If Kyoto Animation is really the juggernaut that rakes in sales, source material is merely an excuse. There's plenty of stuff lying out there, and while a weak source material might lead to a weak anime, presentation can change a lot of things. Of course, the criticism here is that they're trying to play easy mode. Now, obviously the world runs on money, and we don't expect anyone to do anything out of love of art, however... I'll just say that all that lauded praise needs more evidence.
To say that KyoAni could do better than Nichjou surely isn't insulting them, I hope.
I don't know. I might not have liked Lucky Star, but at least it had memorable moments like
this and
that. I could remember who the characters were; so even something like a 4koma could be made notable through just skillful directing and writing.
When it comes to K-on and Nichjou, I don't even laugh at anything, or find anybody memorable.
But yea, in the end, I will admit they are really good at what they're doing. Clannad was no easy task to adapt, and look at the kind of inspired flavor they gave to Haruhi. There's just a huge difference here...
Sometimes I'd appreciate it when they try something new, such as PA works and Angel Beats. Sure the story sucked, but it was still enjoyable and sold well, and they just created a new cash cow like that. There's money and creativity to be found where you're willing. After all, Nanoha's was just a plain spinoff character of an H-game and look where that went. Key note: At least they tried.
When I watched Haruhi 2006, the movie, or a Key adaptation, I just got the feeling that they gave a damn. When I see Haruhi 2009, it's harder to come up with the same conclusion.