty durned tasty, so I shall certainly look forward to checking it out. Oh, and the Shadow/ Dark/ Sith/ -Lord thing has been done to death, can't we get something a bit different for a change? ;) A psycho clown like Kefka in FF6 or something, I don't care as long as it's not another Dark Lord.

Side note: Has anyone ever wondered what these evil dark lords actually plan to do after they win? I mean, their entire existence seems to revolve around world domination, so what happens next? He'll be sat twiddling his thumbs wondering why he's all of a sudden no longer having any fun ;)

Well, even if it has been done before, it can still be done in an interesting and thoughtful fasion, so that's what I'll be hoping for :)

My only apparent beef is how the apparently children-oriented Del.Quest will be as an anime adaption. I've never got the opportunity to read the books...seeing as I stopped visiting the children's section of bookstores a while back, but my ancient experience with children fantasy ranges from unchildrenly good to being merely-so-so.

This seems like something that is churned a little bit more money than the usual OLM stuff... The cell animation seems solid and the colours look vibrant. Only if the CG used wasn't so bad that it looked better in a live-action compared to an anime.

Well, my gut instinct tells me that it's hardly going to be anything superbly great. So long as it fixes the mindless fun of fantasical RPG anime lore that hasn't been seen for a while now, I suppose I'll be satisfied.

Deltora seems pretty well received amongst its target audience, which is the best way to assess it I guess. Children's fiction is pretty expansive and there's some real gems in amongst the Harry Potter and Narnia clones. I've read Garth Nix, Philip Reeve and William Nicholson's fantasy books which I found surprisingly sophisticated. Deltora is aimed at a younger audience though, so we shouldn't expect anything too profound but it carries some wholesome messages such as honour, loyalty and courage, which is all very commendable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radiosity (Post 773161)

...
Side note: Has anyone ever wondered what these evil dark lords actually plan to do after they win? I mean, their entire existence seems to revolve around world domination, so what happens next? He'll be sat twiddling his thumbs wondering why he's all of a sudden no longer having any fun ;)
...

Lol, I hope he's read this.

I can't wait. Before I got into anime, I was a Deltora freak. I have all 15 books: 8 Deltora Quest, 3 Deltora Shadowlands, and 4 Dragons of Deltora. The anime is supposed to cover all three series...... yay! ^_^

I read the books but i found it so so, For Children series i prefer tamora pierce and garth nix. still ill watch this for the sake of a Aussie book

Well I read a lot of Garth Nix myself, the Abhorsen books in particular. I'd love to see Sabriel animated, it would make an incredible anime.

Anyway, on topic, there's another movie on the official site featuring an interview with Emily Rodda, in which she appears very excited and enthusiastic about the anime. Her comments about the characters are quite interesting, if you can strain to hear her over the translator. There's plenty of new footage of the characters and the CG in particular is much more convincing this time round. The monster designs remind me of some of Studio 4c's ones from Tweeny Witches...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonhex

Tweeny Witches..

Man, I'd love to find out who the hell is responsible for some of the names they give the american versions of these shows. And not to shake their hand either. Tweeny Witches? That's almost on par with Shadow Warrior Chronicles. It depresses me to think there are people that get paid to think up names like this :(

I think 'Tweeny Witches' was the alternative name used by Studio 4c themselves, it wasn't a name given to the show by anyone else AFAIK. I guess it's just easier to remember than Mahou Shojo-Tai Arisu :p

It's still a dumb name regardless of who thought it up. Is it that hard to say Magical Girl Alice? Failing that, Chibi Majokko would have worked for me though, since they 'are' witches rather than classical magical girls. It's mostly the usage of the word tweeny that bugs me I think.

Oh well, not like it's going to change either way, so no point moaning about it any more :)

I thought this said Dragon Quest at first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaioshin_Sama (Post 788535)

I thought this said Dragon Quest at first.

I wish.

Dai no Daibouken seriously needs a remake. :(

I have read Deltora Quest--and it wasn't too bad. For being a children's fantasy, that is. I am rather curious to see how this is turning out, or how it will turn out. I'm hoping it is decent, I'll give it five episodes or so.

Only... Few..... Hours...... Left......... I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! >_<

I wonder if the anime's gonna cover Deltora Shadowlands and Dragons of Deltora too?

Watched the first episode. Here's some comments and screenshots of the raw...

Spoiler for raw episode 1:

...well this episode sets up Lief gaining the Deltora Belt on his 16th birthday and embarking on the quest to find the stones aided by the gruff bodyguard Barda. Lief himself is a typical cocky rebellious hero but one that respects his parents and takes on the quest with stoic charm, despite clearly not being at all prepared for battle. Barda is cool, a heavyweight swordsman who's been waiting for this day so he can resume his role as bodyguard. I like the way Barda first appears like some tramp or servant only to reveal himself as a warrior with a sarcastic vein and no mean skill with a sword. I guess he's going to be a surrogate father to Lief now that he's left his parents behind. Unfortunately no Jasmine this week. The story is about the three of them so when she turns up in the next episode that's when the fun starts :p

As for the animation well the high production values are quite obvious with some shiny CG work (especially an surprisingly epic Lord of the Rings-esque battle at the beginning). Overall it is well directed and fast paced, with some nice flourishes of animation skill here and there and some good use of muted colours to build atmosphere. Admittedly the transfer from 2D to CG is a bit jarring, especially in the opening skit introducing the Shadow Lord and his evil armies of doom. The switch from epic CG to storybook style 2D silhouette was a bit odd and the weakest part of the episode I thought. Overall it's a solid production rather than anything too flashy, but for a kid's show it's not too shabby. Kind of reminds me of Kiba in that way.

The character design is distinctive and all the leads have recognisable designs, which is a good thing as the OP reveals a gamut of tantalising characters (good and evil) to be introduced in due course. The music was okay, very rpg-esque I thought but knowing Ko Otani can do much better I was a little underwhelmed, but its only one ep I guess. The OP (Heartbeat by Maria) though was very catchy and I like it. The ED (Sakura uta by Rythm) music wasn't too bad, nothing special, but the visuals, the watercolours were rather good, in keeping with the fable theme.

So yeah, overall a decent and encouraging first episode with pretty animation that does a good job of setting up the basic premise and the characters. If the animation remains good and the pacing as fast then this should be a pretty entertaining show.

Here's some screens for anyone curious:

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/1...ra01on4.th.jpg

I was expecting something a bit too childish, but the first episode surprisingly piqued my interest.

Spoiler for ep1:

Didn't like the first episode. The plot is practically nonexistant - it's classical fantazy RPG one, something you've probably met dozens of times in numerous american cartoons(i.e. Conan). Seven minutes of introduction is not something I enjoyed, plus the characters were also dull and uninteresting.
The only redeeming quality of this anime is it's high production level.
Well, if you're a teenage boy you'd probably enjoy this one, but I already saw far too many such flicks to keep watching this anime.

Is this supposed to be a "kids anime"? I've never seen a chopped arms and such in a "kids anime"... :D

How can I watch it? I can't find any RAWS anywhere!:(