home team disadvantage theory
Categories: anime, commentary, moe
Tagged: true tears, true tears:hiromi
35 Comments »
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks,
I don’t care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team.
One of the funnier subplots of this blog are people who obviously love an anime but just can’t help nitpick at it. I do too. I try to resist the urge, but it’s damn hard sometimes. But, because of this, I end up getting random e-mails from time-to-time asking, “Why are you criticizing Haruhi / Minami-ke / Basilisk?! Do you even watch anime, you numbnut!!”
(Only such e-mails usually contain massive spelling errors and are from some e-mail address that contains “ssjvegeta” in it. Needless to say, hardly laughs all around.)
But to describe this phenomena, it’s very easy if your a sports fan. I think of it as a home team disadvantage. Something similar happens in sports where if you root for a team, you watch all of their games, you tend to know that team better than any other. Hence, you know that team’s weakness and glaring holes, but like picking at a scab, you just can’t help pick it. “Dammit, why can’t we defend the high pick and roll?!” “Does our coach know he has 3 time outs left?!” I mean, really petty criticisms, but you just can’t help it. You’re a fan. You want the team to be perfect. You can’t accept less.
A few weeks ago, I was watching a Pistons vs. Hornets game with a fellow Pistons fan. My friend was just incredulous that Chris Paul was almost penetrating at will early on. “Chauncey can’t defend! Where’s our help defense! We’ve really slipped defensively.” Nevermind that CP3 is the best point guard in the league and that CP3 himself was getting torched by Chauncey, my friend couldn’t focus on anything but the best point guard in the league held to below his season average for points, assists, and shooting percentage. To him, it was just vindication that the Pistons can’t win the championship with such lousy defense. And he’s a diehard Pistons fan.
(Of course, my friend couldn’t focus on the other team’s failings. Like how Tyson Chandler, the center for the Hornets, couldn’t make a basket from farther away than 3 feet. To him, the Hornets were like the 1996 Bulls, only because he hasn’t seen them play yet this year and really hasn’t had a chance to appreciate their humanness.)
It’s really no different than people complaining about the black faces in ~Okawari~, the poor animation of two episodes of Gurren Lagann (which were redone for the DVD release), or the blah Nagisa ending for Clannad. It’s the same thing. My complaining about the lack of Spartan violence in True Tears is no different than my friend complaining about guarding CP3. But that’s life. You have a home team, you watch them all the time, you are bound to notice small things that bug you. So you complain. It’s human nature. It’s a cycle. You like a series or a show or whatever, you follow it more closely, and then the warts are moe apparent. But, so what? Does it honestly diminish the enjoyment? Unfortunately, it’s a home court disadvantage when the show’s best fans can’t believe that the show isn’t, gasp, perfect. But looking at it the other way, if the show or team (*cough* Miami *cough*) was truly horrible, no one would care to even criticize it (*cough* H2O *cough*).
35 Responses to “home team disadvantage theory”
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if the show or team (*cough* Miami *cough*) was truly horrible, no one would care to even criticize it (*cough* H2O *cough*).
>> I can’t agree. Some people care. Because it’s fun to pick at the weak and the disabled. Mai-Otome Zwei?
Hmmm that makes a lot of sense actually. Maybe thats why I don’t get people who are Seahawks fans yet, scream at the TV about the stupidity of the coach. Perhaps enjoying anime is simpler for individuals with no particularity strong feelings about a certain genre ( Haha I almost typed gender). It means you don’t have the rush of rooting for your “team” but you aren’t disappointed when lousy train-wreck occurs, instead of a fantastic one. First post 4tw
Damn, stole my first post. And if Jason had never mentioned series such as H2O I never would have noticed. And listening to people make fun of things that might as well reside under rocks is like saying those strange critters at the bottom of the ocean are ugly. Its a given.
I actually stayed to watch H20 for the dorama, which at least had me watching just to see what comes next.
Until they sprung a surprise EPIC TRAP REVEAL on me. Sufficient to say, I haven’t recovered since, it’s worse than being broken by Mako-cakes (at least the process was gradual, h20’s EPIC TRAP was shocking, like you know, when you discover Jun’s/Bridget’s real gender.)
I think less spartan violence in true tears was better, although like i said previously half-expected a NICE BOAT ending. Could’ve used more catfights though…
Ugh. How did the Sixers only score 9 points in the 4th quarter tonight?
Oh yeah, this is an anime blog. Carry on. :)
>>Chris Paul was almost penetrating at will early on. “Chauncey can’t defend! Where’s our help defense! We’ve really slipped defensively.â€
>>penetrating
I got derailed badly right there.
I recently read an article countering the major criticisms of Gundam 00. Sunrise is subtly getting back on track with a Gundam series…. except that Geass R2 is airing and we’ll all be in for another train wreck.
And how did Chris Paul manage just 14 points on 4 of 13 shooting in a loss to the mighty Kings who was without their leading scorer? Kings on their way to a championship no doubt.
Glasses are a defect and considered a moe trait. But I haven’t heard of warts being moe. Orthography error unintended?
I don’t have the dvd releases. but I don’t recall TTGL having some eps of poor animation, it seemed consistent, not the best, but consistent all the way through.
>>I don’t have the dvd releases. but I don’t recall TTGL having some eps of poor animation, it seemed consistent, not the best, but consistent all the way through.
Episode 4 apparently, although i hadn’t realized it myself until i lurked on the internets and found out.
Not being a sports buff, most of the references flew over my head. As to series nitpicking, I have to wonder though, what WOULD Jason consider a perfect close to CLANNAD, since he considers Nagisa ‘blah’ (which is funny, since I found her more likeable than Ayu ever was)? Harem? Please.
Let me guess, Tomoyo After? Pfft. Whatever happened to dancing with the hand that made you? Well, Episode 24 (the DVD-only episode) is SUPPOSED to be set in the parallel universe where that game was set.
Given the foreshadowing of Kotomi’s arc though (you wouldn’t know it in the game as each girl’s story was REALLY stand-alone, with little to no interaction with their ‘competition’) on the issue of multiple universes, it kind of fits, but in the context of the adaptation, it’s a means to an end, as the happiness collected in that world will play a part in After Story (the World of Illusion of the Sad Girl and the junk robot is like, uh, the middle of the Great Wheel, shall we say). Much like Fuuko will get an important role as well in the second half. Surprise surprise.
(I apologize if I’m coming off as argumentative, but a marathon session of helping a friend paint his 40k models was capped off by a monumental disaster, so I’m not in good humor)
I would make a joke here about making sure to pray to the God Emperor for the fortitude and steadiness to successfully complete the painting if His representatives, but that’s out of place here.
One thing that gets me criticizing anime is when good ideas or stories get bogged down by weak execution or by misplaced elements that only screw up a perfectly serviceable plot (Fuyuki, this means you, ditto five ‘Dozo, have a starfish!’ jokes of a story arc). It only seems normal to complain in a situation like that, as everything turns sour. When there aren’t any good points to a story at all, you either just accept it, or stop paying attention.
Haesslich: Well, you’d be in a pretty foul mood too when 6 hours work goes up in smoke due to a spilled pot of Astronomican Grey sprinkling some 1500 points worth of a Battle Company. Bleedin’… Deep breaths, think of ARIA, think of ARIA…
Admittedly, Fuuko’s arc was the weakest in the adaptation (despite her pivotal role in After Story) but it certainly wasn’t cringeworthy. My face always seemed to crack up into a smile whenever she manifested, rather than purge her with hot promethium and sactified daemonhammers like most folk. As for Fuyuki, after reading the Minami-ke manga, I have to ask, where the HECK did Asread get that idea from?
I’d rather take five episodes of dozo have a starfish is better over one episode of “au~!” coming from a terminally mentally crippled girl.
>> I’d rather take five episodes of dozo have a starfish over one episode of “au~!†coming from a terminally mentally crippled girl.
Fixed.
My god, I should not post JUST after a nap.
Nitpicking can be overdone, but I much prefer it when fans are willing to acknowledge their favorite shows have flaws rather than maked repeatedly fervent posts insisting, no, this show really *is* good, you just aren’t watching this from the right perspective, and here’s a 30 page rebuttal of every single criticism I’ve seen made of a show, blah blah blah. That just gets creepy, even if you agree with the fanboy making the post.
Personally I liked Fuuko’s arc for the way it managed to develop Tomoya and Nagisa’s relationship in a subtler fashion than the usual romance histrionics. In hindsight though, there’s pacing issues due to the fact that they spent so much time on Fuuko and Kotomi and so little on the mashed up Kyou/Tomoyo/first Mei visit part of the show. Knowing coming into the TV show that Kyou/Tomoyo would get shafted explains the problems, but it doesn’t actually excuse them.
In that case, I probably would’ve suggested cursing the Lord of Change’s intervention or turned them into corpses… or a group of Vhaos Space Marines.
See ehat ii said about weak execution with regards to Fuulo’s arc – it couldn’t have gone well with the constant starfish jokes. Now and then is a joke or quirk (Akiko and her jam) – if it fees like it happens every five minutes, that’s overdoing it and overshadowong thw story as a result.
Fuyuki was some director attempting to add drama to a comedyvso it’d be more slice of life/dramatic. It was an utter failure – he fit in about as well as Mako-chan at a biker bar, and wasntbuseful at all. His story was the weakest and even Chiaki seemed to have given up in yelling at him. That postcard scene made no sense in retrospect since he and Chiaki barely talked even at the end, and he didn’t seem to like them all that much. Plus, I think Chiaki would’ve been upset if he’d written her because he was told to (and heveiulfve written that too, given his nature). That last thing was tacked on just to justify Fuyuki and his presence on Okawari – and failed. I’d much have preferred more Fujioka or Hosaka time, or more on the exchange program if they wanted slice of life drama, or just showing more of the sisters and their lives outside of school or the apartment. Create drama from natural elements of the girls’ lives if need be, but don’t just tack stuff like Fuyuki of the trip on without using them more fully. He’ll, Futuki didn’t fit in at all, and killed almost all the comedy in his episodes without adding a good type of drama.
By the way, is anyone else pissed off at Asread for spending all that time building Mako-chan up, but not to animate his classmates’ reaction during the costume parade or to show him at the end of 13? Instead we get more moping Fuyuki and fewer ‘who is that?’ or ‘I didn’t know Makoto-kun was into that sort of thing’ mutters from the female students. Plus you have to wonder how he would’ve looked in Keiko’s glasses, thigh-highs and that makeup… and the French maid uniform. I think that the teacher who allowed him to crossdress at school was another indirect casualty of the Minami sisters, and also broke once seeing Mako-chan in makeup.
Am I the only one who thinks Hiromi kinda looks like Kyonko in that picture?
And here I’d thought I was doing pretty good on the Brokenness scale…..
>> I’d much have preferred more Fujioka or Hosaka time
The Minami Bros :(
>>Am I the only one who thinks Hiromi kinda looks like Kyonko in that picture?
Not little or DFC enough, sadly.
No – she’s busty and tall. Why does everyone think brown-haired girls with ponytails = Kyonko now? It’s like how everyone used to think of quiet girls who looked a little weird were just like Rei…
>>It’s like how everyone used to think of quiet girls who looked a little weird were just like Rei…
Yuki IS just like Rei, really.
True. Probably just my computer loading slowly so all I could see was her face. And the whole being broken thing.
>> And the whole being broken thing.
Anime on my Mind: Not Breaking just its readers, but also their computers.
>>Anime on my Mind: Not Breaking just its readers, but also their computers.
Definitely. It downloads Itsuko x Kyonko a lot faster than study aids.
I feel the same as a fellow sports fan Jason.
A long time ago I really got involved each time when my favorite football team lost a match, even kicking the sofa in the living room. But then my father told me not to get too emotional with the game, because is just that, a game. So I applied that to my favorite sports and obviously when I was watching anime. The last time I get too involved in a series was last year with School Days. I had to stop watching the series from episode 9 to 11, because after watching episode 8, I couldn’t keep my mind out of it since then, even when I was in the movies watching my favorite film of 2007. Believe in Jason folks, sometimes is really bad to get to picky with an anime.
Good luck on this spring season.
P. D. Hey Jason, will you follow Code Geass R2 over here? Just wondering if you will…
Syaoran: It has Pizza Hut supporting the Rebellion, Pizza Butt with a Frame, and Bunny Suited Kallen. Of course he’ll be following it, if only for the bunny suit-piloted mecha alone. That, and y’know, there’ll be crazy lesbians in this show too…
I have to say that I love it when you post up these random “theories” every now an then. I’ve had this thought about how the more I actually like/love a show/team the more you tend to notice their not so good moments and slip ups. (Pistons was a very good example me being a Michigan resident and fanfor a while.) Atleast that idea has a proper title now that only your unique blend of sports and anime trivia could come up with.
On another matter entirely: Say what you want about Nagisa but after watching episode 23 I have to say that Tomoya & Nagisa are the cutest couple I’ve seen in any show in a long, long while.
I also have to add that after seeing episode 23 that Tomoya and Sunohara may also be the cutest couple I’ve ever seen in any show in a long, long time…
>> Tomoya and Sunohara may also be the cutest couple I’ve ever seen in any show in a long, long time…
What about Sunohara and Mei?
>> What about Sunohara and Mei?
No. Just… no. I’d rather watch Sunohara and Tomoya instead of that.
Honestly, I think the Fuuko and Kotomi arcs were excellent. The only problem was that the rest of the series was too compressed. Kyoto should have expanded the Kyou/Tomoyo arcs to fill this season. Then they could wait a minute, maybe do some Haruhi or FMP and then complete the Nagisa storyline.
Soo, what does this post have to do with true tears?
Does anyone know the exact source of the scan showing Hiromi in basketball shirt?
I found auctions on ebay, they describe the item as reversible promo poster.
I’d like to know the name and issue of the magazine where it originally was.
It would be a great help. Thank you in advance.