to tell you the truth, i thought really hard about what rating to give to Grave of the Fireflies. On the one hand, it was a sad, athmospheric war drama with heartwarming intimate moments that really moved me, on the other hand, i only got really emotionally involved on ¾ of the movie... That's how it got the 4/5 rating ^_^... I thought it was a really good movie, but I guess my ultimate enjoyment is still more in the direction of shounen, no matter how shallow it may sound ;). Anyway, i will probably give your recommendation a go in some time! Ciao!
Hey! I'm glad you're enjoying my reviews. For tips, this is something I wrote a while back. I hope it helps!
My thoughts on good review-writing:
*
Try to have a paragraph at the beginning that introduces your main
thoughts and grabs the reader's attention at the same time (for
instance, "Black Lagoon looks and smells like a mindless action series, but it is not a mindless action series.").
* The final paragraph should wrap up your thoughts on the show by summarizing everything you've said so far.
*
Detail is important! There
are many easy ways to get quick opinions on an anime (chatrooms,
messageboards, average scores, etc.), but reviews are one of the only
ways you can actually get a detailed overview of a show.
* A
review doesn't have to be split up by categories if you know what
you're doing - on the contrary, writing one long essay can make the
review much easier to read. That said, the extremely long reviews
(1000+ words), where you're basically writing mini-essays about each
category, almost have to be organized somehow to remain coherent.
*
If you feel like you need to put plot summaries or character
descriptions in a review, keep them short because NO ONE will read them.
*
There is no such thing as an "objective" review. Reviews are meant to
be a person's OPINION on a show, and I've never heard of an objective
opinion. Don't be afraid to voice your opinion, and NEVER try to mask
your opinion under the guise of objectivity.
* Everyone may have
an opinion, but not all opinions are created equal. Your opinion is
only as strong as your justification for it. If you think Naruto deserves all 10's because "its awsome," you have a pretty awful opinion.
* Never tell me the who or what; tell me the how and why. I don't care that Hikaru no Go is about a board game; I care that it's addictive.
*
Spoilers are rarely necessary because they always involve the "what,"
which nobody cares about anyway. Remember that when you add spoilers to
a review, you are cutting the people who can actually read it in half.
*
Don't feel obligated to write an equal amount for each category. The
story and characters are almost always more important than the
animation or sound.
* Don't become too
fixated on scores; your thoughts are more important. In the end, no one
is really going to care whether you give Full Metal Alchemist's animation an 8 or a 9.
On my blog reply you said that you wouldn't watch DBZ because you grew up reading the manga and enjoy the manga. Well have you heard of Dragon Ball Kai? It's a remake of Dragon Ball Z from beginning to end, but with a catch! They've enterly redone the series. They've taken out filler etc and the series is not made to follow the manga rather than the older version of the anime.
Better quality and redone to follow the manga? Sounds like a winner to me. I personally haven't seen it, but one of my friends is watching it and he likes it.
Hi dannyc, thanks for your compliments. I'm really glad you enjoyed
my writing. Unfortunately, as of today, I'll no longer be active on
anime-planet. Tomorrow I'm going abroad for a year to volunteer. I'm
trying to focus more on my career and since internet access will be irregular, I figured it'd be a good time to take a break.
Now, as
for my thoughts on Only Yesterday, an outstanding drama that touches on
rare themes and subject matters in a uniquely mature way. I loved it.
8.5/10 easily. As for Whisper of the Heart, the reason I haven't yet
watched it is because I haven't yet bought it. Basically, any anime
movies that are available in the UK, I will buy (Only Yesterday wasn't,
so I had to watch it online). But that usually means it depends on my
financial circumstances. While I'm volunteering, I'll be on £10 a week
- hardly the right time to buy DVDs! Lol.
Now, if you really,
really want a review for Only Yesterday, I'd DEFINITELY hit valondar or
vivafruit up for a review. Valondar loves it as much as I do and you
cite vivafruit as another favourite reviewer. They might be happy to
oblige - especially if you tell them VivisQueen threatens unparallel
vengeance if they don't. ^_^
Anyway, thanks very much for
following my reviews. I really enjoyed writing them. Who knows, I might
come back since I loved it so much, but that really depends on
circumstances. Hope things are well with you too.
Hi dannyc, just wanted to give a heads up that I've removed a Geass R2 review comment you wrote cause it talks about a major spoiler (keep in mind many people reading reviews haven't seen the anime, so please leave those out of comments too ^_^;;)
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Hahaha,
to tell you the truth, i thought really hard about what rating to give to Grave of the Fireflies. On the one hand, it was a sad, athmospheric war drama with heartwarming intimate moments that really moved me, on the other hand, i only got really emotionally involved on ¾ of the movie... That's how it got the 4/5 rating ^_^... I thought it was a really good movie, but I guess my ultimate enjoyment is still more in the direction of shounen, no matter how shallow it may sound ;). Anyway, i will probably give your recommendation a go in some time! Ciao!
Hey! I'm glad you're enjoying my reviews. For tips, this is something I wrote a while back. I hope it helps!
My thoughts on good review-writing:
* Try to have a paragraph at the beginning that introduces your main thoughts and grabs the reader's attention at the same time (for instance, "Black Lagoon looks and smells like a mindless action series, but it is not a mindless action series.").
* The final paragraph should wrap up your thoughts on the show by summarizing everything you've said so far.
* Detail is important! There are many easy ways to get quick opinions on an anime (chatrooms, messageboards, average scores, etc.), but reviews are one of the only ways you can actually get a detailed overview of a show.
* A review doesn't have to be split up by categories if you know what you're doing - on the contrary, writing one long essay can make the review much easier to read. That said, the extremely long reviews (1000+ words), where you're basically writing mini-essays about each category, almost have to be organized somehow to remain coherent.
* If you feel like you need to put plot summaries or character descriptions in a review, keep them short because NO ONE will read them.
* There is no such thing as an "objective" review. Reviews are meant to be a person's OPINION on a show, and I've never heard of an objective opinion. Don't be afraid to voice your opinion, and NEVER try to mask your opinion under the guise of objectivity.
* Everyone may have an opinion, but not all opinions are created equal. Your opinion is only as strong as your justification for it. If you think Naruto deserves all 10's because "its awsome," you have a pretty awful opinion.
* Never tell me the who or what; tell me the how and why. I don't care that Hikaru no Go is about a board game; I care that it's addictive.
* Spoilers are rarely necessary because they always involve the "what," which nobody cares about anyway. Remember that when you add spoilers to a review, you are cutting the people who can actually read it in half.
* Don't feel obligated to write an equal amount for each category. The story and characters are almost always more important than the animation or sound.
* Don't become too fixated on scores; your thoughts are more important. In the end, no one is really going to care whether you give Full Metal Alchemist's animation an 8 or a 9.
* For the love of God, spellcheck!
On my blog reply you said that you wouldn't watch DBZ because you grew up reading the manga and enjoy the manga. Well have you heard of Dragon Ball Kai? It's a remake of Dragon Ball Z from beginning to end, but with a catch! They've enterly redone the series. They've taken out filler etc and the series is not made to follow the manga rather than the older version of the anime.
Better quality and redone to follow the manga? Sounds like a winner to me. I personally haven't seen it, but one of my friends is watching it and he likes it.
Hi dannyc, thanks for your compliments. I'm really glad you enjoyed my writing. Unfortunately, as of today, I'll no longer be active on anime-planet. Tomorrow I'm going abroad for a year to volunteer. I'm trying to focus more on my career and since internet access will be irregular, I figured it'd be a good time to take a break.
Now, as for my thoughts on Only Yesterday, an outstanding drama that touches on rare themes and subject matters in a uniquely mature way. I loved it. 8.5/10 easily. As for Whisper of the Heart, the reason I haven't yet watched it is because I haven't yet bought it. Basically, any anime movies that are available in the UK, I will buy (Only Yesterday wasn't, so I had to watch it online). But that usually means it depends on my financial circumstances. While I'm volunteering, I'll be on £10 a week - hardly the right time to buy DVDs! Lol.
Now, if you really, really want a review for Only Yesterday, I'd DEFINITELY hit valondar or vivafruit up for a review. Valondar loves it as much as I do and you cite vivafruit as another favourite reviewer. They might be happy to oblige - especially if you tell them VivisQueen threatens unparallel vengeance if they don't. ^_^
Anyway, thanks very much for following my reviews. I really enjoyed writing them. Who knows, I might come back since I loved it so much, but that really depends on circumstances. Hope things are well with you too.
Best wishes
VivisQueen
Hi dannyc, just wanted to give a heads up that I've removed a Geass R2 review comment you wrote cause it talks about a major spoiler (keep in mind many people reading reviews haven't seen the anime, so please leave those out of comments too ^_^;;)