Of course I enjoy a good editorial once and a while. But I strongly believe that blogs are like the ideal-type sovereign state, vide Article 2(7), no one has the right to interfere in the internal activities of another’s blog. Persuasion and strong advocacy are fine but I’d really like to see more leadership by example (i.e. anime blogging in the editorial style) rather than blogging about blogging (of which this post is guilty of and makes me feel so dirty oh it won’t come off.. whywon’titcomeoff… Out, damned spot! Out, I say!).
It’s been repeatedly pointed out that not all episode summaries are created equal, I’d like to disaggregate the category of ‘episode summaries’ (not another sub-species post LOL) for great justice.
Random Curiosity no waza. One of the Sacred Treasures of animeblogging IMNSHO. I find RC’s work invaluable because (1) it helps me to understand raws when there’s an episode I just can’t wait for the subs - because not Everyone Can Haz A JLPT1; (2) the screencaps and summaries are comprehensive enough (but also not too lengthy) that makes for ease of reference re: who said/did what which episode? For example, since I am only interested in the Hinagiku aspect of Hayate no Gotoku!, I used RC to check (pre-episode 25) if Hinagiku appears in an episode or not. If she does, I’ll watch it. If not, I’ll just read the summary to maintain my series situational awareness. It’s also a great cheat sheet for keeping in touch with popular series that I can’t be bothered to watch but which everyone else talks about.
But RC does not blog everything. Fortunately there are others who practice a similar waza. I depended on Tenka Seiha for Nanoha StrikerS coverage and currently I depend on Subculture Anime Blog to improve my understanding of the non-speed-subbed series of ARIA The Origination, Minami Ke Okawari and Bamboo Blade.
The downsides of this waza are (1) you need to speakada the moon language reasonably well, (2) you need to be consistently prompt with your posts, and (3) have a good sense of balance between sparseness and over-saturation of information. As such, I do agree that this waza depends on first mover advantage. After the first few summaries appear on the aggregators, marginal utility diminishes rapidly.
I usually don’t read episode summaries once I’ve watched a subbed episode. But episode summaries of subs can still be very useful especially when no one else has done already has done one - with that latter qualification, it’s valuable for archival purposes and/or series evangelism. And even if it does reinvent the wheel, at the very least, it creates redundancy in the extreme cases of blogs disappearing for various reasons.
Sea Slug no jutsu~~ (is funnier if you say it in an Onsokumaru voice) looks like episode summary but it really isn’t. The practice of this jutsu~~, particularly by Kabitzin, usually involves two paragraphs of summary and two paragraphs of impressions. The mouse over captions are a killer too; I feel the lineage of Momotato there. ;)
But the summary paragraphs actually transcend summarization as they normally involve in-jokes based on the content of the episode, making ‘getting the joke’ dependent on already knowing what’s happened. As such, I always watch an episode before reading a Sea Slug! entry. I enjoy this type of entry very much because of its clear expression of fun, joie de vivre and enjoyment (even really bad episodes are made fun of in such a fun way).
This jutsu~~ is very hard to learn. I think you’ve either got it or you don’t as it depends on having a razor sharp wit, sense of humour or just the chou-rare skill of being able to make orz-inducing puns.
Life Line By Line Stance. The powerful stance takes the Random Curiosity no Waza to new heights and new extremes. In my mind, it’s a byword for screen capture mania. It’s rarely practiced for the reason that it’s time and bandwidth consuming; to my knowledge, Lolitron is one of those few remaining practitioners of this Stance though abq has, of course, given it his own errr… unique flavour. I’ve been particularly influenced by this school when it comes to blogging series where I indulge in chara worship (e.g. Lunamaria Hawke of GSD which was the reason why this blog got started, Asa Shigure of SHUFFLE! which consolidated my onee complex, and my current obsession, Hinagikuism.)
Of course there are many other episode-based posting styles that do not do much episode summarization. Derailed by Darry’s thin-slicing technique is a great use of the comparative method while I always enjoy ‘the straight to the point’ of ‘what I loved and hated about this episode NIPAAA~~ / AAAARGH!!’ of Kurogane’s Anime Blog.
In conclusion, I sayeth unto you: DEATH TO EDITORIALS, EPISODE SUMMARIES BANZAI! *commits seppuku for having written a meta editorial-like thing* From each according to their ability, to each according to their fetish.
Who cares.
I feel left out :/
Hinano, no worries. me too. Me too :(
wait, people still read Jason Miao?
…wow, just wow.
What is this editorial post I see here on Zyl’s blog? AHHHH my eyes!!!! x3
I just like that you pointed out there are different aproaches, so newbies don’t immediately dismiss the format. But where is the ultimate GOD stance we are all searching for?!
Ahh, Balalaika, how I love thee.
I’m glad you noted that you wrote an editorial sorta descrying them. Fun times. :P
Kabitzin: Does there have to be one? It seems kinda silly. :3
There is always some uber-ougi. ALWAYS.
To each his own indeed. Do whatever you’re cut out for, which best suits your “style”. I find it harder to make editorial posts than episodic ones, which is why I stick to doing it.
Quoted for great truth ^_^ Although almost everything is funnier in an Onsokumaru voice.
I fall somewhere in between. I abandoned doing episode summaries very early on in the blog’s life (I think I only did like 3 or so), in favor of doing episode analysis of why I think particular aspects of an episode work or don’t work. Episodic reviews help give some structure and constancy to my writing on the blog, because I can’t think of editorials all that regularly. It usually does presume people have seen the episode, though, and usually when I write an editorial (which is usually far more well-thought out and considered, which is why I write them rarely), I get a lot more comments.
Koji Oe, exactly!
Hinano, gomen gomen! -_-;; My post is just impressionistic, not a representative sample. jp’s not going to get into trouble cuz he was mentioned but you were not? ;)
Impz, but I had a whole post dedicated to you before! :3
DrmChrs0, I hope the FBI, RCMP and Met can tell the difference between me and the Striped Fiend otherwise I’ll be in biggu trouble!!
Kabitzin, if I knew the GOD stance I would take over the entire world already and not need to make a silly post like this. :3
Lainforce, Balalaika banzai!!!
TheBigN, yes I love spinach. They are so full of irony.
Totali, I’ll cut and paste your comment (with the proper noun changes) back onto your blog for the next time you post an editorial. That’s a promise! LOL
usagijen, Marx was right after all. :P
suguru, Norio Wakamoto is a genius. I love his role as Voice of the Sky in Hayate no Gotoku too.
Mike, I like omnivorous eating too. One man’s meat is another poison but it’s always good to have a balanced (anime) diet that includes your five fruit n’ veg!
I’ll forgive him because he’s baking the chicken this evening.
Hinano: OMG, so the rumours are true!!!?
btw Zyl,
Rightstuf is having a 25dvd/$100 sale for ADV
I request a post about how awesome Norio Wakamoto is. Made the later parts of Ayu-Mayu Theater watchable. :D
WTF? Surprise anyone still remembers or even links to “life line by line”. Barely made a year on it before I flaked like crazy on doing any consistent bloggin’ on it. Guess good to know it’s still useful for some folks out there ^^;;
The hell! I didn’t even see that trap entry! X_x it must be during the time where i was busy like crap.
*looks at the date*
Yep, I was working on my dissertation, and didn’t read any blogs. MEH! Igginess for the fail :P
Excerpt from Batezi Anime:
> Inevitably, most of them are saying the same things, all written
> within hours of each other and titled “Clannad 14†or whatever.
I’ll concede to the first half, but the second half confuses me. What should a blog entry about episode 14 of “Clannad” be titled?
Ahahaha I remember that the funniest part about that post was that Impz didn’t see it.
Depends on the person, but I like when they give the show and episode number, then a little extra line that may or may not describes the show in some way, like “CLANNAD 15: The Double Deuce” or “Minami-ke 13: We Live In A Dangerous World”. :P
Basically, just give me something more than the show and episode number, even just the title of the episode at least.
deftoned, Norio Wakamoto - any other suggestions besides Onsokumaru and Ten no Koe? I haven’t actually watched all that many series with him in it… can barely remember how he sounded like in KimiNozo…
moyism, ‘life line by line’ is such a great name for a blog. As is ‘11-15% suki’. Don’t you dare ever take anything down, pretty please! ;)
W4, TheBigN: Agree that sub-titles are fine. But NOT when they are spoilers!
Totali, Impz: Poor suguru was so traumatised by that post that it’s one of those posts that makes me laugh like a bad villain (complete with thunder on a dark night and rubbing my hands with glee). :3