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What does it take for you to rate an anime 10/10?

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Mar 23, 9:54 AM
#1
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Nov 2023
11
As a newcomer I saw that the adjective corresponding to a 10/10 rating in MAL is "masterpiece". I am fully aware of the fact that different people can have different tastes, but for me rating an anime (or anything, really, for that matter) 10/10 feels like the rater is making an objective statement about the objective quality of whatever is given that rating. I am skeptical of this because I believe that most animes aren't actually trying to be "masterpieces" (and judging by their average ratings on MAL, none are indeed - the highest rated ones are at low 9s, equivalent to "great"). They are not trying to push the medium forward and to be groundbreaking, to be of artistic value - the vast majority of them are simply made to be commercially successful (most animes are not even original works, but adaptations of mangas/LNs/games/etc), and for that I suspect that at least some compromise has to be made with its "artistic value" so that it can appeal to a wider audience. Furthermore, I doubt any one of us here on MAL can legitimately claim to be someone that can reasonably determine the objective quality of any given anime. We are not movie critics, after all. Nevertheless, I am not trying to discourage any of you from rating shows however you want, even if it is a 10/10. Everyone can apply different standards. Mine is mostly related to how much I enjoy a show, rather than to try to determine its objective quality. But still, I am legitimately asking you, what does it take in order for a show to be a 10/10, since, considering the things I said above, I do not truly believe that most animes deserve to be rated 10/10.
Mar 23, 9:54 AM
#2

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Feb 2020
76384
If I absolutely love the story and characters, then I'll gave it a 10/10. However, it doesn't have to be a perfect "masterpiece". All my 10/10s have some minor flaws.
Mar 23, 9:57 AM
#3
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Nov 2023
11
Reply to Serafos
If I absolutely love the story and characters, then I'll gave it a 10/10. However, it doesn't have to be a perfect "masterpiece". All my 10/10s have some minor flaws.
@Serafos So a masterpiece does not have to be perfect? Well, each one with his own definitions of "masterpiece" I guess...

It's just that I assumed that "masterpiece" was supposed to mean perfect...
Mar 23, 10:04 AM
#4

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Jan 2022
628
>What does it take for you to rate an anime 10/10?
Making me feel exactly like getting high on weed, which is impossible for an anime to do. Therefore no anime is too good or terrible to make me actually rate it anything.
Mar 23, 10:15 AM
#5

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Dec 2021
876
My very own subjective enjoyment.

Thinking too much about numbers is tiring. But thinking about what makes something good to me is an interesting way of discovering my preferences. So, my opinions and ratings often differ. In general, I judge something based on Consistency, Concept Execution, and Self-awareness. I think these are slightly more general basis compared to story, character, and animation which seemed less flexible in my view. I don't think an absolute objective view is possible while existing in the universe. However, a pseudo-objective view can be achievable. So, in the end, to me, it's still very tiring to think of some (pseudo)objective features of something.

"𝑰𝒇 π’‚π’π’šπ’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’ˆ, 𝑰 π’˜π’‚π’π’• 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 π’”π’π’Žπ’†π’π’π’† π’˜π’‰π’ π’Œπ’π’π’˜π’” π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• 𝒔𝒉𝒆 π’˜π’‚π’π’•π’” 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆, 𝒐𝒓 π’Œπ’π’π’˜π’” π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• 𝒔𝒉𝒆 π’π’Šπ’Œπ’†π’”, 𝑰 π’ˆπ’–π’†π’”π’”?"
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» [JELEE] «
0:00 〇────── 4:47
β†Ί |◁ II β–·| β™‘


Mar 23, 10:17 AM
#6

Online
Jul 2016
8826
It has to give me a boner almost every episode and have a plot that feels consistent for the whole run and NOT have any characters that piss me off.
Mar 23, 10:18 AM
#7

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Nov 2017
173
I dont rate animes.
Bcs my taste change with the time
For example I didnt liked haruhi when Δ± first watched 5-6 years ago but Δ± like now
Mar 23, 10:20 AM
#8

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Dec 2020
926
In the same sense that scariness of (let's say) a tiger is not a property of the tiger itself, it becomes a scary creature because you are scared of it, goodness of an artwork is not a property of the artwork. There is no such thing as an objectively good work of art. If you define 'objectively good' as something that has certain agreed-upon desirable qualities then maybe you could call some things objectively good or bad but I personally don't see any value in defining such a concept. I've never really cared about what most people like. There are a lot of things that I think are very good but are not liked by the average person.
For me a 10/10 anime is an anime which I think is beautiful and doesn't have things that I dislike. simple as.
Thanatos1Mar 23, 10:28 AM

Mar 23, 10:23 AM
#9

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May 2015
1584
Beyond the emotional and "aesthetic"impact becoming obsessed with a show over a long period is a pretty good precursor to my 10/10s and to a few of my 9/10s as well. Sometimes I feel that aside from Mushishi all my other 10/10s are actually 9.5/10s.
Mar 23, 10:24 AM

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Apr 2020
2539
Usually I love an anime that makes me feel a lot of emotions where I cry, laugh, get angry, etc,.
If a show is very complex and obviously well written but it didn't make me laugh at least a little bit then its hard for me to remember or have a huge emotional connection to it. I think the only exception to this is grave of the fireflies because I was crying the entire movie but I still gave it a 10/10.

i don't think 10/10 means perfect because humans make art and humans arent supposed to be flawless, I just think that its so good that the few flaws it has are irrelevant.
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Mar 23, 10:26 AM

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Nov 2021
138
Loving the story, the characters, and it has to leave an impression on me when it's over. When you finish a 10/10 you just have this feeling that you watched something next level for its genre.
Taiga best girl forever.
Mar 23, 10:35 AM

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May 2021
1241
As good as an adaption like Frieren. If its original, at least Edgerunner level. It MUST have good songs (op/ed/ost). It must have at least one character that I like.

I think thats the basic requirements.
Mar 23, 10:51 AM

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Sep 2018
4038
I enjoy it more than anything I rated 9, which means that I love every second of it.

The bar between a low 10 and a high 9 is arbitrary, it depends on how you want to shape your list (and of course also on how many anime you've watched): I don't like the idea of having very few 10s (like those who have half a dozen of 10s and hundreds of 9s), because I can already use the favorites section in my profile to distinguish the best 10s from the others, as if they were 11/10; too many 10s aren't good either because the more 10s you have, the less they're worth (like money and inflation). I think it's ok as long as 10 is rarer than the other recommended and mixed feelings scores.
Mar 23, 11:05 AM
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Feb 2024
72
Great animation
Great characters
Great story


Interspecies Reviewers and isekai harem labyrinth
Are examples where I would give it a 10


Edit Also interspecies reviewers is the only series @myanimelist had
To “censored” (delete scores)
Because how positive the review were

Stopping a non main stream title being
The top anime on the site
Animefan54556Mar 23, 11:12 AM
Mar 23, 11:55 AM
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Dec 2023
4
Amazing story and characters
If this make rethink life
or I love and want to give a 10
Mar 23, 12:09 PM

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Dec 2022
367
Decent storyline and peak enjoyment is all I ask for.

-Tohka is better than Kurumi. You can't change my mind. 

Mar 23, 12:25 PM
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Feb 2021
70
First of all i should absolutely love the anime even after half a year or year without rewatching and
Also how much you can connect with character. Character are relatable for me or not.
Mar 23, 12:37 PM

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Oct 2013
2135
Closest to objectively a 10/10 IMO is nichijou. I give it a 9/10 for subjective reasons.
.
Mar 23, 12:43 PM

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Sep 2007
1447
Reply to Serafos
If I absolutely love the story and characters, then I'll gave it a 10/10. However, it doesn't have to be a perfect "masterpiece". All my 10/10s have some minor flaws.
Serafos said:
If I absolutely love the story and characters, then I'll gave it a 10/10. However, it doesn't have to be a perfect "masterpiece". All my 10/10s have some minor flaws.


Pretty much the same here along with amazing animation and music. My enjoyment factors in as as well.
Mar 23, 12:56 PM
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Nov 2023
16
For me, a score of 10 or "masterpiece" is just an anime that is unique, has entertainment value that is interesting to watch. And, it can make a difference with several other anime works.
Mar 23, 1:08 PM

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Aug 2023
57
I think overloading a simple 10 point scale with extra criteria that can hardly be expressed numerically is a bit counterproductive.
Loosely applying a bell curve, something like the top 1 to 2,5% of all works seems appropriate as 10/10 benchmark.
Mar 23, 1:24 PM
Walpurgis

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May 2023
394
My only 10s are Lain, Boogiepop Phantom, Haibane Renmei and Higurashi. There's a few things that unify all four of them even though they're all pretty different shows:

-they hooked me from the very get go
-I cared about the characters and found the stories interesting
-when I was done with the shows, I wanted to explore the periphery material because I didn't want to leave their universes
-I listen to all of the soundtracks regularly
-they all made me feel emotional
-I can relate to several characters in each of them
-the art styles all appeal to me

so, I guess it's a combination of all of those things that make an anime perfection in my eyes.
Mar 23, 1:27 PM

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Jan 2021
2349
I think about it often, has a lot of likable and memorable characters

I have the urge to binge watch it and has a cool aesthetic to it
Mar 23, 1:41 PM

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Jul 2014
6837
If, for whatever reason, it clicks and resonates with me in a way that nothing else does.
Take care of yourself

Mar 23, 7:47 PM

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Aug 2020
2856
They must have some essence that wow me. For ex Perfect Blue (my WORST 10/10) did give me a watching experience of that level whilst the og Kino's Journey (my BEST 9/10) didn't have anything of that level.
Mar 23, 7:54 PM

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Nov 2023
650
Make sure its extremely well written that does not forces itself to be emotional, letting go on naturally as well as deeply cutting through my life and using my experience as a weapon. The animation does not have to be the best though. But All of this needs to last for the majority of the runtime.
Mar 23, 8:01 PM

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May 2021
622
it’s like the perfect combination of subjective enjoyment and objective quality
Mar 23, 8:19 PM

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Feb 2021
4125
There really isn't a clear line where a show is a 9 or a 10 for me. If I really like it, it's a 9. If I really like it and think it's special, it's a 10.
"Nobody could laugh at someone who's trying their hardest" -Machio-

Mar 23, 10:32 PM

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Dec 2012
9419
Something that's well made and extremely entertaining or meaningful.
"The name's Gambit. Remember it."
-Gambit "X-Men '97"

Mar 25, 5:28 PM

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May 2021
1150
I had to completely enjoy it from start to finish, and objectively concluded that any flaws it had aren't enough to bring it down from 10.
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Mar 25, 5:31 PM

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Dec 2020
298
Several things. It has to be a personal favorite of mine, it has to be very consistent throughout all of its runtime quality wise (there can be exceptions to this) and it has to be something like the best possible experience inside of its own anime genre. Also, it needs to be as good as any of the other shows that I have as a 10.
"Those words are meant for those that dare defy god's final warning... An epigraph of their stubbornness"
- Maho Hiyajo (Steins;Gate 0)
Mar 25, 6:14 PM

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Aug 2020
1542
Actually having narrative depth.

UNLIKE the many, many fad CGDCT or Manic Pixie Dream Girl wanting to fuck a 4/10 guy animes that otakus say is peak nowadays.
Keep scrolling
Mar 25, 6:17 PM
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Jul 2018
564488
I dunno, if I feel like it, I'll give it a 10.
Mar 25, 6:17 PM

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May 2020
40
My categories I rate anime on are animation, music, story, character chemistry, and lasting appeal.

If a show nails all five, I give it a 10.
Mar 25, 6:19 PM

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Aug 2020
7801
Great story and production + special value

Mar 25, 7:34 PM

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May 2013
632
Other than having an overall excellence in storyline, Ost and characters, it must make me feel something deep in the core of my soul.

Mar 25, 7:38 PM

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Apr 2022
200
I guess it's about how I respond to it on a personal/emotional level. If the story manages to engage me personally/emotionally on a very high/intense level, then it is a story where the execution has very strongly resonated with me, and a story that will stay with me for a very long time. And those get 10s.
Mar 25, 8:00 PM

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Mar 2021
377
Idk hasn't happened yet I'll keep you posted
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If you wish to treat this incident as our nation’s scheme, that is fine by me. History is written by the victors. All of your false accusations will soon be erased.
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Mar 25, 8:51 PM

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Jan 2021
1027
I don't think I rated anything a 10 when I first started (going on 4 years this year), but I consumed anime like a fiend back then. Now that I've slowed down and in general just lack time to watch, I think anything that makes me feel that again is deserving of a 10. My last was the most recent season of Horimiya, but before that I hadn't had one since 2022 with HxH.

It is worth noting that a lot, if not all, of my nine's could be pushed to a 10 if I argue with myself enough about it.

I just really miss that feeling I had when I started, especially since I'm in an anime slump right now.




Mar 26, 12:55 AM

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Jan 2023
1785
I will rate a series 10/10 if my enjoyement of it is the maximum enjoyement I can get out of watching an anime basically :)
I don't really have any objective criteria such as 'it needs to do this and that...' though, it's purely based on my enjoyement of it.
Mar 26, 4:58 AM
Call me Oniichan

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Jan 2007
927
A 10/10 anime must satisfy my deepest fetishes. So far, only Redo of Healer has managed to do it. This show has managed to fulfill my fetishes of:
- seeing women being mindbroken into submission, slavery and unbreakable loyalty
- a dominant male taking sexual vengeance upon evil women who made his life a living hell (very relatable)
- a cute virgin girl getting aroused when seeing the MC having sex with other women, and secretly wanting him to do the same to her (but she's too shy to admit it to herself yet - she needs time to be molded into a sex slave)
And it also has amazing sex animations and a great soundtrack that evokes feelings and accentuates the current mood of the show.
Mar 26, 5:46 AM

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Jan 2023
120
If I enjoy an anime enough that I will willingly re-watch it by taking some time out of my day, then that anime is a 10/10 for me.

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