Forum - View topicThe Spring 2015 Anime Preview Guide
|
Goto page Previous Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
maxwell3094
 Posts: 148 |
|
|||||
If remember right for the first time the daily reviews were done the reviewers each picked a top 3 to review. So if someone had it as their 1 while someone else had it as their 2 the reviewer that put it as 1 would get it. Though ofc even if I am remembering right that was the first time and the process could have changed since then. Also yes no number score on Bamboo's Yamada review for me either. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
JacobC
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
|
|||||
It's not that cut-and-dried mathematical, but yeah, every season there will be at least one show that everybody wants and at least one show that two or three people want. We just assign stuff the fairest we can based on who wants what, who needs to cover what, etc. But it's not a beep-boop process with hardline rules, we just do our best to get everything that needs to be covered by the best reviewer for the job as best as we can do, pretty much! |
||||||
|
||||||
|
maxwell3094
Posts: 148 |
|
|||||
Huh has there really been at least one show nearly everyone wanted each season so far? Knowing that I can only imagine how much of a headache it must be for whoever is in charge of assigning the shows.  Out of curiosity what was the big one this season? Plastic Memories?
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
JacobC
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3728 Location: SoCal |
|
|||||
Yarp. And My Love Story. |
||||||
|
||||||
CoreSignal
 Posts: 727 Location: California, USA |
|
|||||
Sounds good to me. Assigning shows based on requests + volunteering + polls is a good balance. I also imagine it'll save both ANN reviewers and ANN readers a lot of grief, lol. |
||||||
|
||||||
Hameyadea
 Posts: 3679 |
|
|||||
Have you had a show where all the reviewers didn't want to cover, but got enough poll votes to be a DSR? I can see how something like that can turn to a hatewatch (it will for me). |
||||||
|
||||||
doubleO7
 Posts: 1069 |
|
|||||
That doesn't seem like a very likely situation. With such a diverse lineup of reviewers, odds are there would be at least one person that was more tolerant of it than everyone else. A situation where every single reviewer truly hated a show and no one wanted to touch it again is a pretty far-fetched scenario, given how radically different some reviewers tastes are, based on the wide range of scores and impressions that crop up in every preview guide. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
kotomikun
Posts: 1205 |
|
|||||
Well, there was a... certain controversial show a season or two ago that came pretty close. Theron gave it a 3; the other scores were 1, "worthless," 1, and "nope nope nope nope nope," and it seemed pretty clear the latter four had no interest whatsoever in watching more of it. Even so, it apparently got enough votes for episode reviews from the only writer who could stand to watch it. But that does seem to be pretty unusual. |
||||||
|
||||||
Bern73
 Posts: 13 |
|
|||||
|
Just watched the first episode of Punch Line.
Why do so many people think this anime is a comedy? It has a few jokes, yes, but it rarely feels like it's trying to be particularly funny. For example, the panty shots are not jokes. At one point, Iridatsu does a double take when he sees a pair. That's a joke. A decent one too, IMO. If anything, you should be asking questions. Why does Iridatsu get these superhuman abilities when he sees a pair of panties? At one point he gets super close to the idol girl but his powers aren't triggered, and another time he (and by "he", I mean the camera) pans over a girl's almost naked body and his powers aren't triggered until it's focused exclusively on the panties; why panties specifically? Why is the cat helping him to begin with? Why is this mysterious magic book apparently in this apartment? Why is Iridatsu living in this apartment at all; he looks and sounds 13, 14, so where are his parents? Why is the idol also some kind of superhero? What's with the terrorist group? At one point, the show even asks a question for you. Why does Iridatsu losing consciousness lead to the extinction of humanity? Plenty of suspicious details, too, especially in those extremely fast-moving images that zoom by a couple times in the episode. For example, that's with the timestamps? An extremely subtle one, too. During the hijacking, Mikatan (the hero) can be seen with what looks like the number 9 on the back of her neck. Now, spoiler[9 means "kyuu" in Japanese. Mikatan's idol group is called "She's Mei". The evil terrorist group is called "QMei". If we take "kyuu" as Q, could this mean that Mikatan is secretly a part of the terrorist group? Is she currently involved with them, or *was* she involved with them, but not anymore?] An interesting theory there, but I could be totally mistaken. I think I could even pinpoint the moment Iridatsu's spirit was removed from his body. I'd love to post a few screencaps, but that's not really possible for me right now, with with me currently using a phone and all. If you don't know who Uchikoshi is, that's one thing, he's not exactly super well-known, but if you're even remotely familiar with his other works, I'm genuinely confused why anyone would assume that this won't be anything more than a "comedy", just because it starts off rather lighthearted. 
------- As for Yamada-kun, I only ever saw the live-action thing, which I found yawn-inducing, but I thought this was cute and pretty humorous. Funny how the girl is completely comfortable with the change, while the dude is freaking the hell out.
----------------- Denpa Kyouishi was very boring. Etotama even more so. Think I'll start Ore Monogatari and Food Wars later. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18189 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
|
|||||
Specifically didn't want to cover it vs. expressed no interest in covering it are two different things.
Based on what we have seen so far in four seasons of doing the episode-by-episode reviews, when it comes to whether or not series get voted in, it doesn't matter as much if the staff sees the show as bad; what matters much more is whether or not the public consensus is that the show is bad. I just checked, and three of the four series which didn't get voted in for episode reviews (Ultimate Otaku Teacher, Triage X, and Etotama) were also the three non-sequel series with the lowest "general public" ratings. (And the fourth one, Re-Kan, was the fifth or sixth lowest but generally-regarded as not well-suited to episode-by-episode reviews.) The specific case you're talking about (Cross Ange) was quite a bit more popular and supported than staff ratings would have suggested; it did generate its own entirely separate thread of 20+ pages of "discussion" about the first episode, after all, which is phenomenal. |
||||||
|
||||||
SailorTralfamadore
 Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
|
|||||
|
We don't write a list of stuff we don't want to cover. Just a list of things we do, and anything that isn't on someone's list but did well in the poll is assigned.
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
|
|||||
|
Shows are only assigned when nobody volunteers for them.
Here's how it breaks down. I'm the person who came up with this system and implements it every 3 months. This is what happens. Preview guide gets close to wrapping up, I make a poll that includes everything we're capable of covering (legal simulcasts) and also includes everything we're currently covering to get a handle on how popular those continuing shows are, for internal data purposes. I then ask the Daily Streaming Reviews team, which is roughly 9 people, for a list of their Top 5 shows from the current season that they'd like to cover. The poll results are usually finalized within 12 hours of posting the poll, sometimes shorter. Once trends show up - meaning certain shows pull way ahead and the others even out - we have our answer as to what the audience wants. I collect the review team's top 5s and we make a big list that crosschecks those top 5s with eachother and with the poll results. Shows below a certain popularity threshhold on the poll are eliminated from the list. Then we get to work assigning shows. The first shows assigned are the ones where only one person is capable of reviewing them - sequels to shows nobody else watched. Amy McNulty is the only reviewer who's seen all of Gintama, for example, so that's one of her slots filled. Next up we assign shows where only one person listed them in their Top 5 list. That makes it easy for us, since nobody else wanted the show. Next the shows are assigned based on placement in the top 5. If Theron has PUNCH LINE listed as #2, and Nick has it listed as #1, it goes to Nick. If multiple people picked the same show as their #1, we assign based on available slots, reviewer taste and editorial discretion. For example, this season nearly everyone wanted Plastic Memories, and several people had it listed as their #1. It was going to go to Theron Martin, but he was the only person with a sufficiently positive review of PUNCH LINE, so we need him to cover that show instead (and his other two slots were filled with sequels only he could cover). It went to Gabriella Ekens, who had it listed as her #1 as well. If there are unassigned shows - things nobody requested but ranked high enough in the poll and were on our list of shows we wanted covered (the poll isn't binding; if something in the poll is hovering between being covered or not based on the popularity percentage, we make an executive decision on whether or not to assign it to someone. Usually this hinges entirely on whether or not anyone requested it.). We ask for volunteers to cover these shows. Usually they're all snapped up. After that, if there's anything left that hasn't been assigned and nobody has volunteered for it, we decide whether or not we want it covered. If there are no reviewers with available slots, we don't assign it and the show gets covered later with a full series review. If there are, we assign it to someone. This has only happened once or twice. And that's the selection/approval/assignment process. It's difficult and time-consuming but it takes everyone's preferences AND the audience's preferences into consideration, with some room for editorial executive management, and creates a list where we don't have people hatewatching anything and 70% of everything is covered weekly, based on popularity with the audience. It's a good system and I'm happy with it. |
||||||
|
||||||
Etrien
 Posts: 525 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
|
|||||
|
Thanks for the step-by-step rundown, Zac. Seems like an effective system to me.
|
||||||
|
||||||
Kadmos1
 Posts: 13555 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
|
|||||
|
Kudos to Zac for explaining how he decides to implement such a system. Some people may not like it but Zac is one of the site heads and he decides how to implement it. People can always do their own guide of their own design.
|
||||||
|
||||||
residentgrigo
 Posts: 2421 Location: Germany |
|
|||||
|
Here are the shows that survived my selection based on trying out the source material or the first episode if the show is original 41 pages later:
Arslan Senki (the 90´s OVA as barely watchable btw.) and Baby Steps are a 8/10 as expected but i will continue stick to the manga to save time here. Digimon Adventure tri.: The director did School Days and the writer is uneven too so i would be surprised if i survive the pilot (unless it´s good). My opinion on nostalgia: http://vimeo.com/20736616 (Man Men never topped this scene) Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Alternative Architecture: The new material starts with episode 9 and will lead into the highly anticipated movie. That will be my jumping on point. 9/10 Lupin III: The setting sound very intriguing, blue suits him but who know when this one will start (so please inform me if you do). A slight seinen edge would be nice and the italian producers promised some "hard boiled" elements. Ore Monogatari!!: The most notable shoujo anime is quite some time and a rare adaptation i will watch even if i am caught up with the manga. Madhouse once again delivered big time but i hope that they won´t throw in a gecko ending and close at a logical point like their HxH. 9/10 Plastic Memories: This stars a young man (only 18 but least out of school for once) who wants to bang a clumsy robot girl. So far so japanese and already vaguely interesting but here is the hook. It´s actually Blade Runner (my favorite movie) X Logan´s Run so i wonder if poor Android-chan will get a “i want more life father” speech too as she is about to be "retired" herself. 8,5/10 but there better be no deus ex machina bullshit at the end! Ninja Slayer From Animation: I am not sure where the animation part is coming from and they should have used cardboard cutouts glued to a stick for a better effect. 26 episodes sound preposterous and it´s basically Shinobi without gameplay + Ninja Gaiden (Nes) "quality" animation. The Naruto-esque soundtrack is nice but i don´t know how long the joke will last. 6/10 Thus my final viewing pleasure will consist of 1/3 of an OVA re-release, as much of Trigger´s latest acid trip as i can stomach, a crime caper that will have a hard time to match the Takeshi Koike reboot, a dramedy that stars a young Duke Togo and a moe Blade Runner remake that is already better than the in development sequel mad. Ongoing are JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc (We need to reach Steel Ball Run!) + Gravity Falls + Teen Titans Go!. Spring seasons usually don´t offer so many diverse gems even if only one original anime is worth. What happened and the lack of utter abortions is welcomed too. Aki no Kanade (7/10) is lastly this year’s Anime Mirai standout and Batman vs. Robin (8/10) was probably animated in japan so it counts. See you next season cowboy. Last edited by residentgrigo on Sat Apr 18, 2015 8:45 am; edited 1 time in total |
||||||
|
||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group