From Bateszi:
I like recommending anime, telling people when something is worth watching; it’s taken me nearly two years to understand that about myself and this site, but I can only say “this is good” so many times. Much like web forums, episodic blogs are more about in-depth commentary and discussion; simultaneously, they attract hardcore fans, but alienate those like me, people looking for broader and opinionated reviews that draw on more than a measly 20 minutes worth of stilted animation. Episode reviews are great from a fans perspective, but they sure make the anime blogging community insular and inaccessible to outsiders. May be they are better off being discarded as things of the past and placed where they belong, on series-specific forums, instead?
I have to admit that I am so easily baited by these ES vs. E debates, because bloggers that focus on episode summaries usually do not respond to the criticisms leveled by bloggers that focus on editorials. Here are a few things I would like to point out:
- The notion that ES is “insular and inaccessible” is completely wrong, because an ES post will always let the reader know what happened in the episode. On the other hand, most editorials become meaningless if you have not watched a good portion of the show being discussed.
- I have always laughed at the idea that you should not do something just because other people are also doing it. Who knows if all those other blogs will be around in 6 months. If you want to talk about Clannad, then talk about Clannad. If the only reason why readers come to your site is to read about an obscure show, there is no reason someone else can’t start blogging about that show and steal your readers.
- Some of the criticisms leveled at ES blogs can be leveled at E blogs as well. If more people wrote editorials, there would be plenty of editorials making identical points. Just as ES blogs can be derided as an exercise in screencaps, boring summaries, and some perfunctory opinion, many E blogs can also be labeled as a series of poorly formulated arguments about topics that nobody cares about. I also don’t understand why ES should be sent off to forums, like a naughty daughter being sent to a convent.
- The assumption that all ES bloggers are robotic summary churners is faulty. When you meet with someone to talk about an anime series that you are both following, isn’t the first question, “So what did you think of that episode?” I know that after I have watched an episode, I want to talk about that one specific episode; I don’t feel like I have to post something just to satisfy my readers.
In short, don’t blame the medium. ES4L!
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10 Comments
Renforcing the suggestion that a lot of them are a bunch of “mindless drones” unfit to hold a proper discussion, then, eh?
An editorial can be about anything; of course, there are a number of hybrids mixing episodic commentary with an editorial style (I love this style), but a purely editorial piece is typically a stand-alone opinion accessible to all readers.
I don’t know about you, but for me, the whole concept of a blog is transient. Therefore, the only thing that matters is right now; I’m not thinking about 6 months down the line, whether I’ll be more accessible then rather than now. Again, my concern is that you’re thinking about THE READERS more than the essence of what a blog is supposed to be. The whole anime blogging community is filled with sites sporting adverts and so on, but fuck that, I think these attempts to commercialise what is fundamentally supposed to be a personal diary are, at best, questionable and reveal the “service” mentality.
This is merely a question of style. Simple fact of the matter is that I’d rather not waste hours of my time writing about something and making the EXACT same points as you can read elsewhere. What’s the point in that? Obviously, if you’re a raging fan (like I was with Gurren Lagann, for example), that can’t be helped, but I can’t help but feel sad that so many people are wasting their time writing the same thing – even using the same post titles – again and again. Of course, I can’t dictate how others feel, but at least, I can make you question what you’re doing with your time. Also, as I said in the original post, I’m just waiting for everyone to write their “spring previews” and copy each other all over again.
Indeed, in no way am I saying that an editorial writer is genetically better than an episodic scribe, and as robotact said on my original post, “Good blogs have a high signal-to-noise ratio”. With that said, I see fundamental problems with the concept of episodic blogging and the lemming mentality it seems to nurture in the impressionable newbies.
Because if all you’re saying is so clearly disconnected from you as a person, then I would suggest that you aren’t blogging at all. I’m not saying this is the case for ALL episodic bloggers, but at the same time, I see a lot of mechanical episodic anime blogging that tells me absolutely nothing about the person writing it, and that’s why I like reading blogs; the insight provided into the opinions and personality of the writer.
This is a bad comparison because you can understand so much about how someone feels just through their body language and tone of voice. Through text, it’s harder to convey those unsaid feelings.
>>isn’t the first question, “So what did you think of that episode?”
Great point. I’ve always believed that the conduct/content of the blog is a reflection of how anime-talk would take place should the author and anime fans meet in RL. (Of course some trollish bloggers are actually much nicer in RL and I wouldn’t be in my tanuki suit) And fact is when we chat about anime, it can range from episodic to topical. Anything anime-related is fair game and can be interesting. The quality of the exchange really depends on the parties involved. After all, an episodic summary could be punny, zany yet insightful (yes, I’m thinking Seaslugs here) but an editorial elsewhere could be merely uninspired rehashes of the old and tired.
The problem is that too many mistake form for substance.
One of the things I’ve come to like about episode reviews is at the end of the review, musing about what might be coming up, and then (usually) being completely wrong about it.
It’s hard to discuss and/or debate what’s coming up if you already know what happens.
Also, anime editorial sites seem to specialize in going meta in the extreme. While even I write editorials about something dealing with anime in one way or another every now and then, I mean, there is only so much that can be written about the anime industry/community, really.
Episode summaries are fun to blog! EPISODE SUMMARIES BANZAI!
Whenever I find myself thinking “why blog something that everyone else is blogging?” I remind myself that blogging is personal – even if the subject matter is the same, the impressions of it are individual. Clannad’s a good example – it’s an outrageously popular choice but while there’s inevitable overlap every post has something new to add; even if it’s the writer’s own turns of phrase or bits of humour.
Uh…..why is this argument coming up again? I’m with Zyl and the awesome post that will never die, but who says episodic summaries can’t have personality? To most people, the impression is the meat of the post. Some episodic bloggers write as much as editorial bloggers do! I thought a person’s different opinion about a series was the point of reading a blog, not the format. I personally write summaries for my own reasons, but that’s discussed in other places (it might be close by). I guess editorial bloggers can’t get past the summary of a post or RC…..who’s close minded now?
I’m not liking how quickly this turned into an “All of X does this while all of Y does that” sort of argument. :P
Where’s the middle ground?!? ;_;
This is my favorite undead post topic. I usually ignore the following topics:
- Dubs vs. Subs: Just admit that the reason you hate dubs is because the majority of the voice actors in your country suck.
- Is the aniblogosphere oversaturated: The answer is no, gimme a break there are barely any anime blogs out there over a year old.
- Are fansubs destroying the community: No, stop complaining and implement a better business model. Fan work is the reason there is even a market at all, and the companies are screwing it all up.
Like many mythical horrors, the only way to really kill an undead topic is with flames =D.
What’s great about ES is not simply the meat of the post, but the experience involved with it, both for the author and the readers. It’s like joining the ride together, through thick and thin (I hope), being able to see things more in-depth, with the episodic approach.
I remember Owen mentioning about how the experience of watching anime becomes richer if you focus on the “moments” rather than the ending, which I find analogous to this case. With ES, you are able to focus on the “moments” (at least in my case, where ES blogging makes my senses all the more sensitive and sharp, because of the passion for the series which led me to blog it in the first place), allowing for a richer experience as you see tackle things which an editorial post won’t.
Kabitzin’s last point is a very important one IMO. The first thing on your mind after watching a great episode of your favourite anime (ie: Shana II ep.13) is to find someone to talk about it and to find out what others thought. At the same time, you’re probably going to try and see if you’ve missed anything important yourself.
One of the best channels to do that is through blogs which provides ES. It’s not exactly a bad thing for multiple blogs to have the same thoughts and opinions on a single episode, it just reinforces the idea that what has been said is true.
Not that I’m against editorial posts or anything, but it just seems like ES posts seldom gets defended like Kabitzin said
I really don’t see why this is an “undead” topic, though. Most blogs have a pretty balanced mix of posts anyway with a few exceptions who chose to concentrate on either one of the two. Is there really a need to decide the quality of a blog based on whether there are doing E/ES posts?
Or is it just elitism?
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