This is going to be one of the most irritating myths I think that's going to be bandied around TGWOK discussions the whole season.
Spoiler for Comparison to the manga:
No. The 8 arcs skipped were far from formulaic. Almost all of them had a unique twist of it's own - and this went far beyond the simple variation of "librarian route" vs "idol route" vs "ojou route". Almost all of them threw huge curveballs at Keima , were very unique in certain ways ( the most "formulaic" of those 8 skipped arcs was told from the Capture target's PoV) , and set the tone and foreshadowing for the Goddess arc very, very well. Many of these arcs were close run affairs - very close run affairs and the sense of Keima-invincibility was slowly eroded.
Why do you think so many manga readers are upset? The skipped content featured the best pre-goddess arc material, and while it still arguably in the "capture" paradigm, they each had a very distinct feel from the much, much earlier arcs, and represented the author slowly easing out of the initial Capture paradigm without alienating his audience.
IMO, jumping from even the Tenri OVAs to Kanon being stabbed at the beginning of the Goddess arc is quite a huge mood whiplash. It's just in the manga, the arcs between Tenri and the Goddess arc was moving the whole tone of the story in that direction.
That was simply my assumption based on the first two seasons and what was shown in this episode which didn't seem all that different from what we've seen in the past. Thanks for correcting me.
If they had infinite money to animate everything, then sure, I wouldn't have minded watching those arcs. However, they don't. If you had to choose, what would you rather get? More conquests or this arc? This is what it comes down to. Unfortunately, we can't have both. So I'm still happy they skipped all this to give us the popular and praised Goddess arc. This might finally give me the push I needed to start reading the manga, and if other anime viewers are like me, then I think it's a smart move. At the very least, it's one that makes sense.
I understand why manga readers are upset so much content was cut but thanks to this decision the anime might get more popular and that possibly means more animated TWGOK in the future. They had to try something, and they did. We'll see if it works.
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Originally Posted by n120cky
This episode remind me of Confession = Death-flag ....
Actually, it was Cockblock = Death Flag. Cause Apollo was the one ruined the beautiful moment, and ran into an isolated zone that would likely be a death trap.
I'm a manga reader and I'm glad they skipped the conquests to the goddess arc directly. I found the later conquest arcs quite repetitive myself.
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I understand why manga readers are upset so much content was cut but thanks to this decision the anime might get more popular and that possibly means more animated TWGOK in the future. They had to try something, and they did. We'll see if it works.
Not all the manga readers are upset, only the dumb ones. The producers made it clear ages ago that they were going to skip forward, and exactly why. Of course, the producers were largely at fault in the first place for slowing the pace too much in the first two seasons, but given that situation this was the best option.
I enjoyed everything about the episode, the only thing that's annoyed me are the idiots throwing "but they skipped this arc!" tantrums, when they knew perfectly well this was happening. It makes me want to smack some sense into them.
As one of about 5 people actually commenting on the just completed 4th season, I laughed.
And I doubt anyone else got the joke.
That's because no one watches Hayate anymore (and I don't get the joke either)
Wow, that was some major fast-fowarding along with some convenient info dump. Sure, those characters may be considered minor captures, but it still breaks the flow somehow and drops the suspense on the possible goddesses. And it looks to me they are going to rush the whole arc and put it in one cour. Well at least Tenri's capture got covered in an OVA. All in all, the tension build-up was pretty good though. As expected of the start of the Goddess arc. This will really be one heck of a roller-coaster ride unseen before in TWGOK.
I finally caught up with the anime byy reading the skipped chapters. I wished they did adapt some of the conquest arcs. In this episode, it seems they changed the villian of the story compared to the mangas. I haven't bother to read past chapter 116, but I wonder if the change will create a big impact on the story...
Last edited by relentlessflame; 2013-07-13 at 20:59.
Reason: spoiler for comparison
Just watched ep.1
Ok this is probably a 10/10 for this episode.
I like TWGOK as an anime series because the story is great, seems this new season did a great job of making me watch this weekly.
I don't read the manga, but the flashbacks for me are done well enough for me to know that Keima was capturing evil souls after the ova's with that I know some of the manga readers here are disappointed, but the anime needs to differ a bit, guessing later episode will explain more via flashback.
That was simply my assumption based on the first two seasons and what was shown in this episode which didn't seem all that different from what we've seen in the past. Thanks for correcting me.
Spoiler for Manga Comparison:
Well, yes and no. There were arcs that were based on the "normal" TGWOK formula, but there were also arcs where the entire scenario meant that Keima's normal tactics were completely useless, or totally inappropriate. Four of the arcs were more or less outside context problems for Keima (one involved genderbending, one involved a ghost, another involved a target whose gap could not be solved merely by "romance", the last basically no selled everything Keima threw at her), and four were relatively normal captures. Yes, the objective was still capture for each of these arcs, but what actually happened in many of these arcs really don't fit the structure TGWOK created in the previous seasons.
That's not to say that all arcs were unique. There were arcs that resembled the earlier arcs in structure - and those were very easy captures for Keima Katsuragi.
But at least some of the skipped material were quite different in substance from the previous arcs, and IMO set the tone and easing TGWOK towards a plot based, rather than a capture of the week story. These arcs were even harder than the Kanon arc, for Keima Katsuragi, partly because his normal tactics just don't work because of the way the scenario is set up. They erode the sense of invincibility that the first two seasons convey.
The main thing that irritates me is just that many anime only viewers are presuming that all of the arcs skipped were either/both
a) Plot irrelevant
b) Generic cookie cutters of the previous materials.
I am not saying that there should have been a season covering those materials. All I am saying is that the skipped content isn't necessarily all generic, plotless or irrelevant as most anime only viewers seem to think. Some of the arcs were guilty of that, but others most definitely weren't.
The main thing that irritates me is just that many anime only viewers are presuming that all of the arcs skipped were either/both
a) Plot irrelevant
b) Generic cookie cutters of the previous materials.
I am not saying that there should have been a season covering those materials. All I am saying is that the skipped content isn't necessarily all generic, plotless or irrelevant as most anime only viewers seem to think. Some of the arcs were guilty of that, but others most definitely weren't.
I'm sure that the missing arcs were great and had great significance. However, for anime viewers to currently enjoy this adaptation, they HAVE TO ASSUME that the skipped arcs were more of the same. In addition, we cannot anguish over what we don't know. What we see is what is presented to us. Also, for the adaptation to be successful, the staff will need to put in relevant flashbacks and information, which we will find out as the series develop.
We can only judge the series based on what is presented, not what is missing. For all the average anime-only viewers know, those flashbacks happened the same way as the author intended, as in short moment flashbacks that indicated that Keima's adventures continued with many girls up to this point.
As for what is presented so far, I thought it was great. The flashbacks had its points, the intensity was there, and I did not feel lost at any point. It was an excellent first episode.
The main thing that irritates me is just that many anime only viewers are presuming that all of the arcs skipped were either/both
a) Plot irrelevant
b) Generic cookie cutters of the previous materials.
When people already had two full season of Keima chasing girls, it's quite reasonable for them to think the other arcs are more of the same. Especially with how the Goddess Arc begins in this episode with such a bombshell which suddenly exploded the series into highly plot driven mode which was never seen in the previous seasons, you cannot blame anime viewers to think the skipped material are less important and more of the same as the previous two seasons.
I'm actually more irritated that manga viewers are insisting that plot information is omitted and that anime only viewers will be completely lost, which is not really the case either.
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When people already had two full season of Keima chasing girls, it's quite reasonable for them to think the other arcs are more of the same. Especially with how the Goddess Arc begins in this episode with such a bombshell which suddenly exploded the series into highly plot driven mode which was never seen in the previous seasons, you cannot blame anime viewers to think the skipped material are less important and more of the same as the previous two seasons.
It was quite a bombshell for manga readers too. However, in this case, the bombshell didn't come out of nowhere. I don't recall anyone claiming this was an ass-pull. Genre shifts rarely happen out of nowhere - there's always a single defining moment where the genre decisively shifts (in this case, it's Kanon getting stabbed), but many genre shifts have a build up.
My original post was not intended to complain about the skip, but the assumption that the skip was done not because of financial concerns, but because the entirety of the material skipped was irrelevant, or generic.
Spoiler for Manga Comparison:
On hindsight though, the Mangaka was foreshadowing the Goddess arc ever since Tenri's arc. Although no-one saw the start of the Goddess arc coming at all. However, no-one also complained, to my recollection that this was a sudden, shocking swerve. Partly because the foreshadowing and set-up was quite well done.
The bulk of the foreshadowing and setup (and characterization) for this arc took place within the skipped material, especially towards the final two arcs.
And in my opinion (but this is a personal view), Keima's aura of invincibility was gradually eroded, especially in the last three arcs.
The thing is, the Goddess arc plot didn't just emerge out of nowhere. There were quite alot of hints that something was going to hit the fan, in the last third of the skipped material.
The storytelling level of the manga was already on an upswing, before the goddess arc began.
On another note,at least two of these arcs demonstrated how gaps could be filled without romance (or success, in Keima's case, since it tends to be his default method). And why romance is not the ideal (or even a risky) solution in some cases.
Another two demonstrated that Keima's strategies relies on having the initiative. If he is unable to get that initiative (which was an unstated assumption of most arcs before that point) - well, it was quite fun seeing trying to adjust to that.
Quote:
I'm actually more irritated that manga viewers are insisting that plot information is omitted and that anime only viewers will be completely lost, which is not really the case either.
They do have the cause to make the claim, but the current consensus seems to be that the more critical holes can be filled, if done intelligently.
Oddly enough, in previous seasons (especially the first), the biggest complain was that the pacing was atrocious, and an absurd amount of time was spent on the early, more formulaic arcs.
While most readers would not dispute that the goddess arc was the epitome of TGWOK, have you noticed that most manga readers complaining usually single out a particular girl who was skipped? I'd imagine it's because a large number of the "second best" arc picks fall within the skipped material.
Here's a thought: had the first episode taken the Rozen Maiden summary approach of devoting a whole episode to recollection, I think the complaints would have been much more muted.
It was quite a bombshell for manga readers too. However, in this case, the bombshell didn't come out of nowhere. I don't recall anyone claiming this was an ass-pull. Genre shifts rarely happen out of nowhere - there's always a single defining moment where the genre decisively shifts (in this case, it's Kanon getting stabbed), but many genre shifts have a build up.
The goddess arc was pretty well sealed the moment that what's-her-name and her companion went after Tenri. It wasn't sealed by name, as in it wasn't exactly obvious what the escalation of the plot would be, but it was far from surprising.
Quote:
stuff about things
We do have a thread for manga comparison, you know. Although you keep posting the same thing about how unique and how important those skipped captures are despite the presence of counter-arguments. :\
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They do have the cause to make the claim, but the current consensus seems to be that the more critical holes can be filled, if done intelligently.
Pretty much. Regardless of what anyone may think there are two specific arcs that contained information and they're girls who are in this season and you've already seen flashbacks for. It should go without saying that they're kind of important. The majority of the important details in the skipped material (except for Tsukiyo and Yui) was just standard exposition and can easily be covered with a quick conversation flashback.
Apparently this is debatable though.
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Last edited by Traece; 2013-07-13 at 09:20.
Reason: There was supposed to be more, but after nearly a week of this I've given up on trying.
The first episode was good, it felt a little rushed but that's fine, thye skipped a lot of arcs however that is something that they announced long ago so i actually don't feel mad or anything, i just want to see Ayumi again *-*...
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