[Locke]

@DreadBringer - I would agree with your points about the Stomach Family if they decided to have a different type of villain, but choosing to have them so personally connected to the core cast, and then having them exist on an island for the entire show is just weird to me personally.

Like there are dozens upon dozens of examples through Toku of villain types that can function just fine as being largely in the background for huge chunks of the show, but the Stomach Family are not one of them. At least to me. They needed to be more present in the show, we needed to see more of them functioning as a unit.

I didn't know though about the changes behind the scenes though in terms of who were in charge of different sections of the show, that stuff is really fascinating to me and appreciate you sharing it. Knowing that now, you are right that you can see clear lines as different creative leads steer various episodes.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

@DreadBringer - I would agree with your points about the Stomach Family if they decided to have a different type of villain, but choosing to have them so personally connected to the core cast, and then having them exist on an island for the entire show is just weird to me personally.

In fact, in my review of the show, I wrote that this is precisely why Philip, Koyomi, and Banjou Ryuga's connection to the show's villains isn't revealed until closer to the finale. At least, that's one of the reasons. Perhaps if Shouma was presented in the beginning as a Stomatch experiment rather than a relative, the siblings' passivity would have been more relatable. Yes, viewers likely guessed his connection to the villains early on anyway, but the show was in no rush to reveal Shouma and Masaru's obvious connection.

[Enchilada645]

I'll just be succinct and say that I pretty much agree with @Locke's points on the Stomach Family. While I think they're certainly memorable, their detachment from the story and Shoma despite what the narrative says, hurts them more than helps them.

That said, I will say, it is a bit funny to see people referencing directors changing as some big behind the scenes thing... when like, that's basically been how it is? There's a main director, but there's still a ton of guest ones brought on, especially when it comes to there being multiple writers to factor in as well. Which is why I think it's kind of disingenuous to prop it up as this big thing that happened. Like "left the production" feels like you're putting way more weight on it than there needs to be. It was just his last scheduled episodes, clearly.