I don’t know about you, but I seriously am not fond of waiting. I don’t like to be left to wait for anyone to pick me up that is why I prefer to drive. I hate waiting for downloads to finish or my programs to run their processes. I don’t like to wait for my pre-orders to arrive, but too bad I don’t have a choice. I DON’T LIKE A SERIES TO BE SPLIT INTO MULTIPLE SEASONS BECAUSE A STORY IS BEST TOLD CONTINUOUSLY.
But that’s probably just me.
With shows like Fate/Zero and RinLag already split into two seasons with waiting months in between, I certainly do not wish for other series to follow suit. Unfortunately, my cries were not heard. Jormungand became the latest series to have adopted such an approach. It’s very different from the usual sequels I’m used to, especially in the case of Fate/Zero in which the story continues straight from where it left off the first season.
Normally, I’m excited when sequels to my favorite series are announced, but these sequels aren’t confirmed until much later unlike the aforementioned, which seems to be planned in advance. Personally, I prefer Fate/Zero and RinLag to continuously air all its episodes because that keeps the momentum going. If you’re a Fate/Zero fan as I am, don’t you think the story kind of lose a little of its oomph after a season’s break? Don’t get me wrong. I still like Fate/Zero and I think it’s still great. But I couldn’t help but think it could’ve been better if all the 25 episodes are aired in consecutive weeks. The story could’ve been more appealing if all the scenes/battles/conversations are still fresh in mind. Maybe I’m a bit old and my memory is failing me, but there’s just this nagging feeling inside me I couldn’t get rid off.
Now there could be many reasons why it’s been set that way. Quality assurance maybe? Time concern maybe? Lack of resources maybe? There are myriads of reasons I could think of but that’s not important now is it? What’s important is whether we as viewers are dealing okay with it. Whether we like a favorite series to be split intentionally.
It seems like a trend lately. Or has it been around a long time? Do you like or not like this sort of approach? What say you?
World of Yamaguchi Hoshiko 
Yes it looks like a new trend. And the other possible new anime that is going to have a 2nd season is probably going to be Kuroko no Basuke and Inu x Boku(aside from the one you have already mentioned). I don’t like this trend one bit but I suppose they don’t really want to split it into 2 at all. It’s just that they don’t have time for production plus earning money at the same time while they try to finish it.
Ah..this really isn’t good news for me but we’ll all survive I guess. Gosh, I wish they will stop splitting a series into two seasons like that. T.T
I know right. 😦 I hate waiting as well.
While I agree with you, it seems that this is going to be normality from now on. Its a bit sad, but maybe makes it easier for the production company to be “safe”…:P
It’s really sad for me actually, but you’re probably right – this does make it easier for them to play “safe”. So far the series I follow have pretty good first seasons.
This reminds me of a friend I know who absolutely refuses to watch a show he’s interested in weekly doses (Once a week) so he waits till the show is 100% complete (Or the season’s over) to pick it up. As for your main topic, as much as it’s upsetting, I guess that’s their new approach now. I too wish to see more of Madoka and her bigamy ASAP. Such is life.
On the bright side, for me, I’m getting both Horizon 2 and Lagrange’s 2nd half at the same time this Summer. Hot Diggity Dog!
Life can be pretty cruel sometimes huh? There are series that I chose to only watch after the season is complete but then there are some I like to watch it on weekly basis. It just so happen the latter picks are following this new approach that I’m not fond of. >.<
That's two! Good for ya. At least, you'll have something you know is awesome to look forward to this Summer. =)
Maybe they need extra time to get things right? We can only hope. Rinne no Lagrange wasn’t that bad because they reached a decent stopping point before doing the season skip…unlike Fate/Zero that stopped right before a major battle and trolled us.
I was literally screaming when I saw that Fate/Zero ending. While I’m satisfied with the way things picked up from there now that the series is back on air, I feel that it could’ve been better if it was continuous. Waiting one week to know what happens after a cliffhanger is bad enough, what more to say 3 months.
Splitting the seasons like this doesn’t make as much sense to me. Maybe it’s to spread out how long people stay fans of the show and buy stuff, but I’d think it would result in lots of people not coming back for season 2, so it still feels like a bad idea.
It doesn’t make much sense to me either. Yes, indeed there’s such a danger with this approach and it will affect the overall impressions to a series I think.
Yeah, Fate/Zero basically started this whole “split-cour within the year” series, and in F/Z’s case (I can’t compare with RinLag ’cause I didn’t get around to watching it) it’s totally about quality assurance. With all the CG and the animation magic ufotable does, they need that one season layoff to deliver the same quality for another 12 episodes. I believe it to be the same case with Jormungand, I think.
My stand on it, well, I’m not that fond of it either, but it’s a safer approach for adaptations with loads of material to animate.
Both Fate/Zero and RinLag are great in all areas, in my opinion. While they offer high quality animations, I can’t help but to think that it affects my overall viewing experience.
Yes I had several miserable memories with series splitting *ahem* The super “I’m going to shoot you” cliffhanger from Code Geass” *ahem* Guess that what happens when you don’t have budget. . . . .
That’s awful. That’s really awful.
In general I prefer 20+ episode animes anyway, so I would rather like to see a certain anime at a consistent pace each week. Haha waiting for a new ep each week is already quite hard 😀
Well, Im not that bothered by a few months waiting time in between. I felt it was rather short in case of Fate Zero. But you have a point, after the waiting time the wow effect is smaller and it doesn’t feel as awesome as before unfortunately.
It can’t be helped, at least it will take no years, till we see the next part.
I know right? It’s already hard enough to wait for the new episode releases each week and now I have to wait for months to see the next episode. Hmm…now that you’ve mentioned that, I should be grateful that I don’t have to wait for years to see what happens next. >.<
Its a starting trend that I hate, because me too im an impatient person, but then who knows whats happening behind the scenes with the production maybe its the best choice for them, well if the quality and such is good such as Fate/Zero then I have nothing to say 🙂
*High five! =)
Well, this is the new trend and it seems like it’s going to be around for a while. I guess I should learn to accept it if the quality is well maintained (although I really, really hate waiting).
Nah, it’s because the producers had been sadistic lately and likes teasing us. I like teasing though, I’m a masochist [wat]
Lol, this comment made me laugh.
I don’t like it when they split a series into two seasons either. My guess is that they’re doing to to recover costs. Since most of their revenue is generated from DVD and BD sales, stopping a series half-way would allow them to bring in more money to spend on producing the rest of the series. It would keep the quality high and dampen the effects of a bad product, but it’s really annoying for fans.
Looks like everyone is agreeing that this approach helps in terms of quality assurance but certainly bad for the fans. It would be great if there’s a solution that provides what both parties are looking for.
Speaking of waiting, it reminds me of the Nyan-Koi anime. I was waiting for the second season until now. No news about it though but I did saw a sneak peek of the second season at the end of the first one. Normally they’d release the second season not long after they show you the sneak peek but not this one. I’ve been waiting since 2009. 😦
It really sucks when this sort of thing happens. It leaves the story hanging at most cases and that’s bad. I never like it when a story doesn’t have a proper ending. T.T
Yeah, it kind of makes you feel frustrated.
To be honest, I am not really sure how I feel about. It is sort of frustating, since you basically have to wait a season or even years in some cases before the next season/continuation comes out. By that time (like with Shakugan No Shana) my memory is sort of hazy of the events that happened, so my interest goes down rather than up if I have to backtrack through information, Usually, I am good at remembering some information (like with Zero No Tsukamia F). On the other hand, I am sort of getting use to it, for whatever werid reason the directors/production studio choose to do it for. At least for some of the shows like Rinne no lagrange and kyoukai no horizon they actually have dates entered for when the season is coming out unlike some others
(I.E Nogizaka Haruka 3rd announced but no date and same for Seitokai no Ichizon 2. Although, I guess those programs are not yet green-lit)
I get what you mean. It’s not fun if we have to wait for months or years to see how a story will continue. But in Fate/Zero and RinLag cases, the story seem to be intentionally split into two seasons when they could’ve done it in one.
True, but then again, series like Fate/Zero would be unbearable to watch in one setting in my opinion. Directors are probably not trying to overload the audience. Rinne No Lagrange, one the shows I did like from last season, it does have an OVA coming out soon, so maybe it has something to do plot wise to bridge it to the second season.
A more practical reason could be that it is just more cost effect to bring out a split season of 12 or 13 rather than a whole 24 or 26. I have heard complaints that directors were not able to accrue on sells of series they produced, so I guess this is a way to keep viewer interest. After all, if you brought the first season DVD/BD’s (if not downloaded them) you will want the second half. Not sure if that is it, but a good guess.
I have the opposite opinion from you in this case. I prefer to watch Fate/Zero in one setting. It’s the kind of show that is best watch continuously.
Yes, I agree. Cost could be one of the reason, although I doubt if this method is going to keep the viewers’ interest. With a break in between, it’s easy to lose interest, especially when they’re new shows are coming in and whatnot. Unfortunately for some series, the second half was never produced.
I’m not fond of the waiting game either. I kinda forgot about Fate/Zero, guess I should catch up. I don’t like seeing anime split in two intentionally ahead of time, nor put in 11 episode format when there’s obviously lots more that could be animated. I’m a fan of stories that run around 20 episodes because it seems like the story is told with more detail that way, and rarely does it feel rushed. Another grumble I have is waiting for subtitles on shows I really like. It seems there’s always one or two that are weeks behind schedule. I know I shouldn’t complain, and just go out and learn Japanese, but it’s not always that easy.
See, that’s one of the reasons I dislike this whole intentional splitting thing. We tend to forget what happened before the season break and with so many new series coming in, we end up losing interest.
I feel your pain about waiting for subs to be released. There a few series, especially the non-popular ones, which take days before the subs are finally released. By then, my twitter timeline is already flooded with “sneak peeks”.
I think this has got to do with budget trends and other factors. Back in the 90’s, Most long anime are 2 cours, meaning they run for 24+ episodes straight. I think this has got to do with production companies back then have more money to reserve a series to a certain time block long enough for a 2 cour anime to run straight its entirety. Fast forward towards the present, when budget is now scarce and most of it either goes into the animation or into churning more merchandise to milk money from otaku (in which is quite sensible from the capitalist POV), in order to cut costs most production studios either cut down on the animation budget or split 2 cour anime into 2 seasons. Buying a time block especially if its primetime can be quite expesnive so to save costs, they divide long anime into 2 seasons nowadays. It is also this reasoning that anime such as FateZero is aired during midnight Japan time. Personally, I think that LagRin and FateZero are deliberately separated into two seasons.
Nowadays, moe anime is quite cheap to make and guarantees revenues, but yeah, I’m getting out of topic…
I wonder if it’s possible to gather enough production resources before starting to produce an anime. Say, if the expected production resources is not attainable then the project will be put on hold until there are enough resources. Maybe this isn’t the most feasible of doing business but then again, I believe some anime fans will appreciate the continuous viewing experience.
I also think that LagRin and FateZero plus Jormungand are deliberately split into two seasons. And as mentioned before, it’s a trend I dislike.
Lol…but there are people who don’t just like anything moe so there are also risks.