Forum - View topicShelf Life - Wake Up With the Count
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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I'm a columnist. I use colorful language to editorialize my opinion. Were I writing a full-length review, instead of a column, there would be no such sentences. As it is, that sentence that you quoted wasn't even in reference to the show. It was my tongue-in-cheek opinion about scenes (regardless of anime) where nipples are visible through clothing. Were I to say, "Valkyrie makes my brain rot, it makes me want to hand out condoms," then that would be rather inappropriate. As it were, what I wrote about the series was largely neutral. I pointed out that I thought it was full of cliches, but that it could appeal to a wide male audience, that it's cute and hard to dislike, and that it tries hard to appeal to fanboys-- which it does. For someone who thinks that it's not the rating that matters, but the content of the review, you should've picked up on the fact that aside from the tail end of the review, which wasn't even about Valkyrie specifically, the review was painted in a very neutral light. Sure, I disliked the series, but it would appeal to the statisically significant portion of the anime watching community-- the fanboys. And I definitely mentioned that. |
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Juniper
 Posts: 51 |
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You, sir, have a very skewed and idealized view of what would "get a real professional fired." I'm not sure if you've read any professional movie critics lately, but I assure you it's not all full of big words, happy neutralism, and film theory. For the sake of my own amusement, let's quote some recent unfavorable reviews that have taken jabs at preferences, audiences, and genres in general: "If anyone you know says this is the one they want to see, my advice is: Don't know that person no more." - Sun Times "Now, if this plot description makes you excited to see the movie, then bless you--you're exactly the sort of undemanding audience member Hollywood counts on to make its dough." - E! Online There's no rule in the Critics Handbook that says that reviews have to be 100% neutral as to not offend anyone, or that critics have to hold the hand of every reader. It's not about preference, it's about quality. Just because you prefer something (even if you're in the "statistical majority"), it doesn't mean it has quality. Just because you get your jollies from watching an anime series, doesn't mean that it's good, and that anyone who doesn't think so is out to get you. |
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Chang
Posts: 7 |
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Really? Have you read the review of UFO? There's so much vitriol in its content that all I can make out are "catgirl, magical girl, bath, aliens" and that's about it. I don't need you to tell me how bad a show is. All I want from you is enough information to allow me to form my own opinion.
Put 50% of the words in the UFO review in any business report or news column and your job will be in serious jeapordy. And as for the state of general reviews in entertainment, they're mostly garbage aimed at filling space anyway. A good review is one that is informative, not one that attempts to boost or curb a person's likelihood of watching something. You can write a review for a poor product without resorting to trashing it or its viewers. Saying you dislike something is fine. Saying that potential viewers are brain dead for liking something is not acceptable. Don't forget; the reviewers exist to serve us. What value is added to my coming to this site if all I see are substandard reviews? I can get far more information on a title from AoD or a random blog site. And I'll depend on that information and make up my own mind on what I will or will not watch. I don't need anyone to tell me I'm stupid because I'm interested in watching something. And for the record, I haven't seen a single episode of UFO. I may not ever. It doesn't look like my kind of show. I'm just irritated over the general lack of quality in ANN reviews period. |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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You forget that a column about cartoons =/= a business report. The two aren't even equatable. I could put 50% of the words I wrote in an NIH grant application into an anime column, and my job would be in serious jeopardy as well, simply because it would be so dull no one would read it. |
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Chang
Posts: 7 |
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Yeah, but the thing is I didn't gather that from anything that was said here. I got it from AoD. If I went solely from what was said on this site, I'd probably watch it anyway just to see what it was really about. And the catgirls . . . 
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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It's already been pointed out that movie reviews do this. Reviews for other things do as well. I take it you don't read video game magazines or their reviews for bad games. In fact, I take it you don't read many bad reviews at all. I've read reviews that insult things I like (not on this site, that I recall) but I don't take personal offense or lambast the author of the review. They are entitled to their opinions. Which, gasp, is what a review is: An opinion. I swear, people are way too sensitive about their favorite shows. |
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biliano
Posts: 956 Location: Cleveland, OH |
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That's the exact approach I take when responding to a review on this site. Sure, I don't always agree with everything the reviewers write, but what I value most about them are their trust and their honesty. In a way, I trust the ANN reviews more than I trust the AOD reviews quite simply because the AOD reviews are too technical for my judgement. However, I still like to read the AOD reviews because they do offer different opinions than the ANN reviews more often than not. I mentioned in the Valkyrie review thread that I believe that Bamboo, Theron, and the other reviewers are very honest in their work, and for that I'm very appreciative in their hard work. It's just unforturnate that there are people that don't appreciate the hard work and sacrifices that the ANN employees go through every day to keep this site running. Speaking of Valkyrie, I didn't realize that a little 12-episode series like this would cause so much controversy here. Now more then ever I need to see this just to try to figure out what all the fuss is about, even though I feel that after watching the first episode from the Newtype USA sampler disc, with the exception of Val, all of those characters are uninspiring and downright boring. Even though I'm one of the biggest Kaleido Star fans out there, I do agree with Bamboo's placement as a rental. While I generally detest recaps (and for the record Zac, I do know what the word "generally" means ), they will help newcomers to the series catch up with the happenings of the first season. It'll take a while to warm up to both May and Leon, although I doubt that anyone will root for an arrogent, egotistical jerk like Leon. May at least has some good qualities; like Sora, she's very competitive and always want to be the best at what she does. However she's just as arrogant as Leon, and if it wasn't for Hilary Haag's excellent performance as the abrasive newcomer, I probably would detest her as much as Leon.
In relation to Yumeria: Perhaps the series wasn't doing well in the TV ratings in Japan to give it a second season, or perhaps Studio Deen only planned it as a 12-episode series. The studio was also working on Kita e. ~Diamond Dust Drops~ at the time so maybe there wasn't enough in their budget to keep the series going. Whatever the reason, I do agree that Yumeria ended without realizing that it could evolve into a very good series (although the placement as a rental was a complete surprise to me). In close, I just want to say to all of the ANN staffers to continue your hard work on this site, and even though some people don't appreciate or care about the advantages this site have to offer, I do appreciate and thank you for your efforts to make Anime News Network the best anime-related site on the Internet. |
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HitokiriShadow
Posts: 6251 |
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And its also nice when its been a year since you saw the first season. I went ahead and watched the recaps since it took ADV over a year to get it out. But for people who don't like recaps, they can easily be skipped. |
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biliano
Posts: 956 Location: Cleveland, OH |
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Speaking of which, I was wondering what these so-called "production delays" were that caused the delay of Kaleido Star: New Wings to be released. (It was originally scheduled to street in March 2005.) Zac brought this up in his first interview question when he interviewed Cynthia Martinez, Hilary Haag, and Sandra Krasa for Protoculture Addicts (Issue #87, pp. 42-43). ADV Marketing Director Chris Oarr answered the question, and I don't think his answer will please most of the KStar fans. (It certainly didn't please me.  ):
PA: Why was there a production delay between season one and season two? Chris Oarr:...basically, before launching season two, we wanted to make absolutely sure that season one had spread to as many corners of the country as possible. The longer we let the first season get out there and be noticed, the larger the fanbase will be; we wanted to ensure a hero's welcome for the second season, so it would be as strong as possible coming out of the gate. Now with the thinpak box set out, we fee lthe time is just right to get the second season out there. Source: Protoculture Addicts Issue #87, pp. 42-43 |
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Nabeshin
 Posts: 94 |
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Actually, this is one series I can't recommend enough buying individually, if not for the (double reversible) cover art alone. Don't wait. You're doing yourself a great disservice by doing it. Masterpieces like this don't deserve to hang around on store shelves-- they need to be bought, savored, and hard-to-find because they're so damned good. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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No, sorry.
That review style applies to some of our critics (myself especially), yes, and it is polarizing to some folks, but AoD is criticised just as much for being middle-of-the-road and easy-going on everything just as often as we are criticised for being either 'venemous' or heaping too much praise on something. It's just how we do things; some people like it, some don't. Personally, it's just my particular writing style. I honestly don't think there's anything in Bamboo's review that any reasonable person would take offense at whatsoever.
Here's what I don't fully understand: you say you want certain things from a review, and you claim to have found - at Anime on DVD - those things. Why do you read our reviews, then, if they upset you so much? I don't agree with film critic Gene Shalit on most things, and I think his reviews are shallow and ridiculous. I prefer Roger Ebert. I read Roger Ebert instead of Gene Shalit. I don't email Gene Shalit and call his professionalism into question or tell him he's reviewing things 'wrong', I just read Ebert instead. I don't understand the logic of attempting to make critics I don't agree with conform to my personal standards of what a film review should be. That, to me, seems to be highly illogical and at worst, very arrogant.
This I have to take issue with. I've been a professional in this industry for around 8 years now. Anime criticism and journalism has been my full-time job since around 1998, and my writing style hasn't changed much since then. I've worked here, I've worked for the Sci-Fi Channel, I've worked for Beckett, and I've worked extensively at Anime Insider magazine, and I've never been even mildly threatened with being fired for my writing style or my professionalism. In fact, it's never even been mentioned as a problem at any of the numerous jobs I've held. I've said some controversial things, yes, but I daresay you don't seem to have a very good idea of what a professional critic or journalist actually is or what his or her duties are. Calling me a 'rank amateur pretending to be a professional' is not only a completely ridiculous ad homenim attack, it's unfair, and wrong. I don't think you understand the weight or the incredible insult in that attack.
Most professional statisticians and entertainment industry executives will tell you that the old concept that "one person writing hate mail means 1000 others feel the same way" has gone the way of the dodo since the dawn of the internet. One person complaining means one person is complaining. Ask Fox or Sony or any of the anime companies that experienced serious disappointment after releasing DVD sets based on internet-based "fan demand" thinking that 10 people on a message board demanding a release means 10,000 others want to purchase the set.
In my years of writing reviews, I've received, on more than one occasion, letters from people who were personally offended by a negative review I wrote of their very favorite show. People tend to internalize their favorite TV series, and consider those shows to be a substantial part of their identity, and any affront to their favorite TV shows is seen as an all-out attack on who they are. There are people who are reasonable about this; they understand that their favorite shows are not flawless and that a harshly-worded negative review of a series they like is simply a disagreement with their view of the show rather than a personal attack. Then there are people like you, who instead choose to viciously attack the critic in response to an incorrectly perceived insult. And you're the most extreme example of this I've ever seen. It baffles me. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6867 Location: Kazune City |
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("anime" added) You don't have to believe me on this if you don't want to, because I'm not quite convinced of it myself. However, I was at a convention a few weeks ago, and had a conversation with a well-known ADV voice actor. (I'd rather keep him anonymous, because I'd rather not see him get attacked on message boards or have people sending him e-mail about "is this UFO Princess stuff really true?") He was the one who told me about the story behind the name change. I know that leaving him anonymous is a bit of a cop-out, but I hope you can understand my reasons for doing so. Again, you don't have to believe it, just consider it as a possibility.
So much for that I like cute anime, and I can go for pervy fanboy anime like Love Hina or Girls Bravo, but I can't say I disagree with the scores that UFO has received. I also can't agree that ANN somehow hates on cute anime. Thinking back to the ignominiously locked UFO Vol. 1 review post, I'm not sure what was meant by "that type of anime" or "a certain group of fans." The reviews in general set out to communicate several things:
What the show is about The technical merits of the release (video/audio quality,packaging) The content (the series itself, extras) Who will like the series, and who will not. At least that's how I see it. Last edited by Zalis116 on Thu Mar 30, 2006 9:33 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Azumangaman
 Posts: 256 Location: Canada |
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WTF? First off, anybody who seriously talks about themselves in 3rd person loses my respect right away. Secondly, the reviews on this site, IMO, are very professional and impressive. Most have great blends of humour to keep you interested. If you don't like the review, don't come on here and bash our wonderful ANN masters. We like them, and that's why we're here (well, sort of). The least you could do is start a reasonable conversation about this. Anyway, I really have to get Gankutsuou. It's killing me. |
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Chang
Posts: 7 |
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Well, Zac I did trade emails with some editor (at this address [out of date email address]) and we discussed in detail my views on what a review should and shouldn't consist of. And that it's highly unprofessional to get into a forum argument with an ANN member. It was like watching a bunch of middle school kids yelling "NO, YOU!" when they ran out of snappy comebacks.
And for the record, normally I don't read your reviews. I find no value in your site other than the news, which I prefer to find elsewhere, or in the encylopedia. The only reason I have returned after a very long absence is solely due to my displeasure over the Talkback thread for the UFO review. Found the thread through a link. I wouldn't have been here otherwise. I haven't seen the show in question, let alone find it apart of my identity. I probably won't see either. BTW, I typed that a little earlier in case you missed it. I just don't like this site's style at all. You have no credibility with me. That's why I've stayed away and that's why I will continue to trust other sources. I stay away from reviews that don't give me the information I'm looking for. I have yet to see a decent review for the movie Serenity, for example. All the reviews I've read consist of either "This sucks like Firefly" or "This is great like Firefly." Those kinds of things just aren't helpful. Most movie reviews are like that. That's why I have a sneaking suspicion that their only purpose is to take up space. And about the statistics, you completely misunderstood what I was saying. I wasn't talking about the 10 to 1 silent majority. I was talking about something completely different. Let me give you an example. A person goes to a restaurant and receives bad service. They're going to tell approximately 10 people about it. If, on the other hand, they got good service, then they'll likely tell one person about it. Ergo, people are ten times more likely to complain about something than give you praise for it. Taking this into account, a majority of 41 of 55 users must really like the series. That was my point, rather than 4100 users are rabid fans. And I'm well aware of the weight of my insult to you and the rest of the ANN staff. If you're so deeply offended, then perhaps now you know how it feels to be an ANN member who's been equally insulted. Normally, I don't insult people. I take great care not to. I felt it was warranted in this case. I've said all I came to say and I've said it too much. Good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. I shall not return. |
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.Sy
Posts: 1266 |
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I'd hate to walk into my nearby supermarket and find an octopus lying on the floor. What is that red stuff though? I though mollusks didn't have blood. '_'
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