Lycoris Recoil: Turning Original Anime Production Chaos in Your Favor

https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2022/09/28/lycoris-recoil-and-shingo-adachi-turning-original-anime-production-chaos-in-your-favor/

by nafnlj • 4 years ago

70 17 4 years ago

blog.sakugabooru.com

makeitdouble2• 4 years ago

A bit surprised to see this come up here, but for anyone open to watch anime, this show is truly great.

The article touches upon it, but the strategy the director took was a breath of fresh air: choosing talented people, and giving them enough freedom to make something great within their area.

This can be a recipe for disaster depending on the members, but with people who value collaboration it frees the director from micro-management and allows for each area to make their own tradeoffs.

It's all the more coming from left field as the production company (A-1) is notoriously bad at project management and had several scandals in the past about employees dying of overwork for instance.

nafnlj2• 4 years ago

I didn't expect it to reach page one when I shared it, but great to see (note: I only shared it, not the author). I had some more difficulty with Lycoris Recoil's flaws (aptly noted in the post) than the post did, but the article made me appreciate how much the team had to do to make a successful and entertaining series. I'd be curious to see what they could do with more time to put a season together, either in a second season of Lycoris Recoil or on a different project.

I'll add for anyone reading this post that this kind of long-form anime production content is characteristic of Sakuga Blog. It is a site worth following if you have any interest in anime or more broadly in media production.

bebna• 4 years ago

The article touches upon it, but the strategy the director took was a breath of fresh air: choosing talented people, and giving them enough freedom to make something great within their area.

Or let work hard and then let them have free reign for a while. See Panty and Stockings. (Not for everyones taste.)

majou• 4 years ago

Trigger is doing the second season of PSG, very exciting~

nvarsj• 4 years ago

I really enjoyed LycoReco too! One of my favourites of the season, and I'm surprised to see it on HN.

One thing sakuga blog hammers in every article is how chaotic production is. It's a miracle that shows of this quality get produced at all. I get the general sense it's largely a result of passion and connections - the star director here pulled in friends and prior coworkers, and even his wife, to help make the show what it is. And I doubt they got paid much or anything at all.

You can see that in the writing - it is all over the place and nonsensical at times. But somehow the overall show still works, which is pretty amazing for an original.

LiquidSky2• 4 years ago

It's a miracle that shows of this quality get produced at all.

Especially given what's known about production budgets and animator pay. Those people do amazing work for the conditions they work under.

blondin• 4 years ago

the article says this anime is a surprise hit this year. says who? by what measure? i read the article and a little about the anime itself and i am not going to waste my time on it.

it reeks an over-the-top big guns to little girls trope. an incoherent and disconnected story, which the article admits. and a lot of fan service. because that's what they do to keep young viewers when the story sucks and nothing else matters. and reviews are saying it's good even though the story sucks! what else can be good when there is no story?

so not for everyone. but if that's your thing, suit yourself.

testermelon• 4 years ago

I suppose the writer meant it in the sense that no one hyped prior to its release. Being original work instead of adaptation is one factor.

How do you measure popularity objectively anyway. Sites like MAL might do well but in the end it’s in the amount and quality of conversations that truly matter. Hard to measure.

and reviews are saying it's good even though the story sucks! what else can be good when there is no story?

I beg to differ. There can be more than just story in anime. Presentation itself is an aspect that cannot be dismissed. Because the expressiveness of the medium provides capability to tell narratives as pure sensory experience as well, not merely plot points.

makeitdouble2• 4 years ago

On metrics, it's the #1 anime on viewership polls, "radio" events have a big following, and it has pretty strong reviews in general.

It's a surprise in the sense that it's trending at the same levels as SpyxFamily while having no existing manga following or dumpsters of money pushed into promotion. The "dark horse" monicker could be applicable I guess.

On taste, well, to each their own ?

TT-3922• 4 years ago

I thought i was a really fun anime. But I like my, not super high quality, turn your brain off, anime. It is by no way a great anime. I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. But I definitely wouldn't recommend it to everyone. You need to be the correct audience for this show.

As for surprise hit of the year, yup, this is not it. If we go by expected shitty anime that was surprisingly good. My vote would go to isekai ojisan. And if we go by expected good anime that turned out to be amazing, it would be kaguya.

lycoris recoil isn't in there it is just one of the enjoyable seasonal shows.

throwaway_anime2• 4 years ago

We also have stronger candidates like cyberpunk Edge runner, overlord, engage kiss, and made in abyss this season. There is also summertime render from last season which is still airing.

Tough for lycoris to shine.

nafnlj2• 4 years ago

I second Kaguya. The same blog//author wrote a detailed article about the production challenges of the third season: https://blog.sakugabooru.com/2022/06/30/kaguya-sama-love-is-...

LiquidSky2• 4 years ago

what else can be good when there is no story?

The, uh, animation part.

CHB0403085482• 4 years ago

Spy x Family season 2 coming this weekend. Oh boy!

Currently listening to Ya Boy Kongming Opening Full『Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - QUEENDOM』

Lycoris Recoil: Turning Original Anime Production Chaos in Your Favor

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