Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! - The Tunnel of Time
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TheVok
Posts: 613 Location: North York, Ontario, Canada |
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Mmm, sacrilicious .... |
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sabriyahm
 Posts: 291 Location: Georgia |
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Interesting rant. Starts well but falls into the usual after a while. I love Haruhi but I am an original watcher. I watched it because ANN recommended it way back when it first came out. There was no hype at the time. Sometimes I think people are predisposed to dislike things if they are told it's the greatest ever. Higher expectations lead to greater disappointment. Fortunately I did not have that problem. I do think the rant had the classic anime fan flaw. It starts with all the perfectly valid reasons he didn't like the show. It ends with the whole -This show sucks and you all will realize it too eventually idea. I hate it when people act as though their opinions are superior and based in some type of greater anime knowledge. I've watched hundreds of anime and I know what I like. My top ten list includes shows most people hate (like Inuyasha) and shows most people love (like Kino's Journey) but it's my list and my opinion. You can write a review telling people they probably won't like something, but saying all those who like it are wrong really pisses me off.
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bennyb
 Posts: 477 |
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Haruhi is MEGA overrated. Snooooozefeessttt
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Gauss
 Posts: 519 Location: Finland |
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Kudos for checking with Wikipedia but you still didn't get it. Don't worry, most of western fandom don't get it either, hence the confusion. In Japan moe is not an adjective that describes a character (which is the very first thing fans in the west get wrong). Moe is a feeling, something that describes an Otaku's special attachment to various things. A (female) character that is very good at generating those feelings in the watchers is considered to be a moekko. Naturally anime character designers and script writers want to make characters that they feel appeal to viewers. So they look at what kinda characters make otaku buy all those DVDs and all that merchandise. And so the typical moekko are turned into stereotypes and cliches, like the ones that come to your mind when somebody says the word moe. In reality moe is neither sharply delineated nor that difficult to comprehend. Simply put, Yuki Nagato's ability to create a bond with the audience (including you) is what makes her such a great moekko. But just as with anything else, there's no universal agreement on this and that character being the true moekko. All those characters out there are more like candidates, only some will get picked by you. They are the ones you develop a special attachment to.
That's not the fault of the show, that's the fault of you having the wrong expectations. There's not really much you can do about that if you're downloading the weekly fansubs, but if you come in late to the game, read the reviews. Might save you time and money if it sounds like a type of show you rarely enjoy. Or if you try one anyway, your expectations won't be pegged somewhere high in the stratosphere (crash and burn baby!). |
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FanFicGuru
Posts: 159 |
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I didn't really have a problem with the rant. Of course, I don't agree with it at all, but that doesn't mean that this guy isn't allowed to hate Haruhi. He thinks it's over-hyped? Whatever. Let him think that.
My main concern is the trend among certain fans that believe that Answerman and 'Ask john' of Animenation are the gurus of Anime and that their word is law. They are fans, just like the rest of us, except maybe they've been fans longer. *shrugs* Personally, I would hate to see either of them abusing this position, and I usually don't. Mainly, I just want people to understand that even though it may be coming from 'The Answerman' or 'John', that doesn't mean you have to take it as truth. So, yeah. That's about all I have to say about it. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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This isn't very fair. I've never heard anyone say that "my word is law". Ever. If someone did say that, I'd shoot them down. It's pretty clear in the column when I'm expressing opinion and when I'm saying something that is factual. I don't think people have a hard time telling the difference. I'd like to take issue with your "they're just fans like us!" thing but I can't without sounding condescending so I guess I won't. |
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FanFicGuru
Posts: 159 |
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I'm not trying to make it a personal thing against you. I guess I'm just frustrated with people who have a hard time separating what is opinion and what is fact, and what they base their preferences on. Also, what's wrong with the idea that you are (or were) fans just like the rest of us at one point? Am I wrong? I can understand if you have more expertise in the area, maybe you've been in the industry for 20 years or whatever and have all sorts of knowledge to pull from, and for that you would most certainly be in a position to write opinion columns. All I'm saying is that while you have all of that knowledge and experience, it's not unattainable. And there are people who put editors such as yourself and John on pedestals. I just don't put that much distance between us in that way, is that wrong? |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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OK so that's why I've been selected to write the column. 8 years experience, though, not 20.
First - John Opplinger is not an editor. He works for AnimeNation, and wears many hats for that company. But he is not an editor, nor a journalist; he writes a Q&A column. Second - No, the knowledge and experience are not "unattainable" but neither is the required knowledge or experience to be a successful lawyer or doctor or engineer or businessman. You can say the same thing about any profession, if you're trying to equate yourself with anyone in any field. I don't consider myself a fan. I consider myself a professional. I do this full-time, for a living, as I have for the last 8 years. Actually, writing Hey, Answerman is a relatively small part of my job. If I can help it - and I normally can - my writing is not speculative. Every time I write an answer I make multiple phone calls to the pertinent people so my opinion is as educated as possible. I don't write about anything where I'm not positive that my take on it is at least as educated as it can be, and I take advantage of my contacts within the industry in order to do that. If there is speculation involved, I try to make it as educated as speculation can be. The difference between me and Opinionated Anime Fan #8475 is that I take full responsibility for what I say and I do my best to make sure it stands up to scrutiny and is based in reality. Research goes in to nearly every question, unless the answer doesn't call for it. I do my best, I'm held responsible for what I say, and if I make a mistake, I say so. I have to. I take my job seriously. Writing the column isn't something I do "for fun" - Answerman is part of my livelihood. You seem more like you're irritated that some people actually respect and trust people like myself and John than anything else. You can think whatever you want - that there is no difference between you and I, or that people shouldn't listen to us. That's fine. But don't expect to come in here and say these things without being challenged. Because experience, knowledge, and education mean something. Yeah, I guess if you toss all those things out, we're all totally equal. I'm no different from a surgeon and you're no different from a pilot. Those people who you claim "put me on a pedestal" - I haven't seen that. Normally people challenge me, or offer their own opinion on what I've said. A lot of people also agree with me, but it isn't because of some blind faith. My readers are smarter than that. You apparently don't think so, and that's your right. But I think you're wrong. And my experience dealing with my readers informs that opinion. What's your excuse? |
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FanFicGuru
Posts: 159 |
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Again, you're making it look like I'm attacking you, I'm really not.
For all of those reasons you just said, your contacts, your professional career, all of that...that's why you write the column. I'm not disagreeing with that. All that I'm disagreeing with, all that I'm frustrated with, are the people (and I encounter them a lot, on bulletin boards, in conversations with other anime fans, etc.) that cite your columns as some indisputable fact. That's all. I'm not taking any shots at you, your career, anything like that. It's not that I am frustrated because they value your opinion either. There's a vast difference between agreeing with a column that you wrote and carrying around your column like a gigantic staff of 'truth' with which to knock others around. This happens a lot in politics and other fandoms as well. Expert A says such and such about a particular topic and Fan B makes sure that everyone knows, and insists on its factual stability because Expert A says so. Anyways, all I was trying to say was I don't think it's wise to do that. That's all. I think you do a great job with the column and I wish you many more years of success. Adios. |
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Mirrinus
 Posts: 230 Location: La Thiene Plateau |
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I'm sorry, but my respect for the rant really took a hit with that paragraph. I have a very low tolerance level for mecha, ecchi fanservice, and hypocrites. |
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fujiwara
 Posts: 58 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia |
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I must say, the rant is written almost in full hype. The author seems rather self-righteous and offended in his musings, and it seems that he wrote it to let off steam rather than anything else:
It's a rant, I know, and I suppose that in the end, his spiel is justifiable. But I suppose he did follow just the reviews. Since that's the case, he should really have focused his rant on the reviews themselves, as they are the cause of his vexation. He said so himself. He just seems to have gone off track, and the rant now just seems like an indignified, angry outburst. |
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Levitz9
 Posts: 1022 Location: Puerto Rico |
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I think that the guy has a lot of good points with Haruhi. I actually like it a lot, though. So, while I respect his opinion, I dissagree. While Haruhi is nothing more than a cute juvenile delinquent, Yuki is a robot, Asahina is an uberhot-bimbo, and Koizumi...weird, the basic plotline, characters, interactions between them, and events they go through are original. This series is a breath of fresh air compared to other shows that are getting all the hype these days (i.e., Naruto).
Whether it really is good or not is in the eye of the beholder. I should also note that my standards are a little lower than others--over here, in Puerto Rico, I have a difficulty watching any anime, and as I don't have cable, I take what I get, lest I must watch lame mexican soap operas. |
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