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Well, it's nothing new to see on MAL. However, for those who read reviews sometimes on MAL, you may notice that there are reviews going around that are written after only the first 1-2 episodes. Lately, there has been reviews written based on a pre-air episode and even unaired series. Of course, most of these are funny to read and a good laugh. Some of them are in fact written as a way to entertain and not to inform. But it seems that there are also some people who are actually seriously considering writing 1-2 episode reviews and "updating" it similar to a blog for God-knows-what reasons. I have no problems with reviews written after half the series or at a crucial plot, character development point, etc. but the numerous 1-2 episode reviews going around lately is just a little...

Now, I'm trying to tell myself here:

how is it possible to write a review based off the first 1 or 2 episodes to determine the basis of an entire series?

Shouldn't these be more like impressions or a preview guide? I mean, it's almost impossible imo to form a judgement of the entire series based off the preliminary episodes. To me, these reviews should be more seen as a guide that should be written into a blog rather than the front page reviews section. Of course there is the discussion boards for that so people can write their thoughts there as well and should if they see something interesting!

Now, I'm not suggesting that reviews based off 1-2 episodes should be completely restricted but maybe, could MAL make a new section on upcoming or ongoing series titled similar to a "preview guide" so users can write their thoughts and judgements based on the first episodes?

Or at the very least, the moderation for first episode reviews should be a bit more tighter. Tbh, when I see a 1-2 episode review, that equivalents to a spam.

I think this might be a better way as users can write their judgements to give viewers an impression and what potential a series may or may have. Anyways, just my thought.

I wonder how you can view a list of new anime.

Maybe that needs a section first.

Just click Anime, then Upcoming.

Just leave them as reviews. Reviewers are required to state how many episodes they've watched so that should give the reader an idea.

Something should be done, and drastically. Those reviews are worthless. Review are meant to be done after watching a anime, or at the very least, halfway. First impressions are for blogs and the Episode Discussion Forums.

The only thing saving those cringe worthy reviews from remaining on top and having many "Helpful" votes is:

THE ULTIMATE CLUB...
For god sake stop reviewing shows when only one or two episodes are out!

I was literally going to post this suggestion, lucky I looked!

And yes I totally agree. It irritates me to no end when I click on a brand new anime with a single episode out and there's always a 10/10 review. I mean, come on, you can't review an anime after a couple of episodes and seeing 10/10 reviews on every anime page kind of kills the credibility of this site and it's users.

A preview section would be great and the review section should be locked out until the series has completely aired.

What difference does it make whether it's a preview section or a review section? You're still going to get the same content either way. As long as you can see how many episodes the reviewer has watched before writing the review, you should be able to tell whether or not the review is what you're looking for.

I will say, though, that this only really works if the reviewer is not lying about how many episodes they've seen (there's one review for Humanity Has Declined where the reviewer claims to have seen the full twelve episodes, disregarding the fact that only four have aired so far).

It can help create a first impression of the series rather than an overall evaluation.

I sort of doubt that this will become valid but the 1-2 episode reviews should be dealt a little bit more stricter imo instead of letting them set there as I remember during SAO's premiere about 3 weeks ago and there were one review going up by the hour based on the first episode.

Now, there is of course the discussion boards for this but it's at least better than the numerous 1-2 episode reviews going up during a season's premiere, especially with the more popular titles. Most people tend to write reviews for premiere series for fun but I do see some of them that are written seriously and actually putting their thought towards it. I feel like a preview guide would be a better idea rather than 1-2 episode review.


This is also one of the reasons that I dislike the 1-2 episode reviews as I've seen series' reviews been written where a viewer claims to have finished the series despite the fact that only a few episodes have aired.

I will say that the preview guide should only be available for series with 12-24 episodes.

Perhaps, a preview guide of the first 3 episodes on a 12 episodes series, 6 for 24 episodes but the limit stays there, meaning that you cannot write more than that afterwards to prevent it from becoming an extended blog of sorts.

First impression reviews are not a big deal in the slightest. I used to have the exact same mindset a while back, but in the end it's nothing to get riled up at. Professional journalists do it, so why not users on an anime website?

We have this forum as a feature who people who like to post and comment etc about episodes, which can be used to talk and review early episodes. If some people want to use the review function this way I don't see an issue with that.. If you don't like their review just downvote it and move on. It's more of a limit if you add another section and it would create more confusion as theres already lots of ways to talk about a series (forums, reviews, comment pages, pms,irc)

Interesting feedback, thanks guys.

I see this probably won't work out but might as well suggested anyways. I enjoy reading some of the more well written reviews on MAL so hopefully will see some of those later on this season when the series finishing airing.

I suggested this as well. I think we need to separate sections instead of calling everything a review. The only things that can be reviewed on 1 episode or things like OVAs and etc. However, I believe on animedb they don't let you even think of writing a review until the anime is over, or let you review until you have completed it. They actually have something called a preview list lol, which makes a lot of sense. I think the MAL community somewhat agree with it being split.

Professional journalist don't actually.

I think the option to post reviews shouldn't even be available until a decent amount of episodes has aired. And perhaps not even until the show has finished airing. (Save for series that surpass the 100 episode mark.) So the link wouldn't be visible until a series reaches completion or 100 episodes, whichever comes first

I don't know if that's the best solution, but it's definitely a problem that must be solved.
People shouldn't post reviews before completing the show as this is misinforming others who read them.
For example: A brilliant show may get off to a slow start, be given bad preliminary reviews, and deter people who would enjoy the show from watching it.

I wonder how many times I saw this suggestion, and yet nothing happens. :(