Happy endings, unhappy beginnings...

[Garasharp K7]

You know how some upbeat and lighthearted shows sometimes end up with sequels that take most, if not all the fun elements of the original and chuck 'em out the window?
Here's the situation: at the end of the series, challenges are met, obstacles overcome, the villain of the piece is well and truly trounced, friendships are forged and a bright future is on the horizon - y'know, all that positive feel-good stuff. But then, along comes the OVA or movie and we find favourite characters either missing, dead, or having exprienced some traumatic event that's left them a shadow of their former selves. And the show's mood is one of pessimism and despair for the most part.
It's a bit of a downer, ain't it?

I watched Gate Keepers recently, and I really enjoyed it. A fun little show with some wonderfully silly moments, ("Use this giant piano we built for just such an unlikely emergency!" - Loved that bit :) ) really old-school tokusatsu-style villains (the invaders look like something Shotaro Ishinomori might've come up with) and a generally upbeat vibe to it. Finished that one, and thought "that was cool, what's the OVA like?"
And so, on to the sequel...
It's like they took the Nadesico movie, the last episode of Mahoromatic and those eps of Gurren Lagann where Rossiu acts like a total bastard and fused them together - and Gate Keepers 21 was the result. It's not a bad show exactly, but it's practically an antithesis of the previous series. It's such a downbeat show, with very little of what made the original such fun to watch. What happened to Shun, Ruriko and the rest? How did Reiji come back? And wasn't he with the black hats before? How'd he turn into a good guy? Those questions are never answered. (Though I bet they were in a light novel or audio drama or something along those lines) Oh well, at least Yukino came back. :)
At any rate, while it didn't ruin the whole series for me or anything, it was still a bit of a let down; a fun show with a depressing follow-up. A bit of drama is all well and good, but I prefer happy endings, to be honest. :)

So what other fun shows ended up with downbeat sequels? Got any favourite series that you found slightly spoiled (or outright ruined) by a change in tone? What about shows that went through a mood swing half-way through?
I remember the first time I saw the final ep of Mahoromatic. Now there was a downer of an ending. I don't mind tellin' ya, my eyes were far from dry after watching that one. All I can say is, thank God for the summer special. :) The manga's ending wasn't bad either.

[The Great Bear]

na geanna is something that should no longer be spoken of. Let us pretend the second half does not exist.

Steel Angel Kurumi is a show where I didn't really like the switch to All Dark and Dreary™ at the end. But the OVA more than made up for it by going to back to completely silly nonsense.

The change in tone in MoonPhase (moving from being lighthearted to burning people to death in a fire--or not) was initially annoying, but it made sense by the time the show was over.

[DiGiKerot]

Those questions are never answered. (Though I bet they were in a light novel or audio drama or something along those lines)

Yup, there's a Gatekeepers novel set in the 80s which reputedly explains these things. I say reputedly because it's rare enough that I've never come across anyone who's actually read it, despite their best efforts to find a copy.

Personally, though, I was more of a fan of 21 and the original series.

[Suwako Moriya]

You know how some upbeat and lighthearted shows sometimes end up with sequels that take most, if not all the fun elements of the original and chuck 'em out the window?

Speaking of that strategy one has to wonder what the purpose of it is... Either they're trying to attract a new audience or they think their current audience will be wowed by their loved show suddenly becoming more 'mature'. The problem is they run the risk of two things.

First is being too reliant on the idea that "life sucks"= "uber mature" and the second is that many of the elements they try to remove to make the show supposedly more mature may have been the reason people enjoyed it in the first place.

Then again to be fair sometimes it can be good for a series to move on into new territory and in a sense grow up. The key of course is not forgetting its own past.

All I know is watching the Nadesico movie for the first time after having seen the TV series was a bit jarring. Granted the major problem with that was the *******ing need to buy a game that never came out here to get the whole story and the fact they should have expanded things a bit more.

[Garasharp K7]

All I know is watching the Nadesico movie for the first time after having seen the TV series was a bit jarring. Granted the major problem with that was the *******ing need to buy a game that never came out here to get the whole story and the fact they should have expanded things a bit more.

Oh, I hear that - I eventually found most of the details after searching through the odd website or two. (I think someone here posted a link to a synopsis of the 'Tale of Ruri' novel a while back) And the whole thing doesn't end with the games either. I think there's another novel that finishes the story too.
(to be honest, the only thing I didn't like about the flick is that Yurika is reduced to little more than an ornament for most of the movie)

I get what you're saying about how a change in tone can help flesh out a story, and that can lead to an interesting series. Times change, and people do too, but sometimes the show loses something along the way that made it so enjoyable to begin with. And then you en up with a show that bears little or no resemblance to the original. Sucks if your favourite characters get killed off too. :)
I mean, imagine if Azumanga Daioh turned into something like 'The Drifting Classroom' halfway through the series. That'd screw things up somethin' fierce, wouldn't it? :)
(And before anyone mentions it, yes I have seen that doujin. It's a bit on the messed up side, I thought)

[Suwako Moriya]

And then you en up with a show that bears little or no resemblance to the original. Sucks if your favourite characters get killed off too. :)

Ah yes that can be rather painful especially if the death is handled wrong. Although if handled right it does have an emotional kick. Still death in general can be tricky.

I mean, imagine if Azumanga Daioh turned into something like 'The Drifting Classroom' halfway through the series.

Impossible for me to since I'm not familiar with it, but I get the feeling based on the line of conversation it's a dark story. Where rather bad stuff probably happens.

[Collectonian]

Blue Seed did this one. Series ends with some good upbeat notes, then get to the OVA and OMG, Kusanigi is all ready to cheat on Momiji because now he suddenly has issues with demon-human relationships, and the cutest relationship from the series is over and they are all broken up for stupid reasons

[pianocello]

Quote:I mean, imagine if Azumanga Daioh turned into something like 'The Drifting Classroom' halfway through the series.






Impossible for me to since I'm not familiar with it, but I get the feeling based on the line of conversation it's a dark story. Where rather bad stuff probably happens.


The Drifting Classroom is one of the disturbing doujinshi I've ever read. It's like watching the Azumanga cast transfered into the set of Higurashi. At least Kimura gets what he deserves... :laugh:

[karen0586]

Blue Seed did this one. Series ends with some good upbeat notes, then get to the OVA and OMG, Kusanigi is all ready to cheat on Momiji because now he suddenly has issues with demon-human relationships, and the cutest relationship from the series is over and they are all broken up for stupid reasons

I think I may have missed something with Blue Seed then since I didn't see that at all.

But yes, I understand exactly what you mean here. This is one of the reasons as to why I've avoided the Nadesico Movie altogether and there was also another series that did the same thing for me but I don't remember which one it was.

I really hate it when they do that...

[Njr Scrawl]

Its arguable, but Monster might just come under that description.

[Daniel_Perales]

Steel Angel Kurumi is a show where I didn't really like the switch to All Dark and Dreary™ at the end. But the OVA more than made up for it by going to back to completely silly nonsense.


Actually, I liked the way it played out toward the end of the first series. The situation that these characters had faced made me cared more about them. I liked the OVA as well. It made it seems that everything was back to normal.

"SAK2", on the other hand, I just cringe thinking about it.


Danny

[The Great Bear]

"SAK2", on the other hand, I just cringe thinking about it.

Like na geanna, SAK2 is something I pretend doesn't exist. Fortunately, I was able to see it without wasting any of my money on it. Frankly, I'd rather they bring out Kurumi Zero, a short OVA where nothing happens, but at least the girls look good in it.

[DanielJr]

Blue Seed did this one. Series ends with some good upbeat notes, then get to the OVA and OMG, Kusanigi is all ready to cheat on Momiji because now he suddenly has issues with demon-human relationships, and the cutest relationship from the series is over and they are all broken up for stupid reasons
I totally agree with you here, dude.

I'm going to add Tenchi Muyo! to the mix. The original OVAs were fantastic, but that third OVA really crapped things. Too many new characters, new stories, new girlfriend... and a really really REALLY rushed resolution. Even with watching Tenchi GXP, it all felt wrong and forced.

There just wasn't enough Ryoko/Ayeka/Tenchi fiascos that us fans were looking forward to so much.

[pianocello]

"SAK2", on the other hand, I just cringe thinking about it.


Danny



SAK2 is AWESOME!!!!

[ADC]

"SAK2", on the other hand, I just cringe thinking about it.
SAK2 is AWESOME!!!!
It's not just awesome, it's awful! :P

[Daniel_Perales]

"SAK2", on the other hand, I just cringe thinking about it.


Danny



SAK2 is AWESOME!!!!

That's your opinion.

It was quite a chore just to go through it. I liked the slight update of the character designs, but the characters themselves were just plain anoying. :mad:


Danny

[The Great Bear]

SAK2 is AWESOME!!!!

Well, you're entitled to your opinion :sd:

Personally, I think SAK2 is beyond help. Boring, stupid, and doesn't even do anything interesting with the characters. Even the gratuitous nudity didn't make it better.

[Isuzu Inugami]

I've outright avoided the second Rurouni Kenshin OAV series after hearing what a horrible ending it inflicts upon the characters.

[SinnerChrono]

I will give SAK2 a little credit though, I loved the remix of the opening song a little bit more than the original. :3

[The Great Bear]

I will give SAK2 a little credit though, I loved the remix of the opening song a little bit more than the original. :3

Yeah, the remixed OP is nice and peppy, and the ED is actually better than SAK's rather boring ED.

But I think you'll agree that better music alone does not a better show make :P