Forum - View topicShelf Life - Radio City Rockets
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 598 |
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I'm not quite sure what you mean by a "neutral" recommendation. How can any recommendation be neutral? If I recommend something, I must've liked it (or thought you would like it, if I knew your tastes). Anyway, I once took a theater class where the professor teaching it said that he had a buddy who'd take him to plays more or less blindfolded. He wouldn't know anything about the play - not even the title - until the curtain went up. Without having any expectations of what he was about to see, the professor had a great time. I think that's an awesome way to watch stuff. If you go in without knowing a single plot point or review's opinion, not knowing any of the stars or who the producer was, you can go in with a totally open mind. I saw a free screening of Juno before it opened without knowing much about it (except that I love The Moldy Peaches). I glowingly recommended it to my coworkers, only to find none of them liked it much. It seemed like my recommendation worked like an observer effect or Schrodinger's cat. By recommending the movie I made it less good, because I gave my coworkers expectations. I should never have told anyone I liked Scott Pilgrim... |
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Chrno2
 Posts: 6171 Location: USA |
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Woot woot, Birdy is shelf worthy awesome. I have yet to sit down and finish this series. I would love to submit a pic of my shelves. I even finished arranging a temporary formation but...unfortunately, the DVDs are stocked in a layered formation. So you really only get to see the front section not what's in the back. I wish I had space for one more shelf to just put all my anime on it. I love the shelf section interesting layouts.
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Mikeski
Posts: 608 Location: Minneapolis, MN |
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Birdy... I marathoned the 1st box set a couple weeks ago; Erin's review is spot on. With the comments here about part 2 being better, I think part 2 just got bumped up the list for "what Mikeski will watch next".
And Oh Edo Rocket looks to be the next Princess Tutu... comments and reviews from people from all corners of the anime world, and nobody has anything truly bad to say about it. Guess I'll have to add that to the queue, too. Blind recommendations... the best one I got was for Haibane Renmei... "just watch this without reading anything about it first". Which works well due to the protagonist's situation. (I'll just leave this here, since it's been license-rescued by Funi and people should have another shot at it next year sometime.) |
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zrdb
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Birdy The Mighty (ovas) were great and the Birdy tv series is just as good-or maybe a little better. Sorry bubba-your anime collection needs to eat some Wheaties and grow bigger
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4422 |
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That's the trick. I prefer to watch dubs, and the majority of shows will offer two or maybe four episodes dubbed, so I'm left to watch subbed which I don't want to do, buy it based on just a few episodes, or try to rent it. I hate to gripe about having so many legal streams available since I think it's great for the industry and fans, but I get very little use out of them since the dub is normally withheld for the DVD/BD release. |
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Cheesecracker
 Posts: 240 |
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I get your point. Even if one does not tip their cards, how are they(the cards - metaphorically or not) not at least evidence that a game is being played? This is what makes psychology such a tricky field. Human's recalibrate themselves in response to known or perceived circumstances. It's hard to get a 'clean' reading. For the subject to just know that they are being tested can make it all pointless. Which, although I like your story about your professor, I don't think it is any less subject skepticism re: neutrality(not that you said it was). I merely meant that my friend and I would try to give'dry' recommendations, avoiding any colorful detail. I would say your Juno experience was just like why my friend and I came up with our strategy. As soon as you begin to describe something in glowing terms, people tend to paint their personal version of 'awesome' in their heads. Even the best of friends have vastly different tastes. After a while you get to know what their version of 'awesome' is and learn look at them funny when they recommend stuff. 
I wonder, did your professor choose the 'perfect meal' route or the 'challenging' route for their friend (or victim as the case may have been)
Last edited by Cheesecracker on Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:05 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Ian K
 Posts: 250 |
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Got to second what others have said about Birdy's second season topping the first. I liked the first find, but I' felt it kind of lost its way about halfway in, and never really recovered. The second season started off slow, but stuff got real, quick. The writing, pacing, characters, yes even the animation were all better. Basically, I see season one as just a really long introduction to season two.
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
Posts: 598 |
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Now that I think about it... the only truly "clean" reading would be to watch a play neither of them had seen before. If his friend picked it out, that counts as an endorsement. I feel the worst when I take friends to see a movie that turns out to suck, even if I've never seen it before. I picked the movie so I feel responsible somehow for the quality, even though it's not like I made the movie. I feel the most involved in films I watch totally alone, because I don't need to feel guilty if it's bad. Even seeing a movie with my husband can be a burden, because I'm anticipating what parts of the movie he'll complain about later. |
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Cheesecracker
Posts: 240 |
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It might seem like I like the word 'calibrate' too much, but even if it's not being used, it's still happening(at least it should be). Hopefully, it leads to clarity. In sports and communication there is an element of 'aim'(art, too but it is more like a combination of both). I know it's not popular but I like the 'if you liked X then you might like Y' approach. At least as a 'for instance'. From the author to the reference to the subject hopefully there is some kind of triangulation.
BTW, what was wrong with telling people you liked Scott Pilgrim? It was good enough. Did people start showering you with Scott Pilgrim related gifts? |
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
Posts: 598 |
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It gets tiresome in the review world to write every review "If this is the sort of thing you'll like, you'll like this!" Besides, in my first few months of writing this column forum readers complained that I was referencing too much stuff. They hadn't seen anime X, let alone 80's movie X that I watched growing up.
No no, the opposite. Because I said "It was sooooo good!" people responded with "It wasn't that good. I don't see what the big deal was about." |
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Cheesecracker
Posts: 240 |
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I agree that it would be tedious as a policy but I don't think that's it's something to be avoided as policy either. Missed references don't all have to be vintage. Some see it as unfair or whatever and others will welcome the tip.
I learned of some of my favorite music by their recurring mentions on other musicians' Top 10 lists. Curiosity has lead me to some very rewarding places. I see that effect taking place in the discussions all over the ANN boards. |
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doctordoom85
 Posts: 2092 |
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Well, let's face it, a movie with cool special effects, interesting fights, an awesome soundtrack, hilarious comedy, and a moral that's actually cool in execution as opposed to preachy may not be for everyone. 
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