It’s recently come to my attention that a bunch of people are under the impression that I’m an angry idiot who hates all anime (despite having a top 30 list) and writes poor reviews that are nothing more than incessant whining. Well…recently would be a lie. It’s been around for months and because I’m a critic of other things, I have to allow others to criticize me, because nobody is above the law. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t defend myself, so without further ado, more whining about how my opinions are always right! Done categorically too, because it’s cleaner that way.
Quit Whining About This Anime
Okay first of all, I only write about an anime when I feel like I have something interesting to say about it, so I never whine. The only exception to this is when I choose a series to blog weekly, but otherwise I don’t review stuff unless I feel I have something to say or think I can generate entertainment out of it. The Ani-Elitist stuff was different because that was during my early months when I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, but otherwise I’ve never bashed an anime solely because “oh it’s icky, it has too much fan service, it makes no sense, blablabla”, which is why I never got around to doing a Rahxephon review, because I forgot large portions of the thing after I finished watching it (I could do one now since I recently revisited it, but that’s a different story). I never write a post just to whine about shallow things. Yeah, I do it on Twitter a bit, but it’s just 140-character quips guys. Plus, I’ve seen a lot of people insult anime I like on Twitter the same way I insult something, so am I not allowed to join in the crowd? You may argue that just because other people do it doesn’t mean I should, but…it’s cartoons guys. Come on!
And whilst I’m on the bandwagon subject, why am I being singled out when others can insult anime I like with a free pass? Is it because the series I tend to dislike happen to be stuff that people love to death? If I insulted Amnesia or Cuticle Inaba, would I have gotten the same amount of hate? Probably, because every anime has its fans. But seriously, just because I don’t like your anime doesn’t mean I’m taking it away from you. It’s yours. You can have it whilst I cry in my corner.
Also, if I do whine, it’s for comedy’s sake. Because you need to make fun of yourself first before you can make fun of others.
You Just Hate Fun
I just recently finished Mazinkaiser SKL and enjoyed it. Obviously, that’s not true.
I’m going to make a shocking statement. I really hate the “it’s just a fun dumb anime/movie” excuse when it comes to justifying why something is good. It’s the laziest most cop-out justification in existence. The reason alone ain’t bad, but if you have no weight to back it up, it rings hollow and feels like you’re just liking it because other people hate it. When I saw people saying this as their justification for liking Sword Art Online, I had to hold myself back from bothering them for more reasons. You couldn’t say anything like “I like the action. I find Kirito cool. The chemistry works for me?” or anything of the sort? You just say “it’s dumb fun” and that’s it? Mazinkaiser is exploitative dumb fun, but I can clearly say what I like about it in addition to that. I love how crazy those two brothers (I think) are. I like how we don’t really get much explanation for what’s going on and we’re just tossed into the middle of things. I love how a robot has blades for tits. How hard is that to explain?
The point is, I don’t hate fun. I hate when it has no backing to explain itself, but I don’t hate fun. Looking at the list of anime I’m watching alone at the time of this writing, I’m watching more than twenty anime at the moment and I’m enjoying more than 50% of them. If we just go from anime that’s airing this season and the last season, I’m enjoying ten of them. According to Sturgeon’s Law, 90% of everything is crap. So if I enjoy at least two-three anime in a given season, that means it’s a good season, I’m having fun, and I can say why they’re fun. Since I enjoy anime enough to fill out 5 slots a week for the APR, wouldn’t that mean I’m too nice to anime? Or has the world gone insane whilst I wasn’t looking? Well, the world has always been insane given that I live in a world where Bruno Mars’ drivel can top the Billboard charts, but whatever.
Oh, and no, Who Is Imouto was not fun. It was fucking terrible and fucking boring.
How Can You Like This Whilst Hating This?
You know I could say the same about the anime you like, right? Seriously, I’ve been feeling more disillusioned with the anisphere and its taste ever since I joined the blogosphere and started watching more shit for real. I wasn’t around for the Haruhi bandwagon, so I never get it when people say it’s the best thing KyoAni has ever made and they want more of that franchise. Especially considering what happens after Disappearance (which wasn’t all that interesting to begin with) is not interesting in the least. When people said that Hyouka was boring and should not have topped the 2012 APR charts, I was wondering why the hell boring tripe like Fate/Zero, Jormungand, Humanity Has Declined, and fucking Nisemonogatari get a free pass. They’re way more boring, less creative, terribly written, and have worse animation to boot. And that’s not even counting stuff I’ve heard high praise for and became disappointed in like…well…everything on my Anime That Suck list.
But you know what? You suck it up. You write your dues on it and never look back unless it’s to make a joke or the circumstances of your writing force you to include it. You watch Evol and Gurren Lagann with a group of Internet buddies and let them have their say when they roast Evangelion, your favorite anime of all time, because they don’t like wimpy characters. Every time you watch an anime that’s dubbed “terribad” with a group of people and you’re actually enjoying yourself, you join in the bashing (even though you suck at riffs) because in order to make fun of something, you have to love it. That’s how MST3K got so popular at any rate. Because in the end, if people all agreed on the same thing, the world would be a boring place.
Seriously, different opinions make the world go round. We’re allowed to snark and make fun of it, but at the end of the day, we’re human.
If You Don’t Like It, Don’t Watch It
Um, unless it’s penned in for episodic blogging, I do drop a show when I’m not having any fun. I make exceptions when it’s something super popular like Legend of the Galactic Heroes (don’t get me wrong, the show is good, but those first few episodes are so slow) or it’s for my Tribute From a Hater posts, but for the most part, I drop a show after I discover I’ve gotten all I can from the anime. As for why I make exceptions, I have to be honest, I find going against the popular opinion fascinating. It’s fun for me, plus it allows expansion of my view of the anisphere. So in a way, I’m still getting entertainment from “cult anime” like Mondaiji, despite not enjoying the actual anime itself. Don’t really have much more to say other than I give almost every show a chance to surprise me, so I rarely go in with actual biases. And even if I do, it’s the show’s job to overcome them.
Are You Just Going To Keep Weakly Defending Yourself All Day?
No, I can’t think of any more categories.
Seriously though, why do people who hate my stuff never bother pointing out what’s wrong with it or me in general to my face? Always going to other forums and even other bloggers who I respect and insulting me there? I’m not some overbearing God who only hears what he wants to hear and shuts out everyone else. I’m a guy who writes about anime for the sole purpose for entertaining a specific audience and nothing more. I wouldn’t put so much time and effort into my stuff if I didn’t have an audience to keep in mind (because I’m one of those who use my traffic figures to determine my worth as a human being) and the same can be said for the guys who create anime. I actually kind of hope that the people who make the cartoons I so enjoy read my stuff and take what I say into account so they can make a better anime. And at the same time, I hope to read criticisms of me so I can figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’m not going to change my style or anything solely because of one or two people’s complaints because I’m not a tool and I can’t please everyone. But seriously, ask me on my Ask Mr. Flawfinder post or my Formspring or whatever if you have a complaint about me in general. Hell, tell me in this post itself what I’m doing wrong. Unless you’re an obvious troll, I allow all comments on my blog without any modification.
And seriously to all my fans, don’t just conform to my limited viewpoint. It doesn’t make me as happy as you think it does.
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
Stingers
- How was I supposed to know that Mondaiji had a more ferocious cult following than Psycho-Pass and Jojo to the point that it rivals the cult of Deadman Fucking Wonderland?
- Keep in mind, I wouldn’t be joining anime watches if I didn’t like what was being shown. Which is why I never bothered when the Type-Moon group was watching Garden of Sinners and why I’m never joining the Classy watch.
- Reminder: I do not have a problem with people who like Type-Moon. Just throwing that out there.
If you question the Otaku Hive Mind and hate the wrong things, you’re a hater.
If you follow the Otaku Hive Mind and hate the right things, you’re reasonable and rational.
Resistance is uguu.
Well, I do need to tone down my rants on Twitter, I admit that.
I did get a kick out of someone’s description that I’m both very hipster and highly conformist, making it difficult to get a read on me. Maybe it’s my mixture of both questioning and following the Otaku Hive Mind that people aren’t fond of?
Haters gonna hate.
It’s not just you. Pretty much everyone who writes that they hate something gets these responses. See the comments on my Horizon reviews, for example.
That said, I do think you kind of approach whining in your hatred of Kokoro Connect and Type Moon.
Writing some posts about them is one thing, but mentioning how awful they are everyday on twitter and on every other post…
I don’t think I’ve insulted those on Twitter for weeks. Granted it’s not months, but baby steps. The Type Moon thing is just a running joke of mine anyways along with Deadman Wonderland (though I guess I better edit it out of this post), but as for KC, I made a conscious effort to not mention that after I reviewed the Michi Random arc because of how repetitive it was.
Edit: Oh wait, there was the time I insulted KC when talking with fathomlessblue on Twitter. But that was just casual conversation.
[Insert dumb comment about how this post is whining about all the incessant whining about your whining, and then calling it whine-ception in an attempt to seem clever]
[insert comment reminiscent of 'sucks to suck']
[Punch self in face]
I’ve been quite surprised at the levels of hate you get from random people. I mean, I pretty much disagree with most of the stuff you post, but I definitely appreciate your points and arguments. Having people disagree with you is a refreshing thing that keeps you on your toes, and all your critiques have good grounding and are articulated extremely well. Plus you got that 2DT comment!
2DT makes everything better with his/her/it’s pacifistic ways.
Looked through some of my posts and holy shit. I knew Kokoro Connect and Type-Moon were getting over insulted, but I don’t remember mentioning Simoun, Rahxephon, Shana, 5 cm, and some other anime more than ten times on my blog. Guess that means I need to change my writing a bit.
I, for one, appreciate your style, negativity be damned.
Too many anime blogs are satisfied with just recapping episodes/series and pretty much calling everything “great,” or at least “good.” Someone with a critical voice in the middle of an amen chorus is much needed, and bet you’re more highly thought of out there than you think. Remember that those who agree with your viewpoint are probably less likely to post a comment than those who are outraged.
Keep up the good work! And keep calling ‘em like you see ‘em!
I seconded DP.
I can’t stand those blogs. Take “Random Curiousity” for example. Ohhh, this anime is good! Uguuu. Sugoiii. Cool. Give me break. I love how Scamp tagged the website as “good for screenshots” only. They even have long discussion over Fairy Tail anime. Bah. Most shounen jump’s anime adaptation are shit. They failed to keep the dark tone of the original. They turned into nothing but toddlers’ show even though the manga has a lot of dark sides.
Writing complaints doesn’t mean we are haters. I love Minami-ke and Kotoura. And I am going to continue watching Inaba and Hyoubu Kyousuke. I am going to continue my bashing on Maou Yuusha, though.
I like TypeMoon but I would never think bad of you, flawfinder. Seriously, what’s gotten in those people’s mind? Everyone can have their own taste and opinion. The anime blogosphere needs more critical people, not people who get swooned over everything.
Keep up the good work!
I happen to like some of the bloggers on Random Curiosity. Being positive ain’t that bad, but it’s the fact that a bunch of them are soulless that gets to me. Still Moomba is cool, Enzo is one of my favorite bloggers, and Stilts ain’t too bad.
I think the problem with my complaints with TM is that I keep on insulting them at every opportunity, which as Draggle said, really needs to stop. Actually, looking at some of my older posts, I insulted a lot of anime in more than ten posts without meaning to. Oops.
I don’t know the others, but Enzo is a good blogger. He is ruthless against spoilers, though.
This is a a great post. A++++ (I’m not being sarcastic, I promise)
Best comment EVAR!
u kno i love u xoxoxo gossip girl
*Mentions Gossip Girl*
Worst comment EVAR!
You might find this worth reading:
http://badassdigest.com/2011/11/03/film-crit-hulk-smash-never-hate-a-movie/
It’s all in capital letters and might be a bit difficult to read, but I’d recommend taking a glance.
That doesn’t mean I think you’re wrong, though! I think you are definitely correct that just pronouncing something as “dumb fun” or similar can be pretty reductionist. Gurren Lagann is almost self-consciously dumb, but if you look at its inner workings it’s actually pretty damn smart! But I would apply that same philosophy to things you don’t like. Sometimes it’s difficult not to hate or ridicule something (see: Sword Art Online and the drinking of tears) but at the same time: why devote your time to hating something when you can instead appreciate it for what it is? Understanding why something is terrible can be just another stepping show towards understanding what makes other things good.
Pretty sure Tarantino never saw the banality of Who Is Imouto or the awfulness of the animated Titanic movies, so as much as I love the guy, I’m going to have to disagree with him. Besides, without hate, there is no love.
As for Gurren Lagann, it’s easy to explain why that anime is fun. The way it ramps up the tension is really good and Kamina’s death is heartbreaking, even if he’s no as cool as people say he is.
Also, there’s a difference between accepting something for what it is and Sword Art Online in general.
That’s funny, because the main reason I started visiting this blog is because you like Hyouka.
And you also defended K in one of your article, so you’re not only a hater
Since you’re not hating Anime just to hate, that doesn’t bother me too much.
Well of course you’re gonna get a lot of hate when most of your posts are about hating something. I mean your username’s “flawfinder”.