(L) Kokoro Connect [anime]

[Arturia Polaris]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Anime and games are very different mediums though. One is passive, while the other is interactive.

With a passive, visual medium like anime, I would argue that the overall quality of the visuals (which definitely includes the quality of the character designs) is very important. With an interactive, visual medium like video games, how much fun the interactivity itself is can largely make up for very basic or streamlined visuals; you don't just watch a video game, you play it.

But you don't play an anime, you just watch it. Having good character designs definitely can help a lot (while bad character designs can really detract from the experience).

Touche, that's a good point.

In any case, I tend to overlook the eye candy. Hyouka looks really gorgeous and all, but the story turned me off midway.

On the other hand, Angel Beats! had not-so-awesome visuals and I still watched it till the end.

You can argue that I'm a keyfag, and you'd be totally spot on.

I guess this is highly subjective, in any case...

Arty

[Triple_R]

To be fair, I get your point. All the pretty visuals in the world can only go so far in making up for a weak and/or dull narrative.

It's just that I can sympathize with visuals playing a role in somebody checking out an anime.

[Forsaken_Infinity]

Originally Posted by Arturia Polaris

Touche, that's a good point.

In any case, I tend to overlook the eye candy. Hyouka looks really gorgeous and all, but the story turned me off midway.

On the other hand, Angel Beats! had not-so-awesome visuals and I still watched it till the end.

You can argue that I'm a keyfag, and you'd be totally spot on.

I guess this is highly subjective, in any case...

Arty

You make a very good point but your example comparison is very much the counterexample to your point .___. Hyouka had a far far better story than Angel Beats! with a heck lot more subtlety. Both had alright visuals and sounds and I wouldn't say one outdid the other necessarily in either of those departments.

Spoiler for Hyouka vs. Angel Beats!:

To elaborate, Angel Beats! has a nonsensical plot that rushes through things and doesn't really care to build the characters and is essentially just a very weak melodrama with lots of random nonsense cliche references and what not. Hyouka, on the other hand, builds on itself, attempts slow and methodical characterization and presents to you a magnificent coming of age story with as fresh content as you can honestly ask for. Opinions are subjective yada yada but as a person who saw both the shows to the end (and hence liked both enough to actually stick it out), I must be fair to both the shows. They were both pretty to look at and didn't offend my ears for the most part but when it comes to a story, Hyouka actually tells a good one while Angel Beats! doesn't have a story worth mentioning. And while opinions are indeed highly subjective and shit, I suggest you watch Hyouka all the way through and without being offended from my opinion (can't help it if you do get offended over my opinion) as it's a very good show and gets better every other episode.

Anyway, about Kokoro Connect. Sigh. Finally watched the last episode and mother of god they totally rushed that shit far too much. I don't know if it's like this in the original content too but Jesus Christ. I had no problems with Aoki's resolution or even Yui's. Those were acceptable. Pushing it a bit but still acceptable. But what the hell is this shit at the very end with the one thing they built up throughout the series. Fuck. I am so disappointed. God damn it.

[blaze0041]

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Inaban + Glasses

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Younger Iori

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Yui & Aoki

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[Arya]

Originally Posted by willx

That said .. part of me wants to watch this and give it a chance anyway.. and the reason why? This is kind of dumb and shallow of me, but I keep seeing the character art for this and after looking at screenshots and some summaries .. I'm strangely drawn to Himeko's character design! .. Those side-swept bangs, that wry grin, the sense of a "spunky" attitude .. is this love (of an anime character) at first sight?

Addition: Apparently I wasn't being clear in my comment -- it's not that the character is gorgeously drawn or anything (not that it's bad at all) but.. What I mean is the character as designed (and of course attributes that I maybe falsely attributing to that character) draw me to them.. So let's "art quality" but "characteristics" is what has me so intrigued.. Like a beautiful woman with a mysterious smile sitting across the table sort of thing!

I think that you should give it a try, I can't say if it will be of your taste or not, surely I can say that if anything, Himeko is a central character of the show, if not THE central character. So at least she has enough screen time and you wouldn't be disappointed for her once-in-a-while appearance.
On a personal note I jsut can't really say that Himeko did the show, because it would be really unfair to the series, but it is also true that this show without Inaban would have lost more than half of its charm.
What I'm trying to say is that if the gimmicks are what turned the show down for you, you picked the a good motive to resume it

[Blonto]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

To be fair, I get your point. All the pretty visuals in the world can only go so far in making up for a weak and/or dull narrative.

It's just that I can sympathize with visuals playing a role in somebody checking out an anime.

I think Arturia Polaris used a good comparison. Much in the same way that good graphics do nothing to cover up bad gameplay, neither can good art do the same for a bad story (Guilty crown). On the other hand, we can't really call one or the other irrelevant, since anime is a combination of both. A bad story can make an anime insufferable, but ugly art can make it harder to get into the story. In Kokoro Connect, the times when animation really dropped in quality and the characters got derpier really broke my immersion in the show.

[kazzuya13]

I guess I just have to wait for the OVA to air in due time...

[jdennis007]

I am so disappointed with the ending of this show, they wasted the last episodes on things like plot and character development and such instead of focusing on what matters, loli Inaba and her cuteness.

[Vladrave]

Originally Posted by jdennis007

I am so disappointed with the ending of this show, they wasted the last episodes on things like plot and character development and such instead of focusing on what matters, loli Inaba and her cuteness.

If the ending disappointed you, then you should wait for the DVD/Bluray. The last four episodes was supposed to be part of the TV series until some incident happened.

[starlol]

Originally Posted by Vladrave

If the ending disappointed you, then you should wait for the DVD/Bluray. The last four episodes was supposed to be part of the TV series until some incident happened.

It isn't suppose to be part of tv series even if without that incident

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by starlol

It isn't suppose to be part of tv series even if without that incident

This is correct -- it was always planned as a BD/DVD-exclusive arc, and the discs were announced right at the start. It was never going to be part of the TV airing no matter what (because they only had 13 episodes on TV).

[Lenneth4]

Originally Posted by Vladrave

If the ending disappointed you, then you should wait for the DVD/Bluray. The last four episodes was supposed to be part of the TV series until some incident happened.

what incident ?

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Lenneth4

what incident ?

I assume referring to the subject covered in this this thread. But as was said, that situation didn't affect the plan for the fourth anime story arc, which was already planned that way from the start.

[Vladrave]

Ah, i see. I thought that it's because of that incident.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Highly enjoyable series, maybe the best of the season (or second-best after SAO, which is a much shallower sort of anime) -- but not what I hoped it could be. It reached a pretty good level of the character development, but never went beyond that level, for me. The ending worked, but didn't really move me. Of course, I was away from anime for three weeks or so, so maybe the interruption hurt my ability to follow. I'll certainly be watching the extra eps.

In any case, Hyouka (a show from the prior season) just gradually marched up, overtook and transcended this show. As inconsequential as that show seemed at the beginning, it grew into something approaching a masterpiece, by the end.

Too bad about the bullying incident. Maybe it didn't end up hurting sales, but it certainly threw a pall over the show. Terashima Takuma (one of the seiyuus involved in the "bullying" video) will have a live event in a couple of weeks. I wonder how that will go.

[Lantern]

Official Announcement on 10/19:

http://kokoro-connect.com/news/

The live screening event will take place between 11/19~11/25.

Doesn't look like they plan to do internet streaming.

Looks like the rest of us will need to wait for the BD/DVD release. Sigh.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Lantern

Looks like the rest of us will need to wait for the BD/DVD release. Sigh.

Well, I didn't plan on watching it on crappy stream qualities anyway.

I just hope that I can still... 'Have a means to understand the episode' once it does become available...

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Lantern

Official Announcement on 10/19:

http://kokoro-connect.com/news/

The live screening event will take place between 11/19~11/25.

Doesn't look like they plan to do internet streaming.

Looks like the rest of us will need to wait for the BD/DVD release. Sigh.

Interesting. Sad, but interesting.

Sometime ago I wondered to myself "If the anime industry wants to get more people buying BD/DVDs, why not just air a few episodes on TV and make the rest of the series BD/DVD-only? Hook people in with a few good TV episodes and then basically say 'If you want to see the rest, you'll have to buy the BDs.' Some fans may backlash, but I could see it causing more people to spend money on BD/DVDs. "

I wonder if the anime industry is heading this way. I mean, it's not like they're legally obligated to show the full series on TV. Heck, for most late-night anime, the TV episodes are just glorified infomercials for the BD/DVDs anyway.


Anyway, while I find this interesting, I hope the anime industry doesn't go this way. It would suck if the Achiga-hen/Kokoro Connect approach was to become more widespread, meaning we'd have to wait several months longer before getting to watch the "full story".

[ArturEngel]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Interesting. Sad, but interesting.

Sometime ago I wondered to myself "If the anime industry wants to get more people buying BD/DVDs, why not just air a few episodes on TV and make the rest of the series BD/DVD-only? Hook people in with a few good TV episodes and then basically say 'If you want to see the rest, you'll have to buy the BDs.' Some fans may backlash, but I could see it causing more people to spend money on BD/DVDs. "

I wonder if the anime industry is heading this way. I mean, it's not like they're legally obligated to show the full series on TV. Heck, for most late-night anime, the TV episodes are just glorified infomercials for the BD/DVDs anyway.


Anyway, while I find this interesting, I hope the anime industry doesn't go this way. It would suck if the Achiga-hen/Kokoro Connect approach was to become more widespread, meaning we'd have to wait several months longer before getting to watch the "full story".

Well, i personally don't see any drama in that trend. I mean, those, who really liked the show, would propably buy the BD/DVDs in any case. So why not offer some cool stuff, that makes their product more attractive?

And there are also these companies, that air anime. Don't they have kinda schedule, so they couldn't show more than 13-26 episodes, do they?

[RRW]

YouTube

https://youtu.be/Dgsj6xfusf0

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