Award Won | Yumemiru Reviews
Review #16 Sweet Sugar Usagi (06/03/2001)
Webmistress: Kassie
Score: 85/100
Dream Points: 8.5/10
"Eternal"
*Aurora-hime's Review*
I've been repeating it several times in many of my reviews... I'm really one of the few people who actually like splash pages and yours is very pretty ^_^. It's simple but sweet. I don't think it's necessary but hey, you intruiged me to enter your site.
You have a very organized and clean layout. I'm liking it already even though I'm still judging on first impressions. First of all though, you should really tell the visitor what your site really is about instead of them figuring it out for themselves. State that SSU is basically an SM image gallery site focusing on the anime, the manga and the artbooks. And that the artbook images were scanned by you etc... That's a lot of hard work you did scanning all that. I'm amazed. I, like Sailor Pallas, have little patience. I would never have the energy nor the patience to do what you're doing.... But to repeat myself, you should really put what your site is about first. Give your visitors a nice introduction to your site. Also, as a suggestion, try to arrange your links from most important to the least. Besides the updates, I think "Site Related" should be the last category of your links. After all, people want to go to the "gut" of your site first which are the images rather than going to a subpage about cliques and webrings and the like. I do like how you update often though. And YAY! To quote Sally Fields, "You like us.. You really like us!" Well, domo arigato for linking us ^_^. That was very sweet of you.
Now, I am off to the "gut" of your site. The image galleries...First, the Artbooks...
I'm jealous. Do you really have all the artbooks? I've been trying to get Artbook #3 in Ebay for so long but someone always outbids me. I love the images of that book.. but mainly because it has very beautiful images of Haruka and Michiru... My favorite couple. I'm not a big fan of SM anymore but if I got my hands on Artbook #3 and the Infinity Book (I think that's what the very last Artbook/Doujinshi is called), I'd be in Heaven. On Ebay, many are selling it for $500 because it's so rare. Anyway, 0_o on with the review... I like your introduction to the visitors who are visiting this area of your page and I like how your tables actually color coordinate with your layout. If you've read any of our old reviews, I'm all into consistency and color coordination and you got that down pat. You do have a broken image on this subpage though... On the very bottom.
Artbook #1,2,and 3
These are great quality images and thumbnails. And I'm GLAD that THESE are actual REAL thumbnails. Some of the images in Artbook #3 though, were a bit too stretched. Try just cutting up part of the image instead of the whole image and use that as a thumbnail. I do like the idea of opening a new window for each image but remember that old computers and slower modems can't handle all those opened windows. When I still had my old SM site, my image gallery opened to new windows also and a visitor e-mailed me saying that her comp couldn't handle it. But I guess, you did state the requirements needed for this site in your splash page. Maybe instead of new windows opening everwhere, try just telling your visitor to use the right click of their mouse, so they themselves can open a new window if they want to see the image. But hey, it's just a suggestion. You don't have to take it but that's the only alternative I can think of in this situation. Also, you stated that you have more than one Geocities account for this site because of the images and the multimedia... and again, speaking from experience, try to find another free server that can give you more space than Geocities. I had three accounts to hold all my SM images and mutimedia too and then suddenly I found out one day that Geocities deleted 2 of the accounts that I used because it's one of their rules that you can't do that. I just want to warn you on that because I don't want that to happen to you. It's just hard to get a free server with more space though because of all those stupid banner ads and pop ups. But Tripod gives you 50MB of free space and I believe it even lets you choose between a banner ad or a pop up.
In the Anime...You should really be putting Sailor Moon/Usagi, Sailor Mars/Rei etc.. on the links because the images aren't really just all of them in their fokus. In the 3rd gallery of Usagi, all the pictures were broken except for one, so check on that. For easier navigation, I suggest putting a link on the bottom of your tables for the pages of the other Senshi images also. Instead of having your visitors go back to the "anime" image gallery every time... A little grammar error on Sailor Mars and Venus. It should be "Sailor Mars' gallery" not "Mars's" and it should be "Venus' gallery". Also, in the Venus gallery, I know you didn't know this but the image of Minako in that orange halter is a fan art drawn by Anna. So, you need to take that out. It's one of her rules that if you use her images in anyway, it should be featured in the "fan art" gallery instead of a regular image gallery. Here, I'll give you her link so you can see her awesome drawings. Anna's Gallery. The Manga images were of good quality, so no real complaints on this section. But it's only Usagi and Mamoru? Well, SSU is still new so I don't really know what your plans are going to be with the Manga section, but it would be interesting if you do other couples too. Like Haruka and Michiru of course ^_^ and the limited loves of the other girls. Like Rei and Kaidou and Mako and Asanuma. I think that's what his name is. He is feartured in some artbooks. He has blondish hair and he admires Mamoru (Even though I have no idea why... I am not a big fan of Mamoru)
Wow you have a very large of collection of Midis ^_^ cool. And your adoptions are very cute. And you even have a Sailor Pallas one (I'm sure she'll be happy ^_^). As for the fan fiction, I'll make sure I'll read it when I visit again and I plan to. You're doing a great job with this and it's still new.
Overall, your site was very well done, organized and neat. The images need to be touched up a bit because some were a little too stretched but it's really no big deal. Most of all of them were really good quality. I know you put a lot of time and effort making this page. I found no real problems with this site at all. Just the little things that I mentioned above already. So I hope you keep on going with this great image gallery. I'm pretty sure SSU will be one of the best places visitors can look for images of Sailor Moon. Your site, is what an image gallery should look like. I hope to see more in the future of course.
Great Job, Kassie
I give you 42/50 and 8/10 Dreampoints.
*Aurora Hime*
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Sailor Pallas' Review
We start with *+50*
[Layout]
* 5/5*
A very nice cute layout. It's simple but I know it was hard work for you to do. It's also very organized. The colors were a little too dark for me though. But it's OK. I'm just picky.
[Loading]
*5/5*
WOW.. that was fast loading.. From the splash page to the index page and even your galleries were fast. Finally a website that did not crash my computer nor freeze it nor anything because of slow loading. Thanks for considering all the people with the 56k modems ^_^
[Navigation]
*4/5*
Well in the Galleries.. The only place I found a problem in was the Anime section. I suggest that you put a back button somewhere so visitors can go to the pages for the other Senshi. Also, Usagi's gallery had broken images in it. You should check up on that.
[Content]
*25/30*
::galleries::
This is one of the better image gallery site I've been to, but again, in the "Anime" section, you need a back button so visitors can easily go to the other senshi images. Your thumbnails are great. It's a little stretchy though but at least it's not blurry but as a suggestion, to make it not have that "stretchy" look, try to crop the image little by little until you get the size you desire or until it doesn't look "stretchy". I hope you know what I mean. I'm not good at explaining editing/HTML stuff. I get people confused instead. 0_o
::Midis.
A nice collection of midis.. good job!!.. That must have taken you along time to upload. I have no patience so I don't upload songs anymore and that's why one of my pet peeves are slow loading sites so thank you for your not being one of them... but anyway I'm rambling and I don't think you really care but just wanna tell you ^_^
::Adotions::
How cute!... except Princess Neptune is waay to green! and Isn't Pincess Mars supposed to be RED!? but anyways.. they're kawaii! And you have one of me! Aren't I cute? LOL. When I visit your page again, I'll be sure to adopt her... Or should I say myself? hehe..
[Overall thought]
*4/5* Wow I like you site alot.. It's really kawaii and well organized. I didn't have any real problems with it so GOOD JOB and KEEP IT UP! It's still a new site but I know Sweet Sugar Usagi is going to be one heck of an SM image gallery.
I give you a 43/50 and 9/10 dreampoints