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REVIEW: Galaxy Angel AA DVD 1




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Case



Joined: 09 Apr 2002
Posts: 1016
PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:41 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Welcome back to Galaxy Angel, check your brain at the door.


I hate to beat my old drum again, but hearing this criticism provided so bluntly makes it truly hard to ignore.

Anime is not meant to only be enjoyed through examination and rationalization. I think that's a huge trap a number of ANN's reviewers have stepped into, and correspondingly convinced their readers that it is the correct way of thinking.

I guess thinking about it in exactly those terms, some of my previous comments about the nature of ANN's reviews rather make sense. If a person assumes that having to "use your brain" is a mandatory prerequisite for an anime to be considered quality, it's no surprise that all kinds of shows resembling Ergo Proxy get constant attention while shows like Galaxy Angel get nudged to the side.

But I insist that thinking in such a way is only limiting yourself. I think that a person who doesn't expect to be intellectually challenged, but rather hopes to get other type of mental benefits out of the viewing, could well enjoy a series like Galaxy Angel or some of the others I have ranted on in the past, and I wish ANN's reviewers wouldn't forget that fact when doing reviews. That's all I will say.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18458
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:00 pm Reply with quote
Case, we've had this discussion more than once before, and yet you're still harping on this point?

There's absolutely nothing wrong with pointing out that something is mindless entertainment; we'd be remiss in our duties as reviewers if we didn't. It doesn't automatically mean we think the title is bad, or even that we don't like it, just that it's not sophisticated. Some mindless titles can certainly be enormously entertaining and deserving of high marks; for me Elfen Lied is a such a title. (It could hardly be considered a title that requires "examination and rationalization" and yet I still gave it rave reviews.) Likewise, sometimes sophisticated titles lack entertainment value. (See some of my reviews of Ergo Proxy, since you brought that one up.)

But it's also true that sometimes mindless entertainment has limited entertainment value, too. Mindless titles in such situations tend to get lower grades than sophisticated titles in such situations because they have nothing else to fall back on; at least Ergo Proxy can fall back on its style and intricacy when not being an especially exciting view, for instance. I grade that way when I do reviews and I'm pretty sure Karl does, too, since we tend to have similar opinions on most titles.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:14 pm Reply with quote
Case, do me a favor. What would you say about Galaxy Angel AA? How would you have reviewed it?

I'm not proposing this as a challenge, I just really want to know what you would say about the show so I can see how it is you're thinking about shows like this and UFO Maiden Valkyrie, and then maybe I can understand your criticism a little better.

So what would you have put in a review of Galaxy Angel AA?
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PantsGoblin
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Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 2969
Location: L.A.
PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:21 pm Reply with quote
I actually liked this review more than any of the other previous Galaxy Angel reviews on ANN (which were all pretty much just bashing festivals). And I don't really see where he said he downgraded it on being mindless (which GA is). Looks like he only downgraded it for the episodes he found to be unfunny (which were apparently quite a few on this disc). I'd have to re-watch these episodes to see if these were any of the "boring" ones to me (yes, I found some episodes to be boring as well).

Quote:
And there are plenty of moments where the series would be a lot funnier (and make more sense) if only you could only figure out what that hell is being parodied.


Depends for me. I can find stuff to be funny even if you have no idea what the hell is going on.

Quote:
Judging by the glimpses of the audience, Galaxy Angel's fan-base seems to be overwhelmingly male.


Somewhat surprisingly, in the U.S. Galaxy Angel has a rather large female fan base (possibly just as large as the male). About half of the GA I know in the U.S. are female. Most of them seem to be more drawn to the manga though.
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d.yaro



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 528
PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 8:09 pm Reply with quote
First: Don't shoot! I come in peace and I don't have any issues with the review okay. But this is the first GA review I've read where the thought I had after reading the whole thing is "Oh. Maybe I'll skip this one". But heck, that's what reviews are all about right? Giving readers a clue as to what they might be getting themselves into if they sample the product.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6900
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:49 pm Reply with quote
Actually, I found this group of episodes more entertaining than many of the Galaxy Angel A episodes that preceded them. That's accountable to differing senses of humor, though to anyone who thinks otherwise I say spoiler[You are the fat pigs! No qualification for living! Laughing Laughing ] At this point in the franchise though, practically anyone who's considering buying this volume probably has the previous series as well, and most know that they're either a GA fan, or they're not.
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Heretic



Joined: 06 Mar 2007
Posts: 177
Location: Laurel, Maryland
PostPosted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:06 pm Reply with quote
I found this first volume of AA to be one of the better volumes. That is saying quite a bit since I was literally driven to tears (laughing) by both Z and A. The second volume of AA didn't quite live up to that, but they were a strong set of episodes regardless.
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