[Gamer_2k4]

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

The expectations of some people are almost like they're actively trying to find the next Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion when that just doesn't happen.

Why is that a bad thing? Once a standard of excellence has been set, it's up to other works to meet that standard or be considered "good but not great." One hundred years ago, 2 meters was the high jump record. Today, it's 2.45 meters. The bar has literally been raised, and you don't make the Olympic team unless you can go well over what once was a world record.

Media is the same way, and anime is no exception. People say, "Oh, you can't expect the animation to be the same quality as Tom and Jerry was" and I say why the heck not? That was 50 years ago, and accepting less nowadays is a sign of complacency. Similarly, people say, "The next Evangelion will never happen," and I say it's because people don't care enough to make it happen. Anime can get away with being mediocre because no one pushes it to be better.

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When you think of the word "critic" in this context, which of the definitions above tends to spring to mind?

I think a critic is someone who makes it their job to pick apart media and art. Whether or not they get paid for that job is a different story.

Based on that, do you consider yourself an "Anime Critic"?

Nope. I rate an anime on how well it executes itself technically, the depths of its ideas, and the quality of how it conveys those ideas. In fact, as you can see from my custom title off to the left, I'm more of an anime cynic: I assume the worst and leave it to the anime to prove me wrong.

When considering which shows to watch, what factors into your decision? Do you tend to watch shows you think you'll like, or will you watch anything that seems popular or technically interesting?

Art quality is the thing that sucks me in first. I'm a visual guy (for example, the Haruhi novels feel ridiculously flat to me compared to the anime), so it's a big deal whether or not the anime is pretty. After that, the plot or theme is the next thing taken into consideration. If I don't like the theme, it doesn't matter how nice the anime looks. Next comes length: animes that are 14 episodes or less get bumped up in priority; animes that are 30 episodes or more get kicked down. Finally, the absence of knowledge of any of those can be offset by a recommendation from a friend. If a friend says, "You should check this one out," I don't need to know a thing about it before I'll start watching it. (That definitely doesn't mean I'll finish it, though.)

When considering which shows to discuss on the forum, what factors into your decision? Do you tend to discuss shows you like, or do you tend to discuss any show where you feel you have an interesting/differing argument/perspective?

I discuss shows I like, because those are the only ones that I'm passionate enough about to have a real discussion. It doesn't hurt that I often have a differing perspective for most things, though.

How do you decide when to drop shows? What factors into the decision? Does forum popularity/participation factor into your decision-making?

If I finish an episode and want to see the next, I'll watch the next. If I finish an episode and don't care about the next, I'll stop watching the anime altogether. I couldn't care less what people think, unless their discussions lead me to believe that the anime will improve as it goes on.

Which of these two problems seems more troublesome to you: that people feel unable to present contrary/opposing opinions and arguments, or that people feel unwelcome/uncomfortable posting in threads due to fear of having their personal preferences unfairly questioned?

Well, if people are unable to present contrary opinions, then you have groupthink at work, which is useless for intellectual discussion. On the other hand, it's simply infuriating to check your forum reputation and see that someone has marked you down for little more than "uhh hurp i disagree with you." I've quit discussion threads outright because I realized I couldn't state my point of view without getting downvoted like crazy. From that perspective, the unwelcome/uncomfortable problem is many times more troublesome, because it actively limits the amount of critical thinking that can occur.