| We all watch anime. But before that, we usually read the review for it. Some reviews excel at convincing you to watch the show, and some reviews try to evaluate the show but forget about the person reading the review. For me, it is discussing how much the reviewer enjoyed the show w/backed up by an objective evaluation of good qualities of the show. Mostly based on enjoyment. It should also try sound positive as you're convincing someone to watch it and they should remember that somebody is going to read it and try to decide whether to watch it. If the review isn't so positive, it should include some constructive criticism (aka suggestions for ways to improve ) so the reviewer doesn't sound like an angry person all the time and for the creators to improve in the future. So what kind of features do you want to see in a review? What would be helpful to you as a viewer, or in general? Should reviews be convincing or more of an afterthought? Discuss. I hope this can help everyone, including myself, improve at writing reviews. |
| “Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth. But the world isn't perfect, and the law is incomplete..." -Alphonse Elric "Then and now, what I protect has never changed!" -Sakata Gintoki I'll take anything like The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. Anything as good as that. |
| one without bias but good-luck finding one |
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| I think one that makes their biases and problems clear while also given explanation for them. |
| Anime sucks. |
| Not being biased and not including an enjoyment score into the final score. |
GaryMuffuginOak said: For me, it is discussing how much the reviewer enjoyed the show w/backed up by an objective evaluation of good qualities of the show. Mostly based on enjoyment. I do think that this sentence is what makes a good review. but it doesn't need to be positive, really. A negative review can work if they can point out all the things that made it negative, succinctly. (I'm an aspiring reviewer(in Youtube) so this thread interest me.) |
| They their going to give full logical reason about why they dislike it not just ranting, i dont care about bias. |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| There's no such thing as an objective review. You can't possibly remain neutral throughout the whole review. Your bias will eventually dictate how you address your opinion of a show and with that, the outcome will always depend on whether you like the anime you're reviewing or not. |
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| Which of MAL's reviewers are biased? Are they getting paid money to write fluff pieces or something? Fullmetal-Ghoul said: -Senpai- said: @Fullmetal-Ghoul You are contradicting yourself, mate. If you wanna bait, try harder next time. The contradiction was intentional. It's called IRONY I'm not sure if you should be criticising others grasp of irony, because you clearly missed the irony of this post here: StefanHere said: one without bias but good-luck finding one |
AnnoKanoFeb 27, 2016 11:22 PM
| Losing an Argument online? Simply post a webpage full of links, and refuse to continue until your opponents have read every last one of them! WORKS EVERY TIME! "I was debating with someone who believed in climate change, when he linked me to a graph showing evidence to that effect. So I sent him a 10k word essay on the origins of Conservatism, and escaped with my dignity intact." "THANK YOU VERBOSE WEBPAGES OF QUESTIONABLE RELEVANCE!" |
| A good review should tell you exactly how the reviewer feels about what they are reviewing and why in a clear and concise manner. It should stay focused, not be redundant, and actually say something. Nothing triggers me more than reviews that just praise/condemn a show using every flowery synonym for the word good/bad while not saying anything of substance, aka the majority. |
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| A good review should be able to concretely and concisely point out their personal negatives and positives of any given show with some decent reason of why they think so. Don't just say "this character was cool" or "the animation was good" without giving some context as to why you think that way. Honestly, bias is something that is gonna come through in any review, and it's not like that is inherently a bad thing. It becomes a problem when your whole review starts relying too heavily on that bias to make your claims. Just try to keep it to a decent minimum and you should be ok. |
| There is no objectivity in anime. There is no specific object you can refer to and measure using scientific appliances. A good review is one that reveals something interesting about the anime, that connects it to bigger ideas. I don't want the review to convince me. I want the review to be insightful about more than just the anime. Use the anime as a jumping point to discuss its themes and ideas. It's far more interesting. |
| WEAPONS - My blog, for reviews of music, anime, books, and other things |
| IMO good reviews should be well-written above everything else. Also they should be interesting in their own right. P4K reviews, nah, but reviews that just list all the criterias and simply write their reasons on the score aren't particularly great reviews either. I'm not saying that I write great reviews cause I don't have perfect English, but I would definitely like to read some more intelligent or humorous reviews on MAL. |
| I think that review should have what you liked at didn't like and why would be great addition. But guess I'm talking nonsense as no one cares what I write anyway :( |
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EfiChan said: I think that review should have what you liked at didn't like and why would be great addition. But guess I'm talking nonsense as no one cares what I write anyway :( Yeah I agree. It makes the review feel like its written by a person when they talk about what they disliked/liked. |
| “Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth. But the world isn't perfect, and the law is incomplete..." -Alphonse Elric "Then and now, what I protect has never changed!" -Sakata Gintoki I'll take anything like The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. Anything as good as that. |
| One that isn't just the synopsis of what the person was reviewing copy and pasted word for word. |
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| the one that actually make me want to watch a series, or actually make me avoid a series. |
 "If taking responsibility for a mistake that cannot be undone means death, it's not that hard to die. At least, not as hard as to live on." |
GaryMuffuginOak said: EfiChan said: I think that review should have what you liked at didn't like and why would be great addition. But guess I'm talking nonsense as no one cares what I write anyway :( Yeah I agree. It makes the review feel like its written by a person when they talk about what they disliked/liked. I think people look at is as a person's prefeeation more than in newspaper or something like this. |
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| That it's actually, you know... helpful? Kuma said: I.E: mostly thisthe one that actually make me want to watch a series, or actually make me avoid a series. |
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kamisama751 said: A good review should point out the right and wrong things the show has and explained without personal enjoyment. For example this (spoiler): The guy who made that review is a hypocrite. He has made countless other reviews about T&B praising that OVA, and then made this one where he bashed it b/c he was desperate for views on youtube. Srs. |
| A purely objective review is impossible so I say it should have a considerate amount of objectivity in it and explains things thoroughly. |
| Reviews should be as objective as possible, which is why I usually turn to Nihonreview for reviews. However, I find it fair for a reviewer to be themselves in a small percentage of the review. Talk about how you felt about certain parts of the show. Did you find certain parts funny, romantic, stupid, etc.? Those are subjective points, but I find that okay. Bioshocked said: Exactly. Enjoyment should not be a factor.Not being biased and not including an enjoyment score into the final score. omfgplzstop said: First of all, yes, you can. You're supposed to put a disclaimer in the beginning of the review. However, I don't blame readers for diverging away from spoiled reviews. Second, it is not difficult to create a review without spoilers. Idk why people think that. I do it all the time. You can easily get your point across without extreme details of the plot. Sadly reviews on this site are not allowed to have spoilers, so that's a bit difficult. |
Demi_VFeb 28, 2016 5:51 AM
| Demi Valentine Website: Nika 'n Asia Follow me on social media! Facebook | Instagram | Twitter |
| You need a basic understanding of literary theory and need to be as open-minded as possible. The review needs to be well-structured and should thoroughly explain why you liked or disliked the anime or manga. 100% objectivity is not possible. Your review comes from your own perspective, so bias will inevitably come into play. Just make sure it doesn't govern you to the point where your review becomes shallow and substanceless. And yes, enjoyment is a key factor. Anime is a medium of entertainment after all. |
| Enjoyment should be relevant, dunno why some people are saying it shouldn't exist in the final score. It's important because it tells the reader of the review how well or how bad the elements of the show worked for you. That doesn't necessarily mean that the reviewer will deny things on the simple basis that he didn't enjoy them. Taking out enjoyment is to take the personal touch on the review which is counter intuitive to the concept of reviews. A good review is simply one that explain the reviewers thoughts on the anime, while being easily accessible to the reader. It doesn't need to talk about good and bad things equally, that's dumb because bad and good aspects are not equal in most anime. |
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| A well written review should be suitably structured, and separate ones own enjoyment from the objective view of the product; though both factor into the final conclusion. A review is inherently subjective, but at the end of the day, it is a medium by which people are supposed to gauge the likelihood of them enjoying the product. If the reviewer does not attempt an objective checklist, then the review is no more useful to the reader than a promotional trailer or poster. Especially when writing a review, one must remember that their own opinion is not the absolute truth. Thoughts and musings are welcome, but judgement should not be passed on matters that should be left to the end user; excitement, emotion and the like. So I suppose that I disagree with you there, to a point. Enjoyment is a factor which cannot be expressed from one person to the next. One could take guilty pleasure in watching a show, or feel true awe. Both are types of enjoyment. In the end, basing a review off of the enjoyment you received watching it is akin to writing reviews of types of sports based on the enjoyment you received watching those; it depends almost wholly on your own personal preference. |
| A good review in my opinion should be able to explain the good and bad points of the anime with both objective and subjective reasoning. Saying that you enjoyed or hated something is easy. Explaining what areas of the anime and why that made you enjoy or hated the anime is harder, while convincing people to your point of view without being too overly bias one way or the other is something that the majority of people can't do. Even people with good writing skills. |
| no one post this yet? i am surprised. http://www.destructoid.com/100-objective-review-final-fantasy-xiii-179178.phtml most objective review i ever read. |
"If taking responsibility for a mistake that cannot be undone means death, it's not that hard to die. At least, not as hard as to live on." |
| Well, don't copy the synopsis and you've made a good start. |
A stupid thread deserves a stupid answer!  |
| A good review should go over the good & bad points of an anime (or an anything) without spoiling it's content. Also it should have a perfect mix of objective & subjective opinion. I mean even a scathing review must have good its good points mentioned in it, if it has any, that is.. |
omfgplzstop said: An 'objective' review isn't any more guaranteed to help the reader than a subjective one. No one actually has that kind of 'objective' taste. True, but I mean as objectively as possible, about the topics which can be judged as such. Describe the synopsis succinctly, talk about the quality of the animation and sound design. This is more helpful to a prospective viewer than something which sings praises or rains hate upon a series. The grey area comes in story, character design, etc. This is pretty much completely subjective, and the reader must take it with a pinch of salt. |
omfgplzstop said: Spoilers aren't okay for a reason. We don't want to hear about things we're supposed to discover while we watch the show. If you want analyse/discuss the show, go on the series forums or write a blog post.TheBrainintheJar said: Sadly reviews on this site are not allowed to have spoilers, so that's a bit difficult. I find straight up analysis and in-depth discussion much more interesting as well. There is no objectivity in anime. There is no specific object you can refer to and measure using scientific appliances. A good review is one that reveals something interesting about the anime, that connects it to bigger ideas. I don't want the review to convince me. I want the review to be insightful about more than just the anime. Use the anime as a jumping point to discuss its themes and ideas. It's far more interesting. |
| Having actually watched all of the episodes, not just watching the first couple of episodes and writing a review based on those. Actually rating stuff that matters, not dwelling on insignificant details. If it has a bad soundtrack, how does that affect the anime, you're rating the anime, the story, the animation, the sound, the character development etc. Sure it effects it indirectly, as it does belong to the anime, but at the same time it's separate. MAL shouldn't allow people to rate or view something without having completed the series, unless it's something like OP or Naruto with a ton of episodes. |
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omfgplzstop said: You go around it. You don't need to say how a show like School Days ends. Just say it has a plot twist that takes an evil turn. Demi_V said: But you can't truly explain how what you saw in the show explores the ideas he's looking for.Reviews should be as objective as possible, which is why I usually turn to Nihonreview for reviews. However, I find it fair for a reviewer to be themselves in a small percentage of the review. Talk about how you felt about certain parts of the show. Did you find certain parts funny, romantic, etc.? Those are subjective points, but I find that okay. Exactly. Enjoyment should not be factor. First of all, yes, you can. You're supposed to put a disclaimer in the beginning of the review. However, I don't blame readers for diverging away from spoiled reviews. Second, it is not difficult to create a review without spoilers. Idk why people think that. I do it all the time. You can easily get your point across without extreme details of the plot. It's impossible to be objective when it comes to grading art. Every interpretation is subjective. Also, enjoyment is derived from the whole. No one mentioned anything about art, so Idk why you're bringing it up. How is enjoyment derived from a whole? I gotta hear this. |
| Demi Valentine Website: Nika 'n Asia Follow me on social media! Facebook | Instagram | Twitter |
omfgplzstop said: Yeah, but I mean, what would that kind of review accomplish? People can just go to google if they want to hear any kind of objective information, putting it into a review only adds convenience. I just think aiming for objectivity in interpretations of art is pointless, unless you do it with the entirety of whatever group you want to grade art with and even then it would be difficult to achieve an absolute consensus (and impossible if you're looking for an all-encompassing one). People should embrace their hatred or love for a series when writing these reviews, but make sure they explain them. It is much more helpful in helping readers form an opinion on it. They get the gritty details. Information from official sources will only give you the good parts; the animation with the best budget, the posters the artists spent a week working on. An objective review can tell a reader exactly if this series is what they're looking for. Art is not the same as animation, for example. One can easily tell if they like the style of art from the cover picture. What they cannot tell is if the animation is good or not. That's where the review comes in. There is very little dispute between good animation and bad animation, if a set style has been decided upon. For example, Ping Pong The Animation has a unique style; so it's difficult to say whether it is "good" or "bad". The Pain vs. Kyuubi Naruto fight was bad animation. They sacrificed shading, proportions and frames in order to make the fight more fluid. It is objectively clear that these features are missing, when compared to other episodes within the same anime. Same can be said of Dragon Ball Super. They gave Vegeta two left hands in the preview. Bad animation. "I love this series" or "I hate this character" gives the reader literally nothing. At least with an attempt at objectivity, you can get something out of the review. |
ObliviousOkapi said: omfgplzstop said: Spoilers aren't okay for a reason. We don't want to hear about things we're supposed to discover while we watch the show. If you want analyse/discuss the show, go on the series forums or write a blog post.Sadly reviews on this site are not allowed to have spoilers, so that's a bit difficult. I find straight up analysis and in-depth discussion much more interesting as well. You are talking like recommending or giving advice is the sole purpose of a review, and in MAL this is not the case. We even have specific separated Recommendations features. |
omfgplzstop said: ObliviousOkapi said: And that's why I consider reviews pointless. All they do is tell you how well the show conforms with the reviewer's standards, which you have no reason to care about unless you have a broad understanding of them (and that still doesn't guarantee that the review will be helpful).Spoilers aren't okay for a reason. We don't want to hear about things we're supposed to discover while we watch the show. If you want analyse/discuss the show, go on the series forums or write a blog post. That doesn't necessarily make reviews pointless unless you only read one review before you choose to watch or not watch a show. If somebody who watched the show says they found a show good/bad for a bunch of reasons (which they talk about) there's a good chance you will find some of them meaningful. Maybe it's not 'accurate', but unless there's a conspiracy plotting against your watching a certain show, there's no reason somebody would post a review full of undeniably wrong things. |
| A good review is one that provides insight and delves into details of what both the commendable and unfavavourable aspects of the show were, and explains why so. That's it really. GaryMuffuginOak said: So what kind of features do you want to see in a review? What would be helpful to you as a viewer, or in general? Should reviews be convincing or more of an afterthought? Discuss. Different types of reviews will be enjoyed by different readers. Some may want a more convincing, strong stand on certain topics, others might prefer a more general, thoughtful, broad approach. It really depends what you prefer your viewerbase to be. |
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jal90 said: I'm sorry, I don't really understand how your post is related to what I said.ObliviousOkapi said: Spoilers aren't okay for a reason. We don't want to hear about things we're supposed to discover while we watch the show. If you want analyse/discuss the show, go on the series forums or write a blog post. You are talking like recommending or giving advice is the sole purpose of a review, and in MAL this is not the case. We even have specific separated Recommendations features. |
ObliviousOkapi said: jal90 said: I'm sorry, I don't really understand how your post is related to what I said.You are talking like recommending or giving advice is the sole purpose of a review, and in MAL this is not the case. We even have specific separated Recommendations features. It's related to your statement that spoilers aren't okay in a review. |
TheBrainintheJar said: There is no objectivity in anime. There is no specific object you can refer to and measure using scientific appliances. A good review is one that reveals something interesting about the anime, that connects it to bigger ideas. I don't want the review to convince me. I want the review to be insightful about more than just the anime. Use the anime as a jumping point to discuss its themes and ideas. It's far more interesting. You actually do need some objectivity in the sense that you have to accept something that is just so glaringly obvious. It may be a flaw, it may be something positive but to me a review isn't really any good if it just skips past the positives & jumps right on to the reviewers subjective opinion. If a really shit anime has beautiful art, wouldn't you give it credit for that in your review? |
| Being as detached as possible from your personal feelings. |
Seiya0890 said: But its still disgusting from my point of view, and from the word's point of view, therefore its disgusting. Wise words. |
katsaroulhs said: Being as detached as possible from your personal feelings. Not possible. A review comes from your own perspective. |
AltoRoark99 said: katsaroulhs said: Being as detached as possible from your personal feelings. Not possible. A review comes from your own perspective. I said as detached as possible. Not completely. And you are mostly right, which is why every single review of everything is a piece of shit. |
Seiya0890 said: But its still disgusting from my point of view, and from the word's point of view, therefore its disgusting. Wise words. |
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