Gonzo licensed pretty much everything in their portfolio to Funimation at fire sale prices a couple of months ago. Half way through the production of Saki it was transferred to another studio (Picture Magic). Gonzo's official store is closing at the end of the month. And I read somewhere that there aren't any announced Gonzo shows for Fall and Winter. Is this the end for Gonzo? (See TJ, Pete.)

If Gonzo really does go to the great harem comedy in the sky, I'll be sorry. Yeah, they've turned out a hell of a lot of crap (e.g. Dragonaut). But they've given me some good times and a lot of cheap thrills. And there was something a bit unique about the feel of a Gonzo show that I don't really get from anyone else.

I've been sitting here thinking about it, comparing the feel of Gonzo shows to Studio Fantasia, and realized that it isn't the same. Gonzo is completely earnest.

They're both pandering, but Studio Fantasia never pretends otherwise. They may be telling a decent story (and sometimes their stories and characters are very engaging) but they never pretend that they're producing great art. Studio Fantasia is not pretentious, and that's part of why I love them so.

Gonzo, on the other hand, always seemed completely serious about what they were doing. There was no self-consciousness at all about it, even when they really were producing utter crap.

Not really praiseworthy, but definitely unique. And there's a certain sympathy I feel when someone is trying their best and really trying to produce good stuff, even if they fail and keep failing, me as an American there's a tendency to root for them. Try again! Maybe next time you'll get it right!

Someone who tries their best deserves some sympathy and encouragement, even if their "best" is not so good. I suppose it's the same kind of urge that keeps Cubby fans going to their games. Or Red Sox fans. There's always next year! You know...

Only maybe now with Gonzo there won't be.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 12:10 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
Post contains 350 words, total size 2 kb.

1

Has Strike Witches S2 been canned then?

At the end of the day that's business for you, companies fail and new ones come along. Hopefully the good staff will find work at other studio's and keep us amused for years to come

Posted by: Andy Janes at September 14, 2009 01:23 PM (cEaZp)

2

I haven't heard anything about that either way. I suspect no one knows, not even at Gonzo.

Given that Strike Witches was one of their most successful shows, it's one of the properties they have which is valuable and so it seems at least somewhat likely that it will survive, even though it's virtually certain that if it does it'll be done by someone else.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at September 14, 2009 03:24 PM (+rSRq)

3 By the same token, I think there will still be a season 2 of Saki, though I wouldn't want to bet on who would do it.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at September 14, 2009 03:25 PM (+rSRq)

4 Companies come and go -- just ask ADV.   I'll definitely miss the Gonzo trademark fanservice though. The talent, on the other hand, will remain in the industry, one way or another.

Kyoto Animation is hardly in danger of dying (despite the wishes of many enraged fanbois), but a good example of this is their former employee Yutaka Yamamoto.  While he was largely blamed at the time for ten minutes of discussing how to eat a chocolate coronet in Lucky Star, his subsequent departure and the idiocy of 8 identical episodes in Melancholy's season 2 has retroactively raised him into the "real reason" for the first season's runaway success among fans.  This has led to fans looking forward to the upcoming efforts by Ordet, the new studio he has founded with other ex-Kyoto artists. 

Who knows?  He might pick up some Gonzo people too....

Posted by: ubu at September 14, 2009 07:17 PM (fH0L/)

5 First to ubu: I watched most of Kannagi recently (two episodes to go), and I thought it was pretty well done for what it is (but I'm a sucker for voice acting, and I liked the voices in Kannagi). And I enjoyed the first few episodes of Lucky Star a lot more than the rest of the season. So, while I don't have strong passions when it comes to anime you can count me as a Yamamoto partisan, not that I bear any ill-will toward KyoAni for firing him.

As for Gonzo... I'm sorry to see such a big studio go out of business, and I've seen only a fraction of their works, but looking over a list of their titles, almost every one I've seen left me with a bit of a bad taste. The exceptions are Baccano, which I liked, and Vandread. I happen to really hate badly done 3D in anime (one of Gonzo's hallmarks) and Vandread made my eyes hurt, but aside from that I didn't actively dislike it. I didn't finish the second season though.

So if ubu is right, and the Gonzo staff move on to new and better pastures, this might be a plus in my eyes. But I also think it's a symptom of the fact that anime production is a really marginal enterprise, and is becoming more so. I mean- there will always be anime studios, but I think there might be fewer of them in the future, and less budget both individually and in whole. I'd like to think that that will mean less ridiculously bad stuff, but I'm enough of a cynic to think that it might actually mean less room for people to make the really good stuff. But hey- that's the way things go sometimes.

Posted by: tds at September 14, 2009 08:34 PM (zjX5u)

6

The industry has been overdue for shakeout for quite a while now, and Gonzo has sort of been "on the bubble" for a long time, too. But if I had to pick a handful of studios to shake out, Gonzo wouldn't be on my list.

(KyoAni would be, though.)

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at September 14, 2009 08:41 PM (+rSRq)

7 After Endless Eight, I tend to agree with you, just a little, Steven. As if that weren't bad enough, KyoAni has really fallen in the art world, and it used to be their great selling point.

tds: I'm afraid I tend to believe the darker of the two alternatives you posit. 

And although I didn't like Kannagi that much, the OP definitely showcases Yutaka's strengths.  He could make a career out of just creating OP's and ED's.

Posted by: ubu at September 14, 2009 09:26 PM (fH0L/)

8 Hmm- I'd much rather see Gonzo shake out yhan Kyoani. The thing is- Gonzo is what it is, and isn't going to change. Now if you tend to like Gonzo's series that's a good thing. I tend to dislike their shows, but I'd go so far as to claim that they are amazingly technically inept for a studio that was once one of the mojor players.

Kyoani is a slightly different story, I think, KA's animation is certainly the most accomplished in this decade- I mean, I think Air is a tremendous waste of air, but it's beatifully animated.

KyoAni probably peaked with Kanon. I'm not generally a fan ofthat kind of thing, but..I watched Kanon just because it was so beautifully done.

Anyway I'd much rather see gonzo go. In 17 years

Posted by: tds at September 14, 2009 11:55 PM (zjX5u)

9

My comment about KyoAni was a joke.

I never said I liked most Gonzo shows.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at September 15, 2009 03:29 AM (+rSRq)

10 Ah, OK. After endless eight it's hard to tell if things like that are a joke . I do find KyoAni kind of frustrating, myself. So much potential, but what we get is Clannad, etc.... Anyway, sorry if I took you more seriously than I should have.

Posted by: tds at September 15, 2009 06:49 AM (zjX5u)

11

Curiously, there is a new scanlation for Vandred at OneManga.  It does not appear to be a doujinshi, and is supposed to be by Gonzo, but I can't be sure of that or the publication date.  The chapter posted is a variant story, set at a catholic school.with Hibiki as a teacher, Barnette as a tsundere student, Meia as class delinquent  (age 21!), the engineer as doctor, Jura as a nun/teacher and BC as the pricincipal.  Dita... well, she's Dita.  

Supposedly, the last chapter will be a side-story set in the original universe.

Posted by: ubu at September 15, 2009 09:35 AM (i7ZAU)

12 Meanwhile I learned that Princess Lover was produced by a newly founded studio GoHands. So it's not like there's a huge consolidation going on or anything.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at September 17, 2009 10:44 AM (/ppBw)

13 Looks like that manga is Vandread Special Stage from 2002. The publishing credits say it's official. Out of print, of course, as is the digital art book.

-j

Posted by: J Greely at September 17, 2009 11:25 AM (9Nz6c)

Hide Comments | Add Comment