That depends on a lot of factors. MAL scores need to be interpreted accordingly, they can't always be taken at face value.
For a popular, mainstream seasonal a low score means something went horribly wrong, because a lot of people with very top-leaning scoring systems (like mostly using the 7-10 ratings for everything) so if the score is still low, it probably means something.
For more obscure shows, it means less because those are mostly watched by more veteran fans who use the whole rating scale more liberally. A 6.xx score for some old obscure OVA is a decent score, but for a very recent mainstream show with 100k viewers, it probably indicates that it is crap.
And certain genres or types of anime are in a similar vein. Kids shows always get lower rating by default, so a 7.xx score for a kids show like Youkai Watch means it's gonna be pretty great (and it is). Ecchi also tends to get the lower end of the rating stick so ecchi fans know not to value their scores too much when picking what to watch. Shorts in general probably get the lowest ratings cause people are just used to industry works and many can't really appreciate experimental shorts with weird animation and no real plot.
Even 5.xx scores for shorts still indicate that they are likely to be quite good, and I found stuff that I enjoyed at pretty much any rating when it comes to shorts.
And lastly old stuff in general gets lower scores because of the same reason, they are more likely to be watched by veterans who use the whole rating scale. Also people just have this inherent bias that new is automatically better than old for some reason. Sure, there are some classics with decent scores, but in general you should probably add a few .xx points to any old show's score to get a more accurate idea of its reception.
But you should keep in mind that personal preferences can trump score for any show. If you dislike a genre you'll probably even dislike highly rated shows that belong to it and if you like a genre you are more likely to enjoy even shows of that genre with a mediocre rating. The scores can't take your bias into account so that's your job when interpreting them. They're just guidelines, but they can be useful especially if you end up watching a large number of anime.
Personally I only take the score into account if I'm not confident I'll enjoy it just based on the synopsis, which I am most of the time since I know my taste. Anything in the 6.xx range is still very much a consideration, some of the best shows I know are in that range. Only beloe 6 I really start worrying, and even then if it's an (obscure) seasonal and still airing it often isn't reliable since for some reason many people check out seasonals they have no interest in in the first place just to drop them and/opr score them lowly.
This season has Ekoda-chan at a 5.05 score and it's honestly one of the best shows this season and one of the overall best short shows I've seen with almost every episode being great (not the most recent one, but all the others are in the 7-9/10 range). But because seasonal viewers and casuals are biased against shorts, episodic stuff and experimental art styles, all 3 things attributes of the show, the score is almost below 5.
You also have Kemurikusa at below 6 this season and it's probably my third favorite show of the season so far, with an intriguing setting and worldbuilding, a nice air of mystery, quirky characters and, unfortunately, CGI visuals which are most likely the sole reason for the low score.
Last year had Gurazeni, an episodic slice of life show about the not-so-glamorous parts of professional baseball, became one of my alltime favorites when it aired last year. It's unique, charming, atmospheric and great at episodic storytelling. But it has a score of 6.36 because seasonal anime fans are biased against episodic stuff and probably expected a hot-blooded sports anime like Kuroko instead of a laid back slice of life show.
That's just 3 examples from this and the previous season to showcase how misleading scores can be if you don't know how and when to take them into account. A score should never prevent you from watching something you think sounds genuinely interesting. But if you can't decide between two shows that look equally interesting, it's not a mistake to go with the higher rated show first. |