Forum - View topicThe Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of May 20-26 [2017-05-31]
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5499 Location: Iscandar |
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I guess people were not big fans of Sakura Quest's episode 8. It is unfair to me to punish that episode for being the first half of a two episodes mini arc. But I am glad the show did not go down in the cumulative. And if Sakura Quest's ratings keep following the up and down pattern, episode 9 should rink higher.
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Geez, what happened to Attack on Titan and Atom: The Beginning? Those were some really steep drops, way steeper than My Hero Academia.
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3768 |
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Atom the Beginning's last episode was probably the weakest, though the drop was somewhat exaggerated by being preceded by the show's strongest episode. Titan however had an episode that was light on action, aside from a little in a flashback to when the main three were kids. I don't think it will be going up next week either, as the most recent one was light on action as well, though I'm sure it will be back up the week after that once the action starts up again. It does lend credence to the idea the arc after this may not be as well regarded by the show's fans, given that it is heavier on (in-universe) politics and whatnot, from what I've heard. I'm sure there will be a pretty big drop next week though, with Berserk's next episode rating much worse than it has been this season, especially following the show's highest ranked episode. The reason being, as has been in the past with this iteration of Berserk, QUALITY issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ But enough focusing on the downturns. I was surprised last week when Attack on Titan overtook Natsume in the cumulative, but it doesn't surprise me that Natsume has taken its place again. Though it is odd to think that Natsume has taken its rightful place, given that I actually rank Attack on Titan higher. One Piece has made a nice comeback from a spate of weak episodes, and it doesn't look like it will fall to the same depths at least next week. I'm hoping it stays that way, for our sake. Alice and Zouroku looks like it will be moving up next week with its best episode to date. My Hero will be going back up as well with a fine episode, though the best is yet to come for that show from what I can tell. Nice to see Saekano continuing to do better and better. |
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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Yeah, the way people rate episodes is a little weird to me, sometimes. I almost never detract from an episode if it's part of a larger arc, but doesn't have its own conclusion. To each their own, I guess though. If you can't tell where it's going sure, but I see a lot of people mention that they detracted points literally just because it was a "set-up" episode. Always struck me a weird way to do things.
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Angel M Cazares
Posts: 5499 Location: Iscandar |
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The politics heavy stuff does not seem that dull or boring to me. In any case a theoretical season 3 of anime will deal with that. |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3768 |
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Oh I was not speaking personally. I'd very much like to see more of the politics of the world of Attack on Titan, and I am much more amenable to that sort of thing than most, as far as I can tell. That was just what I had heard some say in regard to the next major arc that will definitely be in the next season if and when that comes.
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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People like seeing payoffs. Simple as that. (That, and I'll bet they want to see the payoff in the same episode as the setup, which isn't really possible if the show is adapted from a manga or light novel with long arcs.)
I can see why people would rate a show lower if it's lower-key and not as action-packed too. I personally wouldn't do it, as the emotional, personal stuff can also be quite interesting to me (and a show is entertaining to me if it has said emotional, personal stuff without action but not the other way around). But if you're watching Attack on Titan for the thrills, the fast flying action, and the gore of watching people getting eaten alive, an episode without that would understandably be a disappointment. (It kind of reminds me of when I saw Starship Troopers last year on SyFy. It was edited for time with the latter mindset. Most of the character motivations and emotional scenes were removed, but all of the gore was kept in and as much of the sex and nudity as they could get away with, leaving it utterly confusing to me. Syfy's been doing this for well over a decade, at least, considering when they were showing anime, they also edited the shows in the same fashion. If THEY were showing Attack on Titan, that episode would've wound up chopped beyond recognition.) As for One Piece, the team gets pretty fired up towards the beginning of an arc or when the setting changes, and it'll eventually drop off in quality, though it varies a lot. The one-chapter-per-episode scheme is really harming the quality of this show. But it is genuinely surprising to me to see One Piece that far up that far into an arc. Sounds like someone got fired up in that fashion again. (It was always kind of frustrating that the quality wasn't there, because it's always had the potential to be there--the manga goes by at a breakneck pace, with a dozen things happening every chapter.) |
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relyat08
Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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Yeah, I suppose I should clarify that while it's "weird" to me, it's not particularly confusing. I understand the instant gratification mindset, but just don't subscribe to it myself. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that I DO, but my ideas of what constitute instant gratification are apparently different than most people. I'm a big fan of Titan, but I appreciate the politics and the quieter moments in that series just as much as the violence and action. And in regards to most already quieter shows like Sakura Quest, being interesting is all I ask for. That usually just means I need to involved with the characters somehow. Having conclusions for every episode just strikes me as weird, really. I much prefer a show that lets things build over time, most of the time.
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Oh, it's not the mindset I find confusing (it's one I perfectly understand because I've known plenty of people who like their television and movies that way AND were smart enough to articulate why). It's when I am watching those edited versions themselves that I get lost. Basically, SyFy's editing (which dates back to when they were still the Sci-Fi Channel) will prioritize, for the cutting room floor, scenes that explain why characters do things or feel a certain way, or scenes that provide greater depth to characters. What you're left with is connect-the-dots storytelling in which Event A happens, then Event B happens, then Event C happens, et cetera, with some sex and violence in between. Essentially, they cut out as much of the "why" and "how" as they can, with only the "what" and (non-characterization) "who" remaining. Up to half of an episode might be removed in this way (and they indeed do that a lot with Crest of the Stars and Banner of the Stars, which had a few episodes trimmed down to as little as 14 minutes). It leaves me confused because I'm always wondering about why events are happening and how the characters are feeling, but I know it won't be confusing for people who aren't interested in those things. For instance, there is a scene in Gurren Lagann where Rossiu makes some tough decisions as the leader of a country with a stern face, decisions that will lead to the deaths of many civilians but averting a worse alternative. He then tells his colleagues, with that stern face, that he's going into his room. He goes in, shuts the door, sits down on his bed, and starts crying. The SyFy edit removed everything past where he shuts the door. The scene of him crying shows that he really DOES care about his people, he's genuinely upset some of them have to die, and he's just putting on a brave face. Without that scene, you wouldn't know that, and you'd think he really was just that stoic and uncaring. Instead of him going into his room so he can cry without anyone seeing him, it looks like he goes into his room because everyone else was annoying him. As for people who don't like episodes with setups and no payoffs, it's basically the equivalent of being told a joke and then being withheld from the punchline until the following week. I don't mind being left hanging, and you don't either, but cliffhangers can annoy people because they want something complete. |
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Takkun4343
 Posts: 1567 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
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But neither of those shows aired on SyFy, and I doubt G4 would have edited them down that badly. |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Right, I was thinking of G4. That was my mistake. Their editing styles were so similar, however, I mentally merged them. Actually, now I'm confused...didn't those two air in the "Anime Unleashed" block? (Or maybe it was Tech TV?) I could swear they did, and after that was Serial Experiments Lain, and then Betterman, and I kind of tuned out after that because everything was incomprehensible. One thing I do remember on why it was so annoying was the incredibly frequent commercial breaks. You'd watch a few minutes of show, then you'd have a rather lengthy commercial break. There was most commonly 3 (which is normal), but I remember sometimes they had 4. |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3768 |
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Indeed they did. The block started on TechTV and continued when G4 and TechTV merged |
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Mojave
 Posts: 178 |
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I've only ever watched one or two episodes of Saekano, but it sure didn't seem like the type of show that would ever have an episode ranked this high. Did something groundbreaking happen in the episode that ranked so highly here?
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getchman
 He started itPosts: 9134 Location: New Hampshire |
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Main character realized how seriously he dun goofed with one of the female characters |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3768 |
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@mojave To some extent, one could put it down to the people who are following the show at this point are the ones who like it and this sort of show generally, but you could say that about the other sequels at the top as well, even to a much lesser extent Attack on Titan. However, like most of the other sequels, Saekano Flat has executed well upon its material in recent episodes, both within the genre and generally speaking, particularly in the most recent episode.
To put what getchman mentioned in context, spoiler[one of the other female characters went to her family's vacation home to finish her part for the game, the art. She was struggling and eventually unresponsive so the male lead, the director of the game, was going to check in on her if it got close. One of the other girls, the voice actress for the game and the female lead, offered to help if necessary, as she had throughout the process. The artist did find the inspiration to finish, but she got sick and passed out. He rushed over and took care of her, though it led to them missing the deadline for the printing company so they had to go with what they could print themselves, a decision he made on his own. The other girl felt slighted that he didn't reach out for help from her to instead focus on caring for the other girl, his childhood friend. In the most recent episode, he realizes how important the other girl had been to the making of the game and how not asking her to help hurt her, which caused some distance between them after the incident. ] |
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