Michael is Low on Hit Points
Because a good thing can go on for too long, here are some reasonably good anime that needed to be shorter
- Posted February 26th, 2009 at 6:03 PM ET
- Subjects Gundam SEED, School Rumble, Shakugan no Shana, Bleach
- Tags short editorial
- Image sources
1- Shana [unknown] - Video searches
none
I've always had a long standing belief that the longer a series drags on, the more it begins to lose its original meaning. Sometimes we get needless filler. Other times, the plot changes course and loses sight of the reason we started watching in the first place. Most of the time, the dull parts of a story simply drag on far too long.
So in response (sort of) to a recent Euphoric Field post, I'm going to take a look at a few series that I believe could use a bit of culling. I'll point out what works (as in, why anyone would like the show) and what needs to go. There is no particular order here, so without further adieu:
Gundam SEED
This may sound blasphemous, but Gundam SEED would be so much better without the Gundams. Nearly every action scene is directionless and pointless. The Gundams launch, "pew pew" with the lasers, and retreat back to their bases after another stalemate. This might work if the action was exciting, but copy-and-paste reuse of stock animation kills that chance.
Stock animation isn't only confined to action, as frequent flashbacks drag down too many a dramatic moment later in the series. And let's not forget the actual recap episodes. 50 episodes was simply too long.
The character drama is the highlight of SEED. Some action is still needed to advance the plot. Shortening the action segments, dropping the rest, and cutting out all the flashbacks and recaps, we could be looking at culling off a full season of episodes (~13). The series would be all the better because of it.
School Rumble
Sometimes, School Rumble is hilarious. Other times, it falls flat on its face. How fitting then that these times are so easy to tell apart simply based on the setup! Every time the comedy stemmed from romantic mishaps -- say for example, any scene between Harima and Eri -- things ended up hilarious.
Unfortunately all that good, juicy, failed romance is book-ended by often ridiculous and rarely funny attempts at a myriad of other random elements. For example, any scene with Karasuma can hit the editing floor. Hey look, he's dress like a Kappa! And now he's doing something else really weird! Ugh.
Ok, I'm being a bit bad here. It hasn't been too long since I finished season 2, and I already seem to have forgotten everything outside of Harima x Eri x Yakumo, except for that awesome two-part after school gunfight for the cultural fair. But the one thing I strongly remember about watching School Rumble was hating all the filler between the ever fewer and further between "good parts" with Harima's romantic mayhem.
Shakugan no Shana
This one is too easy. Shana season 2 had about 12 episodes of real content. What happens when you stretch it out to 24 and double the total runtime? I'm sure we all remember just how quickly and suddenly the blogosphere soured on season 2.
I finished the series... sort of. To be honest, I skipped quickly through most of the mid-season episodes. And then final episodes ended up being not really worth all that trouble. But that's my impression after a negative trend. Had the series moved briskly at 12 episodes length, perception might be different.
Bleach
Saying that a shounen title goes on for too long may be stating the obvious. Of course there are mounds of anime original filler that could easily be removed. The editing in many a fight (or any scene, really) could be tightened up. But I'm referring to something different when I harp on Bleach.
They had an end point in site! Bleach could have, should have, ended in Soul Society. Bloggers dump on the big shounen series all the time, but Kubo Tite really had something good going during that point in the series. If only he would have bowed out at the top.
Since then, the series has been going downhill at a stunning rate. Almost all of the developments coming after Soul Society have been garbage. Any semblance of "pacing" has been thrown out in recent chapters. Bleach sucks, but it didn't always used to be like that. And it didn't have to be like that.
Final note
Of course, like everything in life, these feelings are subjective and personal. While I hate what Bleach has become, there are sure to be those out there that love the recent chapters. People have strange tastes. I mean just look at my fanboyism for A Certain Magical Index.
So, did these four series really need some heavy editing? Are there any other ones that really dragged on for you? What would you keep, and what would you cut?
1 IKnight
SEED's action scenes were apparently very influential, and some of us can take a lot of pleasure from variations in an established pattern. But I agree with you about the use of stock animation and of flashbacks.
Presumably there are some genres which are better suited to going on and on and on (I haven't heard people complaining about Gintama and Sgt Frog).
2 schneider
I watched SEED on a weekly basis, and I had little problems about it. My experience is that all Gundam TV shows are longer than they should be, and are generally more friendly as a weekly affair as opposed to being marathoned.
As for the Gundams, Strike was a truly great suit, and it kept me watching.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ IKnight
There was nothing really wrong with SEED's battles at first. It's just that as the series got on, the repeated use of stock footage and lack of variation hurt my overall impression of the action. Thus, cutting some action out and shortening other sequences helps alleviate that repetition that soured this particular aspect of SEED.
And I think comedies are better suited for longer lengths, as they typically don't have a main plot thread to keep focus on. The same applies with slice-of-life, seeing as so many agree that Aria could go on forever.
@ schneider
Good point on weekly watching versus marathoning. When things repeat themselves, marathoning highlights that repetition as you're seeing that action repeat in the same viewing. However, when little happens per episode and the plot is too drawn out, weekly watching simply sucks.
To be fair, I marathoned Gundam SEED and School Rumble, and watched Shana II and Bleach weekly. Even still, regardless of the 'watch method,' I still believe all four could lose quite a few episodes for the better.
Oh, and I don't actually have anything against the Gundams themselves. I certainly like Strike, Freedom, Justice, etc. It's just Sunrise's apparent need to showcase their action so often that made me utter that obviously ridiculous phrase of "Gundam without Gundams."
I love my "big giant robots beating the shit out of each" as much as the next guy.
3 Michael
I agree with Bleach most especially. They should have stopped after the Soul Society arc, and simply found a way to end it without it becoming extremely protracted as the travesty of shit it is now.
I have only two words for School Rumble: PIE END.
But Index?! What? :3
4 tjhan
Hey, long series are awesome when done well. The characters grow on you, you get to see more of them etc. As IKnight stated, Gintama is one. Another uber long one is Major, which is into its fifth season and still awesome. Anime tends to not sustain as well as manga, thus the anime One Piece is shit while the manga OP is still as good.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Michael
I've always wondered how Bleach would have been if it had received the Fullmetal Alchemist treatment. Imagine Bleach animated by Studio Bones and closed off at the end of the Soul Society arc. I like the sound of that.
I gave up on School Rumble after season 2. After a spin with google, I know what PIE END is, and I'm very happy I wasn't a big fanboy roaring up to that conclusion. Wow.
And yes, Index is my favorite show airing right now. For some reason, that seems to throw people for a loop.
@ tjhan
Believe me, I love me some Gintama. I'm still early in the series, but a creative comedy like that one can continue on as long as it wants. And of course, long series can be very good. Monster lasted 74 episodes and had me on the edge till the very end. However, I believe these four series needed some culling.
With manga, you can always quickly blast through any dull segments. With anime, you're stuck at the pace of the direction.
5 super rats
I only saw the first season of Shana, and even then I thought it only had enough plot for a movie. I was skipping episodes via not paying attention to it while it was on.
Going to disagree on School Rumble. There were several unfunny episodes, but I liked them. Since I marathoned each season, it may have been residual Harima is awesome powering me through the not so good episodes. Still, I'd take as much as I can get.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ super rats
Yet the Shakugan no Shana movie that ended up getting made only encompassed content from the first light novel. That's the main arc from episodes 1-6 of season 1, minus all the other content they mixed into there from other novels. Have you seen the movie, and did you think the pacing was better or worse?
On School Rumble, I still can't help but imagine how much pound-for-pound funnier it would have been if it only focused on the best of its content. I marathoned both seasons, but that only amounted to a few episodes a day because of how the best stuff was distributed out. Plus if I ever decide on a rewatch, I'm certainly only doing the best episodes and skipping over the rest.
If you're the type to re-watch, would you view the entire thing? Or would you simply skip around to your favorite episodes?
6 super rats
Haven't seen the movie or read the books for Shana. All I know is the 1st anime. I was just thinking that most of the arcs were useless other than being different opponents, and what was learned vs. the time spent was minimal. The important characters that join the cast throughout could be rolled in and make for a tight movie or short OVA.
I'm a habitual re-watcher and usually don't skip episodes. I have seen the first season of School Rumble over again and didn't skip anything. Mainly it's because I like most of the characters, but I kind of think the Kurasuma and Tenma thing was less interesting than most of what else was going on. The anime staff probably thought so too as it really disappears from the show for what would be months at a time when broadcast. The thing is though, some of the parts I liked a lot weren't the funny bits, so I didn't mind when it backburnered the comedy.
Sometimes, a string of boring episodes will get me to stop watching, which pretty much happened to me with Fullmetal Alchemist. Those first 15-17 episodes are awful.
7 Nazarielle
I never really got into Bleach (mostly due to its length), but I've heard that it's going down the tubes. Once you start getting over 100 episodes, I think there's just too little to do, unless the world is giant and has a ton of characters. But then if it is that huge, you run the risk of tons of repetition and flatness. Not to mention that you'll be required to remember tons of different characters.
I still haven't been able to watch Shana S2 as a result of the RAEG from S1. Not only did it seem to drag on forever, but it seemed to go backwards. We went from Shana and Yuji establishing a relationship... to Yuji being confused by a love triangle. It seemed so out of order that I spent the last half of the series boiling with RAEG. After that and the unsatisfying ending, I had less than zero motivation to watch the second season. But RAEG aside, I think Shana S1 could've easily been a 13 episode series. Not sure about S2, but I don't doubt that it could use some trimming as well.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ super rats
Certainly, season 1 of Shana could be crammed into half as many (12) episodes. And truthfully, it might improve a bit in the process. But it managed to survive and thrive in it's fandom nonetheless. Season 2, however, desperately needed culling.
I too am a habitual re-watcher, and there are quite a few series I have seen even more than twice. I don't skip around either, but if I ever did give School Rumble a second go-around, I think I would have to. The good segments are excellent. It looks like our tastes differ on the rest of the show.
And speaking of different tastes, I have to completely disagree with you on Fullmetal Alchemist. It is one of the contenders for my all-time favorite anime, and nearly every episode is beyond excellent. To each his own, though I'm tempted to ask what threw you off so much about the first quarter?
@ Nazarielle
Repetition is definitely killing Bleach. Many of the current villains are near carbon copies of the adversaries back in the Soul Society arc. And if wasn't obvious enough most of the copies end up fighting the very character they ripped off in the last arc! It was amusing, to say the least.
I think even the biggest Shana fanboys have to be sick of all these forced relationship resets. The lack of relationship progress and resolution is the bane of far too many anime out there. Hell, its almost a Kugimiya Rie tsundere staple trait, but Toradora will hopefully turn that trend around.
8 Fruit Punch
By the end of Shana, I was literally dead bored. It was just that any magic that remained from the first season had been spent. Even the so called "good" episodes weren't that good when compared to the first season. It built up a whole lot of expectations that just sort of petered out.
I thought Gundam SEED was pretty good except for the recap episodes and the utter reuse of a few sequences over and over again. Some of the battle scenes lack complete variety. You'd see Strike Gundam doing the same thing five times in a battle.
Its been a long time since I've watched School Rumble, but from what I remember, I really enjoyed each and every episode. Comedy appeals to people differently, but what you might've thought to be boring and stupid might be genuinely funny to someone else.
Never seen Bleach so I cannot comment about that, but Gintama is one of the few series that is over 52 episodes that doesn't just completely fail. It has a few episodes where it is a bit retarded and there are scenes that are just make you want to facepalm, but the good scenes, even in the latter episodes, far outnumber the bad.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Fruit Punch
It doesn't help that Shana II ends on a couple of bad episodes. The fight with Sabrac has far more energy than the actual climax for the season. Plus, I'm sure the cynic in all of us just knows they'll take back that ending. You just know they're going to find a way to reset Yuji and Shana's relationship.
Gundam SEED is definitely an all-around a good series. I think that with a little slimming down -- plus some better battle dynamics -- it could be one of the all-time greats.
Sure, comedy appeals to different people differently. I certainly can't argue against that. From my perspective though, School Rumble would be better focusing on certain aspects. I think that those comedic aspects would also appeal to a larger number of people. But that could be my bias talking...
And yes, Gintama is full of win.
9 super rats
The rest of FMA is great. I reread my comment and didn't specify that on rewatch, I just couldn't take the first quarter of the show. Seemed very standard adventure, critter of the week, type thing on rewatch. I liked it well enough the first time through, but I just found that first quarter really pale compared with the rest, which I really enjoy.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ super rats
I can see how -- on re-watch, fully knowing just where the story is going -- that you could really want to get to the good stuff ASAP. I'm guessing you're not talking about the entire first quarter, as there are certainly breathtaking episodes within it, such as "Mother" and "Night of the Chimera's Cry."
Could you be mostly referring to the latter half of the first quarter, where there are a string of non-mainplot specific episodes (8-13)? Personally, I find those episodes to be quite fun and well written, as even the most "filler-ish" of them introduces an important side character or developers our main leads ever so slightly. But that's just my take, and I don't mean to begrudge you your own.
10 Glo the Legend
Shakugan no Shana is one of my favorite series ever, but you hit that one right on the head. The second season had a lot of pointless bullshit in the middle, but the end still kicked some serious ass. I hope they make another season, but I haven't heard anything yet, and I'm becoming skeptical.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Glo the Legend
I truly doubt you have any need to be skeptical. Even after season 2, Shana still remains a popular series to the best of my knowledge. I think they're taking their time with a season 3 announcement because they've already covered a large chunk of the novels. I could be wrong on that last statement, but I think they're just stretching it out so as not to burn through the content so quickly.
In other words, bank on season 3 coming. In fact, I'd bet the official word on it will come sooner rather than later.
11 Glo th Legend
@ Micheal/Low on Hit Points
I'll keep my fingers crossed...those words are encouraging. I need to watch some of these other shows in the meantime.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ Glo the Legend
Out of these four, I think the best is easily Gundam SEED. It takes a few episodes to get going, but when it takes off it really gets dramatic. There's a lot of really good stuff there. The stock animation only really starts to take its toll later in the series, but by then you're too hooked to care... almost. But it'll be fine.
12 math4origami
Just looking at what by now must be a really old post. You were right about Shana III ~.^.
Two shows I think fall into the "too long" category for me would be Blood+ and Eureka 7. For Eureka 7, I think most of the content was okay, but they should have shortened the earlier 80% or so and expanded on the later 20%.
Re Michael is LoHP
@ math4origami
Shall I then call Zero no Tsukaima IV now? I haven't even seen three (wasn't to my tastes), but I guarantee we'll have more of our little dominatress soon enough too.
Totally agree on Eureka 7. The beginning segments were a bit drawn out. I understand they were trying to familiarize you with the cast and build up their relationships with one another. But it could have moved a lot swifter to get into the good stuff later. I haven't seen Blood+, but at 50 episodes, I'm not surprised.