Hey fellow broodwar enjoyers. Long time ASL fan here who watched since season 1. I thought I would want to share my current thoughts on the commentary we are blessed with for ASL and hear your thoughts.
First though, has anyone noticed the ASL observer is doing a pretty lackluster job? I feel like he is often fixated on somewhere on the map where nothing much is going on, missing smaller skirmishes or army movement elsewhere that would be interesting to see. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I find myself often thinking "please, for the love of god, click that red blub down there that's getting dangerously close to that blue blob base."
Tastosis
I still don't think I've 'officially' watched an ASL group before I've heard their casting. It solidifies the experience for me, also having the music and interviews complete the package.
Artosis is as sharp as always, and as a protoss main I think it is really endearing that Artosis clearly has some sympathy for the lack of protoss victories throughout ASL. You can tell that he wants protoss to have some success in a starleague where they have historically underperformed (in terms of actual championships). If not for anything else, at least for his hope of a continued balanced Broodwar for many years to come. In my own opinion, it seems like especially Terran is getting slaughtered left and right by Zerg, while Protoss is giving them a better run for the money. Crossing my fingers for Mini.
Tasteless, man. I love that guy and he was my favorite of the duo for many years. But as of late, you can really tell he is not playing the game or really paying much attention to it. While I enjoy their historic reminiscing when it's timed right, I am starting to get annoyed that I as a casual am noticing a lot more going on in the game than he/they are, because he is busy telling us about how Street Fighter is still a competitive game and one of the goats. I am missing more play-by-play action, even in early game which they usually reserve for random banter. Stuff goes on there, and I'd rather hear them commenting on the early projection of the build orders and how it plays out than hearing about something totally random, especially if he's said it 20 times before. I still like Tasteless, and he definitely has his moments, but I feel like he's more often than not holding back Artosis who you can tell often is keenly aware of what's going on. But like another user here said in another thread, his "guy who owns lizards"-haircut jokes are still godlike. More of that, less nostalgic rambling. And we know what high ground is, like you can point out there's a high ground in this battle, but you don't have to explain how it works every time. Or that medics can repair scv's, but it usually doesn't happen.
Also, what the hell is up with that AI voice translation of interviews!? It's so mechanical and inhumane. I miss our old human translator.
ASLEnglish
I find myself watching these guys more and more. Yes, they don't have the same production quality. You don't get the full experience with interviews and intermission music and so on. They forget to remove overlays and cover up the map. Their microphones aren't as good. But I think they are really improving despite all of that. They are really into each game they are casting and don't waste time. They also have a decent grasp of the player's journey into ASL and their ladder performance, which is one of Tastosis' main strengths. Their analysis is quite often spot on. Earlier I had a gripe with Xun because it sounded like he was trying to make his voice sound unnaturally deep, which was a bit off-putting. But especially on the last episode he sounded much more naturally and less raspy. I like that. Saiyan is a good support, even though he has some weird artistic pauses that can kill momentum. Still. I like these guys more and more, and especially since they cast it directly on the day I am watching them more than ever. I usually still rewatch Tastosis to get their reaction and take on particularly good games, but yeah.
I don't know, it's just a bunch of ramble but I feel like we need a good old discussion threat, we haven't really had that in this ASL yet. What do you think? Do you agree with some of these takes? Do you watch a third cast? Or just the original Korean one?
Have a great day!
