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Shelf Life - Breakfast of Champions


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gartholamundi



Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 316
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:23 am Reply with quote
CareyGrant wrote:
... I admire your professionalism ... I'm glad you stick to your guns regarding your opinions, especially if they happen to diverge from others. Kudos!


Seconded.

I had scads of fun reading your review, Erin. Even though I'm not convinced I want to watch any of these shows. But the review was fun.

Here's a recommendation for Casshern: Sins ... gather a few friends, turn off the subtitles and mute it, then ad-lib your own dialog. My circle of friends tended towards one ridiculously exaggerated southern twang, one untraceable faux-British isles accent (with frequent references to "This is my island!"), one helium-filled breakfast cereal mascot, and one slow-talking dumb guy. Almost any show can be improved using this technique, especially if there's beer and/or if it's past 2am.

Televangelist Robert Tilton got this treatment quite a bit from us. I admit, when he'd lapse into "speaking in tongues" we'd unmute it momentarily. That stuff was hilarious on its own.

Sleep deprivation .... it's for winners.


and @ rabrek: Once again I thought everything you wrote was well-reasoned and articulated. Down with lukewarm, up with passion!
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TatsuGero23



Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 1277
Location: Sniper Island, USA (It's in your heart!)
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:08 am Reply with quote
You know, if it wasn't for the little tip of sneaker in that picture of the cat, I would have thought the cat was hanging on the wall and that was why it was included in the pictures of shelves. Only for a second thought...

But oww erin. That's rough. I kinda needed to read your review of Gaigaigar to cleanse my own palette of that harsh review of Casshern. Kinda stinks you didn't enjoy Tohru Furuya voice acting either. I found it really powerful yet subdued or... low key? Downtrodden but intense? I've always enjoyed performances with that kind of intensity or delivery more then the traditional hot-blooded type of intensity. Love the hot-blooded stuff too but that other end of the spectrum has always appealed to me more. Something you don't get too often. Never been a really big fan of the series of his other stuff but his performance made me want to give them a try again. If possible that is... I'm not sure if I wanna sit through sailor moon... And Yamucha was such a different kind of character compared to his lead stuff...

But I respect your decision and saw it coming based upon the first review. Although I wasn't expecting your own "Sledgehammer of Reviewing" to be unleashed upon it. But hey, the sledgehammer leaves little questions in its wake so it has it's uses. Apparent as they may seem. At least your continued liking of Gaogaigar is a pleasant surprise. Although I say that with a bit of apprehension until you actually finish the series. Not sure on your treshold for the later stuff.


Last edited by TatsuGero23 on Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:10 am; edited 2 times in total
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Joe Mello



Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2251
Location: Online Terminal
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:09 am Reply with quote
Otaking09 wrote:
You hate that show no matter what anybody says? No offense, but that kind of attitude really makes understanding and empathizing things that you'd dislike, that others like, next to impossible.

She explained why. Was her explanation that incomprehensible? I hate Pretear no matter what anybody says. Does that make me any better or worse?

Saturday morning cartoons still exist (even SatAm anime!) I think the problem is the general audience erosion which is happening across all stations, network or otherwise.
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Keyl



Joined: 21 Feb 2009
Posts: 144
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:22 am Reply with quote
Mr Adventure wrote:
It just ticks me off that Casshern got dumped into 'Perishable' like it has no redeeming qualities of any sort. Its art direction, animation, and action sequences are stupendous at VERY LEAST. Even if you thought the storytelling was obtuse.

Maybe the reviewer didn't watch in high-def blu-ray. Cause, godd--m its one of the best looking animated anything in my Blu-ray collection. Such bold lines of motion, hard sensations of impacting fists, striking color usage, and gorgeous painted backgrounds.


the only anime i can think of that has better visuals is Xam'd and Moribito. but hell they're pretty close.
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Levitz9



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 1022
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:22 am Reply with quote
I hope I don't come off as a jerk, Erin, but you mentioned Dan Green as the voice actor for Geki in GaoGaiGar--actually, Dan Green voiced Chief Taiga. Marc Thompson voiced Geki Hyuuma.

I didn't even know Aishite no Joe was released stateside--I've got to keep my eye out for that!
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Moonsaber



Joined: 16 Jan 2007
Posts: 343
Location: USA
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 9:53 am Reply with quote
Mr Adventure wrote:
It just ticks me off that Casshern got dumped into 'Perishable' like it has no redeeming qualities of any sort. Its art direction, animation, and action sequences are stupendous at VERY LEAST. Even if you thought the storytelling was obtuse.

Maybe the reviewer didn't watch in high-def blu-ray. Cause, godd--m its one of the best looking animated anything in my Blu-ray collection. Such bold lines of motion, hard sensations of impacting fists, striking color usage, and gorgeous painted backgrounds.


Reading the review had me dismissing this title, but now I think I might try a bit after reading the forums. Enough are defending it to possibly make it worth it. And it's on Blu Ray, which it sounds like a good encode, so I will check it out.

As far as Erin panning it.. well.. reviewers do that kind of thing. That is what they are paid to do, sometimes they just cannot be objective if it gets to them, though talking about more than the plot would be helpful. I agree with the others that discussion of the animation, disc quality, ect, would be helpful to me in the review.
But.. her opinion is her opinion, and she is paid to have one.
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist


Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 598
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:00 am Reply with quote
Otaking09 wrote:
You hate that show no matter what anybody says? No offense, but that kind of attitude really makes understanding and empathizing things that you'd dislike, that others like, next to impossible.

I didn't say "no matter what anybody says". I said:
Quote:
I hate this show and almost nothing you can say will change my mind.

Which is to say, almost no one could say anything that's going to change my mind on this. I very carefully said "almost" because I think it's feasible that someone could say something that might totally change my mind. However, this is an extremely unlikely scenario. Basically if Carl Horn said something so mind-bendingly radical about Casshern, it might suddenly shift my opinion. That is to say, if someone who's opinion I trusted said something amazing I might re-think my position. Strangers yelling at me on the internet is hardly going to change my mind because my hatred of this show is so great.
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PrettyKitty$$$$$



Joined: 10 Sep 2007
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:02 am Reply with quote
I don't understand what the big stink is. Not everybody is going to like Casshern and Erin did a fine job explaining clearly why she didn't like it. She didn't cast critisisms on people who did like it either. There were no statements to the effect of: "You have horrible taste if you like this" anywhere in the review, so why are people still getting offended?

I loved Casshern, and the things the Erin didn't like are not things that tend to bug me, so even if I had not seen the show before the review, I wouldn't be turned off. I like dark overly serious stuff, so I'd probably be even more intrigued. But say someone with the same pet peeves were to read the review. That person would probably appreciate being warned about those elements beforehand and would probably agree with the perishable rating. Both points of view are valid and shouldn't be discounted.

I think people need to stop internalizing these reviews. Who cares whether or not the reviewer liked or disliked the show. Instead, actually read the content to see what elements are present, the tone and themes of the show, and etc. and apply it to your own tastes. For example, based on Erin's positive review, I am 99% positive I will dislike GaoGaiGar. That sort of thing doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I don't see whats so hard about this. Confused
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PrettyKitty$$$$$



Joined: 10 Sep 2007
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:06 am Reply with quote
Moonsaber wrote:


As far as Erin panning it.. well.. reviewers do that kind of thing. That is what they are paid to do, sometimes they just cannot be objective if it gets to them, though talking about more than the plot would be helpful.


There is no such thing as an objective review. Reviews are opinion pieces, and opinions are subjective. A review without an opinion would just be a plot synopsis.
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vashfanatic



Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 3489
Location: Back stateside
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:57 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Surprisingly, Theron gave the series a B+.

No, it's really not. Theron gives Bs to a lot of things, it's sort of his "C" grade, if that makes any sense. I'm not saying the man doesn't have standards, but his use of the grading system is different than many other reviewers. So don't look at the grades, look at the review itself.
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agila61



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Posts: 3213
Location: NE Ohio
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 11:16 am Reply with quote
PrettyKitty20034 wrote:
I don't understand what the big stink is. Not everybody is going to like Casshern ...


That's exactly what the big stink is. People hang out at a forum and sees someone who loves Casshern SIN ... "Oh! I love that show too". Joy, Other people "get it". Validation.

And then a reviewer attacks your show. "She said our show sucks!" She must think everyone who likes that show likes shows that suck. "Why, Basically, She said that we suck!"

Of course, a review is not the "objective score" of how entertaining an anime is ... no such thing exists. But when its a negative review of "your show", people looking for external validation look on it as an attack on their tastes, and they counter-attack.

... low battery ... Edit: plugged in ...

As for as implications, I agree entirely. Reviews are primarily written for people who have not seen a show yet, or who are interested in whether people have a different reaction to a show. So a review where the reviewer does not express their reaction to the show and what about the show they liked and/or disliked would be useless.

If you already know that you love a show, the only thing for you to learn from a review is how much your tastes line up with the reviewer, and where you apply that knowledge is when they review another show along the same vein.

For external validation, find some place on the internet where fans of the show are hanging out.
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Wyvern



Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 1545
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:37 pm Reply with quote
Erin nailed it with her "sledgehammer school of filmmaking" comment. This is a problem that I've noticed far too often in anime, movies and TV as of late: the writers assume the viewers are idiots who need to be reminded of what's going on every five seconds. This is exactly why I couldn't make it through Cashern. Yes, it was very pretty. In some cases, it was like a gorgeous painting. A gorgeous painting that you can't enjoy because some pompous ass is standing next to you loudly explaining all the symbolism instead of letting you appreciate the work for yourself. This is why quiet rules are enforced in art galleries, people.

It just seems like the Cashern writers were really, really, pleased with themselves, and felt the need to ensure that their heartbreaking work of staggering genius was not misunderstood by the filthy unwashed mass that is the viewing public. If they'd only taken a break from patting themselves on the back to actually make the show entertaining, their egos might have been justified.
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TatsuGero23



Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 1277
Location: Sniper Island, USA (It's in your heart!)
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:03 pm Reply with quote
Moonsaber:
Well, if it helps with anything, Theron gave his own review of the series like erin linked too. I think Zac normally does this anyways. Usually a series gets 2 different reviewers. Erin (and basically whoever gets put into the "shelf life" chair) kind of takes everything that comes out while the other reviewer is often selected cause they either resonate with the series or just to be a second body.

Erin will point out things that stand out to her or meant most to her (good or bad) and will sometimes go into technical parts of the series like style, direction etc. But usually she just tries to paint you a picture on why she felt what she felt and why "she" would or wouldn't recommend a series. Which is pretty traditional Shelf Life. Theron and the indvidual reviewers tend to do more of a break down of summary, disc (art, quality, features etc), ENG/SUB comments; written around personal opinions and personal wrap up.

And yeah, while glancing at grades can help, reading the reviews can help decide if you'll like Theron's reviews or not. Although I like the series, B+ might be more of if you liked the series or not. On a personal level; I'd give it a B+/B too. But in general, I would probably give the series a B- to C if your grading on general accessibility and that the artist and storytelling decisions could go either way. Plus in the forums Theron goes on to explain his opinions on the series.

And the whole "Hammer" thing is pretty common and not just an "as of late" deal. It's commonly used in shonen series as well as other series. It's really more dependent of one's tolerance/expectation/taste more thing anything else. An embellishment term to, aptly named, drive home one's thought or opinion.


Last edited by TatsuGero23 on Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
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CherryLunar



Joined: 20 Sep 2010
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:16 pm Reply with quote
Erin,
I read and enjoy the column each time it's appeared, but am bitterly disappointed that you choice to spoil the Luna revelation like that.
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chefneer
Aria Company



Joined: 27 Aug 2009
Posts: 1686
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 2:02 pm Reply with quote
I've been undecided about purchasing Casshern Sins until now but it seems to be a somewhat gloomy/depressing show so I think I'll pass on it. I may consider Gaogaigar though. I had not considered it before but it sounds entertaining. Lately I've been focusing more on older shows (pre 2000) and it may be worth checking out.

I don't always agree with Erin's reviews but they are usually entertaining, which is what really matters. She tells it like she sees it, which I appreciate. The fact that I sometimes don't agree with her is incidental, because no two people are ever going to agree on everything every time. Shelf Life is more about how she feels about a show than its technical aspects which is a nice contrast with other reviewers.
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