Two common types of anime, which do you prefer?

[Akito Kinomoto]

Spoiler for Clannad After Story ending:

The problem with the ending is how it resets all of Tomoya's actions from episode 16 onward. He still remembers getting over Nagisa's death and reconciling with his daughter and father but those around him are not affected by his actions so his actions were as good as meaningless. In a show where even the specters of an unconscious girl had to work for an incomplete happy ending, Tomoya has his cake and eats it too.

The main message of Clannad was to hold on to love no matter how bad things get. Fuko's feelings reaching through to her sister beyond the limits of physical impossibility, the gift from Kotomi's dearly departed parents, Tomoyo's tumultuous family situation, Akio and Sanae's dream being their daughter's dream, the bond between the Sunohara siblings. There was always an idea of something lost vs something gained but Ushio's death took away the something gained after Tomoya lost Nagisa.

The ending was well foreshadowed and developed; Kotomi's dictionary drop before Nagisa's death was a warning flag already. The problem is how the show gives a realistic message throughout its course even with the likes of Fuko but decides to justify an ending that's all rainbows and sunshine for Tomoya; it sends out a mixed message and maybe the illusory world could be done away with entirely if it was going to contradict what the show was communicating.

No, I don't think Ushio should have died. The show should have gone on to have Tomoya and Ushio live on their lives with the memory of Nagisa living on in the former. And, IMO, maybe have Tomoya marry Kyou; or at least have a passing interest to show he's ready to love again.

[MisaoFan]

I prefer Type A since most of the anime I watch does leave me a good impression at first glance in the beginning, is a bit boring in the middle but offer some development and backstories, the ending is pretty satisfying for me for the usual time, and there's very little anime I watch whom I found their beginnings to be slow but manage to pick up later on, or endings to be unsatisfying at best, but it doesn't always affect the series' quality itself.

[DasDingus]

Originally Posted by Pocari_Sweat

Kids on a Slope was without a doubt at least somewhat of a disappointment. But it wasn't due to the ending, it was due to rushed pacing and the forced melodrama it had times instead of focusing on what made it good aka the friendship theme and jazz. The ending had just that and that was what it was great. It wasn't an overly happy ending, nor was it said, it was hopeful and bittersweet.

I guess it's not really the events of the ending, although I personally had some issues with that, but the pacing like you said. The reason I bring it up is because the pacing issues didn't really show up at all until about 2/3 of the way through the show. It was fine up until around the performance at school and then things suddenly started rushing ahead. Regardless of whether it was the transition of the events of the manga to anime or rather the events themselves, it left a bad taste in my mouth that brought the rest of the show down with it. Hence my preference for a type A show.

Spoiler for Clannad AS aside:

Too many people to quote so I'll just throw my thoughts on why the ending isn't terrible out:

I felt that a key message of the ending, that is related but not identical to the overall message of the work was how Tomoya deals with his regret of Nagisa. He obviously misses her and feels badly because of her death but he also feels guilty on some level for it, especially given the circumstances surrounding it. In the immediate aftermath of her death it's clear he thinks she would have been better off having never met him. He struggles with this throughout the final 6 episodes culminating in the scene in the last episode where he wakes up from the illusionary world to find himself back on the hill where he first met Nagisa.

I don't know how everybody else interprets this event. It's possible a lot of you see it as a foregone conclusion that he has to call out to her and get his happy ending but I feel like it was still a key fork in the road. Tomoya at that point didn't know what his future would hold if he calls out to her. As far as he knows if he calls out to her she will die and he will have to go through all the pain again (it seems like he thought this right up until Nagisa opened her eyes again). Given all that he decides that the good outweighs the bad and that it was worth it to have met Nagisa and spent the time they had together.

So in addition to the concept of never giving up hope I felt like the ending served to reinforce the idea that the happy times you experience make everything worthwhile and that both Tomoya and Nagisa were better for having met each other despite what the future (Tomoyo believed) held for them. I felt like the power of the moment where Tomoya accepts all this and calls out to Nagisa outweighed however much of an ass-pull some people think it was.

[RichardFromMarple]

One problem with adapting from a Manga is using up the source material too quickly.

Often the studios have to come up with some original scripts to pad out the run, which can be hit or miss for the overall storyline.

[Random32]

How long are start and end in comparison to the middle?

Let's say you have a 12 ep anime. The beginning and ending are pretty big. Beginning middle end probably account for a third each, or 25-50-25. Since beginning/end have more relative impact, A > B.

But let's take CLANNAD, a relatively massive 50+ep show. I think the ending wasn't the best from an anime point of view, even if it did help with "sticking to the source." The beginning was pretty much introducing characters, which while done pretty well, isn't the best beginning ever. Less than a tenth of the series was spent on the not stellar start and end, and 90%+ was all the awesome stuff in between. Would you sit through tens to hundreds of boring episodes for a good beginning and ending? Of course not. B > A.

[SummeryDreams]

I don't know what to choose, but a good start and ending with let say; maybe just a part of the middle will be not that good will most likely be acceptable for me. I hate bad endings, it made me think that I shouldn't have had watched such to start with.

[RegalStar]

Definitely A. Endings determine the final impression a series leaves in my mind. I've gone through a couple of series which were really promising but ended really badly, and despite the fact that I loved the middle parts (and still do!), they leave a sour taste in my mind.

[GDiddy]

I can't really pick one.

Sometimes I get interested in something only to drop it midway and then sometimes I stick with something even though it's boring at first...only to amaze me midway.

[JKL]

While consistent throughout is best of course, I need an opening to at least get me on board with a show, set the mood and establish the ground rules first. It doesn't have to be brilliant.

The middle can dip, but not too much as this is where the bulk of the development/events often takes place.

So I would find something like a so-so beginning, strong middle, and so-so ending satisfactory.

Originally Posted by Pocari_Sweat

Aside from comedies or light-hearted fun-type series, I am seldom content with a flat out happy ending. I always feel that the characters must pay some of price or suffer some sort of hardship to get that "prize". It just makes it a much more satisfying experience for me. Hence, my bias for bittersweet endings.

Pretty much agreed with this. Contrived happy endings just for the sake of having a happy ending leave me feeling empty.

[Mitsuho]

It has to have a hook within the first three episodes. Slow and week starts can still have that special something that will keep me watching. I'll drop a series unless it can sufficiently pique my interest in seeing the conclusion. No arcs or filler until I'm sufficiently invested in a character or three.

[cyth]

Spoiler for Clannad AS ending:

I thought the whole point of the happy ending was that the city Tomoya despised so much rewarded him for being a good person. He helped all those girls resolve their issues, then fate helped him out when he needed it the most.

Anyway. Most anime don't have really good endings, at least the ones I decide to stick through. This is why Madoka was such a huge fucking success, because it's just simply rare for an anime to do it right and conform and exceed everyone's expectations. You could say some endings are well done, but this won't make me buy the show. For me, the show needs to be perfect from beginning to end.

[TheBear9696]

I would say that i have to also go for type A

[SaturnShizue]

I'd go with A if the ending sucks I'd be more than disappointed since it showed promised in the middle of it.

[Dr. Casey]

Originally Posted by Pocari_Sweat

I would disagree with Cross Game. Cross game was never bombastically strong all throughout, it was a type C - consistently good from start to finish. Seriously, I don't think it's even possible to have something that's mind-blowing all the way from start to finish in any entertainment medium, let alone anime which isn't exactly a medium known for good plots.

An understandable misconception, but there actually was a magical little series that aired six years ago that was nothing short of perfect, a story so sublime that some scholars theorize it might have been created in Heaven itself. This miraculous creation, whose existence automatically raised quality of life standards all across the world, was a simple story of love and hate known as 'School Days.'