Forum - View topicThe Spring 2012 Anime Preview Guide
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18271 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Let's not generalize too much. The reviews here which act as you describe are the exceptions rather than the rule. It's different with the previews, which are meant to be quickly-done gut reactions rather than carefully-prepared analyses. And to address another totally unrelated issue brought up by other posters: moe may not be a genre, but it is most definitely a theme. If you're not willing to even accept that as a classification, then how else do you accurately describe series like K-ON! or Sound of the Sky or Kanon which focus as much more on trying to generate moe reactions than anything else? |
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誤称
Posts: 549 |
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@Key Agreed. The previews are far worse than the actual dvd/full show reviews. There seems to be far more thought put into the full dvd or full season reviews than the previews. I wonder if the previews are more stream of consciousness, like a conversation in an im client, whereas the reviews are more formal, like a hand-written letter.
In regards to the K-on!/K-on goes to war/Kanon question, I'd say that these are more akin to a sitcom than a drama and are unjustly besmirched by the reviewers/previewers on this site due to them expecting too much from their entertainment. It is not all Tolstoy, there is room for Richelle Mead at the table. |
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zensunni
 Posts: 1294 |
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To all of the people that are entirely grossed out over the drool aspect of MGX, I propose a question:
First, the alternate scenario: Tsubaki wakes up Urabe in the classroom the same way as it occurs in the anime, after she gets up to leave, he is walking toward her and says her name to get her attention about the drool on her chin, but trips on one of the desks and falls on top of her, accidentally planting one on her drool soaked mouth. In other words, If the exchange of drool was the result of the tired old anime cliche of the "accidental kiss", but resulted in the same withdrawal symptoms; then, Urabe, being too shy to actually kiss him everyday, since they have only just met after all, insisted on his getting his daily dose in the same manner as the show uses, would you still be grossed out? My personal opinion is that it would be a worse story, since it would rely on a very tired cliche and lose a good deal of the feeling of originality that the show possesses. When he reaches out to touch and then taste her drool, it is a serious WTF moment. I think his reaction to it is pretty appropriate. He pretty much freaks and seems to be wondering what kind of perverted weirdo he is, then slinks out of the room hoping that nobody actually saw him. If it was replaced with a standard "meet cute" that has been used over and over it would lose a good deal of its power, especially since a significant point made in that scene is that, in reality, Tsubaki is a bit of a pervert. At least that is how I understood it... 
Anyway, just a little thought experiment to hopefully make people think a bit about it... |
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prime_pm
 Posts: 2343 Location: Your Mother's Bedroom |
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Lots of mangas-turned-anime this season. Some readers have asked "How well will this title be translated into anime?" I think the real question though now is "Should this title be translated into anime?"
Seriously, some of these titles I never thought they'd make into an anime, at least from their initial points. MGX has been running for years and after awhile, you forget the whole premise that made it hard to start in the beginning. Probably from desensitization or something? I don't know. My point is...actually, I don't know either. I'm pretty close to getting 1000 posts though. 
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18271 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Not deliberately so, but the tight time factors involved lead things in that direction. (For instance, I typically spend only 30-40 minutes writing up one of these previews, whereas a full review will often take 4-5 hours or even more.)
As has been pointed out before in this thread and elsewhere, these titles have generally gotten good reviews (one or two of Kanon's volumes were in the A- range IIRC), so I am often mystified about where this mistaken impression about us consistently knocking such titles comes from. It's simply not supported by facts. EDIT: Okay, I double-checked and we've given moe-heavy titles a mixed of mediocre and good reviews. K-ON! got knocked on writing, but Sound of the Sky got a B and Kanon averaged a B+, with Clannad and Air generally being in that same range. So not top grades, but usually not bad ones, either. |
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Hypeathon
Posts: 1176 |
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Okay, I tried to reset my thoughts on Mysterious Girlfriend X, disregard the fact I read chapters in the manga ahead of the show (although I'm frankly still pissed off at Theron for accusing me of not having watched the first episode) and rewatched the first episode without paying mind to anyone else's opinion. I just kept my mind blank as I rewatched the episode. And sorry, but I'm still not getting into the show. No, the drool-tasting is not the most disgusting thing out there. Yes, I get it's trying to be sweet and charming regarding the romance. I'm just not sold on it. I seriously don't know what else I need to say at this point.
I don't buy into the notion that tasting one's drool and the effects one can have by not tasting enough of it is meant as I dunno, some way to show how much someone loves another person? My reaction to that is just simply me raising my eyebrow saying, "...Really? By tasting saliva?" Sorry fans of the show. Not gonna change my mind about it if anyone was expecting me to have a more positive reaction. People are trying to say this is one of the better shows of the season and frankly, there are other shows out there I would be more interested in watching and probably be more entertained by. Mysterious Girlfriend X simply isn't one of them. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Neither, I don't think. I exaggerate for comedic effect but the concept of Upotte really did seem like new frontiers of weirdness. I actually kinda respect the show for having the balls to just go for it. Mysterious Girlfriend X was revolting. Anyone who says "oh tasting puddles of spit is just like kissing you guys" has never kissed anyone, period. It grossed me out, and I gave my honest, disgusted reaction. I can see where they might be going for a bizarre kind of romance, but the spit thing just pushed me away fast and strong. As is evidenced, I am not the only person who had that reaction. Of course you pull out the "I can think of things more disgusting than this!", which is internet shorthand for "you're an uneducated idiot who isn't as knowledgeable about things like this as I am, therefore your opinion is invalid", which to me is ridiculous. Of course I've seen worse. Those things also made me recoil. That there's worse stuff out there doesn't mean Mysterious Girlfriend X is not revolting and does not warrant my response. I mean, you may think it doesn't, but I'm not writing about your response, I'm writing about mine. The rest of this bitching is just the usual hyperbolic, mostly-unfair complaining that happens when I get to the fetish shows first, which I did. Fact of the matter is, I'm not alone - lots of anime fans respond to these things in the same way I do and they've told me time and again that they appreciate that someone else out there shares their opinion, just like you personally prefer reviewers that share yours and praise things in the same way you would. Believe it or not, I'm not automatically predisposed to hate this stuff - I give it a shot. It needs to do something to entertain me. A lot of these shows don't do that. I certainly didn't want to do 3 of them in a row, but them's the rules. We've got about 5 days left on the guide and I'm hoping to get to the stuff that actually looks good to me personally. Besides, you clearly enjoy coming here to complain and throw stones at me, otherwise you wouldn't do it. You know full well I'm not going to say "Okay Fencedude, you're right, please tell me how I should react to things. In fact, forget that - I name you the new editor of the preview guide, now you can enforce your editorial direction on the reviews team and write your own previews." You know that isn't going to happen, so if a part of you didn't enjoy being antagonized, why do you keep coming back here to complain? I think you're my tsundere, Fencedude, and I think you like it that way. |
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zeroyuki92
Posts: 45 |
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Oh, cool. 10 pages of debating MGX and morality of drinking saliva in FICTION work? Just when I thought ANN community will not get any worse...
-backtracking-
And here we go, another kind of ignorant generalization. How many more of years needed to slap some person in their face that their concept of Visual Novel are just so wrong??? I am pitying some English community that tried their best to bring awareness that Visual Novel is just another form of media to deliver a story. There are a lot of original Japanese/English visual novels that spreads to all kind of quality and genres, and all of them are generalized to society garbage? Ahahahaha... That's it. I'm leaving. I hope next season's preview guide won't get any worse again. |
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RyanSaotome
 Posts: 4210 Location: Towson, Maryland |
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Final thing I'll say on this topic... You wouldn't see any major websites for other industries insulting people who like stuff in their reviews... because its not professional. Like for Gamespot reviews, they'll just say stuff like "I'm not in the target demographic" or "This will appeal to a niche audience", instead of outright insulting their readers.
There should be a certain level of professionalism handled with reviews, and for certain reviewers here, they do not feel the need to be at this level. Until they take reviewing stuff more seriously, its tough to take what ANN says with more than a grain of salt. Its a great place for actual news, but for reviews there are other places more suited for it and professional. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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What exactly did I say in my reviews that you feel personally insulted you? I understand that even saying who the target market for some of these fetish shows is is seen as horribly insulting and demeaning to some people, which I already addressed in another post. But seriously - show me where I said "EVERYONE WHO LIKES THIS IS A SICK FREAK". And I don't mean "show me where you read that in to what I was saying" or "show me where I used words that triggered your insecurity about this stuff". I mean show me where it is I said that specifically. Pointing out which kind of fetish the show is for upsets people. I get that. I likely will not do it again. But I never said you're a horrible person or even that people who were in to those things were horrible. The level of sensitivity some of you have about this stuff is ludicrous. |
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yamata no orochi
Posts: 137 |
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As tempting as it is to go on for another ten pages or so on Mysterious Girlfriend X...
Key, was Mawaru Penguindrum really made by SILVER LINK? Because I'm pretty sure it was a Brains Base production. I looked on Wikipedia but couldn't find a mention of SILVER LINK anywhere. If someone already corrected you earlier, I guess that's fine. Or if SILVER LINK really was involved, or people from SILVER LINK, that's fine too. But not a single article or blog or anything that I read on Mawaru Penguindrum last year (and believe me, I read a lot of stuff about the show) mentioned anything about SILVER LINK being behind the show. |
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TitanXL
 Posts: 4036 |
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Zac, I think it's more of the general "only loser otaku would like this" attitude you have in some of your reviews that people have the main issue with. Upotte's said it should only be watched by "People who want to see how crazy it is" or "Losers who want to sex their guns", but no third "People who are looking for something unique and one of the stand-out titles of the season" or fourth "want to see an interesting school show that blends Soul Eater with Gunslinger Girl" Both points are only negative, and quite dismissive of anyone who would watch it (Soul Eater did the whole kids as weapons things earlier, so it shouldn't blow your mind that much based on the premise, not enough to use a silly reaction image when confronted with the idea that kids are being humanized weapons)
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Surrender Artist
 Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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The idiom,"take with a grain of salt," is refers to regarding something with some skepticism, which could make sense when referring to a source of factual information, but when dealing with opinion, the only way I can see it as applicable is if you believe that a critic is being insincere as to what he thinks about something. I don't think that's the issue in this case. If you're insinuating that because the reviews don't try hard enough to avoid offending anybody, their news reporting should be regarded as slightly suspect, I don't see the case for that as news and opinion are handled by different staff. If anything, all of this has made me lose respect for the term professionalism, because most of the time when it's invoked here it seems to mean 'thoroughly agreeable and inoffensive to me'. I worry that if we elevate avoiding offense so highly that critics will become too concerned with how others will react to their opinions rather than the opinions themselves, encouraging reviews that are thin on the actual elements of reaction to something, which would make them neither useful nor engaging to read. Last edited by Surrender Artist on Mon Apr 09, 2012 1:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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TitanXL
Posts: 4036 |
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Professionalism just means you're paid to do it. That's it. Anything more than that is conjecture and someone inserting their own meaning to the word; good or bad. I assume he gets paid to write his stuff, so.. he's a professional. No real arguing against that.
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