Shows that had potential but went the wrong way

[Gokou Ruri]

I really want to say InuYasha, but the root of IY's problem is the manga...

One Piece for me, even if the problems do stem from the manga. I really dislike the way it tries to mix comedy and seriousness/drama together. It's like the show has no idea what it wants to be and the writer keeps saying "No, wait, this will be a ___ series now!" It started out fairly light-heartred and I liked that, but then when they tried throwing all this blood and drama and violence on me it's like "Ok, is this now a dark serious show?" but then Luffy or another cast-member does something childish and immature so I'm left scratching my head. It's like Full Metal Alchemist's problem.

If it stuck with one or the other from the start, then I'd probably like it.

 

[Paul_Cousins]

Also I thought Outlaw Star could have been so much better than what it ended up aspiring to.

But at least Outlaw Star had decent character development, good action, good plot and a decent rap up to it's plot lines in the last three episodes.

 

[Conekiller]

It's like Full Metal Alchemist's problem.

Why can't they have both?

for me:

Mahoromatic: it seemed interesting during the fitst half, but then it would drop little things about the aliens trying to make friendly contact. The problem here was that the "plot" took second fiddle to more of the same with the main characters. Then all of a sudden the story takes a nosedive into "serious depressing drama" and never lets up. The last episode even moreso. I was hoping this was merely a problem with the anime , but the manga has it too, and it's even worse.

AiYori Aoshi: the first few episodes are fantastic! We have two people who have met each other for the first time in ~15 years, and the girl has been madly in love with the boy the whole time. Then we go to into the delicate nuances of a new couple dealing with living together and begining a loving relationship. Then it becomes a harem. Worse off, it becomes a harem where every other woman is not even possibly viewed as competition by the audience since the Kaoru is quite obviously in love with, but unable to express his love to Aoi. Once the show started getting a little too loli-creepy in the second season, I dropped it.

Cromartie High: Again, it starts out strong, but largely never really goes anywhere and alot of the comedy is recycled sightgags (GASP Kamiyama's face is stretching for no good reason while he's prettling on!? AGAIN!?) Thankfully Freddy and Mechazawa and a few surprises kept thing marginally fresh.

 

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Why can't they have both?

I think the reason why so many shows mix humour with drama in such extremes is because that most of these shows are aimed at a general audience. So to keep the mainstream viewers watching, they have to keep the show from getting too heavy, which can turn off a chunk of viewers. Conversely, if they go all-humour, then they can't tell the story they need to tell.

All in all, in One Piece and FMA, humour is used to cushion the emotional blows that the drama dishes out. Gives the viewers a respite from the shock and depression.

I don't know if it necessarily works, but I do see the point to it.

 

[K-S-O]

I'm not sure if this is what the topic is asking for but I think I'll mention it anyway.

Kannazuki no Miko had the potential to be a total bore. It felt like a complete chore to sit through most of it. I felt that I should have given up on it but for whatever reason I kept watching. Then that shocking plot twist in episode 8 took place and it started to get awesome and it stayed that way to the very end!

 

[DAISHI]

But at least Outlaw Star had decent character development, good action, good plot and a decent rap up to it's plot lines in the last three episodes.

Yeah it had a strong close, and there were some key, good episodes. I hate to say I like its beginning and end, but not its middle, cause that's not completely true. But there's some truth to it.

 

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I'm not sure if this is what the topic is asking for but I think I'll mention it anyway.

Kannazuki no Miko had the potential to be a total bore. It felt like a complete chore to sit through most of it. I felt that I should have given up on it but for whatever reason I kept watching. Then that shocking plot twist in episode 8 took place and it started to get awesome and it stayed that way to the very end!

Yeah, that's more a "Shows that turned out different than expected" example, not a show that wasted its potential.

Under your category, I put GITS: SAC. I thought the movies were total bores. But the TV show started off interesting, and got progressively better as it got along. Ultimately, it was even emotionally moving, something I didn't expect from the GITS franchise. I thought the Laughing Man idea was brilliant at times, and even when it got overly talky, it somehow came off more meaningful and interesting than in the movies.

I haven't seen the second season, though, and I'm afraid to. Because Oshii became an advisor in 2nd gig and as I said, I'm not a fan of Oshii's GITS stuff at all. I'm desperately trying to find out if my fears are unfounded.

 

[KarlOlson]

Yeah, that's more a "Shows that turned out different than expected" example, not a show that wasted its potential.

Under your category, I put GITS: SAC. I thought the movies were total bores. But the TV show started off interesting, and got progressively better as it got along. Ultimately, it was even emotionally moving, something I didn't expect from the GITS franchise. I thought the Laughing Man idea was brilliant at times, and even when it got overly talky, it somehow came off more meaningful and interesting than in the movies.

I haven't seen the second season, though, and I'm afraid to. Because Oshii became an advisor in 2nd gig and as I said, I'm not a fan of Oshii's GITS stuff at all. I'm desperately trying to find out if my fears are unfounded.

I think Oshii's influence on 2nd GiG ultimately worked out because while it allowed for some very interesting concepts to be brought in, the direction was ultimately Kenji Kamikama's, so the flow and tone of the episodes lack Oshii's obtusely verbose tendencies, so you get the depth with out the pacing issues.

 

[KasumiTen]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned His and Her Circumstances. Started out being a great series only to take a nosedive, crashing and burning.

 

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I think Oshii's influence on 2nd GiG ultimately worked out because while it allowed for some very interesting concepts to be brought in, the direction was ultimately Kenji Kamikama's, so the flow and tone of the episodes lack Oshii's obtusely verbose tendencies, so you get the depth with out the pacing issues.

My opinion of the show started off so low, but it got so high by the end of season 1, I'm afraid to ruin a good thing, I guess. Ultimately, I always felt that in the GITS movie, Oshii was more interested in quoting obscure texts and philosophizing about how we can attain a higher level of lifeform. Which is fine but it doesn't exactly speak to me on an emotional level and frankly I don't care about achieving a higher lifeform. The TV series I read as being more concerned with preserving our shreds of humanity in an increasingly mechanical and unsentimental society--and I think that speaks to me on a more immediate and modern level. I want them to keep that theme.

 

[Gokou Ruri]

I think the reason why so many shows mix humour with drama in such extremes is because that most of these shows are aimed at a general audience. So to keep the mainstream viewers watching, they have to keep the show from getting too heavy, which can turn off a chunk of viewers. Conversely, if they go all-humour, then they can't tell the story they need to tell.

Yes, that does make sense on why they include it. It's just I find it so frustrating. Not because of the comedy, but because of the type of comedy. It would be like if 24 suddenly had Jack Bauer's head grew fifty times its normal size every time he got mad and yelled at people, complete with multi-color background and SD Chloe crying.

I find that type of humor just too chaotic for a series that wants to be taken seriously. Characters like Armstrong totally killed FMA for me because of how cartoony and outragious they were when he rips off his shirt to show off his sparkly pecs. If the humor was more down to earth and didn't resort to Looney Toons-esque facial expressions, I would have liked it more. Something like Justice League, or Spiderman's humor.

 

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned His and Her Circumstances. Started out being a great series only to take a nosedive, crashing and burning.

I don't know if it's so much they went the wrong direction as they came to a complete stop and ran out of things to say. I can't say I disagreed with the progression of the characters or story. The final arc in the anime, which never ended, seemed to have been shaping up to be a fine story which showed how far Yukino's social life has progressed.

Of course, the animation did get really annoying in the last few episodes and the narrative gimmicks were admittedly too much.

I find that type of humor just too chaotic for a series that wants to be taken seriously. Characters like Armstrong totally killed FMA for me because of how cartoony and outragious they were when he rips off his shirt to show off his sparkly pecs. If the humor was more down to earth and didn't resort to Looney Toons-esque facial expressions, I would have liked it more. Something like Justice League, or Spiderman's humor.

Well, FMA and One Piece, for all their violence and emotion, are still generally kids' shows, for ages 8-14 They may deal with a few heavy themes but have a fairly juvenile tone even at their most serious. So, I think that "wacky" humour is more for the younger viewers than anything. JLA and Spider-Man are American and increasingly, superhero shows are aimed more at comic book geeks and 12 year olds.

I don't want to go into a whole debate about American comedy versus anime comedy, but that's definitely a big issue here.

 

[KasumiTen]

I don't know if it's so much they went the wrong direction as they came to a complete stop and ran out of things to say.

The fact that they left focusing on the two main characters and decided to zero in on many of the secondary characters without resolving to main storyline to me was the wrong direction.

 

[Captain Highwind]

Big O: While the first 13 episodes were awesome, the show took shift in the latter half that didn't quite fit with what had come before. They were still interesting episodes, but they took the show in a somewhat different direction from what had been built up in the first 13 episodes. I could have seen some of the change of direction happening, but not to the extent of what happened. Overall, the second half just isn't nearly as solid as the first.

When they decided to pull several instances of fourth wall breaking for the second season finale, you knew something was terribly wrong.

 

[Kagetsu]

AiYoriAushi
I didn't get beyond the first DVD. The characters were cute but the personalitys ran like molassas

Tsukihime Lunar Legend
I liked the characters and got past the confusing beginning for it to show some good potential. But it seemed to hack the action a bit then went to too much character conflict.

ROD tv
Started with a lot of fun and great characters. Then it started getting a little depressing as everything was too much in favor of the British Library,,, then it got wierd.

Bubblegum Crisis
Never did get very far into this one. the characters were great but the story just didn't seem to be going anywhere. it's still on a "Possible to Finish" list.

Witch Hunter Robin. Great characters, long drawn out story that made little sense in the end. I keep thinking that show could have worked if it had been setup better.

Neon Genesis
Wow, did that one ever drop the ball

Big O
Worked till they tried to have it make sense

YuYu Hakasho
Started good till the babything showed up, got past that then it turned into Dragonball Z

Blue Gender
Wow, that went downhill on greased rails. Just too depressing and no depth to the characters.

The opposite
Azumanga Daiho
"cooking so fun la la" and I thought this is bizarre then it turned out to be alot of fun.

 

[Classic Speedy]

I think Girls Bravo could've been a stronger show if a few things had happened: -They were to focus more on Miharu discovering the different facets of Earth culture (including misunderstanding the meaning of certain words) and less on Fukuyama's sex escapades.
-They took out Tomoka, that annoying little brat. She was a useless filler character from the moment she appeared, and her braying, loud voice was murder on the ears.
-They explored the environment of Seirin a bit more. As it stood, we only got to see it in detail in the first and last episodes of the show. The unorthodox nature of that world might've made for some wacky situations.
-They reduced the number of drama-heavy episodes. When you switch from an episode that's almost purely comedy to more serious moments like Koyomi trying to find her parents or Miharu losing Yukinari in the park, it just seems jarring. Sadly, this seemed to happen much more in Season 2.
-Get rid of the "cleaning superhero janitor" episode. Utterly pointless, since it barely involved the main characters at all.

I guess that's it for now. More if I think of them.

 

[Timmay]

Berserk - great backstory, no end in sight, older than me. (yet I love it..)

Bleach - went from interesting stories to super shounen mode.

There's more.. just can't think right now.

 

[Funkatron]

Berserk - great backstory, no end in sight, older than me. (yet I love it..)

Bleach - went from interesting stories to super shounen mode.

There's more.. just can't think right now.

Thats 2 people finding fault in a Shonen show for being Shoneny

 

[Undrave]

It would be like if 24 suddenly had Jack Bauer's head grew fifty times its normal size every time he got mad and yelled at people, complete with multi-color background and SD Chloe crying.

lol, that'd be SO HILARIOUS! Sure it wouldn't mesh with the show but if I was to make a parody of 24 I'd HAVE to include that :LOL:

The problem with Bleach is that when the Soul Society arc started you're bombarded with Shinigamis and Zanpakutou and the Hollows totally dissapear off the radar while they were previously the main enemies. I stopped reading at volume 11 because I just didn't care to see Ichigo go through all 13 captains while the other characters turned out to appear rather weak... and that's coming from someone who loved watching the Bronze Saint face the Gold Saints in Saint Seiya's Sanctuary arc (manga) so the concept is not something I'm fundamantally against.

 

[BrendaBat]

Read or Die (the TV series): I loved the movie when I saw it on Adult Swim; but I was really dissapointed when I saw the TV show. The paper sisters are really dull and generic characters compared to Nancy and Yomiko and, even after Nancy and Yomiko appeared in the TV show, I just couldn't enjoy it.
And it didn't help that the TV series dub wasn't nearly as good as the movie dub.

Originally posted by KasumiTen
Then I think you will like the shift that comes in volume 4.

Spoiler

Sora goes home to Japan and does some reevaluating of her life and why she joined the Kaleido Stage in the first place. She returns with a new determination and even with the pressure from the rest of the staff, she is determine to carry out her dream of what Kaleido Stage should be. This carries to the point that we find that even in her days with Layla, she was doing it all for the wrong reasons. It's a shift that I feel the first three volumes were setting us up for.

Problem is, that shift still doesn’t justify the insane, out-of-character behavior from all of the characters thus far. Sora learned her lesson about the right and wrong reasons for joining Kaleido Stage LAST season. I don’t see why she needed to learn it again.

It also doesn't excuse the piss-poor writing in volumes 1-3. Part of what attracted me to the show in the first place was its realism and the fact that even the antagonists were developed and (somewhat) likeable.
On the other hand, Leon and May remind me of the catty villains in As Told by Ginger. They’re mean to the main character for no good reason and, in Leon’s case, NEVER have to answer for their bad behavior! While Sora gets yelled at every time she sneezes.

And speaking of character development…

Spoiler

…all of Layla’s seemed to disappear in the second season as well. Last season, she learned from Sora and Kalos (and Fool) that being a star is about more than just raw talent. She and Sora formed a bond when they trained for the great maneuver and, when Layla was injured and had to retire, she was confident that Sora could hold the Stage together when she was gone.
Then, in season two, Layla sides with Leon when he PURPOSLY cripples his partner and then she gives him her phoenix ticket instead of Sora!? Layla always believed that the audience is the most important thing and that the show must go on no matter what. So it’s out of character for her to be so nice to a prissy diva who routinely walks off from live shows because he doesn’t feel he’s getting enough stage time.

Originally posted by Shirubie

Spoiler

He injures his partner ON PURPOSE, does a stunt that was not rehearsed, puts the cast members under him at risk, and Kalos still doesn't fire his ass? I don't care how many tickets he sells, he's a menace for everyone working with him! And May who blames herself for all this. *headdesk* She was "not talented enough" for Mister Ego she says. HE LET YOU FALL! He almost ruined your career! Sue him!

Spoiler

I literally yelled at the TV screen when I watched that episode and everyone except Sora blamed May for the fall! Leon admitted (in a room full of people, no less) that he purposely broke May’s arm in the middle of a live show to “test” her; and he didn’t even get fired!? That is just WAY too unrealistic. Sora should have called her cop friend and had Leon’s ass locked up for attempted murder!

And whatever happened to the cool, confident Kalos that never let anyone push him around no matter how many tickets they sold? Layla never got to push Kalos around; so why does Leon get to keep Kalos on a leash? Leon’s ticket sales won’t be much use to him if Kaleido Stage is being sued by dozens of crippled acrobats.