Noble10 wrote:
dunnius wrote:
Sheesh, AS couldn't put the full ending on the final episode. It would have been nice.
I was half expecting that.
Well... just like that, it's over (Moribito and [as] premieres
).
That was a beautiful ending; I was worried that it would've ended as the gates closed.
It's extremely late, so I'll give a full review tommorrow. Goodnight everyone!
And if I never see some of you again (because some of you might leave permanently), then have a nice life!
... unless it isn't.
Crap... I promised this, didn't I? 
Alright, first off let me express my joy at the fact that [as] actually aired every episode past 10 in the third airing, without screvving us over once. I was half-convinced that they would've pulled it at some point...
As for the ending, it was very beautiful. However, I noticed that my "action-orientated" mind had frequently caused me to expect a plot twist where one didn't happen. Like when the Mikado told Chagum he had to "forget" about Balsa and the others. I was expecting something like Chagum running away from the palace... or calling the Mikado out for the a-hole that he is. 
And a few episodes back, when Shuga told the Mikado about the real history behind the egg, I was expecting Shuga to be banished, or even killed for saying that. Just goes to show you how different Moribito is from other [as] anime (like Code Geass, where a plot twist is guaranteed every episode, or your money back
).
Of course, Moribito's nature has also been the cause of it's suffering on this network. Slow paced, character-driven (as opposed to action-driven) and then there was the audio for the first half... though that doesn't really have anything to do with this. Most people today just don't like that. In fact, I'll admit that even I found it rather boring at first (then again, Code Geass was still airing new episodes at that point, so maybe I saw it as boring by comparison only). However, while many people were turned away by having the series air the first 10 episodes three times, I actually became more interested each time, out of sheer curiosity of wanting to see what happens next. So when they finally started on episode 11, I decided to watch it through. And now I love it.
The way they put so much emphasis on everything (like how the bird briefly mentioned in ep 3 ended up being an important symbol in ep 15) and left no extraneous details made everything more interesting. While plot twists were extremely rare, when they happened, they were BIG. And it might not have been the actual scope of the plot twists that made it appear big, but just the fact that it happened so rarely. While I certainly love Code Geass (flame away!), I'll admit that the plot twists (especially in R2) became so frequent that, individually, they lost impact.
And then there's the art... beautiful. I don't know what else to say on that matter. The best part for me wasn't the way the characters were drawn, but rather the way the scenery was drawn. It was breathtaking to look at the lakes, the skies, the cliffs and mountains. I also loved Sannan(sp?), but maybe that's just because I like ice and snow.
Now the music. The "action" music was okay, but what I really liked was the "scene" and "exposition" music that played during conversions or those scenes where you just see the scenery or the characters walking.
**BLEEP**, I wrote too much. tl;dr version: Moribito was a great series and I'm glad they aired it (then again, I'm open to any anime at this point, as [as] is becoming a sad, desolate place now). And maybe someday they'll animate the other books. Probably not, but if they did, I'd certainly watch it.
I have really got to get to sleep. Goodnight everyone.
Noble10 wrote:However, I noticed that my "action-orientated" mind had frequently caused me to expect a plot twist where one didn't happen. Like when the Mikado told Chagum he had to "forget" about Balsa and the others. I was expecting something like Chagum running away from the palace... or calling the Mikado out for the a-hole that he is.
It's kind of an indication of just how sorry most of our entertainment is these days, I think. It's like we don't know how to act when characters actually behave like people instead of being unreasonable or arrogantly blind or just pointlessly evil to create conflict or suspense. This series is unpredictable simply because we can't believe they didn't choose the standard, clichèd plot points to drive the story. I guess some people feel let down by that, but I just revelled in it.
Especially the ending! Go back and read all the speculation about what they could possibly do with the last episode (or a lot of the episodes for that matter), because no one ever takes a whole episode to leisurely wrap everything up with no wtf loose ends.
I really hope they follow up with the next novel.
I wouldn't call that kind of plot "sorry". I mean, once in a while, having an action-packed story that fools everyone with plot twists can be a good thing. But, I'll admit, using only that kind of story isn't necessarily a good thing.
Actually, you make a good point about how the show fooled us all, not through plot twists, but through a lack of plot twists. I'll admit I had my fair share of speculation about what might happen in the last episode... including: Chagum running away from the palace to be with Balsa, Balsa and Tanda getting married (or at least kissing), the Mikado attempting to kill Balsa, Tanda and Torogai, Chagum denouncing the Mikado and the policies of the royal family (which could have gone together with the "Chagum running away" idea) and Madam Torogai becoming a Broadway actress. (obviously, that last one is a joke)
GinaSzanboti wrote:
Noble10 wrote:However, I noticed that my "action-orientated" mind had frequently caused me to expect a plot twist where one didn't happen. Like when the Mikado told Chagum he had to "forget" about Balsa and the others. I was expecting something like Chagum running away from the palace... or calling the Mikado out for the a-hole that he is.
It's kind of an indication of just how sorry most of our entertainment is these days, I think. It's like we don't know how to act when characters actually behave like people instead of being unreasonable or arrogantly blind or just pointlessly evil to create conflict or suspense. This series is unpredictable simply because we can't believe they didn't choose the standard, clichèd plot points to drive the story.
Especially the ending! Go back and read all the speculation about what they could possibly do with the last episode (or a lot of the episodes for that matter), because no one ever takes a whole episode to leisurely wrap everything up with no wtf loose ends.
I really hope they follow up with the next novel.
QFT. Well said.
As for animating the next novel, that's an extreme long-shot based on the modest popularity of the series in Japan (no doubt due to the factors you cite above). Still - there's always hope, however faint.
Noble10 wrote:I wouldn't call that kind of plot "sorry". I mean, once in a while, having an action-packed story that fools everyone with plot twists can be a good thing. But, I'll admit, using only that kind of story isn't necessarily a good thing.
I love a good plot twist as much as anyone, but I get tired of stories where the plot twists or conflicts are based on stereotypical villain behavior instead of real motivations. I can't tell you how sure I was that the Master Star reader and/or the Mikado would be all "Off with their heads!" to protect the status quo when Shuga came to him with the truth, because that's always what happens. It's not even a plot twist anymore.
It's hard to describe how I felt when they didn't go down that path and people behaved the way people of integrity would. Shock, relief, amazement...that's how much I've come to expect that sort of plotline, because I've been conditioned to expect it, like comfort food or something. It really threw me for a loop when it didn't happen.
Chagum12 wrote:
GinaSzanboti wrote:
Noble10 wrote:However, I noticed that my "action-orientated" mind had frequently caused me to expect a plot twist where one didn't happen. Like when the Mikado told Chagum he had to "forget" about Balsa and the others. I was expecting something like Chagum running away from the palace... or calling the Mikado out for the a-hole that he is.
It's kind of an indication of just how sorry most of our entertainment is these days, I think. It's like we don't know how to act when characters actually behave like people instead of being unreasonable or arrogantly blind or just pointlessly evil to create conflict or suspense. This series is unpredictable simply because we can't believe they didn't choose the standard, clichèd plot points to drive the story.
Especially the ending! Go back and read all the speculation about what they could possibly do with the last episode (or a lot of the episodes for that matter), because no one ever takes a whole episode to leisurely wrap everything up with no wtf loose ends.
I really hope they follow up with the next novel.
QFT. Well said.
As for animating the next novel, that's an extreme long-shot based on the modest popularity of the series in Japan (no doubt due to the factors you cite above). Still - there's always hope, however faint.
.i'll second that.
Ok, since someone mentioned the library, I checked it out and got the first two books (I knew I didn't want to buy them, but it's Christmas vacation, and I have the time and it's free, so...). I'm halfway through the first one, and I have to say, this is one case where the anime far outshines the novel. Usually novels offer the chance for deeper characterization, but the reverse seems to be true here. I'm not hating it by any means, but there's even less conflict in the novel than the series!
Back in Episode 18, I mentioned Australian Aboriginals as an example of how culture is lost, and the novel does elaborate on that process a bit more than the series, because it can. Ironically, the book jacket says that Uehashi is a cultural anthropologist who studies indigenous peoples in Australia. Whadayaknow...
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