You can’t please everyone. And I don’t usually do this, but I do want to give a bit of an explanation for my last post, the preview, due to the surprisingly large amunt of people putting me down on how I jumped to conclusions for a lot of series, and how I should do more research. To that, I have to say the following:
On general, writing the preview for a large season like this one takes about half a day. Not half a workday, I seriously spent more than half an actual day to write some of my previews. This one was not as large as normal, but I’d still say it took me about 8 hours in total to write. to the pepole claiming that I should do more research: could you please hand me some extra time in order to do the research for EVERY single series that’s coming out? Because it took enough time on its own to write everything there already.
And consider this: I could have left these series out completely, but that’s dismissing them even more. In this preview, I at least tried to write a sentence on why shows don’t interest me (on a personal level), because I at least repsect the series enough to want to do that. And I find it important to be able to see the big picture for a season, so you can try to see a bit of the trends that are going on. There are two types of shows that I don’t include: kiddie shows and sequels of series that I haven’t watched. The only reason for that is that I’ve really run out of things to say about them, and leaving a comment about every single one of them would really just end up with me, copying and pasting the same thing again and again and again.
Of course, doing research is fun, and I really want to be able to continue to do research for the series that really interest me. But here’s the thing: when a show has a tagline that the main character’s sister has the hots for him, I’m instantly turned off and not motivated to do that at all. I know it’s shallow and all, but at this point I cannot give every single show a chance. Because of that, I resort to my own experience and hunches to try and guess which series will be worth my time. (Because yes, this is my blog and I write purely my own opinions and impressions). A big green flag is when the premise of a series excites me. A big red flag is having incest in the premise. Want to know why? Because the last series where I’ve seen incest featured so prominently that was actually good was Koi Kaze. That was a long time ago, especially considering how many incest shows there are!
Let me explain my taste here, and what I’m looking for: I’m looking for the big picture. I’m looking for a series that has a good story, an intriguing setting, solid and fun characters, interesting visuals, great music. A series in which all of this comes together. I’m looking for the signs that predict such a series, and a lack of upright creativity doesn’t spell out much good in that department. If you can’t even think of a solid premise, then what am I to expect of the rest of the series then? Perhaps one good episode or something, but that’s nowhere near enough for that I’m looking for.
You may have a great political plot in your second half, and you may have this really detailed look at tennis, but if the rest doesn’t come together, then there’s just something missing. Of course they are only previews, but that’s why I also always try to watch as many first episodes as possible. I mean if your story is good, but when it’s told in a dry or boring way, then it’s still not really exciting. I love shows that have tons and tons of talking and complex plots, like Mouryou no Hako, the Tatami Galaxy, or Ergo Proxy, but all these series also remembered to have an outstanding presentation, with characters and plots that stood out right from the start.
You have series that take their time in the first half to build up, only to get fired off in their second half. However, you have series that are completely boring in their first half, only to suddenly get watchable in their second halves, and you have series that in their first halves take their time to set everything up and build up some stuff here and there about their stories, characters and setting, and bring everything together in their second halves. The latter is the only one I’m interested in. The build-up paying off.
The difficult part is ofcoure trying to point out these kinds of shows. That’s the thing that makes things really difficult: what shows are really building up to something, and which ones aren’t. First of all it helps if it’s not an adaptation, because especially the lazy manga adaptations have a tendency to just not pay off and end randomly. I don’t like that, so unless I can see a good ending working out, an adaptation, especially a manga or light novel-adaptation gets minus points. These stories furthermore were written for a totally different medium, and they take a skilled writer and director to skillfully make them work as an anime. This is not something that’s given!
Second of all, there is this thing as a solid execution that excuses a lot about a slow pacing. I don’t care how incredibly slow you are, if you’re interesting then I will watch you. A great example of that is Aku no Hana: the pacing was incredibly slow, but due to how well the characters were animated and brought to life, it worked. A lot of Bee-Train series are also great examples: they really use their music as part of the storytelling, and while they have a lot of first halves that are goofing off, they’re actively building their setting and characters in a way that perhaps sounds really boring on paper, but gets the viewer really familiar with them in practice. Plus, say what you want about Bee-Train: their series all start with a lot of creativity. That’s what I like.
But this also goes for things as very good acting, believable characters. Something needs to grab me, and most of the times this isn’t the story, but rathe the way in which it’s told. I know that this sounds a bit against what I said previously, that I want series with creative premises, but that’s the thing as well: there is a deal of subjectivity in here. It’s not something you can explain so easily. On one hand, the story doesn’t matter the most, but on the other hand: there’s not so much you can do when you start off like every other show with a bunch of teenagers who fight with magic and are on a high school.
So yeah, if I insulted your favorite show, I absolutely don’t hate you or anything. It’s just that I don’t like the series, and I’ve been disappointed too many times by similar series to really get excited about it. If you insult me about having a bad taste, then that’s not magically going to change my taste for the better. The great thing about this world is that everyone has different tastes, and this blog really is purely written from the perspective of my own.
Hooray for you psgels! You really don’t need to explain yourself. Maybe put this post an an “about psgels” tab on your blog and direct anyone who drowns you in hate post there. 🙂
Well you got my support, I’d probably put some more shows on the shit list in this in my opinion rather underwhelming season.
Exactly. I don’t always agree with psgels on which shows have potential, but I always agree that only a handful have any potential. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to ignore shows that have shitty premises. There are plenty of people who watch any shit show that comes out, and if those people let us know that a show is actually good, psgels can always try it out later. There’s no need for him to waste his time on them otherwise.
Psgels man. Don’t worry about the fanboys and weeabos that can’t handle criticism about their beloved 101st school girl panty flash series or the 67th Sengoku era samurai show.
I imagine some folks do have legitimate points, but you screen for and watch anime based on your preferences. It’s why I track both Starcrossed and Random Curiosity, so I can get differing opinions on a show before deciding whether to commit to watching it.
And honestly I found it pretty funny how you established a dump bin of all the shows you don’t want to watch and why.
“Don’t worry about the fanboys and weeabos that can’t handle criticism about their beloved 101st school girl panty flash series or the 67th Sengoku era samurai show.
I imagine some folks do have legitimate points, but you screen for and watch anime based on your preferences. It’s why I track both Starcrossed and Random Curiosity, so I can get differing opinions on a show before deciding whether to commit to watching it.
And honestly I found it pretty funny how you established a dump bin of all the shows you don’t want to watch and why.”
YES! Seriously Psgels, MAN THE FUCK UP! Lift some weights, Cut down some fucking trees if you have to! YOu need some more testosterone so that you realize you don’t have to take shit from anyone, ESPECAILLY the fanboys listed in the above post. ignore all the haters, Do not address them, do not write a long ass post explaining shit! Do not pass go, do not collect $200, you don’t have to explain Jack shit to these fools, if they don’t like what you have to write, and aren’t willing to discuss it, they can go jack off to some other pedo-otakubait praising blog and drool all over all the underage panty shots they can handle.
Anime is sick right now, I am actually ashamed that I still watch it, the way it is now, I’d NEVER let anyone know that I am interested, not to mention all the limp wrist, pasive agressive on website weaboos, and weirdos that seem to poison the fanbase and help proliferate crap shows.
I’d say you do the same thing you did in the last post for every single damn season untill shit starts to get better, Then DONT RESPOND IN COMMENTS, AT ALL, you don’t have to explain shit to anyone.
I would have to agree with you psgels. I have been reading your blog for years, and have received a ton of fantastic series from this. Mushishi, Mononoke, Shiki, Mahou Shoujo Tai, and those are just a few. I feel like creativity is one structure area that the anime industry could revamp quite a bit, and not continue to become so generic every season. [your example: “every other show with a bunch of teenagers who fight with magic and are on a high school”. It seems to me after watching anime for a long time that more studios should follow what Aku no Hana did and stretch onto a different level of anime. Cowboy Bebop did that back in 98′ in my personal opinion.
Just a thought here:
Here is an idea, take Noitamina for example have them run a detective series acting as two series in that timeslot for 1 cour. The first half of the timeslot is dedicated to one character in the plot, and the second half of the timeslot is from the perspective of another detective or antagonist, when the perspective character in either timeslot dies, or any situation that removes them from the story it switches perspectives and overall tone of the following episode[s] in their respective timeslot. Whether it be art direction, plot, music, op animation, etc.
Ganbare yo! You obviously have taste – but too many people these days want 300 flavors to choose from, as long all of them are vanilla. Your reasons to like or dislike the advertised premises of next season’s lineup are absolutely spot-on: Are they based on interesting premises, is there a chance they’ll be well executed, and what does my gut tell me? I credit you for doing enough preliminary research (studio’s cred, who directs, etc.), which is why I love your blog. I also know you’ll give some of these not-so-promising shows the benefit of the one-episode doubt, just like many of us do. But life’s too short to watch every dumbass video game, LN adaptation, sequel to lame series, fanservice, whatever…
Your blog, your rules, psgels. Simple as that. And I do appreciate that you’re trying to explain your reasoning behind it, but – excuse me – I find it a bit unconvincing. FWIW.
This is the line where we simply have to agree to disagree:
“And consider this: I could have left these series out completely, but that’s dismissing them even more.”
No. If you had simply went with “I’m not interested because”, then I’m with you. But you didn’t. You wrote along the lines of “This show sucks because”. In my eyes this is a significant difference, and when you go THERE, reputable anime bloggers have an obligation to know what they’re talking about. If you don’t, I’d rather write nothing. Nihil nisi bene.
“Let me explain my taste here, and what I’m looking for: I’m looking for the big picture. I’m looking for a series that has a good story, an intriguing setting, solid and fun characters, interesting visuals, great music.”
Reads great, but do you seriously think you can gauge that by ANN summaries? I don’t, sorry.
Anyway, like I wrote. Your blog, your rules. You’ll be just fine with one reader less. Good luck!
Frankly I think we’ll all be better off without you here demanding that people articulate themselves perfectly clearly and neutrally, or not at all. We’re talking about anime here, not important sociopolitical issues. There’s no shortage of blogs or forums to discuss blandly popular teenager’s anime. They don’t require or want defending if they can’t show even the remotest hints of leaving a positive first impression, and no amount of sugarcoating will make that bitter pill go down smoothly. Besides, if all psgels has to go on is an ANN blurb he’s generally more fair to anime in these previews. Just pretending he isn’t doesn’t make it true.
Truly a terrible day for us all. Mentar decided to stop reading psgels blog. We shall always remember you for your five total posts and general stupidity.
Mentar leaves and not a f*ck was given that day.
Some people just can’t come to terms with the fact that the series they like might indeed be garbage. As for me, I’ve seen more cases of a series triggering good flags and then sucking than the opposite.
Additionally, when something is somewhat good despite the premise, the buzz ends up getting to you anyway. I think that was the case for a lot of us with NouCome – terrible premise, but ended up being fun. But still, “terrible premise” is a failure at communication BY ITSELF. People won’t watch ALL first episodes. Which first episodes they’ll watch depends on ANN summaries, PVs, and similar stuff. Not everyone will “research” by reading the source material. If an anime fails at catching your attention with these simple elements, it’s already failing. Rule No.1 of advertisement: get them in as short a time as possible. Simple as that.
While that’s all true, one thing to remember is that no one creates promotional material with the goal of appealing to everyone. They create it with the goal of appealing to those more likely to watch that particular category of show.
I mean, there’s no reason that for a studio to advertise an incest-themed show to anime fans like psgels. Rest assured that they understand the rules of advertising/marketing.
Absolutely true. So to specify: if they fail to appeal to you despite you being its target audience. The alternative is that the anime in question is indeed a pile of incest-harem-generic crap and thus psgels was never meant to be in the target audience – which basically means the producers themselves are perfectly okay with him thinking this anime is shit.
(Personally, I think this is the case. But you never know. And sometimes even the producers don’t immediately realize what the target audience is or could be – just look at My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
I never really took your “not interested in” section to mean that the shows were bad, merely that they didn’t grab you on sight. Which is totally reasonable. Certain things have more interesting premises than others. Does that mean that the shows with more generic premises will automatically be horrible? No, of course not. A series is not made on premise alone. However, when talking about which show interests you before they come out, premise is one of a select few things you have to go on. So go right ahead, man. There’s nothing wrong with saying that a series doesn’t grab you by its key visuals, summary, or teaser trailers alone. In fact, it would be weird if you found every single premise immediately enticing.
Well, the problem as i see it. It,s that he hasn,t bothered to put a potential rate in shows that he isn,t just interested and the pros/cons doesn,t seems very elaborate neither fair.
We should asoume that for him all that series are below 40% in potential? Because with all that people saying that it,s a bad sesson in overall,and I jus,t don,t buy it .A lot of that group with very few exceptions seems to be very decent premises, very few of then deserved to be discarted with only two lines.
Just because something doesn,t grab you it,s not like it,s imposible to talk about the staff and do a good analysis about the good and bad things that they have with a good reasoning then he could rate as he want, follow what he want and score as his tastes.
And if he think that is too work, well, it,s posible to take it more relaxed. We are only at february, the spring cour stars in april. I would have prefered to have seen posted it in one more month later, but done with the care that it used to have.
And to add things he is starting to exclude kids shows, and Movies, Ovas, since a lot of sesons.
If you can hand me the time to talk about every single series in the season, then sure, I will take a good look at it.
Regarding the kids’ shows, I used to write about every single show, including the ones aimed at little kids. Do you know how tiring it is to write the same thing over and over and over again in every single season? I mean there’s nothing to say about them and they all just look the same.
As for the movies and OVAs: I checked on Moon Phase’s list. Aside perhaps from the Anime Mirai and the Mouretsu Pirates movie, there’s nothing else that even remotely interests me. It’s my blog, so why should I still cover it, then?
Man, no one is paying you to do this… you don’t need to justify yourself…
You’ve been watching anime long enough to tell good from bad from the first glance… people should acknowledge that experience and accept the fact that your tastes may be different…
I’m not sure why you’re hung up on the whole incest thing, that’s a pretty fine thing to see as a red flag for a show. And there are plenty of other reasons to pre-drop Mahouka as well, it’s very much on the level of SAO when it comes to creative storytelling. My comment was more in regards to other things.
Actually, to be honest, I’m mostly just offended that Mari Okada tripe gets an instant 80%.
I guess psgels is hung up on the incest thing because it’s a trope that needs to DIE IN FIRE! EVERY FRICKEN season we get some stupid show that uses incest as a plot point. Just think for a bit, do you get that many TV shows in the USA that has incest or siblings crushing on each other??? No you don’t!! Japan is just wayyyy too obsessed with it.
The only time I’ve seen incest used properly was in Koi Kaze, otherwise it’s just been annoying and gross.
Anyway .. thanks for the hard work psgels. While I might not necessarily agree with some of your choices that’s fine as it’s just a first impression anyway. For me this season I had completely written off ‘Witchcraft Works’ as something lame but that has been surprisingly funny and entertaining as long as it’s not trying to take itself seriously.
Argeed with the incest die in a fire thing. It’s hard enough to get people into anime as it is. We don’t need a whole bloody genre to put people off and give haters justified reason to attack anime.
In defense of the Japanese I’m pretty sure it’s not that they’re obsessed with incest so much as it’s an easy sell if your plot revolves around a boy and girl living together. It’s a nice fantasy for lonely people. Lazy writing leads this to being incest.
So most of the time a premise that includes incest is taking the lazy option when writing about a lazy premise. Of course most of those stories are going to be poorly written and boring.
My initial point being that Japanese people probably want to bone their siblings about as much as Americans do.
It is totally appropriate for an anime blogger to give an anime show the exact same chance they would give any other kind of TV show. And frankly, most sane people don’t spend much time contemplating that. They look at the premise and maybe at the stars, and decide in about thirty seconds. They might change their minds if they hear a recommendation later, but usually they never will.
So much drama (and I’m not even pointing at anyone in particular).
A critic has to stay true to his convictions.
I suppose that it can be said that you do not always put a lot of detective work into investigating the source material of shows, but I think that it would be difficult to say that you are typically unfair about your willingness to give works a fair shot, even if your first impressions might be interpreted as suggesting otherwise. If anything you are much too kind to the medium in general. From this side of things you appear to invest more time than many works even deserve verifying your impressions, especially considering that this is a hobby and not something you are paid to suffer through.
It also strikes me as hilarious that dismissing yet another incest subplot qualifies one as an elitist flamer these days. Here in the realm of normal humans that would be considered a pretty mundane frustration. The abundance of that kind of schlock typically serves to discredit the medium amongst the absolute mainstream, rather than existing as a prejudice of the intelligentsia.
I read this blog because I feel you review anime for its own sake and not just for the attention that being a blogger nets you. As soon as I start feeling like you are attempting to conform your opinions to up your readership or to make begrudging readers like you more I will probably stop reading your blog.
I’m like you. I only watch a few shows at a time and I don’t give what I believe to be lost causes chances. The reason why I need this blog to be what it is is because you seem to have a penchant for finding the good in shows that I otherwise wouldn’t see. As soon as you start giving concessions to shows you really don’t believe in, your word will become less meaningful and I will be better off just going by my own instinct.
I also prefer the in depth reviews that you write of the few shows you do watch even if they do seem to be weeks apart these days.
This is your blog, which expresses your opinion. I follow your blog because I have read enough of your posts to have a read on what your style and preferences are, and have decided I want to know what your opinion is because I find it valuable.
The unfortunate truth is that there’s no such thing as universal consensus. Anyone who expresses a preference one way or another is going to piss off a certain part of the fandom. The question is whether you’re more interested in maintaining popularity or giving an honest critique and/or love letter to a subject you love. I hope you’ll stay true to your love.
Thanks psgels!
Your season previews are some of the most interesting and thoughtful I read, and I always look forward to them.
Mahouka is screwed. But it wouldn’t be incest that screws it- not incest alone anyway. It’s screwed because it’s source is an exposition, internal narrative and world-building story. Even if they were to minimize and de-prioritize Haremish and Incestous elements, it’s going to be about as bad as Maou Maou Yuusha, because it would take a very good producer to really take that world-building centric and internal narrative-centric source material, and make a great story from there.
But odds are, it wouldn’t. The worldbuilding would be scrambled, confused, and full of plotholes. The plotholes would be filled with overly emphasized Incest, Rom-com and Harem cliches that the producers think would sell the BDs,way beyond the source materials. The most interesting parts of the source material would be thrown in at random, haphazardly and in a disjointed manner.
At worst, Mahouka is the second coming of Infinite Stratos. At best, Mahouka is the second coming of Maou Maou Yuusha. Either prospects are grim to consider for fans of the series.
Of course, I could be pleasantly surprised, but having seen so many LNs completely butchered during the process of translation into anime, especially when these LNs tend to focus on the internal, silent thoughts of their characters, I think cynicism about Mahouka is the best course of action here. Animes tend to be horrible at adapting material where the point of view of it’s characters are critical, and much of it is internal. Monogatari is an exception here, not the rule.
It just so happens, psgels, that you are one of the first bloggers to attack Mahouka. And among LN readers, Mahouka is well regarded by a large fanbase, for reasons that are not likely to be translated into the anime medium, at least, without a very good producer.
In that sense, you were perhaps slightly more unlucky for being the first to throw a stone at Mahouka – a week or two later, and the Mahouka fans would be fighting wars on a hundred different other fronts.
When an anime adaptation of Mahouka was announced, a very common reaction was: how are they going to even adapt Mahouka, because so many elements of Mahouka are very difficult to adapt to an anime? Based on the tendency of LN adaptations, I think the answer is that they will fail.
The anime is going to be insipid, uninspired, incoherent and fanservice centric, much in the same way Infinite Stratos 2 choose to emphasize fanservice over plot. It’s going to ignite a firestrom in the Anime blogosphere and forums (and unfortunately, you stepped into the very first embers of that firestorm) , will end with 10K+ BD sales, and would have a second season announced, and earn the hatred of a good chunk of it’s LN fanbase, in the same way Infinite Stratos 2 has been reviled by LN readers. In that respect, Mahouka is not exceptional. And that’s the depressing reality.
I would be quite happy if it turns out to be as good as Maoyū Maō Yūsha. Maoyū may have been a bit of a mess that was too rushed and had plotholes, too much fanservice, and a few elements that didn’t translate well from the LN, but it had so many good points too, such as the titular (no pun intended) female character’s complexity and the speech given by the big sister maid. Plus the socio-economic/poliitcal stuff makes for good intrigue.
Psgels, there’s no need to explain. The kind of people you are appealing to are unreasonable and remarkably idiotic. I have written posts as long as yours to talk with a friend over MAL so I know you are not exaggerating when you say it takes half a day of your non working hours.
It’s your blog, do what you want. Say what you want. Your true fans will respect that.
Detailed explanation, but it’s muddied by use of buzzwords. What you’ve described as aspects of your big picture doesn’t require creativity to pull off. Being a good execution of by-the-book is enough too. No need to clutter what you really want with needless (and frankly counterproductive) justifications. I think your last bit summarizes it nicely; something creative (outside the box) and portrayed in an engaging way.
Man, stop apologizing, it’s your blog, you write whatever the heck you want to. Haters gonna hate.
What I find ironic is that those people who bashed Psgels for being narrow-minded in his preview summaries, only gave a rat’s ass because just that one series that they like is on his “not looking forward to” list. The quick use of terms such as “elitist”, “smart-aleck” and “hater” is very telling.
I don’t feel that you have become too harsh in your critique of anime each season. You’ve always been more concerned with quality than quantity, and in recent years, the quantity of anime has definitely increased with only few quality series. I too am looking out for any promising series that is different from the loads of harem/incest we get each season.
“Psgels man. Don’t worry about the fanboys and weeabos that can’t handle criticism…”
–
“Frankly I think we’ll all be better off without you here demanding that people articulate themselves perfectly clearly and neutrally, or not at all”
–
“Truly a terrible day for us all. Mentar decided to stop reading psgels blog. We shall always remember you for your five total posts and general stupidity.
Mentar leaves and not a f*ck was given that day”
–
“Psgels, there’s no need to explain. The kind of people you are appealing to are unreasonable and remarkably idiotic”
*********
Maybe you didn’t realize, but there are people here who are doing the same. If someone is criticizing Psgels, some of you quickly jump, because the latter has good taste and the former is wrong. >synkronized stfu”. Dissing and calling people idiotic because they have different opinion is really rude and childish. So yeah, in the end you are not better.
And I don’t think these bunch of ragtags here really doing a favor for Psgels and the other respectful followers. Nope, you guys just make it worse.
* eh, Part of what a wrote disappeared O_o
Between synkronized and stfu:
mentioned~
“Don’t worry about the fanboys and weeabos that can’t handle criticism” …
Well, it seems some followers can’t handle it either and just lash out against everyone who dare to say something bad. This is actually funny, because they’re not even the target of the criticism. Just the usual “If you don’t like X
Well I do agree that Psgels has good taste (courtesy of years giving crtical analysis of anime), and despite all the negative feedback he received he remains largely neutral with his responses. I think that is worth defending.
Evidently, his neutral stance is not enough for fans of the relevant series.
In every debate there will be those in each side who use derogatory terms in lieu of concrete arguments.
My point in the previous response was that if Psgels had given a better impression of those series, the fans wouldnt even have cared to lash out as though it was a personal attack. I believe Psgels has always been this level of critical with anime, and he’s not being ‘elitist’ or ‘smart-alecked’ when he is giving his thoughts on an anime preview.
No, being childish is telling somebody that you no longer value their opinions because you think they’re prejudging an ANIME too harshly. If you’re that hurt by psgels calling it like he sees it, then just stop reading aniblogs entirely. Especially if you can’t take some immature criticism of your own immaturity. If you’re going to morally grandstand about something this irrelevant then you might just deserve to be called an idiot (whether I’m one or not doesn’t really need to be pointed out, because as we all know it takes one to know one).
Ron Ron Ron…how is it that you can call us out on something like that yet completely fail to see the very hypocrisy of doing so.
Let me just make this Crystal clear. You are calling us out on calling other peoples idiots because they were calling the blogger an idiot. And in turn you call us idiots for doing so.
So by your own logic you are also an idiot. Except you are playing moral high ground idiot. Which in my opinion is significantly worse.
So you’re calling someone an idiot for calling you an idiot for calling another person an idiot for calling the blogger an idiot.
I get the feeling that somewhere in that pile of poo you guys have gone full circle.
TBH, as harsh as Mentar was, from where I stand your attitude really hasn’t been any better.
Well Mike technically the guy is calling himself an idiot and doesn’t realise he’s doing so. I was just pointing out the hypocrisy of his actions.
As for my attitude, mate I ain’t here to make friends. I know full well my attitude ain’t exactly what you would call friendly. I am a condescending egotistical bastard. I judge people for their opinions on anime tv shows and know full well just how pointless and childish that is. But of course what makes me different from your bargin bin internet bastard is that I recongise and won’t even deny these claims.
Of course I am only like this to those I do not respect. And quite frankly I see no reason to give a complete stranger my respect. Everyone has a right to an opinion but what people often forget is that everyone also has a right to have an opinion on someones opinion. You want me to not act like an ass to someone, they have to earn my respect. That the way I roll.
This is why I respect you.
Applaud your circular reasoning, but the very fact that to not be an idiot, you simply stay silent or ignore the discusssion is cause to be suspicious.
That’s the internet Bagel. No matter what you do, you can never win.
Right on.
To follow up your remark that you insulted somebody’s favorite show:
How can a show be “anyone’s favorite” before they are even released, I’ll never know.
Hey psgels! I began reading your blog because I tough we liked the same kind of show. I understood later that was not true, but my taste is still very close to yours. The way you did that last preview is fine, don’t worry about it!
The problem here is you used clear definitive statemsnts, of evaluation like “Boring show” or derogatory ones like [this is] “ridcously stupid” with a great number of shows which and the end of the day you did not watch yet. So of course people who are fans of various source materials manga/light novels reacted badly. It is really biside the point here wheter they are right or wrong about any show in particualar , they all have rather reasonable assumption that people who actually seen those shows in one medium or another have a better idea whether the show in question is crap or not then you do.
Really a trailer or a summary simply is not enough to make some of the judgements you put in that last post and be fair about it.
Really? Cause pretty much every claim he made, I also make whenever I watch movie trailers.
I disagree. As psgels points out he’s basing his predictions on premise as well as staff. He’s been doing this long enough that, compared to a manga fan, he probably has a much better understanding of what to expect from certain directors, writers and production companies. The source material doesn’t matter if the people making it have a track record of terrible adaptations.
As for how he words things it’s because he’s an interesting person that’s worth reading. Most people don’t want to hear some PC crap like “I personally feel, based on my own tastes and bias, that this will probably not be a series I enjoy. You may disagree, and I could be wrong of course, so let’s all hold judgement for the actual release while we hold hands and sing songs while pretty birds fly over our heads.” It’s far more entertaining to read psgel’s quips. And really, it’s about entertainment, not being an impartial boring critic.
People who reacted harshly to psgel’s harshness should have thought about it before opening their e-wordholes. Seriously… how many anime have been lame (or even horrible) adaptations? It’s just not reasonable to think that fans of the source material will “know any better”. It’s fine to say “come on, give it a shot, the source material’s better than the preview implies.” But going on some tirade because psgels was harsh about a preview is ridiculous. Just how bad does a first impression have to be before you’ll accept that he has a point? Fairness does not exist for first impressions – that’s the whole point. Doubly so when you’re demanding objectivity from them. There’s no point in reading his previews if you don’t think anyone infer enough about them to give their honest first impressions. You won’t win anyone over by pretending you know better and demanding fairness in a venue where neither of those things can truly be. Being righteous about something this trivial wastes everyone’s time.
Being righteous about something this trivial wastes everyone’s time.
Well at the least actually arguing about it at length certainly does now that I stop to think about it so never mind
psgels I’m just glad you’re alive…
It’s okay if you don’t want to watch a show, or think it’s going to suck. You’re a person with you’re own opinions, and allowed to voice them.
There were shows that I’m looking forward too, that you’re not, and I’m not offended that you’re not excited about them. We have completely different tastes, but I still enjoy your blog.
Everyone likes what they like, Psgels. Don’t feel bad about that! We all have our own likes and dislikes, so feel free to watch what you like without any worries! If someone bashes you for your taste, they’re not worth your time.
I agree with you psgels. I’m surprised you didn’t just omit everything that was terrible in your season preview, because it’s bound to be forgotten and dismissed anyway by everyone after the first episode or two. You should only focus on the shows you like.
Psgels, I’ve been a fan of your blog for years and years, long before you became popular.
Your blog, your rules. Haters can suck it.
So… all this trouble because some pre-teens couldn’t handle your opinion… man, what a waste, you should have spend that time in something useful,…
In any case, I agree with most of the rest, there’s no need to apologize… most people lurking around here do so because they respect your opinion, even if they disagree from time to time…
Calling something a crap based on a well educated guess is perfectly fine man…
I really love anime but i will admit that i think that a good 80% of it is complete garbage. I depend on psgels to sift through that garbage and find shows that are worth watching and that’s the only reason to read this blog. Every year i look forward to your year summary to find the top 20 anime that are worth watching during the year and to binge watch the ones i like.
Thank you for all the work you put into this blog, i hope to see it running for a long time from now.
If you are allowed to like an anime even before it aired, then why not vice-versa? Sure, you may have seen the source material and think it’s good, but there’s already too many cases an adaptation is worse than its source material.
Psgels, I’ve been quietly reading your blog for years. It’s my first go-to place for anime reviews has introduced me to many anime I’ve come to love. I really appreciate that you don’t waste your time watching/reviewing things you don’t like; that means I don’t have to waste my time either. And I agree with you that the last couple of seasons have been disappointing, but I’m glad you’re keeping at it. Thank you for all your work!
I find it kind of funny that a few got so angry. I mean, I’ve followed your blog for years, and you’re seldom wrong when it comes to -actually- good shows. I know your disdain for crappy moe incest shows, and it’s part of what makes what you write worth reading.
There are many, many anime reviewers out there but YOU are my favorite. If you like a show there’s a 90% chance I will too. Same with the shows you dislike. I know other reviewers who just give pleasant reviews on every old thing and that doesn’t help me at all. And then there are reviewers who have clearly different tastes than me and I don’t read them, simple as that. Also, I like how you add your opinion and analysis in reviews. If I just wanted to know what happened in a series I could read Wikipedia! Thank you psgels!!!!
Completely agree, been following your reviews for ages and it’s been fantastic getting another great opinion on shows I’m checking out and what to check out that I’ve missed.
psgels: I’m just going to be reiterating what everyone else has already said, but there is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED FOR YOU TO JUSTIFY YOURSELF. People who can’t take your opinions shouldn’t be reading your blog; there’s no need to be a ‘people-pleaser’ (not insinuating that you are one, either, just a statement of fact) and let’s face it, this is your website, this is your space, and you should be allowed as much to write whatever you feel, diss whatever series you like, compliment others, and etcetera.
Personally, I’ve always trusted your taste on what is good and what is bad, but even then I still watch most of the first episodes of each season before forming my own opinions from there because everyone is different, and what you think sucks I may think is absolutely wonderful, and even though I trust you and your taste in anime, I still want to be the one who passes final judgement on what I watch. so, the people who are flaming you obviously either
(a) are trolls and just want to be assholes for no apparent reason
(b) are unopinionated weaklings who watch whatever you recommend and feel that they are missing out because of this (even though it’s because they’re backbone-less followers)
(c) just need to get the fuck off a website that’s too good for them.
Yes, so to wrap up that very irrelevant chunk up above, you’re wonderful, keep doing whatever you do, and don’t let the h8ers get you down. ♥
I pretty much agreed with your opinions, but I can understand heavy backlash. the majority of the fanbase is pretty awful anyways, hence the high number of awful shows.
Haters gonna hate. Same morons who can’t see the trainwrecks coming up are just like those same idiots who bitched and moaned with Rob Halford was replaced by Ripper Owens (who is a very talented singer in his own right) in Judas Priest for awhile back in the late 90’s – early 2000’s. You just can’t reason with people who are so entrenched in their fandom that they can’t see what’s wrong with it.
psgels: I agree with what you have said in this post. A lot of people out there forget that Anime bloggers – like critics – are human, and have a life outside of just blogging anime. While I still think it might have been better to choose slightly more diplomatic words for a preview of something, I could definitely understand dismissing a show because of its premise. God knows how many times I’ve done that – and to good shows, too, like Spice and Wolf.
That being said, though, it was uncomfortable reading the comments section because I honestly had the feeling that a lot of your defenders are every bit as rabid as the the ‘haters’ to the blog. It’s nothing against you, since I feel you responded to your detractors in a mature manner, and there are certainly a number of very mature supporters of the blog; however, so many of the responses were along the lines of ‘lol those haters have terrible tastes in anime’ and other posts like this that…well, it’s a bit unsettling, I guess.
Cheer Up is your blog, i think you are being too kind.
Look i like Shaft, but i know they re use the same tropes, i understand why you don`t like it.
You have your own tastes. Be proud of it, every series you rated over 90 is top notch.
I discovered gems like Noein thanks to you.
So don`t give up.
Maybe this would be of interest
http://www.girlschase.com/content/when-course-correct-socially-and-when-not
I have no problem with you being a harsher critic, as long as you still try to give the 1st episodes a shot. If you hate the first episode then by all means drop it.
Granted, I can think of a couple shows you dropped (blogging at least) this way and regretted later (Kokoro Connect for example), but all in all in works 95% of the time (as long as you trust in your experience with anime).
I’ve always thought our tastes were quite similar, but I do know they will never completely overlap. I am much more forgiving than you so I enjoy a lot more series than you normally, but I typically have the same top 3 or so series every season as you.
Hahahaha, well I only want to see some of the best shows that this season has to offer, i has to disagree whit pgels like´s in times and in anothers times not, is normal. But i consider pgels to be very correct in his bloggins and this is why i choise to follow them. I dont understand why some people are soooo upset about the last post.
I remember being a regular visitor of this blog back when you had all the time in the world and would do episode by episode reviews of a ton of animes every season, and I would always come here to see what you and everyone else thought right after watching an episode because I knew your post would be up
The funny thing is you started to get busy around the same time I started to lose my interest in anime, so I naturally just stopped checking out the blog and forgot about it for a while
Its been so long now since Ive had a new anime I felt was worth watching past the first 3 episodes, I decided to come here and I saw the seasonal preview and this post, and I have to lol
Im glad to know Im not the only one who thinks anime is in the shithole right now… Its really really sad what has happened to it
A few years ago, there used to be at least 4-5 shows per season worth watching, nowadays I struggle to find even one… Everything is the same damn teenagers piloting huge mechas, school couple with magic powers, retarded harem that makes my IQ drop by the second whose first episode consists of a girl randomly falling on top of a guy and exposing her panties
Its a disgrace… Where are the mature themed anime with smart dialogue and interesting characters/character development? You cant even count on Noitamina to deliver quality anime anymore since Guilty Crown turned the slot into more mainstream garbage
I dont understand how anyone can defend these shitty animes with a straight face… To those people, go educate yourself and watch some of the masterpieces we had in the last 2 decades, such as Monster (then again youll probably say its “boring” because it doesnt shove panties in your face every 5 seconds)
Oh well /rant
I agree with you on everything you just said.
You’re the man no matter what, and this blog is awesome. Have been following it for years, and it has lead me to watch alot of anime that I’ve ended up enjoying immensely.
Same with me. It got me to watch Heartcatch Pretty Cure, Les Miserables, and a bunch of other anime!
Now watch as Mahouka turns out to be the best anime of the season demonstrating the perfect way to handle incest-magic-school anime. It’s fans all come with a resounding “I told you so!” while completely missing the point of the matter.
Yes! I totally agree!!
Keep up the good work psgels!
While i agree with Psgels, and what others had said before me, regarding its his site, his rules and his ways of doing things. I do Also love to see Psgels covering shows that were discarded for him for all the right reasons on his mind, but that turned out to be good, i an special section under this blog, like something under the title second shot or something he likes more.
Also, if Psgels find it worth it, change the score of old titles been reviwed by him. If they deserve more or less score or changing the final recomendation of the show. Case in point, Welcome to the NHK, which Psgels gave an score an a recomendation that later he did find to be better looking in retrospect.
I think with this things he, and we the followers can give some good series a chance, even when in the first glimpse looked they could turn bad.
Oh, yeah, hey, I’d like to comment and say that I totally agree with you. You’re reasonable, psgels! You’re good and you’re right about everything. It really takes some balls to come out and say your opinions on anime, and for that, I have to be congratulating you now! Thanks for being such good at anime blogging for all of this time. Never once have you wavered in your commitment, even when people told you to “grow up” or get “a job”! We need more people like you in this world…