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Old 2012-10-06, 21:41   Link #13
Obelisk ze Tormentor
Black Steel Knight
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Indonesia
Regarding Archon’s first post:

IMO it’s all about the adaptations’ writing and spirit. An adaptation can be good, or even better than its source material as long as the adapter understand the spirit of the source and what it was trying to tell, then capture all that and show it in the anime form with a good execution which suited the said medium (in this case, anime).

Also, just like what already mentioned by other posters: faithful =/= good. For example, have you seen Jaws, Jurassic Park, Die Hard, and TLOTR? By themselves, those are very good movies and some even consider them as “classics”. But, since they clearly stray from their source materials (novels & short stories) can we call them as good adaptations? I would say yes, coz those movies still carry the spirit and the main messages of the source materials accompanied with stellar execution well-suited for the adaptations’ medium. For these movies, the changes to some of their characters and events actually improve the story rather than hinder it. One example: the grandpa Hammond character in Jurassic Park is originally more towards a billionaire who just wants to make money by creating a dinosaur park. In Spielberg’s movie, his character are changed into someone who is passionate in realizing the dream of many people who wants to see living-breathing dinosaurs and to show it to the world, especially kids. Hammond is not as profit-hungry as in the source material which makes his character better and improve our overall experience when watching Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. So, changes in adaptations aren’t always a bad thing as long as the adapters know what they’re doing.

I also agree with you that new fans of adaptations anime or “novice” can feel intimidated when going into discussion filled with fans who already read the source. I don’t think I need to further elaborate on this. All of you should’ve known how it feels to be a novice entering a discussion thread filled with “experts” who complain, spoil, and (in some cases) even “driving away” the novices who starts asking “obvious questions”. Thanx to moderators, this kinda thing didn’t happen often nowadays.

Compared to adaptations, discussing anime originals (like Gundam series like SEED, 00 or AGE, for example) is indeed more enjoyable since every member on the board is pretty much on equal ground when it comes to discussing characters, minor elements of the story, and speculation of future events.

As for the blame for the adapters: yes, you can still blame poor writing (and execution) even for adaptations. It’s both writing and execution that make an adaptation either good or bad based on the medium it takes. Yes, pressures will always be there for any kind of adaptation, but good writing & execution (as well as understanding of the source) is a prerequisite if we talk about quality. So, even a faithful adaptations can still become boring, dull, or even abysmal if the writer doesn’t come up with interesting execution (I was reminded of the dullness of the first Narnia movie even though it follows the novel closely).

Ignorance is indeed a bliss when our main goal is to enjoy or objectively analyze a show as a stand-alone thing. Just like you, I enjoy DEEN’s Fate/Stay Night anime the first time I saw it. Yes, it was a bad adaptation if the goal of the series is to re-tell all the elements of that Type-Moon VN. Still, if the anime’s goal is to simply tell a love story between Shiro and Saber with the battles of servants & rules of Holy Grail War as gimmicks, then it’s still a good series.

As for my favorite adaptations, I’d say Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen (Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal) is among my favorites. Yes, that adaptation kinda changes Kenshin’s character from a pretty cheerful (outside) man-slaying samurai into more of a cold and loner one. But you know what? Considering the gravity of the “evil deeds” he’s committed to bring “peace” to the era, the anime depiction of his character feels more real and relatable than the manga. Also, if you read the manga, the battles feel more like levelling-up in video games until Kenshin arrives to the “final boss”. In the anime, they make the battle more real. Also, my personal favorite is the character-design of the anime which feels (again) more "real" compared to the manga.
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