Tenjho Tenge Impressions

[Relwarc]

Wow. All I have to say is...I'm really surprised. I never thought I'd enjoy a ridiculous fighting show like Tenjho Tenge nearly as much as I am. Having seen the first three discs (and the killer opening sequence), I'm hooked. I'm definitely in line to buy the complete collection when it comes out in October.

Was anyone else taken off guard as to how not bad this show was? It's not the stuff of epics or classics, but it makes me want to marathon it all in one sitting so I can find out just what the hell happened "in the past." And Maya and Mitsuomi? Sexual tension galore. :D

[Fencedude]

err...no?

[Speedy Boris]

I've been meaning to watch this but never got around to buying the singles. Will be checking out the complete collection in October, though.

[Andrew Cunningham]

I was a fan of the manga, but the animation and direction was just so damn awful I gave up after a few episodes.

[HitokiriShadow]

It was alright. I enjoyed the flashback (longest flashback ever?) but the 'ending' sucked hard.

Someday I'll get around to reading scans of the manga, but I can wait until its actually finished.

[christianlf]

I was a fan of the manga, but the animation and direction was just so damn awful I gave up after a few episodes.

Yeah, pretty much my reaction to it, as well. When the high point of a show is in the first two episodes ('cause I can't remember which ep Nagi gets his shit stomped), it's really not a good sign. :sd: It basically takes everything the manga excels at and ruins it. The show just reeked of ineptitude, from the direction to the animation to the acting.

[AbeChinchilla]

Just enjoy it, and don't pay any attention to anyone who'll bring up their dislike of the show, especially if their beef is with the ending of the anime series.

I'm glad I bought and watched the show all the way through. It was fun, and that's all that mattered to me.

[Speedy Boris]

I'm curious what some of you are meaning when you say it's poorly directed. Are you referring to poor pacing, badly choreographed fight scenes, abrupt editing, inconsistent animation/character designs? All of the above?

[Fencedude]

I'm curious what some of you are meaning when you say it's poorly directed. Are you referring to poor pacing, badly choreographed fight scenes, abrupt editing, inconsistent animation/character designs? All of the above?

All of the above and more

[christianlf]

I'm curious what some of you are meaning when you say it's poorly directed. Are you referring to poor pacing, badly choreographed fight scenes, abrupt editing, inconsistent animation/character designs? All of the above?

All of the above, plus the poor art design (in general, not just characters...whoever decided this type of dark story needed that color palette deserves to be whacked with a wet trout) and shitful seiyuu work (can't comment on the dubbing). I've never really bothered to look up the creative staff, so I can't comment as to their real experience, but the show really came off to me as if the director didn't have a damn clue what he was doing. And not much of a budget to boot.

[KK1]

Have you read the manga? If no, just enjoy the show if you like it.(and then go read the manga and bask in it's superiority) If yes, wow really you like it that much?

[mike.motaku]

I'm kind of surprised/kind of not about the reaction to this series. I've enjoyed what I've seen a lot and yet the manga fans moan continuously about how horrible it is. I don't read manga much outside of Tezuka reprints so hunting down the "vastly superior" manga doesn't really appeal to me.

While I appreciate the differing opinions, being told that something I like is total crap compared to something I'll never read doesn't really change my mind about whether or not I like it. But if it makes you feel like you're better than me, go for it. Knock yourselves out. I don't care.

It just seems to me that manga fans for the most part want a slavish animated duplicate of what they've read and are never willing to make allowances for a different creative view or even the slightest change in the story as they know it. Whatever. :roll: I got bigger fish to fry.

[Speedy Boris]

I'm curious what some of you are meaning when you say it's poorly directed. Are you referring to poor pacing, badly choreographed fight scenes, abrupt editing, inconsistent animation/character designs? All of the above?

All of the above, plus the poor art design (in general, not just characters...whoever decided this type of dark story needed that color palette deserves to be whacked with a wet trout) and shitful seiyuu work (can't comment on the dubbing). I've never really bothered to look up the creative staff, so I can't comment as to their real experience, but the show really came off to me as if the director didn't have a damn clue what he was doing. And not much of a budget to boot. It appears that the director, Toshifumi Kawase, has done quite a bit of mecha work. Perhaps it would've been better to put a director with more martial arts animation experience in the director's chair?

As for "go read the manga", well... I WOULD but the last time I checked, it's edited.

[KK1]

It just seems to me that manga fans for the most part want a slavish animated duplicate of what they've read and are never willing to make allowances for a different creative view or even the slightest change in the story as they know it. Whatever. :roll: I got bigger fish to fry.

Not me, I saw the anime first and that was my problem after reading the manga, the anime didn't even try try for a different creative view but did try to be a slavish duplicate of the manga and failed miserably. It just seemed like a really half-assed lazy job that took no advantage of the differences anime can offer over manga.

[christianlf]

While I appreciate the differing opinions, being told that something I like is total crap compared to something I'll never read doesn't really change my mind about whether or not I like it. But if it makes you feel like you're better than me, go for it. Knock yourselves out. I don't care.

It just seems to me that manga fans for the most part want a slavish animated duplicate of what they've read and are never willing to make allowances for a different creative view or even the slightest change in the story as they know it. Whatever. :roll: I got bigger fish to fry.

I was waiting for the first one of these posts... :D The show has a ton of flaws, and they are only amplified by comparison to the manga. I certainly don't demand a "slavish animated duplicate." I demand a quality show, and that's all. Judged alone, the show is "total crap" all on its own merits. I'm sort of tired of seeing all of the criticism being writ off as angry manga fans. The manga has nothing to do with the shitty animation, the horrid acting, the terrible pacing, the inability to keep model, or any of the other myriad problems in the show.

Also, dude, you really ought to think about removing the chip from your shoulder already. Seriously.

[CGord]

I wanted to like it, I really did, but in the end, I just couldn't do it. It started good & then fell apart.

[Westlo]

The artwork/animation was horrible and most fights were crap apart episode 2. That has nothing to do with the manga, happy?

[Relwarc]

Have you read the manga? If no, just enjoy the show if you like it.(and then go read the manga and bask in it's superiority) If yes, wow really you like it that much?

I haven't read the manga. And having just seen up to disc five, I really think this show's a lot of fun. Especially the syrupy histrionics of all the cast members in the flashback. I've never seen a show that takes itself so seriously. It's laugh out loud funny a lot of the time. And the DBZ "powering up" sequences are uproarious. I'm also a sucker for starcrossed love subplots (which Mitsuomi and Maya fit into nicely).

I actually don't much care about the main cast (Bob, Soichiro, Aya). It's a pity they aren't...more interesting. Bunshichi would've made a great lead, for instance. Ah, well, c'est la vie!