Report Pirate207's Profile

I tend to be a little harsh in my ratings of anime and I try to judge as critically as possible as if it were any other type of art (movie, music, book, etc). Just because I gave something a low rating doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. Sometimes you just wanna turn your brain off after a long day and relax to some cheesy and generic Shounen and that is A-Okay.

If you look at the tags section of my list I tend to leave a quick comment on my thoughts/reasoning.

I've recently been going through my list and re-rating many shows to better match the official MyAnimeList scale (a true 10-point scale rather than an American school grading-esque scale).

Lemme break this down a bit:
10 - Masterpiece, Wonderful, Epic. A show that meets all of the quality and entertainment of a 9, but also goes above and beyond that by asking questions and leaving an impact on me that is truly lasting. A 10 is an anime that I consider to be on par with classic literature. Everyone should watch this.
9 - Excellent. Really great. Just a couple of tiny flaws holding it back. Very, very good anime nonetheless. High quality and extremely entertaining. Would highly recommend it to almost everyone.
8 - Great / Very Good. Really enjoyable and overall high quality show, just has a few flaws. Would recommend it to people.
7 - Good. It is definitely a solid show but lacking in some places. Something is missing. Would recommend it to people who like similar types of shows and are looking for something new.
6 - Fine / Above Average. I could see why people enjoy it but overall it falls below my expectations. Would recommend it only to people who have run out of other things to watch and want something similar.
5 - Average. Completely middle of the road nothing too good but nothing too bad either. Probably wouldn't recommend it to people but wouldn't discourage anyone from watching it either.
4 - Bad / Below Average. Not Good, not really worth my time. It isn't quite too bad to watch, but it's not very enjoyable overall. Would recommend people avoid this.
3 - Very Bad, felt like a waste of time, not worth it. Probably shouldn't have watched it at all. Would definitely warn people not to watch this.
2 - Horrible. Extremely bad and a definite waste of time. Severely lacking. Would tell people to avoid this at all costs or only watch it as a joke.
1 - Appalling. Absolute and utter trash. The worst of the worst. Stay far away.



Anime I Consider Worthy of a 10:
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: The first time I saw this show my friend and I marathoned the entire thing in one night and into the next morning and we were not ready for it. I left in a state of absolute confusion and went home and watched The End of Evangelion to try to wrap my head around it. I felt like I definitely understood it better that time but I still had a lot to process. The show left an impact like no other. I couldn't stop thinking about it for the whole next week and the more I read about the lore and explanations of the show/ending, the more I grew to love it. This right here is the peak of anime in my opinion. I am a big fan of psychological and artistic movies and shows, so this was a match made in heaven for me. I have watched this a ton of times over the years and I always find new things to appreciate and new parts of characters to relate to. The deconstruction of the mecha genre- asking how 14 year olds might really react if you threw them into that situation- was fantastically done and an extremely unique idea at the time. I also love how you can see the director's mental health change as the series progresses. I even have grown to love the original ending. I think what they did from an artistic perspective with the questions they ask was extremely well done. Is it 2deep4me? Maybe. But I love it.
- Code Geass: The show that really got me into anime. I couldn't put it down. So many twists, turns, and cliffhangers kept me always wanting more. Characters that I grew to love and an ending that stuck with me for a long time.
- Death Note: The show that almost really got me into anime. The manga (which I do prefer) originally got me really into manga for a while though. The first real mature anime story I saw. It did go a little bit downhill towards the end, but the mystery, adventure, and monologues kept me on the edge of my seat and were just awesome. The latter section of the show isn't quite as good as the rest, but it is still really enjoyable.
- Princess Mononoke: By far one of the absolute best movies I have ever seen anime or otherwise. It is the movie I show people that want to see what anime is. Well told story and beautiful landscapes make it a favorite of mine.
- Cowboy Bebop: The characterization is just amazing. The fact that it's episodic can be a turn off to some, but each episode was crafted rather well, and the overarching story was cool. Also, overall the art was incredibly good, especially for its time. The music was absolutely phenomenal. I honestly never noticed music in anime until I saw this show. At times it was funny, at times the action was just awesome, and at times it was poignant. It's like the Beatles' white album of anime- it's got a little bit of everything and it comes together magically. One of the shows I will recommend to non-anime fans if they are looking to give anime a shot.
- Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica: Honestly I just re-watched this and the middle dragged a little bit more than I remember, I may re-rate this one. Appearances can be deceiving. This show was dark and deep. Some of the art style is a little strange at first, but once you are used to it, it is awesome. It was a very successful deconstruction of its genre. I can only compare it to Evangelion, but in the case of Madoka, it has a much more satisfying ending. The ending definitely leaves a lasting impact (though it might take some thought to process). Very worthy of multiple viewings. The best and most surprising show I have seen in a long time.

My Anime History:
I discovered anime thanks to Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z. I collected the Pokemon tapes and watched DBZ on Toonami. I watched the other Toonami shows on occasion, but I only seriously followed DBZ. My next obsession was Yu-Gi-Oh. Later on I started to watch Naruto. I discovered manga a little later. I randomly decided to read Death Note and that sparked a big interest in manga. I collected a pretty good library of manga over some time and then I took a break from all things anime. I was introduced to Code Geass after some time and I sped through the first season. I started watching R2, but I quit watching shortly after and I took another break from anime. A year or so later I decided to give R2 a try and I could not stop watching it. I finished it and loved it. After that I started watching a few different shows. Fast forward a bit and here I am today watching tons of anime.
100th Completed: Usagi Drop