So, I’m considering turning off the ‘beta’ mode for the audiovisual ratings. We have nearly 14,000 gradings, which is enough in my mind. But, I have three polls for you. In addition to the polls, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the thread below!
What do you think of the audiovisual Natively levels?
the levels are too high (when compared to novel levels, equivalent level videos are harder)
the levels are about the same (when compared to novel levels, equivalent level videos seem similar in difficulty)
the levels are too low (when compared to novel levels, equivalent level videos are easier)
I don’t know / don’t care
0voters
How do TV ratings compare to Movie ratings?
TV ratings are harder (a tv show with the same level as a movie is harder)
They are the same (a tv show with the same level as a movie is the same difficulty)
TV ratings are easier (a tv show with the same level as a movie is easier)
I don’t know / don’t care
0voters
Would you like to compare TV shows to movies? Similar to manga can be compared to Novels?
Man, these are some tough ones for me. I don’t feel like I can really give a good opinion on the first two polls; my listening level is low enough and I watch so little movies/TV that I don’t want to muddy your stats with noise. I can answer the last one, though. Personally I have a really tough time comparing manga with novels, and I feel like that’d be the same if I were trying to compare movies and TV.
I didn’t know how to answer the first one because the mediums are so different to me. In a book there is no such thing as a character who talks too fast or enunciates badly. There’s no bad sound mixing or too loud music or background noise.
I feel like I rate more TV shows and movies in the mid to upper 30s than I would for books, but I also feel like rating them lower wouldn’t make sense.
I guess this maybe maps OK to the JLPT? The readings I tried from N1 practice tests had a much larger range of vocab and grammar structures than the listening section, but both would be “N1” in their respective mediums.
I haven’t used the audiovisual part of this site very much so I can’t really answer the first poll. But I do have thoughts about tv vs movies.
My opinion on manga being compared to novels has actually shifted; I used to think they definitely should be compared, but now I’m leaning more towards not grading them against each other. Manga and novels are just so different to read due to the format / differences in content (dialogue vs mix of description & dialogue), density of text, etc.). I’m more or less indifferent though, like I don’t mind that they can be graded against each other but I’m starting to lean more towards the “no” side.
That being said, I still think TV and movies should be compared to each other. With manga vs novels, the format is different enough to make them hard to compare. But with tv vs movies, what is the difference language-learning-wise? Length could be an issue, but since you can grade tv now after a few episodes it’s not really an issue anymore.
I don’t have a lot of movies logged, but anecdotally it seems likely movies will usually end up with a higher rating rn, bc they have been graded less. (Movies have inherently lower viewership than series seasons). Also I think shows/movies (with JP subs) are almost always easier than their LN source material, and often times easier than manga sources. I can elaborate if you’d like.
Some examples from my own list:
Sword Art Online series L25 vs SAO: Ordinal Scale L30. Imo Ordinal Scale is easier, but it has no gradings, so it’s sitting at the default L30. (For some reason I’m unable to grade. I’m also the only person to have logged it so far)
五等分の花嫁 series L23 vs Movie L22. The series has 123 gradings for season 1. The movie has 7
In general, I think shows/movies (JP subs) are almost always easier than corresponding LNs. There is almost guaranteed less vocabulary. Compared to manga is probably a bit more even. I still think they’re probably easier, bc manga often has the cursive style writing and FX in btwn bubbles that can be super hard to decipher.
I think it would make sense to be able to compare movies and shows in general. Someone can always skip them, if they don’t feel up for it. Might be a good idea to have a toggle for it, for those who just don’t want to do it.
That said, movies aren’t treated consistently by TheMovieDb. Ex: 五等分の花嫁 and あの夏で待ってる have separate entries for movies, but 鬼滅の刃 has the Mugen Train Arc as a Season, and SAO a season of Extras that includes multiple movies, plus the actual extra content (ie Sword Art Offline). So a toggle probably wouldn’t be able to catch everything anyway.
I don’t watch many movies, so all I really have is Violet Evergarden. The show is level 29 while the movie is level 26, but the show has a lot more complex military segments, so I think the difference is totally fair.
I also don’t have much overlap between books/manga and anime, so can’t really help much. Bocchi the Rock is level 28 manga and 27 anime, so that’s fine. Quintessential Quintuplets is level 24 manga and 23 anime, so that’s also fine. That’s all I have.
In general I guess the levels are pretty fair. My reading skills are much higher than my listening skills, so while my reading range is often as high as 30-36, my watching range is mostly 21-26 (with three so far in the low 30s, but very challenging). Based on my skill level that seems reasonable.
I think I will go ahead with two action items then:
We will move Videos out of beta and allow ratings to become ‘fully graded’ per the standard rules
I will enable TV → Movie comparisons. This one will be a bit more delayed, but hopefully that will address any discrepancies around TV / Movie difficulty mismatches
I will leave this thread open if anyone else wants to discuss.
I can answer the last one, though. Personally I have a really tough time comparing manga with novels, and I feel like that’d be the same if I were trying to compare movies and TV.
