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I never learn...
Mar. 16th, 2008 09:08 pmI just finished watching Prism Ark. I'd pretty much figured that it was going nowhere and stopped watching, but I gave in to my curiosity to see just how they might try to salvage the show in the last two episodes. I guess at the start I should have figured out from the fact that it's based on an H-game that nothing good would come of it.
I mean, let's look at what other H-game based shows I've watched, which seem to have an awesome setup and complex plot but then no follow-through, ultimately ending without explaining anything: Izumo ~Takeki Tsurugi no Senki~, Utawarerumono, Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito, Soul Link, Touka Gettan. And those are only the ones I've managed to sit through in their entirety. (Or not yet, in the case of Touka Gettan, but which I probably will, because I foolishly still think it has potential.) I always fall into this trap because, like I said, the setup is usually pretty good, and the art is gorgeous. [And, to be fair, some of those listed series are decent all the way through, namely Utawarerumono.]
So, predictably, the first episode of Prism Ark was amazing. It was a bit confusing in interweaving backstory from the previous generation with, er, forward-story about the main characters, but it was compelling. The story of the poor boy who met a princess visiting the countryside, who became friends with her and later king. Then the disappearance of the royal family. And, in what is apparently the present day, a large-scale war led by the rediscovered princess, with a lot of bad-ass characters on both sides. A bit cliché, maybe, but not really something to write off as crappily plotted.
Then the series rewinds a bit and starts with those characters' in school. And... they're in school for the rest of the series, with some rushed, non-explaining craziness at the end.
The real problem with Prism Ark, I think, was that it couldn't decide what kind of show it wanted to be. The first episode was all serious swords and sorcery. Then it became a school comedy. Occasionally they threw in really simple-minded ecchi jokes. Now and then it wanted to go back to a deeper, plot-driven mode, but that never quite worked somehow. A lot of times that was the fault of timeline jumps, probably because the production budget was slowly shrinking as the show wasn't doing well.
I doubt the game is much better, since the game is not really about great storytelling. It's probably just another H-game with a few really neat plot ideas, that never get fully exploited. And when someone tries to put those disjointed pieces together in an anime, it almost inevitably fails. And yet I keep hoping.
The anime didn't even manage to get in all of the important things. I had to read the Wiki article before I really had a good picture of the broad outlines. The finer details . . . well, they probably don't exist anywhere in canon, and are left to the imaginations of each viewer.
I mean, let's look at what other H-game based shows I've watched, which seem to have an awesome setup and complex plot but then no follow-through, ultimately ending without explaining anything: Izumo ~Takeki Tsurugi no Senki~, Utawarerumono, Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito, Soul Link, Touka Gettan. And those are only the ones I've managed to sit through in their entirety. (Or not yet, in the case of Touka Gettan, but which I probably will, because I foolishly still think it has potential.) I always fall into this trap because, like I said, the setup is usually pretty good, and the art is gorgeous. [And, to be fair, some of those listed series are decent all the way through, namely Utawarerumono.]
So, predictably, the first episode of Prism Ark was amazing. It was a bit confusing in interweaving backstory from the previous generation with, er, forward-story about the main characters, but it was compelling. The story of the poor boy who met a princess visiting the countryside, who became friends with her and later king. Then the disappearance of the royal family. And, in what is apparently the present day, a large-scale war led by the rediscovered princess, with a lot of bad-ass characters on both sides. A bit cliché, maybe, but not really something to write off as crappily plotted.
Then the series rewinds a bit and starts with those characters' in school. And... they're in school for the rest of the series, with some rushed, non-explaining craziness at the end.
The real problem with Prism Ark, I think, was that it couldn't decide what kind of show it wanted to be. The first episode was all serious swords and sorcery. Then it became a school comedy. Occasionally they threw in really simple-minded ecchi jokes. Now and then it wanted to go back to a deeper, plot-driven mode, but that never quite worked somehow. A lot of times that was the fault of timeline jumps, probably because the production budget was slowly shrinking as the show wasn't doing well.
I doubt the game is much better, since the game is not really about great storytelling. It's probably just another H-game with a few really neat plot ideas, that never get fully exploited. And when someone tries to put those disjointed pieces together in an anime, it almost inevitably fails. And yet I keep hoping.
The anime didn't even manage to get in all of the important things. I had to read the Wiki article before I really had a good picture of the broad outlines. The finer details . . . well, they probably don't exist anywhere in canon, and are left to the imaginations of each viewer.
