Little Busters - Anime Pre-Airing News and Anticipation

[Ceral]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

Those tweets are reassuring, but my problem was never with the actual material, but rather the quality of the visuals, heh.

As someone who has played (most of) the game, there's really not going to be much reason for me to watch this if it doesn't come close to KyoAni's art and animation quality, you know? There's no way it'll have the same kind of visual flair.

It should be fun just for the nostalgia. Like the first time meeting all of the heroines. Even though I've played the game already, as a fan of it, and just because I really liked some parts, I'll go revisit them in the VN once in awhile. Now being able to see everything animated will breathe new life into those scenes. I think it's gonna be a real kick to watch characters like Kud and Komari who are eccentric and very energetic be animated. Sort of like the way Fuuko was, probably some people can't stand Fuuko or don't care for her, but for her fans, being able to watch such a fun and unique, quirky character was a blast.

So the background might be blurry, the characters grainy and the animation won't be the smoothest possible but we'll still be able to visit a rooftop where mahou ensemble plays in the background with a blue sky and Komari's original VA talks to us in her high voice while alternating between embarrassing speeches on happiness and then panicking about some trivial thing. We know the music and the voice acting will be good, if the script and direction are decent, we won't need perfect visuals to have a successful scene I suspect. Big if, but visual quality isn't the most important thing, I'd take a show that's entertaining over one that looks like a moving painting but bores me to death.

When that first episode comes out, for just a little while I'll try to forget about animation production studios and watch the show to relive some of the most fun scenes ever imagined. I think they'll do a good job with making things such as Komari's clumsiness have a good comedic impact. If you're worried too much, you'd be like my friend who thinks a movie is unwatchable in 480p just because he's used to 1080p. Unless you're going to let yourself be hung up over a number, the fact that you won't be able to see a mole on some actress' face isn't going to make the show that much better. Or in LB's case, maybe the eye will look assymmetrical for a frame or something. If you look for that sort of thing, you've got a very good eye and you need to join a QA team and get that out of your system or something :P.

Originally Posted by DemiSoda

mostly laughing at them these days, since Disappearance was the only thing I liked from them in the last 3 years

This is exactly why I'm not that disappointed that Kyoani isn't doing it. If their heart isn't in it, they might pull some shit on us like endless eight. I'm sure Kyoani had their chance, if they didn't want to do it, forcing them would have only made things worse. Let a staff who wants to work on it, do it. If they're capable enough, and Key seems to think this Script Writer from Romeo's Blue Skies is, we should get something good. That said, I think your perfectly right in being skeptical.

For anyone with sky high expectations, yea, you should lower them :P. This way you'll either be pleasantly surprised or not disappointed :P.

[Fabrice]

Visual Arts seems to have some sway in decisions since obviously the Seiyuu cast was their move and not JC Staff's. My guess is that they didn't give them free reign over the anime.In fact, Maeda apparently went on record not so long ago, according to unofficial tweets from the Festa, saying he is personalliy supervising the scriptwriting for Little Busters. While supervising is not the same as writing it himself it means he can make sure the scriptwriters don't fuck up the original story.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by Ceral

*snip*

But, it's an anime. Good visuals ARE the most important thing.

[Ceral]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

But, it's an anime. Good visuals ARE the most important thing.

Subjective.

We don't even know what the real animation looks like. We're probably talking not bad visuals here.

If PA works was in charge, I'd be just as worried, because I've yet to be really entertained by any of their shows. Great visuals don't mean much without a compelling story. I'm actually not as concerned with the visuals as them just being able to tell a compelling story. J.C. Staff can make visuals as good as A-1, White Fox and other plan B studios on people's lists. I think what most people were/are afraid of is J.C. Staff's ability to adapt the storyline and to transfer the atmosphere of the game to the anime. I'm much more worried about that than perfect visuals.

Watch to be entertained and re-experience a great story-line. (New VA performances, characters being finally being animated, maybe not in the way you hoped but still, there's plenty of new things to be entertained by. Just because they're not new and the prettiest visuals doesn't mean they can't be new and still interesting.) Don't watch just for eye-candy. If you want that, just watch the next series PA puts out.

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by Ceral

Watch to be entertained and re-experience a great story-line. (New VA performances, characters being finally being animated, maybe not in the way you hoped but still, there's plenty of new things to be entertained by. Just because they're not new and the prettiest visuals doesn't mean they can't be new and still interesting.) Don't watch just for eye-candy. If you want that, just watch the next series PA puts out.

Agreed. Spectacular animation is a plus in my book, but far from an essential. It's outright bad animation (think Pokemon) that really detracts from an anime.

Oh, and it was hilarious to read the livid comments on MAL and /a/ screaming bloody murder on J.C. Staff.

[boggart]

Originally Posted by Ceral

Subjective.

We don't even know what the real animation looks like. We're probably talking not bad visuals here.

If PA works was in charge, I'd be just as worried, because I've yet to be really entertained by any of their shows. Great visuals don't mean much without a compelling story. I'm actually not as concerned with the visuals as them just being able to tell a compelling story. J.C. Staff can make visuals as good as A-1, White Fox and other plan B studios on people's lists. I think what most people were/are afraid of is J.C. Staff's ability to adapt the storyline and to transfer the atmosphere of the game to the anime. I'm much more worried about that than perfect visuals.

Watch to be entertained and re-experience a great story-line. (New VA performances, characters being finally being animated, maybe not in the way you hoped but still, there's plenty of new things to be entertained by. Just because they're not new and the prettiest visuals doesn't mean they can't be new and still interesting.) Don't watch just for eye-candy. If you want that, just watch the next series PA puts out.

But why cannot we expect and demand both? We've had it from KyoAni previously, so I'll expect JC Staff to match or exceed it. If not, then it will be a failure in my eyes.

[Divini]

For this anime to be a success for me personally, it has to have that magic touch for it to be something I would reminisce about for a long time. Not just it being an above average show, but a memorable one.

What KyoAni did with Kanon 2006 and CLANNAD succeeded in doing so. Can J.C. Staff's team do the same? That's all that matters to me.

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by boggart

We've had it from KyoAni previously, so I'll expect JC Staff to match or exceed it. If not, then it will be a failure in my eyes.

You're truly setting yourself up for disappointment. In this case it's best to be cautious with low expectations, because the final product can go anywhere in terms of quality.

[Westlo]

If this airs in a long running time slot (4 cour) and people still bitch about the animation not being up to Kyoto Animations standards.. L O L.

[bahamut zero]

Originally Posted by Ceral

Yuuto (Author of Komari and Kurugaya's Routes for those that don't know.) mentions this on his 4/2 blog (http://key.visualarts.gr.jp/diary/20...ost_148.html):


自分自身も長らく待ち望んでいたことですので、ようやくか…と感慨もひとしおです。
現在脚本をバリバリ監修していますので、是非ご期待くださいませ。

(He mentions he's working hard on supervising the script.) So for sure Key is involved in the script writing process.

to be fair, you can't screw p Komaris Route, you can only make it better...

[boggart]

Originally Posted by Tempester

You're truly setting yourself up for disappointment. In this case it's best to be cautious with low expectations, because the final product can go anywhere in terms of quality.

Oh trust me, disappointment had already set in as soon as I saw the PV. The way the PV was executed, the announcement leak, the production and animation company details leak; none of that has garnered any confidence from me.

Again, I'll be happy to eat my words, but it better be pretty damn good.

[Suzuku]

This is the most entertaining thread in a while.

Originally Posted by Westlo

If this airs in a long running time slot (4 cour) and people still bitch about the animation not being up to Kyoto Animations standards.. L O L.

I'm thinking when he says "long anime" he probably means there will be multiple 2-cour seasons, or at least two, which would explain the choice of J.C.STAFF as the animation studio as they have plenty of experience animating multiple cours of series (Index, Shana, ZnT, etc). We'll probably get something like Clannad.

My main worry isn't so much the length or the story, I'm confident they know what they're doing in those regards as this has been years in the making. No, my main concern is the quality of animation, that's what everyone should be worried about when they hear J.C. Honestly, the only shows I've seen them produce with stunning visuals were Index (season 1 and a couple eps of II), Railgun, Toradora sort of, and Yumekui Merry. A lot of their other shows are plagued with studio factory-level animation. I just simply can't see them living up to KyoAni's standards of animation and those tweets don't do anything to rest me at ease in that regard. It's almost like they're trading off quality for J.C.'s ability to pop out multiple cour shows without getting bogged down by one project (which is why no other studio could handle this, I bet).

[ahelo]

Hahahaha I was correct on Little Busters! being animated by JC Staff.

Well given the right budget, JC Staff can actually pull off a good looking series (Raildex). Also if given the right staff, they can make relatively amazing stuff like Toradora, Ano Natsu, Nodame Cantabile, Honey and Clover. . . though I really did want to see someone like Kyoani or PA Works do this since there would have been a 100% ensurement that it would at least look visually stunning.

Oh well at least it's not DEEN or Xebec.

[Westlo]

^ But DEEN are good now! DEEN > GAINAX. And if XEBEC was doing this I'm sure Production I.G would be doing it with them.. since they own them after all and tend to work together on some productions... like the Break Blade movies.

Originally Posted by Suzuku

This is the most entertaining thread in a while.


I'm thinking when he says "long anime" he probably means there will be multiple 2-cour seasons, or at least two, which would explain the choice of J.C.STAFF as the animation studio as they have plenty of experience animating multiple cours of series (Index, Shana, ZnT, etc). We'll probably get something like Clannad.

My main worry isn't so much the length or the story, I'm confident they know what they're doing in those regards as this has been years in the making. No, my main concern is the quality of animation, that's what everyone should be worried about when they hear J.C. Honestly, the only shows I've seen them produce with stunning visuals were Index (season 1 and a couple eps of II), Railgun, Toradora sort of, and Yumekui Merry. A lot of their other shows are plagued with studio factory-level animation. I just simply can't see them living up to KyoAni's standards of animation and those tweets don't do anything to rest me at ease in that regard. It's almost like they're trading off quality for J.C.'s ability to pop out multiple cour shows without getting bogged down by one project (which is why no other studio could handle this, I bet).

Yeah J.C Staff are one of the most sequel friendly studios around.. so that does bode well for multiple seasons of Little Busters. And yeah the amount of shows with top notch visuals are low.... I still think Index 2 received less budget because it sold far less than Railgun.. yet the sales increased over S1 anyway.. so s3 + Movie should look good. But a lot of shows they put out are stuff that honestly doesn't deserve top notch budgets... and heck even gorgeous animation wouldn't have made them hits.. look @ Nichijou by Kyoto Animation as a prime example, argubly their best animated work and yet one of the worst selling titles they have produced... J.C Staffs main problem has always been the amount of work they undertake at once... look @ last Winter season...

Shana 3 (Continued from Fall 2011)
Bakuman 2 (Continued from Fall 2011)
Milky Holmes 2
Ano Natsu de Matteru (didn't this look rather good too? I haven't watched it so I can't say)
Kill Me Baby
Zero no Tsukaima F

This Spring...

Kimi to Boku 2

This Summer

Arcana Famiglia (J.C Staffs attempt to get that otome game money that DEEN and A-1 have been getting)

This Fall

Bakuman 3

That's a massive shift in the amount of shows they've been doing, obviously Fall will get more shows with Little Busters more than likely being 1 of them... and who knows when Joshiraku will air and you have the Index Movie... but only 1 show airing during Spring, a major season? And only 1 confirmed for Summer.. when most shows are already announced? Quite a change from the usual J.C Staff, so while it won't obviously look as good as Kyoto Animations works.. I still expect it to look good which is all that matters.

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by Suzuku

Honestly, the only shows I've seen them produce with stunning visuals were Index (season 1 and a couple eps of II), Railgun, Toradora sort of, and Yumekui Merry. A lot of their other shows are plagued with studio factory-level animation.

I liked their work on Aoi Hana, as this video shows. It's not super-fluid or dynamic animation, but it's quite high on an aesthetic level with the soft colors and detail.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Westlo

^ But DEEN are good now! DEEN > GAINAX.

Is this about Sankarea > Medaka ?

Originally Posted by Westlo

Yeah J.C Staff are one of the most sequel friendly studios around.. so that does bode well for multiple seasons of Little Busters. And yeah the amount of shows with top notch visuals are low.... I still think Index 2 received less budget because it sold far less than Railgun.. yet the sales increased over S1 anyway.. so s3 + Movie should look good.

Actually, I think the budget was just better managed in Railgun... Maybe having more SoL moments might have something to do with it as well, I don't know. Index II should have received a slightly higher budget than S1, just look at the difference in the background- The entire city was luminous at night!

Originally Posted by Westlo

But a lot of shows they put out are stuff that honestly doesn't deserve top notch budgets... and heck even gorgeous animation wouldn't have made them hits.. look @ Nichijou by Kyoto Animation as a prime example, argubly their best animated work and yet one of the worst selling titles they have produced...

Well, I always felt that all their shows outside of the Fall Seasons are just something to pass time with They weren't really banking on them...

Originally Posted by Westlo

J.C Staffs main problem has always been the amount of work they undertake at once...

Agreed, if they cut down on shows then maybe they wouldn't be stretch too thin... But then again, I'm guessing there's some behind-the-scenes reasons?

Originally Posted by Westlo

That's a massive shift in the amount of shows they've been doing, obviously Fall will get more shows with Little Busters more than likely being 1 of them... and who knows when Joshiraku will air and you have the Index Movie... but only 1 show airing during Spring, a major season? And only 1 confirmed for Summer.. when most shows are already announced? Quite a change from the usual J.C Staff, so while it won't obviously look as good as Kyoto Animations works.. I still expect it to look good which is all that matters.

I've almost given up on them changing their 'strategy', but it looks like they might actually be doing that by focusing on one-two series per season like the other studios?

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Agreed, if they cut down on shows then maybe they wouldn't be stretch too thin

What's JC staff's fall schedule?
Besides LB there's bakuman confirmed,anything else?

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by totoum

What's JC staff's fall schedule?
Besides LB there's bakuman confirmed,anything else?

At the moment, nothing else I think... IF there is a Raildex series, the announcement is expected to come only around June like the last time.

[ahelo]

Let's look at the positives:

The executive producer is also the producer in Accel Word and Index II. Index II had some problems, animation-wise, in the middle but relatively speaking, these two look really good. There's some budget invested so we might see the same in Little Busters.

The director did Hatsukoi Limited. Now I'm sure lots of people will think, "Hey it's just some fanservice crappy harem anime" but it actually had some substance and they did do well in adapting a short manga that ended prematurely (it got cancelled in SJ). He also storyboarded in a few episodes of Mushishi, Nodame Cantabile: Finale, and Saraiya Goyou.

The one working on screenplay worked on The World Masterpiece Theatre a bit and has 30 years of experience. In a way he's a veteran.

The character designer worked on InuXBoku SS which made Ririchiyo really really CUTE!

JC Staff is actually really good when they put their mind into it. Ano Natsu de Matteru, Railgun, Toradora, Honey and Clover, Nodame Cantabile, Aoi Hana, Azumanga Daioh. . . all of these are regarded pretty highly in the anime fandom. People seem to forget this because they only concentrate on thinking that JC Staff only does crappy LN adaptations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to stay positive, you gotta look at the bright side of the staff. (in all honesty though, the staff is crap).

[Westlo]

Is it really though? I mean look @ Haruko Iizuka.. he's doing character designs (which will more than likely be close as possible to the VN) and he was one of the chief animation directors for iDOLM@STER as well as Inu x Boku SS which were both hits from the last two seasons. He'll more than likely be doing that for Little Busters as well... and Shimada has done two adaptions for World Masterpiece Theater and if the source material is strong enough even an average director can look good... I remember that people didn't think much of Baccano!'s staff when it was announced.. and now look @ how that team and Brains Base itself is looked at.

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Is this about Sankarea > Medaka ?

Yep lol, Gainax are totally GINO right now, Gainax In Name Only and DEEN put together a good team for Sankarea. Look @ Masaki Hyuga for instance and you'll see a lot of good looking shows on his resume.

Actually, I think the budget was just better managed in Railgun... Maybe having more SoL moments might have something to do with it as well, I don't know. Index II should have received a slightly higher budget than S1, just look at the difference in the background- The entire city was luminous at night!

Well yeah the change in genre for the most part obviously helped Railgun compared to Index.. but I felt that Index 2 got shafted in terms of budget... it's very rare for a series to increase in sales as Index 2 did compared to Index... Will be curious to see how the Movie looks and performs considering it's one of the premiere light novel series around as of now.

Well, I always felt that all their shows outside of the Fall Seasons are just something to pass time with They weren't really banking on them...

Oh yeah no doubt about that, any company would be in trouble if they were banking on Kill Me Baby. For shows like that they were probably just hired hands more than anything and went through the motions for the most part.

I've almost given up on them changing their 'strategy', but it looks like they might actually be doing that by focusing on one-two series per season like the other studios?

I doubt it will stick.. but hopefully they play it smart of spend a lot of cash on freelancers for Little Busters if they go with their typical 6+ shows during Fall.

Originally Posted by totoum

What's JC staff's fall schedule?
Besides LB there's bakuman confirmed,anything else?

The only things J.C Staff have announced that hasn't aired yet is... Arcana Famiglia in Summer, Joshiraku which hasn't been given an air date yet, Little Busters itself.. and of course the Index Movie.