H2

[physics223]

But I don't really find merit in anime that end as open-ended as H2 (as you say). I do know, however, that Hiatari Ryoukou ended well. You know, I find more merit in the older romances - they seem to have more plot and story, rather than the more or less newer ones today. Except for gems like Suzuka, there aren't really many romance anime that make the cut (at least for me, anyway).

[tugatosmk]

Originally Posted by physics223

But I don't really find merit in anime that end as open-ended as H2 (as you say). I do know, however, that Hiatari Ryoukou ended well. You know, I find more merit in the older romances - they seem to have more plot and story, rather than the more or less newer ones today. Except for gems like Suzuka, there aren't really many romance anime that make the cut (at least for me, anyway).

I've also heard of H2's sudden open-ending. What I read about it was that H2 didn't get TV ratings as good as Touch or even Hiatari Ryoukou, and so it ended after 39 episodes. Had it been as sucessfull as Touch, it might had gone all the way to the end of the manga. Moreover:

Touch manga = 26 volumes
Touch anime = 101 TV eps + movies

H2 manga = 34 volumes
H2 anime = 39 TV eps

I don't know if H2 episodes' story pace and manga faithfulness was like Touch, but, considering H2 manga was longer that Touch manga, I believe H2 could have had a lot more than 39 eps.

On a side note: Hiatari Ryoukou manga didn't have a finish! Only the anime has one - and it was very well concieved.

Regarding today's romances: I think marketing sales and TV ratings are unfortunately becoming more important than the quality of the romances, at least in some cases, which is a shame. Fortunately, like you said, there are some exceptions.

[physics223]

Did you like Suzuka as well? I think it alluded itself implicitly to Hiatari Ryoukou.

[leongsh]

Originally Posted by tug

H2 manga = 34 volumes
H2 anime = 39 TV eps

Correction: The H2 anime is 41 episodes.

Originally Posted by tug

I don't know if H2 episodes' story pace and manga faithfulness was like Touch, but, considering H2 manga was longer that Touch manga, I believe H2 could have had a lot more than 39 eps.

Considering that the anime was fairly faithful to the manga with some added parts, the 41 episodes of the H2 anime covered until somewhere mid of Volume 8 of the manga series. So, by extension, all things being equal, it would have easily breached the 160 episode mark.

[physics223]

Leongsh, did you watch Suzuka? Do you see its comparisons to Adachi-based anime?

[tugatosmk]

Originally Posted by leongsh

Correction: The H2 anime is 41 episodes.

Correction noted, thanks. Sorry for the mistake. ^^'

Originally Posted by leongsh

Considering that the anime was fairly faithful to the manga with some added parts, the 41 episodes of the H2 anime covered until somewhere mid of Volume 8 of the manga series. So, by extension, all things being equal, it would have easily breached the 160 episode mark.

It's a shame it didn't go that way.

[tugatosmk]

Originally Posted by physics223

Did you like Suzuka as well? I think it alluded itself implicitly to Hiatari Ryoukou.

No, not yet. I downloaded it some time ago, but I still haven't watched it yet. That's funny: just the other day I was thinking of Suzuka. Now I'll go watch it for sure.

[physics223]

Originally Posted by tug

It's a shame it didn't go that way.

You couldn't help it - H2 was practically a retelling of Touch and Hiatari Ryoukou; there were a lot of similarities, and perhaps people were irked with the arrival of another 'Touch,' or so they thought. The Adachi shows are thematically very similar, although I personally approve of the balance between humor and drama with Hiatari Ryoukou - I don't plan to watch Touch mainly because it's too serious: I like a good balance between at least two things: for HR, it's between romance and comedy.

In HR, also, the main hero wasn't an arse. The heroine definitely wasn't an arse as well, and the characters are very lovable. Comparing HR and H2's first episodes, HR's better because you could love all the characters, whereas that appeal didn't occur to me with H2's first episode.

[DanielSong39]

Originally Posted by physics223

In HR, also, the main hero wasn't an arse. The heroine definitely wasn't an arse as well

That was actually Touch's problem, not H2. H2 was just plain boring; Touch was an exercise in frustration.

[physics223]

No, I meant Hiatari Ryoukou, not H2. H2, as I've noticed in the first episode, didn't have that smartness or class that Hiatari Ryoukou had... and the hero and heroine weren't arses!

[tugatosmk]

Originally Posted by physics223

(...) and the hero and heroine weren't arses!

Arses? In what way?

[leongsh]

Originally Posted by physics223

You couldn't help it - H2 was practically a retelling of Touch and Hiatari Ryoukou; there were a lot of similarities, and perhaps people were irked with the arrival of another 'Touch,' or so they thought. The Adachi shows are thematically very similar, although I personally approve of the balance between humor and drama with Hiatari Ryoukou - I don't plan to watch Touch mainly because it's too serious: I like a good balance between at least two things: for HR, it's between romance and comedy.

I have to disagree with the above. Each of the series has a different focus and although there are a number of similarities are really quite different in their stories and characters.

Touch starts off seemingly like a romance but takes a turn after certain events to become a drama with an underlying serious theme underneath it's lighter facade. The characters have been "designed" for the story it wants to tell - both the manga and the anime.

Hiatari Ryoukou keeps it wholly and firmly as a romance with some humour thrown in. Again, the characters have been "designed" for the story it wants to tell - both the manga and the anime.

H2 is firstly about the game and the romance is the underlying story. Read the manga and you'll find that there's lots of baseball action, followed by romance outside the baseball action with a good dose of humour and wit thrown in. Watch the anime and you'll find that it's different. The pace is positively glacial in comparing with the manga. The jaunty pace of the manga story was gone and replaced with a slow and deliberate telling that just alienated viewers from the story. The humour and wit of the manga was substantially gone. The dynamic baseball action in the manga was lost. The romance was there but barely. The anime's pacing practically killed most of it.

[physics223]

Among the three, Hiatari Ryoukou is t3h b3st for me. You just have got to love its active and lively characters!

[Soshen]

Ila dont have traslated nothing... the subs are only from hong kong dvds...

I've planned to do that for real, for make to know the real history of H2, but for release it we need a editor that can like work on it... and in 5 monts i dont find anyone T_T

[DanielSong39]

HR had by FAR the best male lead, and played the friendship angle very well. I personally found Minami and Tatsuya very annoying, which killed my interest in Touch, and felt H2 was adapted poorly (though the manga was very good, except for the extended baseball games).

[ZODDGUTS]

Check out the manga then it's pretty good. Anyways hope Adachi's current work Cross Game gets animated as well.

[ragnarokr]

Hmm, everything has been said about H2 already.

On a sidenote, I didn't notice anyone talking about the Miyuki...

[DanielSong39]

Miyuki had a strong lead as well as Masato is willing to do just about anything for the sake of his (non blood-related) younger sister. The manga does him justice as Masato finally breaks out of his adolescence and becomes an adult... as do the other characters (Miyuki, Miyuki K., Ryuuichi, and the P.E. teacher).

[ragnarokr]

Yeah, I've watched/read both, anime and manga. The anime ending is no way near to the manga, but that seyuu of Miyuki is just marvelous, that alone justifies all the show, too bad she stopped her career as seyuu and followed a musician career.

To go back on topic, well near it.

I've heard that the H2 dorama summarized all the volumes of the manga in those 11 episodes, I have absolutely to watch them, probably the only Adachi stuff, that is online that I haven't watched yet.

[ZODDGUTS]

The live action drama is alright but it losses some of the comedy aspects that you see in Adachi's manga.