Fortune Arterial (PC/PS3 Game, August)

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Spoiler for Anime related, up to ep 11:

Ever since episode 10 of the anime i was being suspicious (and worried) about the pacing, wondering how they would fit all the things in only 2 episodes. After episode 11 though ... color me surprised, but i don't think the anime is going for the True End at all - unless i am horribly mistaken, it looks like we will be getting Erika's ending instead.

The lead-up to the events of Erika's end is there, components that would propel the true end in to action are missing, and there is simply no way they can fit the later in to one episode. It is quite impossible to introduce and execute Kouhei's and Sei's little escapades with the stone fragments, all the flashbacks, all the additional info on Tougi family, the confrontation with Kaya, the resolution, the epilogue ... unrealistic for one episode.

From where we are though, Erika's ending can be reached quite reasonably - we will probably get the festival after which Erika disappears, Kouhei confronting Iori for the mansion's location, rushing there, getting injured by Kaya, and being "saved" by Erika. The episode's title, Red Promise, ties in to Erika's ending as well - the promise she demanded of Kouhei, that he would leave her and never appear before her again should she ever use an order on him. Indeed, these events can be fitted in to one episode.


Color me surprised ... i never even considered the possibility of anything but the True End, so it has caught from the blind side, unless i happen to be horribly wrong on this, but i don't see how. I am not complaining though - i always preferred Erika's ending to the True End, so i am all for seeing it animated. Nothing like an unexpected twist in the end, i wonder what the anime watchers will say ... i doubt that is the resolution many would have expected

Spoiler for Hmmm:

I was wondering if the Anime was going to take the alternative route from the True End. Everything seemed to be basically based on Erika from now on, so it was defiantly going to end with a certain Erika Route nonetheless.

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Spoiler for Hmmm:

I was wondering if the Anime was going to take the alternative route from the True End. Everything seemed to be basically based on Erika from now on, so it was defiantly going to end with a certain Erika Route nonetheless.

Spoiler for anime ep11:

Hm ? There is no "alternate route to True End", True End and "Erika's End" are two separate development paths - though in the strictly romantic sense both can be considered Erika's endings indeed, but the issue is approached, handled and solved very differently in both of them. True End is more about vampires, their history and creation, and the truth behind the bloodlust than it is about Erika. Erika's route is Erika's centric (duh ) and doesn't really explain any of that. I guess the anime is going to leave the viewers in the dark regarding the full truths behind the vampires, as that is what going for Erika's End means. they started with the True End events (Haruna regaining her memory, Kiriha roaming around the night looking for her master, etc), but might be shifting towards Erika's end for the wrap-up ... a somewhat weird approach in my opinion, unless that is their way of saying "Buy the game to find out!"

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Spoiler for anime ep11:

Hm ? There is no "alternate route to True End", True End and "Erika's End" are two separate development paths - though in the strictly romantic sense both can be considered Erika's endings indeed, but the issue is approached, handled and solved very differently in both of them. True End is more about vampires, their history and creation, and the truth behind the bloodlust than it is about Erika. Erika's route is Erika's centric (duh ) and doesn't really explain any of that. I guess the anime is going to leave the viewers in the dark regarding the full truths behind the vampires, as that is what going for Erika's End means. they started with the True End events (Haruna regaining her memory, Kiriha roaming around the night looking for her master, etc), but might be shifting towards Erika's end for the wrap-up ... a somewhat weird approach in my opinion, unless that is their way of saying "Buy the game to find out!"

Spoiler for Reply:

Well I guess that does explain They only had 12 episodes in total to wrap this Anime Adaptation up, so if were going from what they were showing us for the good..... Say.... 1-8 episodes? It would probably take too long to get the True End in their (since they are talking about all the things that make up a vampire). So yeah... The Anime is simply telling us to play the game to find out other endings besides Erika's ending

[Shadow5YA]

A few questions regarding Erika's ending, the True Ending and the master/servant relationship

Spoiler:

Maybe I got the wrong impression from reading the spoilers, but it seems like Erika's ending ends on a fairly depressing note. From what I know, Erika dislikes having a servant to suck blood from because of Kaya and Kuze's example, where they cannot live a normal life and Kuze is forced to follow orders. It's as if Erika has to accept Hasekura's servitude as a necessary evil and abandon her school life as well.

I can understand immortality having its issues in the long term, but why can't Erika be happy having Hasekura with her for now and still keep their school life? If she doesn't want to rob him of his free will, she just has to not order him around, and that memory wipe thing was just Kaya having fun with Kuze. Is there a reason why Erika can't just get a drink of his blood in private everyday and keep their social lives intact?

Also, if Iori is correct and vampires only want to drink the blood of someone they care about, can't Erika see her thirst for Hasekura's blood as a sign for her love towards him and end the story on a happier note?

[larethian]

I personally do feel that it's better to play the game to find out the True End though

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

A few questions regarding Erika's ending, the True Ending and the master/servant relationship

Spoiler:

Maybe I got the wrong impression from reading the spoilers, but it seems like Erika's ending ends on a fairly depressing note. From what I know, Erika dislikes having a servant to suck blood from because of Kaya and Kuze's example, where they cannot live a normal life and Kuze is forced to follow orders. It's as if Erika has to accept Hasekura's servitude as a necessary evil and abandon her school life as well.

I can understand immortality having its issues in the long term, but why can't Erika be happy having Hasekura with her for now and still keep their school life? If she doesn't want to rob him of his free will, she just has to not order him around, and that memory wipe thing was just Kaya having fun with Kuze. Is there a reason why Erika can't just get a drink of his blood in private everyday and keep their social lives intact?

Also, if Iori is correct and vampires only want to drink the blood of someone they care about, can't Erika see her thirst for Hasekura's blood as a sign for her love towards him and end the story on a happier note?

Spoiler for answer:

This wouldn't affect their school life really (no more than it does for Kiriha), but the romance part is not hard to answer (as a side note i should mention that at this part of the game, the two were already in a romantic relationship, the anime is probably keepting that development for the end) - obviously, all she has to do is not order him around, but it isn't necessarily that simple. Like she said, she is afraid of the darkness in her own heart, and while that isn't to be taken literally, it highlights the issue - the potential for her to do so is there.

What if she does so without fully intending to do so ? What if she gives an order in the heat of a moment ? Imagine the two having an argument a century down the road, something so strong that could potentially make them drift apart. Could Erika withstand that separation ? Could she resist the temptation of ordering him to "love her" ? Could she avoid yelling "don't leave!", if he was about to ? She obviously wants a relationship with Kouhei, but above all else, she wants it to be natural - if they are to have a relationship, she wants it to be out of their both free will, not because of how she alone feels about - relationship is a two way street, but with Kouhei being a servant, she has the potential to make it a one way street. Does he still love her ? Or does he love her because she wants him to love her ? That is the difference, and while it might not seem like much, especially in the immediate situation where both are indeed attracted to each other, it means the world to Erika. It might not seem like much to worry about, but thing is, Erika does not trust herself with this, and it has the potential to defile and turn their relationship in to something fake, based on her whims. She could literally make Kouhei her doll, and this thought is something Erika can't stand.

This is why she makes Kouhei to promise her one thing - if she ever issues an order to him, he would leave her, run away and never appear before her again. There is no real downside to her "having a drink of blood from him in private", and she does (and the circumstances this happened in the game would likely leave many a male jumping for joy ), but this goes against all her principles, she simply does so because the situation is forced upon her, and as we saw, she can't really handle the bloodlust otherwise.


Regarding Erika not seeing her bloodlust towards Kouhei as a sign of her feelings ... well, like i said - in game they were already in a relationship by this point, but it isn't necessarily a fact set in stone, merely an observation made by Iori, and Erika is young and this is the first time she experiences such - she is likely much more worried and scared about the cause and effects this situation is having on her, rather than the potential romantic implications. Besides, there are various types of "care about" - Kaya drinks Kiriha's blood, but there is no romantic feelings involved there.

Much regarding the vampires is unknown to themselves (aside from Kaya), and it is only in the "True End" that we learn all the truths behind them. In a 'neutral state' it is quite possible to sate the bloodthirst via bloodpacks, as Erika has been doing up to now, but that craving becomes much more specific (and stronger) if a vampire develops a bond with someone. The need to drink blood isn't a physical one in FA, it is a psychological one. I'll refrain from saying more, in the small chance the anime does explain the matter, but i don't think it will, as the grounds for touching the issue have not been set, as was the case in Erika's ending.

[Shadow5YA]

Spoiler for Iori:

So then how does Iori manage? I can't tell if he has a personal preference towards anyone's blood except Shizuko, but it doesn't seem like he needs her like Erika needs Kouhei.

[Johnny]

Can someone explain the blood sample Iori took in the early episodes, because it looked to be something important pertaining to Erika's first reaction to Kohei? Seems they decided to leave off that explanation on the cutting room floor right along with the romance between the two...

[Wigwams]

Originally Posted by Johnny

Can someone explain the blood sample Iori took in the early episodes, because it looked to be something important pertaining to Erika's first reaction to Kohei? Seems they decided to leave off that explanation on the cutting room floor right along with the romance between the two...

i asked this too i think the answer is in the first page or something. so i might not be exactly correct but ill try to remember as much as possible.

Spoiler for incoming spoiler:

kouhei's blood is special. that much was determined after erika got all crazy just by touching his hand on the first meeting.
that blood sample test they did was to determine why exactly kouhei is special. and the answer is... (im not sure if the answer was taken from the blood test or some other method.)

Spoiler for you really want to know?:

from what i remember kouhei has something in his stomach. when he was a kid he almost drowned in a lake and he accidentally swallowed a small part of some special stone. the very same stone which is probably inside erika and iori which turned them into vampires. and apparently that stone in his stomach is what makes his blood very desirable for erika...

[Johnny]

Wow, that's something pretty major to leave out of the anime. Guess they didn't want to explain too much into the whole vampire aspect of things. Thanks for the info...

[Manic]

so can any explain the true end and possibly how kuze's story ends, I was really interested in her story

[Manic]

hmmm looks like with the fail of the anime this topic has died

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Manic

hmmm looks like with the fail of the anime this topic has died

Basically, all enthusiasm for the game has just died out with the somewhat poor-climatic that the anime provided..

[Manic]

ahh thats a shame, i was wanting to read about the true ending a kuze since i have no desire to play the game.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Basically, all enthusiasm for the game has just died out with the somewhat poor-climatic that the anime provided..

Or... it's just that it's the holidays and people are a bit too busy to write detailed summaries of the game at the moment. I don't think any of the game players have lost enthusiasm for the game because of the anime; rather, I think they generally hope interested people will play the game to get the story they were hoping the anime would tell.

[cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Or... it's just that it's the holidays and people are a bit too busy to write detailed summaries of the game at the moment. I don't think any of the game players have lost enthusiasm for the game because of the anime; rather, I think they generally hope interested people will play the game to get the story they were hoping the anime would tell.

the anime left enough questions to possibly get a season 2 in the near future so if that happens then even if interest wanes it will be reinvigorated again.

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Or... it's just that it's the holidays and people are a bit too busy to write detailed summaries of the game at the moment. I don't think any of the game players have lost enthusiasm for the game because of the anime; rather, I think they generally hope interested people will play the game to get the story they were hoping the anime would tell.

Ah well, sorry for being down about that. Just got a little dissapointed with the anime and how it ended, but would defiantly love to see where it would have went in the story

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Basically, all enthusiasm for the game has just died out with the somewhat poor-climatic that the anime provided..

Heck no.....I'm still playing it after reinstalling.....(Re)Finishing off Haruna's route now and (re)moving on to Kiriha's soon...

The True Route is Erika centric though.....not really such a thing as a Kiriha True End, although her end is how to say a bit sad compared to the rest, lifespan and all....

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Heck no.....I'm still playing it after reinstalling.....(Re)Finishing off Haruna's route now and (re)moving on to Kiriha's soon...

The True Route is Erika centric though.....not really such a thing as a Kiriha True End, although her end is how to say a bit sad compared to the rest, lifespan and all....

Ahh, so lucky to be able to play it. Wonder when I can eventually find the time to play the game as well.

[larethian]

Seitsuki, you rule!