Since Boris' computer is in the shop and I'm here at work with nothing to do (including updating my anime awards since the master list is at home), here's some original blog content to keep you readers happy for a day or two.
Recently I was sitting in the car with some friends coming back from a movie, and of course the conversation turned towards anime as it inevitably does when we're together. They hold a small anime club at their house every week (much like the larger college one I attend the same day - they used to be members and I think it's become a routine for all of us to watch anime on Thursday nights). At their club they're watching Real Drive, which is a sci-fi series from Spring of 2008 which deals with a future incarnation of cyberspace and how it factors into aspects of future society. And they're loathing it. Rather than get into a discussion about it at the time (both of their feelings were so intense that to try and argue for the series would be like trudging up a very steep incline covered in mud), I lied and said that I'd only seen a few episodes of the series a long time ago and that I didn't really remember it.
The truth is that I've seen all but maybe 8 or 9 episodes of it and intend to finish it soon.
Why bring this up, though? Well, if you're not familiar with the series either through seeing it or reading my review of it, it might be helpful to know that the series is born from the creativity of Shirow Masamune, the mind behind Ghost in the Shell, and animated by Production I.G., responsible for the same series of movies and TV animation. I think part of the downfall of Real Drive (and I do only mean part; it has its flaws as well) is that it has huge shoes to fill. Based on a cursory look at the show's visual style and the fact that it's from the same genre as Ghost in the Shell, I think a lot of people began viewing it believing that it would be some sort of "second coming" of GitS:SAC, with the same focus on action, when in truth Real Drive focuses more on its subject matter in the way that it affects the Aoi family and Haru Masamichi, the central characters.
As I've watched more and more anime the past few years and learned more about the various animation companies, programming blocks, and anime auteurs, I've found myself falling victim more and more to the urge to judge new anime on the merits of its predecessors. The problem is, of course, this develops unrealistic expectations of series and it's difficult to then judge a show on its own merits. To be clear, I don't think it's altogether wrong for myself to say "well, I liked this person's other work so I'll definitely be checking their new show out," but to hold onto the idea that the new show should somehow hit all the same beats and demonstrate its strengths in all the same areas is a recipe for disappointment.
Of course, there's another side to this idea as well. If an original series was agreed to be pretty terrible, I think that this might hurt chances of success of an offshoot or sequel even if it's good. Case in point: years ago we watched the Casshan: Robot Hunter OVA at our anime club for the express purpose of making fun of it. It's a pretty terrible movie. This past Fall, when Casshern SINS was released, I know at least a couple of people who avoided it, or refused to register its good points simply because it was based on the same thing (despite the fact that the story has been completely overhauled and most online ratings seem to be positive).
It's been a difficult road for me to begin to try and get over my own prejudices so that I can judge a series on its own merits. I still anticipate every Noitamina series (and truthfully I haven't been burned yet - I even enjoyed Antique Bakery despite its cheesiness) and certain people's names attached to new productions might make me take notice, but for the most part I think I'm doing an okay job.
Oh, and to be clear, my thoughts on Real Drive are actually mostly positive. The pacing is a bit uneven and I get the feeling that the introduction about the burning ocean in episode one might have been kind of a fake-out (it might be addressed in the last couple of episodes, but I'm not there yet), but I think that it's an interesting (if more passive) look at how our use of cyberspace now might evolve into the future with the advent of more immersive technology. And that suits me fine.
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