The State of the Sanctuary

[indigozeal.livejournal.com]

My fellow Angeliquers:

I know many of us are happily at work with our latest fics, videos, polls, translations, and art for the comm. The time has come, though, for us to ask not what we can do for our fandom but what our fandom can do for us. Will do for us. Maybe.

There've been a few recent developments in the neoromance world, all of them odd. The recent Haruka announcement seems like a shot across everyone's bow; Koei is ready to launch their venerable franchises in a revamped form, and nothing is sacred. Corda is relatively recent and therefore seemingly safe (and off in its own little world, anyhow), but I'd like to discuss Koei's possible plans for the two Ange franchises.

Angelique: After a long, successful run and a panned anime, the granddaddy of neoromance was seemingly retired. Understandable. After four years of inactivity, though, the franchise is relaunched with...an alt-universe manga with B-grade art that covers the same historical themes as another neoroma franchise. If they're testing the waters for a franchise revival, is this not an odd project with which to do so?

Neo Ange: After a quite successful anime that brought many new fans into the fold, a few CD releases, an updated version of the game on the go-to neoroma platform, and the assembly of a strong voice cast, we've had...nothing. Why is Koei willling to revive older franchises in odd or rejiggered forms when they have perfectly popular new stuff lying fallow? Why build up such enthusiasm for a new product and then do nothing with it?

I guess what I'm asking here is what you think is going to happen and what you would like to happen. Would you, for example, be happy with a new Angelique game if the voice cast were replaced? This is a general thread for discussing recent developments and attempting to pull everything together. Haruka folks, feel free to jump in, too. Corda people, I dunno. You guys never come around.

* I hope the Secretaries of Random Polls and 4-Komas were moved to a secure location for the duration of this meeting.