Talk:Anime/@comment-162.72.98.30-20141230040731/@comment-140.0.248.172-20150101202203

Well, the first ep at least looks very promising. The anime's producers decided to take a serious tone without forcing us to take Kancolle seriously (I especially like how they treat damage exactly like the game). Basically, they've made sure that the kanmusu treat their world seriously - as they should, they live in it - but let us choose how to look at it. They've also avoided trying to overexplain how things got to where they are, thank goodness. That's a good start to draw in the mainstream. Keep it light and don't take yourself too seriously. At the same time, there's enough kanmusu game quotes to make teitokus happy. I feel that this is the way to go. Fubuki Ganbarimasu is too full of historical and game trivia that it would have inevitably alienated the mainstream audience had they animated it.

Arpeggio is a complex political sci-fi manga, not a fun action romp like Kancolle. It feels awfully full of plot holes because the plot advances too slowly. That said, as of the most recent Japanese release we've learned quite a lot more about the Fog, how their tech works, and how their factions are divided. Oh, and they even have their own Akashi, lol. Most of the seeming plot holes are being plugged with each new revelation, but some mysteries remain. Plus, it was never about one man vs. the world but about how to form alliances and organize effective resistance from a position of absolute weakness. Ark Performance took a very realistic view by recognizing that real world resistances succeed when many from the enemy's side join their cause. It's just that Arpeggio's version of enemy politicians are ditzy teenage girls with godlike firepower. As of the most recent chapters, Gunzou isn't really driving the plot anymore. He already managed to get the various human and Fog factions moving and working together or against each other across Fog-human boundaries, so now they're each doing their own things. The best part is how Zuikaku successfully corrupted the I-400 sisters into being even more human than Iona, which hopefully means they won't end up like in Ars Nova.

Kancolle, on the other hand, is completely plotless (unless by plot you mean Atago's chest), and that's it's primary strength. Being plotless actually helps Kancolle become imminently accessible. Hopefully the anime's producers also realize this and avoid forcing a plot into the Kancolle world that might make it more rigid than it needs to be. A good way for the anime to proceed is to keep up with Fubuki's progression, introduce her sisters, level her up with Akagi as mentor, and finish with her getting a kai ni. In the meantime, give us lots of Kongou-time.