Forum - View topicREVIEW: Another DVD
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Otaking09
 Posts: 637 |
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Up to Ep. 4 when posting will edit if opinion changes.
I'm watching the show right now in subs. Unfortunately, I disagree with the voice acting quality; most don't sound like they're in spoiler[a classroom of death], i.e. even for the sake of mystery, a lot of classmates don't take things seriously, if just by how cartoony their voices sound. I know that this is an adaptation, but the pacing of the unfolding details is pretty freakin' slow, not to mention how irritated I get with the MC: spoiler[No matter how many warnings he gets from students about avoiding "non existing entities", no matter how off-putting Misaki is - even she warns him!] I find the show more irritating than suspenseful or gripping. And for the spoiler[first two death scenes]? What am I watching, Final Destination? The complete random nature of the brutality made me laugh more than cringe. I certainly will give credit to PA Works for doing another bang-up job with a very Silent Hill 2-esque music score. But even the atmosphere feels wasted when every single thing is made edgy (spoiler[unless there's a town secret that justifies the near-constant atmosphere]). And I will DEFINITELY agree that Ali Project is horribly miscast here; great horror/suspense requires subtlety (remember Phantom 2009's 1st OP? That essence would be nice here), in fact, I wonder why they didn't give Mashimo this show since he's a master of slow-burning storytelling. All in all, I definitely want to finish Another but only if to find any possible competence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Finished. I'll say this: Nice twist but I'm gonna agree with the majority that spoiler[realizing that it was Reiko] did NOT make me want to rewatch the show with the knowledge in hand. In fact, it takes the constant efforts to treat the silly premise seriously and slaps it across the face. I remember Key's review saying that there was "an extra tidbit of info" (something along those lines) that would've made things clearer but felt intentionally left out for another "Gotcha!" moment. If that info was spoiler[that flashback about Reiko asking Koichi to not acknowledge her at school] then you'd think his stupid traits would allow him to slip up and foreshadow at least that. Still, my impressions remain largely the same; the story could be told in half the episodes, if not a movie, the character cast could've been cut down so one could care about some of the non-MCs, as the trade-off would've avoided very stupid/undeveloped and spoiler[crazed people. Those last two episodes = comedy gold. I have never laughed so hard in a good long time]. I understand Rebecca that there is value in rewatching but having to put up the same incompetence again, knowing that it was something the spoiler[MC's could ultimately never figure out; especially Koichi], I just have to call Another flat-out bad. Last edited by Otaking09 on Wed Jul 17, 2013 5:44 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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getchman
 Space CowboyPosts: 9120 Location: Bedford, NH |
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I found it amusing that Reiko has two different English voice actresses.
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5424 Location: Iscandar |
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This piece of shit gets an A- grade?! If you look at Another as a guide for how to make poorly written and executed anime, it excells at it. But if you reviewing Another for its quality, it should get no more than a C- grade.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2607 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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It's worse in the book - talk about slow on the uptake there!
So glad I'm not the only one who thinks that. All in all, I think the story picks up around episode 6, but there really are a lot of clues floating around that first bit, not just Koichi being a moron. Really, I enjoyed it more as a re-watch than when I watched it streaming (and I do, in an unusual move for me, prefer the anime to the book), when I knew what I was looking for. But still, amazing how we all get to have different opinions, isn't it? |
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Otaking09
Posts: 637 |
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All I'm thinking about, at the end of each ep is this: spoiler[why not close off the class entirely? Screw "renaming" the class (I chuckled when I heard that move) and just have the school live without using one classroom.] Yes the show is better when I realize spoiler[why the show is deliberately allowing the moron MC to still be a moron], but... I dunno. I'm not giving up yet = I'm a completionist.
Actually, would you mind looking at my friend's review? His writing style is reminiscent of Red Letter Media's Mr. Plinkett's review style so keep that in mind so you'll get his humor approach. He's a super elitist and I'd like to hear a professional reviewer's take on his points. http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=animeatt&attid=8397 |
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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Why wasn't the blu ray of this used for the review?
Count me with the people who didn't think that the Japanese vocal class sounded appropriate for the setting. I find it interesting that the reviewer says that the Japanese dub on this sounds stilted but does not say the same of the English dub. I had to re-read that as I believe that Chris Ayres was the dub director for this and I have yet to hear a dub of his that doesn't sound stilted. Is this the dub where Chris Ayres finally hits it out of the park as a modern ADR director? He's been hitting them foul & ultimately striking out for years now when he comes up in the "dub director rotation" so I think he's due for a bona fide hit, right? I want to check out the dub but I don't think I could stand another dub like Night Raid or Book of Bantorra. Regardless, I think that he could stand to do a modern commentary track so we can get a better look at his dubbing philosophy. Also, commentary tracks are awesome. |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 2607 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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This is what I got. 
Monica Rial as Mei was the most stilted, but if you look closely at her lip flaps, I think that explains a lot of it. I thought this was a better dub than either Book of Bantorra or Night Raid, personally, and I was really leery of Greg Ayres as Koichi.
Seconded! The only extra on here besides trailers and clean songs was a music video with cute chibi Mei pictures. @Otaking I'd be happy to look at it. I'll let you know what I think, probably in a PM, as soon as I'm done writing syllabi. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Sorry Rebecca, but you were far too lenient. B+ for the story grade? A- overall? For something that is a tryhard at being scary whilst actually being boring, has death scenes ripped off from Final Destination, and is so badly written it wouldn't even pass a university writing class?
The Anime doesn't even deserve a passing grade. It was pretty bad, and the final few episodes were abysmal. I can't take any claims that it deserves a passing grade seriously.
The Japanese track did this as well. spoiler[Having two voice actresses is a complete cop-out that tries (and succeeds) to deliberately hide the key to the mystery for far too long, and prevents the viewer from figuring it out on their own.] |
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Mr. Nescio
Posts: 165 |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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^
Wow, I did not know that. I don't believe that information was made public when we were watching the show week-to-week, as I remember there being a big fuss about it in the discussion thread when the reveal happened. |
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getchman
Space Cowboy Posts: 9120 Location: Bedford, NH |
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oh, so it was deliberate. In all honesty, part of me was thinking everyone who worked on the show failed to realize that spoiler[Reiko and Miss Mikami were the same person.]
[EDIT: spoiler tags added ~Zalis] |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 2607 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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Guys, watch the spoilers, please.
Then I won't try to convince you otherwise.  No disrespect meant - I can get pretty upset with the NYTimes book review and other sources myself.
As for Reiko, spoiler[there were other indications in the show that she was the "Other" - we see a nameplate on Koichi's grandparent's house, people who weren't in 3-3 don't interact with her (A la Sixth Sense), and she's the only one who looks directly at the camera during the opening sequence. I also thought the bird's "Why, Rei?" was a sign. So they are there; it's just not easy to spot.] Really, I got a lot more out of a second viewing than I did from the first. |
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vinamara
 Posts: 229 |
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Totally agree with Rebecca on pretty much every point except the dub, which was atrocious.
I'm also glad that Rebecca mentioned how the viewer can see things in a clearer light on second viewing. A lot of things start making sense especially when you watch the first episode all over again. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6867 Location: Kazune City |
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So I'd reframe the question as "is this the dub where Chris Ayres has enough of a budget to recapture some of the magic from the classical/golden era of dubbing?" |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 2607 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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I couldn't believe spoiler[how much of the story they showed before the opening credits in the first episode. My poor sister - sitting there while I shrieked and she didn't have a clue what my problem was.] 
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