Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama
Also as a reiteration of my prior post, I really do need someone to explain to me how the industry (if it were just J.C Staff and Studio Deen I'd be inclined to agree more) owes this particular person anything other than her paycheck and a listing in the credits of each work she does to acknowledge her contribution. Did I miss something, is Mari Okada saving anime ala Yamakan?  |
Over the last couple of years there's been a notable increase in anime original works.
I personally think this is a good thing, in and of itself.
More anime original works means:
1) The quality of anime isn't limited by the quality of current/recent manga, LNs, and VNs (i.e. if manga, LNs, and VNs go through a bit of a weak patch for one or more of them, anime doesn't necessarily have to get "dragged down" with them).
2) Even for high-quality manga, LNs, and VNs, the pacing and format differences between these three and anime can cause anime adaptations of them to feel a bit off. Anime originals are first and foremost anime, and so can be ideally paced for the anime format
without needing to slash and burn vast quantities of content.
3) The anime industry is less likely to "burn through" all of the existing good manga, LNs, and VNs due to lack of alternatives. More anime originals means that the anime industry can "take its time" a bit more when it comes to adapting manga, LNs, and VNs.
Long story short, more anime originals is good for the anime industry, imo.
And I'm not sure if we'd have as many anime originals over the past two years if not for Mari Okada. TJR raised the names of some other prominent anime writers, but after I looked a little bit into them, I don't see either of them as being anywhere near as active with anime originals,
recently, as Okada has been.
AnoHana, Hanasaku Iroha, Aquarion EVOL, and Black Rock Shooter (the TV series) are all recent anime originals, and Okada wrote all of them (there may well be other recent Okada-wrote anime originals that I'm not aware of). Reception has been mixed for Aquarion EVOL and BRS, but AnoHana was widely praised, and even some people who were often critical of HSI (like myself, Demi Soda, and Archon_Wing) ended up more or less liking it overall.
Okada isn't "saving" anime, but her prolific works does make anime that little bit less reliant on manga, LNs, and VNs, and I think that's good for the anime industry. And Okada's works do tend to be either "Dumb, but fun" or "Excellent", imo. She's not a great writer, imo, but she does tend to be an entertaining writer (albeit sometimes for questionable reasons).
Now, I do think that much of what makes Okada an entertaining writer will, over time, have diminishing returns (in how much it entertains anime-watchers). You can only "troll" your readers/viewers so many times before your
schtick gets old. Okada is eventually going to need to write something that's just plain "legit good" again, without needing trolls to amuse (some) of the audience. Eventually, she's going to need another True Tears or AnoHana. Here is where her current career direction is a bit worrisome to me, and a lot of other people following her career. I get the temptation to do nothing but "Dumb, but fun" if you, as a writer, can get away with it. But when a writer does that when s/he's capable of much more, that's a bit sad, imo.