(L) K (Anime project)

[GDiddy]

Shiro's immortal; he can be King as long as he wants, I guess.

Though, if this show does go there, Kuroh's probably the only candidate. It would also tie into the whole Weissman/Kokoujouji comparsions too.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Hope it doesn't go that way though...Neko would be sad without her Shiro T__T

[BPD Renegade]

Questions: Does this show have a lot of action and is it worth watching? (No spoilers please.)

There was an English ad for this show on YouTube a while back, and it looked pretty good, but when I looked it up on ANN/MAL, the reviews weren't exactly flattering. The fact that it's still being discussed is peaking my curiosity, so I'll ask you guys. I don't want to watch it if it'll annoy me the entire time (If the script and characterization is obscenely bland and cliched like, for example, that of the two leads in Strike the Blood, pity my blood pressure and stress levels and just tell me, no). Otherwise, I'll give it a shot.

[Cosmic Eagle]

I am a fan of the characters and the interactions of a certain faction but for new viewers,it's a mainly watch for the aesthetics thing. It will appeal to you usually if you are already a fan of such stuff because admittedly, some of the characters are pretty annoying. You have to see whether it grows on you or not.

Action wise, it's there but don't expect traditional hard action....the show is very stylized (but not like SHAFT stylized)

If you watch Mardock Scramble you'll recognize it immediately since it's by the same studio


And it's still being discussed because the sequel movie will come out on 12 July


I'm personally still considering if I should watch it in the cinema when it airs here (mainly because my local distributor company is a huge prick that tried to implement a SOPA like policy in the courts way before SOPA ever came to light)

[BlueMiranda]

Originally Posted by BPD Renegade

Does this show have a lot of action

It does, but the action is very stylized, as said above, and a lot of it is there mainly for eye-candy purpose. Overall this show is quite subtle and slow-progressing in terms of plot, so I wouldn't say it's a traditional action series, more like a mystery series with action elements.

Originally Posted by BPD Renegade

and is it worth watching?

Give it a try and decide for yourself. I personally loved it, but I can see why some people had problems with it too. It's the kind of show that needs some patience -- it won't give you all information right away so it might seem confusing at first, but things will become clearer if you keep watching. I guess it also depends a lot on how much you like the characters, since their interactions and bonds are pretty much the core of the series.

[GDiddy]

Originally Posted by BPD Renegade

Questions: Does this show have a lot of action and is it worth watching? (No spoilers please.)

There was an English ad for this show on YouTube a while back, and it looked pretty good, but when I looked it up on ANN/MAL, the reviews weren't exactly flattering. The fact that it's still being discussed is peaking my curiosity, so I'll ask you guys. I don't want to watch it if it'll annoy me the entire time (If the script and characterization is obscenely bland and cliched like, for example, that of the two leads in Strike the Blood, pity my blood pressure and stress levels and just tell me, no). Otherwise, I'll give it a shot.

You might want to stream an episode or two first before buying it.

As others have stated, the show has some FANTASTIC characters and the action was done well. But, and I say this as a complete fan of this series(I own the series, have read all of the manga and most of the novels), it's very problematic in terms of development and story. The series really should've been 24-26 episodes/two cour instead of squeezing everything into 12, especially since the story really doesn't come together until the last half of the series.

As for why people still talk about it, as others have mentioned, there's a movie coming out next month and it's playing in the US in limited release. I'm surprised actually; I didn't think K was THAT mainstream.

There's also a BIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG fandom for this series as well. The Fujioshi love SkaterBoi and Ebil Glasses for some damn reason. Unfortunely, they overshadow the main characters, which sucks, because I love the Main Cast(Shiro/Kuroh/Neko).

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by GDiddy

As for why people still talk about it, as others have mentioned, there's a movie coming out next month and it's playing in the US in limited release. I'm surprised actually; I didn't think K was THAT mainstream.

Lol...I don't know how K is like in US but over here, it's what hordes of (mainly female but since females form like 50% of the otaku fanbase here) people are nuts over

[BPD Renegade]

Thanks for everyone's incredible input!

Sounds like everyone approves of the character interactions for the most part. I appreciate a bit of mystery and subtlety with my action, so I'll give it a shot. And by a shot, it means I'll probably end up finishing it within a week.

Originally Posted by BlueMiranda

Give it a try and decide for yourself. I personally loved it, but I can see why some people had problems with it too. It's the kind of show that needs some patience -- it won't give you all information right away so it might seem confusing at first, but things will become clearer if you keep watching. I guess it also depends a lot on how much you like the characters, since their interactions and bonds are pretty much the core of the series.

This sealed the deal.

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Lol...I don't know how K is like in US but over here, it's what hordes of (mainly female but since females form like 50% of the otaku fanbase here) people are nuts over

Before the ad, I had never heard of the series before, so maybe not that big?

[tuckersister]

The Anime Expo will premiere the movie early in the first week of July. I feel jealous for the people that get the opportunity to see it in the US.

[GDiddy]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Lol...I don't know how K is like in US but over here, it's what hordes of (mainly female but since females form like 50% of the otaku fanbase here) people are nuts over

They all love Yata and Fushimi or the Red and Blue King. I can't find any decent fanart or fanfic of Kuroh/Shiro or even het pairings

I just meant that I didn't think K went over huge in the States, but obviously I'm wrong And by huge, I mean, as well known as Evangelion, Bleach or Madoka was when they released movies since they already had a huge following anyway.

Before the ad, I had never heard of the series before, so maybe not that big?

Well, the series is two years old. It was just released here in the US this year.

Also, I think a lot of fans dismissed it as HoYay fluff. Which, it actually isn't despite the male cast.

[BPD Renegade]

Originally Posted by GDiddy

They all love Yata and Fushimi or the Red and Blue King. I can't find any decent fanart or fanfic of Kuroh/Shiro or even het pairings

I just meant that I didn't think K went over huge in the States, but obviously I'm wrong And by huge, I mean, as well known as Evangelion, Bleach or Madoka was when they released movies since they already had a huge following anyway.



Well, the series is two years old. It was just released here in the US this year.

Also, I think a lot of fans dismissed it as HoYay fluff. Which, it actually isn't despite the male cast.

Is it really as big as Evangelion/Bleach? I guess if there's a HoYay stigma, that's probably why no one I know's mentioned it: 90% of my colleagues are male. No one would admit to watching it, even if they did. ^_^;


Watched the first two episodes. At first, I wasn't sure what to think. The lack of dialogue and the often times strange coloring gave it a very distant feel. Durarara came to mind, but it wasn't quite the same... I'm also not sure how I feel about the soundtrack. It's almost like Samurai Champloo + Boondocks, which seemed a bit out-of-place for the genre.

I thoroughly enjoyed the second episode though. Ponytail-dude is a terrible assassin, but the fact that he got played for pretty much the entire episode after initially coming off as a bad-ass...
I'd probably marathon this if I didn't have work tomorrow.

[wandering-dreamer]

Originally Posted by BPD Renegade

Is it really as big as Evangelion/Bleach? I guess if there's a HoYay stigma, that's probably why no one I know's mentioned it: 90% of my colleagues are male. No one would admit to watching it, even if they did. ^_^;

Oh heck no it's nowhere nearly that popular, although I'll admit that these days I rarely hear about it outside of the more pro-hoyay areas of the internet.

[GDiddy]

Oh I just meant those Evangelion and Bleach aleady had an audience when those movies came out. I didn't really think K did, other than yaoi fans.

Ponytail Assassin is the best character, despite the fact that he gets his ass kicked. A lot.

Also, NotShizuo is cool too.

[BPD Renegade]

I marathoned this after work. Afterwards, I wasn't sure what I wanted more: to murder someone or to strangle myself into a bloody mess. But I think my head's cleared enough to write something that isn't a profane-filled rant.

This wasn't a bad show, and I did enjoy watching it; however, knowing the the last episode was the last episode... I was expecting some sort of satisfying conclusion, but it was so open-ended. It just screamed out, "to be continued," yet, the series is a one-cour. There are so many holes in the narrative, especially with regards to the character relationships, that were not filled. Is there outside material we're expected to buy in order to fully understand the show? If this is the case, from a literary standpoint, it fails, because everything necessary to the narrative should be self-contained. Or maybe the movie will expand on everything... But I'm not keeping any hopes up.

There are many other things I'd like to say, but they're all jumbled in my head. I need to think about this. For now, my feelings toward K are fluctuating rapidly between like and the gaping, hollow hole of despair. Congratulations K. You did something right to make me feel this way.

That said, I don't regret watching this at all. In fact, I'm going to force a kouhai to watch this and suffer as well. <evil grin>

Originally Posted by GDiddy

Ponytail Assassin is the best character, despite the fact that he gets his ass kicked. A lot.

He did end up as one of my favorites of the series. Kind of like a Kanda Yuu x Yato x Smoker mixture. Is it really a coincidence his last name is Yatogami?

[LKK]

Originally Posted by BPD Renegade

Is there outside material we're expected to buy in order to fully understand the show? If this is the case, from a literary standpoint, it fails, because everything necessary to the narrative should be self-contained.

The answer to your question is yes, there is outside material you're expected to buy. From its initial announcement, K was publicized as a multi-media project. IIRC, there were manga and novels released near simultaneously with the anime. The anime was never intended to be self-contained. You can't fault them for not doing something they expressly said they weren't going to do. (In other words, they did exactly what they said they were going to do.) Whether or not that was the right decision to make .... you can argue with them on that point for sure.

[BlueMiranda]

Originally Posted by BPD Renegade

Is there outside material we're expected to buy in order to fully understand the show?

Like LKK said, K was a multi-media project from the start so the anime wasn't meant to stand completely alone. There are tons of material beside the TV series: several novels and manga, drama CDs, short stories, etc. I liked the anime as it was when I first watched it, but I started to enjoy it even more after checking out all the other material (much of it has been translated by fans so it can be found online) since it explains a lot about the characters and gives them more depth.

Also, the sequel movie is coming out in July, so the story isn't over yet.

[BPD Renegade]

Originally Posted by LKK

The answer to your question is yes, there is outside material you're expected to buy. From its initial announcement, K was publicized as a multi-media project. IIRC, there were manga and novels released near simultaneously with the anime. The anime was never intended to be self-contained. You can't fault them for not doing something they expressly said they weren't going to do. (In other words, they did exactly what they said they were going to do.) Whether or not that was the right decision to make .... you can argue with them on that point for sure.

Originally Posted by BlueMiranda

Like LKK said, K was a multi-media project from the start so the anime wasn't meant to stand completely alone. There are tons of material beside the TV series: several novels and manga, drama CDs, short stories, etc. I liked the anime as it was when I first watched it, but I started to enjoy it even more after checking out all the other material (much of it has been translated by fans so it can be found online) since it explains a lot about the characters and gives them more depth.

Also, the sequel movie is coming out in July, so the story isn't over yet.

...I feel like the recipient of a cruel joke. So much extra material. Plot-wise, I thought the anime wrapped things up pretty nicely, but the world-building, the characters and their relationships were lacking in background and development... The fact that it's a multi-media project clarifies things a lot. I've found the manga floating around so I'll check those out and reevaluate. Cheers to descending deeper into the K pit!

[LKK]

Originally Posted by BPD Renegade

...I feel like the recipient of a cruel joke. So much extra material. Plot-wise, I thought the anime wrapped things up pretty nicely, but the world-building, the characters and their relationships were lacking in background and development... The fact that it's a multi-media project clarifies things a lot. I've found the manga floating around so I'll check those out and reevaluate. Cheers to descending deeper into the K pit!

I didn't read or listen to any of the extra material. But from what I heard about them, world-building, character relationships, background, etc., are what form the basis of the other material. Good luck with your dive into the depths of the K project. I hope you enjoy your journey!

[GDiddy]

There's scanslations for:

Memories of Red (HOMRA manga)

Stray Dog Story (Kuroh)

K the First (AU version of story/Shiro/Kuro/Neko)

Days of Blue (Scepter 4)


September Scanslations also has some of the novels translated.


Hopefully the movie explains things more though.

[wandering-dreamer]

I've seen summaries for the novels (I think they were, K Side Red, K Side Blue, and then the one concerning Shiro/Kuro/Neko whose name I can't recall).