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This Week in Anime - Is Sakugan Underrated?




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Philmister978



Joined: 12 Jun 2011
Posts: 335
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:10 am Reply with quote
I think you guys got confused as to which company made this show. It's not BONES, it's Satelight.
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NeverConvex
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Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2537
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 12:40 pm Reply with quote
Surprised Nick and Jean-Carlo's reaction's so decisively positive. I was really impressed by Sakugan's premiere, but as I've followed beyond that, have been kind of puzzled by its character writing choices. The chemistry between the main cast is decent, and that's important, but it feels like the show is unaware of how silly and dangerous a number of the brain gremlin's decisions are, and frames Gagumber as at fault even in situations where he's clearly the voice of reason. The gremlin's consistent poor decision-making, the show's seeming unawareness of most of it, and Gagumber getting whomped for it unfairly so much, has kind've put a strain on how much I thought I'd be enjoying the cast at this point.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11601
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 1:08 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Zackletu isn't so much angry about losing her brother -- and more hurt to see the big, strong hero she looked up to having turned out to be a washed up dumbass who can't even take care of his own kid right.

Her beef with him was that he abandoned her without so much as returning to tell her what happened to her brother, let alone maybe taking care of her like family (which she felt the three of them were), and then seeing him moving on to give a different child (never mind it's his own child) the love and family support she wanted from him. She's angry that he avoided facing her and basically feeling like a child whose parent gets divorced and acts like they never had any other kids once they start a new family.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 3:53 pm Reply with quote
No, it's not. Sakugan is a mess.
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JoelBurger





PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 7:29 pm Reply with quote
Well it certainly had a great first episode to trick people into thinking it had potential. Only to then realize they had exhausted all their story beats in that one episode, and it was all downhill from there into repetition interspersed with meandering nothingness.
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Cryten



Joined: 19 Jan 2019
Posts: 1142
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 7:36 pm Reply with quote
It was an interesting start but for all the complicated dad and daughter dynamic in a dangerous world it simply became a basic younger audience story. Nothing bad, just far simpler then it pretended to be.
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AholePony



Joined: 04 Jun 2015
Posts: 330
Location: Arizona
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:00 pm Reply with quote
Like others in here this show has not gotten better for me over its run. I probably should have dropped it but I'm letting it limp across the finish line. It looks nice as I'd expect from Satelight but the writing hasn't been able to hold my attention at all.
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Helix91
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Joined: 30 Apr 2017
Posts: 63
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:34 pm Reply with quote
I really wanted to like Sakugan, but I just found Memempu so annoying. The cocky genius child has always been one of my least favorite character types, but she's a particularly bad example. The writers don't seem to understand that there should be consequences or growth when she makes immature, rash decisions.

Oh and about half the dialogue is what I call "bad anime yelling comedy" (like the worst parts of Demon Slayer) where volume is a substitute for actual jokes.
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Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3827
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:59 pm Reply with quote
No, it's been a pretty poor showing imo. I would have dropped it already if not for episode... 8 I think where we see a bit of an intriguing mystery, but the follow up episodes haven't been that great either.
At this point I'm pretty much just finishing it because I just might as well at this point
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yuzumei



Joined: 03 Dec 2016
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2021 4:29 pm Reply with quote
From the seven shows I am watching this season, Sakugan is the only one that I dropped. The show became a chore to watch.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18460
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:09 pm Reply with quote
Actually, the best show that no one's watching this season is Taisho Otome Fairy Tale. Would love to see a TWIA about that one.

As for Sakugan, it is one I had been meaning to get back to once a few other series ended for the season, as the first episode did impress me, but I've been leery about doing so given the episodic comments I've heard about its gradual deterioration. Now this leaves me conflicted about whether or not it's worth checking out.
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dm
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 1468
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:31 pm Reply with quote
I had dropped Sakugan for a while, but the slightly positive reviews lately caused me to pick it back up earlier this week. It's okay, but it's really a cartoon, with too much cartoon logic.

Some parts of the series remind me of Fushigi no umi no Nadia, with it's child-centric plotting and goofiness (remember the goofball Grandis Gang?).

I'll stick with it, especially since the most recent few episodes have been pretty good.

(Also, Key, Taisho Otome Fairy Tale is another series I plan to pick up again. The first few episodes were interesting enough, I just have limited time for anime.)
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Spike Terra
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Joined: 21 Mar 2016
Posts: 361
Location: Maryland
PostPosted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 12:34 am Reply with quote
While not one of my top shows this season, I have been consistently enjoying Sakugan. I find it's characters charming and it's world interesting. It just as a Thursday show for me, it has to compete with Ranking of Kings and Aquatope. Both of those anime take priority for me, when Thursday rolls around but it's Platinum End and Scarlet Nexus, which is nice.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2671
PostPosted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 2:20 pm Reply with quote
Seeing all the down-votes here I would like to add a Positive Review(TM) note. Some want any show of this sort to be a serious and thoughtful drama and that is not what Sakugan is. It's an atmospheric light dramady/fantasy. As such, it's got a loot of good going for it (just don't think too much about it). The character interactions are fun, there is heartfelt light drama and there are underlying serious mysteries that are interesting so far. Plus OK visuals and music and no out-and-out stupid writing choices or self-inconsistency. The pacing choices clearly show that the team expects a second season which should prove to be much more serious so for now, the show is only setting the stage. I have enjoyed it so far and look forward to S2...
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