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Apr 14, 2013 9:23 PM
#151
I pretty much finished my Harukana Machi-E review (at least for now). Since there's no one working as the first editor, should I post it online, so the second department editors (Saeko and Forgone, since they volunteered) can work on it? |
Apr 14, 2013 9:28 PM
#152
Yeah, either that or PM it. I'm about to go to sleep, so I wouldn't get to it if you posted it right now. |
Apr 17, 2013 11:21 AM
#153
Apr 17, 2013 11:32 AM
#154
Sh0wdown said: Btw Ducat, how's the Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei review going ? Going to rework it tomorrow. I spent the past days trying to absorb the editing portion. I think I know how to approach it now (I'm no longer going to divide it by sections for starters) but it'll take some time. |
Apr 19, 2013 1:49 AM
#156
Harukana Machi-E review is done. I am posting it here, so you can read it and tell me what you think of it. The 2nd editors already had a chance to read it and they pretty much gave it the green light, so now I want to hear the opinion of others as well. And if you don't have anything (big) against it, then my job with this review is pretty much over. Anyway, here it is: Harukana Machi-E (A Distant Neighborhood) If you were given a second chance, if you could live your life over, how would you live it? What would you do differently? Could you (and should you) change the flow of events that had transpired? Fiction has always been fond of time travel. There have been numerous, some more, some less successful, attempts at exploring this concept. It is a potent theme that has tickled the imagination of many and to which many writers turn to. One of those writers is the author of Harukana Machi-E. One may rightfully ask whether Harukana Machi-E can make something noteworthy with a tried and tired concept like this. The answer is, fortunately, a resounding yes. Actually, I lied there a bit. Harukana is not really about time travel. Don’t let the synopsis fool you, that is not a theme this manga sets to examine. Rather, time travel is a plot device, a means of setting the story in motion and putting the protagonist at a desired time frame. Coming from the pen of an award-winning mangaka, Taniguchi Jiro, Harukana Machi-E (translated as “A Distant Neighborhood“ in English) brings us a personal story of a middle-aged man, Hiroshi, who, during a visit to his mother’s grave, suddenly gets transported into the past, back to his middle-school days. With his adult consciousness, memories and abilities retained, Hiroshi finds himself in the body of his 14-year old self, 35 years into the past, at a period of a single crucial event that would have a profound influence on his later life. There he begins a journey of reliving and rediscovering his past, people and events. It is also there that, after realizing not everything is unfolding exactly as he remembers, Higuchi faces his big dilemma – should he try and change the past? And if the answer is yes, how could that influence the future? Despite such a fantastical premise, Harukana Machi-E is very much down-to-earth. There are no crazy time travelling hijinks, no world-changing events, no super powers, no shounen heroes nor villains. Instead, what Harukana provides its audience with is a bittersweet, rather intimate and relatable story of a single person and his family that reads more like a literary work than a standard manga. The plot is unlikely to keep anyone on the edge of their chair, nervously biting their nails in anticipation since it never tries to be neither bombastic nor groundbreaking. Rather, the story unfolds in a leisurely manner, never using the sense of urgency to force the reader to flip the next page. It gives the reader time to slowly savour the artwork, characters and their interactions, muse on the questions raised by the protagonist’s narration, and, bit by bit, gets sucked into the world of the protagonist’s small Japanese town and its residents. In a manga like this plot would mean little without well-developed characters. And it is obvious that the author paid special attention to them. From the protagonist to his schoolmates, family and townspeople, Harukana Machi-E’s cast consists of realistic and relatable characters. There is no trace of artificiality; they truly come off as real people you meet every day. As a result, their feelings, interactions and reactions appear natural and believable. Naturally, the focus is on Hiroshi’s character, but others, especially a couple of his classmates and family members receive a fair share of fleshing out as well. That is an impressive feat to accomplish in only 16 chapters and speaks volumes of the mangaka’s skill. Looking at the premise, Hiroshi could’ve easily been an annoying, self-pitying protagonist that exasperates the audience. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen. Although often depressed, troubled and selfish, his character never crosses the fine line between being realistic and being obnoxious. Truth be told, the manga does approach the maudlin territory at a couple of occasions, especially when it tries to convey the protagonist's feelings about his mother. However, the author manages to successfully steer away from delving into unpleasant melodrama that would irritate the reader. Whether intentional or not, Hiroshi’s father, Yoshio, is the one character that the reader may find too distant and hard to understand. His actions, especially towards the end, come off as somewhat unsympathetic and odd. However, he is most likely deliberately portrayed as distant and incomprehensible in order to reflect how the protagonist sees him since the story is, after all, narrated from Hiroshi’s point of view. This becomes even clearer as the story unfolds and we realize that Yoshio plays the role of a foil to Hiroshi, enabling the author to easily contrast the two characters and their life choices. During the process of weaving Hiroshi's tale, the mangaka doesn't fall into the common pitfal of making the supporting cast too dependant on the protagonist. Instead, while playing their respective roles, most characters in the manga feel as if they have lives of their own, lives that flow with, not because of the main character. The protagonist is at the centre of the story, but is in no way at the centre of its world. Apart from characters, Harukana Machi-E excels in the art department. Even at first glance, it is apparent that Harukana does not look like the majority of the manga fare. Taniguchi’s art is highly accomplished, crisp and clean. Again, just like it is the case with characters, realism is what makes Harukana’s art work. Taniguchi’s attention to detail in depicting background, whether scenery or urban structures, is impressive and, coupled with careful, movie-like framing, gives the manga near-photographic artwork. Thus, the author succeeds at bringing to life Hiroshi’s small home town of Kurayoshi and, in a way, invites the reader to embark on the journey into the past. Similarly, the character designs follow the principle of realism as well, while also retaining a very small, but necessary dose of “cartoonism”. Worth mentioning is a certain Ghibli-esque quality to the author’s ability to effortlessly express a wide range of emotions on characters’ faces and this is quite a delight to look at. Harukana Machi-E examines and explores a variety of themes and issues. The most apparent ones, which even become a sort of a leitmotif, are the themes of regret and loss. They permeate the manga, creating a sweetly melancholic atmosphere. In addition to those, this short manga finds time and space to tackle other, mostly related themes such as grief, frustration, remembrance, acceptance and appreciation. Never trying to be preachy or comeing off as pretentious, Harukana naturally, through its characters and their actions, speaks to the reader about the importance of coming to terms with oneself, learning to appreciate and value what one has and accepting the inexorable fleetingness of life. As perfect as everything said up to now may seem, Harukana, of course, is not impeccable. Although expected and understandable, the rather abrupt ending and resolution may feel anticlimactic and will probably leave some readers with a slight feeling of dissatisfaction. The lack of any explanation regarding the time travel aspect may have a similar effect. However, Harukana never was a story about time travelling, so one can’t really hold this against it. Its length can be regarded as both a flaw and a strength. Being only two volumes long, it may be argued that Harukana's shortness doesn't allow the manga to fully spread its wings. However, at the same time, it means that the story never loses steam and no scene feels superfluous. “Short but meaningful“ may very well be the rule Taniguchi chose to follow with Harukana. Personal and down-to-earth in its presentation, distinctively Japanese in execution, yet universal and timeless in themes it explores, Harukana Machi-E is a highly recommended read, especially if you are in search for a mature slice of life drama with believable, relatable characters that is very likely to make you think and reflect on life. Or if you're simply tired and want a breath of fresh air. In that case, I cannot recommend this short manga enough. Oh, yeah, one more thing… Once you’ve read the manga, I suggest you keep it (unless you’ve borrowed it from a library, in which case you better not). You will probably want to revisit it several years (or decades) down the line when your own childhood and past starts feeling like a part of a distant neighborhood. Score: 9 |
metamorphiusApr 19, 2013 1:54 AM
Apr 19, 2013 2:07 AM
#157
Just finsihed reading the review, I really like quality of the writing you achieved and as the resident Taniguchi fanboy I can agree with the flaws and the strengths of the story. You might put a bit more emphasis on the - as usual with stories dealing with time-travel and as a result parallel dimensions - few plot holes regarding the changed interactions between Hiroshi and some of the supporting characters, but overall I am very impressed with this review and I am positive the quality will stay this way, maybe even increase over time. Oh, and I guess you'll release this review with our Uber-Elitist account? |
Steel Ball Run anime when? |
Apr 19, 2013 2:22 AM
#158
Thank you for the feedback and praise. You're right, I should add a few lines about the character relations inconsistencies. What/who would you emphasize in particular? You can answer in spoiler tags. Nidhoeggr said: Oh, and I guess you'll release this review with our Uber-Elitist account? Well, that's the plan. I wouldn't have posted it here otherwise. If you throw a glance on my profile you'll see that I don't write MAL reviews and I am doing this pretty much just because it's a part of this club's project. I can't promise I'll be writing many more reviews in the future though, but I could do a couple more when I have plenty of free time (if this project takes of, of course). |
Apr 19, 2013 2:26 AM
#159
Hiroshi's relationship with his love interest as well as the whole subplot regarding the aspiring writer. I haven't reread itr recently so I am not sure about it anymore, but there were some inconsistencies. |
Steel Ball Run anime when? |
Apr 19, 2013 2:30 AM
#160
Okay. I thought that you'd mention the writer. As for the love interest, I'll have to revisit the ending since I am not completely sure about that part myself. |
Apr 22, 2013 11:13 AM
#161
Here's the link to my Kaiba review. It's on one of those open edit pages, so everyone in the staff can comment, contribute, and critique it there. http://sync.in/tTr32jtg0S Thanks for your patients, and I hope that you find this review helpful and worthy of the Uber-Elitists Club's name. |
Apr 23, 2013 2:44 PM
#162
I haven't had a chance to read Kaiba yet, but it sounds like a decent review to me. Anyway, we need a Guilty Crown review. The current ones are way too positive and this anime needs an elitist spanking. |
Steel Ball Run anime when? |
Apr 23, 2013 5:48 PM
#163
If we do a negative review, I would definitely want to write about Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai. That thing is stain on my list. Plus, the two top reviews that currently exist for it are either poorly realized, or just straight up lying to the reader. |
Apr 24, 2013 8:28 PM
#164
ForgoneReality said: Here's the link to my Kaiba review. It's on one of those open edit pages, so everyone in the staff can comment, contribute, and critique it there. http://sync.in/tTr32jtg0S Just a head up, I made some minor edits! Btw nil, why don't you officially become an editor? You seem perfectly suited for the job. |
Apr 24, 2013 8:53 PM
#165
Alright, thanks Syrmme. And I agree, feel free to take up a position amongst our ranks nil. |
Apr 25, 2013 2:31 AM
#166
Apr 25, 2013 4:51 AM
#167
Nice to see you're on board Nil http://sync.in/2ZYorWAPwu I made a Jojo review, after procrastinating for so long. Not entirely happy about it, I didn't want to go into too much depth like my Ergo Proxy one. I wanted to sound a lot more casual and replicate a more natural idiomatic speech. However just the content disappoints me towards the second half. So I would like to ask for some help from our amazing editors. I think I just ran on steam for some parts of it :/, I haven't edited myself so there is 90% a horrible grammar error somewhere in there. Of course this can be a club review thing or just personal. Use it as you wish editors/reviewers. Either or, I should start on that Mononoke review I said I'll do for the club. |
ExinqtApr 25, 2013 6:42 AM
May 5, 2013 12:05 AM
#168
Nidhoeggr said: I haven't had a chance to read Kaiba yet, but it sounds like a decent review to me. Anyway, we need a Guilty Crown review. The current ones are way too positive and this anime needs an elitist spanking. http://sync.in/CiT4YOeE5D I did an edit of my old GC review to add in more details. |
As a child, I was told that society is a melting pot of talents; knowledge and experience combined to form important alloys that will contribute to mankind. When I got to highschool, however, I thought that it's more like a river in which the water represents our peers while we ourselves are the stones in the river. Constant erosion by mindless majority sheeping has made us lose our unique edge. After I hit the age of 18, I realized that I've been wrong all along. Society is no melting pot. Society is no river. Society is a person, a very skilled rapist, and he has fucked us all. |
May 6, 2013 2:50 PM
#169
The User Review Account is now completely sanctioned and operational!! We have two reviews published right now. One for the anime Kaiba , and one for the manga Harukana Machi-E. Both of them can be found here, under the account's review page. Please, go read them and give your honest vote at the bottom. (Sadly, there is no 'perfect' option, so helpful will have to do.) Thank you to everyone who has contributed in making this happen. Let's continue to write awesome reviews and spread a bit of enlightenment! |
May 6, 2013 4:20 PM
#170
May 6, 2013 5:01 PM
#171
Perhaps I should have been involved before, but I do not think that the Kaiba review requires the last addition of getting an "8.4" since neither other reviewers nor this site use that specific scale. Seems a bit superfluous. |
May 6, 2013 5:07 PM
#172
dietmango said: Woo our influence grows little by little Eeeeexcellent. :) Would it be too much if we included the reviewer's username somewhere in the review as well? Putting up the main people responsible in both writing and editing sounds like a good idea to me. AlabastreAizo said: Perhaps I should have been involved before, but I do not think that the Kaiba review requires the last addition of getting an "8.4" since neither other reviewers nor this site use that specific scale. Seems a bit superfluous. Maybe change it into something along the lines of "a very strong 8 out of 10, bordering on the line of 9" with a brief explanation why it didn't get that score. |
Steel Ball Run anime when? |
May 6, 2013 5:13 PM
#173
@dietmango + Nidhoeggr - I'd rather not have the names of individual members within the reviews themselves. I do think it would be a good idea to give credit where it's due though, and have a "Completed Reviews" section in the OP of this thread. It could just be a drop down spoiler that gives all the titles we've reviewed with the names of whoever worked on it. And just have that keep growing as we write more. @Alabastre - At the moment I'm going to leave things as they are on that review. I've seen it done before, and it helps establish that I wasn't just giving it a flat 8. The previous #2 review hads their final score marked at 45/50, so it's not bad to be precise. You should absolutely join in for future reviews though! I'd love to get even more people's help and opinions for the writings to come. ------------------- EDIT: An example of what could be done in the OP. Completed Reviews KAIBA Written By: ForgoneReality 1st Level Editors: nil- & Popka 2nd Level Editors: Emmrys, SaekoBuso, metamorphius HARUKANA MACHI-E Written By: metamorphius 1st Level Editors: Nidhoeggr 2nd Level Editors: Saekobuso, ForgoneReality I believe that's how it worked out for Harukana, if not, meta can correct that as it actually happened. |
ForgoneRealityMay 6, 2013 5:40 PM
May 6, 2013 5:33 PM
#174
Everything seems to be working out well. One question: Why does the Uber-Elitist account have KissxSis dropped? |
May 6, 2013 5:34 PM
#175
@Popka - It's the only anime in our Club's Relations List that is still ongoing, so I couldn't add it under completed. |
May 7, 2013 7:43 AM
#177
SSC_Exin said: I guess I should finish my Jojo review soon. Yeah, I would like to see your second draft. The original was a little rough, but you had something going there. I think it would be really cool to be able to put out duel reviews of the Jojo anime and manga too. We're one of the few accounts capable of writing on so many titles of both mediums, and I'd like to keep a healthy influx of our manga reviews. Also, I had an idea to take into consideration. A lot of the time, the reviews that get the most exposure, and therefore help the most people, are published shortly after the conclusion or airing of a series, when the most people are interested in picking it up. So, at the end of Summer season of 2013, I'd like for us to be able to put out a review of a recently concluded series. This should give us a few months to grow as a club, and strengthen our skills as writers. It would take some devotion to pull off though, and someone would have to be diligent in writing the review so that it could be released shortly after the end of the show. It would also mean sacrificing the pure enjoyment of a show that you legitimately wanted to watch in order to stay analytical, and maintain your writing throughout the airing. I would be willing to do this, depending on the lineup for summer, and assuming I had grown enough as a writer. So, thoughts or opinions? Does anyone agree with this, and does anyone feel like they could be up for this/ joining me? |
May 7, 2013 8:47 AM
#178
AlabastreAizo said: Perhaps I should have been involved before, but I do not think that the Kaiba review requires the last addition of getting an "8.4" since neither other reviewers nor this site use that specific scale. Seems a bit superfluous. While its look superfluous,it can actually work and for example see the manga review of berserk by thecriticsclub STORY = 9.38 |
May 7, 2013 4:53 PM
#179
I'd like to do a Lodoss OVA review at some point. It's on our enlightenment list and only one of the top reviews is any good. http://myanimelist.net/anime/207/Lodoss-tou_Senki |
May 7, 2013 5:05 PM
#180
ForgoneReality said: SSC_Exin said: I guess I should finish my Jojo review soon. Yeah, I would like to see your second draft. The original was a little rough, but you had something going there. I think it would be really cool to be able to put out duel reviews of the Jojo anime and manga too. We're one of the few accounts capable of writing on so many titles of both mediums, and I'd like to keep a healthy influx of our manga reviews. Also, I had an idea to take into consideration. A lot of the time, the reviews that get the most exposure, and therefore help the most people, are published shortly after the conclusion or airing of a series, when the most people are interested in picking it up. So, at the end of Summer season of 2013, I'd like for us to be able to put out a review of a recently concluded series. This should give us a few months to grow as a club, and strengthen our skills as writers. It would take some devotion to pull off though, and someone would have to be diligent in writing the review so that it could be released shortly after the end of the show. It would also mean sacrificing the pure enjoyment of a show that you legitimately wanted to watch in order to stay analytical, and maintain your writing throughout the airing. I would be willing to do this, depending on the lineup for summer, and assuming I had grown enough as a writer. So, thoughts or opinions? Does anyone agree with this, and does anyone feel like they could be up for this/ joining me? It sounds like a good idea considering what you said about reviews being most helpful after a series finishes. I wrote a review of Baccano! yesterday that I would like to hear your opinions on; if I was going to review any summer anime, I'd like to work on my reviewing style first. Of course, I could just edit for summer anime reviews. http://sync.in/FL5JUvi2cB It seems a little short to me, but I wasn't sure what more I should say. |
May 7, 2013 6:15 PM
#181
I did about all I could, having not finished Baccano! yet. I might help out some more on a revised version if I've completed the show by then. Here, I'm bringing Popka's link to the new page. http://sync.in/FL5JUvi2cB |
ForgoneRealityMay 7, 2013 6:19 PM
May 8, 2013 1:11 AM
#182
ForgoneReality said: -snip- I would be willing to do this, depending on the lineup for summer, and assuming I had grown enough as a writer. So, thoughts or opinions? Does anyone agree with this, and does anyone feel like they could be up for this/ joining me? We should space out our reviews a bit as well, not necessarily spam them on a certain week when they're all done. We don't want to monopolize the reviewing section, rather we should let other people have an opportunity first. Then there is the issue of who is doing Swimming Bros? We could do this as a group and devise a group review for this fabu~lous piece. I would be willing to do Tamayura 2 since I'm a fan of season 1. |
May 12, 2013 3:21 AM
#183
SSC_Exin said: ForgoneReality said: -snip- I would be willing to do this, depending on the lineup for summer, and assuming I had grown enough as a writer. So, thoughts or opinions? Does anyone agree with this, and does anyone feel like they could be up for this/ joining me? We should space out our reviews a bit as well, not necessarily spam them on a certain week when they're all done. We don't want to monopolize the reviewing section, rather we should let other people have an opportunity first. Then there is the issue of who is doing Swimming Bros? We could do this as a group and devise a group review for this fabu~lous piece. I would be willing to do Tamayura 2 since I'm a fan of season 1. Group review for something so fabu~lous it's the only way it can be done. |
May 12, 2013 6:11 AM
#184
I was planning on skipping Swim Bros but writing a review for it sounds fun. Can I be involved somehow? |
May 28, 2013 2:19 PM
#185
@SaberRitsu - anyone can be involved so long on some level as they have something to contribute. So, after the success of our first two reviews, and brief hiatus, I do believe we should start writing again. What show/manga do you guys want to do next? |
Jun 22, 2013 7:40 AM
#186
IT IS DONE I finally finished my Tatami Galaxy review and sent it off to meta for first level editing. Sorry it took too long. I was too relaxed over the summer. I knew it would the the new school year to get my writing blood flowing. Also, I'd like to reserve Oyasumi Punpun. I want to review it once it ends. |
Jun 22, 2013 10:13 AM
#187
Hurray!! I'm glad you were able to finish your review! I look forward to reading it when the time comes. I also believe that Oyasumi Punpun is still free. It'll be nice to keep a steady portion of manga reviews out. |
Jun 22, 2013 10:34 AM
#188
We are now one step closer to conquering MAL! |
Jun 22, 2013 10:48 AM
#189
Hello everyone, I havent read every post in this thread, but I was wondering if there were still positions available. I guess I wanted to try to get in on this since this club is doing some great things, everything I have read in this club has been awesome. So if theres anything I can do, I am willing to learn and ready to help. >.> |
Jun 22, 2013 11:02 AM
#190
@AgehaMist - The more the merrier! Of course, I'd have to see how capable you were at whatever given role you choose, but past that, we're always welcome to some added help. Was there a particular editorial position that you had in mind? Or did you want to write something? |
Jun 22, 2013 11:12 AM
#191
I wouldnt really know where or how to begin... I would like to write reviews if possible, but I probably have a lot to learn, and Im not too confident in my writing ability compared to you guys @_@. I also wouldnt mind being in one of the editorial departments or something to try to prove myself. Maybe department 2 would be best for me... |
Jun 22, 2013 11:21 AM
#192
Well, I'm happy to hear your interest in writing. Though good editing is very important too! I take it you've read the 2 reviews put out by the club so far? That's a pretty good standard for what we want to do. Of course, every writer is going to have a different approach to their review and alternate styles, but those are just examples. If you'd like to participate in our polls more, that would provide an excellent opportunity to express your ideas in a written format meant to be read by others. Collecting your thoughts and strongly relating how you feel to the reader is important, and it would give us a chance to see your basic writing skills. Aside from that, is there a particular anime or manga that you'd want as your jumping off point? Writing or helping with the editing, either way. |
Jun 22, 2013 12:15 PM
#193
I just read them now, they were really good. I think itll be a while before I get to that point... I think Ill try to get involved more with polls... and maybe try to participate as an editor later once I have a better idea of what I want to do. Theres no series in particular I was thinking of, but I guess Ill get back to you on that. Thanks for your help and acceptance ForgoneReality! :] |
Jun 22, 2013 12:19 PM
#194
I just wrote a couple of reviews, anyone want to check them out? |
"The more inexperienced you are, the more you want to show off." - Oreki, Hyouka |
Jun 22, 2013 12:20 PM
#195
sushi55 said: I just wrote a couple of reviews, anyone want to check them out? This isn't the place to endorse your reviews. |
Jun 23, 2013 3:44 AM
#196
EVERYONE! The Tatami Galaxy Review is about to move to the 2nd level of editors. I'm not too sure if my old 2nd department (Saeko, Showdown, and -nil) will still be able edit. In the chance that they can't, is there anyone willing to handle the 2nd level of editing? All replies will be greatly appreciated. |
Jun 23, 2013 9:05 AM
#197
Saeko and I are fairly interchangeable here, so I'd be willing to do editing in his place. There's been no activity on his end for a while, but you may be able to round up your other two editors. |
Jun 23, 2013 9:12 AM
#198
Emmrys is willing. The editing program isn't working anymore though. |
Jun 23, 2013 9:17 AM
#199
http://sync.in/ ^ That one? It appears operational for me. I can even still view Popka's old review. |
Jun 23, 2013 9:21 AM
#200
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