(L) Shangri-La

[aardvark]

Wow, this show must habe bombed insanely hard

It seems like the last 6 DVDs of the series, both regular and limited edition seem to have been canceled, and there will only be a box set of the last 13 eps in 2010...

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by aardvark

Wow, this show must habe bombed insanely hard

It seems like the last 6 DVDs of the series, both regular and limited edition seem to have been canceled, and there will only be a box set of the last 13 eps in 2010...

I'm actually quite shocked at this news.

[wandering-dreamer]

Wow, I hadn't realized that Shangri-La was THAT badly recieved. I must admit that looking back on it I don't think it was one of the best anime of all time or my favorite anime of all time (but the middle of the story was really good) so this is surprising. Maybe it can also be contributed to the high DVD prices in Japan? From what I've heard, the prices are so high that you really need to commit to a show to go out and buy the DVDs so if a show isn't completely and totally awesome your going to have a hard time breaking even.
Do you have a news article you can link to for proof? Kinda hoping you misread it actually....

[npal]

Originally Posted by wandering-dreamer

so if a show isn't completely and totally awesome your going to have a hard time breaking even.
Do you have a news article you can link to for proof? Kinda hoping you misread it actually....

Not really, I know of at least one recent case where you just have to be brainwashed (or possibly braindead) enough into buying the DVDs in question. The overhype also helps.

Are GONZO's financial problems catching up or something?

[wandering-dreamer]

Never mind, found the article on ANN, link.
@npal: No, I think it's more that almost no one liked Shangri-La rather than Gonzo troubles. Shame because the graphics were getting really good, in some parts you couldn't even see the difference between 2D and 3D art.

[Ihadurca]

Does the DVD version contain footage or scenes not in the broadcast version?

[TJR]

Originally Posted by wandering-dreamer

Wow, I hadn't realized that Shangri-La was THAT badly recieved.

Shangri-La wasn't well received, but reception is only part of the equation. The show was probably doomed from the start since it lacks the hooks that sell shows in today's market. You can have good story, good animation, and even high popularity during broadcast, but that doesn't mean people want to buy the DVDs.

There's also a growing disparity between a hit show and a flop. Media transition (DVD to BD) is likely a factor, but the attitudes of consumers are probably changing too. People are picky about what they pay for and as AnimeAnimeJapan theorizes, fans are singling out certain titles as "certificate" purchases (basically a show of unity and a symbol of their participation in a product's word of mouth hype). The example they raise is Kara no Kyoukai, but you can apply the line of thinking to some MASSIVE TV hits this year. These titles are selling way better than they would've sold a few years ago, and that's because buying rationale has changed.

Content and franchise name alone can't create hits (mind you, the latter still helps a lot, but it only gets a show so far and it doesn't necessarily guarantee a hit), so producers have to rethink how they make and market anime.

[aardvark]

Originally Posted by TJR

Content and franchise name alone can't create hits (mind you, the latter still helps a lot, but it only gets a show so far and it doesn't necessarily guarantee a hit), so producers have to rethink how they make and market anime.

And for the most part, its for the worse

[wandering-dreamer]

Of course this announcement comes out the same day the Kurokami BD controversy does so it's pretty obvious that the Japanese just don't know how to make DVD money off of shows that aren't sure-fire hits. Come to the box set side, we'll give you monies!

[rocket]

Originally Posted by Midonin

While it started off rather slow and pulled out enough technobabble and plot twists and unanswered questions [...] it actually became kind of exciting to watch every week. [...] A 12-hour, very wild, unbalanced movie marinated in insanity and boomerangs.

I just finally got around to watching the last 4 eps of Shangri-La and I laughed out loud when I read this. It's spot on.

Shangri-La...

It was sometimes beautifully, breathtakingly, animated and sometimes cobbled together. Range Murata's characters shone as brightly as they ever have, and some of the mechanical work felt perfectly and unexpectedly strange as if they had truly come from a dimly perceived future. Yet other characters and designs stood out as starkly generic and sadly expected.

The world of Shangri-La - Atlas, the carbon economy, and the post-apocalyptic Tokyo - sometimes felt awesome, prophetic and compelling. Sometimes felt ridiculous and pathetically thin.

Kuniko vacillated from cute, eager and ass-kicking, to irrational, immature and implausible. I desperately wanted to love her as a post-Evangelion Nausicaa, but in the end I just couldn't connect.

The rest of the cast was refreshingly diverse in backgrounds, characterizations, and motivations. A spectrum encompassing believable adults, some flawed and some noble, and teens who were more than symbols of youthful optimisim. Yet their rich and plausible setups were often betrayed by unpredictable lapses - like Kuniko's boyfriend deciding that he needs to shoot her to save his mom, and then two seconds later changes his mind (after actually pulling the trigger!) just by having Kuniko assure him that actually she will save the world and mommy.

Karin was always awesome. Cute, cruel, capricious, yet frightened and needy. Beautifully designed, charmingly acted and developed, nearly fatally flawed. Karin = love.

The plot twisted and turned so wildly you desperately wanted it to make more sense, and you forgave it when it didn't. Each episode kept you on the edge of your seat, and while the insanity swerved from brilliant to ridiculous and back again you couldn't wait for the next show's revelations, no matter how absurd.

A flawed epic, crushed under the weight of it's ambitions. Technically and budget wise, story and source material, characters and their development - none of these quite lived up to their promise or their creator's expectations. Yet the glimmer of possibility made it worthwhile even as it failed it's grander expectations.

I think we've witnessed the birth of a cult classic. Remembered with fondness and frustration by the few who saw it the first time, destined to be rediscovered by the most die hard who will struggle with the same captivation and disappointment.

Like many other ambitious footnotes in the history of fiction, I predict the seeds of Shangri-la will find a new life in the future work of some ambitious creator. Some yet unknown Anno, Miyazaki, or Tsurumaki to be will craft an incredibly rich dystopian future, that is also stunningly beautiful and achingly plausible, with a complex symphony of characters drawn together towards their destined apotheosis. I look forward to it.

Until then, we'll always have boomerangs.

[drobertbaker]

Man, that post is one insightful, articulate, and beautiful piece of writing. You should seek a vocation. Seriously.

[wandering-dreamer]

If this does become a cult classic then I would be impressed, never witnessed the birth of one of those before.

[rocket]

Originally Posted by drobertbaker

Man, that post is one insightful, articulate, and beautiful piece of writing. You should seek a vocation. Seriously.

Heh, thanks! I blame it on marathoning the last 4eps up to 1am last night, followed by catching up on 10 pages of previously spoiler laden Anime-Suki Forum discussion. I knew that Shangri-La moved me and excited me, yet also disappointed me. I just couldn't puzzle through my reaction to it until I had read all the fabulous posts here that were so passionate and articulate about everything that people loved and hated about this show.

That said, if you enjoyed my musings on this show you might like checking out my blog or my Visual Novel. (^_^)

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by drobertbaker

Man, that post is one insightful, articulate, and beautiful piece of writing. You should seek a vocation. Seriously.

Agreed, excellent post

[kk2extreme]

hey look on the bright side, great musics

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by kk2extreme

hey look on the bright side, great musics

Yeah, such an incredible soundtrack. Can't wait for Hitomi Kuroishi's next project.

[Mint Kashiro]

I guess I can kind of understand why Shangri-La wasn't very well accepted.

At the same time, it is one of my favorite series. The characters were so alive, even if some of them (Kuniko) were so 'perfect' that sometimes it hurt. To make up for it though, Karin and Sayoko were incredible characters who I fell in love with instantly.

I only wish it had been a 26 episode series, the last bit felt a bit rushed and like it should have run longer. There was a lot of promise here, and while it fell short seeing what it could have been is still amazing.

I think for those of this that loved it, it will probably be remembered as better than it actually was. It's like the barely-there plot of Etrian Odyssey (a huge game love of mine) was stretched into a full show, giving me a world that felt familiar but was still deeper than my first glimpse of it.

It could have been much better, but it still counts as one of my favorite anime so far.

[Zu Ra]

Who is this character on Cover 5 a grown up Kuniko or heck Momoko oO? I actually liked Cover 6 of Ryoko ..

[wandering-dreamer]

No idea, it actually reminds me of the character from the fifth element. Odd style to use on DVD covers when you think about how clean the lines were in the show.

[Shiroth]

I guess it's Momoko, because that's really the only person it could be.