View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
|
Cho_Desu
Joined: 27 Dec 2022
Posts: 238
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 2:47 pm
|
|
|
So is this basically a case of the studio making the first episode, the executives wigging out when they saw how much money that cost, and then ordering the project to have the remaining episodes made as cheaply as possible... because (in their minds) the series would perform perfectly fine on the Junji Ito name recognition alone? Anime having troubled productions is nothing new obviously, but it's rare to see such a dramatic shift in quality so blatantly like that. (I don't think ep 2-4 was quite "biggest dumpster fire ever" like folks online were quick to claim, but still, it hurt to have seen what the whole show could've been.)
I feel bad for Ito at this point. I really don't think it's such an impossibly tall order to get one of his famous manga made into a good anime. There's a worldwide demand for it, yeah? People like to say his art is just too detailed to replicate faithfully, but I don't think a 1:1 recreation of every panel is necessary.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Beatdigga
Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4596
Location: New York
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 3:13 pm
|
|
|
Adult Swim anime originals are a great idea on paper, albeit one necessary because their parent company willingly sold a profitable anime acquisition and distribution business to Sony giving them a near monopoly on the stuff between them and Netflix. But in practice, Jason DeMarco’s attempts at the stuff have been dogged by production issues (Uzumaki), just bad writing (Rick and Morty the Anime, the endless FLCL sequels no one asked for) and copyright tomfoolery (Shenmue being canceled because of the Crunchyroll sale, Blade Runner Black Lotus becoming lost media because the franchise was sold to Amazon MGM so they can make Blade Runner 2099).
The worm is starting to turn on the ratings. After Week 1, Uzumaki was outdoing The Franchise on Max, and was only behind John Oliver and The Penguin. By Week 3, the ratings had essentially collapsed. Same with Rick and Morty, which started as the most viewed show on Max Week 1 only for its ratings to collapse as the show went on and became increasingly incoherent.
Adult Swim original anime is quickly gaining a reputation for poor quality in production and writing. That being said, I think DeMarco is safe unless War of Rorrhim bombs at the box office. If it does, I have no doubt Zaslav will fire him by spring 2025.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Greed1914
Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4623
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 3:23 pm
|
|
|
Cho_Desu wrote: | So is this basically a case of the studio making the first episode, the executives wigging out when they saw how much money that cost, and then ordering the project to have the remaining episodes made as cheaply as possible... because (in their minds) the series would perform perfectly fine on the Junji Ito name recognition alone? Anime having troubled productions is nothing new obviously, but it's rare to see such a dramatic shift in quality so blatantly like that. (I don't think ep 2-4 was quite "biggest dumpster fire ever" like folks online were quick to claim, but still, it hurt to have seen what the whole show could've been.)
I feel bad for Ito at this point. I really don't think it's such an impossibly tall order to get one of his famous manga made into a good anime. There's a worldwide demand for it, yeah? People like to say his art is just too detailed to replicate faithfully, but I don't think a 1:1 recreation of every panel is necessary. |
It's hard to say. Timing-wise, and with the change in staff, I think the problems were already there. Going from Jason's online comment, and the timing around WB, I do think that any chance of salvaging it was over though. It seemed like word came down that the project was over, and it was a question of what they would have to show for it.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Takkun4343
Joined: 19 Jul 2007
Posts: 1572
Location: Englewood, Ohio
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 4:08 pm
|
|
|
Beatdigga wrote: | Blade Runner Black Lotus becoming lost media because the franchise was sold to Amazon MGM so they can make Blade Runner 2099) |
I don't think that's how lost media works, my guy. Or that you're using the definition right.
Long story short, I enjoyed Uzumaki for what it was, even with the obligatory dismay at the quality drop between episodes 1 and 2 - seriously, it's so much more than just the beach running scene that went wrong there - and sometimes, that's all that's needed in an opinion.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Beatdigga
Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4596
Location: New York
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 4:13 pm
|
|
|
Takkun4343 wrote: |
Beatdigga wrote: | Blade Runner Black Lotus becoming lost media because the franchise was sold to Amazon MGM so they can make Blade Runner 2099) |
I don't think that's how lost media works, my guy. Or that you're using the definition right.
Long story short, I enjoyed Uzumaki for what it was, even with the obligatory dismay at the quality drop between episodes 1 and 2 - seriously, it's so much more than just the beach running scene that went wrong there - and sometimes, that's all that's needed in an opinion. |
No, you’re right. I was under the assumption the show was no longer legally watchable. You can still watch it on Crunchyroll or buy it on Prime Video, although I don’t know why you’d want to.
|
Back to top |
|
|
BadNewsBlues
Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 6278
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 5:27 pm
|
|
|
Beatdigga wrote: |
Adult Swim original anime is quickly gaining a reputation for poor quality in production and writing. That being said, I think DeMarco is safe unless War of Rorrhim bombs at the box office. If it does, I have no doubt Zaslav will fire him by spring 2025. |
Now Zaslav cares about quality work and quality productions?
Going to need a citation on that.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Joe Mello
Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2305
Location: Online Terminal
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 9:50 pm
|
|
|
Greed1914 wrote: | Timing-wise, and with the change in staff, I think the problems were already there. Going from Jason's online comment, and the timing around WB, I do think that any chance of salvaging it was over though. It seemed like word came down that the project was over, and it was a question of what they would have to show for it. |
I think the magic phrase in the column was "five-year production cycle." Even under the best of circumstances, that's a long time for a single season of television. Considering in 2019, CN was being reorganized as a result of being bought by AT&T, there really was no way for Uzumaki to reach its full potential.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Cardcaptor Takato
Joined: 27 Jan 2018
Posts: 5176
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 10:46 pm
|
|
|
Beatdigga wrote: |
No, you’re right. I was under the assumption the show was no longer legally watchable. You can still watch it on Crunchyroll or buy it on Prime Video, although I don’t know why you’d want to. |
Even if it was no longer on any streaming or digital, it would still not be lost media because lost media means the entire thing no longer exists at all and can't be found anywhere like Doctor Who episodes that were damaged by bad weather. Just because you would have to torrent a show to watch it wouldn't make it lost.
|
Back to top |
|
|
luisedgarf
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 669
Location: Guadalajara, Mexico
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 11:39 pm
|
|
|
Beatdigga wrote: | Adult Swim anime originals are a great idea on paper, albeit one necessary because their parent company willingly sold a profitable anime acquisition and distribution business to Sony giving them a near monopoly on the stuff between them and Netflix. But in practice, Jason DeMarco’s attempts at the stuff have been dogged by production issues (Uzumaki), just bad writing (Rick and Morty the Anime, the endless FLCL sequels no one asked for) and copyright tomfoolery (Shenmue being canceled because of the Crunchyroll sale, Blade Runner Black Lotus becoming lost media because the franchise was sold to Amazon MGM so they can make Blade Runner 2099).
The worm is starting to turn on the ratings. After Week 1, Uzumaki was outdoing The Franchise on Max, and was only behind John Oliver and The Penguin. By Week 3, the ratings had essentially collapsed. Same with Rick and Morty, which started as the most viewed show on Max Week 1 only for its ratings to collapse as the show went on and became increasingly incoherent.
Adult Swim original anime is quickly gaining a reputation for poor quality in production and writing. That being said, I think DeMarco is safe unless War of Rorrhim bombs at the box office. If it does, I have no doubt Zaslav will fire him by spring 2025. |
There's also the fact jistorically, Japanese companies are not inclined to work with Western companies unless they stand to profit from it, and on more than one occasion, they do not hesitate to rip off their foreign "partners" by selling them products of poor quality or made with minimal effort, unless the western part had the hindsight to write some kind of clause to require some kind of quality from their Japanese partners.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Snomaster1
Subscriber
Joined: 31 Aug 2011
Posts: 2906
|
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 4:33 am
|
|
|
As I've said previously,I'm not a horror fan. I tend to avoid stuff like that as much as possible. But,I didn't think "Uzumaki" was the horrendous train wreck everyone here said it was. In fact,as I said in a different post,it was one of the most unique anime I've ever seen. From what I did see,there was a solid effort there. Now,it may have been rushed in a few places,but it looked like a good deal of time and effort was put into it.
It also benefited from a strong story. It wasn't just some crazy maniac running around hacking people to death. There was some legitimately frightening stuff there and I don't think that should be discounted. There are those here who think I'm being lenient here,but as a non-horror fan who usually doesn't watch this type of fare,"Uzumaki" does at least try to do something original here. Could it have been better? Probably. But,I'm not going to knock it simply because it's the thing to do.
I'll give "Uzumaki" it's due. The people behind it at least tried to make something more than just a hideous slasher film here and it looked like a legitimate effort here. It could have been better,but I'm not going to knock it too much. It did kinda well with me. It could've been better in a few areas,but it wasn't really a waste of time and effort,especially in what I saw. It was a good attempt at trying to do an adaptation of Ito's work. Basically,I'm in the middle here with this one. It wasn't as bad as everyone here said it was,but I think it needed a bit more time and effort with it. It could have been better,but it still worked as well as it could,and I'm not too upset with it. For me,it was kinda middling. Not really great,but not really terrible,either. At least,that what I think of it.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Fluwm
Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 1018
|
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 11:23 am
|
|
|
Snomaster1 wrote: | As I've said previously, I'm not a horror fan. I tend to avoid stuff like that as much as possible.... It also benefited from a strong story. It wasn't just some crazy maniac running around hacking people to death. |
I can't comment on the Uzumaki anime, as I've not watched it (similarly, I'm not a big fan of horror), but I *can* say that I suspect that you'll probably enjoy Japanese horror much more than you'd expect. In general, Japanese horror is more about vibes than gore or violence or anything "overtly scary." The uncanny. The odd. The alien. The discomforting.
Anyway, if you enjoyed the anime, you *definitely* need to check out the manga. It is a supremely eerie read.
|
Back to top |
|
|
|