(CR) Fortune Arterial

[DragoonKain3]

What? Two childhood friends and neither are romantically interested (or even hinted at for that matter) in the protagonist?

I... I'm... Ah... Don't know what to say really. I'm rendered speechless.

I mean, it's pretty obvious the anime is going Erika route or bust, but still, wanted a serious fight from either Haruna or Kanade. Looks like it won't happen though... dammit. >_<

[DasDingus]

I was pretty impressed with the first episode. Compared to most VN adaptations this seemed to avoid a lot of the pitfalls of the VN genre. Not being familiar with the source material I can't be sure how much of that is the source material and how much is the adaptation, but I didn't see the blatant fanservice I'm used to from VN adaptations. Also the cast isn't an ocean of women throwing themselves at the protagonist with no men in sight. It's a fairly balanced cast with the female characters behaving relatively normally towards the male lead. Also, I haven't noticed one of the over the top idiot friends you often see in eroges.

However, as people have already pointed out, the show did suffer from the rushed pacing that often comes with early episodes of a VN adaptation where you're trying to get as many flag scenes as possible into the early episodes when in normal gameplay you'd never get all of those scenes in one playthrough resulting in a rushed feeling. I kind of feel like that comes with the territory so I'm trying not to let that color my opinion of the show too strongly. Overall a promising start to a series that was mostly an afterthought for me coming into this season.

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep1:

From top to bottom, from start to beginning, everything was completely screaming:
EROGE
And in general, a very weak episode. Not bad, but has no impact at all.
The only real thing to compliment might be: At least it wasn't Cabbage quality.

OP and ED were both quite lovely too.

[Zexas]

Hmm just finish watching it. I got mixed feeling about it. The pacing is really fast it feels like they just want to get it over with the introduction of the chara (though I've to admit it might be a good idea). It lack of impact where in the game you could feel the mystery is building up from the get go. Most likely they'd finish intro chapter in ep2.

On the other hand the chara design, animation, OP and ED are really lovely. They also faithfully following event of the game which is a good sign.


Hmm definitely not a bad ep but not that good either. I just hoping that when the intro chapter were finished they would slow down the pace to build on the mystery and drama.

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by DasDingus

However, as people have already pointed out, the show did suffer from the rushed pacing that often comes with early episodes of a VN adaptation where you're trying to get as many flag scenes as possible into the early episodes when in normal gameplay you'd never get all of those scenes in one playthrough resulting in a rushed feeling.

Actually, this isn't what happened here. They didn't really deviate from the original storyline and there was no "route combining" going on. VNs don't usually branch off at the very start, and what we are seeing now is what is usually called the "common route" - the part of the story which brings you up to speed with the setting, introduces characters and their personalities, and takes place before any character specific deviations are possible. Basically everything the episode showed us is the same thing you would get if playing the VN. Time constraints of an anime reared their head though, so we are left with the "checklist of essentials" they have to go through, as relentless said earlier, with not enough time to grow substantial meat on the bones.

All in all, first episode was very faithful to the original, and there is but one minor thing i can think of they altered:

Spoiler for episode 1 comparison to game, no future spoilers:

In the original, Erika showed Kouhei to his homeroom teacher before running away herself, and teacher was the one who dumped the task of showing Kouhei around on Tsukasa, though i can easily see why they omitted the middle step - having Erika directly ask Tsukasa allows them to save time without sacrificing anything essential, so all is good.

Also, I haven't noticed one of the over the top idiot friends you often see in eroges.

Indeed, though most of the time i feel such friends exist to highlight the good side an otherwise flawed male lead might have, unless said flaws are integral to the plot. In a "Yes, he is kinda goofy, but look at this guy! See, it could be much worse!" kind of way So far, it looks like Kouhei isn't really in need of a contrast point, as he seems like a quite decent guy.

[Slayn]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Yeah, I made this comment elsewhere, but it reminds me of an "on-rail shooter" or something -- everything was so conveniently connected that it feels like the story itself is pushing you from one location to the next just so they can touch on all the major points they had to cover. There was literally no "breathing room" in the story at all; it just went from point A to point B to point C as efficiently as possible. Just consider the sequence from the cafeteria scene on as an example:

Spoiler for Episode 1:

- Meet with Shiro
- Shiro meets with Sister Amaike
- Kouhei repeats the one and only thing he was told about her before, which gets her mad, so he has to leave
- Shiro asks where he's going, and conveniently it's the Student Council building (that Shiro happens to know a lot about...)
- Shiro takes Kouhei to Student Council
- Shiro meets her brother Sei, who happens to show up just then, and Sei asks Shiro to leave...
- ... so that Iori can conveniently appear
- Go into the student council room to meet with Erika
- Who promptly leaves so Iori can tell Kouhei the secret
- Cut to the bath for the misunderstanding with Erika
- Cut to Iori & Sei for the explanation
- ...where Tsukasa happened to be
- Cut to the conversation with Tsukasa and Kouhei about the accident
- Where Kanade and Haruna happen to appear to ask him why
- And Tsukasa can provide the explanation he happened to have overheard
- And Erika just happens to walk by to over hear them talking
- And Kouhei just so happens to go suddenly stoic about the whole thing so that Erika can hear him and realize he's not a bad guy
- And his stuff conveniently arrives
- And Erika conveniently just happens to walk past them again for the promise
- Tsukasa is conveniently there to explain the tree
- Then cut to Kouhei going finish the orientation errand
- He so happens to walk by the church and get startled, and decides to check it out
- Where a vampire just so happens to be in the middle of a feeding...
- ...and so he misses the date with Erika.

I think that when they planned the episode, they must have used a map with waypoints. (It's good on the one hand that they're trying to be true to the game's events, but sometimes cutting a few things may not be so bad...)

I agree that it's true to the game's events but it's a bit rushed and in my opinion it lost most of the "mystery vibe" the game had.

And I still kinda feel off for some reason for Ono Daisuke voicing Kouhei (from the game I imagined him having a more young sounding voice lol) and for some reason Tsukasa sounds a bit off (did they replace his original game seiyuu?)

Spoiler for Anime to Game comparisons, some minor spoilers with Kouhei's past:

It kinda sucks that they didn't explain more about why Kouhei's there (It mostly has to do with him always moving to new homes and always causing him to switch schools) but I'm surprised they managed to preserve some specific things from the game like Kanade smacking Kouhei's back to Shiro doing her "Nyu" sounds trying to catch Yukimaru and the anime using some remixed versions of the game's bgm and from seeing where they ended the episode they already showed about 2/3 of the games prologue.

But in the end the anime is going to be 12 episodes long so yeah you have to expect some things rushed here and there.

Not bad for a 1st episode but not that great in my opinion.

[mangatron]

I for one liked this ep, well, probably because I've been looking forward to this for a while(admittedly enough it's because of the similarities it shares with Canvas 2, something I'm a big fan of), and always nice to see August works. Liked how the character designs were a great closeness to the game (if my vague recollection of past August works are any indication).

And I think it does follow the game well enough, although I'm basing this on the manga so I'm probably off a bit on that. I sure have my fix for a somewhat relaxing series this season.

[Francismeunier]

One question.....if this was a random girl with Iori=>

then why was it in a church and is the girl now a vampire also? Beginning also spoils that Kohei will be bitten by Erika.

[DasDingus]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Actually, this isn't what happened here. They didn't really deviate from the original storyline and there was no "route combining" going on. VNs don't usually branch off at the very start, and what we are seeing now is what is usually called the "common route" - the part of the story which brings you up to speed with the setting, introduces characters and their personalities, and takes place before any character specific deviations are possible. Basically everything the episode showed us is the same thing you would get if playing the VN. Time constraints of an anime reared their head though, so we are left with the "checklist of essentials" they have to go through, as relentless said earlier, with not enough time to grow substantial meat on the bones.

Huh, thanks for the info. Like I said, I haven't played the source material so I don't know what this VN is like. My experience has been early on you run into a lot of "do you want to go to point A or point B?" choices in a VN early on where point A gives you a scene with girl A and point B gives you a scene with girl B etc. but I guess that will vary greatly depending on how early the plot of a VN forks.

Indeed, though most of the time i feel such friends exist to highlight the good side an otherwise flawed male lead might have, unless said flaws are integral to the plot. In a "Yes, he is kinda goofy, but look at this guy! See, it could be much worse!" kind of way So far, it looks like Kouhei isn't really in need of a contrast point, as he seems like a quite decent guy.

Agreed. I just hope being a quite decent guy doesn't turn out to mean he's a very bland character down the road.

[Saturn Beaver]

Quite a nice episode, I haven't played the game so I come in fresh (though I really want to play it, if only there's an English translation somewhere...) and it's quite good so far. The VN feel is very noticeable, but at least unlike the other eroge adaptation this season the heroines doesn't immediately fall in love with the protagonist with a mere glance (also, significantly less ecchi). This is an intro episode with nothing really going on, I suppose that'll change when school starts after the opening ceremony next episode, but at least they managed to squeeze in a cliffhanger in the end. From what others said it's at least a faithful adaptation so far, though I wonder how it'll be when the main plot start branching out...It seems that Erika path will be the route they choose (seems most prominent in most pictures I see), but in any case I'm hoping for the best.

Originally Posted by Slayn

Spoiler for Anime to Game comparisons, some minor spoilers with Kouhei's past:

It kinda sucks that they didn't explain more about why Kouhei's there (It mostly has to do with him always moving to new homes and always causing him to switch schools) but I'm surprised they managed to preserve some specific things from the game like Kanade smacking Kouhei's back to Shiro doing her "Nyu" sounds trying to catch Yukimaru and the anime using some remixed versions of the game's bgm and from seeing where they ended the episode they already showed about 2/3 of the games prologue.

Actually, from what I've seen in the episode I got Kouhei's past clear enough. In the monologue in the train he already said about having to changing school due to his parents always moving. He also said that because he's in a dorm now, he doesn't need to move and expect to stay there longer. Also, deducing from the whole faceless classmates thing and how he's hoping for "something he'll finally get there" I'm guessing that thing is a more long-lasting friendship, as I got the impression that he can't remember his friends because he know them just for a short time (possibly even becoming a bit antisocial lately, because he won't bother developing a relationship knowing it will end soon anyway), and expect something different here. It's not complicated problem or anything, but it's also quite common, really.

Originally Posted by DasDingus

Agreed. I just hope being a quite decent guy doesn't turn out to mean he's a very bland character down the road.

Yeah, he's not bad so far, kinda generic but at least he's not particularly wimpy or annoying. At least he didn't freak out when he got trolled by the student council president and got in trouble with Erika, he's embarrassed but that's understandable, he even try to work things out. So far I got a good impression, hope that he won't disappoint. I like the other supporting characters as well, especially the best friend who is better than most harem sidekick. The girls also seems interesting, although it seems that the black-haired lady from the opening isn't there yet?

[trowapeter]

Another school theme that I liked,just finished watching episode 1 ,personally liked their school emblem.

1st episode doesnt tell much but I'm eager to know if the vampire in the church is the student council president or not .

Hope this end well and doesnt make it like Angel Beats which end with dissapointment.

[Midonin]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

So far, it looks like Kouhei isn't really in need of a contrast point, as he seems like a quite decent guy.

Nonsense. A character without foils must live in a very empty world.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Francismeunier

...if this was a random girl with Iori...why was it in a church and is the girl now a vampire also?

You'll have to let the anime reveal these sorts of answers. The game players in this thread are not allowed to answer questions about aspects of the story that haven't been shown yet (but will be shown in episodes to come).

Originally Posted by DasDingus

Compared to most VN adaptations this seemed to avoid a lot of the pitfalls of the VN genre. [...] I didn't see the blatant fanservice I'm used to from VN adaptations.

Heh. The interesting thing here is that this is a lot more like the way VN adaptations used to be done say 5 years ago or so. This would be more what I consider a "traditional VN adaptation", I guess. But in recent years, they've tried to spice things up by adding fanservice of various kinds, and it's funny because people end up assuming that the added fanservice is from the source material even when it isn't (sort of like "as expected of an ero-game!", even though all the fanservice is anime-original). But that said, because the genre has "morphed" over the years, now this sort of "back to basics" adaptation (not necessarily meant in a bad way) is seen by some (not just you) as "avoiding the pitfalls of the genre". So things are sort of coming around full circle... which makes sense given that a lot of the fans today weren't around for the big eroge adaptation trend 5 years back.

[Slayn]

Originally Posted by Saturn Beaver

Actually, from what I've seen in the episode I got Kouhei's past clear enough. In the monologue in the train he already said about having to changing school due to his parents always moving. He also said that because he's in a dorm now, he doesn't need to move and expect to stay there longer. Also, deducing from the whole faceless classmates thing and how he's hoping for "something he'll finally get there" I'm guessing that thing is a more long-lasting friendship, as I got the impression that he can't remember his friends because he know them just for a short time (possibly even becoming a bit antisocial lately, because he won't bother developing a relationship knowing it will end soon anyway), and expect something different here. It's not complicated problem or anything, but it's also quite common, really.

Whoa... are you sure you haven't played the VN all your "deducing" was right

Now that I saw it again there are some parts of the story (events) changed in the anime to save some time (Kouhei taking a picture inside the church and "all of a sudden" saw that scene happening)

[TJR]

First episode is okay. It's rather non-descript in terms of content and animation (and it honestly lacks any kind of hook) but nothing scares me off either. Art is consistent and fairly nice.

I guess the chunky scene arrangment is the biggest quirk.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Slayn

Whoa... are you sure you haven't played the VN all your "deducing" was right

Nah, I would say the anime did actually make that part very clear. The title of the episode was "migratory bird" after all, and pretty much all of Kouhei's monologue centered on this point (about finding a place to "call home"). So yeah, that was one aspect of the characters that I think was pretty well preserved in the adaptation.

[Nvis]

I've read some of the translations for the game, and the story itself is pretty interesting, but as we can see from the first episode, they skipped out on a lot of things....

[FlareKnight]

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this one. In the end though it had a good first episode. I mean the lead is a good guy who doesn't fall into the hyper embarrassment or incredibly wimpy categories. Frankly if I find a girl getting her blood sucked in a church I'll probably have fairly disturbed eyes as well.

Some good childhood friends to throw into the equation. It'll be nice if they do just stay as friends since it's obviously going the Erika route and I'd hate for them to get interested just to get shot down in the end.

Too bad for Erika at the end with getting stood up. But to be fair there is a damn good excuse behind it . She must have a tough time with a brother like that...

[DasDingus]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

The interesting thing here is that this is a lot more like the way VN adaptations used to be done say 5 years ago or so. This would be more what I consider a "traditional VN adaptation", I guess. But in recent years, they've tried to spice things up by adding fanservice of various kinds, and it's funny because people end up assuming that the added fanservice is from the source material even when it isn't (sort of like "as expected of an ero-game!", even though all the fanservice is anime-original).

Ah, interesting. My opinion may be colored by the fact that the two most recent VN adaptations I have seen are Shuffle! and ep1 of Yosua no Sora. Good to know.

[kyosak]

Did they change Haruna's VA...? She sounded different in some scenes and then sort of familiar in others 0_o Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks with me

Anyways, I'm guessing they're either gonna spend the 12(13?) eps just going over the lesser individual arcs or just skip a lot of that and jump into Erika and true ending stuff pretty quickly...? Well, I just hope they don't throw any fillers in here with the already tight schedule (lookin' at you Angel Beats).

Not much to say about ep1 other than that pacing felt really fast, which can't be helped I guess, and it was pretty consistent with the game for the most part.