If you’ve read many of the posts here at Crow’s World of Anime, first let me thank you for reading! Second, you may have noticed a trend: you don’t see a lot of negative criticism here. Sure, there’s the odd series that forces my hand like Taboo Tattoo, but that’s the exception that proves the rule: I started watching that show hoping that I would enjoy it, and it betrayed me!
I not only review shows that I think I’ll enjoy, I also review shows I think you’ll enjoy, too. I want to share and celebrate anime, so I want to find series worth sharing and celebrating! I look for shows like Alice & Zouroku, whose amazing characters experience touching moments in the midst of terrible suffering. I look for relatable characters like Lelei la Lalena from Gate so we can share in her rejoicing as she extracts revenge from the Fire Dragon. Or characters like Izetta and her princess Ortfiné Fredericka “Finé” von Eylstadt from Izetta: The Last Witch, who are utterly devoted to one another — despite the forces of darkness trying to rip them apart. Over and above everything else, I’m looking for all the elements of character, plot, and world to come together and produce a moment of pure emotion. We saw such a moment in the last episode of Made in Abyss. Those moments are golden!
Even in ancient days, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I was in high school, I’d get in arguments with one of my friends who wanted to become a film director. I’d find things to enjoy in a movie like the critically awful Xanadu, while he’s patiently explained to me why it was trash – and how I was wrong. Can I help it that Olivia Newton-John’s song of pleading reminded me of Luthien singing before Mandos in The Silmarillion — when the beauty of her voice moved that god to pity, who had never been so moved?
It’s not that I have anything against criticism in the literary sense. I enjoy critical posts on sites like Mechanical Anime Reviews and ATMA & Funomena, where the posts dig deeply into shows in a critical way. In fact, I hate to say that I’m “against” anything, because I’m very much for people enjoying anime however they want! For example, though I’m not a huge fan of Yaoi (and you won’t find any of reviews of that genre here), I encourage you to frequent sites like Fujinsei that run posts about that topic. Whatever your interest, even if you can’t find it here, I want you to feel comfortable celebrating it. And if the series I’m reviewing do interest you, I’d love to share my enjoyment with you!
If I have to say anything that I’m against, it’d be negativity and cynicism. Hating on people because they like Sword Art Online, or even worse, because of who they are, is just not acceptable. I tried to talk a little about that during this site’s two year anniversary celebration. You can’t be free to celebrate anime episodes here if you don’t feel free to be yourself. And being the selfish individual I am, I want to celebrate with whomever’s interested! So naturally I object to cynicism and racism and misogyny and homophobia and scapegoating and all other forms of cruelty.
So as long as you’re visiting, please enjoy the reviews. Share emotional moments like Mitty, Regu, and Nanachi in the 13th episode of Made in Abyss or with Izetta and her princess in the Goodbyes episode of Izetta. These moments are treasures. I hope that you’ll continue to visit and celebrate these moments!
What kind of moments in anime have you celebrated? Please talk about them in the comments!
Yeah… “Back when I was a kid…” 🙂 🙂
If Xanadu was airing when you were in high school, you’re the first ani-blogger I’ve found who is a ancient as me… 🙂
I think I like “highly experienced” better, but I have to admit “ancient” is accurate! I find I’m starting too many of my sentence with “I remember back when…”