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The Spring 2007 Anime Preview Guide

I'm not saying the reviewer has to be biased towards any genre, or "conform to any opinion". I'm just saying that at the very least they should not be biased against it. From what the review sounded like it certainly seemed like he was but I may be wrong.

One thing is for sure though. I don't see how any reader could figure out they would like a show given a negative review without knowing the reviewer's tastes. A description like "failed jokes" can't really be interpreted in any other way but bad.

The point is the same as my first post, which may not have been read since I seem to be thought of as another poster who has been advocating Lucky Star (I think I know who). The point is that reviews should be made about the show itself, not how bad the genre it belongs to or how "similar" it is to other shows.

I want to second the outrage over the omission of Oh! Edo Rocket. Was under my radar despite the director and writer's impressive resumes, but has completely won me over, and is easily the best show of the season, even edging out Seirei no Moribito and Gurren Lagann.

I want to second the outrage over the omission of Oh! Edo Rocket. Was under my radar despite the director and writer's impressive resumes

Also, bear in mind that there are literally a ton of new shows and we simply don't have the time (or the patience or the sanity) to watch every last one, so what's included here are highlights, lowlights and a few inbetweens

It'd be nice if [Moonlight Mile] had a stronger plot direction—the first episode tends to meander from scene to scene—but that should be corrected in the following episodes, as there's only one direction for Gorou to go: up, up, into the stratosphere of great sci-fi anime.

The one potential weak point is a minor propensity for light-hearted goofiness, but the original Romeo and Juliet did have its playful moments, too, so that can be forgiven if the rest is done right.

The first episode may have been a bit awkwardly paced, but once the series starts revealing its cards, [Darker than BLACK] definitely has the potential to turn into a really fun show.

At worst, [Bokurano] might turn into some generic monster-battling series (Fifteen enemies! Count 'em!) and miss the whole point of playing a deadly "reality game. " But we are talking about the same manga-ka who created Shadow Star Narutaru, so expect plenty of warped, freak-out moments to come.

Something has to happen to break the story away from the typical “wandering warrior getting more than she bargained for” plotline. If [Serirei no Moribito] continues to move down this path, it's going to get pretty repetitive by episode five or six.

If there are any faults so far, it's that the first episode relies too much on flashbacks to fill up time, and the supporting characters all look like generic fantasy-world fill-ins. However, with powerful music and rich visuals adding to an already solid story, this is definitely an action series worth checking out.

From Episode 1 [Gurren Lagann] could go two ways: a seriously fun, energetic adventure, or a generic monster/robot-of-the-week slog. Are you willing to take that gamble?

Heroic Age may have potential, but it's just too early to tell for sure.

Um, you do realize that timely availability of fansubs has a lot do to with what does and doesn't get covered, right? That one just wasn't available on time that I could find.

Other than that, looks like a subpar season. Thank god I bought FF12 and Ar Tonelico to get me through.

I take it from your post (and you’re free to correct me if I’m wrong) that you are in the “reviews shouldn’t compare shows together” camp of review readers. Quite frankly this is a stance that I’ve never been able to comprehend. Comparison is the very essence of our understanding of the world. How can you know what is “good” or “bad” anime (or even what you like and don’t like) without reference to anime that you’ve watched previously? Similarly, a reader can’t know my concept of “good” and “bad” anime without reference to things that I’ve watched previously. You mention how you can’t know whether you might like something that a reviewer panned without reference to the reviewer’s tastes. You are exactly right. Which is why comparisons to other shows are necessary. In reference to the Lucky Star preview (which I must assume you are referring to as it is to my knowledge the only preview that mentions both moe and “failed jokes”) I provided both context for my own tastes as pertaining to shows with similar goals that I believed to be successful (Azumanga Daioh and Strawberry Marshmallow) and also a clear explanation of why I didn’t find the jokes funny (I believe I said that they “aim for gently humorous but instead miss and fall into the Bottomless Swamp of Failed Quirkiness,” followed by an in-depth description of one particular joke that failed for me). I believe that I provided more than enough information for readers to decide on their own whether or not the show is for them. On that front (and I must say, I’m surprised this hasn’t been brought up here) my Nagasare Airantou preview is the bigger offender. The only context I provided in that one was to say that the premise really says it all (which in my case was a very, very bad thing).

For the record, I haven’t anything against any particular genre of anime. Genres are simply structures of expectations that creators can use to manipulate audiences in different ways. Whether that manipulation is good or bad depends entirely on the creators. Granted, certain genres have lower success rates than others (the harem genre comes to mind), but that just means that you have to have a high tolerance for poor examples of the genre in order to get to the good stuff. Either that, or a trusted reviewer who is willing to slog through the bad stuff in your stead in order to point you towards the good stuff.

And to the person who called for my immediate retirement: I’m wounded sir, wounded. Do you have any idea how much it costs to hire a good psychotherapist these days?

A good review will show you whether or not you'll like the show, regardless of the reviewer's opinion on it.

Romeo X Juliet again, ugh! Shakespeare's story that if written today would be no better than a dime store paper back novel, and now its an anime by Gonzo. A generic story altered to be even more generic done by a company who does a lot of generic dialogue and character designs, all done just to show us show off their visual effects prowess? No thanks!

So, will there be a second guide for the shows that have the fansubs recently coming out and not covered in the first round?