Why the Divine Gate anime flopped so much
This text was translated from german in english.
It's not often that I see the Divine Gate anime being torn apart by its viewers, and rightly so. Don't get me wrong. I love this anime. But he definitely has his weaknesses. Recently I bought or wanted to buy the complete DVD box. It was ultimately given to me as a gift. In any case, I not only got my hands on stickers in postcard form, but also the booklets. And these booklets gave me a lot of information about the design of the anime. And what can I say? The director had no idea what he was supposed to produce.
Three people were particularly important for the production. Noriyuki Abe, the director. He was responsible for implementing the script. Natsuko Takahashi, for series composition and storyboards. She took care of the music and sound and the drawings for the script. Kouta Katano, was the creative director of the video game original. He was responsible for providing the information about the game. They had 12 episodes available to make the anime.
In the first episode, "Endless Rain," the characters are introduced to us by a lulling voice. Or rather... You don't actually learn anything. But it just sounded poetically beautiful. This narrative style may have had its appeal at the beginning and end of the season. It was nice to introduce the characters and I also found the story about the people who built a tower to the gods very interesting. But everything else was definitely too much. Especially when it came to Aoto.
When I looked at the project plan, what caught my eye were the philosophical sentences that so precisely describe the individual characters and their feelings. That's why I wanted to keep that atmosphere. Depicting the characters' emotional world is nothing special, but a third (god-like) person who can look into the characters' inner lives is a special feature of "Divine Gate". The characters that fly through the picture also contribute to this. And Ms. Megumi Nogata's voice was of course also very important for the prevailing mood. - Takahashi
Touché! Apparently there was something special about portraying the emotional world of the characters. Otherwise they wouldn't have had to be described with a background voice. I'm currently trying my hand at being a book author and I have someone with experience at my side. And this person keeps beating it into my head: Show, don't tell.
How am I supposed to be able to sympathize/feel for a person, to experience them, when their feelings are blown coldly and solidly in my face? -No. Simply no.
However, I have to give the woman credit for trying her best to implement what was presented to her. And I have nothing against poetry. Divine Gate is structured in a theatrical way and the story is also told poetically in the game. But then please apply this methodology to describing things and backgrounds. But not with the emotional world of the characters.
And then I see K the key spirit running through Aoto for the first time. SPOILER: This ghost doesn't actually exist in the game and was probably just introduced to have him have some depressing conversations with Aoto. In any case, he is the key to the Divine Gate or leads the right candidates to the gate. Although Akane, Midori and Aoto are the main characters of the game, the anime gives you the feeling that the main character is Aoto.
Continue in the text. You can see a tram in which a man escalates and attacks his fellow passengers with fire coming from his driver (weapon). He later turns out to be a demon and a guest worker. The viewer is made to believe that only certain people can master an element. They are called compatibles. This will become important again later for Aoto's backstory. This doesn't seem to be the case in the game, as each character has an element. Drivers seem to be weapons that anyone can use. Regardless of whether he has elemental powers or not. The zone that protects the environment from damage does not exist in the game either. The children are also not students at the academy, and Sylph, Undine and Ifrid are not employed there as teachers. These were visited by the children themselves in a quest in order to further develop their skills. Although there was no academy, the Table Knights apparently acted as teachers and protectors for the children. Which is why I suspect they were also recruited by Arthur in the game.
At some point we also meet the Knights of the Round Table, who make up a large part of the World Council. The World Council also includes Loki and Oz and the Grimore Cult, which was never mentioned much in the anime and was depicted as ghostly figures wearing hats. In any case, it would have been nice if signs with the names of the people in question had been displayed so that you would at least have some idea of who you were looking at.
While we're on the subject of characters, I'd like to talk about the scene when the Knights of the Round Table sat together in the first episode. Ywain hit the table, you could see that Breuner was in a bad mood, etc. Even though there were so many characters, they managed to portray the characters so differently. That made me particularly happy. - Takano
Yes. The majority of them are variously bad-tempered and arrogant. Their discussion made little sense to me either. But I still found Lancelot the worst. While others later seemed at least a little friendly, the guy just complained and made big noises. But yes. Feelings were portrayed and not presented to us in a depressive, poetic manner. In any case, one person is particularly important. Namely Arthur. This will develop into an angatonist, who will turn out to be a hero in the end. The Knights of the Round Table wear their names as codenames. They're not really called Lancelot, etc. I'm not sure about Arthur. In Yonkoma, a mini-comic of sorts, it is said that Arthur is his code name. But near the end of the game it is said that Santa gave Arthur that name. That's why I'm guessing that his name is Arthur.
In any case, Arthur wants Aoto to join his academy and has already made several attempts. In the game he also seems to have had contact with Aoto, but I don't understand why or for what purpose. Then we are shown a part of Aoto's past. Overall, it's about the parents trying to abuse their children to make them compatible for money or prestige… I don't know. And Aoto seems to have elemental powers, which is why he was the one who was treated well in the first place. In order to protect his brother, who had no such powers, he then pretended not to have any. Ariton then wished for powers from the Divine Gate and was therefore in a better position. At some point he murdered his parents because of mental problems and then ran away. Aoto, for whatever reason, took the blame for the murder. In the game it's a little more logical. They both have elemental powers, but Aoto's parents want to make him a demonic guardian of the Grimoire Cult. Since Aoto was too gentle for the task, Ariton killed her parents, who also appeared to have abused the children, and took over this task in Aoto's place. He also committed the murder of 666 people in the name of the cult. Because Aoto felt guilty about it, he took responsibility for the murders.
And at this point I'm wondering why Aoto's backstory was changed so much? For what purpose? To create more drama and depression? We had so much of that in the 12 episodes that it became TOO much for me.
At the end we were shown for the first time what the Divine Gate really is. Namely not a wish fulfiller, but the gateway to the apocalypse.
When "Divine Gate" was about to be animated, I wondered what the gate was supposed to be. The word "recreation" was used in the game, I believe. It was said that whoever reached the sacred gate could recreate the world. But that would have been too big for the anime series. The core of the series is the children growing up. It was important to us to show that they are still adolescents. You just have to be a teenager to be able to perceive the existence of the Divine Gate. The children should go to the gate to have a wish come true. For ordinary citizens, this is nothing but a fairy tale. This is the foundation on which our story is built. - Abe
And that's why this anime, which is actually based on a really well-written story, sucked so hard. Divine Gate is not about the maturity of children. Divine Gate is more about accepting the blows of fate and growing from them rather than wishing for a new world. The entire story revolves around the fact that there are parties who want to use the Gate to recreate the world and in the end the children and their companions stop this. The Divine Gate is destroying the world and is not a magical genie. Abe (unfortunately) has no idea about the game and you notice that.
The “Divine Gate” is something that is very powerful in many ways. It was very difficult for me to write a story, so I got Ms. Takahashi to help me. It was very exciting to immerse yourself in Mr. Takano's world. Even if the story has something huge like the "holy gate" as its theme, it still revolves around personal feelings. So I think it's very modern because it's not about saving the world. That makes it very interesting for me. The world cannot only be seen from one side. I hope you see the series as an extension of the video game and enjoy it. - Abe
You can literally see how overwhelmed the director is. And yes. Ultimately, the game was about saving the world. Of course, if you try to avoid the topic when it's an essential part of the story...don't be surprised.
In the second episode, "Inextinguishable Flame", we are shown God Loki for the first time, who will later turn out to be an angatonist. I found it funny that a permanently grinning Arthur gave him the darkest look ever. This must be love.~ Gorgeous! As the episode progresses, we see Akane and Midori trying to force Aoto into their academy. In any case, Akane seems to be much more mature and sensible in the game than in the anime. At the end we are shown Santa Claus placing a crown on Arthur's head. This one, and we can only read this in the booklet, was actually supposed to spy on the World Council for Arthur. According to Arthur, this crown is the key to the Divine Gate, but somehow it isn't. Arthur thinks the crowns are the key and later learns from Loki that despair is the real key. So I didn't really understand why Santa thinks the crown should be the key. Arthur then wants to head to the Divine Gate. What I also noticed while looking... The World Council apparently saves on the furniture. There are rooms that are completely empty except for one piece of furniture.
In the next episode, "Whereabouts of the Wind," we're shown a little of Midori's backstory. By the way, I think this is implemented better in the anime than in the game. In the game, Elena's name is Dorethy from the start and the two are friends, but also rivals and they somehow overdid it with their rivalry and broke up in an argument. Although the anime doesn't explain why Midori apologizes/wants to apologize to Elena... But I find jealousy more understandable than a simple argument because of a rivalry. Oz shows up. He is a wizard and a dragon. By the way, the fact that the children are so surprised by him as a dragon is because dragons live on Dragtia and are not actually seen on Earth. Oz is the only dragon living on Terrestia and he is also the character who has been screwed over the most. Sorry. In the anime he is consistently against Arthur's plans to go through the gate and you don't really understand why. In the booklet he is described as a coward. Where is Oz cowardly? No. Actually, he's stupid. He uses gods against Arthur and his troops just to stop him from reaching the gate and hopes that he will just turn around and leave... Absolutely. *sarcasm mode off*
In the game it is much more logical. Oz is a “Written Existence.” When the dragons lost to the gods in a fight, they were forced to "create a written existence" with the gods. Written existences have no obscurity because they were just written. Oz did not know this and for a very long time thought that his past was real. Then Loki came and explained it to him. Since Oz now knew that he had no family, he went with Loki and looked for them elsewhere. his family includes Dorethy, Toto. Jim Woodman, Scarecrow and Lion. By the way, these were the strange figures next to Oz when he "called the gods". In order to give himself and his family a place to live, he became part of Loki's plan to recreate the world and thus became a hunted war criminal. When the gods wanted to destroy the world, he converted the dragons, which he could summon as magicians, as weapons for the gods. But when one of them killed Dorethy, he went to confront Loki and take back the gods' weapons. So Oz is not a do-gooder and was actually one of the Angatonists. I know he actually had a relatively understandable backstory, but it was erased in such a way that it just made no sense. Also, I have no idea if this is also the case in the Japanese version, no effort was made to embody his character properly. Oz speaks and behaves extremely politely in the game. In the anime, his way of talking sounds rather silly and at one point he even gets quite rude towards Loki. I just think it's a shame.
Continue in the text. We are now also introduced to Hikari, Yukari and Ginji, who are supporting characters and also play a correspondingly large role. Unfortunately, they were just decoration for the entire episode. which is why they could have been taken out. It wouldn't have been particularly noticeable. In any case, Yukari and Hikari later become queens of Hellestia and Celestia at their own request and probably don't do that great of a job... Ginji joined the World Council in the anime, which he probably never did in the game... That's all there is to it not to tell the three of them. Towards the end you can see the table fritters chatting about the Divine Gate and Lancelot is pissed on *cough* my Santa *cough*. (You have too much influence on Arthur, darling. The Spastelot doesn't like that at all.)
Next episode, called "Blue Memories". Here, Breuner, who lost his father on Blue Christmas Night, is discussed in more detail. However, and this isn't a criticism... The six geniuses, including Akane's father and Schrödinger, make a lot of drivers. And Breuner “borrows” the spying item that already belongs to someone? lol
Next episode. We are now on episode 5, “Disobedient People.” Instead of heading to the Divine Gate, Arthur wants to treat the children to a trip from which they can learn something. What they learned there, who this people are now and why they had to give up everything...was not explained. Here, however, the Grimoire Cult was mentioned for the first time in connection with the Drivers of the Beasts. These people are a mixture of different races. There are six races and five worlds, three of which were merged together. In any case, the races of the three merged worlds mixed together and became very strong children. They called it “Next.” Some power-hungry people, including the Grimoire Cult, then started experimenting on them with genetic mutation. Failed experiments were simply dropped off in this area by the Cult and left behind. When the Knights of the Round Table slaughtered these people, Akane rebelled in the game against the World Council. In the anime he just keeps going to school. The episode itself was well written, but I think it could have been cut in favor of some characters' backstories.
Episode 6 "Something more important than yourself." We are shown Arthur sitting in an empty room. Where exactly this room is... I have no idea. To give some of his backstory... Not much was known about Arthur except that he had nothing and lived on Earth with his mother. He was a thorn in the side of the gods. Probably because of what he will do in the end. Anyway, the gods sent a saint. Something like an assassin from the gods. And this Saint was called Nicholas and was Santa Claus' father. He was also the first Santa Claus and the first fairy king of Celestia, before he rebelled against the gods and lost. Anyway, Nicholas felt sorry for him. Instead of killing Arthur, he took him with him and abandoned him in Celestia, where Santa then found him. As a punishment, he was no longer allowed to see his family. In any case, Arthur explains, to cheers from his fellow fighters, that he now has permission to find and use the Divine Gate. He tells his people that he wants to separate the merged worlds again through the Divine Gate. In the course of the episode we see Arthur as a child in some strange room with a meadow. Anyone who hasn't read the booklet will probably hardly know that this is Ragnatia. Anyway, he tells Loki that he wants to be king of the world, and Loki ultimately makes him king at the end of the season. He tells the children that he wants to separate the merged worlds again and then be their king. Aoto finds out in a conversation that what he had expressed was not his true wish. But his true intention is to destroy the gate. In the game he pretends to create a utopia and with this motive he becomes part of the World Council and gradually gathers his table friends who support his wish. And the true desire is to close the gate and thus stop the "Twillight Judgment", i.e. the destruction of the world. He will probably die trying. That sounds more logical than the back and forth narrative in the anime. But I liked the reason from the anime a little because he wanted to sacrifice his true desire for Santa and wanted Santa to make people happy.
In episode 7, “The Place of the Beginning,” Arthur reveals his true intentions. The vulture knows why he lied to everyone for hours. The troop he put together then runs through corridors and is pestered by Loki's Drivers until they come across the gods summoned by Oz. Loki was actually the one who called on the gods to destroy the world. In the anime it was apparently never his plan and he is completely clueless. After the Tafelfritzen fight against the gods and Arthur moves on with the rest, a short shot of him and Lancelot follows. You can see him beating up some man and Arthur getting involved. However, when Lancelot attacks him, he has no chance. Afterwards, Arthur talks about killing him at some point. In the game, Lancelot's bond and why he is the one who is supposed to kill Arthur is not described. However, he was raised by a river fairy named Vivian. Why Arthur should be killed can only be understood by someone who knows the content of the game.
In the game, Arthur sets out to apparently complete the "Twillight Judgment". To explain this again in detail. Arthur joined the World Council to betray them. He pretended to help the World Council destroy and recreate the world. Apparently he said he then wanted to become king of the new world. But his true intention is to close the gate and stop the destruction of the world. And Loki and the Rimoire Cult are the masterminds of the story. Loki wants to destroy the world and reshape it according to his own wishes. The Nordic gods help him. Oz gave them their weapons to destroy the world. Oz believed that they would create a world in which he and his family could live. He believed that until one of the gods killed Dorethy and he found out that he had been cheated. The Grimoire Cult wants world domination. Meanwhile, after the "Indomitable People" were slaughtered by the Tafelfritzen, the children rebelled against the World Council and went their own way. Just to explain everything again...
- Part 2 -
