Forum - View topicThe Winter 2015 Anime Preview Guide
|
Goto page Previous Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
|
|||
|
Any full-length review we publish here will generally tell you what to expect in full detail. MaxSouth's suggestions are in response to the preview guide, which is fundamentally a different beast from regular reviews. These are initial impressions, reactions to a first episode and nothing more. Expecting more out of them, given all the big bold disclaimers on the splash page about what they are and what they aren't that have now been there for 10 years or longer, is silly.
Normally when I get these big long spiels telling me how to "fix" the preview guide it's because the person offering the suggestion disagreed with one or more of the guide's entries on a show they personally really liked. It's the "wait, this opinion isn't objectively correct, there must be a systemic problem with the way this feature is put together" thing. The preview guide has been upfront about what it is for more than a decade now and based on the traffic and the feedback, the way we do it generally works for a very broad audience. I'll always carefully consider feedback of all sorts, even rude feedback, but these "tear it down and rebuild it like this, completely change what it is and what it's for" suggestions, I gotta say, they're too over-the-top to be seriously considered. |
||||
|
||||
EnigmaticSky
 Posts: 750 |
|
|||
|
Honestly there is no such thing as an objectively correct opinion. That's exactly what an opinion and review is: one's own thoughts and analysis of a show. Two people can look at the same show and for the same reasons think it's wonderful and awful.
"This show is slow and really focuses on the characters, which I love. It's good to see that they're really setting this up before the plot gets going. It makes what does eventually happen hit harder and makes you really care about what happens as it goes on." "This show is slow an really only focuses on the characters, which I hate. They really should get the plot going before setting up the characters. It makes you care less about what happens early on, and makes the first part a slog." So yeah, ANN, just keep reviewing and previewing however the hell you want. __________ I don't really follow shows weekly and usually prefer to watch it all in one big chunk after it's concluded (helps prevent watching something that starts good and ends bad (Dexter), and also I just hate watching an epic in 20 minute chunks weekly (any big-scale series). Having said that I'm really hoping Death Parade keeps this up. I loved the ova for the Anime Mirai project, so I really hope it can keep the quality up. |
||||
|
||||
|
Olaole
Posts: 39 |
|
|||
|
I just wanted to say thanks to all the reviewers who "dare" (at least in the eyes of some otaku) to give negative reviews to all the LN harem shows that come out.
Many anime fans on most sites on the net seem to dislike any notion of crticisim and somehow expect people to praise every kind of rubbish just because it is anime, but I am glad ANN continues to be more sceptical about these highly derivative, no-effort products. I wonder, though: Do people really expect everyone to praise or like these kind of shows in public? They are basically the equivalent of bad softporn flicks to me, and I can't think of any serious critic who would ever praise those either. |
||||
|
||||
|
Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2606 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
|
|||
Oh lord, yes, I do.  I actually watched all of it, and I think the best episode was the one I randomly saw dubbed in Spanish in Mexico.
|
||||
|
||||
Jonny Mendes
 Posts: 997 Location: Europe |
|
|||
|
I really enjoy read the Reviews and the Preview Guide in ANN. Most of my decisions of what to watch are based in this Guides.
And i hope the current staff keep the reviews like they always do because their feelings of enjoy when they watch the shows are important for a critic work. They like some shows and dislike some shows. And i like to know their opinion. I said that most of my decisions of what to watch are based in this Guides, but not all my decisions. When came to fan service/harem/incest shows most of the reviewers appear to dislike the genre and the ratings given are very low. I watch many of this shows. I would like to know if is a good fan service/harem/incest show or a bad fan service/harem/incest show (not all are good and not all are bad). So i have watch them, make my on opinion and if i don't like that show, i drop it But i will not said that this or that staff are bad and the review system have to change just because they give a low rating to a show he/her dislike even if i love that show. Their opinion is still valid to me because they always make sure to say what they dislike and why even if i don't agree with them, what most of the time happens with fan service/harem/incest shows. With the others shows i mostly agree with their options after i watch the shows. |
||||
|
||||
residentgrigo
 Posts: 2418 Location: Germany |
|
|||
|
My section is over based on the original manga and some tryouts of dark horse candidates:
Death Parade(improved over the Anime Mirai short noticably), Durarara!!×2 Shō (was locked it and the best new anime), JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc(was locked and let´s reach Steel Ball Run). Tokyo Ghoul √A couldn´t improve it seems so read the superior manga. I may skip through Sōkyū no Fafner: Dead Aggressor: Exodus later as season 1 was just a joke. Sorry Ubukata but XEBEC is beyond help even if you pulled off Heroic Age in the long run with them. Continuing are: Gundam: G no Reconguista(not prefect but oh well) and Parasyte -the maxim-(of course). Also: Gravity Falls + Teen Titans Go! + Star Wars Rebels. A very decent way to start the year. |
||||
|
||||
notrogersmith
 Posts: 192 |
|
|||
|
Since I don't have a subscription to Funimation's streaming channel, I've been waiting for the shows on that channel to come out on Hulu, so I'm about a week late. There are a couple disappointments so far:
On the other hand, I'm liking Tokyo Ghoul √A, even though Kaneki's motivation for spoiler[joining Aogiri Tree] has yet to be more fully disclosed. JoJo's is, well, the same Crazy Awesome that it's been so far, and Durarara has its share of the Crazy Awesome, too. Assasination Classroom and Maria the Virgin Witch also look like fun so far, though the latter does have some male gaze issues. |
||||
|
||||
|
Morning Blue
Posts: 62 |
|
|||
|
I made the mistake of starting out the season with Saekano. Two episodes in, and my friend and I who watch anime on the 'net dropped it. We couldn't stand how chatty, smug, and obnoxious its characters are. Two of the main girls are just bland clones of the Haganai leads. The random color highlights are hideous. The animation is pretty awful. But I didn't mind these as much as the plot being about the male lead (who is a spineless wuss of course) who's trying to mooch off these cute girls he just so happens to know who are amazingly talented because he can't be bothered to do this doujin game himself, with a scenario he half-assed slapped together and expects them to buy it. And of course they will, because harem.
I don't think I've ever seen a series about people who create/draw doujin works and liked it. Not even Comic Party. I guess it's just not my genre. I do plan to check out a few other shows soon though, like Maria the Virgin Witch and Idolmaster Cinderella Girls. And Assassination Classroom looks like it could be fun, despite the handicap of being a Shonen Jump anime adaption. Also,
Which is why you shouldn't be suggesting to Zac about hiring people as if you run the website, you backseat staff member. |
||||
|
||||
Yoma-Hunter
 Posts: 18 |
|
|||
|
anything except for Tokyo Goul season 2 that is dark and violent?
|
||||
|
||||
|
Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18179 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
|
|||
|
Not based on the first couple of episodes of anything else. Pretty fluffy season beyond that one, actually.
|
||||
|
||||
Hameyadea
 Posts: 3679 |
|
|||
|
Is anyone (p)reviewing Isuca? I saw the anime's page up on CrunchyRoll.
|
||||
|
||||
CrowLia
 Posts: 5504 Location: Mexico |
|
|||
|
Since it aired so late it's already out of time for the preview guide, and it didn't get enough votes in the Daily Stream poll (not even sure if it was an option). It'll likely get a full-series review after it finishes
|
||||
|
||||
|
Key
Moderator
Posts: 18179 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
|
|||
|
Yeah, I can pretty much guarantee it will get a full-series review at the end, as it looks like I'm gonna have to follow it.
Short first impression: It's going to be a darker-edged, supernatural action-themed harem series. It has heavy fan service (including nudity) and typical haremlike hijinks paired with substantial gore. Not sure it's really going to work, as the elements seem rather dissonant as presented so far, but it should be amusing finding out. |
||||
|
||||
shogun22
 Posts: 50 Location: Asia |
|
|||
I was surprised when I saw that everybody gave this a high rating. Thanks to Hope Chapman for making it clear to us
I guess Ikuhara fans will take anything Ikuhara throws at them. The "2" is probably for those who value stuff like plot/story/charcaters (good comedies have them too except maybe for 4-koma-based ones) over artys visuals. So next time there's something Ikuhara-related, we know what to expect. 
PS: I did like the architectural (background) designs in Yurikuma Arashi though. |
||||
|
||||
Cyberd1
 Posts: 106 |
|
|||
|
I find that the words like generic, cliché, derivative and trope as a reason why a Anime is bad in its self is tiresome. If you have been watching anime as long as I have (since Astro Boy, Tobor The 8th Man, Yusei Shonen Papi aka Prince Planet and Speed Racer, first aired on US TV) everything falls into those terms. So if that is what what you judge anime on, in 10 or 20 years you will not be able to enjoy any anime.
For me at least, I put aside if something has has been done to death, focusing on what the story is like and are you looking forward to the next episode. Which isn't anything you can really judge until the 3rd or 4th episode. For me after the 3rd episode of Absolute Duo it went from well this is ok to wow just wait a minute, making me go to the intro of the first episode. That is (for me) where I got hooked on this series. How do you get from the relationship that Julie and Thor had, to what was happening in episode 1's intro? Granted based on past anime there a multitude of reasons the that could happen, but how would it happen, what is the cause? Even if you can guess an ending how the story gets to that ending depends on the writing. Absolute Duo's story teases you with some of those possibility's but unfortunately they tipped their hand in episode 9 which is (in my opinion) something that could have waited until episode 10 or 11. But all in all so far it has been an enjoyable journey and I am a little sad that it will be over in another 3 episode's. Hopefully people will ignore the poor ratings and give it a chance. If you can look past (its been done before) you should enjoy this series. |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group