Last updated on the 15th of January, 1999.
The Purpose of This Review Site
I do take the time to read fanfiction, though I am not as avid a reader as some people that I know are out there. Perhaps because of this, I do not necessarily want to go through all the fanfiction that is available out there. If I had the time, I might not mind, but I would rather be able to go straight to the ones which would interest me. However, this is tough work. Have you been to A Sailormoon Romance? They have a very appreciably, and hence, also a very hellishly large (though, not complete, mind you) collection of fanfiction that just sweeps you over if you’re just wanting
to find something to read and don’t necessarily know what is out there. I often just don’t know where to start. At first I just started at the very beginning of the “A” section (though, that put Adrienne and Alina in a very favourable spot! ^_^ ) but reading fanfiction that way can get very tedious and tiresome and irritating if for no other reason than one getting sick of seeing all those authors with names beginning with "A".
For that reason, I am very grateful for the (what I consider) few fanfiction review sites that are out there on the Web. It is also nice to see other people’s analyses of a writing, even if one doesn’t necessarily agree with them.
I'll be quite frank with you, though. I realistically don't expect all of you to agree with my opinions. After all, every one is different. Everyone has their own ideas of what is good and what is bad. A lot of it is sheer personal preference that just does or does not suit you. We don’t have to be logical about what we like. It doesn’t have to make sense. Or perhaps “tastes” is a better word. As if we would expect one to explain why one does or does not like the taste of celery, strawberries or pistachio ice cream (E. B. White’s “The Trumpet of the Swan”).
I have been to music and fanfic review sites. Even though I may disagree with their opinions and reviews, I appreciate what they are trying to do. I confess, from what I have seen, my likings are not representative of the seemingly general majority. I know that when I am browsing, I cannot trust every review I read because my tastes just aren’t the same as others'.
Then why am I here? What good am I to you guys, you may ask. Given what I been saying for the last few paragraphs, why would I expect my site to be of use?
First of all, let me continue. One day, I was looking up a music review site and suddenly I had found a person who tastes pretty well matched mine! The issue here is reliability. While I haven’t read even a considerable fraction of the fanfiction that is out there, I have listened to a lot of Sailormoon music. So unlike with fanfic review sites, with music review sites, I can tell how well a person’s tastes agree with mine. Usually I have a 50-60% agreeability, i.e. approximately 50% of the time I agreed with a review. This time it was around 80-85%. I regret to say that I never found that site again – not that I would need to, really, but it has a momentous value, I believe.
What’s my point? The point is that if there was a song that I hadn’t heard before, but she had reviewed, I could pretty much decide whether or not I would like the song or not, based on her review. There was a 4 out of 5 chance that I could trust her review. Like I said, reliability.
How does this connect? I know that there will probably be a lot a people for whom my opinions will not match theirs. However, I also know that somewhere out there, there is a small minority of people who will have tastes matching my own, for whom this review site will be a pretty reliable source. They can trust it, depend on it - whatever verb you like to use. This is for them.
It’s not going to be obvious who these people are. You are not necessarily going to be able to tell right away if my fanfic review site is the one for you. You will probably have to try it out a few times before you can make any sort of judgement. That’s pretty much the way it is for all things. You have to test it a bit. If, after reading a few reviews (for fanfics you have read), you think you can rely on me to be your reviewer, fine. That’s great. It’s very nice because then the purpose of this review site is being fulfilled. If not, that’s okay. I’d encourage you to find some place that does suit you. After all, these review sites are to provide a service to you, and you should go find the one that serves you best.
Now with that said, I still say that even then, this review site might still be of use. Yes, I earlier went through that little speech about how preferences are, in a way, true whims of a fancy, and though I may not expect one to justify why one likes something, it still useful to say what it was about a certain fanfic that one liked or disliked. After all, one may like something for the same reason why another dislikes something. The information provided in this site may still be useful for that reason. I hope so. I would like this site to be of as much use as possible (within my preferred limits, that is).
In other words, this site is yours. Explore as you will.
Comments?
Email me at dfang@pomona.edu.
Image link adapted from A Sailormoon Romance
Second image found at Janice's Sailor Moon Page