Monday, June 30, 2008

The Tower of Druaga ~ The Aegis of Uruk: (Ended) Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?


Gonzo, as one of my most highly rated anime production studio, has not been producing works that live up to the standards they've set in the past. The Tower of Druaga is just another example. However, as bad as I think it is for an anime produced by Gonzo, there are some redeeming values: though it's a bit late, they weren't afraid to kill major (well, somewhat major) character(s). Also, the story itself is not that bad, what made it terrible is the fillers. It would be a much better anime sereis if they'd cut out all the fillers and compress it into a six-episode OVA.

The worst part, I think is how it ended. Clearly, they're just planting the seeds for the next series "The Sword of Uruk". I have no problem with breaking long anime into multiple short season with breaks in between. But with an abrupt ending and the giant cliffhanger, along with large amount of filler of the first season, you start to wonder whether the decision of breaking this series into multiple seasons is purely money driven.

Like it or not, this is how it's going to be. We won't see the next part of this series until 2009 - that's the date given at the end of last episode about when the next season will start.

One more thing, the openning credit scene, which I was kind of hoping I could find out what is that all about by the end of this series, will stay as a mystery until the next season (or even possibly forever). At least now I understand why the poster behind them says July 2009. That means...We have to wait an entire year before we get to know the rest of the story. No!!!!!!!!!

Final scoreboard (out of 5):

Drama: 3.5 (Some, but the episodes made it too hard to connect)
Comedy: 3.5 (Mostly contributed by certain character's retardation)
Action: 2 (Doesn't look very impressive)
Art/Animation: 3 (Nothing special)
Sound/Music: 3 (Don't remember much)
Character: 3.75 (There are some character development)
Plot: 3 (Only if they could get rid of all the fillers...)
Ending: 1 (For now. I hate cliffhanger endings like this, even when I know there is another season coming)

Re-watch value: 1 (Why would you ever want to watch it again)

Overall (not average): 2.75 (They'll have to come up with something impressive to redeem themselves in the second season)

Recommendation: With an abrupt ending and huge cliffhanger, I can't give any recommendation yet. My best suggestion would be keep it somewhere until the second season come out, then I can give you a definite recommendation.

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