Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #128

Originally Posted on 05/05/2005 by Jeff Harris

The beauty of having a webpage is that you can say anything you want.

Wait, you can't say anything . . . or can you?

In case you're just discovering this site, I've been hosted by the animation news and fan portal Toonzone for almost five years now out of the seven that I've been online, and I'm forever grateful. Since I've been hosted by TZ, I've been a part of a strong animation fan community, perhaps one of the strongest online, and definitely one of the most influential. Unfortunately, many established animation institutions see Toonzone as, well, elitest and gated. There is slightly some truth to Adult Swim's card a couple of years back of Toonzone being "a gated community."

I'm not going to talk about that right now, and bear with me, I'm going to make a point.

Toonzone, since it's a legitimate news organization that struggles to get the respect it rightfully deserves, tries to refrain from personal opinions out of fear of getting blacklisted by some companies. I won't name names right now, but if you've actually read around the forums, you'd find that some discussions are a bit stunted. At The X Bridge, I'm not a news guy. I'll admit it right now. I search for news around the net and find stories that would interest me. I don't write news here at The X Bridge.

I write opinions.

Yes, The X Bridge is an independent animation commentary outlet within the confines of the Toonzone family. When I look at the news, I'll thoroughly examine it backwards and forwards and give my four half-cents about it. Sometimes, I'll give my thoughts on the forums, like I did with the mainstream folks celebrating an 11-year old kid for convincing Warner Bros to "changes" to the designs of Loonatics, despite the fact that the preliminary designs were just temporary and actually changed months before this "news event." Most times, I'll talk about them on this site, either as a stand-alone opinion like the recent Cartoon Network article or in the Watch This Space section, where you're currently ankle deep in.

I write opinions.

The X Bridge is a site that won't hold back to opinions. I'm not afraid to tell people what they're doing right nor what they're doing wrong. For example, ADV Films, if you're reading, Gantz is a GREAT show. Imagine Yu Yu Hakusho meets The Matrix with a touch of The Prisoner, and that's pretty much Gantz. The stories are brutal, especially the first episode, but then again, this is a true adult drama. Beautiful, beautiful show. However, putting just two episodes on one DVD is not only cost prohibitive, but it's just damned stupid. I know you're trying to help out the poorer regions of anime fans (that would be 90% of us), but still two episodes? That's not really showing off what DVDs can do nor using the format to its advantage.

See what I just did? I gave a company both positive and negative criticism. The world didn't collapse. The sun still shines. And nobody plunged to their deaths. It's an opinion. Everybody has one. People will disagree with mine. I know I will say things that will upset a few folks. I will also say things that will have people asking themselves "Damn, why didn't anybody talk about this earlier?" among other questions.

I write opinions.

I also write reviews. What's the difference? A review is an opinion about something you might want to spend money on or want to check out. Reviews are a vital component here at The X Bridge, even though admittedly, they've been far apart and few in recent months. It's not that I don't have enough titles to talk about. In fact, it's the opposite. I have way too many to review at this time. Some titles I get I enjoy, like R.O.D. TV, Samurai Champloo, Wandaba Style, and a few others. Some, not so much. And others I wonder if they just acquired them for the sake of filling up their libraries. The only problem here at The X Bridge is that I've only reviewed the ones that I like, since I felt that they were the only ones that mattered. I never talked about the ones that don't, and in the coming weeks, I'm going to give you reviews of all the titles I have on hand. Just give me time. I'm still a one-man band.

I write opinions.

I'm also an unapologetic Toonami fan. When I launched CNX back in July 1998, I launched it as a Toonami news and information site, introducing the block to an unsuspecting crowd who just began watching only for Dragon Ball Z. Nearly seven years later, everybody knows Toonami (and half of those that do feel that the younger-skewing Miguzi and the older-skewing Adult Swim are better blocks). Funny thing, as the one of the oldest Toonami fansite webmasters online, I've been a witness to its incredible and unbelievable history. The TICA Base covers nearly every aspect of Toonami's eight-year history. In a few weeks, I'll introduce Toonami Legacy, which will fully embrace the impact Toonami has made over the years, including year-by-year analysis of the block, insight from the Inner Circle about what they think about the block, and some parts of the block that you might not have known about or would rather forget.

I think I've stated the point I wanted to make. The X Bridge is an alternative to traditional animation sites. The exception rather than the rule. Freed from the shackles of conformity yet fully aware of its role in the grand scheme of things. TXB is the voice of a generation afraid to speak up to those in power. TXB shows love for those who deserve it and gices a kick in the butt to those who need it. TXB is opinionated and proud.

This is TXB: The X Bridge. Action. Opinion. Revolution. Now that you know what the site's all about, I think class is dismissed.

Any questions?

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
Webmaster/EiC/Lead Writer, The X Bridge
May 5, 2005