I’m up for episodes of tense discussion about future battles, or indeed for episodes of political intrigue, as found in LotGH (I’m in the mid-sixties so far), but Figure 17 doesn’t focus on such immediately-accessible topics.

@ 21stcenturydigitalboy: If you liked the three episodes you saw, I’d suggest you redouble your efforts to watch the rest, as it is very good (you could beg/borrow/steal an extra hard drive, or something). Is it still available for ‘net rental? I’ve no idea how available anime is for DVD rental in the States.

@ omo: I’ve never even entertained the idea of attempting Kara no Kyoukai so . . . it’s a conundrum. My first suspicion is my attention span, though.

@ OGT: It certainly took me months to watch the show, and it’s comforting to know I’m not alone. But if you do pin the blame on the 45-minute episodes (and ‘BOY’, which is indeed a great song), wouldn’t the show have been better as thirteen normal-length episodes? I know for one of its broadcasts (the on on TV Tokyo, I think), they preserved the first and last episodes but split all the rest into two which must have been very odd indeed.

@ berkles: Don’t get me wrong, I liked it a lot. It’s just like . . . I don’t know, a really entertaining lecture that lasts for three hours? Even if the best bit arrives at the two-and-a-half hour mark, everyone’s attention spans will have run out much earlier. I hope that analogy makes sense.

@ xephyre: Type-Moon fanboys must be a dedicated lot, I guess.

@ vendredi: Well, if you haven’t enough to say yourself it’s always worth bulking it out with links . . .

Then again, I loved Kara no Kyoukai, but that was solely ’cause I’m a devout type-moon fanboy. sigh~orz

interesting, if depressing review

“the action was good, but whats the point?” is the tone i got from it

Personally, I think it’s the fault of the 45-minute episode length, the fact that you start the episode with BOY (which is an amazing song and I really wish I could find more of The ALFEE’s stuff because they’re been around since 1974), and then you segue straight into total calm, relaxing slice of life for 22 minutes and then the Maguyar attack and then it’s crazy action for 22 more minutes and then the episode ends.

I don’t think watching it over a long period of time really hurts the series, though, obviously–I don’t think it’s intended to be something to be blasted through at mach speed, it’s something to be, well, digested. It’s been far too long since I last saw it (and I want to rewatch it so bad but The Figure 17 Effect is getting to me), so I can’t really discuss specifics, but I think it’s hard for anyone to watch, period, so I wouldn’t blame yourself, or even the series itself, too terribly much for it.

Then again I can stomach the likes of Kara no Kyoukai, I don’t know what’s wrong with Figure 17.

That said, I REALLY liked those 3 episodes and am almost sure the show would be one of my favorites. Yes, it’s slow to the point of slumber at times but I like that air about it.

In any case having watched LOGH I would have thought that by now you would have been able to tolerate the whole episode about a discussion about the upcoming battle. Then again how far did you get so far comrade? I guess having been toughened by the gregarious pace of LOGH before I watched Figure 17 allowed me to keep a longer attention span. If nothing else it was at least a competent attempt to make anime a longer affair.