It appears as things are not going so well in the land of the Basquash. The director of the series, Shin Itagaki, will be replaced (aka. fired), along with the chief animator Katsuzo Hirata, as well as others on the staff. Anime Vice’s intern Eric translated a 2ch post about a message Katsuzo Hirata left on his personal message board on Wednesday that describes this hectic scene. "Apologies for the late reply! *bows*(Comment: Via the smattering of pictures I feel like I’ve had a glimpse of the real trouble at Basquash. Hirata-san paints a picture that heightens the tension)Number 9 has been totally exhausting. The production period from beginning to end was only 11 days (whew!), the shortest schedule of Basquash so far. It isn’t likely that there’ll be another schedule as short as this, but after episode 9 there’s another looming problem.I think they’ll make an announcement soon enough, but they’re hurriedly doing some so-called “shoring-up” and it looks like Director Itagaki is out of a job and they’re suddenly putting in a new substitute.Also, there’s been an accompanying staff reorganization, and it appears that I will also be discharged after May. Reorganizing the staff of a show that’s currently being broadcast is highly unusual, and I’m very surprised by the whole affair. Anyway, please see the upcoming official announcement for more details. *bows*(Comment: I’m waiting for the day when we can consistently see the quality that’s Hi-rata’s trademark.)So I’m sorry, but I wonder if the fans could wait for my next production...I want to wait for a chance to make something on perhaps a more relaxed schedule. Anyway, my apologies for such a serious story *sweat drop*"So, that leads us to why he was fired in the first place. I can admit the pacing is kind of weird in the anime, but it isn’t a deal breaker for me. Other than that I’m enjoying it, and loving the mix between mecha, basketball, and giant breasts. Perhaps it has something to do with the giant corporate sponsor Nike pulling the strings? I don’t know, but I hope it doesn’t mess with the show.<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1h-4mNlxB9w&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1h-4mNlxB9w&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></param></object>
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