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By @mdmici on twitter
Source: https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=65742778

Stop rating things before finishing them, god dammit. I mainly use MAL as a way to keep track of shows I've finished, are currently watching or wasn't to watch, which didn't seem like something that needed clarifying until recently.

This thing is a jumbled mess that I've edited in small parts over the years. Might be redundant/incoherent in places.


I've seen a waning importance in terms of rating things but, nevertheless, here's some insight into how I rate things. A 9 or 10 for me isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but always has a profound effect on me in some way or another. Anime like Toradora, Bakemonogatari and Kiki's Delivery Service have had more a profound effect on me than say Cowboy Bebop or NGE. So I might rate things mostly on personal feelings rather than "actual merit", but that probably goes for most. Everyone has their own personal tastes, after all. People will react differently to certain works. Welcome to the NHK has some God awful animation at times and the subject matter/main character might make some despise it, but I got more out of it than many of the other anime I've seen. Be true to yourself, if you liked what people call shit, own it, you have no one to explain to but yourself when it comes to what you enjoy. I've found, for me, personally, that just letting something happen and experiencing it for what it is rather than trying to meticulouly trying to poke holes in every plot point. Noticing the little things that an animator does to convey feeling, be it through use of color, intricate character motion, backgrounds or framing and appreciating those things is also some I've come to enjoy. I still sometimes become overly critical of something if the characters don't click with me, but I've come to appreciate the fact that there often so much work and passion that goes into creating so much of the media we consume, even when it seems like a "soulless money grab" there will always be, at the very least, that one animator, storyboarder, composer etc. that absolutely loves the project they're working on despite the intent of the producers. A creator's/director's/animator's/team's passion and sincerity can add so much. Does this mean you have to like everything you watch? Hell no, just be mindful about these things before you say dismissive, all encompassing, and/or condescending remarks. Back up your claims with facts, not feelings.

For reference when browsing my list; a 5 might not be bad, per say, it just didn't do anything For me. Didn't engage me much past the bare minimum or had story/plot elements that aren't to my liking. I don't really watch many 5's anymore as I tend to have a good idea of what'll appeal to me and don't venture out of my comfort zone for lack of time and will. Hate watching or mindlessly consuming something is a waste of time, effort and brain power, unless you get some masochistic enjoyment out of that, then more power to you.

As a bit of a redundancy, everyone's tastes are based on subjective opinions. There may be some pretentious, committee defined, critic established reasons for something to be "objectively good" but that isn't an indicator of how anyone will enjoy a piece of media. One person may have an interest in different director styles or "camera"/framing techniques, but obviously that's not all there is to something. When a piece of media lacks the qualities I enjoy it doesn't automatically make it bad. What I get out of something will probably be totally different from some people and yet similar to others it's obvious stuff, but it seems many people forget it sometimes, me included. What's the point of me talking about all of this seemingly obvious stuff? Well, often I feel like a shallow, pseudo-intellectual looking for someone to validate my opinions. I mean, who doesn't love being around people who agree with you, pretending we all know what we're talking about, circle jerking ourselves raw? In the end, though, what really matters is... We all have shit tastes.