CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I've been watching Elemental Gelade, and just in the course of one episode the plot line went space cadet. I suppose it's to be epected, and it sounds like it is the norm, but why completely change the story?
It would seem that just starting a seperate story arch would do just as well if not better than starting in familiar ground and suddenly going orbital.

Of course, I haven't finished Gelade, and it may realign, and I could be forgetting things...

So prof Anime people, enlighten! Whats the reasons behind plot wandering? Or are there other series that pull a star treck parallel dimension leap?

I thought that "plot wanders" were usually due to the anime catching up with the manga, and then having to do without source material and having to make stuff up.

A few that I've seen that did similar things to a lesser extent was "Alice Academy" (the main plot never even got touched!), and "Karin"/"Chibi Vampire" (They added a character that never existed in the manga, and the end.... was wierd, from what I hear).

Quite a few anime do this. If memory serves, the primary reason FMA Brotherhood exists is because the previous anime had to make up a new ending for itself.

Ah well. I love the manga stories, but I really love anime... can't have everthing I guess. n.n