Monday, July 28, 2008

ToLoveRu: Getting A Little Old...


Currently finished: Episode 16

It's still funny. It's still outrageous. But it's getting old.

After I had shaken off the initial displease of it blatantly taking materials from other similar animes, I start to like this anime because it's refreshing. However, lately it has just been repeating itself over and over again. There really nothing new any more. Even those outrageous comedies, after having seen it some many time, it's not that funny any more. They seriously need to come up with something new soon or it'll just become one of those highly repetitive comedy animes that shows up way too often.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Of Course They Knew Each Other From Long Time Ago


Currently finished: Episode 2

It's just too common and convenient that the main guy and the main girl of a light school drama anime somehow knew each other long long time ago. Usually, it's something the main guy did that become a life changing event for the main girl. We've seen that in Shuffle!, Kanon, Clannad (partially), and lot of other animes. It's a common "reusable" theme for this type of anime.

Another thing need to mention about this anime is that it is massively heavy on "Moe". I think that's the whole selling point of this anime/manga.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Clannad Special: What if...


On the last disc of Clannad DVD, there is an extra episode. It the story of "what if" Okazaki went with Tomoyo Sakagami.

I was kind of hoping to see the death of another major character. Then I came to my senses: nobody wants to see tragedies nowadays. I'm probably the very few people who like to be emotionally tortured by tragedies. Story writers for Clannad has already put one tragedy into the movie, there is no reason for them to do it again. Tragedies just don't sell very well to the generally public.

Overall, as an add-on special, it's a pretty good "alternate timeline" story. It also have some of the usual emotional stir Key/VisualArts have in most of the anime lineup.

Natsume Yuujinchou: Another Mushishi Light?


Currently finished: Episode 2

This is another anime has something to do with traditional Japanese ghost and spirit stories. The structure so far is very similar to Mokke and Mushishi, where every episode, a new "entity" is introduced, and the significance of this entity is explained through some events occurred during the episode.

So far, the "bitter sweet comedy" has been the general approach. In contrast to Mokke and Mushishi, Natsume Yuujinchou seems to be trying to make a much bigger emotional stir.

July 2008 New Anime: Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人)


Info/download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1268.html
Genres: Drama / Samurai
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Realistic / Dark

Summary: In feudal era Japan, a dude became immortal. He's also a professional killer. Now he's on a journey to confess his sin and redeem his soul...by killing more.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 3.75 ~ Still a bit confusing

Personal comments: The first impression, it's way too dark, literally. All scenes in episode 1 are in dark night. I was watching it during the day, and I couldn't make out a thing in many scenes. I have to put it off for the night so I can see clearly what's on the screen. Also, I think this one concludes all the new TV series in July 2008 (that I know of).

Sekirei: The Ikkitousen Syndrome


Currently finished: Episode 3

This anime, suffers greatly from what I called "Ikkitousen Syndrome". The symptoms? The clothes of big breasted female character during combat is always the first to go. The first and most blatant anime I noticed it from is Ikkitousen, thus, I named it the "Ikkitousen Syndrome". The syndrome, usually accompanies animes that are ultra heavy on fan service (e.g. Ikkitousen). However, there are exceptions. Take Sekirei for example. Even though blowing up big breasted female character's clothes away has been an regular occurring event, I wouldn't exactly call this anime fan service heavy. Much like ToLoveRu, even though female clothes are the first to go, the process is usually intentional, which means taking away clothes could cause a difference in current situation (e.g. having an upper hand on a fight due to the female character has to cover herself). Where in Ikkitousen, blowing away the clothes did not change a thing to either party in the battle; it's just "convenient" to have the clothes to be blown away for the audiences.

The bottom line is, Sekirei do have somewhat excessive fan service, but the amont and placement is reasonable. Therefore, I wouldn't hold that against it.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

BitComet, I HATE You

Recently, I decided to clean up some fansub mangas I've downloaded using bittorrent (I have 100+ series that are downloaded waiting for me to clean them up). Half way through, I got very very annoyed by thousands little "padding" file that are downloaded along with the useful files.

These padding files are caused by someone seeding with BitComet client version 0.85 onward. They supposed to help distributed download by having each each BitTorrent "piece" to be occupied by no more than one file. While this little trick works well, it creates lots of unwanted files for people that doesn't use BitComet.

I usually don't criticize free software because I respect those who put their time and energy to work on softwares that they do not directly profit from. In fact, I look down upon those criticize free software, because if you don't like something someone is giving out for free, don't fucking use it or write your own.

However, it is different in the case of BitComet. Even though I can choose not to use BitComet, but, that won't prevent me from getting those annoying padding files because somebody else is using BitComet. If the seeder uses BitComet and you don't, you're doomed to get those padding files. This, in my opinion, is no different than spreading computer worms and virus.

BitComet, I FUCKING HATE YOU!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora: Weird art work, too weird


Currently finished: somewhere in the middle of episode 2

Very few times, I've been completely thrown off an anime by its art style. Unfortunately, this is one of them. That static, cel-shaded, photo realistic background just bothers me too much. I just can't take it. Usually, regardless how much I don't like the art work, I usually manage to stay with the anime until I find out whether the story itself is worth it to put up with the art (Mononoke is an example, which I end up liking). This, however for some reason just crossed the threshold that I couldn't not put up with it for another second. It's bothering me so much that I couldn't even try to concentrate on the story. On top of that, the story itself isn't helping either. It's almost like part of the story is written to show off this weird art.

Verdict: Out, out, out

Monday, July 14, 2008

Strike Witches: No, I was wrong, It's still retarded


Currently finished: Episode 2

Maybe because that the first episode didn't have much actual fighting scene, I though it was acceptable. Then, episode two rolls around the corner, the actual fighting scenes just feel very.......childish. I think this series is best suited for children age 10 and below, where they still get excited watching power rangers. I couldn't believe that I thought it's going to be good at one time. The fact that Gonzo, my favorite anime studio produced this anime didn't really help much. I usually have a very high tolerance level with Gonzo's anime. The fact this one didn't even last past episode two says a lot.

Verdict: Gone.

July 2008 New Anime: Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (乃木坂春香の秘密)


Info/download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1267.html
Genres: School Drama / Comedy
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Common

Summary: Haruka Nogizaka is somewhat a celebrity in her school. She's rich, intelligent, and attractive. Yuto is just a normal guy. One day he ran into her in the library and discovered a secret of her. Things start to become a bit different from then on for Yuto.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 4 ~ Interesting, but also feels a bit retarded at the same time

Personal comments: This is actually based of a manga that just came not too long ago. I was surprised it is made into an anime this quick. About the plot, her so called "secret", is a bit too normal to be called a secret. Maybe it's a culture thing and it is considered to be somewaht significant in Japan. To me, it just feels just a little retarded.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

July 2008 New Anime: Koihime Musou (恋姫 無双)


Info/download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1266.html
Genres: Fantasy
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Cute

Summary: Loosely based of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, at least characters' names are.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 4 ~ Ok for now, we'll see how bad it gets

Persona comments: In stead of using a completely different setting like Ikkitousen, this series kept the original setting of the three kingdoms to certain extends. The characters, however are as far fetched as they are from Ikkitousen. At least this series isn't too focused on fan service.

July 2008 (kind of) New Anime: Telepathy Shoujo Ran (テレパシー少女 蘭)


Info/download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1249.html
Genres: School Drama / Supernatural
I've watched: 3 episodes
Art style: Common

Summary: A girl named Ran just discovered that she has telepathy power. Weird things start to happen around her.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 4.25 ~ A little childish, but interesting

Personal comments: This series actually came out towards the end of June. At the time, I was way too busy trying to catch up with all the ongoing series so I can get enough time to start reviewing July season, I totally missed this one. I mean normally, new series doesn't start until at least within one week of July, but this one started on June 21, way ahead of the normal July season start time. Anyway, back to the anime itself, the art work feels a bit childish. It lays somewhere in between the common anime art and the art style used in Denno Coil. The story itself, felt a bit childish to begin with, too. But as it progresses, it's actually getting interesting.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

July 2008 New Anime: Slayers Revolution


Info/download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1253.html
Genres: Comedy / Fantasy
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Saber Marionette J style (high cheek bone, flat face)

Summary: Lina and Gourry is on their way to find a replace weapon.

Rating: 4.25 ~ Slayers is always funny

Personal comments: I've never completely finished any previous Slayers series, because of time constrains, not because I don't like them. For what I know about slayers, nothing seems to have changed in this one. It'll be just another wacky comedy series. I, however, need to dig out the older Slayers series and finish them up.

July 2008 New Anime: Tetsuwan Birdy Decode (鉄腕バーディーDECODE)


Info/Download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1258.html
Genres: SciFi / Action
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: common

Summary: Federation investigator Birdy is on a mission to catch some space criminal where he escaped to earth. Birdy then has to disguise her self as an idol model and live on earth in order to find the criminal. During an encounter, she accidentally wounded a guy named Senkawa. She saved his life, but now linked with Birdy.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 4.25 ~ A good action anime

Personal comments: None for the moment.

July 2008 New Anime: Mission-E


Info: (official) http://avexmovie.jp/lineup/mission-e/
Download: No English Sub available yet
Genres: SciFi / Supernatural / Action
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Common

Summary: Sequel to Code E. The main character from Code E reappears in this series, bit more mature and can control her power little better. Now she works for an organization called Oz, who trains and protects people who has the power to disrupt electronic devices (so called "Type E").

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 3.75 ~ Not bas as a sequel to an series that I couldn't finish

Personal comments: With the knowledge of only half of the original series, Code E, this one makes enough sense to me that I wouldn't just drop it. Even though it's a sequel to Code E, the construction seems completely different. So far it looks a bit more interesting then the original series. Who know, it may end up being the same as the first series where it gets boring half way through. For now, I'll keep watching.

July 2008 New Anime: Antique Bakery (西洋骨董洋菓子店 ~アンティーク~)


Info/Download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1255.html
Genres: Drama / Food? / Gay / Gay / Gay / Gay
I've watched: about 15 minutes
Art style: Pretty boy

Summary: Some dude quit his job and want to open up a bakery shop. The first guy applied is some gay guy that he went to high school together and had a crush on him.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: N/A ~Too gay, I'm not going to bother to rate it

Personal comments: Ahhhhh~~~~~~~

July 2008 New Anime: Strike Witches


Info: http://s-witch.cute.or.jp/
Download: http://www.baka-updates.com/
Genres: Magic / Mecha (kind of) / SciFi / Military
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Childish

Summary: In 1939, alien force attacked earth. The only effective weapon against them is something called "Strike Unit", which is a magically enhanced device that can be worn by female magic wielder called "witch". The military unit is then known as "Strike Witches".

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 3.75 ~ Better than I thought

Personal comments: There was an OVA earlier this year with same name. The TV series, I guess is either a spinoff or an alternate re-telling. I watched about 10 minutes of the OVA and threw it away because it just looks...retarded. On top of that, the OVA jumped into the story quickly without giving proper background explanation. The TV series, has a proper introduction and development so far. Besides, it's produced by Gonzo, I can't just throw it away :-) One thing does bother me a little bit (i.e. they need some proper explaination somewhere down the road) is that when witches activate their power, cat (or maybe dog) ear and tail pop out from their body. Once they stop, they also go away. WTF?!

July 2008 New Anime: Natsume Yuujinchou (夏目友人帳)


Genres: Supernatural
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Soft edge

Summary: Natsume is a boy that can see ghosts and spirits. His recently discovered that his recently deceased grandmother can see them too. Among the belonging of his grandmother, there is a book that contains the name of ghosts and spirits that had fought her and lost. Those spirits are bound to the book to server whoever owns the book.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 3.5 ~ It's a bit strange, maybe just need to get used to it

Personal comments: None at the moment

July 2008 New Anime: Ultraviolet: Code 044


Info: (official) http://uvcode044.jp/
Download: No English Sub yet
Genres: SciFi / Action
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Realistic

Summary: It's somewhat related to the Ultraviolet movie, I guess, since I don't remember much of that movie... This time, she seems to be fighting vampires (it wasn't vampires in the movie, was it?) Basically, the main character is a clone that is used by government to do dirty jobs. Her serial number ends with "044", so her code name become "044".

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 2.75 ~ Being overly subtle

Personal comments: The first episode, made as much sense as Evangelion's ending. Everything is still just a big blur. Maybe I'll feel better about it once I'm more familiar with the background.

Friday, July 11, 2008

July 2008 New Anime: Zero no Tsukaima: Princesses no Rondo (ゼロの使い魔 ~三美姫の輪舞)


Download: No English Sub yet
Genres: Fantasy / Comedy
I've watched: 1 Episode
Art style: Common

Summary: Yet another season of "zero" Louise and her "dog" Saito. It seems that whatever happened in last season has broken the contract between Louise and Saito.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 4 ~ Same old comedy, same old drama, with more emotion involved

Personal comments: The first season, started in light comedy and ended in light comedy. The second season, started in light comedy but ended with some pretty heavy emotional stuff. Now, season three, seems to have started with some pretty heavy emotional stuff. Are they going to end heavy, too?

July 2008 New Anime: World Destruction ~世界撲滅の六人~



Genres: Fantasy / Action
I've watched: 1 episode
Art Style: Common

Summary: In a world where beastman rules over human, there is a "World Destruction Committee" (WTF?) that is determined to destroy the world.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 4 ~ Totally weird, but looks interesting and very fast paced

Personal comments: When you see the title, you know I'd be interested in this anime. Although it's a bit disappointing what it actually is, it's still interesting. This is wacky fantasy world. Everything in it is just...far out there. One thing I do like about it is that it doesn't waste much time, jump right into the action.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

July 2008 New Anime: Yakushiji Ryōko no Kaiki Jikenbo (薬師寺涼子の怪奇事件簿)


Genres: Supernatural / Detective
I've watched: 1 episode
Art style: Hard edge

Summary: Yakushiji Ryoko is a police detective that often deal with cases involve supernatural events. These are some cases she was involved in.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 3.5 ~ Looks interesting so far

Personal comments: Nothing really.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

July 2008 New Anime: Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora (魔法遣いに大切なこと)


Info/Download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1254.html
Genres: Magic / Shoujo / Romance
I've watched: 1 episode
Art Style: Slightly simplifed with cel-shaded photo-realistic background

Summary: In a world where magic use is regulated, Nami is setting off for training so she can better control her power.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 3 ~ The art form is bit too weird...

Personal Comments: This supposed to be s spinoff of Someday's Dreamers. Both have a similar theme: a girl couldn't control her magic power very well is being trained to use her power properly. Come to think of it, Someday's Dreamer is almost 5 years old. I don't recall much of the detail of it any more. But I do remember I liked it, even though it's a bit slow. The new series, is using some sort of weird photo-realistic background. It's interesting and annoying at the same. Because of the photo-realistic background, background are mostly static. Somehow it just makes me uncomfortable.

July 2008 New Anime: Sekirei (セキレイ)


Info/Download: http://www.animesuki.com/series.php/1252.html
Genres: Supernatural / Fan service
I've watched: 1 episode
Art Style: Common / Big Boobs

Summary: A girl with huge boobs fell from sky on some dude. It turns out she's being chased by two other girls who are trying to kill her. Later it was revealed she's something called "Sekirei". Eventually the dude end up being her partner to compete in some strange competition with 108 girls.

Rating (of 5) - first impression: 3.75 ~ Not bad, some of the fan services are bit excessive

Personal comments: Overall, it looks pretty good. However, the amount of fan service scares me a little bit. Hopefully it doesn't turn into another Kanokon or Ikkitousen.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Crystal Blaze: (Ended) Uneventful


Crystal Blaze, in my opinion has a flaw similar Rental Magica: a very anticlimactic ending. The story is ok, so is the build up. However, when it comes down to the ending, everything just seemed too...smooth. There really isn't a big fight. Every character has their pre-set role in the final event that you could predict several episode ahead of time. There is no surprise. You can almost completely predict scene by scene on how the final battle will go down without even seeing it.

I hate unreasonably happy endings, but I hate anticlimactic ending even more.

Final scoreboard (out of 5):

Drama: 3 (As little as it had, there are still some)
Comedy: N/A
Action: 2.5 (Pretty cheesy)
Art/Animation: 3 (Nothing stands out)
Sound/Music: 3 (Same here)
Character: 3.25 (Got some character, but pretty shallow in my opinion)
Plot: 3 (Not a bad plot, but not too good either)
Ending: 1 (Totally anticlimactic)

Re-watch value: 0 (I wouldn't even recommend for the first time)

Overall (not average): 2.5

Recommendation: I'm surprised that I somehow managed to finish it. My recommendation would be "don't bother with it". There are plenty of good animes out there.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Penguin Musume Heart: (Ended) Mkay...


It's short. It's funny. It's mindless.

I don't quite understand why would anybody make an anime that total run time of each episode is about 11 minutes, and out of that 11 minutes, the opening end ending take at least another 3. So the actual run time of the actual episode is about 7 minutes per episode.

This anime, in my opinion is something to watch if you have too much time to burn and in a mood for mindless comedy. The plot is simple. The people in the story are simple. There is no brain needed to watch it. Much like the original Galaxy Angel series. (Btw, that's why I don't like the new Galaxy Angel series, they try to make a simple minded anime too complicated)

Final Scoreboard (out of 5):

Drama: 3 (As simple as it is, there are still dramas)
Comedy: 4 (Oh, quite some, but most are pretty dumb)
Action: 3 (For what they have, it's not too bad)
Art/Animation: 3 (Simplified style)
Sound/Music: 3 (I don't really remember much)
Character: 4 (There are definitely distinct characters)
Plot: 1 (Is there any?)
Ending: 2 (Maybe you could call it an ending...)

Re-watch value: 0 (Watch it again? Are you crazy?)

Overall (not average): 3 (Generally acceptable if you need to burn some free time with some mediocre laughter)

Recommendation: Like I said, unless you really really want to burn some free time on some medicore laughters, don't bother with it

Vampire Knight: (Ended) I Hate Season Ending Cliffhangers


The first season, or first segment of Vampire Knight is over. Before the season ended, they've announced that there will be a second season coming in October. So there is no guessing game. We know there are more to come.

I call it cliffhanger, but in fact, it's more like an abrupt stop point of an ongoing plot. But the effect is actually pretty close to a cliffhanger--you just want to see more.

Even though technically the series has ended, it's really just a mid-season break. So I'm not going to do the full scoreboard review for it just yet--I'll wait for the next part. If you have to know, then just consider this is one series that at the moment on my highly recommended series list. So, go ahead grab all the episodes from the Internet before they disappear.

Current rating (of 5): 4.6

Toshokan Senso: (Ended) Amusing


The war between library and media police, This is just too amusing. The concept, is just astonishingly brilliant. If you think about it, the fundamental issue the author is trying to express does exist in real life. The difference in this story is that it's been stretched to the extreme. But this way, not only they got the idea through, at the same time, it also provided much amusement.

On top of that, I like its ending. It did not end up being a "perfect solution" for everything. It is something that is closer to reality: sacrifices need to be made in order for something to happen; and not all good people have a happy end.

Final scoreboard (out of 5):

Drama: 5 (Great drama)
Comedy: 5 (Very funny)
Action: 3.5 (A little lame, but it's not this anime's focus)
Art/Animation: 4.5 (Elegant)
Sound/Music: 4 (Good BGM)
Character: 5 (Very well developed)
Plot: 5 (Simply brilliant)
Ending: 5 (Realistic)

Re-watch value: 4 (It would still be amusing to watch it second time)

Overall (not average): 4.9 ~ Simply great, it earns my

Award: Best Short Season Light Drama Anime of 2008

Recommendation: This is something you shouldn't miss. Words simply couldn't describe how brilliant this story is. You have to see it.

Kamen no Maid Guy: (Ended) Countdown Continues


This is a series that really doesn't provide anything other than something to be laughed at. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Once a while, it's nice to have a series like this to lighten up your mind. In the past, the only reason I disliked certain pure mindless comedies is that they try to stuff comedies down my throat, regardless you like it or not. Finally, Gonzo manage to come up with a comedy that I like.

One thing to note is that the story is nowhere near the end. The countdown is far from over. This is merely a season break. I expect it to make a full return sometime soon. (Although this could also be a tactic to sell more manga, if they don't make another series)
Final scoreboard (out of 5):

Drama: N/A
Comedy: 4.5 (Blatant and subtle at the same time, nicely done)
Action: 4 (Not its focus, but for what it has, it's pretty good)
Art/Animation: 3.5 (Slightly simplified style, not quite my favorite)
Sound/Music: 4 (Good sound effect)
Character: 4 (As a mindless comedy, they developed the characters quite well)
Plot: N/A
Ending: N/A

Re-watch value: 1 (I don't think there is a need to watch it more than once)

Overall (not average): 4 (One of the better comedies produced by Gonzo)

Recommendation: Sometimes a mindless comedy is nice to lighten up the mood. This is exactly it. Don't expect to get anything other than a good laugh out if it, if you do, you'll be disappointed.

Allison and Lillia: What a Group of Heartless People


Currently finished: Episode 13

Some of you may say that I'm the last person you want to hear complains about hearlessness from. Yes, I admit I'm twisted and evil, BUT I'm not heartless.

In recent episodes, a heartless person showed up, I was a bit surprised that nobody made a big deal about it. Now, I understand why: everybody else in the story is also heartless. I really can't say any more because I'll spoil the plot. All I can say is that this is truely a group of heartless people.

But at least now we know who Lillia is.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Da Capo II Second Season: (Ended) As I predicted

If you've read my last blog post, you probably would have guessed how Da Capo II ended. This kind of ending really irritates me. Not because they ended on the happy side, it's because that it came at no cost--it happened merely because it "should" be that way. Divine intervention, in my opinion is the cheapest exit route for any story.

It also teaches people bad ideas: things would happen just because it "should". In reality, nothing would happen without a proper cause, regardless whether it "should".

Even so, it doesn't mean Da Capo II is a bad anime. In general, it's acceptable. However, "acceptable" is as much as it'll get from me. It really doesn't present anything new. It merely took some ideas from the first series and refitted them into this series.

Final scoreboard (out of 5):

Drama: 3 (Some, but in my opinion is not enough)
Comedy: 3 (I don't believe this is the focus of the series)
Action: N/A
Art/Animation: 3.5 (I like this kind of art style, elegant)
Sound/Music: 3.5 (Ok, I guess)
Character: 3.75 (Character development mostly occurred in the first season)
Plot: 2.75 (Way too predictable)
Ending: 2.5 (Cheap exit route)

Re-watch value: 1 (Why would you)
Overall (not average): 3.25 (It's a wrap-up to the first part, but overall, it doesn't really present anything new)

Recommendation: Unless you really really like the original Da Capo series, or you just have too much time to kill, I wouldn't recommend this series.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Speaking About Tragedy...

As you all know by now, I'm a huge fan of tragedies. Unfortunately, not many story writers are willing go that route.

Take the most recent example, Da Capo II Second Season. It is a series that has huge potential to end tragically. In fact, it had "tragedy" written all over it. But it didn't end it that way. As I predicted in an earlier post, something is going to happen for no reason to turn this tragic ending around just enough to end in the happy side.

I don't like that. But that's what most story writers tend to do. This is a typical happiness chart for a typical drama anime:

Happy
|
| _......_
| / \
| __/ \ _ The End
|__/ \ /
+--------......----\---------/--------------Time
| \ /
| \ /
| \___/
Sad

When the story have tragedy potential, they usually don't end the story on the tragedies. Instead, they use it as the event prior to the last one, and always manage to do something afterwards to "correct" it so the whole story ends on the "happy" side.

However, there are exceptions. Most notable ones are the stories written by Visual Arts/Key and some works done by Gonzo. They end up with a happiness chart like this:


Happy
|
| _......_
| / \
| __/ \
|__/ \
+--------......----\------------------Time
| \
| \ _The End
| \___/
Sad


Even though sometimes they still have a slight happiness recovery, the key is that they never cross the threshold and always end up on the sad side of the neutral line. This is what I prefer.

In fact, the story I would really like to see is something with a happiness chart like this:


Happy
|
| _......_
| / |
| __/ |
|__/ \
+--------......--\--------------------Time
| \
| |
| \
| \
| \
| \
| \_The End
Sad


Not only there is a high contrast between happiness and sadness, the sadness should also outweight the happiness. That is my ideal tragedy story.