Forum - View topicINTEREST: Gundam Creator Tomino Praises & Criticizes Attack on Titan Manga
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Leebo
 Posts: 660 Location: Somerville, MA |
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I don't think there's anything inherently better about continuing to create works in the same franchise for a long time. Yes, it takes sustained popularity to keep something running, but there's nothing wrong with telling a story and letting that be the end of it.
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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You're confusing Tomino with Gundam. They are not the same, and its success is not his success. Saying that he himself is still relevant because Gundam is still around completely ignores the fact that he's done very little in the past two decades; Turn A plus its movie, the Zeta movies and Ring of Gundam. In fact, according to the ANN Encyclopedia, Tomino has played no part in creating 91% of the titles in the franchise beyond coming up with the original concept all those years ago. It's not really his franchise anymore, and hasn't been since the early nineties. As its creator Tomino will of course always hold an important place in the Gundam pantheon. And Gundam forms a big part of his legacy, along with inspiring Neon Genesis Evangelion. (And for directing clunkers like Brainpowerd and Garzey's Wing.) But the franchise has morphed far beyond him and he can no longer claim credit for its recent successes*. He is no longer relevant because it doesn't need him anymore and he no longer has any real influence on its creation. * On the flip side of that coin, he also cannot be held responsible for recent travesties either *coughAGEcough*. |
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VORTIA
 SubscriberPosts: 943 |
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While Tomino is no longer the primary creative force behind Gundam, Fukui sought his extensive consultation when writing the Unicorn novels, and the upcoming Gundam Origins will be a repolished version of his original vision. Saying he's competely removed from Gundam today isn't entirely accurate either.
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Which it badly needs, since, like most Tomino series, the original feels like a first draft. |
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Beldarius
 Posts: 45 Location: Finland |
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And Shingeki no Kyojin doesn't feel like a first draft? The art style looks like somebody threw a sketchbook together and just slapped text on it.
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paperfanofdoom
 Posts: 33 |
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So after 10 pages, here's a rundown on our two teams:
On the AoT side we have "Tomino is an irrelevant old fart who is fading into obscurity". Aaaand on the Tomino side, we have "AoT is Twilight and looks like a 12 year old drew it". It seems like in order to have a say on the matter on ANN, you have to be vehemently opposed to the other side and can't just settle for a moderate opinion. To me, Tomino isn't giving AoT a fair shake by labeling it as porn and rejecting the plot which I'd imagine he'd like given that he's the creator of Zeta and Victory Gundam which were all too aroused by tragedy. All the backlash on AoT seems to come from people that are peeved that its popular so they'll compare it to Twilight, 50 Shades, Sword Art Online, Bieber, or anything else popular that they hate just because they don't like the series. I also find it weird how people (including ANN reviewers) tend to demolish a manga based on a different artstyle. I've seen people tear apart this, Detroit Metal City, and Shin Chan because they don't look like the conventional anime characters readers are used to. It just feels like it's more of a case of people being close-minded about different artstyles than a case of a ton of mangaka being half-assed illustrators. That being said, people are quick to shit on Tomino's existence for his comments. Tomino isn't exactly Christ and he's as guilty of being as cliched as any newcomer, but aside from his non-Gundam pet projects, the shows he's made were very solid mech shows. The material in the original MST and Zeta could even serve as a precursor to Evangelion, and I'll always hold Turn A in high regards even if Tomino publicly announces that he kicks puppies. So solid that by the time Tomino stopped doing Gundam TV shows, the Gundam franchise fell down the shoot with Seed, SD, 00, AGE, and whatnot (Unicorn's fine though). Regardless, many popular shows from the 90's onwards owe its successes to the shows he's created. I guess when it all comes down to it, as absurd as it sounds, I think that both deserve better. Tomino's words, while harsh, shouldn't discredit his life's work or be warped into a battlecry for the anti-AoT camps' hatred. On the same coin, Isayama shouldn't be dragged through the mud for being popular these days with a rabid fanbase when he's got a decent manga going on and still has many years ahead of him to develop his work into something special. Hooray for enjoying both sides! 
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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^
Perhaps you should first get your facts straight. I'm not on Attack on Titan's side. |
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Leebo
Posts: 660 Location: Somerville, MA |
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Well then why haven't you compared it to your least favorite popular thing yet? 
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GVman
 Posts: 729 |
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He's not too big on tragedy anymore. He managed to conquer a lot of his depression-based issues, and it really shows in his post-Victory shows like Brain Powerd and Overman King Gainer. |
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SheRrIs
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Honestly folks, why do you care?
This is where Tomino's opinion became irrelevant. Please, don't be as naive as to get dragged into long and pointless discussions over an opinion of somebody who openly states he didn't read the very work he's attempting to criticize. |
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Parse Error
 Posts: 592 |
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I'm only going by the translation here, but considering that and in the sake of fairness, "does not want to read it" is not the same as "did not read it." |
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Beldarius
Posts: 45 Location: Finland |
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I compared it to Twilight because the fandoms are similar.  Not the series itself. I still intend to watch the anime - I tend to watch and/or read series that seem interesting (Kuroko no Basket has also been hyped a lot, and I want to watch that, too)... SnK might be cliché as hell, but still. That still doesn't give the SnK fandom the right to start screaming at Tomino like fishwives. It's his opinion: saying that he doesn't have a right to state his opinion is pretty much how Soviet Russia worked.
...Hm. I actually think SnK's manga art looks terrible. On the flip side, I DO enjoy quite a few series that have different art styles - Initial D, Blade of the Immortal, One Piece, Bleach, Alice in the Country of Hearts, Violinist of Hameln, etc. The reason why SnK doesn't appeal to me in manga form? All the characters look the same and Isayama has trouble with basic expressions. Like, seriously. Blade of the Immortal was Hiroaki Samura's debut work - Shingeki no Kyojin is Isayama's. ...Now, compare these two. The difference in skill is massive. (Samura is also the better storyteller and character designer.) |
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SheRrIs
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Would you force yourself into reading something which you despise? The ANN article strongly implies that in fact he didn't. If you're unhappy with the translation, see the original article on Yaraon. |
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VORTIA
Subscriber Posts: 943 |
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I would describe myself as not wanting to read Attack on Titan, and I've read two volumes. I don't see any reason to think the same doesn't apply to Tomino. He probably had plenty of folks hype it to him and then read some of it only to discover he didn't want to read any more. His comments reflect at least a cursory understanding of the content.
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TonyTonyChopper
Posts: 256 |
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Well he's not entirely wrong i think the Attack on Titan manga isn't the greatest piece of art ever made it's also a bit confusing at times.
what i don't agree with is that it's pornograhy or what not that doesn't make any sense that's just throwing fire on oil. another thing Isayama is one of the most luckiest bastards around since the AOT anime counter part saved his ass it wasn't even selling internationally and it only began selling verry good in Japan when the anime started which is actually top notch. there isn't a series around where the anime boosted manga sales that high up usually it's the other way around especially in Japan. |
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