TWWK's Blog

It is now ten years into the 21st century. If one theme connects people all over the world, it is that very idea of connection. Gone are the days of the pony express, and even of letter writing. Many of us no longer even have landline phones. We grow up and live in societies (in the U.S. at least) which stress communication and availability of that communication – in other words, we want to know whatever we desire, and we want to know it now.

As our consumption of knowledge grows, so does our consumption of information from international sources. Anime was once on the fringe, but with the accessibility provided through the Internet, and with nerd culture going mainstream, anime has exploded as a phenomenon that appears to be here to stay. An art form far different from almost anything produced in America, anime represents a country (Japan) which is dramatically different from this one. One particular difference has to do with ideas of spirituality and in particular, the religions which dominate each country (Christianity v. Buddhism/Shintoism). But can Christian spiritual ideas be found in anime, where it’s very rarely intended? Are those ideas worth exploring?

Beneath the Tangles, which is named for a line in the Lifehouse song, “Cling and Clatter,” strives to make connections between anime and Christian spirituality. Through reviews, analysis, interviews and other methods, this site will unveil the invisible God in an art form almost never meant to show Him. I welcome those of all faiths (and those of none) to explore these connections with me.

Please visit Beneath the Tangles.

The eternal debate continues to rage - are your highest rated anime based on personal enjoyment or on quality? For some of us, the two are the same. But I'm not one of the people - give me a great action flick over art house any day.

That's not say I throw quality out the window, though.

But still...this is why Grave of the Fireflies is a 9 in my list, and not a 10.

So how do I compromise the two? Well, I think my anime list is better based on several categories, rather than the two. Here are the categories on which I base my ratings, from order of most important to me to least:

1. Characters
Most important, to me, are the characters. No show will rate a 10 unless I absolutely love most of the important characters. The character design, personality, voice acting and background all work into this.
My Perfect 10 Example: Love Hina

2. Character Development
Besides just having good characters, I need to see them development. I want them to move somewhere, and not just be. I need to see some change in my characters and/or reveals from their pasts which effect the present.
My Perfect 10 Example: Cowboy Bebop

3. Good at What it Does
An action series needs to have great action. A comedy series needs to have lots of humor. A romantic series needs to touch the heart. Nothing's more boring than a comedy which isn't funny or a romance that doesn't connect.
My Perfect 10 Example: Excel Saga

4. Plot
There needs to be a plot, right? Wait a minute...this isn't necessarily so, as can be seen by lots of shows that are really "about nothing." And while a deep plot can be great, I often find myself enjoying surface level plots the best. Something dumb but immensely enjoyable often matches something very smart and engaging in my book
My Perfect 10 Example: Eve no Jikan

5. Romance
To be frank, I want at least some romance in everything I watch. I want to see that link between two (or more) characters. How well a romance is done relates to point #3...but give me, at least, some romantic elements that tug at my heart and have me wanting more.
My Perfect 10 Example: Genshiken

6. Animation
Animation, in addition to a series OP, is kind of the "hook" for me. I am more likely to watch a show with beautiful animation for more episodes than it's worth compared to a similarly poor series with mediocre animation. But I won't complete a series based only on animation, and I certainly won't drop one because it looks soooo 80's.
My Perfect 10 Example: Last Exile

7. Screenplay
Witty dialogue can be great...but when I don't speak the original language, it's hard for me to really judge dialogue too positively or negatively. More on the point, if the dialogue is incredibly poor and awkward (ex. To Heart), it's a turn-off.
My Perfect 10 Example: Azumanga Diaoh

8. Voice Acting
Frankly, I find most Japanese voice acting to be very good. However, I still watch dubs about 50% of the time, when available. It's when I watch these dubs that I really get down to enjoying or very much disliking the voice acting. Voice acting won't lead me to turn off a series - it will only lead me to change over to the original language.
My Perfect 10 Example: Nenon Genesis Evangelion

Soundtrack
Bad scoring generally doesn't bother me much. Good scoring is something I notice, but it takes a fantastic score to really push my enjoyability factor through the roof.
My Perfect 10 Example: Honey and Clover

Opening/Closing
Openings and closings find themselves at the bottom of the list...but they still factor in. A strong opening will pump me up for a series and making a show which may be only middling into something more. And they will also burn an already-terrific show into a place of beautiful remeniscience in my memory.
My Perfect 10 Example: Toradora!