Forum - View topicSankarea (TV).
|
Goto page Previous Next |
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
||
|
This show was so good in the first half, then it went downhill and culminated in one of the worst endings I've seen in ages. After witnessing the final scene, all I could think about was, "What the hell just happened? Is that it?"
Last season was interesting in that we got several Romance shows with some pretty interesting couples. Boy & ghost, boy & monster, boy & zombie. But it was the series about a boy & drooling girl that came out on top. In my mind, this is the pecking order (letter grades in parentheses): Mysterious Girlfriend X (A) > Haiyore! Nyaruko-san (A-) > Dusk Maiden of Amnesia (B+) > Sankarea (B-, would have been a straight B if it the series didn't have that final scene) Am I being fair on Sankarea? Does one scene really warrant a drop in grade? Was the show really the worst (or 'least good' if you will) of the four? It should come as no surprise that my answers to those questions are "yes", "yes" and "yes". It pisses me off that Sankarea - which showed the most promise early on - turned out to be the worst of the bunch, but that's what happened. Between this, Kids on the Slope and Fate/Zero Season 2, Spring 2012 was a season of good shows being not as good as they could of and should of been. |
|||
|
|||
Dalvyn
 Posts: 86 |
|
||
|
Really all depends on if they make a second season or not for me. I usually like the short and sweet shows, but this one kind of needs it.
|
|||
|
|||
Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23873 |
|
||
No, but it doesn't matter. I think we are all familiar by now with the fact that your opinions reflect your own world but have little application to anyone else. Something gets your dander up and you lose all perspective and become incapable of giving anything its proper weight. Rinse and repeat, the eternal dtm42 cycle. And really, you thought DMoA spoiler[cop-out] ending was better than Sankarea's? 
|
|||
|
|||
Riddley
 Posts: 536 Location: Ireland |
|
||
|
It's interesting that you gave Mysterious Girlfriend X an A grade. I read the manga but when I watched the anime I actually just couldn't get into it. I may try it again from where I left off and see if it gets any better.
I think it's obvious by now that I was dissatisfied by the ending of Sankarea, but probably for different reasons  I don't think it's unfair to judge a series based on whatever you felt was important. That's what we call opinion, and you've a right to it as much as anyone else
|
|||
|
|||
|
Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18234 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
|
||
I have watched all four of these out and would both rank and grade them differently. Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is my top choice, possibly even at an A- level. It tells the most complete story of the four, has the best pacing, and finds a good balance amongst its comedy, drama, and horror elements while also dealing with a compelling mystery. Even the stunt it pulls at the end isn't a major detractor, as it at least is logically-justifiable and fits with the tone of the series. The lack of development of the major side characters was never an issue for me, since this is at heart a two-character story. Sankarea I'd place in second, possibly at a B+ level, but I fully agree that it had more potential than it ultimately showed. At its best it has the best writing of any of the four, and it had the most room for interesting long-term development, but it hampered itself with inconsistent pacing, a less comfortable comedy/drama balance, and a maddening ending. Mysterious Girlfriend X is clearly behind the other two for me, probably around a B level for the whole series. (I gave the first half a B overall in an earlier review.) While I liked what the series was doing conceptually and found its developments interesting, its pacing was too slow and methodical and it never excited me to the degree the other two did; I often found myself watching its episodes 3-4 days later, which would have been unthinkable with the earlier two. Not sure where I'd put Nyarko-san in this ranking. It was funny enough and perverse enough and I was almost never not entertained, but its attempts to put fresh twists on the harem concept didn't move it far enough away from run-of-the-mill harem antics. Maybe between Sankarea and MGX? EDIT: Edited for grammar error. And I'm not sure how that double-post happened, either. 
Last edited by Key on Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|||
|
|||
|
Dalvyn
Posts: 86 |
|
||
I thought it was better. spoiler[I'm so tired of anime romances always ending with the girl disappearing or something else. I would name all the examples that do it, but I don't want to have unintentional spoilers. It's so common that right off the back I expect it to end like that. Not to mention that I believe it's just a cheap way to get a emotional response.] So honestly I thought that DMoA's ending was actually a refreshing change of pace. |
|||
|
|||
Pixelationist
 Posts: 111 Location: London, UK |
|
||
I don't really follow mangas any more but MGX is one of those weird ones keep going back to. Yes, the premise is super dumb, the story goes nowhere, the situations and character motivations are all utterly, utterly bewildering, but somehow it engages me. Can't quite put my finger on it but there's just something really naive and old fashion about it that reminds me of reading manga when I was little. The stupid dumbass romance brings out a certain childish glee in me. Now I don't think MGX is necessarily the greatest source material for an anime adoption I would say I preferred it to Sankarea by a country mile if only for one reason; Urabe > Rea. I always thought Urabe was a cool character but the first time she spoke in ep 1 I think I peed my pants. It was totally surprising but I cannot imagine a more perfect seiyu for that role, it gives Urabe's curtness a whole new dimension. On the other hand I felt that Sankarea just about squanders every interesting setup it has. I mean, spoiler[the incestuous daddy daughter relationship, the threat of Rea's inner beast, the granddad's secret past, Ranko and Furuya's childhood etc.] All of it felt rushed, under developed or abandoned altogether. I only say this because those first few episodes had my hopes very high. |
|||
|
|||
|
Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23873 |
|
||
|
@ Dalvyn: my objection to the DMoA ending - and I want to point out that spoiler[I wanted the two leads to end up together] - was that we went through spoiler[a very emotional, poignant "farewell" scene and then literally two seconds later it was all, "ha ha, just kidding!" To me, that completely robbed the preceding emotional stuff of its power.] And second, as much as I spoiler[liked the leads and wanted them to be together, conceptually, it makes zero sense. She's a ghost who can't leave the school and never ages. How can the two of them ever have a satisfying relationship?]
To sum up, I sympathize with your desire to see two leads make a go of it, butspoiler[ conceptually this is not the right type of show for it, given that she's a ghost and he's not.] |
|||
|
|||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
||
|
Let me explain my grades and rankings. Don't worry, I'll keep spoilers tagged since most people didn't watch all four series.
Mysterious Girlfriend X Unique in that it explores teenage sexuality, relationships and even kinks without the stupid aspects normally found in Anime. The fanservice is also really good; it's not often you see spoiler[a girl slap her boyfriend's name-tag on her own arse and say that her legs belong to him.] Man that was hot. Moving on, the lead couple are unusual, memorable and interesting. The pace is indeed slow (although there is a confirmed couple by the end of the first episode for crying out loud), but that allows the show to properly explore the ups and downs of a teenage romance. Both parties are nervous, inexperienced and unsure of what they want. It is a very real show, despite the magical spit aspect. Speaking of the spit, I initially had a slight problem with it, but it went away over time. Even so, I could still tell straight away that the series possessed some great writing even while being mildly icked by the spit. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san Extremely funny parody series; not a single episode was bad. I didn't like how the male lead was typical and boring, but the female characters more than make up for it. Kuuko in particular was a treat. The plot twists at the end of each arc were hilarious. The setup was generic but that is a deliberate part of the parody. Now humour is subjective so I understand that many people will not like it as much as I did. But with gems like a girl saying, spoiler["The mother always comes around [to accepting her daughter-in-law] when the baby is born",] the humour is more than just Otaku-centric in its focus. Regarding the references, I only knew half of them and even I still liked the ones I didn't get. Dusk Maiden of Amnesia This is a good show, no doubt about that. The pacing was very well done, the art style was reminiscent of SHAFT, and the atmosphere suitably creepy (it was a much better Horror show than Another). The male character (his name escapes me at the moment) had depth and balls, and Yuuko was was more than the fanservice vehicle she first came across as. I liked the story, especially the reason behind Yuuko's lost memories. But while the show was solid I didn't feel it was great. It was never a priority watch for me. The characters, while perfectly fine, struggled to be compelling. The plot was strong, but didn't blow me away with its cleverness. The writing was overall solid and competent, but when you look closer there are bits that irritate. The episode where spoiler[a girl caused a mass panic was frankly terrible, as that is not how mass panics work in real life. One student receiving a small cut from what she claimed was an apparition would not cause students to attempt rape and murder. That whole episode just made it seem like Japanese high school students are nothing but gullible and dumb, which is a poor message to send.] And the ending made me frown. I didn't rage like I did with Sankarea, and it wasn't a bad idea per se (I actually liked where the show ended up), but cramming it in like that did feel cheap, especially after the last episode had done a great job at wrapping things up. I don't hate the ending, but I do feel it was unfortunate that it wasn't better handled. Sankarea After the ending I almost rated this here at ANN as Decent, because I was really pissed off. Then I calmed myself down, took a good look at the series as a whole and came to the conclusion that yes, it does deserve a rating of Good. Sankarea had quirky humour (a guy who wants to date a zombie is quite unique) but it also had a dark side that was compelling. Rea attempting suicide is probably the best example, but also the nature of her father's psychological abuse and her stepmother's physical and verbal abuse. Once Rea became a zombie and escaped it looked like she was going to be even more interesting, but instead she became this perfect boring girl. She never complained, she never got angry, she never got upset. All that freedom to finally express her emotions that she had bottled up and we get . . . very little of anything. She wanted to go to school and watch fireworks; not what I had in mind. Another aspect that I didn't like was the fanservice of her once she got out. Initially there was almost no fanservice of her, which I liked because she wasn't that sort of person. But then she's living at Furuya's house and we get lots of it. So while her personality stagnated in the following episodes, we see her in towels and wearing only shirts and just being a fanservice vehicle rather than an actual character. Given that she's the titular character of the show I felt like this was a disservice, both to her and the show itself. It ruined what made her such an interesting and unusual character in the first place, i.e. that she had been abused. Now instead of that, instead of getting over that, she was just a girl in a bunny-suit. Ranko was a generally good character, and I liked the episode focused on her. She didn't love Furuya because he helped her once when they were children (a trope I hate), she made it pretty clear that her vision of him as prince charming had been pretty much destroyed when she was just five years old. So she avoided that pitfall. I liked her attitude and her spunk. When she pinned him against a wall and was about to kiss him she stopped and gave up because he had frozen up. That's a piece of good writing. But even though she was a good character I felt like she was too focused on Furuya. Her love for a boy was all that defined her, which is fine for a side character but for a relatively main character that's pretty shallow. Side characters were woefully used. The 'perverted comic relief friend' character was the worst. He represents a type of character so obnoxious and reprehensible that they all should die with a blunt axe to the balls. This guy was ten times worse than is normal for the character archetype, which is saying something; I cringed during every scene he was in. Mero was under-utilised, and the episode devoted to her was A: badly placed, and B: didn't even star her for the first half. Such a waste. Mero's friends (and Ranko's Kohai for that matter) were also under-utilised. Furuya's father seemed like a decent bloke but there was so much of his story to tell and only the bare-bones was even alluded to. We were dropped hints that spoiler[his wife was a zombie] but then the story never touched upon it again. It would have been better if that bit had never been brought up in the first place if it was just going to be left hanging like that. Then there's the grandfather, who obviously had huge secrets but was treated more as a comic relief character than a hugely important source of knowledge. Why couldn't he be both? Why couldn't we have the humourous scenes at the dinner table as well as have him reveal more knowledge about how - and why - he stumbled onto the zombie elixir? I won't even get into what I felt were the problems with episode eleven, as others have already covered it fairly well. Okay, I will say something. First of all, the "half-zombie" BS was exactly that; BS. A cop-out. Secondly, it wasn't that Rea forgave her father - she did love him, and didn't want to hurt him - but that episode was the emotional climax of the entire series . . . and it was boring. This was Rea's chance to finally confront her father, to verbally duke it out . . . and nothing really happened. He suddenly realises he's been a bad man, tells Furuya that he'd better bloody well look after his daughter, and that's that. Talk about underwhelming. And then there's the ending. Oh boy. I haven't been that pissed off since Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ (those who finished that series will no doubt be nodding their heads in agreement). Anyway, while I was watching episode twelve I kind of liked it. It was at least trying to wrap up some things, trying to depict Rea wanting to live her life with no regrets, trying to show that Furuya had become a more responsible person. Now, I didn't like the scene with Ranko and Rea but I didn't hate it either. Of course, then that final scene came and it was offensive. I don't have (much of) a problem with open endings of series based on ongoing Manga, but for goodness sakes don't leave it like that. It felt like a big F U to the viewer. The series would have been better off ending at eleven episodes, or ending with Furuya's internal monologue right before Rea transforms. So there you have it. If you read this entire post then thank you, and I hope you gained some insight. I've tried to explain what I liked and did not like about the four series in question, and maybe why I ranked them as I did. I spent the most amount of time with Sankarea because of course this is the Sankrea discussion thread and I had so many thoughts about it which I wanted to get off my chest. Even so, despite all the gripes I still like the show, I just thought it deserved to be handled just a bit better than it was. [EDIT: Added spoiler tag. - Key] Last edited by dtm42 on Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:30 am; edited 2 times in total |
|||
|
|||
|
Dalvyn
Posts: 86 |
|
||
|
Lulz. Phantoms ending spoiler[ has to be hands down the worst, most pointless ending in anime history. I would have loved the show if not for that.]
|
|||
|
|||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
||
I too felt the ending for Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ fatally hurt the show and my enjoyment of it. Don't know if it is the worst Anime ending ever but it is pretty horrendous, no doubt about that. It is rare to see spoiler[so many fans get simultaneously kicked in the (proverbial) balls with a single scene,] but this was one such event. That final scene of Sankarea also hurt its show but luckily not fatally (it was bloody close though). I am actually fairly tolerant of cliffhanger endings but Sankarea's ending was like, "Well shucks folks, only thirty seconds to go for the series, so let's do our darn best to leave a bad taste in the audience's mouth before we finish." And the possibility of a second series is pretty low, which doesn't help. Still, the show was at least good enough to keep the ending from ruining everything. As for Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, like I said before its ending was perfectly fine in where the show ended up, and I was all for the new development. However, the final scene shouldn't have been crammed in there like that but rather given the time and due weight it needed and deserved. Bit sad that with a couple of careful edits in the episode's first half there could have been the time, but oh well. |
|||
|
|||
|
Dalvyn
Posts: 86 |
|
||
|
Well with Sankarea's ending, and as far as we know now it is the definitive ending, however, it still leaves open a possibility of a sequel, which may or may not happen. If it does have another season great, if not, it still doesn't definitively close the story, and you can read the manga to see what happens next.
I've never actually read manga, but this series may make me to see what happens next. With Phantom's ending however... spoiler[ It closes the story in a way which you can't return from. Which is why I can't even classify it with Sankarea's "ending?" I looked up it's source, which is a game, and read Ein's ending, and that will always be in my mind the ending it should of had.] With DMoAs ending, spoiler[ I kind of liked the roller coaster of emotion the ending sent me through. I was prepared to be all sad that they didn't end up together... (again ... it really happens way to often...) and I was. They got that emotional response from me. Then she was back, and I ended the series with a smile on my face. ] I really can't see how someone could think that the writers didn't have balls... I mean even if they ended it with what it originally seemed they would, I wouldn't have thought that it was any more or less cheap than the way they did. |
|||
|
|||
|
Xanas
Posts: 2058 |
|
||
|
I agree, and if you want to think that (DMoA spoiler follows) spoiler[she didn't come back because it doesn't make sense to you, by all means she passed on right then and there]. As for Phantom's ending, I disavowed it myself by this same reasoning, so I'm being consistent. Not that they will ever do anything with it, but I prefer disbelieving the last 30 seconds of that show.
spoiler[I really see no reason why it's ok to suspend disbelief for ghosts and not to suspend it to allow them to stick around even after their initial regrets are worked out.] I do understand how this could lessen the emotional impact of the previous scene.. maybe, spoiler[but it actually was unexpected so I thought it made the reunion a very nice thing. I'm happy that I wasn't left sad at the end of the show, even though I fully expected I would be beforehand.] [EDIT: Added spoiler tag and note about what it refers to. - Key] |
|||
|
|||
SereneChaos
 Posts: 384 Location: Middle of Nowhere, USA |
|
||
|
Are you talking about Sankarea, Dusk Maiden, or Phantom? Please don't include spoilers without making it obvious what one your talking about, especially in a thread for a different show.
|
|||
|
|||
|
Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23873 |
|
||
Excellent point, thank you. It baffles me why the use of spoiler tags, which seems like a pretty simple, straightforward tool, is so often screwed-up. |
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group