Comments on: SHUFFLE! 14

By: Stripey

Stripey — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 09:48:26 +0000

I guess my fav would DCS1 with kiminozo coming a close 2nd. Air would take the 3rd spot (no thanks to the ending which I blame the source material for) and Kanon a 4th due to severe choppiness and the lacklusture art despite the tearjerker plot.

As for SHUFFLE ending postulation, yeah I would love a Asa ending. Unfortunately tiding endings don’t seem to be the forte of most animators :) (I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Shuffle though :P) Since SHUFFLE does not employ the one-girl-at-one-time strategy as do most HGTA, it might actually break tradition and go the way of your postulated Asa-ending. (yay!) However, seeing Kaede’s story is currently the most under-developed of the girls, my money remains on Kaede since in most harem series, it’s the last girl whose story get told that gets the guy. As of ep 14, Shia/Nerine/Asa/Primula backstories have been unravelled much more than Kaede. I love how the series is concurrently weaving all the girls’ storythreads to possibly culminate to multiple closures near the end of the series (ie Da Capo style). However, Kaede’s story is still scant and I suspect she’s the anchor and would close the series with her snagging Rin.

Just my 2 secs worth. Heh, probly have a Shuffle entry soon. Thanks for the inspiration :)

By: Zyl

Zyl — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 09:01:56 +0000

Bro Stripey> So which is your top HGTA so far? Kiminozu ranks highly for me on drama, everyone being screwed up and the impact of ep 2’s ending alone. DC (not DCSS!) was good also but still had the choppy one-girl-at- a-time feel about it. Tsukihime had gorgeous character design but hardly even began to fully develop the promise of the game story.

On Asa v Kaede and the ship-Kaede link, I’ve been influenced by you on both counts though now that I’ve played the Asa (and Nerine) scenarios of the game, if Rin chooses Asa it will much tidier for the script and direction esp w respect to Kaede. There’s a wonderful game scene when Rin and Asa tell Kaede about their relationship and gets her blessing quite easily as Kaede respects and likes Asa plus she knows Asa will make Rin happy. Also the way Asa’s sickness is being developed along roughly the same lines as in the game - it’s critical to Asa and Rin knowing each other much more deeply. Also the fairly early timing of Rin’s decision of which girl he likes (ep 18) may parallel the game when Asa’s condition only deteriorates considerably after she gets together with Rin, requiring his help to save her.

By: Stripey

Stripey — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 08:41:20 +0000

Just caught up with SHUFFLE and I must say they are doing a fantastic job so far. This is one H-game turned anime that didn’t feel heavily segmented by moving from one girl to another. Ep 12-14 is a excellent proof of solid story-telling as Asa/Kaede/Nerine and Shia are concurrently developed despite a Primula centric ep. I don’t remember any other HGTA that handled the numerous girls’ story threads with such mindful consideration. I too would love a Asa finale since she IS undoubtedly the most suitable for him; the one who REALLY knows Rin for who he is. But the series leans towards a Kaede ending since the ship is which a key plot-tool of the series seems to be tied to Kaede.

This has to be one of the best HGTA series I have seen.