I still consider Hanasaku Iroha a step up from Angel beats and Canaan but I think the whole discussion is a moot point because we've got a whole new staff,it's not the Ando/Okada duo again.

The inexperience of the writer worries me a bit but then again,if you've got good source material a straightforward adaptation isn't hard (for exemple the writer doing the adaptation of Usagi Drop had no writing credits beforehand)

Also this will be by far the shortest gap between project for PA works (true tears---->canaan 18 months , canaan---->angel beats 9 months , angel beats----- >hanasaku Iroha 12 months , hanasaku Iroha-------> Another 3 months )

I hope that doesn't stop them from deliveraing the usual quality animation they're known for

Yo acejem, you double posted :p

I don't know, I mean I make fun out of Seiji Kishi a lot, but I wouldn't call him terrible or bad. Nor would I call Ando bad after Sword of the Stranger, or Hashimoto for working on Layton.

They are all great to decent directors IMO, and I think that Mizushima is certainly in the more decent range. At least, I liked the stuff he worked on.

@totoum

I don't think there is much worry, since they wouldn't be working on anything else. I mean it more of sign of better efficiency in moving from project to project than cutting down on quality right?

*watch as this becomes the worse looking show they made, and I eat my words in 3 months*

Any opinion is valid because it's just that, an opinion. But I'd be hard-pressed to see an impartial observer look at Kamisama Dolls and say Seiji Kishi hasn't done a good job with that adaptation.

I don't think Kamisama Dolls is bad, he striked brilliance in episode 7 of that series. But his other series make me skeptical. If he can somehow keep delivering on that series and deliver on Persona 4, I might reconsider my opinion on him.

I think one of the directors also made Sword of the Stranger if I recall....

My only point here being is that PA works hasn't employed a stellar director yet, which is disappointing.

It's easy enough to say they should've used a "stellar" director but who would you consider stellar? Stellar directors aren't exactly falling off trees, a lot of them would have no interest in the types of shows P.A Works have done and would they have been a viable option in the first place?

Besides Seiji Kishi and Ando are definitely more than above average when it comes to directing, no one could've saved Angel Beats.... and Junji Nishimura has done quality stuff.

What's the criteria for a "stellar director" in the first place? That's highly subjective and the honest truth is that unless you've extensively studied camera and directing techniques it's almost impossible to distinguish directors from each other, unless they have extremely flamboyant styles that stick out like Shinbo or Ikuhara (not necessarily a good thing, subjective, etc). I think people misunderstand exactly what a director does. They have some influence over the script but in the end like 90% comes from who is ever in charge of supervising the script (series composition). Those are the people you need to be throwing pines and needles at if you're worrying about the story being told well. A director just breathes life into a script, so to speak. From that perspective, imo Mizushima is superb.

No I don't misunderstand what a director does. But this is one thing for sure, a director is the one who gives the final OK to anything in a production, it's his job to reign in the production and make sure it fulfills its objectives in entertainment. When a series turns out good, that's a sign of a good director.

Other areas need talent too of course, but a director is the single mos important thing to any anime production, especially if its anime original.

And yes of course determining whether a director or not is stellar is subjective. No shit. It's my opinion of course that these directors are just not that all stellar. People are free to disagree afterall.


I'm not denying what you're saying, but still, with a studio that makes so many anime originals, and has the production values it does have, you'd think a more famous and well respected director would come forth and try to create something with them. Then again, not exactly sure how they employ directors in this business.

In the end, I'll give it a fair assessment. Just saying that nothing about the director's name makes me think that I'm in for something special, ala the recent Madoka or Steins;Gate staff, but that's just me. More interested in the source material itself to garner my interest in the show.

There's a reason why when creating the academy awards the awards for "best director" and "best movie" were both created.A really well directed movie can still not be great if the script is lousy.

Of course in the western movie world directors can ask for rewrites but that wasn't always the case and doesn't seem to always be the case in anime.

It seems to vary a lot depending on the project,but concerning Angel Beats Seiji Kishi was chosen by Aniplex's producer as well as Jun Maeda, doesn't seem like PA works had much of say in the matter, though of course they still accepted to work with him.

The director of Sword of the Stranger is Masahiro Ando

I am really looking forward to this anime. I hope this really is horror and not giving false impressions like Kamisama Dolls(not that I dislike it but...).

I read the manga adaptation. Very intriguing story and plot.

Can't wait for the anime.

I like the char designs... Not much else I can say. I know I'll watch it, but at this point I can't tell if the story will be a hit or miss.

Got bored of Iroha halfway through so Angel Beats still reigns supreme as PA's crowning success. Really looking forward to Another, though.

Stepping up meaning the studio has become bigger and has a better budget to use in their works. As before they were limited to around 1 cour rather than 2. I find their animation quality too has progressed.

Quality of works can be seen on different levels. I liked Angel Beats but I know it would have been much better given a larger length as it needed. But what I meant in stepping it up was overall production quality. Regardless if their current work was something I loved or not.

Yup, I don't get that complaint about PA Works and directors considering that Masahiro Ando is one of the best new directors in my opinion and probably my favorite new director thanks to the awesomeness of Sword of the Stranger and Cannan (and now how good a job he did on something outside of his original range in Hanasaku Iroha and that's not even a genre I particularly watch but I enjoyed what I've gotten through so far way more than usual and the visuals and direction to me is way better than usual and how well they've captured Kishida Mel's art and the feel of those designs in animation and how they should feel just like in the recent PS3 Atelier games).

So he's now done two of their four shows in Canaan and Hanasaku Iroha for this relatively new studio and he's a fantastic director.

Canaan's my favorite of their shows so far.

The characters look like generic JP highschool kids.. I guess that's what they're going for. I like mystery stories and PA works has become one of my favorite Studio's. I like a lot of what the Director has worked on as well. Wasn't a fan of Blood C though.