If there is one thing about me that I think is worth mentioning, it's that my interest in anime doesn't go beyond its use as a medium of storytelling. I enjoy fiction. If the story is good, I don't care what medium it's told through. It may sound redundant to say this (since anime is a form of fiction), but let's be honest here. There are some anime you don't watch for the story.
How I rate things
Here is the rating system I've adopted for MAL:
10 - Near flawless. These are the kinds of stories that make you realize the idiom "chills down your spine" is not just an expression, but an actual tangible feeling. (And I mean the good kind, not the kind you get when you're scared.)
2 - Abysmal. These stories didn't fail as hard as some other stories. That's about all they have going for them.
1 - Abominable.
Some important things to note:
[list]
[*]I try not to rate things based off my enjoyment. There are a number of reasons for this, but the underlying theme is that I want my ratings to be consistent. Here's a related Stephen King article that covers some of these reasons: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,681657,00.html (It doesn't cover all of my reasons, but it's a good read nonetheless.)
[*]Shounens are oddballs. They're just so damn long, aren't they? Because of their length, it's difficult to give them a rating, as the quality varies dramatically between arcs. Take One Piece for instance. It's my favorite anime, and there are parts of it that I would easily rate a 10, but I ended up dropping it. This is because the recent arcs have been below par and the quality of the anime has dropped dramatically. (I still read and enjoy the manga, though.)
[*]I don't have a stick up my ass, literally or figuratively. I'm not pompous enough to put myself on a pedestal while I look down on all the inferior beings who disagree with me. Rather, I don't care if our scores differ, even if you gave a 10 to something I gave a 1. I may question your intelligence depending on how you defend your ratings, but I won't consider myself a better person for having different thoughts.
Favorite quotes
"I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers. There aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision."
- W. Clement Stone
"I'd far rather be happy than right any day."
- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
"You're afraid of making mistakes. Don't be. Mistakes can be profited by. Man, when I was young I shoved my ignorance in people's faces. They beat me with sticks. By the time I was forty my blunt instrument had been honed to a fine cutting point for me. If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you'll never learn."
Just in response to some of the tracks you posted for Classic Rock, I definitely respect that. Made me want to listen to, 2112 by Rush, for whatever reason, haha.
Sorry for the late reply I was very bussy deciding what to study in college but I have finally decided to study to be a translator and interpreter of chinese-english-spanish hehe. I wish I could study japanese in a college or university but It doesn't exist here in my country -sobs- I will study japanese in a institute though. ^^
I loved Gintama from the start to the end <3 It's just awesome, I hope that there would be another season quickly in 2014. I will cry If not. :'(
Oh then I will start watching HxH I can't barely remember what the anime was about lol but the only thing that I remember is that It was nice and funny lol.
I wanted to start reading japanese books to understand a little bit of the japanese culture. I am reading at the moment "I am a cat" by Natsume Soseki. It's kind of interesting and funny because a cat is which narrate the story haha.
OMG If you like to laugh and fiction I would recommend you Gintama *.* I don't know If I have told you before lol.
OH I used to watch Hunter x Hunter on tv but the old one. I really enjoyed it when I was a child. Are you watching the new one or the old one? Do you recommend me to watch it? Because I never finished on tv lol.
Btw I am also interested in reading more book. I have been reading japanese book lately and they were good to be honest. I read one from Haruki Murakami. I don't know If u have heard about him but It's kind of interesting his stories.
haha no problem. It happens the same to me with Bleach. I dropped it but It was one of the first anime I have watched like Naruto and Dragon Ball. Those animes introduced me to the "otaku" world hehe :3 Now I'm addicted to watch anime, but it depends of what genres. I don't like showy romance anime like bokura ga ita ew I just don't lmao. I totally love comedy, fiction, mistery and horror ones. <3
I think that the manga of Watamote is better I read some chapters before it was adapted the anime version. Just like Lovely Complex hehe.
Now I'm crying like a baby because xxxHolic series have ended. It was awesome but the last two OVAs were so dramatic lol
PD: I think I haven't asked you what your favorite genres were. > n <
I didn't know that because I haven't watched One Piece T^T I don't know but It's too long for me lol The only long anime I finished was Gintama <3 I looove it.
You need to finish watamote is really fun and I totally relate her to me when I was in school lol That's why it's one of my fave now :3
I really wish I could go there as soon as possible, I want to discover all the places of Japan, walk and see every little thing carefully, I think If I go I will take a lot of pictures even though if they are not outstanding lol On the other hand, hmm I really don't mind about the food because I actually go to japanese restaurants very often. Of course I think that there would be a culture shock but I will try my best to survive haha I really want to go with a friend or my dad because If I go alone I will suffer very much I'm not good socializing, lmao.
Plus, I consider Japan a different country but not a weird one. D: OMG.
OH I absolutely recommend you to read the manga of Lovely Complex. I didn't like the anime It was weird to hear the voices lol also the design of the characters is much better in the manga, and the story too. :3
sorry for the late reply T-T Well I can teach you spanish hehe just kidding I'm not a good teacher *sobs*
I left college for a semester, I was studying management and marketing but I don't like maths. I was thinking about being a translator or study literature Idk I have two months to think about it.
My goal is to live in Japan hehe at least for some years ^^ I find out a very interesting place with a interesting culture.
Hey, thanks. I love how HxH does things differently from other battle anime. I came into the series blind and it took me a while to realize that HxH is not your typical shonen series. I remember saying "right and this is going to happen next", early in the Hunter Exam arc. I assumed that HxH followed the standard battle anime script of powerups based on will and friendship and the main characters winning it all in the end, etc. Eventually, my initial impressions of the series chipped away to the point that I was expecting anything opposite to what I thought was going to happen. The first blow to my initial impressions came when Hanzo "defeated" Gon with ease. Then another blow came when Gon was knocked out and the rest of the tournament was skipped and told in flashbacks. After that, I looked back on what I've seen so far and noticed other things that didn't flow "the normal way" (Gon with Hisoka's tag). I became more skeptical of the series being just "one among many" and started seeing it as something unique. About the manga, I only read the Chimera Ant arc but I've heard that Greed Island in the 2011 version skipped a few important parts (one part being related to Gon and his janken). As for the Ant king, he's my favorite villain in the series! It was unnerving and incredible at the same time seeing the "swap in roles" between Gon (who lost his humanity by threatening to kill Komugi) and the Ant King (who became more and more human). =))
Sorry for the late reply, I was and still am short on on time. Thanks again!!
Well, that certainly threw me off guard. I didn't think you would throw a novel right back at me. That's impressive.
Concerning your comment, I didn't think your review was riddled with "drastic spoilers." I'm just basically giving a warning that literally any user can report your review. I'm just pointing out things that some users may have a problem with. I thought the review was very good, and I personally don't mind the semi-mild spoilers within them, but not everyone will be so forgiving. There's always that one person who is too tied to the rules.
Your claim that the synopsis doesn't accurately explain the story is understandable, as the synopses for this site are edited by the moderators themselves or are simply synopses taken from other sites like Wikipedia or other anime databases. I feel that if you were to include that in your review, it might make people feel more comfortable with you revealing that information. Again, it's not a huge deal, but it's just something to consider. Believe me, I explain more than what the synopsis states in most (if not all) of my reviews. None have been reported... yet.
I wasn't actually aware that moderators could alter the rules accordingly to their own good judgment. That's interesting. That also makes me wonder whether or not some bias can come into play with that. Oh, the possibilities of corruption are endless.
I'm happy to give feedback to you at any time.
The whole "Twilight" thing was a half-joke. I do cringe at the term "vampire," but that has hardly any influence on what I view or don't view. I wasn't turned off whatsoever from Noblesse simply because it was "a vampire story." It was funny, yeah?
Oh, and I could've sworn I saw another review from you at some point the other day. I guess I was wrong. Forgive my mistake.
I'll assure you that your assurance isn't necessary. I'm brutally honest no matter who the person is. It's just part of my character as a pokemon.
Since you asked so nicely, I was happy to read your review and tear it apart. I had seen some of your reviews floating around the site today, but I see that some of them were taken down, at least from what I recall. Honestly, I tend not to read a lot of reviews, I normally just check to see if there are any blaring issues with them (length, faces, spoilers, etc.) to determine whether or not I should report them. It's not until I'm on the report page that I actually read the full thing and make sure I'm reporting it justifiably. Though, there are cases when I read reviews just to read reviews; most typically when some of my favorite reviewers put out a review or if I see anything along the lines of "first review" somewhere in there. I love reading first reviews. They're so easy to criticize.
But I'm rambling. About your review, I saw very little wrong with it. It was well written about 97% of the time and it was well detailed. The only thing I have issues with are a couple sentences here and there. I'll post them now:
"To sum up my experience with Noblesse, I picked it up to pass the time, got hooked on the mystery and stayed for the characters."
According to the Review Guidelines for this site, you're not supposed to provide a commentary on how you viewed a topic. This sentence is enough to turn a review from great to good. At the end of the day, no one probably cares about how you personally got into the manga. They're more interested in knowing how they will get into the manga. I'd suggest revising the sentence to look more like "Those who pick up series out of boredom will probably be captivated by Noblesse through the mystery of the plot and the likability of the characters."
"Few stories are as rewarding as Noblesse is for not judging a book by its cover. . ."
It kills me to see something like this as the very first sentence of a review, because it leaves a bad first impression for readers. This sentence simply doesn't make sense. Right after the word "Noblesse," you seem to cut into a completely different sentence. If you're trying to make an analogy here, the words you use simply don't work together. Try something like "It's important to not judge a book by its cover, but Noblesse is one among very few stories that reward a reader for remaining patient regardless." That may not be exactly the best sentence to use in this case, but the way you worded the original sentence, that was the best I could come up with on the spot. Just fix up the first sentence.
"The supernatural powers, combined with the 820 year slumber and a number of other details in the following chapters, reveal that Noblesse is a vampire story."
I like the paragraph that follows this sentence. It's descriptive, it's analytical, and it's humorous above all else. There's one problem: It's technically a spoiler. According to the Guidelines for Reviews on this site, nothing in a review is supposed to reveal any more information about the topic at hand than is provided by the synopsis. Now, I tend to look the other way in regard to this rule, as I tend to violate it myself from time to time, but not to a drastic extent. I read the synopsis of Noblesse immediately after reading your review, and checked the genres for the manga as well. Nowhere on the page does it tell me that Noblesse is a vampire story. This is technically a spoiler. While I feel this isn't enough to warrant a reporting, it still may turn some people away. Even I, as I was reading your review cringed at the sight that this story was about vampires, as I had to live through the experience of my little sister drooling over the Twilight series, which has completely hindered my views on vampires. Again, this isn't anything drastic, but be sure to stay clear of important details about the topic that aren't included in the synopsis. I may not report it, but someone else might, and they have the evidence to do so.
Apart from those things, I saw very few grammar/spelling issues here and there, but other than that it was a good read. A pleasantly enjoyable review that informed me a lot about a series I have never heard of. I'm almost convinced to read it, but that chapter count... ugh. You have nothing to worry about in terms of technique. Just focus on forming coherent sentences and try to remain in bounds with the rules of reviewing for this site. You're already a very good reviewer, but there's still work to be done. Until then.
oh then you speak spanish too? :o hehe
Yeeees ( ﾟдﾟ) I think the same. I think that some professors just want us to fail a course T^T btw what are you studying in college?
Well I try to speak english fluently even though it's not my primary language, I'm not perfect so I might make some mistakes >-< I'm in a constant learning process hehe :3
And I guess you are native english speaker right?
Oh I'm okay but kind of busy because of college *^*
All Comments (28) Comments
Just in response to some of the tracks you posted for Classic Rock, I definitely respect that. Made me want to listen to, 2112 by Rush, for whatever reason, haha.
I loved Gintama from the start to the end <3 It's just awesome, I hope that there would be another season quickly in 2014. I will cry If not. :'(
Oh then I will start watching HxH I can't barely remember what the anime was about lol but the only thing that I remember is that It was nice and funny lol.
I wanted to start reading japanese books to understand a little bit of the japanese culture. I am reading at the moment "I am a cat" by Natsume Soseki. It's kind of interesting and funny because a cat is which narrate the story haha.
I hope you are doing well :)
OH I used to watch Hunter x Hunter on tv but the old one. I really enjoyed it when I was a child. Are you watching the new one or the old one? Do you recommend me to watch it? Because I never finished on tv lol.
Btw I am also interested in reading more book. I have been reading japanese book lately and they were good to be honest. I read one from Haruki Murakami. I don't know If u have heard about him but It's kind of interesting his stories.
I think that the manga of Watamote is better I read some chapters before it was adapted the anime version. Just like Lovely Complex hehe.
Now I'm crying like a baby because xxxHolic series have ended. It was awesome but the last two OVAs were so dramatic lol
PD: I think I haven't asked you what your favorite genres were. > n <
You need to finish watamote is really fun and I totally relate her to me when I was in school lol That's why it's one of my fave now :3
I really wish I could go there as soon as possible, I want to discover all the places of Japan, walk and see every little thing carefully, I think If I go I will take a lot of pictures even though if they are not outstanding lol On the other hand, hmm I really don't mind about the food because I actually go to japanese restaurants very often. Of course I think that there would be a culture shock but I will try my best to survive haha I really want to go with a friend or my dad because If I go alone I will suffer very much I'm not good socializing, lmao.
Plus, I consider Japan a different country but not a weird one. D: OMG.
OH I absolutely recommend you to read the manga of Lovely Complex. I didn't like the anime It was weird to hear the voices lol also the design of the characters is much better in the manga, and the story too. :3
I left college for a semester, I was studying management and marketing but I don't like maths. I was thinking about being a translator or study literature Idk I have two months to think about it.
My goal is to live in Japan hehe at least for some years ^^ I find out a very interesting place with a interesting culture.
btw how have you been? You can call me Shio :3
Sorry for the late reply, I was and still am short on on time. Thanks again!!
Concerning your comment, I didn't think your review was riddled with "drastic spoilers." I'm just basically giving a warning that literally any user can report your review. I'm just pointing out things that some users may have a problem with. I thought the review was very good, and I personally don't mind the semi-mild spoilers within them, but not everyone will be so forgiving. There's always that one person who is too tied to the rules.
Your claim that the synopsis doesn't accurately explain the story is understandable, as the synopses for this site are edited by the moderators themselves or are simply synopses taken from other sites like Wikipedia or other anime databases. I feel that if you were to include that in your review, it might make people feel more comfortable with you revealing that information. Again, it's not a huge deal, but it's just something to consider. Believe me, I explain more than what the synopsis states in most (if not all) of my reviews. None have been reported... yet.
I wasn't actually aware that moderators could alter the rules accordingly to their own good judgment. That's interesting. That also makes me wonder whether or not some bias can come into play with that. Oh, the possibilities of corruption are endless.
I'm happy to give feedback to you at any time.
The whole "Twilight" thing was a half-joke. I do cringe at the term "vampire," but that has hardly any influence on what I view or don't view. I wasn't turned off whatsoever from Noblesse simply because it was "a vampire story." It was funny, yeah?
Oh, and I could've sworn I saw another review from you at some point the other day. I guess I was wrong. Forgive my mistake.
Since you asked so nicely, I was happy to read your review and tear it apart. I had seen some of your reviews floating around the site today, but I see that some of them were taken down, at least from what I recall. Honestly, I tend not to read a lot of reviews, I normally just check to see if there are any blaring issues with them (length, faces, spoilers, etc.) to determine whether or not I should report them. It's not until I'm on the report page that I actually read the full thing and make sure I'm reporting it justifiably. Though, there are cases when I read reviews just to read reviews; most typically when some of my favorite reviewers put out a review or if I see anything along the lines of "first review" somewhere in there. I love reading first reviews. They're so easy to criticize.
But I'm rambling. About your review, I saw very little wrong with it. It was well written about 97% of the time and it was well detailed. The only thing I have issues with are a couple sentences here and there. I'll post them now:
"To sum up my experience with Noblesse, I picked it up to pass the time, got hooked on the mystery and stayed for the characters."
According to the Review Guidelines for this site, you're not supposed to provide a commentary on how you viewed a topic. This sentence is enough to turn a review from great to good. At the end of the day, no one probably cares about how you personally got into the manga. They're more interested in knowing how they will get into the manga. I'd suggest revising the sentence to look more like "Those who pick up series out of boredom will probably be captivated by Noblesse through the mystery of the plot and the likability of the characters."
"Few stories are as rewarding as Noblesse is for not judging a book by its cover. . ."
It kills me to see something like this as the very first sentence of a review, because it leaves a bad first impression for readers. This sentence simply doesn't make sense. Right after the word "Noblesse," you seem to cut into a completely different sentence. If you're trying to make an analogy here, the words you use simply don't work together. Try something like "It's important to not judge a book by its cover, but Noblesse is one among very few stories that reward a reader for remaining patient regardless." That may not be exactly the best sentence to use in this case, but the way you worded the original sentence, that was the best I could come up with on the spot. Just fix up the first sentence.
"The supernatural powers, combined with the 820 year slumber and a number of other details in the following chapters, reveal that Noblesse is a vampire story."
I like the paragraph that follows this sentence. It's descriptive, it's analytical, and it's humorous above all else. There's one problem: It's technically a spoiler. According to the Guidelines for Reviews on this site, nothing in a review is supposed to reveal any more information about the topic at hand than is provided by the synopsis. Now, I tend to look the other way in regard to this rule, as I tend to violate it myself from time to time, but not to a drastic extent. I read the synopsis of Noblesse immediately after reading your review, and checked the genres for the manga as well. Nowhere on the page does it tell me that Noblesse is a vampire story. This is technically a spoiler. While I feel this isn't enough to warrant a reporting, it still may turn some people away. Even I, as I was reading your review cringed at the sight that this story was about vampires, as I had to live through the experience of my little sister drooling over the Twilight series, which has completely hindered my views on vampires. Again, this isn't anything drastic, but be sure to stay clear of important details about the topic that aren't included in the synopsis. I may not report it, but someone else might, and they have the evidence to do so.
Apart from those things, I saw very few grammar/spelling issues here and there, but other than that it was a good read. A pleasantly enjoyable review that informed me a lot about a series I have never heard of. I'm almost convinced to read it, but that chapter count... ugh. You have nothing to worry about in terms of technique. Just focus on forming coherent sentences and try to remain in bounds with the rules of reviewing for this site. You're already a very good reviewer, but there's still work to be done. Until then.
Yeeees ( ﾟдﾟ) I think the same. I think that some professors just want us to fail a course T^T btw what are you studying in college?
And I guess you are native english speaker right?
Oh I'm okay but kind of busy because of college *^*