After reading several of these posts scattered throughout the blogging community, some (as in the only three I read) done by my friends Miharu, Kai, and OG-Man (Who got the original concept by Foxy and Nekochi at The Beautiful World).  It also occurred to me, thanks to Miharu, that I should have linked these from the start to give them the proper credit they deserve for giving me the idea to do this. For me I view this in multiple ways to begin with, namely the fact that this is of course an opinion. Everyone has the right to one and although we may disagree by the end of the day we can agree on the fact that we live anime or manga and share that in common. The other thing is that this can help get a better understanding where I am coming from when it comes to some content that I review from time to time to know if anything plays a role in what I do. Personally I like this sort of thing since it gives insight on the individual.

Anime vs Manga

To me this topic really depends, much like some of these. Personally I like anime over manga. There are cases where the opposite is true. For example if the anime ended on a cliffhanger and the manga has ended for some time, I would suggest read the manga. That way you can get a complete story. Other cases the anime just pale in comparison. Rosario + Vampire is probably the best example I could give, the amount of source material that was used in the anime was very little. The manga was darker and a lot less ecchi. Trinity Seven for example works better in manga, the anime covered about two chapters each episode, but they were covering the chapters in full this made the anime feel a little rush. Brynhildr in the Darkness covered 100 chapters in just 13 episodes, thanks Arms (That was sarcasm). So it really depends, sometimes it works better as a manga, sometimes as an anime. There are some out there that do work better as an anime over a manga, Attack on Titian I would have to say is on that list.

Sub vs Dub

This one is a little tricky. Mostly because the more I watch anime the less dub I watch. The reason for this is due to the fact most of the shows I watch are new episodes. Sometimes I will watch shows that are dub, mostly out of convenience. They both give something to offer for me. Sub allows me to see the latest episode and stay focused. Sub allows me to catch onto things in the background and can allow the means to play video games on my 3DS if I feel like it. I watched a lot of shows dub when I first began. There are shows out there that I do prefer sub over dub. At the time of writing this the recently announced Dragon Ball Super was made. I prefer dub solely for not hearing Granny Goku. But I will more than likely watch it sub unless they do simuldub for it, in that case I will watch it dub.

dragon_ball_z

Vintage vs Modern / Cel vs Digital

This one is clearly based on personal preference. The older the show is for me the harder it is to watch it. In truth I never finished Cowboy Bebop because of the animation. Surprisingly I finished Neon Genesis Evangeline, although this is more for shows that are made in the nineties. I prefer how anime is made now. But CGI if done wrong, well that can be bothersome. I do not mind it, it just depends how it is done. Kancolle for example had CGI in the battles, in a low video setting, which I watched it in for most of the time, the CGI was very bothersome, HD is the only way when I saw that the CGI blended properly and was a little better. I prefer modern, and for CGI it just comes down to if they can pull it off properly and stick to it well.

I'd ship that
Still going with the “I’d SHIP that joke.”

Moe vs Realistic

This is a little bit of a tricky one. I watch a lot of different shows. If it is moe, it is moe and I like it. If it is realistic, it is realistic and I like it. At the same time it cannot be too realistic, as in too drama filled and lacks something clearly since it will get boring. Perhaps I am over thinking the realistic portion of this one. But I think I will have to go more realistic in this case. Moe is a good way to relax, it is cute and friendly and whatnot. Realistic can have you asking for more each time you watch it, action packed, drama, romance, and whatnot.  Although some moe shows can have drama and pull it off well if it is timed right.

Light vs Dark

I sort of touched upon this on the last one. It really depends. I view light being comedic, slice of life, and things of that sort. Dark I view more drama, thought-provoking, and action. I do like both very much. I do prefer a bit of the darker side. Yet it can all come down to the momentum of how things are done in it. If it is only doing things for shock value to the point where it becomes predictable, Attack on Titan where the main characters are completely safe, verses unpredictable, Akame ga Kill, see the last two episodes to know why or the manga where it is clear anyone could die at any moment where it does not matter if they are the main character or not.

Continuous Plot vs Episodic

There are times where it is clear when it is one or the other. Fairy Tail or Fate Stay Night is a continuous plot. I should mention I am looking more at long running series in some cases. Then there are other series like Kirino Mosaic where it is not so much. You need to really watch every episode to know what is happening in Fairy Tail in some cases, especially on an arc basis. Kirino Mosaic, not so much. Yet there are few that work as both. The greatest example I can give is Gintama. There is at times an arc which requires the need to watch at an episode basis. Most episodes are episodic. I am only on episode 100, yet I have been watching the recent episodes as they air having no problem keeping up. It just works. Sargent Frog could be taken to a much higher extreme in some cases where you could watch any episode at any time and still have no problem. Now I would put a Saber Picture here, but yeah that can wait. Also Karen is best girl for Kirino Mosaic.

Series vs Film vs Shorts

The only film series that I have seen is Kara no Kyokai. Sure there are more out there, but they tend to be based upon series that I watch in some way. As a short form of a season of an anime in a film, I do not like. Shorts are rather odd, since they can be at most five minutes. At times I tend to avoid them, since although they are trying to be funny, they never really are. But every now and again there is one that can be found enjoyable. So more than anything I prefer a series. If it is a movie series, it should be something that works well as a movie series instead of a series that is twelve or so episodes. Fate Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks did have a film awhile back, it was too rushed, a full series, especially with what they have to get into should have been several films instead of one. I am hoping they do that for the Heaven’s Feel Route.

Spoilers

Personally I do not like them. Then there are other cases where I do. If I have seen the series and know what happens, I do not mind that there is a small or major spoiler to see what that person thinks about it. Then again it is not really considered a spoiler if it is known. There was this time watching an abridge series and it spoiled the major twist for Future Diary, but it was funny, well placed, and it even joked about how they ruined it in just five seconds of the first episode for that particular abridge series. My content that is not reviews if they have spoilers I will state several times that it has spoilers. I avoid any spoilers in my reviews. I may allude to a possible important plot point and if it worked when it was, but other than that I will not clearly state what that thing that could be a spoiler is. I think I only had to do it once or twice, the biggest being the Akame ga Kill finally discussion. My Date A Live theories do as well since it analyzes the series as a whole. Even then I did state several times that there will be spoilers. My weekly reviews do as well since it focuses on the plot as a whole.

Weekly Watches vs Marathon

I prefer weekly watch. This is only due to the fact that most of the shows that I watch tend to air on a weekly basis. Yet even then there are cases where I like to marathon, last season it was Parasyte and Your Lie in April, I liked marathon them. Although marathon series as they air can be difficult, Log Horizon I loved to marathon, season 2 I was unable to finish since I did not find time to do that and only saw the first half, the same goes for Adnoah.Zero Season 2, although it was really more for the fact I hated the choices that were made in the second half.

Watching Alone vs Group Watching

Watching alone, that was is simple. One reason being I do not share this hobby with anyone at home. I tried to go to the anime club, but no one knew what I was saying when I brought up any type of anime. Most of this is a story for another day, but a lot and I mean a lot of people there were casuals and I am considered an elitist, so trying to talk about it felt like we were talking about two different things. It was not that fun. If an opportunity arises where I find a means to watch anime as a group where we can then proceed to talk and actually be on the same level, I guess I would not mind watching it as a group. Dealing with casuals as an elitist is difficult.

Reviews vs Editorials

I do not mind both. If a review is saying it is a review when it is clearly an editorial then no. A review, although what it comes down to no matter what are the person’s personal preferences and what they think about it, still needs to be focused on certain ideas and concepts in a logical and deserving way. For me if it is a series I feel too emotionally attached to, I do not really want to review it, it feels like that might take away from it. That is why I did the Akame ga Kill discussion since I knew a review would just end with me giving it praise. Personally since I have an actual method with how I do reviews now I want to re-review Date A Live, both seasons separately to give it the appropriate score, be it the same or different then what it already had. Reviews require critical thinking, while still maintaining the fact if you personally enjoyed it or not. If you thought something was off, say it was off, bring up just as much good as bad and judge accordingly. As for editorials, that is just a person’s personal preference as a whole. Even if there is bad and even if there is good it may be seen equally, but in an editorial I view like it should focus on one over the other where reviews should have both.

So I had a lot of fun doing this, no one asked me to and I am not going to ask anyone to do this. If you have done this, personally I would like to know to see your thoughts on this topic. I think that would be interesting. If you do not feel like making a post about it just do a comment on what you agreed or disagreed with. I think learning other people’s opinions can be interesting. This world can be a better place if we are will to accept what other people think even if it is different, deep down we are all the same in some way or another, and we just tend to forget that.

If you like what you read, feel free to follow. Any suggestions for anything comment on the respected pages since feedback is always welcome. Thanks for reading.

– Joe