Quote:
Originally Posted by Infinite Zenith
Looking through the old thread, what baffles me is that there were a lot of forum members looked like they were treading on eggshells when they replied to Reckoner. On one hand, they wanted to disagree, but given the way they worded their replies, they also wanted to avoid something and ended up giving an ambivalent response that leaned towards agreement with the rant (e.g. "I liked the movie, but Reckoner convinced me not to like it"). Since I joined shortly after, I'm not sure why so much caution was being exercised – this is a forum, after all, and it struck me as very strange that it sounds like some people were self-censoring. I vaguely remember that a large change happened around here some time after I joined, too, and can't help but wonder if prior to that change, something about Reckoner was probably preventing people from speaking their minds? As it stands, however, it's probably best to not dig too much deeper. The thread leaves me with more questions than answers, and the people I'd like to chat with most to understand the disconnect between their unexpected shift in opinions are now inactive.
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I honestly think you're reading an awful lot into it.
There was really no point in having an impassioned debate about it, even then. A lot of people in that thread had known him for a long time. He had his point of view, but the things he disliked about it really had very little bearing on the things others liked about it. I can see objectively where he's coming from, but it's honestly irrelevant to those who enjoyed it. He will never be swayed by talk in that thread, and I really think you're overplaying his ability to sway others (except those who already come from a similar point of view anyway). The movie is a final send-off for the cast, so it was never really setting out to bring in that many new fans to the mix in the first place. That doesn't mean it's beyond criticism, obviously, but criticism from someone with that point of view has a fairly limited audience at that point. (If you made it that far in the franchise, you really should have already decided how you feel about its core construct. A criticism that amounts to "if you never liked K-On, the movie isn't going to change your mind" is a valid perspective, but was never really a goal.)
I agree that people should be more considerate when stating their opinions, and I've made this point extensively over the years. Attacking the people who make the anime or those who enjoy it is absolutely wrong and unacceptable (and, is against the Forum Rules). But -- maybe it's because I've gotten older now, I don't know -- at some point someone's enjoyment of a thing can't be so fragile that one person's angry review causes you to get that defensive, especially when their biases were obvious coming into it. You just waste a lot of energy. In my opinion, better to just keep talking about the reasons you liked it and why and move on.