Comments on Profile Post by Aelms

  1. Lyander
    Lyander
    Oh my Lord I forgot this was gonna be showing. Yeah I'm pretty skeevy of western reviews lately, Summer Wars (which I shall stan forever) hardly gets any mention while loads of people keep saying Your Name is better than A Silent Voice (it isn't). Thanks for reminding me I need to look for a screening of this.
    Aug 16, 2019
    Friday likes this.
  2. Aelms
    Aelms
    It’s less about what’s better or worse, and more about what’s interesting. Your Name builds its world around a very real disaster and had a story that engaged universal audiences. WwY pushes the envelope as a story for future audiences, while advancing Shinkai’s strengths to unfamiliar plot lines.
    Aug 16, 2019
    Lyander likes this.
  3. Aelms
    Aelms
    The most disappointing thing about all the review is them pointing out the obvious, and then spinning them to form underdeveloped opinions. There are many viewers who are smart enough to form their opinion, so I’d like to see more efforts to inform rather than to coerce.
    Aug 16, 2019
    Lyander likes this.
  4. Lyander
    Lyander
    Haha ,fair enough, will concede my opinions show a bit too strongly at times.

    So it's more review style then? I can agree that with the advent of the blogging era loads of people who wouldn't otherwise be able to cut it in the reviewing industry gained large audiences— that's basically the internet at this point. Why it seems to be mostly English language reviews (based on your OP), no idea.
    Aug 16, 2019
    Aelms likes this.
  5. Aelms
    Aelms
    I think your question deserves a full post, so let me do that when I have a bit more free time.

    The gist of it is that anyone can phone in a piece of work, and all the reviews of the film I found are doing this. It’s not really an English vs other languages thing. I assume it’s because the film is not meant to be a simple, fully closed story like many of Shinkai’s other films.
    Aug 16, 2019
    Lyander likes this.
  6. Lyander
    Lyander
    Just to be clear, I didn't mean it in the sense of different receptions being a matter of English language v others, but of aesthetic norms between cultures. I've loved anime from basically age 5 onwards, so I'm kinda biased, but growing up in a cultural gumbo like I have can understand why something not having a "neat" ending might discomfit certain audiences but not others. Sorry if I was unclear, haha.
    Aug 16, 2019
  7. Lyander
    Lyander
    I also happen to agree that a lot of reviews of films I've seen online seem to follow that same general trend of pandering to people who want talking points spoonfed to them, i.e. pointing out the obvious. I personally don't appreciate it, but can see why it's caught on; it's easier to produce and easier to consume— junk food. I happen to like chips, but time and place for them.
    Aug 16, 2019