For the past few years, I’ve been using AniDB to keep track of the anime I’ve watched. It’s got a clean look with a lot of options for statistics, and I especially like how you can assign priorities to the entries in your wishlist, which helps to give a clear overview over my huge to-watch list. Unfortunately, there are enough reasons to dislike AniDB, and recently another one of them got introduced: the tag-system.
The tag-system basically enables visitors to add their own tags to different anime. I’m not complaining about the ones as “action”, “lost technology” or “randomness” (although I do wonder what makes these so different from AniDB’s category-system). My problem is mainly with the more subjective categories as “Boring”, “Utter Crap” and “Emo Fag”.
So yes, I’m indeed mentioning this in this particular post because Amatsuki has been labelled as “Utter Crap” by god knows who. Other entries I majorly disagree with are Wellber no Monogatari, Mai Hime and Crystal Blaze (under that same tag), and Ergo Proxy, Flag, Higurashi, Jigoku Shoujo, Voices of a Distant Star, Seirei no Moribito, Evangelion, Trinity Blood and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, which have been labelled as “Boring”. I also wonder what the category “Emo Fag” really contributes…
My problem with these categories, other than that some of my own favourites are amongst them, is that they do absolutely the opposite of promoting anime. If someone was looking for a show to watch, stumbled upon Crystal blaze, only to find it amongst the utter-crap tag, there’d obviously be a small percentage of him, actually checking it out. I’m perfectly fine if you want to say bad things about a series; heck, that’s what stating your opinion is for, but the tag-system is such a ridiculous 4chan-way to do it. It never allows you to state the reasons for having that opinion. Besides, AniDB also has comments, tags and reviews for stating opinions. Heck, I’m still not sure about the difference between all these.
I’m really feeling that AniDB is about to drown into its own features. What’s the purpose of the mylist and why isn’t it integrated with the vote-system? And there are more of these details that gradually make you unable to see the forest because of all the trees that are in the way. So yeah, if any of you knows a better site to keep track of the anime you watch (besides the obvious myanimelist.net), would you care to share it?
Okay, I’ve gone off-topic for a bit too long now… Back to this week’s episode of Amatsuki. This finally sheds a bit of light on Heihachi’s fate. AS it turns out, Tsuyukusa never abandoned him, but instead he saved the guy from being killed by the fox demon. In exchange, he became some sort of servant (?) to the fox-demon. The thing that Bonten did to him in the previous episode was just to read his mind to find out what happened.
I also now finally know the mission that Toki and Kuchiha were going to do: they were going to check up on the guy who cut down the tree that housed the spirit that the fox demon grew up with. It now all makes sense: she was trying to get it back, and because of that rumours of Ayakashi probably started floating around. Now all that’s left is to figure out where the heck Tsuruune and Benitobi have gone to.
And oh my god, Toki and Kuchiha are really cute together as a couple. I’m surprised to see that even the romance in this series went well: it’s there, but it knows exactly when to appear and disappear.
In any case, yet another great episode. Let’s hope that it won’t be over in just two episodes.
Re: AniDB – When tags like “Boring”, “Utter Crap” and “Emo Fag” go up, you know that the asylum inmates have started taking over the asylum. As far as I’m concerned, when subjective and insulting labels are put up, it shows up the immaturity of those who put up those labels – it’s just puerile.
Re: Amatsuki Episode 11 – This episode helped clarify a number of things from previous episodes. What Tsuyukusa exchanged for Heihachi’s life is that he would help the fox demon to locate the tree trunk of her master.
It also brought into focus that the ayakashi are not doing things out of mischief but in response to the disregard that humans have had of them. Even the default position like Kuchiha going after Tsuyukusa on-sight when Tsuyukusa hasn’t done anything suggests the nurtured antagonism that the humans are having with regards to the ayakashi similar to the fear and hatred of people who different from them somewhat akin to the mutants in the Western comic world.
In fact, Tsuyukusa’s actions have shown him to be laudable and the ayakashi in a more positive light compared to the actions of the humans in this episode.
I use animenewsnetwork.com…always looked like a better site to me…has a good rating system and whenever I need info on a certain anime to see if I want to watch it, I go to that site.
I think http://myanimelist.net/ is good 🙂
i have to agree myanimelist is a good info site but the search engine on anidb is better but it is worth to check mal
Hi, I’ve been keeping up with your blog for awhile, but this is my first comment.
I’m just here to say I have gained a lot of respect for you for this entry.
Anyway, I like your Star Crossed. You tend to have a good taste in anime.
I’ve been a user on MAL for quite a while now; I really think you should at least give it a try.
I am on MAL too. (Myanimelist). Its the same there: An anime can be exzellent and a masterpiece, there are always people who rate it 1/10 points for some stupid minor reasons.
At the same time, things like Kanokon get 10/10 points from many users…
re: AniDB – There is a option “Hide tags on anime page” found in profile settings.
Use Anime Planet, it’s a really cool site to use as well.
Yeah, I think anidb’s tagging system is detrimental to anime and viewers in general. 4chan mentality is right on. In fact I wish that any rating 6 or less (for both a title and a group’s release rating) to require a review be written.
But I still use anidb simply because there are no other sites that come close with the features I use which are still just a small subset. They even have IRC interface (seems great for quick lookups or scripting) that I’ve yet to figure out.
Other sites my myanimelist are good for info on the series, discussions and recommendations.. but for anything other than RAW releases, anidb is really the only site to track detailed information about releases from all groups — container and codec, bitrate, subtitle format, resolution, source (DVD/TV), CRC, md5, release version, specials eps. etc
Their separate review system for each group’s releases is also timesaver for fansub viewers, when used with some judgment of course.