×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Kitaro Meets Nurarihyon GN




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
chaccide



Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Posts: 295
PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 7:31 pm Reply with quote
I bought the first and while I enjoyed it, I got tired of how episodic it was. Does this one have any story arcs of length in it?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2597
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:01 am Reply with quote
Sadly no, it's another episodic volume. I think that's pretty much the nature of the beast.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
zackdavisson
Industry Insider


Joined: 18 Feb 2013
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:39 pm Reply with quote
Kitaro doesn't have any ongoing storyline or continuity. There are some longer-form stories, like The Great Tanuki War of the next volume which takes up almost the complete book, but that is about it. They are mostly non-connected short stories.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
epicwizard



Joined: 03 Jul 2014
Posts: 420
Location: Ashburn, VA
PostPosted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 10:00 pm Reply with quote
chaccide wrote:
I bought the first and while I enjoyed it, I got tired of how episodic it was. Does this one have any story arcs of length in it?

Just curious, why do you not like the manga's episodic format?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
chaccide



Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Posts: 295
PostPosted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 1:55 am Reply with quote
epicwizard wrote:
chaccide wrote:
I bought the first and while I enjoyed it, I got tired of how episodic it was. Does this one have any story arcs of length in it?

Just curious, why do you not like the manga's episodic format?


That format becomes tiresome to me, and feels repetitious. I like the greater growth of character and a chance of a more complex plot that longer arcs allow once I'm invested in characters.

Look at TV shows for example. In the 60s, 70s, 80s most TV shows had a reset button. Someone would end up in the hospital and next episode, no memory of that. Kirk would fall in love and be in despair at her death, next episode he was right as rain. I love Star Trek, but character growth didn't happen in the original (or in TNG for that matter). It was more shining a light down on them at various moments in time, but there was never any sense of time passing until the movies, and until Deep Space Nine.

DSN is a long arc from beginning to end. We see the people in it struggle with war, religion, relationships, ideas they aren't comfortable with, and it changes them. They are like us, human or not, and highly relatable. The storytelling didn't hit a topic then forget about it, it lingers and there are layers and complexities where everything interacts with everything else, like real life.

Now in this era of TV almost every show out there is one long arc, even those that have a semi-episodic feel, like sitcoms. Gone are the days when drama was one beat then you move on and forget about it. There are places for the episodic format within shows, like when The Flash takes a break from the drama to have a silly episode, but even then it's more memorable because you know they won't forget what happened.

I'm not saying great TV can't happen in that format. Look at the great Twilight Zone or Star Trek episodes that have become part of our collective conscience. It's just a lot more rare.

One thing you might find amusing is that I really, really love short stories, but to me they're very different from episodic anime or TV. For one thing, they're mostly standalone. You get a short sharp shock, to borrow someone else's words ;D, and you never see those characters again. If someone does start using the same characters, like in Sherlock Holmes, the stories can be fun but you sure don't want to read several in a row because the story becomes become repetitious and predictable.

Tl;dr - longer arcs allow you to get to know characters you like better, in situations that explore them and their environment in much greater depth. They also don't repeat their story beats as much and so don't feel as repetitious.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Snomaster1
Subscriber



Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Posts: 2790
PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 7:08 pm Reply with quote
A late-60's manga. This might be an interesting read for me. I hope I find it. I'd love to read it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
zackdavisson
Industry Insider


Joined: 18 Feb 2013
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 4:16 pm Reply with quote
It shouldn't be too hard to find! You can get it on Amazon if nothing else.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group