Forum - View topicWhat series should NOT get another season?
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nobahn
 Subscriber Posts: 5187 |
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First of all, I'm going to preface my comments with this note: I looked for a thread that posed this question for discussion; and while I found three threads that posed the opposite question (see here, here and here) I didn't see one posing the above question. If it turns out that I missed a thread that does pose the above questions, then please consider this my apology.
I've read the suggestion that exploring the unknowns that both imbue and surround (literally!) Glie would be rewarding. I couldn't disagree more. Part of the genius of Yoshitoshi(?) Abe's series was that it almost forced the viewer to think about all of the unknowns -- and in the process, think about hypothetical answers. I know that I did; and if such a sequel were to reveal that the world was just a stage (a lá Big O), then I would consider that to be a big, big, BIG disappointment! Again, the posters who have suggested this have clearly not thought this through. Maybe some prequel OVAs exploring:
I must disagree. I respectfully posit that the ending was open-ended for the sake of being open-ended. Last edited by nobahn on Sat Dec 11, 2010 3:58 am; edited 2 times in total |
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naninanino
 Posts: 680 |
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Ah yes. How right you are. Generally, complete shows don't need new seasons. The reason is that they lead to retconning and general loss of appeal. One show that I hear sequel cries for is Gurren Lagann. That show absolutely doesn't need another season. Again, maybe some OVA about Lord Genome, but it isn't really necessary.
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John Casey
 Posts: 1853 Location: In My Angry Center |
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1-On the subject of Bebop. You actually can make a very engaging, and effective prequel series dealing with Spike's past. It's a perfect crime-drama setup already, and there are plenty unanswered questions hanging about that would in no way feel crow-barred into the story if they're further explored. Bebop could easily make maximum use of maybe an OVA in this fashion.
3-Geass. It'll happen. We all know, deal with it lol. It's a cash cow. Anyways...as for me personally...I can't really think of anything. Best I can come up with is stuff that received closure, and doesn't need any sort of prequel, really... Like...I dunno, Trigun? Escaflowne? Outlaw Star? |
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Sea Lion
 Posts: 307 |
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I'll agree that Bebop is good just as it is, but another you can throw in there is FLCL. Numerous cries for more have gone up, but the story has a beginning, middle and end. I may not have completely understood it, but I'm satisfied with the six episodes made. It's not too much, not too little.
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wanderlustking
 Posts: 449 Location: Bozeman, Montana |
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I'm going to go out on a limb and say Darker Than Black. The second season was already disappointing enough, do we really need to be let down again? Besides, I really don't see where else they could take the series.
I've also reached a satiation point with Melancholy. If they release another season, or a second movie; I'll watch it out of some meager sense of loyalty, but I probably wont enjoy it very much. I know there are plenty of people out there who would love more opportunities to see Haruhi and Kyon getting caught up in zany adventures. but I'm throwing in the towel. |
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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Darker Than Black is a series crying for a sequel, and even prequel. Season two wasn't nearly as disruptive as claimed by some people. They told two stories which worked as parallels. Of which, one was completed, and the other was pretty much the bridge between the first series and its continuation. If the creator said that there wouldn't be more DTB, then he pretty much told us that he had just finished building a bridge leading to nowhere. Yes, there's no way they'll drop a franchise with such a bright and profitable future. At first I was pretty confident that a sequel to season 2 would definitely be made pretty shortly, but now I'm 50/50. But then again, season 2 appeared out of nowhere, and told a story no one expected. Remember that Star Driver was just announced 6 months ago, and how long has it been out for already? Yeah, that's how Bones works. If it was up to Bones, I'd say we'll definitely get a sequel. But just exactly how much of this property belongs to Tensai Okamura, anyway? |
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the Rancorous
 Posts: 2248 Location: Sac, Ca USA |
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I've heard people say they wanted another season of Samurai Champloo, but I say no, it doesn't need it. There wasn't much left to explore that would be interesting, and each of the characters' journeys were wrapped up quite nicely. There would be no reason to bring the trio back together, and nor would there really be anything for them to accomplish without pulling something out of the ol' rectum. If anything, there could be a silly spin-off OAV where Ninja-girl tracks down Mugen and they have a fun adventure before hookin' up, but even that would be kind of pointless.
I would also go as far as to say that Strike Witches did not need a second season. In the end, SW2 really just felt like a retelling of the first season: same general things happened, military commanders tried something that didn't work, Yoshika saves the day. Really, it should have been called Strike Witches 1.5, not 2. |
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nobahn
Subscriber Posts: 5187 |
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See this [Adult Swim] Boards posting for a comprehensive critique of the show. |
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poilk92
 Posts: 433 Location: Long Beach California |
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Couldn't agree more, there is plenty of room for a prequel that would simply end where spoiler[Spike is leaving his gang and has a shootout in a church]. It would tie in seamlessly and its a great concept. @wanderlustking Have you considered a DTB prequel? I really thought the first season ended in a good enough place but the flashbacks to south america just show a story BEGGING to be told |
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Mushi-Man
 Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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Any time fans see a good show they instantly want them to make a second season with out regard for the artistic integrity of the series itself. And then when something like that does happen and the concept gets old and dried up they complain. Its a viscous cycle of internet ranting.
I completely agree with each suggestion so far, an additional season of these shows would simply ruin the story. A few others that really dont need another season include: Ergo Proxy: The ending concluded all the conflicts and answered all the questions at the end. If you don't catch all of that then just rewatch and think about it. Really anything else after that would just be needless fanboy fanfic that has no depth or reason. Wolfs Rain: I've heard people complain that the ending was weird and they need a new season. I guess they don't understand the plot which obviously concluded the way it was meant to. Eureka Seven: Again I guess people didn't get the ending and want to have another season to have it explained to them/ fulfill fanboy and fangirl fantasies. Eden of the East: I don't really get why this would need another season since they made movies for the second half of the story. Neon Genesis Evangelion: I really don't know what they think could be done here. By the end of the series there is literally no way to go on after that unless you want to do alternate retellings. In the end there's usually no real reason to make a second series for an anime. Most anime story lines have a complete plot structure and they usually accomplish what they set out to do. There are, however, a few situations where additional season are reasonable. If an anime is based off a manga and it only covers a fraction of the manga's content (Soul Eater, Beck) then it would be reasonable to see another season to adapt the rest of the story. If an anime is a part of a larger self sustaining franchise (Ghost in the Shell, Gundam) then it's perfectly fine. Basically if it's set up to allow continued installments over the course of time. Usually these series will involve separate stand alone stories. If it's an original anime but the budget was cut off before they were able to finish it. Really the only example I can think of is Big O and it already got it's second season. But these are simply exceptions to the rule. And even in these cases, an additional season isn't necessary it's just not pointless.
I've heard allot of people suggest that, but in the end I'm just not sure if it's all that necessary. I'm pretty sure the series was meant to be set up as presenting Spikes past as a vague and illusive aspect that we never really quite know. It mimics how blues musicians often sing about their tragic past but in the end we're only getting glimpses into their story, not the whole thing. I think the scenes which showed the bits and pieces of Spike's (and the rest of the Bebop crew's) past is meant to be, in a sense, visual blues. But that's just my opinion. |
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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I shall bring to discussion a series which, it should seem, is a work that many disagree over the need for a sequel thereto: Elfen Lied.
Nobody can deny that the final scene presents to the viewer little more than an obscured image and a sudden change in the state of certain artefacts, though I hold that this is quite sufficient for the series to end with both closure and poignance. The artefacts in question, i.e. spoiler[the grandfather clock and the music box,] have quite plausibly come to represent each respective lead character, and thus the viewer is left with an inference to draw: to replace the angst and desire of one character, a palpable change about the household of the other is to occur. Whilst mysteries concerning the main characters (and their relationship) certainly and deliberatly remain unaddressed, the cold-yet-delicate ambience that lingers as the curtain falls upon this controversial work would, I say, be stripped of its endearing quality if it was to be "undone" by the additional exposition a sequel would provide. |
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nightjuan
 Posts: 1473 |
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Like others have mentioned, pretty much all stories that have ended with a certain amount of closure essentially do not need sequels of any kind. I would go a bit further and argue that even the continued existence of outstanding questions or unresolved issues doesn't necessarily mean a direct sequel would be the only possibility of addressing any of them. There are always other ways to do so and, in the end, certain matters are better left up to the audience's imagination.
If you want to look at some specific examples, Revolutionary Girl Utena is an interesting case. The ending practically teases that there could be a bit more to the story than what we're seeing depending on your interpretation but, honestly, all the main character arcs have already ended and I believe it wouldn't be too wise to revisit them. The final state of the galaxy in Legend of the Galactic Heroes does leave the door open for an interesting sequel, by all means, but I'm mostly glad that the original author and the animation staff decided to focus on fleshing out earlier events and character backgrounds through side stories instead of trying to embark on a new epic. I seem to recall Welcome to the NHK allows a fair amount of room for speculation about how the protagonist's personal life will develop, for lack of a better description, in both pessimistic and optimistic directions...which, if you ask me, isn't something we really need to follow all the way through either. It's besides the point. I'm almost surely going to annoy someone by saying this, but even though there is more original source material that the Baccano! anime didn't cover...I actually tend to appreciate the fact that, as the show makes transparently and perhaps cynically clear, the story has no set beginning or ending. I wouldn't complain if we saw something more and all the loose threads were resolved, by all means, but it's not a void that desperately needs to be filled.
See, the point is that one thing does not imply the other. Sequels aren't the only way to make money off any given property. It's undeniably true that Sunrise and Bandai want to make Code Geass continue to be profitable, but so far they've preferred to announce side stories and prequels rather than sequels. It's also entirely possible that they could go for a remake, an alternate universe spin-off or even a movie adaptation further down the road. While eventually seeing a sequel isn't impossible, admittedly, all of the additional options I've just mentioned also remain on the table and some seem to be getting more traction lately. |
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Metaflux
 Posts: 78 |
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Seriously do you always post like a [EDIT: No need for name-calling. If you're gonna' argue, then argue. Try not to resort to high-schooler tactics. -TK]? OK we all get your so very smart but for me I don't even try to read through a post like this. Really I find myself skipping over your comments all the time, not because there "intelligent" but rather they are unnecessarily wordy. EDIT: I mean seriously who the hell says "palpable" these days? But alas I do agree with your opinions regarding Elfen Lied. I think viewers are requesting a sequel because the anime series only highlights on the first half of the Manga leaving the original ending untouched. I decided to read the manga to pickup were the anime series left off but really found myself disliking the second half of the story line. To be honest everything just gets to hectic and crazy almost like the author wanted to tell a "greater the life" story, which in my opinion totally contradicts the underlining atmosphere. So really I have to agree with you on this one, I actually enjoyed the series more then the manga and wished the original story would have ended like the anime did. Last edited by Metaflux on Sun Dec 12, 2010 2:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6611 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Oddly enough Zin5ki raised made an intriguing connection - the clock and the music box are metaphors for Kouta and Lucy - that I hadn't considered previously. If you bother translating his/her posts into quotidian English Zin5ki often has valuable things to say.
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Metaflux
Posts: 78 |
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Actually I disagree with his conclusion, this is what I think. I think the music box is a representation of there past relationship between each other. Their youthful innocence and bond that they had and how meaningful there experiences were to each other. However the melody is very sad and serious, maybe a foreshadowing of how their relationship was to end.
And for the clock, I believe in a way it represented Myu more than it did Lucy. In my opinion and I could be wrong I think Myu deep down inside wasn't has hopeless and ignorant as she portrayed herself to be. That this particular personality was partially created to hide herself from the dramatic elements she experienced in her past. It was a way for Lucy to escape her painful realities without responsibly dealing with them. However no matter how much she tried to run away (with Myu) I believe deep down inside she was still aware of her mistakes and pain. And this awareness is shown when she fixed the grandfather clock, think about it. How could someone like Myu actually fix a sophisticated machine like that in her state of mind? To me the grand father clock represented her "awakening", an awakening of adulthood and accepting reality instead of RUNNING WAY. And that's one reason why she came back to Kohta's; and yes I did read the manga but I still feel that the anime was like a sort of story arc with a different ending. I believe that figure was indeed Lucy, who was coming home instead of running away. |
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