"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and go well with ketchup."
I was a really late bloomer when it comes to anime and Japanese culture in general. I only started watching anime when I got into college. It was basically love at first sight and I haven't stopped since. I couldn't believe what I was missing for so many years. I got through most of the "must watch" big classics and started down on quite a few interesting paths. I'm a sucker for great stories and I'm personally a "substance over style" kinda guy. I mostly like very story oriented and character driven pieces, with some good action and excitement on the side. My main favorites are sci-fi, cyberpunk, mecha and tech related stuff. But to my utter surprise I came to love romcom anime, something I never cared for in western media. It's something about the presentation, the relationships and the amazing amount of raw emotions behind romcom/drama anime that just blasts right through my "strong stoic manly man" facade. I laughed and cried more on anime than I ever had on any amount of western entertainment media combined, including movies, TV shows, books, video games, etc. There is something in anime that just sorta clicked with me and now I can't ever go back. Yes, I'm a true weeb and I'm proud of it :D
I also like to write long anime reviews that no one reads because I'm not an e-celeb and I don't know how to condense my thoughts properly. That's why there is a short TLDR summary in most of my reviews.
Unlike a lot of reviews here, I don't just use 1 or 10 in my reviews, nor do I only utilize 6-to-10 like most skewed rating systems. I use the entire scale.(Love me, I'm special!) A rating of 5 being absolutely mediocre/unremarkable, anything above or below that is better or worse respectively. (A rating of 6 or 7 from me is actually a good rating.) This goes for my list and my review scoring as well.
I don't like to hand out awful scores, I usually look for redeeming qualities even in terrible anime, but sometimes the truth has to be said.
10 - An absolute masterpiece! I hate handing out perfect scores (either positive or negative), because nothing in life is perfect. But I'd also hate to waste a perfectly good rating just to make a stupid point, so 10 is reserved for anime that is something truly special among the rest. A rating of 10 doesn't just mean the anime has good production quality, it means it has done something extremely exceptional either in the anime world (Akira, GitS, Your Name) and/or it was a transformative, life-changing experience for me personally (Steins;Gate, Interstella 5555, CLANNAD:AS, Welcome to the NHK!).
9 - Incredible experience! This is usually my top rating! Given to anime with truly epic production quality and entertainment value! A rating of 9 guarantees utmost quality, fun/emotional experience and/or exceptional story that moves you. You can't help but no-life binge watch entire seasons, because it's just that good! You'll cry, laugh, crylaugh and everything in-between! It's something that'll stick with you for a long time! These anime are my favorites and have my top personal seal of approval!
8 - Great show! The quintessential "missed it by that much" category. A step away from greatness, a rating of 8 means great production quality, entertainment value and a captivating story in general. A binge-worthy fare that'll make you question you sleep cycle because you just need to know what happens next! Usually reserved for anime made with obvious love and care for the medium, an experience that stands the test of time!
7 - Pretty good! The traditionally "good" anime experience. Nothing extremely special, but still good production quality and/or story. A rating of 7 is usually for anime that didn't "try too hard". An anime that ticks all the boxes, but didn't color outside the lines. A usual "safe bet" for anyone looking for something good to watch, but nothing earth-shattering. There are also anime here that would've been awesome if not for some blemishes, mostly in production quality (art, animation, sound/music) and/or issues with the story or characters. Some of the biggest offenders are unsatisfying, slapdash endings (or lack thereof), that just ruins the enjoyment of the overall experience.
6 - A cut above the rest. But barely. A rating of 6 is for anime that's "okay" or "nice". Usually means average production quality with decent art, animation and a simple story/characters. These are mostly average entries in popular genres, that just didn't really stand out from the rest. It's the kind of anime that you put on a second screen or run in the background while doing something else. A story that doesn't glue you to the screen, but it has it's moments and you still kinda wanna know what happens next. It's definitely not something you'd take time out of your average day for, but it's nice to fill downtime or alleviate boredom. A largely forgettable experience.
There are also anime here, that would've been awesome, but made some egregious mistakes or had some innate faults that dragged the overall enjoyment down to the dirt. A great story with terrible animation, or great art style with a horrible story, something that just didn't feel right, etc.
5 - meh. Absolutely mediocre. It's the 3.6 of the anime world, "not great, not terrible". These are truly average titles that didn't stand out in any way, either good or bad. Production quality varies wildly in this category, so does story and entertainment value, but it often gels into a grey blob of insignificance. These are the usual bargain bin of anime, the dime-a-dozen offers from popular genres that you just scroll by without a second look. Watching these anime feels like a waste of time, not because they are awful, but because they are just so bland. The fillers of the anime world. An experience your brain just ejects in favor of marginally more important stuff, a story you just forget by next week, the dozens of titles you have on your list that you have absolutely no recollection ever having watched and couldn't tell what they're about on gunpoint. Meh.
4 - Eugh. A rating of 4 means there is something wrong. Usually these are the anime that "tried too hard". An otherwise great concept ruined by incessant melodrama, bad slapstick, too much fanservice, dreadful script, etc. Production quality ruined by awful animation, direction, low budget or terrible design choices. These are the titles that "could've been good if not for [reasons]". There are several anime here that started out great but then devolved into a terrible mess for one reason or other, and/or got a horrible ending that it retroactively soured the whole experience. These are the titles you regret watching, not because it was that bad, but because you know it had so much potential and could've been so much better if they didn't screw it up.
I also lap some "so bad it's good" anime here. The type of "connoisseur garbage", anime that are obviously made gimmicky/trashy on purpose. The 4th-wall-breaking, self-referencing, pop-culture-filled, brainless, rules-out-the-window type smut that's just fun to watch. The Deadpool of anime, basically.
3 - Terrible. "Something is rotten in the state of Japan." ~ Not-Shakespeare. We have arrived to the truly bad end of the spectrum. A rating of 3 is usually the awful, trope-filled, gimmicky garbage that mediocre studios slap together to jump on bandwagons. Or when studios put the "B team" on some sponsorship deal or game/move tie-in. These titles are usually half-assed imitations (or straight ripoffs) of other - way better - franchises or just lazy, cookie-cutter cash-ins for fads and seasonally popular genres. This is just abject sewer sludge that adds no value to anything and not even worth talking about.
2 - What the actual FUCK?! Now, these are the anime that are not only terrible, but straight piss you off! It's the type of vile trash you question your sanity why you even watched. If 4 was the "tried too hard" then 2 is the "why did you even try?!" category. It's the horrible shovelware of anime. It's not just simply bad, because you could ignore those, but it's so insulting and blatantly wrong it makes your skin crawl! It's the obvious rip-offs of big name series. It's adaptations that ruin entire franchises by completely shitting on the source material because they thought they could "do it better". It's the "beat a dead horse" type sequels shat out years later to try and capitalize on dwindling name recognition one last time. It's the arrogant "style over substance" meaningless artsy-fartsy bullshit that head-up-the-ass elitist weebs pretend to love so they can make themselves feel superior with condescending comments about how you "just don't understand". It's the pimple on the ass of anime, it's everything that gives anime as an artistic medium a bad name and by all rights shouldn't exist. Steer well away from these!
1 - Literally unwatchable. Again, I don't deal in absolutes, but if I had to, this would be the type of stuff I don't even consider anime. Or...literally anything. Personally, I haven't watched an anime that I couldn't get through the old "college try" of at least the first few episodes. I don't have much free time, I do read up on prospective titles before I dive in so I don't get burned. I managed to avoid any 1's so far, but just barely. This is the type of stuff I just drop sight unseen and never go anywhere near again. This would be the garbage that's not even worth the celluloid. The incomprehensible shit that just makes you go "why?". The equivalent of ducttaping a banana to a wall and calling it "art". The shit that only art critics who smell their own farts would call anything but pointless waste of time. One day I might be unfortunate enough to watch something like this, but I truly hope not...
I also don't read manga. It's not some pretentious posturing, I just...can't. I didn't read comic books as a kid, so I never gotten into them. I tried to read manga many times, but I ended up dropping them after a dozen or so pages. It's just not for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I know I'm missing out on a lot, since anime is often NOT the main medium, it's mostly just advertisement for the source material. An anime adaptation is usually a reward for a manga or novel getting popular enough to warrant the expense. It's basically a demo to present the story in it's "full glory" to fans of the original, and lure more people into the franchise. Coincidentally, this is why many anime have giant plot holes and stuff that makes no sense, because they had to condense the story down to fit the limited screen time, and also why tons of anime doesn't have a proper ending (either end on a sequel bait or just stop abruptly) and never continued. It's the same reason: to drive people to buy the source manga/novel, where the story is a lot more fleshed out and continues on.
Regardless, if you can't read manga, it's a sad cross to bear, but that's life, I guess.
True. People always like the things that contains strong emotions. If it can be the first thing they're checking in the mentioned area, its effects will be doubled.
About the movie, I personally don't thing they'll be much comedy there. However, presence of kyoko, who is the best character in the series to me will make it a step above the series itself.
Dang, interesting Corpse Party review bud, I just saw that they released Corpse Party book of shadows on steam, when I get enough money, imma go relive my childhood nightmares :D
Hey man, thanks for the recommendations! I haven't got around to watched them (because I'm a lazy asshole) so I don't really have much to tell you. I'll make sure to tell you when I watch them :D
All Comments (8) Comments
About the movie, I personally don't thing they'll be much comedy there. However, presence of kyoko, who is the best character in the series to me will make it a step above the series itself.
Anyways, Happy Holidays!
Your Mirai Nikki Redial review was on the spot.
Good Job man :D