The Twelve Kingdoms Forum

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention.php?id=129

Because the character designer for the 12 Kingdoms series is currently having health problems, no more episodes of the series past the current 45 will be produced.

Oh no! That sounds like more of a permenant suspension as opposed to the previously believed indefinite suspension. This is not good. There are 3 character designers, however, so maybe they will carry on eventually. Hopefully the sick one will recover though. Sadness...

That is disapointing, but hopefully the animator will recover. I wish Del Ray or some other american seller would release those novels here. Maybe by the time she's done writing the series, the rest of the anime producers will be in better health.

This sounds like a cheap excuse if they mean to end it for that reason alone permanently.. If it was temp cause someone is sick then i would have found it believable, but now it just sounds like theyre looking for a reason to end it and make up some cheap excuse.

zidane wrote:This sounds like a cheap excuse if they mean to end it for that reason alone permanently.. If it was temp cause someone is sick then i would have found it believable, but now it just sounds like theyre looking for a reason to end it and make up some cheap excuse.

That is the most insensitive statement I've heard in a long time! A cheap excuse? Come on. When it's stated in a press release that a project has been terminated due to someone's "health problems", they're not saying the person has the flu or a bad cold. The phrase "health problems" is indicative of a prolonged, disabling health condition that in all likelyhood could lead to death. As a JK fan I'm ashamed that you would put the progression of the series over someone else's health.

What the hell does being a fan of something have to do with the problems you have with my statement? I dont even know the guy/woman. I would be a hypocrit to act like i was praying here for his life or something. I just find it weird that the condition of an art director is a reason to permanently close a book on a series, an art directors role might be significant, but not that significant. Last year there was the excuse of the lack of material, and now it turns out to be something else, weird imo, just say its over with, like now. Stop putting false hope up, now they played with the expectations for people for almost a year. Also when i fall ill at my work, or for that matter millions of people elsewhere, believe me, eventualy the show will go on, and they wont stop like that, thats what i find most strange.

zidane wrote:What the hell does being a fan of something have to do with the problems you have with my statement? I dont even know the guy/woman. I would be a hypocrit to act like i was praying here for his life or something.

As fans we're not just supporting the series, we're supporting those who make it possible. Just because you don't personally know them does not mean you shouldn't care. I'm not calling for a vigil or anything, I'm just asking that you show a little sensitivity here.

zidane wrote:I just find it weird that the condition of an art director is a reason to permanently close a book on a series, an art directors role might be significant, but not that significant.

Somewhat contrary to my first post in this thread, the loss of one of their character designers, of which they only have 3, would be quite a blow, especially if it were the designer in charge of the main characters (the other two are responsible for supporting characters). Without a character designer, you don't get characters. Sure, someone else could try and pick things up, but everyone has there own style, so it wouldn't be the same.

zidane wrote:Last year there was the excuse of the lack of material

Fuyumi Ono, the author of the books hasn't been writing since 2001. The book series is incomplete. To complicate things further, the anime series chose to put a primary focus on Youko. It is extremely difficult to keep a cohesive plotline when the source material is incomplete. That is why the series had previously been put on hiatus. They want to give a quality product the whole way through rather than ruin it with a few hacked-together episodes to finish it.

zidane wrote:just say its over with, like now. Stop putting false hope up, now they played with the expectations for people for almost a year.

Yes, I hope that production will pick up again someday. Yes, I know that it most likely won't. There never was a claim that it would, either. It was indefinitely cancelled without any statement as to whether it would continue or not. Any conclusions you drew from their statement were your own.

zidane wrote:Also when i fall ill at my work, or for that matter millions of people elsewhere, believe me, eventualy the show will go on, and they wont stop like that

I'm making a bit of an assumption here so forgive me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that you're probably not as critical to your place of employment as a character designer is to an anime series. If you lose the designer, you lose the characters. If you lose the characters, you lose the series. That seems like a pretty good reason to stop if you ask me.

Anyway, there is one thing i dont understand, is the charachter designer in this case the designer for the illustrations in the novels, or the designer for the anime? I honestly wouldnt understand if it was the anime, cause the anime doesnt have any unique animitions that would validate this argument imo. Its just typical anime look anime, nothing some individual only would be able to pull off.

I don't quite trust ANN. And I'd like to know who *exactly* they're "quoting."

Besides, the OFFICIAL announcement of ending the series was in August last year. Look at Atosryac's translation post on the first page.

viewtopic.php?t=197

Remember, no new books have been written recently, either. I'm not sure the Taiki arc actually has complete closure in the books.

You could be right oion, I think Ill wait til the japanese producers or Media Blasters makes an actual announcement. Half the time ANN gets information mixed up anyway. Besides there where some interviews on with the creators on the dvds anyway. Im just hoping the animator's sickness isnt terminally serious.

I think you guys underestimate the relative importance or sacrosanctity of the role of the character designer. Traditionally once you have set up your designers you don't change them along the way. Each designer has particular styles and interpretations that can not be replicated.

It's very rare to see any animated show switch character designers along the way. Maybe by season (I believe this happened with one popular show I won't name)or if they go into OVAs, but even then they tend to be reinterpretations of the original.


I'm crossing my fingers for an OVA at this point. I want to see the Taiki story resolved!

s-girl wrote:I think you guys underestimate the relative importance or sacrosanctity of the role of the character designer.

Exactly what I've been saying this whole time!

s-girl wrote:I'm crossing my fingers for an OVA at this point. I want to see the Taiki story resolved!

That would be pretty cool. I'd still rather see the original continue on, but I guesss we have to take what we can get.

I think the only way the Taiki arc will be done with is when the author finishes the series. I wonder if the producers for the anime will select another animator to continue eps after 45. Does anyone know if its the main character designer that is sick? If so then the possibilities of more episodes drop considerably.

It seems like 12K haven't release in US yet I was waiting for the manga, but guess TP and Viz is not picking it up. If the anime is not gonna continue, only way is to depend on the manga...

Man just hope it's a halt and not permanent. I dont mind waiting.
The OVA probably won't be out few years later..

Eh. . . It's not exactly a manga. It just takes screencaps from the TV series and adds dialogue bubbles and other captions. Don't bother with it. 12K is based off of a series of novels, anyway.