How I Review Anime

(I have since stopped using the rating system because it is too tedious)

Going forward, I will be rating anime on 4 main scales:

Design (/15):

• Distinguishment (/5): does this anime have visual/audible characteristics that distinguish themselves from other? For instance - the transmutation circles in FMA and the unique dub of cowboy bebop. (5/5s: Naruto, Evangelion).

• Animation (/2): is it well animated? (0 - bad, 1 - not notable, 2 - great)

• Sound (/2) how good is the sound design? (0 - bad, 1 - not notable, 2 - great)

• OST (/2) how good is the music? (0 - bad, 1 - not notable, 2 - great)

• Character designs: (/2) (0 - bad, 1 - not notable, 2 - great)

• Backgrounds: (/2) (0 - bad, 1 - not notable, 2 - great)

Script (/50):

• Character Investment (/10): was I invested in the characters? (10/10: Naruto, Death Note)

• Character Realism (/2): are these characters similar to real humans? Generally, anime will have casts that are more intelligent/interesting/powerful/attractive than the average person, which I consider excusable. However, if this is taken too far (e.g. Steins;Gate), it will be lowered in rank. (2/2 - Perfect Blue)

• Character Complexity (/3): are these complex and fleshed out characters? (0 - no 1 - 2D, 2 - between 2D and 3D, 3 - 3D)

• Plot solidness (/5): does the story have solid writing (absence of plot holes, stupid coincidences, plot no jutsu)? (4/4: FMA: B)

• Plot complexity (/10): does the series have a reasonably complex plot? (10/10: Death Note)

• Ending (/5) does the series have a good ending? (5/5: Code Geass)

• Pacing (/5): is the pacing of the story good? (5/5: FMA: B)

• Stakes (/10): are the events in the story meaningful? (20/20: Evangelion)

Value (/15):

• Thematic elements (/5): Does the story have a theme? Is the theme well developed? Is the theme relevant to the events that take place (5/5: Evangelion)

• Skill (/5): Did it require skill to make this anime? (5/5: Perfect Blue)

• Originality: (/5) How original is the anime? (5/5: Angel’s Egg)

Enjoyment (/20):

• Did I like it (/20): (20/20: Death Note)

I use a rating sysem to that of thatanimesnob has - but it’s weighed so that the summed score is most similar to the latent quality. I will also accompany the rating system with wordslop and some comments on why I thought the anime deserved these scorings. The anime will have its latent rank (/10) and its score (/100) posted in the subtitle - the difference between the two being that the score is the calculation derived from the ranking system and the latent rank is an arbitrary judgement of quality.

In terms of personal preferences, I prefer slow pacing - not the sloggy pacing you see in Monster, Hunter x Hunter, and LOGH - but the lifelike pacing you see in Spirited Away or Naruto. I highly value originality, as I am high in openness and I have watched a lot of anime already, so seeing something that isn’t original is a big let down. I have a preference for edgy and shocking anime (e.g. Berserk, Blue Gender), as I value the emotional impact of the series highly.

edit: weighing of the stakes were lowered, as they caused factor scores to be overestimated due to the fact most popular anime is high stakes

edit 2: added an ending section

edit 3: reduced weight of design and increased weight of script due to incongruent inital factor scores. last time the changes to the rating system will affect previously rated anime.