Forum - View topicAstro Toy with Rob Bricken: Vampire Hunter D PVC
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Teriyaki Terrier
 Posts: 5689 |
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Boy oh boy, for the last three times you've reviewed action figures, they have been pretty bad. But after seeing Magnus appear to yell at Zatch Bell, I remember a a Zatch Bell action figure I once had myself.
My dog ate Ponygon and left nothing. Granted the action figure only costed ten dollars, I really liked the figure. I have a feeling that finding a replacement isn't too difficult, but I am not even sure if that type of action figure is still being made. By the way, what is Sticky Tack? Is it a fancy version of puddy? That was pretty nice of Dark Horse to send you the figures free though. |
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RadicaLElly
 Posts: 194 Location: Coral Springs, FL |
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This is why in Journalism school we're often taught if we're sent any kind of products for review to either offer to pay for it (preferably with permission to use money from your employer's budget rather than pay out of your own pocket) or, failing that, to send it back.
If a company is sending you something to review it's out of hopes that you'll give a positive review in exchange for getting to keep the product, which makes it extremely difficult if it turns out said product is lousy because now you feel obligated to find a really nice way of saying it's bad without calling it bad. To me this review read more like: "okay, these aren't great figures, but Dark Horse tried, so buy them anyway." Scenarios like these can also be the basis for libel lawsuits under extreme circumstances. Obviously not all newspapers/magazines/websites/whatever follow these guidelines, but it's something to think about. |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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...but a picture is worth a thousand words, and so we've got 13,000 words of "these are ugly" telling us not to buy them. I think Roger Ebert has said that same thing in the past, that reviewers should try not to accept free stuff because of conflicts of interest. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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This is not at all a problem with our anime reviews. They want coverage, so they send us their product. We review it one way or the other, no strings attached, no expectations. That's how it works at any responsible publication. In the past there used to be an attitude that somehow they were doing us a 'favor' by mailing us DVDs to review, and so they expected us to be generally kinder and more deferential in reviews, but that has since largely gone away. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I have no idea whether the reviewers here at ANN get the DVDs they review for free (I think ANN picks up the tab), but that's not really the point of this week's column. The point is, these figures are subpar, contain flaws in their design, aren't even coloured correctly, and the hairstyle on D was just atrocious (my word for the day). And it's been a while since I watched Vampire Hunter D, but I'm pretty sure that his face is "off" as well.
Well done on Rob for laying it on straight. The video game industry has already gathered game reviewers under its thumb; good to see someone speak their mind. In the short term Rob might not be getting more figures from Dark Horse, but in the longer term their figures may get better for fear of another embarrassing review. Last edited by dtm42 on Mon Mar 09, 2009 4:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Rolando_jose
 Posts: 240 Location: Ahhhh it's vacation time again! |
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D looked like the cross between a pimp and a bad dressing mad woman, jeez.
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DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
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Also known as poster tak, blu-tak, or handi-tak, it's a lil' ball of sticky putty normally used to put posters on walls (avoiding thumbtack holes.) Lots of folks use it to help unruly figures stand up. I love the picture of D and Magnus staring at fallen Doris- not only is it funny, but there's Boba Fett and R2D2 Mr. Potato Heads in the background! Yay! 
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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Again these photos have gotten a good couple of giggles out of me, pictures really do tell a thousand words.
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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Good to hear! I thought that your reviewers had things sent to them, but I wasn't 100% sure. One would think that companies would learn, though, and not send "Death Note" to Mr. Kliminger twice, but maybe they liked the debate it started? 
But there really wasn't much to say in this review. The figures are really ugly, you can tell from just looking at them. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that Zac gets sent the DVDs, and he subsequently mails them out to the reviewers. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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You should probably ask me about exactly how our review process works, not just "someone" since nobody but myself or Chris really knows the nuts 'n bolts. 
It depends on the company. Funimation sends stuff to me, I mail those out. Viz has a few of our critics on their PR lists, and those people get whatever they decide to send out. Some other companies send stuff to me directly, some to the critics themselves. It's a bit of a patchwork and frankly there aren't enough companies left that even send stuff out anymore to make it complicated. Our reviewers also review stuff they bought themselves, or stuff they rented. What matters most is that they're reviewing a finished product, or as close to a finished product as is possible (IE a screener DVD with no packaging but is identical to the release version). They obtain this stuff through a wide variety of methods. Last edited by Zac on Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:15 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dargonxtc
 Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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Ha! Great review. You know, when I heard these figures were coming out I was pretty pumped. Until I saw the pictures that is. Bam! Ugly. Then I was like, well maybe the picture is just bad and they hired a really bad photographer. No, this review just confirmed my suspicions.
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GordanHam
Posts: 151 |
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Great review Rob. I never really like Vampire Hunter except for the Amano Art. Do you have any Fate/Stay Night figures?
I just added a new entry of one of my first Fate/Saty Night figures. Check it out at my blog: http://gordanham.wordpress.com/ |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16963 |
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I find it very amusing and ironic that you're reviewing these figures just as I finish the first Vampire Hunter D novel (decided after reading up to vol 7 to read the original again) and just watched the first movie again. Maybe it's a sign heh. I have to say I've always kind of wondered why most of the book covers and art related to the series have him looking so....feminine. I know he appears very young, like around the age of 18-20, but he's not supposed to look like a drag queen. As for the figures themsevles....I can't say I'm impressed. The faces just do not look right at all and that's one big thing I go for with figures. Facial accuracy. I don't mind if outfits are off or their coloring or the posing but the figures should look like who they are representing. Also considering how few and far between D figures or merchandise is, beyond the novels/anime, it's a shame these are a bust.
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Brilliant. That gave me a good laugh. |
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