Quote:
Originally Posted by Sorrow-K
But what exactly have these characters learnt? Take Da Capo II SS as an example.
|
That's not how it ends at all, though, so... In any event, I completely disagree that Da Capo has never had compelling characters, even though this is the fundamental premise of your negative opinion. I find all the main characters quite compelling in the context of the stories being told. Despite the reasons you list, I simply can't agree with you. I also don't consider the writing to be weak for its use of the sakura tree, but I also don't share your interpretation of the story and its morals. So it should come as no surprise that my own rating would be hugely different than your own; I sometimes find myself wondering if we're even watching the same show to see the same facts in such different ways.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sorrow-K
since I try to make a concerted effort to minimize just what influence "how I watch it" has on the experience, particularly expectations and genre biases, which I usually try to put to one side, except when an anime forces them to become an issue
|
Just remember the chain of reflection: I observe -> I react -> I reflect -> I understand what I observed -> I understand my reaction -> I understand myself. Even though you try so hard to separate yourself from your statements of opinion, in the end it is still simply a way for you to explain your reaction to the show. You can't take the "you" out of the equation, because the chain begins and ends with you.
Also, objectively-stated subjectivity is still subjective. You're just couching your subjectivity behind logic that can be defended (perhaps because you believe your subjective opinion is logical; I personally believe my subjective opinion is both chaotic and logical). In other words, just because your reviews talk about the show, the characters, the plot, and so on (or just because you make statements like "Da Capo never had compelling characters"), doesn't mean that it isn't still actually about
your opinion. Anyone who reads it knows that it's just "Sorrow-K's take", which is different than some other reviewer's take.
The dangerous logical trap to fall into here would be a belief that "because I state my opinions in an objective manner, my opinions are objective" (always false), which gives way to the natural consequence "opinions that can't be expressed in an objective manner are necessarily less valid or reasonable" (also always false). Objective tone is simply a way of discussing opinions that deflects attention away from the one doing the talking; it is simply about style/form. Opinions are always fundamentally personal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sorrow-K
Recently I counted the number of reviews I've written total, and it turned out that approx. 33% were positive (ie, 7+), ~25% were negative (ie, 4 or less) and the rest, ~42% were moderate/indifferent (5-6). I don't claim to be representative of the medium, but if someone were to breakdown these figures as approximations for the number of good, bad and average anime, I doubt people would be too objecting. If anything, people might cite Sturgeon's Law and point out only 10% of anime is any good.
|
One could also argue, based on these stats, that you have an exceptionally high failure rate at picking shows to watch that you would rate highly. I sometimes wonder if you must feel like you're "taking one for the team" or something by watching shows you consider so poor. But, we've discussed this before, and this is mostly because you and I have different philosophies about watching anime. I would give up on watching any show I consider negative and most shows I consider "moderate" before I'd get even near the time I'd consider writing a review.
In the end, to state it simply, what you have to come to terms with is that other people rate highly shows that you rate poorly. If you mislead yourself into thinking that your personal opinions are objective, then you only have two main choices: either other people are less informed ("ignorant"), or they're less capable of forming an informed opinion ("stupid"). And because I imagine that you would never be so arrogant to assume either of those would be true, I think the only other sensible option is to accept that opinions are subjective (even when observing the same facts). You and I can both see the same show in two different ways, and neither of us is necessarily either right or wrong for it.