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RE: L.A. Times Eva article




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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15550
PostPosted: Wed Apr 10, 2002 8:00 pm Reply with quote
Man, I dunno what's worse: When mainstream reviewers are bashing anime or when they're being positive about it, but simultaneously condescending.

"The eight-disc "Perfect Collection" (A.D. Vision, $170) presents the entire 26-episode series in a noteworthy English dub."

I guess they let one of the writers with ADD review the series.

' "Evangelion" (pronounced ee-van-GEL-ion, with a hard "G")" '

This isn't f*cking Sesame Street! Give us credit for being able to pronounce a word whose root is common in our own language! (Evangelist, evangelical, etc.)

"The only effective weapon against the Angels are the Evas (short for "Evangelions"),"

We got that the first time, retard!

"The most effective pilot is 14-year-old Shinji Ikari "

No, Shinji's the worst pilot. Asuka and Rei are constantly having to support him while he b*tches and moans. Why do I get the feeling this guy was probably ok with WB making Li the protagonist?

"Shinji is a repressed and reluctant hero"

He's not even a hero! He's just someone who doesn't have the cojones to make his own decisions, so he keeps fighting to the point of futility.

And what's with only naming the American voice actors?! This is a Japanese series, not an American one!

"But those weaknesses give them a depth and humanity many anime characters lack."

I don't know how much anime he's seen, but there are a LOT of titles where the characters have depth and humanity!

"Much of the story was reworked in the theatrical feature "Death and Rebirth" (1997); the second film, "End of Evangelion" (1997), offered a new and more violent finale."

There goes that "violence" crap. You could say nihilistic, but you choose to focus on the gore.
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4536
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Wed Apr 10, 2002 9:13 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:

' "Evangelion" (pronounced ee-van-GEL-ion, with a hard "G")" '

This isn't f*cking Sesame Street! Give us credit for being able to pronounce a word whose root is common in our own language! (Evangelist, evangelical, etc.)


Uhh... I think he has to point out that Evangelion has a hard G, since "Evangelist" and "Evangelical" are pronounced with soft Gs, at least in every regional English accent I can think of. I pronounced it wrong too, until I got it on DVD. For that matter, when I was a newbie, I often pronounced manga "manja".
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Animan



Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 65
PostPosted: Wed Apr 10, 2002 10:21 pm Reply with quote
Article: "The eight-disc 'Perfect Collection' (A.D. Vision, $170) presents the entire 26-episode series in a noteworthy English dub."

Gatsu wrote: "I guess they let one of the writers with ADD review the series. "

Mr. Charles Solomon has reviewed film and books (and animation in particular) for the LA times for over 30 years! He loves animation and he has also written and published a huge (gorgeous) book on the history of American animation himself. He is a professional writer and a historian of the animated film in general, and he is very big on American animation.

I've followed his reviews on animation (very closely) for many years, and for a long time one would have thought, from his lack of knowledge and lack of persistant reviews on anime, that he wouldn't even think of reviewing Japanese animation after some of the negative reviews he had for some releases in the eighties: Lensmen, Fist Of The North Star, and The Overfiend (that was all that was coming out in the moviehouse during those times). For a long time he really had some negative views about anime in general (on story and style) based on what he had seen, and based on what was available to the general public back then.

But lately he has really come into it (mostly because so much of it is now available to the general North American public) and he has been providing the general public with knowledge about how important anime is as an artform to world animation in general (particularly since Disney started repeating its formula and turning out duds).

Solomon has also reviewed for the LA Times: My Neighbor Totoro, Vision of Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Jin Roh, the new Vampire D movie, Metropolis, Panda Go Panda, Roujin Z, Castle of Cagliostro, Tenchi Muyo, Akira, Grave of the Fireflies, Adventures of Horus, Ghost In A Shell, Revolutionary Girl Utena movie...and Lord-knows-what-else I may have missed.

I'm personally delighted that a long time book reviewer and writer for the LA Times (and a big fan and historian of American animation) would actually take some time to really see what the big fuss and popularity is about over anime, and among its fans and the buyers in general (of those rows and rows of shelf full of anime).


Last edited by Animan on Thu Apr 11, 2002 3:14 am; edited 3 times in total
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garry
Former ANN Editor


Joined: 12 Jan 2002
Posts: 120
PostPosted: Wed Apr 10, 2002 11:39 pm Reply with quote
Now, animan... If you feed the troll he'll only want to stick around.
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Animan



Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 65
PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2002 12:11 am Reply with quote
Hey, Gatsu hasn't been posting very much recently. And ANN could always use some posting of current topics.

Anyhow, my response was about providing some information about the unusual articles being written by Mr. Solomon for the LA Times. My guess is that there are not too many critics like Solomon or Roger Ebert in other newspapers (or the news media in general) that are consistently paying close attention and periodically looking at contemporary anime being released in North America (other than news articles that pops up in the New York Times every once in a while).

Solomon and Ebert are both providing a service to the general public that is still being neglected by the news Media, which often prefers the all-anime-is-pornography-and-is-threatening-are-kids staff writers.
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LordByronius
ANN Columnist


Joined: 06 Feb 2002
Posts: 861
Location: Philippe for America! He is five.
PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2002 9:42 am Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:

"The most effective pilot is 14-year-old Shinji Ikari "

No, Shinji's the worst pilot. Asuka and Rei are constantly having to support him while he b*tches and moans. Why do I get the feeling this guy was probably ok with WB making Li the protagonist?


Evangelion is a show about giant robots who fight monsters with all this nonsense bullsh** biblical symbolism and stuff. It is a very violent show that is degrading to our national values. AND SHINJI IS TEH BEST PILOT.
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dudesup



Joined: 14 Jan 2002
Posts: 88
PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2002 2:05 pm Reply with quote
I disagree with Gatsu. I really liked the review and think it is well done. Also i didn't know that Charles Solomon had posted more anime reviews on the LA times. Are they available on the website?
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Neilworms



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 155
Location: Chicago IL
PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2002 5:05 pm Reply with quote
Dudesup,

You can read his reviews on amazon.com, he has written many reviews of anime. Just look under the review section. You can also read them at imdb under Amazon.com summary. While he hasn't reviewed every anime, most on those sites are reviewed by him.
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Vicious



Joined: 26 Jan 2002
Posts: 97
PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2002 7:54 pm Reply with quote
If Shinji was the worst pilot then Asuka wouldn't be so jealous of him.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15550
PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2002 8:28 pm Reply with quote
She was jealous cus he got all the attention for doing the least work.
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Slim Shinji
Past ANN Contributor


Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Thu Apr 11, 2002 10:17 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:

She was jealous cus he got all the attention for doing the least work.


That's incorrect. If you consider each of the Angels and then think about who defeated them Shinji is overwhelmingly the most effective.
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Ataru



Joined: 04 Jan 2002
Posts: 2327
Location: Missouri (Strikeman)
PostPosted: Sat Apr 13, 2002 6:43 pm Reply with quote
Slim Shinji wrote:

That's incorrect. If you consider each of the Angels and then think about who defeated them Shinji is overwhelmingly the most effective.

I love the series becasue everyone in the series has probelm that trace back to one man, Gendou (or Yuri, if you think about it.) That and Asuka kicks butt even in the Rebirth.
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Animan



Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 65
PostPosted: Sat Apr 13, 2002 8:07 pm Reply with quote
Ataru: "I love the series becasue everyone in the series has probelm that trace back to one man, Gendou... "

Exactly. ^_^
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