This post was originally written for the November 2018 (and revival) issue of Mangaverse, the anime, manga, and comics ‘zine published by the National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F) which I am currently in charge of editing. If you are interested in contributing to Mangaverse, please contact me at jessi@s1e1.com. I am always on the lookout for writers and artists!
This post has been minimally-edited to include hyperlinks, and to adjust some wording; the bulk of the post is unchanged from its original form.
Does anime criticism always have to be, well, so critical? As a blogger, anime fan, frequent convention panelist, and yes, a self-described critic, that’s a question that I often ask myself. I think that writing about anime or any other medium is often a balance of positive and negative opinions, and how we choose to strike that balance is part of how we define ourselves, our presence, and our voice. I find that, while it’s tempting to spend a lot of time picking apart anime that I don’t like (and I certainly do that when I feel like I can justify it or I have something I think is important to say), it’s often much more fulfilling to speak highly of the anime I do like. When something is wonderful the impulse to share it with others is sometimes one of the best ways to form connections with like-minded fans.