[Sorrow-K]

Originally Posted by Mentar

What's the point in classifying a show at this early stage in the first place? It has elements of action, drama, comedy and a bit of mystery. It certainly is not "shounen action" in the likes of Naruto, Bleach, DBZ etc.

Your definition of shounen action is obviously a lot stricter than mine, but this anime comes across to me as something of mix between Shakugan no Shana and Fate/Stay Night, both of which are obviously shounen action series, IMO (although F/SN also has a fair dollop of mystery).

Originally Posted by Mentar

I think it's obvious how much you're contradicting yourself. It's not straightforward and simple, it's relatively complex, since it _requires_ long explanatory parts. To me it sounds that the real beef you have with the show is that it isn't simple enough for you - contrary to what you say. Which in itself is fair enough: You decide for yourself what kind of anime you enjoy. But dissing a show for being too simple while at the same time criticizing it for the details it introduces doesn't make much sense.

Complex in setting and universe, maybe, but simplistic in the things that matter: characters, themes, story. The plot so far can basically be summarized as: they talk, then they fight, then they visit Loli-sensei to heal Index. The setting and the rules of the universe might be "complex" (and it's easy to add faux complexity to a setting, just ask Death Note) but while the elements that make a genuinely good story are simple, then I don't see why I can't call the anime itself simple.

Originally Posted by Mentar

Mai HiME as Shounen Action? I guess for you a Tsundere is a girl who has a friendly and an angry scene?

Dunno Xenoglossia, but Claymore and Mai HiME took 2 full seasons to develop a the world and background. Index had 2 full episodes, and you compare that? You can't possibly be serious?!? In comparison, Index spent much _more_ time on explaining the universe and developing the characters. Which in fact is what you criticize for doing, before at the same time you chastise the show for NOT doing it. It's schizophrenic.

But it explained this stuff in an info-dump. That's my problem. Couldn't it have thought up a less yawn-inducing way to do it. As for character development, there's been close to nothing. What do we know about these characters so far? Their basic personalities and their powers. That's the sort of stuff you could look up on a Wikipedia article. Where's the depth? It obviously hasn't been introduced yet. These characters don't strike me as anything more than the most basic of archetypes at this stage. They don't even have any idiosyncrasies. When's that going to change? At least before ten episodes of fight after fight, I hope.

Originally Posted by Mentar

And this is the meat of the dispute. You dislike the characters, for whatever reason. Fine. That's fair enough, and under these circumstances it's also clear that you won't enjoy Index alot. But this is the result of _your_ personal preferences, and not due to a general deficiency of the show itself. So please be honest enough to say so, too - and leave for greener pastures. Or, if you feel the urge to diss it for something, please be so kind to substantiate your claims in a coherent manner, instead of going for self-contradictory name-calling.

I dislike these characters, but I have my reasons, and I'm pretty sure I've spelled them out in a logical and rational manner. Of course this is a consequence of my own personal preferences. I prefer anime with interesting characters and the majority of shounen anime fail to deliver on that, this one included so far. I also prefer action series to have a genuine sense of suspense. Not once did I feel like the lives of any of these characters were in danger (except for Index at stages, but predictably, she'll be fine... there wouldn't be a story otherwise).