Forum - View topicREVIEW: Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful DV
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Shiki MSHTS
 Posts: 738 Location: NoVA |
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Sigh. I know this is sorta a late post, but this has gotten to my nerves too long, and I'm hoping I'll be able to continue my academic life normally if this gets out of my head...
Warning: moderate spoilers. But none that you don't already know if you've already seen some of the series already. In my opinion, I do believe that Zac Bertschy gave a very biased and unfair review for Mahoromatic. There are many reasons to this, which all seem so large that this has given me a massive headache for quite a while. First of all, Mr. Bertschy has already reviewed a Mahoromatic DVD once before. From what I see, the review isn't very positive about it. This is mainly just fine. It's only one perspective, so it's not unfair advertising, correct? I don't believe so. As a result of his first review, I believe that Mr. Bertschy had already established that he was not pleased, and that he was not a fan of Mahoromatic. However, the act of doing a second negative review on another DVD in the series is unfair, especially in the way that he did it. The review not only seems biased as a result of the first review, but it also makes many false or weak points in an attempt to bash Mahoromatic due to the bias. Why would you write reviews for something you hate twice? Much less, why did you even watch it any further? The review reeks of prejudice. The reason this is so messed up is it just gives people a bad look on Mahoromatic from someone who already has a bias and hates the series to start with. I believe that Mr. Bertschy is abusing his power as a staff member, and using his voice to make people believe what he believes, lacking any good reasons to start with. (This isn't the only instance... But for time constraints, I'll stay on the topic of Mahoromatic.) Second, I don't believe that Zac makes very good reasons or points at all why "Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful" is bad at all. Here are some examples. "For Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful, this concept has been thrown out, the second volume is nothing more than lame holiday episodes amounting to little more than a string of repetitive jokes. There’s very little story to speak of." This is an out of element assult on the series. First of all, the series is LOADED with story all over, mostly as a backbone to the series to start with. You have all the orginizations and such fighting, the orgin of Mahoro, the relationship between her and Suguru, etc etc etc. The thing is, this comment critisizes it for lacking story, and just for that, downgrades the rating as well. Come on. Mahoromatic is not ment to be 100% story. That's not the genere. They live in one town, and things happen. Is that so bad? I think if I ever watched something that was 100% storyline, then I'd get bored out of my mind. It is not a sin to go and have a few side stories. Hell. Some anime have no storylines at all, and end up to be masterpieces. Look at Azumanga Daioh, no real story, all composed of various side stories, and it's easily one of the best anime me as well as many others have ever seen! Saying lack of story as a negative point in an anime that is not strictly story to start with is not a valid point. Plus, the negative points on the being "lame" are just absurd. "If you were hoping that this series would emulate the first one and at least give you a story to follow, you’ll be sorely disappointed." I'm sorry, but Zac was not even a fan of the first season, so don't believe this trash. If you were a fan, don't listen to someone who didn't even like the first season for reasons why it was good.. "The big problem with Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful is that it’s a comedy that just isn’t funny at all." "Forgive me for not holding my sides with laughter; I’m crying on the inside. The characters are all strangely sedate, and speak in monotones, except when they’re overreacting to something uninteresting. The Christmas episode in particular features a lot of lame jokes about nothing in particular. Who finds this show funny? Every action, every word of dialogue, every plot development is so ridiculously predictable, it’s like the scripts were written by a machine that was force-fed every holiday episode from every other half-baked romantic comedy out there." This is purely opinion, and nothing else. Zac could at least state that before bashing it and taking points off for it. Personally, I found all the humor and jokes hilarious. Like, rolling on the floor funny. Does that mean you will? Possibly, possibly not. It's all opinion. Personal tidbits should not be forced on others as truth. "Lame" is not a valid point. I find all the acting convincing, unpredictible, and hilarious. Who finds it funny? I do. And I'm sure many other people do to. "The show retains its disturbingly sexist leanings, too. Mahoro remains the super-capable, highly intelligent combat android that would rather cook and clean for some loser guy than be a respected and powerful woman." "The message here is that even the most capable woman belongs at home, cleaning and cooking and being a sex object." "Why doesn’t Mahoro use her awesome combat powers to help clean up the galaxy? Why does she use her amazing intergalactic transport to get a special turkey for Suguru, instead of using it to travel to exciting places? Apparently, she’d rather wear a fetish costume and scrub the floors. Welcome to 1955, people." Stop trying to pretend to defend women in an attempt to bash the series further Mr. Bertschy. This comments makes me laugh, angry, and give pity all at the same time. This point on Mahoromatic being sexist could never have been more absurd of a point. I don't believe Mr. Bertschy had even seen any of the DVDs other than this one and the second one. He misses many of the points completely, and by completely, I mean by a complete long shot. This is just one of the most absurd points ever though. Spoiler: If you've at all watched any of the series other than what Mr. Bertschy took the liberty to half-heartedly pay attention to, you know the reason behind Mahoro's employment. Mahoro serves Suguru in an attempt to atone for her heavy sin of killing Suguru's father, also one of the commanders of Saint. Mahoro attended Commander Misato's funeral, and saw Suguru, the little boy, crying for the death of his father. Mahoro, although she believes she can never completely atone for her actions, tries to atone for it as much as she can by serving Suguru for the rest of her days. This aspect of the story is revealed in the very first disc of the series, as well as many other points in the series, and it hits me deep, and is quite emotional and sad. It is one of the major story driving points, and the fact that Mr. Bertschy completely overlooks this well stressed point not only makes me quite angry, but also points out a few possibilities. 1) Zac did not even bother to watch any of the series other than what he reviewed. 2) Zac blatently ignored this part of the story entirely in attempt to give a more negative review. The ingnorance of completely overlooking this point is insulting to me, as well as I bet, insulting to many women. Possibilty No. 1, Mr. Bertschy did not take the liberty to watch any other part of the series, nor did he do his research correctly, and ended up with a completely invalid point. Therefore, the review is half-hearted and uninformly negative. Possibility No. 2, Mr Bertschy ignored the point completely. Because if he had stated this point, it would have changed the review entrirely. Whatever it is, it makes me very sad and angry to see the lack of initative put into this. If you're reading this Zac, you are not defending women in any way with this review. You cannot speak for women saying that you would be offended. I bet this has acctually offended some womens inteligence. To say that women are so incompassionate and reckless to ignore death of such a nature is an insult. Blame the story for being sexist? Since when was the employment field of being a maid such an insult? There is nothing wrong with choosing to be a maid, or going into the house cleaning profession. I'm acctually very offended, knowing I have a relative who is a maid, and for you to demote her so low as to say that it's a "sexist job", and that it's an excuse to wear a "fetish" costume, highly offends me and anyone who is takes the job as being a maid. Completely putting the story aside for a point, you don't have any right to look down at the housecleaning profession. Some people take great pride in house cleaning. Not everyone wants to become a super hero fighter you know. Should we look down at janitors, parents, teachers, etc, just because they could do "oh so much better" in the eyes of one? No. If you can't respect the choices one makes to impact society, just because they don't choose to all become cops or super heros, then something is just wrong about that. And to demote my reletive down to being nothing but a "sex object in a fetish costume" ultimately offends me. Think about who you're talking to before you demote a large group of people. I know that there's more thats wrong with this review, but for now, I'm pressed for time myself. I'm sorry if this seems to be just bash to Mr. Bertschy, but honestly, the review is very uninformed and invalid in many points. I couldn't take it in my head any longer. Thank you for your time. =D |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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Fiddle-dee-dee. I'm not a big fan of Zac's affective review style, but it's hardly "unfair" for someone who didn't like the first DVD of a series to review another DVD. It's interesting that the only time someone takes issue with a review is when it's a negative review of something the complainer loves.
I say this as someone who's anticipating writing a dissenting response to Zac's rave review of Rahxephon disk 7 as soon as I finish that series (I say this based on the waxing-and-waning Eva Season 2 nature of the first four disks,) so it's not like I'm against people taking issue with reviews, but when it boils down to "you said mean things about my fave series you jerk!" well, c'mon. |
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lianncoop
Past ANN Contributor
 Posts: 1705 Location: Indiana |
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It's his job. I don't think he gets to pick and choose.
Were he really "abusing" his power as a staff member, I don't think the review would've been posted. If you read other reviews...the ratings on this show waver from...ok to somewhat ok. As far as "using his voice to make people believe what he believes..." Um, he's a reviewer. He gives his opinion. Regarding "bias" You can't tell me that if you saw a preview for a Freddie Prinze Jr. movie, that you wouldn't have the already biased opinion that it'll be a teeny-bopper movie that isn't worth your time or money to go see. If you do, that's "bias." That's unfair to poor Freddie. Regarding the rest of your post: I feel that you already have a bias out against Zac. For what reasons...it doesn't matter. You criticize him for having an opinion that differs from yours. I mean, if I didn't like the show, would that mean that I missed some "enlightening point" of it? What if I already had my mind set to hate it since the stereotypical "anime maid" on the cover? Sure Zac is opinionated, that's his job. If you don't agree with him, don't read it. I liked Someday's Dreamers. He gave it a C-...I watched it anyway. If people liked the show, they'll check it out despite what Zac writes, or go search out a different review. Your rant is valid, but not everyone is going to like what you do. Don't expect them to. |
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Louie-kun
 Posts: 420 Location: I'm back. |
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So Zac didn't like Mahoromatic, does that mean he's a bad reviewer? Not in my opinion. He watched the show and said what he felt about it. Did you want him to lie and say it was the greatest anime show ever when he didn't care for it?
Anime fans are always going to have different tastes in shows. You like Mahoromatic, but Zac doesn't. Get over it. (OT: lianncoop, that's one sweet Kakashi avatar.) |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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Ouch. My brain.
OR you could already KNOW that. Every review ever written in the history of mankind is one person's opinion of something.
Just so you know, "parents" is not an occupation. A homemaking parent might choose to be only a homemaker, but "parent" is not an occupation. And please. I'm a woman, and I found nothing offensive about Zac's comments. [/quote] |
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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And a review isn't? "A [review] is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste." --Whitney Balliett ...okay, I switched out the word "critic" for "review" in that quote, but a critic writes reviews, so it means the same damned thing.
Funny how that works, isn't it? I admit I used to have it in for Zac because of some comments he made about Azumanga Daioh in that infamous "KUROSUFAIYAH!" column, but then I realized that what he said doesn't apply to me and I got over it (I actually have a helluva lot of respect for Zac now, interestingly enough). So he doesn't like what you like, get over it. I love Mahoromatic & Azumanga Daioh to bits, but you don't see me posting inane crying fits just because Zac & I don't see eye-to-eye, now do you? |
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Shiki MSHTS
Posts: 738 Location: NoVA |
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Hmm. Ok. Concerning some things. One, truth be told, yes, I like Mahoromatic. I guess I might have gotten a bit harsh around the end of my rant, however, most almost all I wrote is still how I feel. Yes. Mahoromatic is one of my faves, the main reason I was ranting was i was critisizing the quality of the review, rather than the actual negative nature of the review itself. True. I was also mad about it being so negative, but I was mainly critisizing the quality of the review. Many of Zac's negative points are because it doesn't fit the "so-and-so" genere. The fact that he leaves out critical story points, of which would completely change the nature of the review, don't really help either.
Another reason for posting this is mainly, other reviews by Zac seem to follow a similar pattern. The ones that bash Sakura Wars for example, two reviews which both bash the series for pretty much the exact same reasons. I read these before I had bought the Sakura Wars Movie, and ended up buying the movie anyway. Much to my suprise, the movie was not very hard to follow at all, and ended up being a very enjoyible experience to me, despite me having no prior experience with Sakura Wars at all. Don't quote me on this... but mainly, the nature of most of Bertschy's reviews aren't of very high quality in my opinion. Usually, he ends up comparing two series, stating one as being complete trash so he can shine the other. Examples, Chobits vs Mahromatic, Astro Boy vs Megaman, Mao-Chan vs Sugar, etc etc. He usually uses this as further emphasis on his dislike towards a series (and note, I haven't seen most of these series either). It just seems there's a pattern here, in which Zac is basing most of what he reviews on a very light skim of the series he critisizes, and a very deep scan into what he likes, then he compares the two, making one look like trash while the other one shines. There's just something messed up about that. It's not just Mahoromatic. But sigh. Don't take this so seriously. Opinions can exist without very good reasons. That doesn't mean they always should though. Yes. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But some opinions are sometimes incorrectly stated as fact. True, every critical review in the history of man is an opinion of sometype, but every critical review in the history of man has also been subject to critisizm as well. There is nothing wrong with that. Sigh. Nice way for me to start out on the boards. =P |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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I'm sorry, I think there's something you're not getting. If someone is reviewing volume 4 of Series Y, they're ONLY reviewing volume 4 of Series Y. Not all the episodes up until then. If volume 4 has no substance, it doesn't matter how much jam packed vol 1-3 are, since the reviewer can still say that vol 4 is devoid of substance.
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CorneredAngel
 Posts: 854 Location: New York, NY |
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That I disagree with. The point of (most) anime series, and what makes them unique, *is* that they are complete stories, and any single episode or volume has to be viewed within the context of the larger story (and, as the case with Mahoromatic is, within the context of Gainax's ouevre over some twenty years). An early episode that may seem to be fluff and a waste of time and resources may turn out to be extremely meaningful in retrospect; Mahoromatic is full of moments like these. Just as a good movie review is aware of things like a director's prior work, intentions, and the way a particular film fits into the medium as a whole, a *good* anime review should be more than just a knee-jerk reaction to twenty minutes of images taken outside the context of a longer series. |
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jmays
ANN Associate Editor
 Posts: 1390 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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I don't see how you could do that type of a review for each individual volume of an anime series. Comparing film reviews with TV series reviews is a stretch, mostly because you don't have to buy six or seven DVDs to watch a film in its entirety.
Context is always helpful, but it's not critically important when you're reviewing one volume of a TV show. Saying, "It seems frivolous now, but it's meaningful later" doesn't change the simple fact that somebody watching it will think it's a bunch of fluff, and that's what they really want to know. I think, in video reviews like ANN's, a knee-jerk reaction is just as relevant (if not more so) than a thorough analysis. And there are practical issues, too. We're not all experts in the life's work of every anime director, and while it's important to note names like Miyazaki and Anno (and, on the other end, Obari), I think it's asking a bit much to expect every single anime review to include an analysis of the creator's intentions and the show's place in the medium as a whole. Quite frankly, many of them don't deserve it. |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4535 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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Ironically-enough, since Zac also doesn't really care all that much for Dragonball GT, one of the head writers of a certain hyperbolic invective-fueled Dragonball Z site wrote this supposed parody of Zac watching the sorts of anime the writer thinks Zac likes, implying that Zac just loooooooooves robot maid shows.
In regards to Zac needing to tell people that his reviews are *just his opinion*, see this Maddox piece (second item). |
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Shiki MSHTS
Posts: 738 Location: NoVA |
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There is some truth to what you say. however though, in many cases, it doesn't work. It's like saying, you can make a good and informative review on a farenheit 451 by reading only the middle third of the book. (completely an example). You can't really. Some series are a smooth flowing story, in these, which context is very important to know. Thats why most people can't read a book by skimming ever few pages or so. If you do that with some series, you can make the best series look like unintelligent trash. In some series, context makes all the difference. One of the whole things is, people say things like "thanks zac. you really saved me money by telling me this series is trash". Or "oh. he compares this series to this other series, which he says is trash. that must be true." People are that trusting. I'm not saying anything about reviews being a bad thing. But some have much less effort put into them, and are completely based off a light skim. In many cases, a seires demands a thorough watch to truely appriciate it. Judging a book off it's cover, or some of the middle pages even, is not really good. You don't need to be an expert in the life's work of some director. You can make a terrific review off a fresh creator. But to give such a haphazard review based on a short look, it's more so that the series doesn't deserve insults hurled from someone who only covers some of the first layer. It's like saying, I think so and so game is bad because the first stage sucks. (or the fifth, seventh, you name it.) It just doesn't work. |
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Nagisa
Moderator
Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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But Zac isn't reviewing all of Mahoromatic based on one DVD volume, he's reviewing those specific episode and those specific episodes alone. Maybe it's a wonderful series overall, but these really are bad episodes on this DVD? That tends to happen (Rurouni Kenshin & Hellsing come to mind, as does Wolf's Rain with its four recaps in a row). |
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Aaron White
Old Regular
Posts: 1365 Location: Birmingham, Alabama |
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I think Zac makes it clear in the review that he's not judging the series as a whole on the basis of the DVD in question, but that his negative opinion of the series is based on having watched other installments of the series. A TV series is episodic in a way that a novel or video game isn't. Reviewing a DVD of TV episodes is more akin to reviewing one book in a series than one chapter in a book. AFAIC a review is, by definition, a first look at a work, a sort of consumer report, if you will. Criticism, on the other hand, is written about a work or set of works with which the critic is quite familiar, and is often written for a presumtive audience of people who are also familiar with the work. A review is about thumbs up or down, criticism is about digging into the work. A review really can't dig deep, no matter how astute the reviewer is (and I think Zac's as astute as anybody writing anime reviews on the web, no matter my disagreements with him) simply because it's a first look. |
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Danno
Posts: 15 |
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I have plenty of respect for anyone who dares voice a negative opinion of any sort in such a public venue as ANN. The amount of emails from offended fans must be staggering. I once expressed dislike for R.O.D. in my meager little webcomic, and couldn't believe how many otaku felt the need to write me about it. The amount of fervor over things in the realm of pure opinion always surprises me, but maybe I'm just too easygoing about such stuff.
For example, I'm not particularly liking Bamboo Dong's reviews of Brigadoon. It's pretty likely he'll write the reviews of the rest of the series and I'll continue to disagree with him, but so what? Those opinions are his to give, and frankly, it's just one person's review. Most people who are seriously considering plunking down their cash on the purchase of a title will consult multiple reviews before making a judgment. Yes, there will be some who won't, but who cares? If a person's daft enough to take in only one source to form their full opinion, then that person deserves whatever they may miss. Bottom line: One negative review isn't going to stop many potential fans of a series from discovering it. So if someone writes a scathing review of your favorite series (even an inaccurate one), you really don't need to give a rat's ass. |
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