September 17th, 2012
Biases
Anime Relations: Matantei Loki Ragnarok, Weiß Kreuz
There are many elements of a work of art/fiction that, in themselves, probably have no intrinsic artistic merit/demerit.
In theory, these shouldn't affect the objective score I give to something; in practice, they might. And in any case, they might help explain why I am disproportionately fond of a mediocre series (see: blog post anime relations above), or why I especially dislike a competent one.
So here's an inexhaustive list of things which I like/dislike independent of whether they make something 'better' or 'worse'.
I am more likely to like a series if it has...
- Detectives; mysteries; puzzles; mind games; battles of wits
- Assassins; organized crime groups (romanticized rather than gritty versions, I think)
- Lone traveller protagonists; travelling, in general
- Loving depictions of food
- Cats
- Philosophical aspects, particularly in the areas of ethics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind
- Characters who break gender stereotypes/challenge societal expectations re: gender; genderbending; exploration of other issues related to gender
- Reluctant comradeship
- Gods and mythological characters in modern settings
- Historical figures; references to history; a historical setting, especially the French Revolution
- Butlers, especially if they turn out to be secretly deadly
- A strikingly different animation/art style; unorthodox art direction
I am less likely to like a series if it has...
- Lots of battles or fighting
- Sports
- A really large cast
- Parenthood; young children
- Storylines in which female characters are cast chiefly as damsels in distress/people to be protected
- A singular focus on some guy achieving his dreams
- A space setting; a fantasy setting; lots and lots of worldbuilding
- A focus on romance; the ~power of love~ saving the day
In theory, these shouldn't affect the objective score I give to something; in practice, they might. And in any case, they might help explain why I am disproportionately fond of a mediocre series (see: blog post anime relations above), or why I especially dislike a competent one.
So here's an inexhaustive list of things which I like/dislike independent of whether they make something 'better' or 'worse'.
I am more likely to like a series if it has...
- Detectives; mysteries; puzzles; mind games; battles of wits
- Assassins; organized crime groups (romanticized rather than gritty versions, I think)
- Lone traveller protagonists; travelling, in general
- Loving depictions of food
- Cats
- Philosophical aspects, particularly in the areas of ethics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind
- Characters who break gender stereotypes/challenge societal expectations re: gender; genderbending; exploration of other issues related to gender
- Reluctant comradeship
- Gods and mythological characters in modern settings
- Historical figures; references to history; a historical setting, especially the French Revolution
- Butlers, especially if they turn out to be secretly deadly
- A strikingly different animation/art style; unorthodox art direction
I am less likely to like a series if it has...
- Lots of battles or fighting
- Sports
- A really large cast
- Parenthood; young children
- Storylines in which female characters are cast chiefly as damsels in distress/people to be protected
- A singular focus on some guy achieving his dreams
- A space setting; a fantasy setting; lots and lots of worldbuilding
- A focus on romance; the ~power of love~ saving the day
Posted by randomvoice | Sep 17, 2012 11:17 AM | 0 comments
August 30th, 2011
The 'awesome female character(s)' tag is inaccurately named.
What I actually intend, when I tag an anime or manga with 'awesome female character(s)', is to indicate something like the following:
This work fulfils the following requirements:
R1. There is at least one female character who is interesting, compelling, well-developed, nuanced, and generally more than a shallow collection of traits.
R2. Said character is, overall, admirable in some way.
R3. In the narrative, said character's role is greater than that of a love interest/person to be protected/damsel in distress/etc.
R4. In the work, said character's role is not chiefly to titillate the audience.
R5. The work as a whole is not particularly problematic from a feminist perspective.
There are series which fulfil the first requirement but fail on a number of the others, which is why I haven't tagged them. (R2 is also quite problematic, and I'm not that comfortable keeping it, but the current tag phrasing requires it.)
In short, I'm not that interested in 'characters who are awesome as people' (or some similar formulation). I'm interested in characters as the deliberate creations of the people behind the work, and in the uses to which said characters are put within the work. As currently phrased, the tag is misleading. Until I can find an appropriate substitute, however, it'll have to stay.
(I wrote this post because the inaccuracy stares me in the face whenever I look at my list. :| )
This work fulfils the following requirements:
R1. There is at least one female character who is interesting, compelling, well-developed, nuanced, and generally more than a shallow collection of traits.
R2. Said character is, overall, admirable in some way.
R3. In the narrative, said character's role is greater than that of a love interest/person to be protected/damsel in distress/etc.
R4. In the work, said character's role is not chiefly to titillate the audience.
R5. The work as a whole is not particularly problematic from a feminist perspective.
There are series which fulfil the first requirement but fail on a number of the others, which is why I haven't tagged them. (R2 is also quite problematic, and I'm not that comfortable keeping it, but the current tag phrasing requires it.)
In short, I'm not that interested in 'characters who are awesome as people' (or some similar formulation). I'm interested in characters as the deliberate creations of the people behind the work, and in the uses to which said characters are put within the work. As currently phrased, the tag is misleading. Until I can find an appropriate substitute, however, it'll have to stay.
(I wrote this post because the inaccuracy stares me in the face whenever I look at my list. :| )
Posted by randomvoice | Aug 30, 2011 1:37 AM | 11 comments
June 27th, 2011
The gap between objective and subjective ratings
I often come across the conflation of 'x anime is good' and 'I like x anime'. I think both statements may be empirically related, but that there's no inherent analytical relation between the two. As an illustration, I've picked out anime where my objective and subjective scores cross the neutral line - in other words, where I think an anime is objectively good but I didn't like it, or (more rarely) when I think an anime is objectively bad, but I liked it.
First, the usual caveats: I don't believe absolute objectivity exists. But I do believe that judgements can be more or less objective, and that some judgements are patently subjective - for instance, if I especially like certain themes or character types which are not in themselves 'objectively good', that will affect my subjective score for an anime, but not the objective one.
(This started out as a list of anime where my objective/subjective scores differed by at least three points, but it turns out that those anime - of which there aren't many - are in this list anyway.)
---
Objective > subjective
Decently-realised series where I didn't care for the subject matter or the intention of the series
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (8|5)
- Mind Game (7|5)
- School Rumble (7|5)
- Aria the Animation and Aria the OVA: Arietta (7|5)
- Whisper of the Heart (7|5)
Too much drama (against which I am personally biased)
- Asatte no Houkou (7|5)
- Voices of a Distant Star (7|5)
- Genshiken 2 (6|4)
Fanservice/poorly-written female characters/pandering aren't just flaws, they also annoy me on a personal level (some of the above also fall under this category)
- Last Exile (6|5)
- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (6|5)
- Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (6|4)
I was just bored by the series/annoyed by certain characters/unentertained (some of the above also fall under this category)
- Boogiepop Phantom (7|5)
- She and Her Cat (7|5)
- Gankutsuou (7|5)
- Gake no Ue no Ponyo (6|5)
- Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori (6|5)
---
Subjective > Objective
Zombie Loan (5|6)
It is a pretty 'meh' anime, but I have a weakness for reluctant comradeship, which was a fairly important part of the series.
Weiss Kreuz and Weiss Kreuz Glühen - (4|9), (5|8)
The former was my first anime ever, and the latter was its sequel. Both have ridiculous plot contrivances, shameless fangirl pandering, and tons of melodramatic angst; but I like them both for reasons of nostalgia, and because I have a weakness for some of the themes and characters involved (reluctant comradeship, dual lives, a lifestyle which results in the inability to maintain long-lasting relationships etc.).
First, the usual caveats: I don't believe absolute objectivity exists. But I do believe that judgements can be more or less objective, and that some judgements are patently subjective - for instance, if I especially like certain themes or character types which are not in themselves 'objectively good', that will affect my subjective score for an anime, but not the objective one.
(This started out as a list of anime where my objective/subjective scores differed by at least three points, but it turns out that those anime - of which there aren't many - are in this list anyway.)
---
Objective > subjective
Decently-realised series where I didn't care for the subject matter or the intention of the series
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (8|5)
- Mind Game (7|5)
- School Rumble (7|5)
- Aria the Animation and Aria the OVA: Arietta (7|5)
- Whisper of the Heart (7|5)
Too much drama (against which I am personally biased)
- Asatte no Houkou (7|5)
- Voices of a Distant Star (7|5)
- Genshiken 2 (6|4)
Fanservice/poorly-written female characters/pandering aren't just flaws, they also annoy me on a personal level (some of the above also fall under this category)
- Last Exile (6|5)
- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (6|5)
- Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (6|4)
I was just bored by the series/annoyed by certain characters/unentertained (some of the above also fall under this category)
- Boogiepop Phantom (7|5)
- She and Her Cat (7|5)
- Gankutsuou (7|5)
- Gake no Ue no Ponyo (6|5)
- Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori (6|5)
---
Subjective > Objective
Zombie Loan (5|6)
It is a pretty 'meh' anime, but I have a weakness for reluctant comradeship, which was a fairly important part of the series.
Weiss Kreuz and Weiss Kreuz Glühen - (4|9), (5|8)
The former was my first anime ever, and the latter was its sequel. Both have ridiculous plot contrivances, shameless fangirl pandering, and tons of melodramatic angst; but I like them both for reasons of nostalgia, and because I have a weakness for some of the themes and characters involved (reluctant comradeship, dual lives, a lifestyle which results in the inability to maintain long-lasting relationships etc.).
Posted by randomvoice | Jun 27, 2011 4:05 AM | 17 comments
February 16th, 2011
Interpreting MAL scores
This is just an attempt at rationalizing the way I score anime/manga. Perhaps it'll help me be more systematic in my scoring in the future.
10 - Masterpiece
A series doesn't have to be flawless to score a 10, nor does it have to have had any kind of impact/influence on other series. However, it must be skillfully executed, AND it must have something worthwhile to say.
---
9 - Great
9's are either series that don't quite count as 10's, or those which are better than 8's. That sounds like it's just stating the obvious, so let's illustrate with examples:
- Dennou Coil is a better-than-8 series, but not one which I ever considered giving a 10 to. It's fairly original, very competently written and directed, has good worldbuilding and art direction, and has a solid cast of interesting characters - so it gets pushed up to a 9.
- Jin-Roh is a movie that just falls short of being a 10. It is beautifully crafted and has some interesting things to say about the human condition, but the writing and directorial style go a bit too far, making the movie just a shade too detached and pretentious (contrast with GitS:SAC, a series which manages to be intelligent but retains warmth).
- Baccano! is a straightforward 9. It's as good as a series can be in terms of execution - yet it's an ultimately frivolous (though excellent) ride, and makes no important statements, so could never be a 10.
---
8 - Very Good
For a series to be an 8, it must be a series that I'm willing to recommend to people without making apologies for any aspects of the series. 8's have to be competently written and directed, have decent production values, and be interesting and/or original.
- Solid-but-not-outstanding series include Beck, Honey and Clover, and Ouran. Each of them delivered pretty much all you could want from such a series, but didn't have any really outstanding qualities.
- Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop are examples of series which had flashes of brilliance, but weren't consistent enough to receive higher scores.
- Some 8's are limited by their very nature. Yakitate!! Japan is an 8 because, although it's an excellent shounen comedy... in the end it's nothing more than a shounen comedy. Similarly, Jagainu-kun is a great kids' show... but it doesn't rise above being a kids' show.
---
7 - Good
7's include series that are generally good, but marred by flaws; series that are not bad, with some strong redeeming factors; or series that are very good for what they are, it's just that 'what they are' isn't that good. (Related to the last category of 8's above.) Some 7's are also not-quite-8's, the way some 9's are not-quite-10's.
- Good-but-flawed: Death Note starts out very strong, and then gets pretty bad. Higashi no Eden has incredible production values and manages to sustain one's attention despite not doing all that much... but turns out to never really go anywhere.
- Okay with redeeming factors: Peace Maker Kurogane is inconsistent, but gets a 7 on the basis of the few brilliant episodes which it does have (and the general not-bad-ness of the rest of the series). Shion no Ou has awful production values and a hit-and-miss plot, but some interesting characters and pretty decent storytelling techniques.
- Not-quite-8: Genshiken is amusing and can be quite clever, but it barely offers any real criticism of its characters, making it ultimately rather self-indulgent. Gunslinger Girl is a surprisingly sensitive series that does a good job with a premise that could have gone either way - but one gets the feeling that it relies too much on pathos, and doesn't get very far in exploring ideas about morality/humanity etc.
- Limited by nature: Akagi is a well-made, entertaining watch... except that, in the end, it's just about one guy's mahjong exploits. School Rumble is great for a shounen romance comedy... but that's all it is. (Yakitate!!Japan got an 8 because, though it was just a shounen comedy, it did contain elements of parody/cleverness.)
---
6 - Fine
6's are of two main sorts: those which just miss out on being 7's, and those which fall on the right side of 'Meh'.
- Could-have-beens: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei had potential, but was too formulaic and soulless, and too inconsistent with its comedy to make up for those flaws. Last Exile could have been such a great series... but inconsistent character development and rushed, out-of-nowhere plot events crippled it.
- Scraping by: Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori suffered from the same terrible formulaic bleakness as its predecessor, but was redeemed by decent backstory arcs. Saiyuki was largely inconsistent, but had some genuinely good arcs and episodes.
---
5 - Average
These are the series which fall on the wrong side of 'Meh'. I think the important thing to say here is that I interpret 'average' in the sense of 'mediocre', not as a mathematical average. My rating system is based on the intrinsic, rather than relative, quality of a series.
5's include:
- Series that are uniformly blah, such as Witch Hunter Robin and Zombie-Loan. Nothing excruciatingly bad about them, nothing special either.
- Series which are a mixture of good and bad attributes, in which the bad ultimately outweigh (or compromise) the good. For instance, some bad attributes in Clannad (ridiculous characters and plot contrivances) don't just cancel out the good attributes, they cripple the good attributes fatally.
---
4 - Bad
For an anime to get a 4, it has to be actively bad in some way, not just meh.
Redeeming factors must be present to keep it from getting a lower score. It doesn't take much to count as a redeeming factor; a worthwhile aim, for instance, may suffice (so Seikai no Monshou gets a 4, because at least it's setting out to be an interesting exercise in character development and worldbuilding... it just happens to fail).
---
3 - Very Bad
Like 4's, but without the redeeming factors.
---
2 - Horrible
Series that are not only incompetent, but insulting in their incompetence; in which the production team deliberately made some decisions which resulted in a worse show.
---
1 - Unwatchable
I'm really not sure how bad an anime would have to be to get a 1. Having watched Tenkuu Danzato Skelter Heaven, I now know. Requirements for a 1: incoherence; outright stupidity; shoddy execution; no ambition; no compelling premise, setting, plot or characters.
10 - Masterpiece
A series doesn't have to be flawless to score a 10, nor does it have to have had any kind of impact/influence on other series. However, it must be skillfully executed, AND it must have something worthwhile to say.
---
9 - Great
9's are either series that don't quite count as 10's, or those which are better than 8's. That sounds like it's just stating the obvious, so let's illustrate with examples:
- Dennou Coil is a better-than-8 series, but not one which I ever considered giving a 10 to. It's fairly original, very competently written and directed, has good worldbuilding and art direction, and has a solid cast of interesting characters - so it gets pushed up to a 9.
- Jin-Roh is a movie that just falls short of being a 10. It is beautifully crafted and has some interesting things to say about the human condition, but the writing and directorial style go a bit too far, making the movie just a shade too detached and pretentious (contrast with GitS:SAC, a series which manages to be intelligent but retains warmth).
- Baccano! is a straightforward 9. It's as good as a series can be in terms of execution - yet it's an ultimately frivolous (though excellent) ride, and makes no important statements, so could never be a 10.
---
8 - Very Good
For a series to be an 8, it must be a series that I'm willing to recommend to people without making apologies for any aspects of the series. 8's have to be competently written and directed, have decent production values, and be interesting and/or original.
- Solid-but-not-outstanding series include Beck, Honey and Clover, and Ouran. Each of them delivered pretty much all you could want from such a series, but didn't have any really outstanding qualities.
- Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop are examples of series which had flashes of brilliance, but weren't consistent enough to receive higher scores.
- Some 8's are limited by their very nature. Yakitate!! Japan is an 8 because, although it's an excellent shounen comedy... in the end it's nothing more than a shounen comedy. Similarly, Jagainu-kun is a great kids' show... but it doesn't rise above being a kids' show.
---
7 - Good
7's include series that are generally good, but marred by flaws; series that are not bad, with some strong redeeming factors; or series that are very good for what they are, it's just that 'what they are' isn't that good. (Related to the last category of 8's above.) Some 7's are also not-quite-8's, the way some 9's are not-quite-10's.
- Good-but-flawed: Death Note starts out very strong, and then gets pretty bad. Higashi no Eden has incredible production values and manages to sustain one's attention despite not doing all that much... but turns out to never really go anywhere.
- Okay with redeeming factors: Peace Maker Kurogane is inconsistent, but gets a 7 on the basis of the few brilliant episodes which it does have (and the general not-bad-ness of the rest of the series). Shion no Ou has awful production values and a hit-and-miss plot, but some interesting characters and pretty decent storytelling techniques.
- Not-quite-8: Genshiken is amusing and can be quite clever, but it barely offers any real criticism of its characters, making it ultimately rather self-indulgent. Gunslinger Girl is a surprisingly sensitive series that does a good job with a premise that could have gone either way - but one gets the feeling that it relies too much on pathos, and doesn't get very far in exploring ideas about morality/humanity etc.
- Limited by nature: Akagi is a well-made, entertaining watch... except that, in the end, it's just about one guy's mahjong exploits. School Rumble is great for a shounen romance comedy... but that's all it is. (Yakitate!!Japan got an 8 because, though it was just a shounen comedy, it did contain elements of parody/cleverness.)
---
6 - Fine
6's are of two main sorts: those which just miss out on being 7's, and those which fall on the right side of 'Meh'.
- Could-have-beens: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei had potential, but was too formulaic and soulless, and too inconsistent with its comedy to make up for those flaws. Last Exile could have been such a great series... but inconsistent character development and rushed, out-of-nowhere plot events crippled it.
- Scraping by: Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori suffered from the same terrible formulaic bleakness as its predecessor, but was redeemed by decent backstory arcs. Saiyuki was largely inconsistent, but had some genuinely good arcs and episodes.
---
5 - Average
These are the series which fall on the wrong side of 'Meh'. I think the important thing to say here is that I interpret 'average' in the sense of 'mediocre', not as a mathematical average. My rating system is based on the intrinsic, rather than relative, quality of a series.
5's include:
- Series that are uniformly blah, such as Witch Hunter Robin and Zombie-Loan. Nothing excruciatingly bad about them, nothing special either.
- Series which are a mixture of good and bad attributes, in which the bad ultimately outweigh (or compromise) the good. For instance, some bad attributes in Clannad (ridiculous characters and plot contrivances) don't just cancel out the good attributes, they cripple the good attributes fatally.
---
4 - Bad
For an anime to get a 4, it has to be actively bad in some way, not just meh.
Redeeming factors must be present to keep it from getting a lower score. It doesn't take much to count as a redeeming factor; a worthwhile aim, for instance, may suffice (so Seikai no Monshou gets a 4, because at least it's setting out to be an interesting exercise in character development and worldbuilding... it just happens to fail).
---
3 - Very Bad
Like 4's, but without the redeeming factors.
---
2 - Horrible
Series that are not only incompetent, but insulting in their incompetence; in which the production team deliberately made some decisions which resulted in a worse show.
---
1 - Unwatchable
I'm really not sure how bad an anime would have to be to get a 1. Having watched Tenkuu Danzato Skelter Heaven, I now know. Requirements for a 1: incoherence; outright stupidity; shoddy execution; no ambition; no compelling premise, setting, plot or characters.
Posted by randomvoice | Feb 16, 2011 4:08 PM | 10 comments