What is average

Mostly a boring story. For me, it's usually the reason why a certain anime feels average.

"Average" means... whatever you want. It depends on how you want to shape your list: some people drop every anime they rate 5/10, I personally enjoy my 5/10 because anything above 4 is "not bad".

Average = I neither like nor dislike it

Something that does nothing new, is reasonably competently executed and doesn't have any standout features like a good soundtrack...

Most shows are average, because that's what words mean lol a good example of a show which should be average but is not is https://myanimelist.net/anime/49612/Ningen_Fushin_no_Boukensha-tachi_ga_Sekai_wo_Sukuu_you_desu where the story is nothing new, the characters nothing new, the outro is great but the real craft is in the way it wrings every drop out of its little story by referencing back and making sure every thread gets tied off.

I guess I can use Pokémon as my baseline. It's to anime what Garfield is to newspaper comics: a prominent face of the medium and decently enjoyable in short bursts, but mostly inoffensive, unambitious, static, and has a ton of filler. Like Garfield, there was a time when this was considered the worst insult to anime around, but I personally can think of so many worse things to watch.

Probably some of the stuff I rated 6-7 as well (e.g. Love Live Sunshine), stuff that I guess was decently charming, but isn't going to stick with me. Ironically, Yu-Gi-Oh, which I rated 5, is significantly more memorable because it's the card game nerd's answer to pro wrestling melodrama.

Do you mean qualitywise or contentwise?

If qualitywise, think the following: Imagine that every anime starts a 5 by default.
If it never tries anything, it will never fail, but neither will it go beyond a 5. That's being "average by lacking", I consider Cutie Honey to be this kind of 5.
There's also the ones that start as a five, try something things, some of them succeed and some of them fail in a way that they cancel each-other out. Key the Metal Idol is such anime.

In the end, "quality" is based on how much you succeed and how much you fail.

Contentwise, however, "average anime" means "generic anime", and thus the terms "above" and "below" average don't make sense here.

From your description I feel like that should be like the minimum although by then it sounds liek above average?

Its average and then it has just that which makes it (slightly) above average

Meanwhile

I think its normal that a lot of anime either gamble and bomb

Or they play too safe

Or worse both

Part of it is also that I feel maybe my patience has gone to the point where as I feel anime really does both at the same time they try to both play it safe and gamble and the whole thing blows up either gradually or quickly

1. Average = in between 6-7
   
2. Above Average = More than 7
   
3. Below Average = Below 6
   

Anything above 4 and less than 7. I use score descriptions quite literally, like 10 for masterpiece, 9 for great, 8 very good, 7 good, 6 fine, average 5, etc. Except 5, I don't use it because my average score is around in between 6 and 7.

MAL's average is 5. Mine's around 6-7. I think you should find your own average, @CocoaGalaxy.

@CocoaGalaxy

I think average is the minimum when you're using a scale of 1 - 10 scale for bad to good? To me less than the minimum would be on the bad side because it's the most neutral description?

I don't think that "a lot" of anime are gambling though, I don't think that's generally how any commercial media works lol, that being said, right now I feel that trend chasing is particularly intense at the moment, whether that trend is slop isekai, reincarnation, fantasy world with inexplicable video game mechanics or (in combination with any of the preceding lol) the goodest boy gets kicked out of the party because everyone else is a big stinky-doo-doo head.


I suppose the point I'm making with Fushin is that its intricacy shows a commitment to it, a passion for it, which just shines through it in a way that so many just churned out shows are just that, rushed out the door kinda hitting the most of the current expected beats.

Do you mean qualitywise or contentwise?

If qualitywise, think the following: Imagine that every anime starts a 5 by default.
If it never tries anything, it will never fail, but neither will it go beyond a 5. That's being "average by lacking", I consider Cutie Honey to be this kind of 5.
There's also the ones that start as a five, try something things, some of them succeed and some of them fail in a way that they cancel each-other out. Key the Metal Idol is such anime.

In the end, "quality" is based on how much you succeed and how much you fail.

Contentwise, however, "average anime" means "generic anime", and thus the terms "above" and "below" average don't make sense here.

I guess that depends on a lot of things. Like my first thought would be that an average show would have to be smth that I rated 5/10 but my average rating is actually 7.47 so I guess my "average" anime experience is probably closer to a 7? But a 7/10 show is actually "good" in my eyes so saying that it is average doesn't seem quite right, so I will define an average anime as a 6/10 (which MAL defines as fine). Like a fine show with nothing truly good to show for it but it is better than being unwatchable or completely underwhelming in every sense. The 5/10 has kind of a negative connotation for me because I see it as an anime that is neither good nor bad, not quite average, simply a completely tasteless experience overall.
Then for the "worst anime that you would still in good faith recommend to someone" that I actually finished would be either a kind of shitty romance like Nagatoro, or smth like Blue Period, Mob Psycho or Spy x Family, idk. The thing is that I personally don't like Mob or Spy x Family, but I know that the majority of people do, so I would genuinely recommend them (not with joy in my heart or anything like that). Then smth like Blue Period is pretty artistic so I guess that could appeal to someone, and if you like romances and are down to watch anything there are a couple of really shitty one-trick pony ones that could entertain anyone for 12 episodes.

@thewiru I do notice you being trashing Key the Metal idol lately what happen you got a problem on this slow pace for I remember they don't have a problem the pacing expect the 14 episode which fair because they don't the budget and ova is crashing, most fan on circle they do like this anime.they deconstruct the idol before perfect blue this studio pierrot they made Creamy Mami if you familiar with Xenogears their guy is the art style (and episode 14 mirror the disc two of Xenogears

If you watch the review of Kaizerbeam it did explain why Key is a slow burn like and how the crash the ova effects it's release