Below are some questions I’ve received in the past (primarily from people in “real life” rather than online). I’ll add to this as other themes emerge in the future.
Q: You hardly ever give any first episodes a rating higher than “B.” Why is that?
A: As a reviewer who bases my review-writing on my personal feelings and emotional reactions, I’m not a big fan of graded ratings in the first place since they imply objectivity that isn’t ever going to be present. However, based on past feedback I’ve decided to include them as sort of an easy overall “summary” for people to use if they’re already familiar with my opinions and writing style. In short, if they already agree with me most of the time, the letter grade is kind of like a short cut. The reasons I tend not to hand out “A” grades for intro episodes are multiple. First, it’s based on context; while many first episodes tend to look great and feature exciting or funny scenes that are meant to hook viewers in and keep them coming back, they also tend to lack the depth that subsequently develops over time. For example, I love Nichijou more than almost any other anime comedy, and yet I’d probably rate its first episode a B or B+. The series is great because it builds on its gags throughout the course of the anime series through selective repetition and character development. Yes, I could watch the octopus wiener scene over and over again (and have many times), but I also think that there are richer, more notable things that happen later on that put the entire series as a whole at an “A” level.
I also just think “A” grades (as well as “F” grades), ought to be reserved for special occasions. I belong to several online anime-related communities that provide the opportunity for user reviews, and I find that most people are compelled to compose reviews only if they really love, or really hate an anime. To me, this doesn’t provide a nuanced picture of what the anime’s strengths and weaknesses might be. There are a lot of anime series out there that hover around C-level for whatever reason, and to me that’s just fine. I really enjoy a lot of these types of series and think that they can be entertaining in spite of whatever flaws they have. I think we need to move away from the notion that middling=unworthy, and so I try to do my part to post nuanced reactions with enough details to show that “C” does not equate to “failure” like I’ve seen people interpret it as.
Q: Why does it take you so long to review all the first episodes for a season? ANN or [other blogger] can get them all done in the first couple of weeks after the season starts.
A: I’ve never been a fast writer. Actually, I take that back; when I was first starting out, writing first episode reviews on Livejournal(!), I could crank out 4 or 5 first episode impressions at a time. However, they weren’t very substantive and were very informal – they were mostly for myself and my close friends, not necessarily for public consumption. When I began writing under the mantle of S1E1, I also began caring more about how my thoughts were being expressed. There’s a lot on my mind whenever I’m reviewing something – if I need to be critical, I make every effort to be critical in a way that will be least likely to make folks angry (it still doesn’t always work out that way). If I’m talking about a sensitive topic, I like for my words to be thoughtful and meaningful. For me, that takes a long time and sometimes a lot of editing and reformatting.
I find that if I try to hold myself to a strict timeline, it never works out. The pressure of the unnatural time restriction, as well as the uncertainty surrounding what other things may come up in the meantime (as well as the fact that I attend and speak at several conventions throughout the year and literally all of them fall right around the beginning of the new anime seasons!) make it difficult to commit to anything. Since I don’t write professionally at the moment, I’m operating on a schedule that works for me.
Q: I used to read your site back in 2008-2014. What happened to all your old reviews?
A: Like I’ve mentioned, I’ve been writing about anime since the mid- 2000’s. On previous iterations of my website I had several years’ worth of first episode reviews and other blog posts. When I restarted the site a few years ago as a WordPress blog, it was due to a couple of things:
- I purchased my domain name from the person who’d previously had control of the domain and my archives.
- I wanted a fresh start and to have things under my own control. This meant formatting my reviews a certain way, keeping track of my own images, and choosing my own material.
I’ve written thousands of words over the years, but a lot of that old stuff isn’t up to what I’d consider my current level of quality. While I do have access to some of those old reviews (definitely not all of them, though), because things about my writing and my preferences have changed so much in the meantime, I don’t feel compelled to put them up again. At some point I may revisit this, because a lot of those reviews come from the point directly before the burst of the anime bubble and there are several series in there that haven’t since seen the light of day in the West, but those would be special cases.
I also agree with the Otaku Journalist that the march of time has seen my personal attitudes around many social topics change and my empathy and compassion expand. I don’t necessarily need my out-of-date, ignorant thoughts being broadcast when I don’t even agree with those opinions in many cases. As she says, “you’re allowed to grow out of your terrible opinions.”
Q: Why are you so focused on social issues/why are you such an “SJW?” Can’t you just enjoy things and not worry about it so much?
A: As a cisgender White person in America, I could very easily just “go with the flow” and ignore some of the less enlightened content in the media I consume. The reason I choose not to is because I think fandom should be a space in which everyone can enjoy themselves without feeling like an outsider or unwelcome, and content that is insensitive to our human differences in experience doesn’t play well into that ideal. I think fandom is at its best when those within fandom feel seen and understood, and there is simply a lot of content out there which isn’t concerned with those things. I don’t necessarily think that these series are without merit, but if they fall into social potholes I definitely want to discuss that so that fans are aware and can make their own choices.
I think it’s also worth mentioning that everyone on Earth is an individual with their own beliefs and opinions, and because this particular anime blog is a space that I inhabit and maintain, it naturally features my beliefs and opinions. These opinions skew progressive; if that isn’t something you’re looking for in your anime reviews, then this might not be the blog for you.
Q: I left a comment on a review, but it never showed up. What gives?
A: I like receiving comments, especially from people who are looking to have a civil discussion about something we both enjoy. There are a few reasons why your comment might not appear after you post it:
- You’re a new commenter and I haven’t had the chance to moderate the comment yet.
- You’ve posted a comment and used a blacklisted word, insulted myself or another commenter, or are sharing an obviously bad-faith argument.
- You’ve linked to my site/one of my posts for the purpose of attacking, dog-piling, or otherwise harassing me or other commenters.
Obviously the first scenario is the most common. First-time commenters are automatically put into a queue for moderation; this is one of a couple of ways I’ve tried to minimize spam. Generally I will moderate these comments as soon as I can get to my email; usually this is within a few minutes, but if I’m at work this process can get delayed.
While I won’t list the details here, I also have several terms blacklisted. What this means is that comments that contain these terms are sent to moderation and are usually deleted. I’ve tried to be judicious and only list terms that are genuinely insulting to others or which are often used as dogwhistles. Related to that, I’m also notified of all instances in which my site is linked elsewhere, so if following a trackback indicates that the purpose of the link was likely to facilitate some kind of harassment, then those trackbacks are deleted before they go live.
Like I said, I like receiving comments and discussing anime with others, but I’ve also learned that I value the protection of myself and others more. Comment moderation is one of the small ways I’ve learned to work toward this.
Q: Will you review [insert anime here]?
A: I’m certainly not against taking requests, but since my time is pretty limited as it is, I’m trying to come up with a way to ensure that those requests don’t come in via an unmitigated onslaught. I’d also rather not spend a ton of time watching and reviewing series that don’t have a lot of merit in my eyes. So rather than honor 100 requests to review “Panty-shot Senpai #497” I’d like to find a way to feel as though my time is well spent on something challenging and fulfilling.
I’ve been working on the details of a Patreon for a while, and may eventually use that as a natural limiter on how I handle review requests. For the time being, you can contact me and ask; it may be that I’m already planning to review the anime you have on your mind.