JC Staff: Studio discussion, speculation, and whatnot.

[Wolfnagi]

lol,
People finally make a thread about J.C xD
Anyway, for some reason, J.C loves to spam many of their pigeon-fold voice actors,
Particularly, Kugyu as tsundere loli xD

[Kotohono]

*checks list* Well from what I've seen of JC staff aside from Bakuman, I've generally liked or at least enjoyed every series I've seen from them so far, and I really liked Railgun, Toradora, and Shana so they have my approval I suppose...

Originally Posted by Echoes

Shana III ASAP please!

As long as they give me that and a Railgun II, I'll be happy with them .

[SeijiSensei]

I'm amused at how few references there are to one of my favorite works from J.C. Staff, Nodame Cantabile. While what we might term the "story" animations are fairly pedestrian, the performance animations are stunning. They must have invested a substantial amount of effort to create such convincing portrayals of the instrumental performances, particularly the piano segments. I suspect they had to use motion-capture technology with human musicians to make the animations so realistic.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Wolfnagi

lol,
People finally make a thread about J.C xD
Anyway, for some reason, J.C loves to spam many of their pigeon-fold voice actors,
Particularly, Kugyu as tsundere loli xD

But at the same time they also try out alot of new VAs for their series, and they don't just give them minor roles either.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by Konakaga

As long as they give me that and a Railgun II, I'll be happy with them .

Can't argue with that! Index is good and all, but I love me some Railgun.

[Raiga]

Originally Posted by TJR

They're kind of a reliable favorite for me, in terms of both content and production. J.C.STAFF rarely produces masterpieces, but you can usually count on them to make something nice looking and above average in quality (plus I love their art styles and knack for animating tsundere characters).

Pretty much exactly how I think of them. Reliable. A studio that does relatively safe adaptations, may not do anything experimental, risky, or mind-blowing, but will at least do the source material justice (... usually, YMMV). I've enjoyed a lot of their shows and if the premise of a new show sounds like my thing and it's J.C.Staff, I can generally trust that I'll enjoy it as well.

[Taufiq91]

Originally Posted by Raiga

Pretty much exactly how I think of them. Reliable. A studio that does relatively safe adaptations, may not do anything experimental, risky, or mind-blowing, but will at least do the source material justice (... usually, YMMV). I've enjoyed a lot of their shows and if the premise of a new show sounds like my thing and it's J.C.Staff, I can generally trust that I'll enjoy it as well.

I wouldn't say that. They did Excel Saga, which is a very ballsy and experimental anime IMO.

[Pocari_Sweat]

There's two studios that have a place in my heart over my course of anime fandom. One is Madhouse, and the other is J. C. Staff. Unlike some studios which strive to choose one or two genres and do them well such as Sunrise with its mecha and KyoAni with its moe comedies, both Madhouse and J. C. Staff have pretty much covered and experimented with a vast amount of genres. Of course, not all of them were hits, but there were definitely some great ones.

For example, when I think of J. C. Staff, instead of their medicore titles, I think of Honey and Clover and Nodame Cantabile. Both of these, particularly the first, are brilliant slice of life animes that go beyond targeting the "otaku" audience. I'll go as far as say that they are better than anything in the slice of life department KyoAni has produced with the possible exception of Clannad After Story, but that's my opinion.

Also, to people who are saying that J C haven't done any big or outstanding titles, you are forgetting that this is the studio that is responsible for:

Azumanga Daoih
Shakugan no Shana
Zero no Tsukaima
Hayate no Gotoku
To Aru Majutsu no Index/To Aru Kakagu no Railgun
Toradora (A lot of people I know thought this was made by KyoAni...)

Of course, your mileage may vary (including myself) to what you thought was good, but the fact is that all of the above are popular, many of them franchises.

Recently though, J C Staff has sort of hit the gutter in that they are falling into the moe/fanservice/ecchi hole that a lot of other studios are falling into, but it's not something they can't get out of. What J. C. Staff needs is another big hit such as the highly anticipated 3rd season of Shakugan no Shana to get back on track. If the quality of the third season ends up being something similar to what eps 3 and 4 of the SnS S OVAs were, it will be a big hit.

[totoum]

Like others,when I hear "JC Staff" I think "solid".

One thing that I like about them is that I can look at some artwork across all kind of genres (from toradora! to azumanga daioh to shigofumi to maid sama to yumekui merry etc) and think it looks like JC staff artwork,so to me that gives them an "identity".

I also cannot associate any director or writer with them,a lot of studios seem to have "in house" directors and writers,or at least,some they'll colaborate with a lot.All kinds of different people seem to have directed a series for JC staff.Maybe that's one of the reasons they're so diverse.

A studio that does relatively safe adaptations, may not do anything experimental, risky, or mind-blowing, but will at least do the source material justice

Mentioned it above,but I'll mention it again here: Shigofumi.

From what I understand they took the characters from the light novel,and that's it,they completely changed the story from a light hearted one to a much darker one.

It might not be the most "experimental" of shows out there,but it still delt with subjects like child abuse,child porn,school violence,how japanese society views NEETS and other things as well.
Didn't enjoy the main storyline that much but loved the episodic episodes,especialy the first couple ones.

[Wolfnagi]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

But at the same time they also try out alot of new VAs for their series, and they don't just give them minor roles either.

Yeah, seems like they stopped adapting shows with a loli tsundere,
Thought if SnS III is coming out, thing would pretty much return to the same JC.

Originally Posted by acejem

There's two studios that have a place in my heart over my course of anime fandom. One is Madhouse, and the other is J. C. Staff. Unlike some studios which strive to choose one or two genres and do them well such as Sunrise with its mecha and KyoAni with its moe comedies, both Madhouse and J. C. Staff have pretty much covered and experimented with a vast amount of genres. Of course, not all of them were hits, but there were definitely some great ones.

Seconded this,
J.C seems to be able to adapt almost any kind of story, (thought I know they won't adapt ecchi/eroge, it would ruin their studio clean image)

For example, when I think of J. C. Staff, instead of their medicore titles, I think of Honey and Clover and Nodame Cantabile. Both of these, particularly the first, are brilliant slice of life animes that go beyond targeting the "otaku" audience. I'll go as far as say that they are better than anything in the slice of life department KyoAni has produced with the possible exception of Clannad After Story, but that's my opinion.

I haven't finished Honey and Clover since it have been long since I seen that show (last time, 12 years old and like usual kids, not interested in drama)
But for Nodame Cantabile, it is one of their best work they ever made.
Just like you said, it managed to touch even beyond the otaku audience (which explain another reason on why the show deserve a Korean Drama, if Korean did it, at least my family would watch the show >.>)

Also, to people who are saying that J C haven't done any big or outstanding titles, you are forgetting that this is the studio that is responsible for:

Azumanga Daoih
Shakugan no Shana
Zero no Tsukaima
Hayate no Gotoku
To Aru Majutsu no Index/To Aru Kakagu no Railgun
Toradora (A lot of people I know thought this was made by KyoAni...)

Of course, your mileage may vary (including myself) to what you thought was good, but the fact is that all of the above are popular, many of them franchises.

J.C only adapt the second season of HnG,
The first season is from JP Synergy and the movie is from Manglobe.
Anyway, those are actually few of the best J.C shows (need to include Bakuman later) as most people usually remember them for.

P.S: Toradora = loli tsundere Kugyu.
loli tsundere Kugyu = J.C (unless you include the recent Hyakka Ryouran and Nagi ojou-sama, who the first season adaption is JP)

Recently though, J C Staff has sort of hit the gutter in that they are falling into the moe/fanservice/ecchi hole that a lot of other studios are falling into, but it's not something they can't get out of. What J. C. Staff needs is another big hit such as the highly anticipated 3rd season of Shakugan no Shana to get back on track. If the quality of the third season ends up being something similar to what eps 3 and 4 of the SnS S OVAs were, it will be a big hit.

Really?
Cause the only moe show they made this season would be Milky Holmes, and the entire art is moe. As far as I watch, Bakuman and Zakuro are exceptionally good shows that doesn't heavily rely on moe. AS for Index, well, its Index. What am I supposed to say, reduce the moe-ness and got ravaged by Index/Railgun fan?

[Pocari_Sweat]

Originally Posted by Wolfnagi

I haven't finished Honey and Clover since it have been long since I seen that show (last time, 12 years old and like usual kids, not interested in drama)
But for Nodame Cantabile, it is one of their best work they ever made.
Just like you said, it managed to touch even beyond the otaku audience (which explain another reason on why the show deserve a Korean Drama, if Korean did it, at least my family would watch the show >.>)

Theres J-drama series on both Honey and Clover and Nodame Cantabile, though I haven't seen the Honey and Clover one. The NC J-drama... well... I'm just going to say it was guilty pleasure and I wouldn't have liked it if I didn't like the anime/manga since it goes overboard with its slapstick humour and special effects - the drama seems to approach the material the same way it did with the anime.

As for K-drama, there is actually one called "Beethoven Virus" which was inspired by Nodame Cantabile's success, but is much more dramatic in classic Korean drama/melancholy style. Production value is also much higher and is overall more polished.

J.C only adapt the second season of HnG,
The first season is from JP Synergy and the movie is from Manglobe.

My bad. I should do a thorough wiki search next time .

Really?
Cause the only moe show they made this season would be Milky Holmes, and the entire art is moe. As far as I watch, Bakuman and Zakuro are exceptionally good shows that doesn't heavily rely on moe. AS for Index, well, its Index. What am I supposed to say, reduce the moe-ness and got ravaged by Index/Railgun fan?

Perhaps I exaggerated by saying "moe/fanservice" hole, but what I meant to say is that they haven't really produced something outstanding/popular for some time (except for Index). Recent animes they have done includes Kaichou wa maid-sama, Ookami-san, Milky Holmes, Otome Youkai and will be releasing Yumekui Merry next season. Many of these overused "moe" or "fanservice" as a driving factor. Not saying it's all bad... it's just personally disappointing to me.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Wolfnagi

Yeah, seems like they stopped adapting shows with a loli tsundere,
Thought if SnS III is coming out, thing would pretty much return to the same JC.

Oh don't get me wrong, I've very certain that Kugimiya-san has a Throne Room somewhere in their office, even not as a main character she can still be found in their series. But what I mean was... Take for example next season's [Yumekui Merry], the lead female character is voiced by a complete newcomer.

I don't know if it's true, but to me both Atsushi Abe and Yuka Iguchi got their big break as the lead characters in Toaru. I've been seeing them more often since then... Atsushi Abe in particular have been appearing often in their recent projects.

Originally Posted by Wolfnagi

Seconded this,
J.C seems to be able to adapt almost any kind of story, (thought I know they won't adapt ecchi/eroge, it would ruin their studio clean image)

Lol, what clean image ?

Originally Posted by Wolfnagi

J.C only adapt the second season of HnG,
The first season is from JP Synergy and the movie is from Manglobe.
Anyway, those are actually few of the best J.C shows (need to include Bakuman later) as most people usually remember them for.

Maybe that's why the second season was better

No seriously, in my opinion it was a much better adaptation.

Originally Posted by Wolfnagi

Really?
Cause the only moe show they made this season would be Milky Holmes, and the entire art is moe. As far as I watch, Bakuman and Zakuro are exceptionally good shows that doesn't heavily rely on moe. AS for Index, well, its Index. What am I supposed to say, reduce the moe-ness and got ravaged by Index/Railgun fan?

Zakuro is more shoujo-ish (though I'm told that it's not actually shoujo ) so moe is not really their kind of thing.... Or at least, probably not the moe that you're thinking

Index well... Sure you have some moe, what show doesn't? But it's definitely not the main focus and Index is better known for other stuffs.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by acejem

Perhaps I exaggerated by saying "moe/fanservice" hole, but what I meant to say is that they haven't really produced something outstanding/popular for some time (except for Index). Recent animes they have done includes Kaichou wa maid-sama, Ookami-san, Milky Holmes, Otome Youkai and will be releasing Yumekui Merry next season. Many of these overused "moe" or "fanservice" as a driving factor. Not saying it's all bad... it's just personally disappointing to me.

Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with the animes but rather the original material. Kaichou and Zakuro were good shows, but once they ended not alot of people would be talking about them. Ookami-san likewise, I personally like it alot, but once when it's over well- It doesn't compel people to want to dig more.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Zakuro is more shoujo-ish (though I'm told that it's not actually shoujo ) so moe is not really their kind of thing.... Or at least, probably not the moe that you're thinking

" Or at least, probably not the moe that you're thinking"

Definatly,Zakuro is to me an exemple of people not looking past art styles when calling something moe or not.
I'm sure if you turned all the girls of the show into lolies (or used an art style similar to k-on) and used the exact same script you'd have people say it's a moe show

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by totoum

Definatly,Zakuro is to me an exemple of people not looking past art styles when calling something moe or not.
I'm sure if you turned all the girls of the show into lolies (or used an art style similar to k-on) and used the exact same script you'd have people say it's a moe show

Er, what I meant was... The 'turn-on', or moe, for Zakuro isn't the girls-

It's the pretty boys and their 'nice guy' personalities

And even if I throw that all aside, the series is more lovey-dovey material than anything.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

he 'turn-on', or moe, for Zakuro isn't the girls-

It's the pretty boys and their 'nice guy' personalities

Yeah,it's a show where the boys are just as moe as the girls;like that everyone's happy

Ok,promise,I'll stop now,I just couldn't resist.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by Taufiq91

I wouldn't say that. They did Excel Saga, which is a very ballsy and experimental anime IMO.

But surely you would agree that this is the exception; not the rule.

[qwertyuiopz]

ghost hunt
honey clover
hatsukoi limited :>
majutsu no index
and recently bakuman

but they have alot of ecchi, no?

[Wolfnagi]

Originally Posted by acejem

Theres J-drama series on both Honey and Clover and Nodame Cantabile, though I haven't seen the Honey and Clover one. The NC J-drama... well... I'm just going to say it was guilty pleasure and I wouldn't have liked it if I didn't like the anime/manga since it goes overboard with its slapstick humour and special effects - the drama seems to approach the material the same way it did with the anime.

As for K-drama, there is actually one called "Beethoven Virus" which was inspired by Nodame Cantabile's success, but is much more dramatic in classic Korean drama/melancholy style. Production value is also much higher and is overall more polished.

I already know about the J-Drama,
Had watch it a few months ago,
Quite entertaining xD
Anyway, there are lots of J.C shows that can be made into real-life drama
I just wished that the Korean would be kindly to adapt them as some people dislike anime but loves Korean Drama. If they do adapt it, at least, my family are able to watch the shows without me forcing them.

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Oh don't get me wrong, I've very certain that Kugimiya-san has a Throne Room somewhere in their office, even not as a main character she can still be found in their series. But what I mean was... Take for example next season's [Yumekui Merry], the lead female character is voiced by a complete newcomer.

I don't know if it's true, but to me both Atsushi Abe and Yuka Iguchi got their big break as the lead characters in Toaru. I've been seeing them more often since then... Atsushi Abe in particular have been appearing often in their recent projects.

Yeah, it seems that many Seiyuu managed to get their breakthrough roles through J.C. Seems like J.C is actually one of the studios that can guarantee a breakout on any seiyuu.

My bad. I should do a thorough wiki search next time .

Maybe that's why the second season was better

No seriously, in my opinion it was a much better adaptation.

Don't worry, many people made that mistake if they watch second season first xD
And yeah, second season is better in many terms,
The first season is full of filler -.-"

Perhaps I exaggerated by saying "moe/fanservice" hole, but what I meant to say is that they haven't really produced something outstanding/popular for some time (except for Index). Recent animes they have done includes Kaichou wa maid-sama, Ookami-san, Milky Holmes, Otome Youkai and will be releasing Yumekui Merry next season. Many of these overused "moe" or "fanservice" as a driving factor. Not saying it's all bad... it's just personally disappointing to me.

EDIT:
Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with the animes but rather the original material. Kaichou and Zakuro were good shows, but once they ended not alot of people would be talking about them. Ookami-san likewise, I personally like it alot, but once when it's over well- It doesn't compel people to want to dig more.

I found KWMS, Ookami-san and Zakuro quite nice,
They actually emphasis more on drama instead of the moe/fanservice.
Even if it has that element, it pretty much because of the show itself and not much of the studio intervention. Just like Chaos said, the shows ended with not much people talking bout it because it doesn't have much things to say, unlike other shows who emphasis on more memorable but unnecessary things.

Lol, what clean image ?

Originally Posted by qwertyuiopz

but they have alot of ecchi, no?

Well, most J.C shows I watch doesn't have much ecchiness.

[Pocari_Sweat]

Originally Posted by Wolfnagi

Anyway, there are lots of J.C shows that can be made into real-life drama
I just wished that the Korean would be kindly to adapt them as some people dislike anime but loves Korean Drama. If they do adapt it, at least, my family are able to watch the shows without me forcing them.

Heh, I know how you feel. I'm of Korean descent and my mother watches a -lot- of K-dramas, but refuses to watch a lot of anime because she has the typical mentality that animation is for "kids" and are "childish". I don't blame her though, a lot of anime does appear to be juvenile though. I did manage to get her to watch 5 Centimeters Per Second and she liked it. Now, I'm trying to get her to watch the Time of Eve movie now because I remember she saying she liked Bicentennial Man.

As for J.C. works being adapted into K-dramas, I think it will depend. I don't think shows like Shana, Index or Hayate will make good adaptations due to the supernatural and "over-the-top" elements, but ones like Honey and Clover and Toradora could definitely work (with tweaking to cater to the typical K-drama audience i.e. young adult females/housewives) though I doubt the former as there is already a J-drama on it. Not sure on the chances though... Korea and Japan like to prioritize adapting source material made in their own countries.

[Taufiq91]

Originally Posted by acejem

As for J.C. works being adapted into K-dramas, I think it will depend. I don't think shows like Shana, Index or Hayate will make good adaptations due to the supernatural and "over-the-top" elements, but ones like Honey and Clover and Toradora could definitely work (with tweaking to cater to the typical K-drama audience i.e. young adult females/housewives) though I doubt the former as there is already a J-drama on it. Not sure on the chances though... Korea and Japan like to prioritize adapting source material made in their own countries.

I think toradora! works better as a live action british teen drama. I've seen lots of those and the simplistic storyline of Toradora would make an easy target for Hollywood and/or European producers to adapt. I mean, the story and the characters are easy to relate to in the West and they don't over-Japan everything like Lucky star, so you get an easy following with Westerners, particularly the Brits who were raised by Grunge Hill and Skins.

And speaking of seiyus, imagine Rie Kugimiya, Aki toyosaki, Ayana Taketatsu and Aya Hirano in one anime? It'd be like the Pulp Fiction of seiyus!