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What is Anime Reviews?

AnimeReviews is a website dedicated to the publication of accurate reviews of anime-related DVDs and Blu-rays. AnimeReviews offers detailed reviews which, in addition to the more traditional summery of plot, also touch on the quality of the DVD/Blu-ray in question. The reviews don’t priorities plot over picture or video over audio. They offer a balanced opinion and are written with the intent to help you decide whether or not you should buy the physical copy of that shiny new anime that caught your attention on the store shelf or internet shop page.

 

Who runs AnimeReviews?

AnimeReviews is currently operated by two people:

Nadav: AnimeReviews’ creator and admin. He writes anime reviews and maintains the website. Nadav has a Masters degree in Asian Studies and has also studied in Soka University, Japan, for a year.

Kazuo: A contributor and writer. He does figure reviews and write reports on anime-related movie premiers and road shows. Kazuo is a second year university student and lives in Tokyo, Japan.

 

Can I write for you too?

Yes you can. We are currently searching for additional writers. Please visit our recruitment page for more information.

 

The net is overflowing with websites for anime reviews, and they have huge backlogs already. Isn’t Anime Reviews just another drop in the ocean?

That is incorrect. There are in actuality very few websites with genuine anime reviews of physical copies. Most of the websites that exist today are using fansubbed episodes as their reviewing sources. Their reviews don’t reflect the product that you will be buying.

 

So you disapprove blogs that review streaming/airing anime?

Not at all! In fact I follow many of those blogs. Anime fans love to know the content of anime (plot, characters, drawing style) when deciding what to watch. There are tons of websites that blog about anime content and are doing a good (and entertaining!) job at reviewing these series as they air.  However, Anime Reviews is reviewing physical copies of series. This is different.

 

OK, so those websites review fansubbed episodes. So what? It’s the same series right? What’s the big deal?

It is a big deal, because as a customer about to purchase a physical copy you want to know exactly what you will be receiving. A lot of the downloadable episodes found on the net are recorded from the Japanese TV broadcast version of the anime series. These episodes sometimes have parts which were rushed because of production issues (such as a deadline nearing by) or censored parts (because the TV station demanded it). However, most series today are retouched and uncensored for DVD and Blu-ray release. This may lead a reviewer to point to a flaw in the series which existed in the TV run he saw, when in fact this flaw has been rectified for the DVD/Blu-ray of said series. Moreover, fansubbing groups use their own subtitles, which will be different from the commercial release. They also encode the video and audio themselves, but they don’t have access to the official video and audio masters, so the official DVD/Blu-ray might have more tracks or better quality than the fansubbed episodes. I on the other hand review the exact product you will be buying, down to the small details.

 

I already saw a review of the Japanese Blu-ray version of the series I’m interested in. Is there even a need for a U.S. Blu-ray review?

Yes, there is. Unless the U.S. DVD/Blu-ray is a direct import from Japan the U.S. version is not identical to the Japanese version. They are encoded by different companies with varying degrees of difference in picture, audio, extras, menus, cover art and price. For example, The Japanese BD of Spice&Wolf was released by Pony Canyon and encoded in native 1080p. The U.S. version of Spice&Wolf was released by FUNimation Entertainment and encoded in upscaled 1080i. In other words the quality of the Japanese BD is much higher than what the American consumer will get if he buys Spice&Wolf in his local store. The opposite can also be true – since some time might pass between the Japanese release and its American counterpart some improvements might be added to the U.S. version when it is finally released (such as more extras or maybe even a special bundled OVA). As a fan, and a costumer, you want to know what you’ll be buying, not what the Japanese got 2 years ago in their local stores.

 

Is Anime Reviews paid to write reviews? Are you sponsored directly or indirectly by some anime studio or company?

No. Anime Reviews is not sponsored by or has any connections whatsoever to official studios or distributors of anime. We buy all the products we review ourselves and don’t receive anything for free.

 

Do you review on demand? Can I offer a series for reviewing?

We don’t review on demand. As explained in the previous paragraph we buy our review materials ourselves, so we review whatever we have at hand. Because of that, we cannot review everything on the market. If we, or any other future member of Anime Reviews, don’t state outright that he/she has seen a series and is about to review it then don’t expect it to be reviewed. That said, we buy new anime DVDs, Blu-rays and figures regularly so we almost never run out of thing to review.

 

What is the best browser for viewing Anime Reviews?

Anime Reviews is optimized for FireFox, Chrome and Safari (in this order). Any of these fine browsers will do (although FireFox is our personal browser of choice). Anime Reviews is also optimized for smartphone and tablets via a special mobile theme. However, We do not recommend using Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer show pages just fine but is unable to render CSS elements such as shadows and jQuery elements such as search engine animation. It is also darn slow.

 

How can I contact you if I have a question?

If you have a question/request/suggestion regarding a specific blog post we recommend that you comment on that post. For other inquiries please use a messiage via our Contact Us form.

 

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