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Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009     | |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 4950 Joined: 22 Feb 2009     | Aha, and anime review. Nice to see Escapist Magazine know what a good percentage of their readers enjoy. Will this be a regular thing now? |
Games Editor  Posts: 4271 Joined: 20 Dec 2005    |
It will. In fact, we're launching our anime review section this week with a "Week O' Anime." It'll be a regular thing from now on. |
Beat Writer  Posts: 130 Joined: 19 Aug 2008    |
Nice, I'd enjoy that. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 4950 Joined: 22 Feb 2009 |
Awesome. I really hope they cover FLCL. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1395 Joined: 17 May 2008     | Is the Escapist only going to be limited to reviewing localized Anime? |
Games Editor Posts: 4271 Joined: 20 Dec 2005 |
For the time being, yes, as we have no way of legally acquiring titles not yet localized in the States. |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 | There's certainly no shortage of legal reviewable material here, fortunately. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1116 Joined: 9 Feb 2008   |
Is there any chance of there being other nerd topic reviews in the future? Manga, comics, sci-fi shows, fantasy novels and those kinds of things? And about the review, is it of the first instalment of a DVD release? It isn't clear how much of the series is being reviewed, unless each disc is labelled as "Part X". I have a whole load of issues with anime reviews in general which I won't bore anyone reading this thread with, but that was something that stood out to me. |
Games Editor Posts: 4271 Joined: 20 Dec 2005 |
To the first question - we'll see. It's not out of the realm of possibility, but it's not something that's on our radar right now. To the second - yes. All the reviews will be titles that are either available on DVD or will be shortly. In this case, it was the first half (13 episodes) of Heroic Age. |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 |
It's a review of the "Heroic Age: Part 1" boxed release, which contains the first thirteen episodes of the series. Edit: Ah, the Funk beat me to it! |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 925 Joined: 3 Oct 2007  | Great review. Do Darker than Black next. :D |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 |
Glad you enjoyed the review! Well, I can't say I'd mind a crack at DtB - I've been watching it since release - but I've already got the next round lined up. Perhaps one of the reviewers will tackle it when it sees a proper boxed set release. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 1426 Joined: 2 Mar 2008   |
So, uh, will it be only newer Anime, or will we be seeing some classics, like, for example, "Hokuto No Ken?" My god, I sound like a broken record. Also, I thought that (and, rather, I'm pretty sure that), due to the weird way both Japanese and American liscensing works and interacts with each other, as long as the Anime is not licensed in the states (or somehwere in Europe, or wherever the reviewer of each particular anime lives), than it's not illegal to download a fan-subbed version, because, as stated, it technically doesn't appear in any legal databases for that country, meaning it basically is of no concern to the government. Yeah, streching a bit, but I'm almost positive of that... well, until each Anime is inevitably brought over. Like, for example, Lucky Star. It was perfectly fine and legal to watch fan-subbed versions for awhile, like on Crunchyroll, but when it was licensed in the US, the person who runs the site took it down, stating that it had only than become illegal to host that show. Yeah, sorry that the wording is so horrifically awkward. I'm running on no sleep (as I often am), so I'm a bit loopy right now. I also apologize if I was inadvertantly rude. |
Games Editor Posts: 4271 Joined: 20 Dec 2005 |
It will be new-ish stuff; We've got a fairly large backlog, though, and if we catch up with what we have we might well start going back. We don't like to support piracy at The Escapist, even in a less clear-cut scenario like the one you mention. These will only be titles legally obtainable in the States. Combine that with fansubs - which can be notoriously unreliable - and having to assume all of our reviewers have the internet connection, hard drive space, and willingness to download torrents/etc? Yeah, it's... just not going to happen. :P |
Beat Writer Posts: 190 Joined: 23 Feb 2009     | Very nice review. I may have to check it out after I finish getting through my backlog of anime on my shelf. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 1426 Joined: 2 Mar 2008 |
Fair enough. I do understand where you are coming from, being a site so many view per day, subtly advertising downloading something vaguely illegally, even if it's not, can get you guys in hot water, so, yeah, no complaints from me, I'll end up enjoying the reviews anyway. |
Anonymous Source  Posts: 5 Joined: 29 May 2009     | Is this the first anime review in The Escapist? Too bad you had to begin it with series as disappointing as Heroic Age. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2350 Joined: 21 Aug 2008    |
Finally. I'm glad to see them actually here. I still wish I could have actually tried but if the other reviewers(I assume there are more reviewers) are as good as this guy they would have beaten me anyway. As per the review, very good, I was about to comment on the lack of mentioning the subs and dubs but they were hidden away right at the end so no problems there, although I would have liked to see more than a passing reference to the music. Another question for you Mr. Funk, are there going to be video supplements for the anime reviews in the same way there are for game reviews? |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 |
It's funny you should say that. I would have said more about the music but a passing reference was all it was really worth in this series; a bit sad considering the quality of Naoki Sato's previous offerings. |
Games Editor Posts: 4271 Joined: 20 Dec 2005 |
We currently have no plans to do video supplements at this time. Video supplements are an in-house effort, and considering that our peachy-keen anime review staff is all located elsewhere, it would be difficult (bordering on impossible) to make it happen. Sorry! |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 2350 Joined: 21 Aug 2008 |
I'll have to trust you on that one. I've never watched this series and the only experience I can say with certainty that I've had with Naoki Sato is in Eureka 7, which was incredible in my opinion but I love that whole series unconditionally so I'm not one to judge. just a suggestion for the future, but besides that a very good review. Just out of curiosity, can you talk about any other animes your reviewing that you can talk about? like in a wink wink nudge nudge kind of way. like you don't mean to start spreading rumors but you might be reviewing Serie no Moribito, or Moribito Gaurdian of Spirits(the localized name), which even if you aren't reviewing you might want to watch. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 2350 Joined: 21 Aug 2008 |
It's okay, I can certainly understand. I just want this to go as well as possible as I can more easily get my hands on anime by um, *cough*stealing maybe*cough*, than I can games, and I certainly want to have a good anime reviewing site to have as a reference. another question, would you start a guest review for anime like for games? |
Games Editor Posts: 4271 Joined: 20 Dec 2005 |
There's no reason why we can't. That said, it's not something we have plans for at the moment. It's certainly something we're open to, though it will be something that we will decide on at a later date. |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 |
I don't actually know what The Escapist's policies are there, so I'll err on the side of caution and just keep my mouth shut. Besides, it'll be a surprise that way. Coincidentally, I just watched the fourth volume of Moribito last night. They need to speed up the release rate of that series. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 2350 Joined: 21 Aug 2008 |
Wait just a dern second, volume? By volume do you mean episode or is there more the just Serie no Moribito?
then I'll have to actually start reviewing! |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 |
"Volume" as in the fourth DVD they've released for sale here. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 2350 Joined: 21 Aug 2008 |
Oh! for sale! yes, just like how I get my anime. |
Copy Clerk  Posts: 87 Joined: 11 Sep 2008   | You were kinder than I would have been. Somewhere about halfway through the series, the battles degenerate into "Bellcross punches increasingly larger / unlikely things." Which is a big problem when so much of the running time is devoted to the battles. If it wasn't for the supporting cast, I would have stopped watching it altogether. |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 |
My review content stopped right at the halfway mark of the series. Honestly, I think it was heading in the direction you describe well before that point; I was hoping the second half would steer things onto a better course. |
Games Editor Posts: 4271 Joined: 20 Dec 2005 | To be fair, it's not always a bad thing. See also: Gurren Lagann, Tengen Toppa. |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 |
True. Sometimes it's simply a matter of context, not that Gurren Lagann didn't have its fair share of other issues. Namely Gainax. |
Muckraker  Posts: 330 Joined: 6 Apr 2009   | Oh Heroic Age. I hope you review Baccano! sometime in the future. A series that great really needs to get spread around more, although the unique style of storytelling often turns off younger fans since it confuses them. |
Paperboy Posts: 18 Joined: 4 Nov 2008   | Like Milkman Dan, I would have been harsher with the reivew. It's utterly crap anime and the ending is just "ugh". If I'd be you (op) I wouldn't even bother watching the last episodes. I'd suggest reviewing the bigger names as a start; Death Note, Code Geass, Fullmetal Alchemist. You guys just pick one randomly or go by genre? |
Infamous Scribbler Posts: 575 Joined: 10 Mar 2009 |
I'll see the series through to the end simply because I don't leave anything unfinished. My review process is scalar in nature. After watching as much anime as I have - 1300+ DVDs in the past four years alone - I've seen the gamut, and that means I've been exposed to significantly worse than anything the first half of Heroic Age had to throw at me. Consequently, it doesn't sit as low on my scale as it may on yours. ;) It also means that I've seen plenty of anime that struck me as being more impressive than many of the popular series, so I maintain a fairly counter-culture stance.
We review material that is in the process of being released currently, as I understand it. Even some of the older titles in this review just saw recent boxed set releases. Maybe titles will be even more current if we get through whatever backlog The Escapist has accrued. |
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Anime Review: Heroic Age, Part 1
A young feral child is actually a giant robot monster. Mowgli, eat your heart out.
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