Forum - View topicREVIEW: Free Collars Kingdom GN 1-3
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loka
 Posts: 373 Location: Pittsburgh, PA |
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does the art hold so little value that the combination only yeilds a D-? i mean... 5CM was given a lower art score than this.
some people put such a high priority on pretty pictures that they buy books with, get this, no story at all. they call them artbooks. p.s. in Carlo's Blame review, the non-story elements (such as A grade art) brought a D story to a B- |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3489 Location: Back stateside |
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So... rather than drawing actual cats, they drew cat people? I think I'm going to go watch "Chi's Sweet Home" now. It may be disgustingly cute, but at least it has real cats.
And thanks for providing a definition of what you mean when you use "sequential art." I take you mean it as an umbrella category for "pictures that tell a story," which includes American comic books, manga, newspaper comic strips, etc. That works for me! 
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Hotaru99
Posts: 40 |
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Yet another example of why I never take reviews at face value and instead try it myself. I tend to read the first chapter or two of any new mangas I'm trying out sitting on one of the couches in Booksamillion.
Not only did I buy volumes 1-3 of this, but I was disapointed they stopped at 3. |
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grgspunk
Posts: 136 |
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Yeah, that tends to happen a lot, even moreso when there's an ANN review involved. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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You guys realize that "ANN's reviews are crap and always wrong!" isn't actually helpful to anyone, right? Please don't just bitch about reviews you disagree with, but explain WHY you disagree with them, so that people can get an actual second opinion. Even if you are "right", I'm still more inclined to believe the review, because Casey explained what she thought was good and bad about the title.
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Yeah, review the books, not the reviewer.
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3489 Location: Back stateside |
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That's because he was reviewing the Blame! anime, which as he explains in the review makes no sense without the manga. Thus, the story gets a big honking D, but since you're presumably only going to watch it if you read the manga, then all you really care about is seeing how the art is adapted, so the story weighs less. And yes, for the whiners, if you're so irked about Ms. Brienza's review, what did you like about the series? |
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Hotaru99
Posts: 40 |
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I said nothing bad about the reviewer. To any reviewer, what they say is valid. Thats why I dont go by them because so often I disagree. There are many "classic" shows and movies I despise, and far more than a few universally panned ones that I enjoy a lot. Thats just personal taste.
Yes, I disagree with this review, particularly the story, and I appologize for not saying why. The story was fine if you like lighthearted and upbeat "slice of life" type stories with a bit of action thrown in here and there. Is it a masterpiece? No. It could have done well to have been much longer, as the pacing is a little rushed to fit it all. Does this change that what is there is good? No. I also disgree about the characters; I felt they had a lot of personality and not only did each have their moments to be central, the way they all exhibit traits of their breed is definately unique so far as "generic nekos" compare, where they really are just people with cat ears and tails that "nya" a lot. I could see cats really acting like this if they thought like we do. Plus, its really funny and as was mentioned the artwork is very good. If you are the kind that also particularly enjoys cat people (girls and guys) I cant think of a better book. But thats just my opinion, I could be wrong. |
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championferret
 Posts: 765 |
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...I think Casey entirely missed the point of this manga.
It's pretty much a giant parody, and I thought it was rather inventive, not 'unoriginal' and everything else she accused it of being. I mean, it's about otaku cats. They fight for territories like real stray cats would, only the best 'territories' are the ones with the top anime/manga stores (ie, Animate, etc). If anyone honestly thought the story was meant to be taken seriously, they may need to rethink a few things. Granted, FCK is not a stunning example of literature and is by far not the best manga out there. But it succeeds in what it wants to do; delivering an amusing, ridiculous otaku-orientated story to people who have a fondness for cats. Like me, so it hit the mark. All I'm saying is that it didn't deserve this level of insult; then again, Casey never seems to take very kindly to otaku-orientated series in the first place. For example, I think some of the BL titles she rates highly are total dreck. This is not a jab at her, it's just a bias I notice, and part of the reason why I wish it were possible for more than one reviewer to have a shot at each thing that gets reviewed on ANN. I know this isnt possible, so I'm not asking this, but one can dream. |
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jgreen
 Posts: 1325 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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I'm with Casey on this one. I slogged my way through the first volume, and, oh god, how I hated it. I've had volumes 2-3 sitting on my shelf since they came out and I never have been able to bring myself to read them. Also, it should be noted that, at least in my opinion, this book only earns an "A" for art in that the individual pictures sure are pretty, but the layouts are frequently clumsy and hard to read. The artwork hurts the storytelling, and totally earns this book an overall "D."
I'd recommend Fred Perry's Gold Digger over this book any day of the week. |
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SongstressCela
 Posts: 615 Location: Pennsylvania |
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So true. Yet another absolutely horrible review, surprise surprise. I agree with "missing the entire point", given how much Free Collars Kingdom parodies a number of genres throughout its entire run. I am so sick of every review here acting like if a show or book isn't high art then it's complete garbage. I can't remember the last time I saw a series reviewed here that was just something lighthearted and it actually was appreciated. Free Collars Kingdom wasn't anything hugely moving, but it was definitely enjoyable and cute, and more than a little amusing. And, saying this in advance, I know the staff is going to try defending themselves, but I find it rather interesting that almost every review gets lambasted and yet a blind eye is still turned. Every. Time. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Memory is a funny thing in that you don't remember the boring stuff. Most of ANN's reviews aren't vehemently rejected, and most that are usually get criticized by fans for not being good enough while claiming the reviewer is biased. And not to be particularly rude, but I know a number of non-staff members find your opinion to not carry as much weight as you seem to think it does. |
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SongstressCela
Posts: 615 Location: Pennsylvania |
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I..really don't care, because I don't give much of the staff's opinion any weight either, outside of abunai (who's totally win <3). It's a good thing I'm not the only one often commenting on the reviews. =\
In all seriousness though, you've got a point. People usually comment more when they've got something to disagree about, rather than just to produce a constant stream of "Me too". Vocal minority and all that, though it might be interesting to chart the ANN ratings of shows/manga that get bad formal reviews. |
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Shichimi
 Posts: 349 |
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I really do not get the problem some people have with ANN reviews, it seems to be a case of people saying "That review doesn't agree with my point of view so it's wrong". Please correct me if there's more to it than that, but I can't see it.
The reviewer gave a very clear explanation of why in their opinion they felt the manga were poor. Props were given to the great art. The review was clearly not some half-assed "This book is pants" diatribe. Reviewers give their own personal opinions on the products they review, and only an idiot would take their word for gospel. If people find that the reviews at ANN are consistently off from their own tastes, they may do better to find somewhere else that is more in tune with them. But hanging around to constantly bitch about well-written reviews that happen not to agree with your own views is kind of pointless. And a little annoying, frankly. 
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pc486
Posts: 1 |
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I registered just to respond to this review, and I must say that Casey is dead on. "Dreck" is exactly what FCK is. I guess it could be a parody of the genre, but I think it fails even at that. I tried really hard to like this series and even re-read vol 1. FCK is no good.
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