Recently, I’ve watched a few videos on Youtube that showcased clips from YashaHime, a sequel to an anime from my teenage years called, Inuyasha. The clips didn’t particularly interest me, but it did send me down a rabbit hole where I read the comment section…a controversial act indeed that I would normally avoid at all costs. Most comment sections are drudgery circle-jerks, going round and round with disagreements, complaints, and compliments. From what I saw in the comments section there were many fans that were happy to see the old cast of characters and an alarming amount of them, who had actually watched the show, were devastated by the lack of quality in writing, character development, and planning. There were plot-holes in the magic system, drama for the sake of drama, and boring main characters. As with many adapted works it was okayed/consulted by the original creator, Rumiko Takahashi. I wonder why?

Why would an author who crafted such an epic, successful tale allow it to unravel in the sequel? Was it simply unplanned? A money-grab? Or worse, can a creator lose sight of what they created (looking at JK Rowling’s awful plot holes and canon breaks in Fantastic Beasts)? Even if it was a money grab, it still begs the question as to why the story still can’t uphold the same level of quality and thoughtfulness as the original? Either way, Takahashi and the producers make money because people will watch no matter what, but continuing to uphold the higher standard seems like it would only be in the best interest of everyone. A better reputation and happier fans will bolster profit.

There will be unhappy fans no matter what. We can look to the 80/20 rule in order to please at least 80 percent of the fans. Sequels are tricky and easily bombed, but there are many successful examples, as well. Is it because they were planned?

Quality is the issue I’ve had with seemingly several unplanned sequels and remakes. I can’t even begin to touch on the live-action releases of all the Disney Princess movies. Then there are the live-action releases of Avatar the Last Airbender, Full Metal Alchemist, Yu Yu Hakusho, Cowboy Beebop, etc. Is the issue simply because I don’t think animation translates well to live-action? Maybe. Even with our super-duper CGI capabilities there is something about animation, especially hand-drawn, that seems superior, in my opinion. Yet I think it goes back to the point of quality.

A show I wanted to watch recently but could not bring myself to is The Rings of Power. I read a discussion thread on Reddit.com to see how the fans of Lord of the Rings were receiving it. In the top comment, one fan remarked about how Galadriel is reverted from a mature, powerful, thousands of years-old elven elder to a willful, rebellious young girl. This fan contemplated how the writers and producers need to take a (arguably) middle-aged woman and make her a young girl to attract viewers:

Look I understand what Amazon is doing. They want a story arc where a character starts as a hot head. They want big character growth. But using Galadriel in this role in the second age is silly. This may fit her character in the Years of the Trees 4000 years earlier. Instead they should have used a younger elf or an original character to play this role. Again I know why Amazon did this because Galadriel is well know to casuals. So basically they took the name recognition of Galadriel and basically got rid of what she did in the past 4000 years. Basically we got a Galadriel who is living 4000 years in the future. Edit: to be clear I don’t think this show is trash. I did enjoy the first 2 episodes and eagerly look forward to the rest of the season. I don’t think the story arc of Galadriel is bad. They should have just used a younger elf to play that role and have Galadriel be her mentor.”

https://www.reddit.com/r/LOTR_on_Prime/comments/x6i7eu/galadriel_is_over_5000_years_old_in_rings_of_power/

Why is thousands of years-old Galadriel hard to write? She’s still a beautiful woman, aesthetically, since elves don’t age…if we need to go there. Why is she not interesting? It would finally be something different if a story was told from a mature, powerful woman’s POV. My husband watched it, and he agreed it was mediocre. I wish they had strived to meet the standard of LOTR’s success with this new series. And meeting that standard starts with recognizing the canon timeline, facts, and the basis of world-building. At the very least.

It seems the ultimate disservice to myself to allow others to formulate my decisions about whether or not I should watch a show or movie. I saw arguments about that as well, online, saying that you should always watch for yourself to figure out if you will actually like something. That is a good point. My recent example would be: Aside from catching glimpses of Yashahime, I recently watched Obi Wan despite, hearing a lot of critical comments. My husband is a big fan of Star Wars. I like the movies, but not enough to count myself as a “fan”. But boy were the comments true. Even my husband lamented about the storyline, stating that the canon plot of Obi-Wan is literally him hiding in the desert and not doing anything for however many years before he picks up Luke. So starting from there Disney is altering the original ideas, not a great start. One would think that Disney, of all companies, could afford to hire better writers. If it’s laziness at the fact they can make money off of it no matter what, that’s fairly depressing.

Time is a precious commodity, and I would rather focus my energy, attention, and time on what I know will be quality entertainment. I understand that there many people who could give a crap about the “original” or the “quality.” They simply want to be entertained and dissociate from reality which is what shows, movies, and books do for us. I read a lot of fan fiction. And many writers are absolutely able to get the voice and depth of the characters and the magic systems in these stories right even when the scenarios and worlds are changed for creative reasons. I’ve read stories where my favorite samurai character, Kenshin Himura, goes to high school in the present day. It’s totally different from the original story, but it was still good writing and an entertaining story. So I’m especially disappointed when money-backed creativity fails so badly in the quality of the production. I genuinely want to see these stories spin-off, continue, and expand. If we thought a little more about quality instead of quantity or how fast we can get something, then I think many things in life would be better.