Do you read anime reviews?

[mg1942]

Originally Posted by acejem

The comments are also hilarious, predictive and retarded too. Common comments include:

Someone who types /fap
A "weeaboo-hater" posting in a weeaboo website
Bow down to XYZ Overlords
X anime is overrated
Y anime is underated
Dissing 2ch's tastes in anime
Japan > Other asian country comments.

you forgot the xbox360 vs ps3 fanboys

[Seitsuki]

I never got that weeaboo stuff. Never mind the paddle thing.
..hey wait how did the topic change to this? >_>

[Neat Hedgehog]

Originally Posted by acejem

The comments are also hilarious, predictive and retarded too. Common comments include:

Someone who types /fap
A "weeaboo-hater" posting in a weeaboo website
Bow down to XYZ Overlords
X anime is overrated
Y anime is underated
Dissing 2ch's tastes in anime
Japan > Other asian country comments.

You forgot the rabid lolicon commenter.

On the original topic, sure I typically read reviews off all the shows I watch. Although mostly I just look at the X/5 ratings, and then decide whether or not I'm going to watch it now or later.

Yeah, I'll typically watch a show even if the reviews are bad. All the reviews I read on "Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan" said it was terrible. I watched it anyway, and I really liked it. Obviously not high or intelligent comedy, but amusing enough for me to like it. Same for "Maria Holic" and several other shows.

If I think it sounds like something I'd watch, I'll watch it no matter what anyone says, so I guess I mainly just read reviews / ratings to get an idea of what kind of quality I should expect.

[WanderingKnight]

Only if I need a second opinion on a show. Pretty much the same reason why I like this forum. I occasionally catch a review on something that's really popular and I don't have time to watch it much, but usually I just stick to the synopsis.

[Kamui4356]

ANN's reviews can be funny, if you don't get annoyed at them bashing your favorite show without actually watching it, especially when they admit they hadn't watched it, like Saki in the recent Shelf life. After admitting skipping episodes 5-24, the reviewer complains that the show didn't focus enough on mahjong. Well at least she was honest and didn't try to claim she watched it all when clearly not having any clue what was going on.

Anyway, I do read reviews but not to decide if I should watch something. It's more to see how these titles are being received on other sites.

[mg1942]

anyone here read reviews after finishing an anime?

[Haladflire65]

Originally Posted by mg1942

anyone here read reviews after finishing an anime?

I definately do, so I can actually see what the reviewer's talking about and compare my opinions of the show with theirs

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Other than randomcuriosity.... no. And certainly not ANN -- ANN is nothing more than hypocritical trollbait to lure in eyeball counts for ads. I hate it when someone links to it because I know the source will be lacking in value and that I've simply added another set of eyeballs to the ad count.

To be fair to ANN, I have run into a couple reviews on it that I actually found useful. But I find I'm less and less willing to wade through all the trollbait to find it, which is why I read the site very infrequently these days.

This blog post and some of the comments pretty much sum up a lot of why I hang out here instead of ANN. My favourite part is probably the comment that included "To me it’s like the Pitchfork Media writers who are too cool to like music; ANN doesn’t want to seem too much like it enjoys anime. Because, you know, fanboys are gross and subject to pandering." :
http://jphinano.wordpress.com/2008/1...um-flame-wars/

(Edit: I take back my part about the favourite comment. My favourite comment is the guy who rewrites Carl Kimlinger's infamous Nanoha review as a review of Gurren Lagann. Pure genius.)

I often find myself wishing I had a good review site I could link some of my non-anime fan but curious friends and relatives to... ANN doesn't really make the cut for me.

[mg1942]

what's the beef with ANN?

...Nymphet/kodomo no jikan controversy still leaves bad aftertaste for some people?

[Xion Valkyrie]

I generally don't. I feel like it's really easy to tell whether or not a show is good just by seeing what kind of comments people have about it.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by mg1942

what's the beef with ANN?

is the Nymphet/kodomo no jikan controversy still leaving bad aftertaste for some people?

If you've read Carl Kimlinger's review of Nanoha, you wouldn't have to ask that question.

[felix]

Originally Posted by mg1942

what's the beef with ANN?

Too much artistic freedom results in cross-over into baka land.

[Sorrow-K]

Originally Posted by animeboy12

Do you read anime reviews?

I kinda secretly hope that everyone reads anime reviews.

[Greenish Growth]

Originally Posted by mg1942

what's the beef with ANN?

Personally, I don't care for ANN reviews because they've often implied that something was wrong with the people who liked an anime.

I don't care for those types of reviews even when I agree with them and hate it myself. Just because I hate something, doesn't mean that there's something's mentally defective with the people that I don't agree with.

[kk2extreme]

i read user comments instead nowadays, with games, anime and manga, official reviews have too much bias on them, which all people have anyways. By diversing my view, I could get a fair judgement on my decisions

[Theowne]

To return to the original topic, I do read anime reviews but for varying reasons. In terms of actually determining if I should watch something, I do take brief glances at some reviewers that I know somewhat well (as far as their tastes go) to decide if something is up my alley. But, ironically, most of my review-reading is done after completing an anime, because I like to read what other people have to say about something I've seen. To see if our experiences matched, or if they have a unique perspective on something I had missed, and etc.

However, I usually keep my review-reading to review websites and blogs. I don't really get much out of reading mass review compilations on MAL or other sites like it.

[npcomplete]

Sometimes I'll read reviews in deciding what to watch next or whether I should postpone watching a particular show to see how complete its ending is.

When I do, I'll look at various reviews and try to ignore all of the bias. As people have mentioned before, randomcuriousity is a great resource for getting truly objective information with lots of pics. He clearly seperates out the detailed synopsis for each episode from his opinion of the episode.

Subjective information--opinions--can be useful to me only if I know the mindset of the reviewer. Basically if most of the taste or attitudes align, then I can fairly "trust" the review.

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

This blog post and some of the comments pretty much sum up a lot of why I hang out here instead of ANN. My favourite part is probably the comment that included "To me it’s like the Pitchfork Media writers who are too cool to like music; ANN doesn’t want to seem too much like it enjoys anime. Because, you know, fanboys are gross and subject to pandering." :
http://jphinano.wordpress.com/2008/1...um-flame-wars/

So true. But where would the righteous contingent hang out if they changed? And I found this interesting:

Side note: when I was at the panel at NYAF in 2007 on reviewing anime, Answerman actually addressed this issue. He mentioned that he has trouble finding writers that genuinely like certain kinds of anime, especially moe. Rather than writing the article in terms of someone who would be interested in the title or genre, moe reviewers might be able to ironically watch it, but irony still has a degree of contempt to it, whether at the show or its target audience.

really?? they have trouble finding people who likes something other than Monster or Miyazaki films?

In contrast to Carl's so-called review of Nanoha filled with nothing but hate, blasting the director and writer "Tsuzuki's thinly-disguised S&M fantasies" and of course blasting its audience, JP/Hinano's blog above features this much briefer, but far, far more elucidating 'review' from a commenter:

Derek wrote:
Regarding the whole “loli fanservice” thing.
<... snip ...>
I showed Nanoha to my wife, who has only watched a few other animes at my request (Clannad is the only show she has watched in full, which she loved). And you know what? She still doesn’t know what fanservice means, and had no complaints about “loli fanservice” or “pandering.” In other words, looked at objectively without bias, the show does not appear to exude or invoke such feelings in a person who has no previous bias or experience with fanservice or what constitutes as such.

She cried at the end, and she would like to watch the second season when we have time. And for me, that says a lot more than that review did.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Theowne

To return to the original topic, I do read anime reviews but for varying reasons. In terms of actually determining if I should watch something, I do take brief glances at some reviewers that I know somewhat well (as far as their tastes go) to decide if something is up my alley. But, ironically, most of my review-reading is done after completing an anime, because I like to read what other people have to say about something I've seen. To see if our experiences matched, or if they have a unique perspective on something I had missed, and etc.

However, I usually keep my review-reading to review websites and blogs. I don't really get much out of reading mass review compilations on MAL or other sites like it.

I do the same thing from time to time and I've come across some very good unbiased reviews as a results but most are pure unadulterated hate or completely over hyped.

And a kitten dies every time someone reviews aria and complains about the "in-existence" of a Storyline...

[Cosmic Eagle]

Not at all currently. Got turned off by the typical existing ones

Most of them are biased as heck even those that do not insult or flame anything.

And it's unavoidable because it's a review by someone. I'd rather watch it for myself then I'll see whether I like it or not.

[darkchibi07]

Originally Posted by npcomplete

really?? they have trouble finding people who likes something other than Monster or Miyazaki films?

I think it's more of someone not only who really likes moe but can also write a well-written review who can really back up their reasons of liking or disliking a certain thing. ANN did do a podcast about the philosophy of review writing.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/anncast/2009-11-20
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/anncast/2009-12-17