2008-03-04, 11:44 | Link #61 |
Anime Hobbyist
Join Date: Dec 2004
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I wouldn't blame it all on JC Staff alone or only look at their less impressive projects. A lot of the manga material they work on was a bit on the slow side like with Shana 2. Stuff like Zero no Tsukaima, there wasn't much to go on with the material either (I hear the manga is terrible..). I also find their consistency to be pretty good overall. Hopefully they'll channel the energy they had for Honey and Clover, Azumanga and Shigofumi. But it's hard to tell since they make so many anime projects nowadays. It's hard to pinpoint them and say that is where all their quality lies. As for Slayers itself, they have been pretty devoted to it to say the least.
For what Watanabe had to work on before, I think it's too small of a workload to say that he is inconsistent. Basically the biggest stuff he worked on was Slayers and Shana. As for the smaller projects, not all of them were in his hands as the writing and original material is concerned. And I think he handles the action and crucial scenes very good. I really can't see how none of this is stars not aligning perfectly, especially with the return of the original writer for the Slayers TV shows. |
2008-03-04, 12:06 | Link #62 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Neo-Venezia...I wish!
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The manga of ZnT and Shana are a spinoff from the anime. Both ZnT and Shana anime itself are derived from light novels in the same way that the Slayers is. I've had the opportunity to read ZnT novel #2 and it was very good.
ZnT1 was decent, ZnT2 was crass fanservice, but ZnT2 had a different director. Shana 1 had a good battle/slice balance while Shana 2 had a lot of slice which was also very bland. Shana 2 retained much of the same team as Shana 1, which would also be the case for Slayers 4. I dropped Shana 2 after finding the Pheles arc to be rather poorly done in my opinion. H&C is very hard to fault and is probably one of the best slice-of-life of all time. They've done some very good stuff in the past but their more recent work leaves much to be desired. I hope Slayers season 4 would be a different story! |
2008-03-04, 12:19 | Link #63 |
Anime Hobbyist
Join Date: Dec 2004
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I guess converting novels and manga and converting it into original anime material can get pretty messy. I'm amazed how well the Slayers TV shows worked with that mishmash personally.
As for Shana 2, I agree it's been handled pretty strangely for the first half (almost all fillers and training..), but second half seems to be all action, all the time. Which is good for Shana I guess. I know the new season of Slayers is no guarantee to be good or even great like the first three seasons, so I'd be disappointed if what's on paper regarding the seiyuu and production falls flat. Because there is no evident reason for it to. Though I seriously doubt they'll be back to making it ho-hum with this kind of franchise. I don't think this season will be some sort of a desperation attack by JC Staff, but they do have a lot riding on it I believe. Even if they do seem to make one or two truly good/great shows per year. |
2008-03-04, 18:29 | Link #64 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
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Wants for Slayers
I guess for me, what I would REALLY like to see from new Slayers is a few loose ends taken care of, some unexplored areas, or just things I would want to see more of.
1) Integrate Naga back into things. For one, outside of the video games, she has had no interaction with the current cast. Aside from interviews, they also need to resolve the rumors as to her past and true identity. 2) They should do at least SOMETHING involving Lina's sister, Luna. All we really know about her is that she's the Knight of Ceipheid, super-powerful, a waitress, and a subject of immense fear for Lina. All we have really seen of her is quick glimpses in the opening sequences of NEXT and TRY 3) We should see more of Sylphiel. I like her character and she is extremely underused, despite being so powerful (in some areas). 4) Introduce the other 3 of the 5 subordinates of Shabranigdo: Deep-Sea Dolphin, Dynast Grauscherra and Greater Beast Zelas-Metallium. Maybe even do a little something around the other 2 higher dark lords: Chaotic Blue or Death Fog. 5) We don't know very much, by the anime, about the races of Dragons. We know about Golden and Ancient Dragons, a tiny little bit about the Water & Fire Dragon Kings, and almost nothing about the Dragon Gods aside from Ceipheid except what's learned about Vorfeid in Slayers Try. 6) More involvement of the relationships of Lina/Gourry & Amelia/Zelgadis. So on that note, ANY THOUGHTS?? |
2008-03-04, 19:00 | Link #65 | |
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 48
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2008-03-04, 22:14 | Link #68 |
Yummy, sweet and unyuu!!!
Join Date: Dec 2004
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@dynastzel - I love your points, but the one about Sylphiel... With her introduction and role to the story all being dashed, they would need to have another take on her. Lina and Gourry have a reason to wander around (trying to eat their way from coast to coast) and Zal looking for his humanity. I guess the way they do Amelia since she gets slotted in with some reason and it all works out well
@SuperKnuckles - I guess for S1, that was the first time most people had seen it so they didn't have anything to compare it to. The energy and charm of the Lina and friends really made the show. I loved the contrast between the presentation of it and the dark world of the Slayers universe.
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2008-03-05, 00:52 | Link #69 |
Weapon of Mass Discussion
Fansubber
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, USA
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Amelia is easy. She's a crusader whose often looking for wrongs to right. If Rina and everyone are involved in fighting some evil for their own reason, then she'll be eager to show up on her own. That's just what she does.
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2008-03-05, 01:04 | Link #70 | |
Yummy, sweet and unyuu!!!
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Let me back up my point S1 - Amelia blows up part of her city... Needs to run away S2 - Amelia gets captured by Martina and then Lina blows up Martina's city... Needs to run away S3 - Lina and Filia blows up the armada and the city... Needs to run away Amelia running away is like them starting an episode in some eatery
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Last edited by grey_moon; 2008-03-05 at 01:14. |
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2008-03-05, 10:28 | Link #74 |
Gone for Good
Join Date: Apr 2004
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When I saw the thread title, I thought I was seeing a very old thread being resurrected, that was until I saw "4th season".
I regret to say I was very young when I watched Slayers on TV as a brat, so I hardly understood what was going on, not to mention the TV network was years behind the schedule in Japan. By the time I was old enough, I had to study abroad in another country, and my anime interests have shifted a lot since then. Still, my biggest impression of the series has got to be the antagonist Xellos and his trademark "Sore wa himitsu desu". He usually appears as a seemingly bumbling fool (but he's too cool to actually look foolish), occasionally helping out Lina and her friends, but would occasionally reveal that he actually kicks some serious ass and works for an unknown master with unknown motives. I remember telling myself, "now that's what I call an awesome character". |
2008-03-05, 11:16 | Link #75 | |
Yummy, sweet and unyuu!!!
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Spoiler for a little background on xellos:
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2008-03-06, 05:04 | Link #79 | |
Anime Hobbyist
Join Date: Dec 2004
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I think it's pretty funny that it can reach out to adults the same way and now looking back at it, I find myself still very fond of it. Yes, the small boob, eat-lots-of-food jokes are ridiculously ancient cliches, but the characters themselves sort of defy all that. To me, Zelgadis always stood out because of how ridiculous his premise was even by anime standards. As a sort of a demon-child of a demonized priest who in the end turns out to be a golem/elf-thing. Then there is of course, Lina, outside of Haruhi, may be one of the biggest female egos in anime history. Though, really, I would be happy if they can add in a totally new character or two in the meanwhile. Just adding a few can change the dynamics completely like with Fillia in Try. |
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action, adventure, comedy, fantasy |
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