WebVideo No, Thanks.
I'll keep this short: JesuOtaku is not funny, nor is she a worthwhile reviewer. She frequently, and un-apologetically, attacks the fans of shows she doesn't like; she's clearly not mature enough to handle being so popular. Speaking of popularity: JO frequently targets popular anime series for her criticism, and while she sometimes makes valid observations in her reviews, she also tends to be something of a contrarian. That makes sense, too — after all, controversy garners attention, and by putting on her "I'm a reviewer" hat and bashing the shit out of a show that is beloved by many (and critically acclaimed), she's ensuring a greater number of views and thus, a higher place on the TGWTG hierarchy. There's also her Mary Sue-ishness. Every time she appears in a cross-over with another reviewer, she's an infallible source of awesomeness. Woo, hooray. Her appearances are so stale and boring that I'm starting to ignore videos she appears in, even though they're with a reviewer I really like. Her time on TGWTG has gone to her head, judging by her refusal to own up to her questionable actions and her (readily apparent) belief that, because she is a reviewer/critic, her opinions cannot be challenged.
To reiterate: JesuOtaku is your typical self-important internet reviewer, unable to accept criticism or opposing viewpoints.
WebVideo Unfortunate prey to gushers and haters
Anyone who knows anything about JesuOtaku will know she is a...divisive figure.
I find her style very articulate and informative, if a bit underwhelming in some instances. Overall JO is a good reviewer but I can somewhat understand the opinions some people form of her. While most of the hate stems from off-screen occurrences she does sometimes come across as taking herself too seriously, particularly in crossovers. But this isn't to the Mary-Sue levels that some like to claim. I've seen moments which are great and others that make me recoil in distain. Not everything you get is going to be golden but it's still worth coming back to see what else there might be.
As the locked page signs attest, JO has one of TGWTG's more broken bases. I'd rather limit my discussion of this as I don't think reviews are the place for it. All I will say is it would be worth taking a careful and critical look at her stuff before deciding which side of the cracked and splintered fandom you want to be on.
WebVideo LONG LIVE JESU OTAKU
The chick's smart. Like, seriously. Unlike the many other Caustic Critics out there, she keeps a calm and respectful, almost adorable, concise analysis of the animes she reviews. Oh no, JO doesn't resort to cheap slapstick or meaningless rage- she keeps it pretty classy. And she doesn't even indulge in pretentious snobbery- in fact, JO usually keeps the reviews light-hearted and silly enough to make you feel comfortable. She can take even the most high-browed of concepts and break them down so even the most LCD-based layman can comprehend. And even though a lot of her reviews can get pretty long, it's worth the time to listen to what she has to say. It's almost like the Nostalgia Chick's style of reviewing, except JO has less on tropes and more on clinical reasoning.
JO is entertaining, she has well-written sketches, she obviously knows what she's talking about, and her analysis is usually objective enough to make you take her seriously. Her perspective on things is nice and interesting, and yet it isn't so far out there that you feel alienated.
But as awesome as she is, just don't listen to her VLO Gs. I'm sorry, but to me, they seem to plod and on and on...I think I even looped it once just so it could help me get to sleep...but darn, if anyone knows how to make a reasonable, intellectual review, it's definitely Jesu Otaku.
JO, I LOVE YOU.
WebVideo Looking Back
Looking back, J.O.'s anime review was an enjoyable series that stood out thanks to his more analytical and objective approach to each series he reviewed. (Even if personal bises occasionally got in the way.)
His Digimon Retrospective was probably the highlight (Making it even more sad that it was never finished), giving a detailed but enjoyable look at one of his favorite shows.
In hindsight, much of the controvery had more to do with J.O.'s own opinions than with the show's format, which meant that the show's merits would be overshadowed by Jake's own (Often contentious) views on several topics.
On the whole though, J.O.'s Anime Reviews were a rather unique series amongst the often formulaic TGWTG review shows and their clones, and it's a shame that most of them are now missing thanks to the Blip shutdown.