One day last month, I checked my email and saw someone had signed my guestbook for Bunny's Ambition. To my surprise, the person told me that my site "has been reviewed" at The Sailor Moon Pocky Box. I thought this odd, as I had not submitted my site for review anywhere. Of course, this turned out to be one of the few review sites that do not require owner-nomination. Since I feel I did not get the review deserved, I'm writing this up as a defense against what the reviewers wrote. Please note that I have not edited the review at all. I'm just breaking it up to add my comments where needed.

The original review will be indented. My comments will be regular text.

Reviewer: Uranus
Bunny's Ambition is in a minority among Sailor Moon sites, being a manga site. The anime is mentioned in passing, but most of the content pertains to the manga. While I would think that would tend to make the site subdued and less fan-ish, that's not the case here. Perhaps this is because the site is in tribute to the English Mixx-translated manga.

First of all, I do not know how my site is "fan-ish." And, is this bad to be? It is a fansite to a manga series.

The site is possessed of a simple and good layout (remarkable how often those two traits combine), and there is testimony in the opinion section as to why this is the case. The site author uses the Netscape browser on a Macintosh computer at a screen resolution of 1152x870. So if this site works for her, it should work for you. One semi-glitch though is that every time I click on a new page, it jumps to the bottom as soon as it finishes loading, then jumps back to the top. Weird. Probably the Mac's fault. (*is a major PC elitist ^_^) But visually the site is very pretty and easy to use.

Note to self: put a date on all rants so that the readers can know they are looking at something over 3 years old, and therefore not everything in it is currently true of my internet situation. I don't like the snide comment "if this site works for her, it should work for you" as I clearly state on my site "Pages created using HTML coding on a Macintosh system with 1152x870 resolution, but created to work with most platforms at resolutions of 640x480 and higher." [emphasis added] I check all my sites on various resolutions and on my Mac and my husband's PC. I have never experienced that glitch in any platform I have checked this site on. I will try to forgive him for not loving Macs. Try.

Much of the information contained in the commonly seen pages is, well, common, but because it's a manga site it's not exactly what's available elsewhere. If you're looking for manga wallpapers or icons, this site would be a good place to go. Also, the character profiles are unique since even sites that discuss both the manga and the anime tend to lean toward the anime in that respect.

I agree.

In the "Manga" section is where this site really begins to break new ground. A good variety of information about the manga is provided, in synposes and FAQs, mostly for people who haven't read it, and wheras anime info is usually already known, this is valuable to a lot of readers. And for people who have, you can see some of the differences between the manga and the anime, and between the Japanese manga and the translation.

Thank you!

Smack in the middle of the menu is an opinion section, and this made the site for me, particularly the rants. In addition to the one on website design, there are two which concern in large part, the translation vs. original issue, both in anime and manga. Now pay attention, because this is important. I disagreed vehemently with both of these. Reading them sent me tearing around the room in anger. But I would much rather have that reaction to an opinion than to say "meh" and move on. I'll say it again: if you're going to write opinions, write opinions

I have to say, this portion is what really made me respect this reviewer, and made this section of the review my favorite part.

So there you have it. If you feel you've drained every drop of goodness out of the anime and are looking to take the next plunge into the manga, you've got a good starting place if you head to Bunny's Ambition. It's been around for five years, and doesn't look like it's going anyplace, and we need steady sites like that.

And, look for more manga goodness added to the site in the coming year.

Reviewer: Neptune
Layout-it's an ok layout. I've seen better but there are a lot worse out there. The only thing that really bugs me is the menu. It's so bland and it takes up too much space up on top.

In your opinion. I don't think it takes up that much space at all.

The site does have it's good points tho. Information that is detailed on each character that many sites don't have. Also would like to point out that the author has "Mixxtakes". Cute title and I like that she put the errors that Tokyopop made when translating the manga.

Thank you for noticing my Mixxtakes section. It's been my pet project on the site since the early days, and I think it gives something to the online community.

Content-Again lots of information and images. A good place to get some information if one is new to the world of Sailor Moon.

Overall opinion-I like this site except for the the menu on top. Other then that the site is ok. Nothing harsh on the eyes and is pretty easy to navigate.

Alright, there really isn't much to say about this review. It's pretty low-key and doesn't cover all that much specifically. But, at least it's short and sweet.

Reviewer: Pluto
Welcome and site Identity 7
-A basic welcome page with updates and banners. Everything seems pretty neat and organised. Very basic, yet it works.

Navigation 7
-A navigation bar of sorts at the top of the screen which doesn't quite go with the rest of the site. The colours match but it is longer than it needs be. If you had it merely across the top of where the actual site is, it would look and feel better. There is plenty of space to do that (between the wording) as it looks kind of unfinished as it is now with the empty bar at the end. The menus are set out pretty organised so the visitor can find her/his way around quite easily.

For the navigation bar, it is noted on the credits page and on the code of every page that I did not write the DHTML menu. It is a full-page bar, and that's how it is. I think it looks/works fine the way it is. The part that confuses me is that she seems to find nothing wrong with the "welcome" section and yet she faults the menu bar in the "navigation" section... and yet both sections have a score of 7.

Content of Interest 8
-There is a lot of content that is different from most sites, altho mainly English Dub based. Sill a good site as far as that goes. The links all appear to work and the information is longer than a few sentences that most other sites have, which is good too. It shows that the designer took care in writing up the content. The opinions, while I don't necessarily share them, are an interesting aside. The shoe quiz was not as easy as it appeared.

Technically, dubbing has to do with either recording an audio track onto a video or copying video tapes, etc. It has nothing to do with printed material at all. It should only refer to the North American release of the anime and not the manga. That said, thank you for respecting that my opinions differ from yours.

Advertising and sponsorship 7
-A good set of links at the end, although I know that a few of them no longer exist so some updating is needed here.

Self-promotion 7
-Again, good affiliates, if uninspiring, showing that the designer has taken at least some thought to who she wishes to be affiliated with.

I really don't know what such sections are doing in a website review. I do not think it makes my site better or worse to have good self-promotion and links. The only thing that should be reviewed is checking that my link list has sites that are still linking properly. Also, I checked every single link on the links page the day I got this review and only a couple of them needed updating, and none of them were completely closed sites, just moves. And, what exactly makes my affiliates "uninspiring"?

Filler 7
-There is a bit of filler info in the site, tho it does tie into the major points of the SM series. The opinions section didn't really merit it's own category but it does work. I think that a few things could be juggled around to make it more streamlined in appearance with not so much filler information and more info on the rest of the series incarnations.

Isn't most of the Sailor Moon series filler? Isn't most anime and manga filler in our lives? I really don't know how to take this section.

White-space 6
-Too much space between the sides of the screen and the main page itself. Either reduce the blue spaces or enlarge the middle, either way it would work and look a lot nicer. It just makes me wonder if it was done this way to make it look like there's more here than there is. The blue of the sides is a bit brighter and drowns out the peaceful pinkish colour of the site itself, so if you tone that down a bit, maybe using the softer pale blue in the image of Bunny in the top graphics, it might look a lot easier on the eyes.

Still trying to figure out why there is a review section to such a subject. I'm sure my visitors on lower monitor resolutions appreciate the fact that I design for no side scrolling on their smaller screens. I don't think I have to "make it look like there's more here than there is" since there is a lot there in the first place! Please look at the sheer content of my site, it ain't small. As for the critique of the colors of my site, thanks but no thanks. That's your opinion, and I don't share it. Make your own site a "softer pale blue" if you must.

Other 7
-On the whole, a good site, but rather uninspiring just the same. More and more sites are getting away from being one-character-focussed, and while she has bios and info from all of the characters, the rest of the information on the site is primarily Bunny Tsukino focussed. This is rather boring when I could go to another site and find out about all the different series there are and how they are the same and differ etc.

I'm sorry that a lot of my site content is about Bunny Tsukino. But, if you must, lay the blame at a certain Naoko Takeuchi's door. After all, she is the one who made the manga focused on Bunny.

Reviewer: Saturn
Alrighty, upon opening this site, I thought it was going to be a very cute layout as the main images is insanely adorable... and then the menu popped up over the very top of the page. This is alright if there isn't anything in the space, but for this site it makes it look flawed and detracts from the friendly feel that the site had before the menu came up.

First of all, I figured in the space it would take up in my design. Without it covering the first section of the main image, Bunny is not centered up-and-down in the image. Second of all, I don't think it looks bad. And, lastly, you should probably check your grammer before posting reviews. (I may not be perfect myself, but then again, I'm not bashing a website just for fun.)

I am trying to keep my sanity while viewing this site as this has GOT to be one of the most boring sites I have ever reviewed. That doesn't mean it isn't a good site, but the problem is this.... the layout is alright (minus the menu), but it is just NOT working for me because all the information as well as it is set out doesn't do anything to really drag me into it. I can't mock the site because there is nothing to mock. It is well set up...

Sorry you were bored. My site is meant to inform for the most part, and entertain as a secondary goal. I did not ask you to visit or review it. Also, I'm still trying to figure out if this was a backhanded compliment or just a plain insult.

The only part of this site that I really had to talk about is the "Buffy and Bunny" section. If this statement offends anybody, then oh well, but I frickin hate Buffy and think that it was the absolute stupidest show ever to be put on the air. And the fact that this person has taken it on themselves to try to make Usagi and Buffy appear remotely similar.... well it makes me want to melt plastic over my eyes and then drop myself into a vat of acid... It might be my overwhelming hate for Buffy, but I feel that this doesn't belong on this site as where the hell does Buffy come to play in the SM world? *bangs head on keyboards repeatedly*

This is my fansite, so I can fill it with the content I desire. I thought this was funny and unique. Some visitors agree with me. It's also a silly little page in the entertainment section. If you don't agree with me, you do not have to view it.

The part that really got me was the amount of time she spent on this tiny section of my rather large website. Using word count, she spent about 40% of her review of my website talking about how much she dislikes the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (125 words out of 315 = 40%) However, using page count (and believe me, most of my pages have a lot more writing on them than this silly page) my website spends approximately 1% of the site on the topic. (1 page out of 88 = 1%) Doesn't this strike you that the review is not an accurate representation of my website?

From the FAQ section: If we sugar coated everything in reviews, then you wouldn't take the hint to fix your site. Plus there would be no use for EVER telling somebody that their site is awful if it was sugar coated. Grow a spine and understand that we are saying it how we see it. If you can't handle it, then learn to fix it.

This review site claims to not sugar-coat, but I think they are just using that as their excuse to bash minor details of sites, so that they look like they are being "edgy" reviewers. There is a difference between constructive criticism and opinionated tripe, and not all of these reviewers know it. They may claim to fill in the void that the Amazoness Quartet left in the Sailor Moon community, but in my opinion, they have a long way to go.

I am not going to link their site or my review from this page, because I do not think they deserve the hits. If you must check them out, you can dig around in my guestbook for their entry or Google their site title.

Rant written January 2005