Bad news - second season of JK ending at 45

[Chaotic_reign]

Unfortunately I'm the harbringer of bad news: this season of JK is ending at ep 45.

Here's the official notice:
BS2「十二国記」放送終了のお知らせ

NHKアニメ「十二国記」は第45話「東の海神　西の滄海　転章」で終了いたします。

昨年度、BS2で放送した「月の影　影の海」「風の海　迷宮の岸」「書簡」「風の万里　黎明の空」が好評でしたので、今
年度は、昨年度のストーリーの後日談として「乗月」「東の海神　西の滄海」を制作・放送いたしました。

小野不由美さん原作の「十二国記」シリーズには、今回アニメ化されなかったエピソードがまだあります。NHKアニメ
のホームページあてにも「黄昏の岸　暁の天」や「図南の翼」のアニメ化のご要望を多くいただいています。

今回のＴＶアニメシリーズでは、陽子を中心にストーリーを展開してきましたが、原作シリーズの中では「黄昏の岸
　暁の天」の他に陽子の絡んでくるエピソードは残っていません。
また、原作シリーズは全体としては未完です。登場人物（「黄昏の岸　暁の天」の阿選など）の考え方や性格が現時
点で完全には描写されていないところもあり、アニメ化に際して、原作にのっとった形で登場人物を生き生きと描いて
いくのは困難な状況です。
これらの状況を考え、「東の海神　西の滄海」の完結時点でアニメーションの制作・放送をひとまず終了することにい
たしました。ご了承下さい。

NHKアニメ「十二国記」をこれまで応援していただき、本当にありがとうございました。なお、教育テレビと衛星ハイビ
ジョンでの「十二国記」の放送は継続いたします。教育テレビと衛星ハイビジョンでの、第40話「乗月」～第45話「東の
海神　西の滄海　転章」までの放送は、現在のところ未定ですが、実現できるよう?#123;整しています。
今後とも、「十二国記」への暖かいご声援をお願いいたします

From what I can make of it, it relates to how the producers don't have enough information at this point to properly integrate the next arcs into the anime while retaining Yoko as a main POV character (since she is basically the main character of the anime)...people who've read the novels will know that quite a bit was added in in the Kaze no Umi, Meikyuu no Kishi arc to blend the arc as a continuation of Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi (and they did quite a good job there too). Apparently the producers felt that with the lack of "foreseeing" this time with Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora (actually, something about how they don't know enough about the personality of characters in the arc), they can't do that seamlessly, so they're waiting for more books to come out before they proceed any further. Which probably means a long wait.

I'm kind of glad I bought the novels now (even if I'll struggle mightily to understand them... )

[Zonis]

*inseart loud obsenity* They cant do this to us!!!

[oion]

As long as this arc has closure, I'll be (relatively) happy. I do like the idea of blending the arcs better with Youko as the main character - hopefully in the future there will be a lot more material to work with. And hopefully the author doesn't take too long in writing these novels.

Waiting for Taiki arc to finish.... Now, if THAT arc would close perfectly, like the Youko-empress arc at 39 did, boy oh boy.

*And since the novels are supposed to be coming here via Del Rey...

[Shilahr]

*sigh*

Thus ends the best Anime ever unfinished, while Dragonball continues to this day - it's unfair!

DelRey betta be fast with those translations (and accurate too) !!!

Greetz,
Shilahr

[oion]

It's true that it would be terribly unfortunate if they didn't continue the series... but it's not like there's not closure at all. Like Kenshin's two recommended arcs (1-12 Tokyo, 28-62 Kyoto), one could just buy 12k 1-14 and 22-39 and be happy with that closure. ^^; I suppose...

And there's no word that it's officially ended, either; it did take them a while to put out ep40, remember, so maybe a little longer for the next arc. Keep hope!

[saiki]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. THE HORRER. THE HORRER.

Anyone know the schedule for the "last" 4 eps (42-45) ?

[jmc]

(Tries to see the bright side)

Well, if more novels are written, isn't this ultimately a good thing?

[Ostsol]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. THE HORRER. THE HORRER.

Anyone know the schedule for the "last" 4 eps (42-45) ?

Episode 43 was only recently added to the official site, so it's not much longer. . .

[garamir]

This is a horrible April Fools' joke.

Ending the second season after six episodes and just after picking up an R1 license... what a bizarre move. I hope this means that they expect more books in the near future. Why'd they even bother starting this season and telling everyone they'd have 68 episodes, only to pull the plug on it after two months?

At least we'll get the novels.

Well, if more novels are written, isn't this ultimately a good thing?

Not if "ultimately" = three or four years.

Thus ends the best Anime ever unfinished, while Dragonball continues to this day - it's unfair!

Uh, Dragonball's been over for quite a while in Japan.

[Zonis]

yeah but they ultimatly made like a thousand episodes

[Atosryac]

Wow! This must be a recent posting...I was browsing NHK's site this morning when I was d/l'ing ep 43 (raw), and that info hadn't been updated yet.

From what I can make of it, it relates to how the producers don't have enough information at this point to properly integrate the next arcs into the anime while retaining Yoko as a main POV character (since she is basically the main character of the anime)...

You got the gist of it. Eh, well, out of boredom, here's a quick 'n dirty t/l of the article:

---

The NHK anime "Juuni Kokki" will end at episode 45, "Higashi no Wadatsumi, Nishi no Soukai Reminiscence Chapter".

Last year "Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi", "Kaze no Umi, Meikyuu no Kishi", "Shokan", and "Kaze no Banri, Reimei no Sora" aired on BS2 [the satellite channel] and were well received. This year, as a sequel to last year's series, "Jougetsu" and "Higashi no Wadatsumi, Nishi no Soukai" have been produced and broadcast.

Within Ono Fuyumi's original "Juuni Kokki" series there are still episodes that have not been animated. There has been much demand directed at the NHK Anime homepage to animate "Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora" and "Tonan no Tsubasa".

The current anime series has been built up to center on Youko, but in the original series, aside from "Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora", no episodes remain that involve Youko. Furthermore, the original series as a whole is unfinished. There are places where the thought processes and personalities of characters (such as Asen [Tai's General of the Right Div'n of the Kingun]) are at present not fully depicted, so that when turned into animation it is difficult to depict the characters vividly in accordance with the original work. Taking the circumstances into consideration, the production and broadcast of the animation will for the time being end with the conclusion of "Higashi no Wadatsumi, Nishi no Soukai". Thank you for your understanding.

[Last paragraph is a "thanks for your support now & in the future" and a note that the JK encore broadcast will continue on the NHK educational channel and Hi-Vision satellite channel.]

---

I second the "glad I bought the novels" sentiment. Here's hoping there's continuation of both the novels and anime in the future!

[garamir]

I can only hope that the fact that they're willing to rerun the series again means that they've extracted promises from the author to finish more stories so they can continue. Also, that there are enough rabid fans over there to go beat down their doors if they decide to cancel it, so that I don't have to do so myself.

[Shilahr]

Uh, Dragonball's been over for quite a while in Japan.

Sorry, didn't know that (I got to anime through my husband, and we are not buying any magazines and such that make it possible to stay up-to-date - and I gotta admit I didn't check online before I posted.), but you gotta admit, there are a LOT of episodes...of a series which couldn't be more crudely animated and boring in my opinion. So it's as good as neverending

But let's not start a DB-Discussion here, JK is the important thing here.

I wonder whether the fans over there might get the big heads in the studios to do something like OAVs of the different arcs which haven't been done, or a second series...just because the FIRST series ends, it doesn't mean that there won't be any new JK-Series-Material anymore!
Perhaps they are even thinking about it now and just not announcing it because they haven't reached a decision - true, I am pretty optimistic right now, but it's better than sulking because of the studio's decision...

And hopefully soon, the novels will arrive here, and all the Non-Japanese-Speakers will be happy again for a while

Greetz,
Shilahr

[oion]

...
The current anime series has been built up to center on Youko, but in the original series, aside from "Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora", no episodes remain that involve Youko. Furthermore, the original series as a whole is unfinished. ...

Wait wait... So in the original novels, Youko disappears completely? Aww, I really like her character, too. If that's true, ehhhh... I don't know, I like retaining original characters in a series rather than cycling over them, but it may be true that the new characters are just as endearing. Hmmm. Sort of like the Star Trek or Dragonlance universes, right? (I think...) Well shoot, I still want them to retain Youko and Rakushun in the anime. If they can't do that, I'd rather keep/get the great closure surrounding Kei. But we'll see. This was one of the best-directed animes I've seen in a while, so I don't mind NHK looking forward to character development and so forth. I'll forgive them after they gave us ep39, hehehe.

[oion]

btw, did *NHK* ever actually officially announce it as 68 eps, or was that only a "substantial" rumour? People have said 68 here and there, but I'd like to know who the actual source(s) was. ^^;

[Natsuko]

btw, did *NHK* ever actually officially announce it as 68 eps, or was that only a "substantial" rumour? People have said 68 here and there, but I'd like to know who the actual source(s) was. ^^;

To my knowledge, the Media Blasters rep on AnimeonDVD forums said it was 68 right after they announced they had licensed it.

[bigfire]

btw, did *NHK* ever actually officially announce it as 68 eps, or was that only a "substantial" rumour? People have said 68 here and there, but I'd like to know who the actual source(s) was. ^^;

The 68 episode came from the president of Media Blaster, the R1 licensee company.

[JK Newbie]

If it's only the season ending then no big deal, right?
The animation series isn't ending is it?

[Shilahr]

Newbie: If it was just the season, it was no big deal.

The official end of the first season, as far as I understood it, was Ep. 39.
But now, they said they would stop making any new eps after 45, because they can't integrate Yoko in the Storyline (an argument I don't get, as the Taiki-Arc survived largely without her [This Skeleton-Thing with her visiting Hou was only put in afterwards, again as far as I understand it, and to me it also felt like it a little - it had no substance. They could've left it out alltogether]), until more novels have been released, as they hope that they get new ideas from it on how to integrate her.

Sadly, the last novel has been written 1997 afaik, so that could be a LONG wait...

This is how I understood it. Should something be fundamentally wrong, slap me over the head

Greetz,
Shilahr

[Ahiru]

But now, they said they would stop making any new eps after 45, because they can't integrate Yoko in the Storyline (an argument I don't get, as the Taiki-Arc survived largely without her

I don't get it either, since the main story left to animate (end of Taiki arc) features a lot of Youko. I don't understand why they don't end the season/series with that story, that's what I thought they were preparing to do.
It wouldn't be the first time the animators change a book's characters' personalities to fit new storylines in anime, so the whole part about "characters not wholly developed" is a bit weird as well.

Ahiru

[garamir]

I can only assume that they want to end the series on the Taiki arc to provide the strongest connection to Youko. They could fill in the rest with other arcs, but if they ended on a random "The Tale of the Kingdom of (blah)," then people might feel that the story just trailed off and got lost in side-stories. The novels don't make Youko the main character, but the show did, so they had to worry about it.

[Ahiru]

If the series is 68 episodes, then there are only 23 episodes left, which fits one of the other arcs and the "big" Taiki arc (<-- that was my theory ^^; ), so they can end it with the big blast. Although...

SPOILERS------------ (end of Taiki 2nd comming arc)
(Highlight to read better, don't want to be accused of spoiling unaware readers who need glasses to read capital letters ^_^ )

... the end of the Taiki arc is rather subdued in a way, so maybe that is their problem, that there is no "big fireworks end"?

END SPOILERS

Ahiru

[Reckless Angel]

you get the feeling that sugimoto will be rather prominent in the continued taiki arc..

I wouldn't mind so much if the main character of the rest of the series was atleast someone who we've met before..

'this marked the beginning of Nakajima Youko's story..."
... later... "I realized my story had yet to begin."


( just noticed youko saying "the generals of the province of Baku were strong" after the big battles)

[moon]

If I could deal with no ending to Heroic Legend of Arslan and no finish to Basarra then I guess I can live with this. But it is sad. I had to piece together the endings of both and that was alot of work. Both of those are OVA's and both were stopped do to lack of money. Maybe that's the real story behind them not finishing the story. I would hate to see them cut it off though, like the last ep of Gundam Wing, kind of left you wondering if something was missing. Let us "pray" to the Anime Gods that we get to see the ending.

*Divine Message from Tentei: Use the Edit button rather than making another post about your edit...*

[Asano]

Asano.... rises from the dead.....

MWAHHAHAAHAHAHAAH

<Asano returns to the happy place>

Asano
- undead loon -