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**monir** · 2006-11-12, 17:43

Genre: Drama, Romance??

Expected Release Date: April 2007

Website: http://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/wellber/

One of the animation studio listed for this show is Trans Arts. Hmm.. If you don't know who they are then you obviously haven't seen Zaizen Jotaro.

The director for the show is Hamana Takayuki which is obviously a good news since he also directed Prince of Tennis. The synopsis is taken from Eggplant's post in the New Announced Anime thread. It is also good to see AniDB's using the synopsis and credit Eggplant accordingly.

10 years since the great war, tensions were mounting within the country of Wellber, which was barely capable of keeping peace, as war could commence at any time with its neighboring country, Sangatras.

In order to avoid warfare, the king of Wellber, Haidel planned on marrying off his daughter, Princess Rita, to Sangatras' Prince Guernia. However, Rita stabbed her groom to be and ran away.

Infuriated, Sangatras' King Ranbahnhof threatens to wage war unless Rita is captured and publicly executed within 14 days. In order to avoid the worst case scenario, Rita decides to head for the neutral country of Greedom.

Meanwhile, the woman thief Tina sneaks into Castle Wellber, seeking its treasures, when she happens to witness the stabbing of Guernia by Rita. Whether it be by coincidence or necessity, Tina receives information that the "Wasp Man" she was after is in Greedom, her sworn enemy who took the life of her parents.

Tina agrees to become Rita's bodyguard as they head out to Greedom.
Shouldering their fate and destiny, the two meet, leave, and set out on their journey.

What awaits them is war or peace, vengeance or death...

guest · 2006-11-12, 20:57

Well, the character design seems ugly. The story plot seems common --a seemly bad guy protecting a princess --> the plot has been done to death.

HOWEVER, I went to the website and I think the art is really, really, good. If the animation is going to that good, I may just pick it up, like what I have been doing for Jigoku Shoujo. ;p

Sonhex · 2006-11-13, 06:42

So this appears to be a joint production between Production I.G and Avex Entertainment, with Trans Arts doing the donkey work. Granted Trans Arts recent work is pants, but they have a long history in the industry and maybe with Production I.G involved in 'production cooperation' they'll rise to the challenge.

Concept reminds me a little of Scrapped Princess i.e. innocent Princess with a Sword of Damocles hanging over her head but I'm not entirely sold on the story or the character design, despite it being done by Production IG staffer Iizuka Haruko. But the idea of a world of enchanted mecha mixed with fairies and other mythical creatures is intriguing, though not entirely original. As guest said, the background artwork on the site is rather pretty, even if the castle does remind me of Hogwarts

DaFool · 2006-11-13, 07:20

I've learned my lesson from Glass no Kantai and Nishi no Yoko Majo Astraea Testament: Pretty websites do not good animation make.

wao · 2006-11-13, 08:22

The animation arrangement here is the same as with Prince of Tennis and whasisname, Idaten Jump. Trans Arts does most of the donkey work indeed, but my guess is that Production I.G. keeps a bit of an eye on the production, does the occasional really important episode and perhaps provides a few key staff here and there (for example a character designer or an animation designer here and there). I assume they also help lay the groundwork during the planning stages of the anime?

For example in Prince of Tennis, Production I.G. provided the character designer, and they also did the movies with their own awesome staff. I'm not entierly sure about Idaten Jump although I've heard some of the I.G. newbies are given episodes to do, and I.G. cares about it enough to list it on their website.

Unlike those two though, Sisters of Wellber seems to be a late-night anime. My gut feeling is that I.G. arranged the designs and coordination and such during the planning stages, and maybe they'll do the first and last episodes but otherwise they'll leave it to Trans Arts. Note that I.G. is listed under corporate production (製作 rather than 制作, which is more along the lines of technical production) that suggests they'll have a more executive and general role in this anime as compared to the actual creation of it (where they are merely 制作協力 assisting).

And DaFool is painfully accurate. I was so blown away by the Nishi no Yoki Majo background designs and was even willing to just enjoy it on a superficial, guilty-pleasure sort of level, but the story turned out to be so bad I just couldn't watch past episode 5. What a waste...

...And I have a feeling this show will probably go the same way too. BUt what the hell, I'll check out the first episode just for sheer entertainment and also because of the seiyuu (z0mg Daisuke Namikawa voicing a very generic-looking bishie, but a bishie none the less).

Also I guess the one interesting thing is that it looks like one of the apparently main characters, Guernia, is actually killed off so early on that it's a fundamental part of the story (as mentioned in the first post and in the official site + images etc.)

I can easily like this sort of stuff in general. But I think I'll ultimately get my fantasy fix from the also upcoming but much more promising Seirei no Moribito by what looks like I.G. Getting Down To Business, thanks.

Sonhex · 2007-02-14, 11:06

There's a PV for Sisters of Wellber online here (2mb). Production I.G's name is all over it, which is encouraging. The animation doesn't look too shabby. Could be fun, maybe.

lamer_de · 2007-02-16, 10:48

Production IG's name is probably over it because they are a well known studio and advertising your series with "by the team whose work has been pants" (like sonhex put it) might be not the smartest move

CU,
lamer_de

Nvis · 2007-03-27, 01:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonhex

There's a PV for Sisters of Wellber online here (2mb). Production I.G's name is all over it, which is encouraging. The animation doesn't look too shabby. Could be fun, maybe.

Just saw that one. It seems pretty interesting & lots of action. I like the music used here as well.

The animation in that trailer seems better than the pictures above.

Vexx · 2007-03-27, 07:49

It isn't that the premise is terribly original (the plot of many a D&D marathon) but I'd like to see what an anime producer can do with the concept. At its best, it might be entertainment of the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser variety.

aroduc · 2007-04-03, 18:48

This was really odd for me to watch. Nothing about the promo video indicated to me that there was going to be a small wisecracking fairy sidekick. And the music was ripped from any of 50 generic RPGs out there. And the motherfucking pistol swords. And poorly integrated sentient CG tachikoma... I mean steamroller.

Animation was well enough done, but the whole thing made me think more cheesy RPG than anything else and that was so far from what I was expecting that I think I'm more confused than anything else.

Caps and the like.
http://www.seiha.org/blog/?p=33

Alt

DangerMouse · 2007-04-03, 19:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by aroduc

This was really odd for me to watch. Nothing about the promo video indicated to me that there was going to be a small wisecracking fairy sidekick. And the music was ripped from any of 50 generic RPGs out there. And the motherfucking pistol swords. And poorly integrated sentient CG tachikoma... I mean steamroller.

Animation was well enough done, but the whole thing made me think more cheesy RPG than anything else and that was so far from what I was expecting that I think I'm more confused than anything else.

Without knowing the dialogue visually it looks like a weird, but potentially enjoyable show for action fans and action heroine fans with a lot of different types of action (sounds promising since Production I.G. is atleast partially involved and the animation leads me to believe it's got a relatively nice budget). I wasn't expecting the little fairy sidekick either and wow a TALKING MINI-TANK (steamroller

) WITH A KNIGHT HELMET joining the main group?? That's got to be awesome even if the CG on him isn't particularly noteworthy it's still a bizarrely cool character, atleast in concept, since I don't know what he's saying lol.

It does look like the storyline has indeed been pulled from a ton of RPG cliches but its rather surprisingly sharp and colorful (and not bright and bland like most shows like this) for this type of setting and seems to be nicely animated. I like the main two girls if she really does become a sword wielder leading to two action heroines (perhaps like a light-hearted faster Noir?) like the OP suggests. I hope the story sticks to the action the two girls undertake without venturing too far into any romantic entaglements since I'll be watching this for the action entertainment if I stay with it.

As an action and RPG fan I could see myself seeing if this is any good if we get some subs. It could be really bad dialogue-wise though without me knowing it LOL >_<

aroduc · 2007-04-03, 19:16

"Blondie" (I forget his name and have already deleted it) is the one chasing them, and has a pistol hidden in his sword hilt. So, yeah, he'll probably end up seeing the injustice in the system eventually and joining up to fight Zeromus or whatever it is they end up fighting.

Srin Tuar · 2007-04-03, 19:57

It wasnt that bad, I liked it.

Its a mature show, no skimping on the blood or romance scenes. (major plus, imo )

I didnt like how Jin was a total wimp. Not very manly of him. I guess this will be his only cameo too, so no more romantic scenes with him and tina. oh well. Super-woman plotlines are overused, but I guess we'd all rather stare at her for 14 ep's than jin....

I really really hated the goofy robotic tank.
If I can get past him, I'll follow this show. Sadly, that useless machine seems to have a starring role

They could have thrown in a second horse and had Jin save the princess once, but oh well.

Kaoru Chujo · 2007-04-03, 20:31

The Production I.G. stamp on some of the backgrounds and even maybe character design is just great. The tank and the fairy and some other things are a total turn-off for me. I loved the leads' voices, but really I'm kind of disappointed. I'll probably try another episode, but the nudity was almost the only mature thing about it. And that tank....

Guppy · 2007-04-03, 22:00

Agreed, the tank was simply a "WTF?" moment. Completely ridiculous and unnecessary, especially considering the main characters are fugitives. How the heck are they supposed to hide or disguise that thing while on the run?

I really don't see what value the tank adds to the story, especially since the fairy already fills the "annoying sidekick" quota, and Rita herself seems perfectly adequate in combat.

flou · 2007-04-03, 22:36

After seeing this episode, I understand what everyone was talking about. The fairy and the talking tank MUST DIE!!!

Seriously. Also, the music was horrible in all sense of the word. The actual animation was fluid, but the CG was some of the worst I've seen in a long time (actually the last was the dragons in the PV for Dragonaut -_-;;

. The voice acting was decent, but I kept thinking that Tina (the blue-haired woman) sounded like a female Naruto and lo and behold, Takeuchi Junko was her VA -_-;. The ending was okay, but not enough to improve my opinion of the show. If the CG tank and the fairy never existed, the show probably would have been a little more enjoyable, but the script sans the two wasn't very strong to begin with.

flou · 2007-04-03, 22:38

Also, I went WTH at how the two main characters were talking cheerfully after one of them JUST KILLED THE PRINCE!!!! -_-;;;;;;;; Okay, enough of the rant....

Crystal_Method · 2007-04-03, 23:15

I actually thought it was pretty good. Of course the fairy and tank really aren't necessary characters even if they are for comic relief (kindof reminds me of the fairy in Berserk). How could Tina leave her sex partner behind so easily? He might be a wuss, but he had the guts to give her a chest rub in her sleep.

lommm · 2007-04-04, 17:23

so i liked this. 90% of it. i liked the animation. i was drawn in by the characters and the action. the story was pretty good too. i'll keep watching, but, and it a big BUT...

WTF is that tank there for>???????????!!!!!!!! >

if that tank lasts past episode 4 i will not be able to watch this.
let me clarify, unless this show becomes the most jaw-droppingly amazing anime in history, i won't be able to watch it if that talking tank is there!!
i hope people in japan are writing letters to the station telling them to kill the tank.
this series has too much potential to be torpedoed by an annoying talking tank.
i can forgive the fairy, but the tank.....??????

*sigh*

i give them four episode for the tank to be killed or leave altogether. then i quit.

Sailor Enlil · 2007-04-04, 17:46

Yeah what's with "tank-man"? What kind of tech is abound in this universe, and what kind of AI was stuffed into that rolling piece of armour? (the "knight's helmet" on top of him as his talking piece just makes things even crazier)

2006-11-12, 17:43	Link #1
monir cho~ kakkoii Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 3rd Planet	Wellber no Monogatari: Sisters of Wellber Genre: Drama, Romance?? Expected Release Date: April 2007 Website: http://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/wellber/ One of the animation studio listed for this show is Trans Arts. Hmm.. If you don't know who they are then you obviously haven't seen Zaizen Jotaro. The director for the show is Hamana Takayuki which is obviously a good news since he also directed Prince of Tennis. The synopsis is taken from Eggplant's post in the New Announced Anime thread. It is also good to see AniDB's using the synopsis and credit Eggplant accordingly. 10 years since the great war, tensions were mounting within the country of Wellber, which was barely capable of keeping peace, as war could commence at any time with its neighboring country, Sangatras. In order to avoid warfare, the king of Wellber, Haidel planned on marrying off his daughter, Princess Rita, to Sangatras' Prince Guernia. However, Rita stabbed her groom to be and ran away. Infuriated, Sangatras' King Ranbahnhof threatens to wage war unless Rita is captured and publicly executed within 14 days. In order to avoid the worst case scenario, Rita decides to head for the neutral country of Greedom. Meanwhile, the woman thief Tina sneaks into Castle Wellber, seeking its treasures, when she happens to witness the stabbing of Guernia by Rita. Whether it be by coincidence or necessity, Tina receives information that the "Wasp Man" she was after is in Greedom, her sworn enemy who took the life of her parents. Tina agrees to become Rita's bodyguard as they head out to Greedom. Shouldering their fate and destiny, the two meet, leave, and set out on their journey. What awaits them is war or peace, vengeance or death...

2006-11-12, 20:57	Link #2
guest guess Join Date: Nov 2003	Well, the character design seems ugly. The story plot seems common --a seemly bad guy protecting a princess --> the plot has been done to death. HOWEVER, I went to the website and I think the art is really, really, good. If the animation is going to that good, I may just pick it up, like what I have been doing for Jigoku Shoujo. ;p __________________

2006-11-13, 06:42	Link #3
Sonhex Not dead. Yet. Graphic Designer Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK	So this appears to be a joint production between Production I.G and Avex Entertainment, with Trans Arts doing the donkey work. Granted Trans Arts recent work is pants, but they have a long history in the industry and maybe with Production I.G involved in 'production cooperation' they'll rise to the challenge. Concept reminds me a little of Scrapped Princess i.e. innocent Princess with a Sword of Damocles hanging over her head but I'm not entirely sold on the story or the character design, despite it being done by Production IG staffer Iizuka Haruko. But the idea of a world of enchanted mecha mixed with fairies and other mythical creatures is intriguing, though not entirely original. As guest said, the background artwork on the site is rather pretty, even if the castle does remind me of Hogwarts Last edited by Sonhex; 2006-11-13 at 07:08. Reason: fixed link

2006-11-13, 08:22	Link #5
wao OK. Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The Fields of High Attus Age: 34	The animation arrangement here is the same as with Prince of Tennis and whasisname, Idaten Jump. Trans Arts does most of the donkey work indeed, but my guess is that Production I.G. keeps a bit of an eye on the production, does the occasional really important episode and perhaps provides a few key staff here and there (for example a character designer or an animation designer here and there). I assume they also help lay the groundwork during the planning stages of the anime? For example in Prince of Tennis, Production I.G. provided the character designer, and they also did the movies with their own awesome staff. I'm not entierly sure about Idaten Jump although I've heard some of the I.G. newbies are given episodes to do, and I.G. cares about it enough to list it on their website. Unlike those two though, Sisters of Wellber seems to be a late-night anime. My gut feeling is that I.G. arranged the designs and coordination and such during the planning stages, and maybe they'll do the first and last episodes but otherwise they'll leave it to Trans Arts. Note that I.G. is listed under corporate production (製作 rather than 制作, which is more along the lines of technical production) that suggests they'll have a more executive and general role in this anime as compared to the actual creation of it (where they are merely 制作協力 assisting). And DaFool is painfully accurate. I was so blown away by the Nishi no Yoki Majo background designs and was even willing to just enjoy it on a superficial, guilty-pleasure sort of level, but the story turned out to be so bad I just couldn't watch past episode 5. What a waste... ...And I have a feeling this show will probably go the same way too. BUt what the hell, I'll check out the first episode just for sheer entertainment and also because of the seiyuu (z0mg Daisuke Namikawa voicing a very generic-looking bishie, but a bishie none the less). Also I guess the one interesting thing is that it looks like one of the apparently main characters, Guernia, is actually killed off so early on that it's a fundamental part of the story (as mentioned in the first post and in the official site + images etc.) I can easily like this sort of stuff in general. But I think I'll ultimately get my fantasy fix from the also upcoming but much more promising Seirei no Moribito by what looks like I.G. Getting Down To Business, thanks. __________________ Thanks for the fish

2007-02-16, 10:48	Link #7
lamer_de Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: somewhere far beyond	Production IG's name is probably over it because they are a well known studio and advertising your series with "by the team whose work has been pants" (like sonhex put it) might be not the smartest move CU, lamer_de __________________ Proud to be a Warezubber!

2006-11-13, 07:20	Link #4
DaFool Resident devil Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Philippines	I've learned my lesson from Glass no Kantai and Nishi no Yoko Majo Astraea Testament: Pretty websites do not good animation make.

2007-02-14, 11:06	Link #6
Sonhex Not dead. Yet. Graphic Designer Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: UK	There's a PV for Sisters of Wellber online here (2mb). Production I.G's name is all over it, which is encouraging. The animation doesn't look too shabby. Could be fun, maybe.

2007-03-27, 07:49	Link #9
Vexx Obey the Darkly Cute ... Author Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ... Age: 66	It isn't that the premise is terribly original (the plot of many a D&D marathon) but I'd like to see what an anime producer can do with the concept. At its best, it might be entertainment of the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser variety. __________________ "It Really IS Rocket Science", Novel series rough drafts; vol. 1 thru vol. 3 complete Volume 4 in work, Visit the thread for short stories!

2007-04-03, 18:48	Link #10
aroduc Ruiner of Things Join Date: Dec 2005	This was really odd for me to watch. Nothing about the promo video indicated to me that there was going to be a small wisecracking fairy sidekick. And the music was ripped from any of 50 generic RPGs out there. And the motherfucking pistol swords. And poorly integrated sentient CG tachikoma... I mean steamroller. Animation was well enough done, but the whole thing made me think more cheesy RPG than anything else and that was so far from what I was expecting that I think I'm more confused than anything else. Caps and the like. http://www.seiha.org/blog/?p=33 Alt

2007-04-03, 19:16	Link #12
aroduc Ruiner of Things Join Date: Dec 2005	"Blondie" (I forget his name and have already deleted it) is the one chasing them, and has a pistol hidden in his sword hilt. So, yeah, he'll probably end up seeing the injustice in the system eventually and joining up to fight Zeromus or whatever it is they end up fighting.

2007-04-03, 19:57	Link #13
Srin Tuar 無謀 Join Date: Sep 2004	It wasnt that bad, I liked it. Its a mature show, no skimping on the blood or romance scenes. (major plus, imo ) I didnt like how Jin was a total wimp. Not very manly of him. I guess this will be his only cameo too, so no more romantic scenes with him and tina. oh well. Super-woman plotlines are overused, but I guess we'd all rather stare at her for 14 ep's than jin.... I really really hated the goofy robotic tank. If I can get past him, I'll follow this show. Sadly, that useless machine seems to have a starring role They could have thrown in a second horse and had Jin save the princess once, but oh well.

2007-04-03, 20:31	Link #14
Kaoru Chujo Yuuki Aoi Join Date: Jul 2004	The Production I.G. stamp on some of the backgrounds and even maybe character design is just great. The tank and the fairy and some other things are a total turn-off for me. I loved the leads' voices, but really I'm kind of disappointed. I'll probably try another episode, but the nudity was almost the only mature thing about it. And that tank.... __________________ YUUKI Aoi 悠木碧. b92.03.27 (age 29). 2008 Kurenai (Murasaki). 2009 Yumeiro Pâtissière (Ichigo), Kiruminzuu (Riko), Yutori-chan (Yutori-chan). 2010 Vampire Bund (Mina Tepeş), Shiki (Sunako), Samurai Girls (Juubee), Pokémon: Black and White (Iris). 2011 Madoka Magica (Madoka), Gosick (Victorique), A-Channel (Tooru). 2012 Symphogear (Hibiki). 2014 Pilot's Love Song (Claire/Nina), Nanatsu no Taizai (Diane). 2015 Owari no Seraph (Krul Tepes), Rokka no Yuusha (Fremy). 2016 Boku no Hero Academia (Tsuyu, Froppy). 2017 Kino no Tabi (Kino). 2021 Kumo desu ga (watashi), Kaizoku Oujo (Karin), Heike Monogatari (Biwa), etc., etc. Total of 513 roles in anime and games.

2007-04-03, 22:00	Link #15
Guppy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004	Agreed, the tank was simply a "WTF?" moment. Completely ridiculous and unnecessary, especially considering the main characters are fugitives. How the heck are they supposed to hide or disguise that thing while on the run? I really don't see what value the tank adds to the story, especially since the fairy already fills the "annoying sidekick" quota, and Rita herself seems perfectly adequate in combat.

2007-04-03, 22:36	Link #16
flou That's no lady Join Date: Dec 2005 Age: 33	After seeing this episode, I understand what everyone was talking about. The fairy and the talking tank MUST DIE!!! Seriously. Also, the music was horrible in all sense of the word. The actual animation was fluid, but the CG was some of the worst I've seen in a long time (actually the last was the dragons in the PV for Dragonaut -_-;;. The voice acting was decent, but I kept thinking that Tina (the blue-haired woman) sounded like a female Naruto and lo and behold, Takeuchi Junko was her VA -_-;. The ending was okay, but not enough to improve my opinion of the show. If the CG tank and the fairy never existed, the show probably would have been a little more enjoyable, but the script sans the two wasn't very strong to begin with.

2007-04-03, 22:38	Link #17
flou That's no lady Join Date: Dec 2005 Age: 33	Also, I went WTH at how the two main characters were talking cheerfully after one of them JUST KILLED THE PRINCE!!!! -_-;;;;;;;; Okay, enough of the rant....

2007-04-03, 23:15	Link #18
Crystal_Method I want dreads... Artist Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: a cardboard box Age: 33	I actually thought it was pretty good. Of course the fairy and tank really aren't necessary characters even if they are for comic relief (kindof reminds me of the fairy in Berserk). How could Tina leave her sex partner behind so easily? He might be a wuss, but he had the guts to give her a chest rub in her sleep. __________________

2007-04-04, 17:23	Link #19
lommm l'homme de lommm Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: 34 3 118 15	so i liked this. 90% of it. i liked the animation. i was drawn in by the characters and the action. the story was pretty good too. i'll keep watching, but, and it a big BUT... WTF is that tank there for>???????????!!!!!!!! > if that tank lasts past episode 4 i will not be able to watch this. let me clarify, unless this show becomes the most jaw-droppingly amazing anime in history, i won't be able to watch it if that talking tank is there!! i hope people in japan are writing letters to the station telling them to kill the tank. this series has too much potential to be torpedoed by an annoying talking tank. i can forgive the fairy, but the tank.....?????? sigh i give them four episode for the tank to be killed or leave altogether. then i quit.

2007-04-04, 17:46	Link #20
Sailor Enlil GWAAAA! Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Philippines	Yeah what's with "tank-man"? What kind of tech is abound in this universe, and what kind of AI was stuffed into that rolling piece of armour? (the "knight's helmet" on top of him as his talking piece just makes things even crazier)