Kadokawa Buys ANN

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Nachtwandler

Seeing some phoby in everything like they do is not healthy and 'too US'. And there are a bunch of sites writing better reviews IMHO. But each their own.

I don't doubt it, but do any of these places review everything in a season consistently though? Also, some links would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by Infinite Zenith

They do a fair job when it comes to actual news like cast announcements and release dates. On the other hand, I completely concur that their reviews are an absolute joke when it comes to movies; one look at how they handle movie reviews, and it's clear there's no effort put in at all to even understand what the film was aiming to accomplish. There's too much academic jargon (as if that made anyone sound smarter and more credible) and it does come across as trying to criticise a movie for the sake of being critical.

I've found their reviews to be a more of a mixed bag myself. A lot of them are terrible, true but some others are not so bad. Most of their reviewers don't seem to have a good grasp on how to conduct criticism properly.

The problem is that the anime review scene, apart from a few scattered Anitubers is so hilariously bad that ANN really is the best game in town.

[Infinite Zenith]

Originally Posted by Endscape

I've found their reviews to be a more of a mixed bag myself. A lot of them are terrible, true but some others are not so bad. Most of their reviewers don't seem to have a good grasp on how to conduct criticism properly.

The problem is that the anime review scene, apart from a few scattered Anitubers is so hilariously bad that ANN really is the best game in town.

For TV series, I agree that they tend to vary. The reviews that are well-written are moderately helpful, but the bad reviews look like they were hacked together using a first-year sociology textbook. However, the movie reviews are consistently poor, and I think that it's actually a result of ANN sending one of their writers out shortly after a film premieres in Japanese theatre to write a review. Since the reviewer only has their impressions to go off of, they can't otherwise recall smaller details. I've long had a problem with this approach: in their haste to be first to have a review of something most of us can't get for at least half a year, ANN completely sacrifices journalistic integrity, and this practise is one I've never respected. This isn't a problem with local cinema because people can always go and watch a film for themselves, but when it comes to anime movies, having the only opinion piece does give ANN a bit of a monopoly on what people make of an anime movie.

[Nachtwandler]

Originally Posted by Endscape

I don't doubt it, but do any of these places review everything in a season consistently though? Also, some links would be appreciated.

This is a pretty subjective thing, so I am hesitant to post any links (also, not sure if it is allowed). And the sites I looked for reviews in past also got worse in later years. I just pointed out that there were sites that also covered large part of the season and I found their reviews better than ANNs.

[Tenzen12]

Originally Posted by Endscape

Being inspired by Norman Bates or whoever doesn't stop it from being transphobic though.

I've had my issues with ANN, but they're still basically the only site doing consistent reviews of seasonal anime that aren't totally rubbish.

It's not transhphobic at all. There is whole range of psycho killers in GK, making it trully inclusive anime. If anything it's good that trans murderers get representation. Anime industry seriously marginalize them and western medias are even worse.

As for reviews there. It's basically CBR of anime. It's worth reading only if you want see how low it can get to entertain yourself. Becoming Kadokawa shill site might be actual improvement.

[SeijiSensei]

I'm still somewhat active in the ANN forums. I also read their seasonal previews to get a sense of what's worth watching.