|
How we review: Part IINot satisfied with our short summary of how our reviews are done? Well, here's a blow-by-blow description of what we look for in the various titles that we review. After reading this, you could start your own review site.
Include enough information to provide background and episode set-up, as well as any key points that may occur. We try not to make spoilers out of the synopsis but in many cases, this cannot be helped. Your opinion of the show, usually broken into the following:
Technical: Include animation quality, soundtrack, story, casting, general production Artistic:Include screenplay, plot devices, direction, voice acting It's very important to give reasons for your opinion; that gives the reader a reference point to work with. Key point which occur in the show and interpretations (such as symbolic references, historic references, etc.) are a good idea to throw in. Any culture-specific items are good to include as well. Some items may be held back if they make good trivia questions. Done on a very subjective 5-point scale in the following categories ( 0 being lowest, 5 being highest):
TV shows, OAV's and movies are ranked differently. We use a sliding scale based on what we feel is appropriate for each of the media. For example, we would expect a far better technical production for a theatrical release over a weekly TV serial. In the music section, we also pay attention to the musician's skills. For example, there's a very good indication that the score for Macross Plus was done in a single take -- one of the trumpeters goes way off tune during the 'Macross Anthem'. With all the sound effects going on, it's not really audible during the OAV. Makes for a good sentence or two of discussion. Sometime, a story will seem to undergo a major change in the middle of a series. (Maison Ikkoku, for example, changed character designers in the middle, Several series have different writers, each with their own style. -- e.g., KOR during the final season.)
[ home ]
[ what's new ]
[ café contest ]
[ café reviews ]
[ parent's guide ]
[ encyclopædia ]
© 1997-2000. All rights reserved. The Animé Café logo and the Crystal Kyoko award are original creations of the Animé Café. Please do not use any of the materials on this site without the expressed written permission of the Animé Café. Page last modified 1999.11.01 |