Forum - View topicJudging anime
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murph76
 Posts: 3291 Location: Akron, OH |
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First, let me give a bit of background before I ask my questions.
I had to have my furnace replaced about 3 weeks ago. While my wallet is recovering from this large and unexpected purchase, I need to cut back on my expenses, including anime. However, I don’t want to stop buying titles completely. I want to continue to add the truly “shelf worthy” (to borrow Bamboo’s phrase) ones to my collection. But, figuring out what these titles are is the challenge. My first question: What aspects of an anime make it a “must purchase” item? Mine are probably very obvious. First, I would say the story. If it’s a compelling or unique story, one I can watch over and over again and still enjoy, it’s worth buying. If the storyline looks derivative or uninspired, I’ll pass. Secondly, music is important to my anime watching. A well-done soundtrack can add a layer of emotion and drama (or comedy) to a title. Plus, I also enjoy collecting anime OSTs, if the soundtrack is that good. I have other criteria, but I’m choosing to limit this to my top two. On to my second question: How do you go about finding whether a title has the aspects you’re looking for? For me, I’d say online reviews and the encyclopedia here at ANN are my biggest resource. But still, you never really know if you will enjoy a title until you purchase it. I don’t watch fansubs. I suppose I could subscribe to an online rental service, like netflix, to preview titles I might want to buy, but that would be another expense I’m trying to avoid. What are your thoughts, my fellow anime watchers? This is not meant to be a recommendation thread, knowing the current ban on them. I am interesting in knowing what aspects of anime you value and how those aspects guide your purchases. Thanks! -Murph |
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pyrex
 Posts: 66 Location: Richmond, VA |
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You hit it on the head I think. For me it's primarily 3 things. 1) The story telling - Is the story unique, does it hold my attention and is it believable(as much as anime can be)? 2) The characters - are they believable, how do they fit into the story, do the good characters balance against the evil ones? 3) All else aside, is it enjoyable and something I would watch again and again? For me, those are my main sticking points...of course there is alot of other things you can base your decision off of, but I usually start with those points.
Ok, for me I personally don't mind fansubs. Even though I know thats somewhat of a hot topic surrounding the legallity of them. Personally, I'll download a couple of episodes and if I really like it, I'll more than likely buy it at somepoint. However, you also mentioned Netflix, which I just joined last month. And honestly, I found 2 series through there that I am definalty going to buy in the next month or two. (Samurai 7 & Beserker). This seems like a great way to get your viewing fill and at the same time hunt for things you would want in your own collection. Also, as you said, I scan the forums here alot to read reviews or opinions of others based on the anime they watch to see if a series may be what I'm looking for. Just my 2 cents, happy anime hunting to you. 
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masuzoe1989
 Posts: 5 |
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like you..i choose anime to buy based on..
~the story,i'll only buy anime that i know i'll rewatch again..or anime with really good plot.. ~i also based on the uality of an anime ~and i do take the OSTs and musics seriously too..it matters a lot to me..good openings and endings make me feel more confident about the quality of the anime.. as for your 2nd question..i know it by.. ~i download from fansubs..it doesn't bothers me..if the first few episodes are fine then i may onsider buying it ascollection.. ~i lend the anime from friends who happen to have it..like gundam seed,i lend from a friend and i really love so i plan to buy it and keep it.. ~i read through reviews from magazines and gather more info from ANN.. well,hope your plan works... =) |
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akitainu
 Posts: 118 Location: SATX |
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muprh76:
I went through a similar episode in 2003. I had a great, steady-paying job and EXPLOSION-the company went out of business. I went from good pay to unemployment to strange, low-paying, unsteady temp jobs. Previously, from 2000 till 05/2003, I had purchased nearly every anime DVD available. Suddenly...I had to economize. My wife and I began to draw up charts for future purchases. Firstly-Plot. It seems obvious, but it skinned mecha and harem shows right off the list. Don't get me wrong, I like both. But when it depends on monetary exchange, I get picky. Secondly-Previews, be it preview clips on commercial sites or (gasp) fansubs. I need to know my limited dollars are striking intended targets. Lastly-for me, the seiyuu cast is the coin flip. But that is localized (to me) taste, and perhaps unimportant. |
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peko
 Posts: 25 Location: Sweden |
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For me the important things are
a) good characters, they don't have to be unique but I have to care about them, they need to be believable. Or at least interesting. b) Music. If it's good it's a big plus. Music that's just there, doing its job but not necessarily standing out is ok. Come to think of it I haven't really watched anything with truly awful music, but I've stayed away from Initial D because I hated every song I've heard. :S c) The look of the show. I'm not really picky about the animation of characters, but if the sourroundings are beautiful, detailed and varied, so much the better. Just as I choose colorful platformers and avoid fps and other games with long gray, identical-looking corridors. To find something worth buying I usually read reviews, if available(not always possible as most of what I watch is fansubs), and I seem to have developed a knack for picking shows I like based on...er, intuition? And, sometimes just reading a few lines about the plot (the Encyclopedia is my Bible ^^ )is enough. Also, watching the first few episodes on youtube usually gives me a feel for what to expect. I actually ordered the Fruits Basket box set directly after having watched the first episode. |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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1) Characters. If a series doesn't have characters that I actually care about, than I won't be watching it long.
2) Story. I like an interesting, continuous plot with my anime. If it's pointless or too episodic, once again, I'm not interested. 3) Character design. Although I'm not too picky about this, if the art is ugly than #1 and 2 have to be pretty good. 4) Not too long. I am not a fan of the Rumiko Takahashi-style of stories that go on and on and ON. I like my anime/manga to be much shorter, 26 episodes is pretty good, I love a well-done 13 episoder. There are exceptions to this rule: I love Fushigi Yuugi, NANA, and Sailor Moon, the former is only two seasons, which isnt' too bad (though I do believe that it could have been done for less...or more done with that length, but hey, Watase Yuu was still pretty young), and the latter has seasons that can be viewed seperately, since they have different plots (which is why I've only seen the S and Stars seasons in their entirety). For NANA...well, I got hooked early on and still am. 5) Previewed. I do watch fansubs and I almost never buy anything that I haven't seen before, unless it's a very good price. I also do try to buy series that I really love which I've seen fansubbed, though I don't have the money to buy more than a couple series at once, and even that is rather slow (I've been collecting Wolf's Rain for two years now and I still am short two DVDs). As far as finding new series goes, lately I've been paying attention to new releases in Japan that sound interesting based on summaries and then follow them for a bit to see if the series is as interesting as it sounds. I also listen to recommendations from friends, as well as read manga and watch anime counterparts of it (or watch anime counterparts of manga that sound interesting but which I cannot buy at the moment, as I am doing with Death Note...which I also wanted to check out in a free way because of all the mixed opinions surrounding it's ending). |
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Steve Berry
Posts: 522 Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA |
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What is "shelf-worthy"?
Well, I think there's two sets of criteria-- 1) All the things already mentioned here-- i.e. quality., but the truth is that 2) is more important to me. Namely, the desire to re-watch a show. This is the only true reason I'll fork over the money to buy DVDs of any sort, anime or otherwise. There are lots of shows or movies that I've rented and enjoyed, but I just haven't ever felt the desire to watch them repeatedly. For the truly good ones, at first, I think-- maybe I'll get that one, but I let it sit for a month or more, and if I'm still itching to view it again, then I start the process of buying it. I just don't any other reason to buy DVDs-- outside of thinking of yourself as an anime library for others to use; which is fine, I think that way about books at my house (but they're a lot cheaper too). Renting is really the way to go, if you're on a budget-- At greencine or netflix, you can pay 10-20$ a month, and have 1-2 DVDs out at a time, endlessly rotating with them over the course of the month. That's just the price of a single DVD, and often a used one at that. Honestly, it's really a method for saving $ in the end, to me-- particularly if you're not checking out fansubs. As marie-antoinette said before me-- I don't buy any DVDs before I've actually seen the thing. Ever. |
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DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
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Art is probably the biggest draw for me... it's not the only thing, but there are many a show I probably wouldn't have considered save for the picture on the cover/in a magazine.
Then there's the usual plot concerns... I don't nessecarily mind a work being unoriginal if everything else falls into place for me (ala Elemental Gelade- pretty art, I like the songs, and I think Cou is funny, so nevermind the standard-fare-so-far story)... it's more that certain kinds of story just don't hold my attention. Ergo Proxy is a good example here- I could tell it was a well-made show, but I couldn't even finish the episode on my newtype sampler disc. Just not my thing. After that... price actually falls into play. I would've never bought Burst Angel for full price, or even the standard 40% you can get by waiting for rightstuf... but my sister found the whole series in the 3 for 10 bin and gamestop. for 20 bucks, I figured I'd give it a shot. Similarly, I just got Doki Doki School Hours 1 from rightstuf. I've never been especially compelled to see it... but it was 2 bucks. I could probably pawn it for more than that if I don't like it! (I'd like to point out tho', that these buying habits are based highly on having steady disposable income... should that cease, I'd probably stop buying new DVD entirely, save to finish whatever series I have haflway though at the time. I mean, my collection's pushing 500 discs as it is, it's not like I couldn't feed the habit with those and newtype samplers until my funding came back.  )
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murph76
Posts: 3291 Location: Akron, OH |
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Thanks, everyone! I appreciate the comments.
I might rethink netflix to feed my anime need. I haven't done any research on it yet. It would depend on the cost and how wide an anime selection they have. Like, do they stock new and recent releases? Regarding fansubs, my previous post must have left the impression I have something against them. I don't. Truthfully, I'm just not that good with computers and don't know how to obtain them. ( And I'm not asking either, mindful of the rules) -Murph |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7992 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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Well, I'm always on message boards so when I see titles mentioned I look them up here. If the description sounds interesting I'll put them on my list. My main priority is Science Fiction since it's my favorite genre, however, I really like action and martial-arts as well. Occasionally I'm also in the mood for a comedy, a horror series, or a romance or drama and seek those out when the mood strikes me. If the series is unliscensed I'll download the fansubs, and if not I'll buy it instead. Downloading liscensed stuff is not an option for me morally unless it's really old and the series is out of print and unavailable anywhere.
What I pick up depends on it's availabillity. I usually try and buy boxsets for series since they usually end up saving you cash (since I'm going to buy all of it anyway if I've already made the complex decision to invest in it) unless I really want the series now in which case I'll try and find an artbox version. I don't really like collecting single volumes so if one is not available I'll usually wait for a set. These would series that are sure bets though like those I've seen already or those that are sequels to series I've seen. Additionally, if the series if over 52 episodes, I just wait for season sets as collecting all the sigle volumes would be astronomically expensive. Although this brings up the issue that not many series that run more than 52 stay any good....but that's another thread. Upon actually rating a series after I've seen it, I rate: A) First of all by how much I enjoyed myself watching it. B)I Story (Did it have one? How good was it? Was it original or unexpected?) C) Characterization (Did I like, care about, or identify with any of the characters?) D) The little things that make a series great like music, animation quality, style, etc. |
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Raven Shinobi
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The characters and storytelling are the most important elements to me when chosing my animes, I would forgive a series with a plot that's nothing to write home about if the characters are extremely likeable and the series is overall fun to watch -like in the case of DBZ and Saiyuki for me, but an anime combining a likeable cast with an interesting plot definitely gets my immediate purchase.
There were a few animes that I forgave its unbearable cast, like Rahxephon, and don't get me started on how much I despised Ayato  . The mysteries and storytelling kept me watching with interest until the end, so in my case: sometimes, an interesting plot could suffice if the characters get on my nerves.
BTW, I don't usually watch fansubs, so I mostly rely on reviews, previews and word of mouth as my sources before purchasing. |
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daxomni
 Posts: 2650 Location: Somewhere else. |
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Sites like netflix.com, greencine.com, and rentanime.com work fine and you can usually get a free trial period to see how well it works for you. Just create a login and start up your membership. It's the only way to watch anime. Like a lot of the 30+ crowd I could probably spend lots of money on anime if I chose to, but I don't because I have online rental services to cover my needs. I mainly buy when the prices get really cheap or I know I'm going to watch something again and again. |
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fusion duelist
Posts: 58 |
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about your second question, I use the ann encyclopedia and reviews, and I watch broadcast TV anime. I recently got colors on my satellite service and have been watching the funi block, and I have discovered that I love negima, like slayers, and think fruits basket is decent.
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