Emotional involvement. Drama. I like having my heartstrings played with. I like crowning moments of heartwarming. If you can make me cry (or at least get misty-eyed), for whatever reason, you're doing something right. You can make me care about the ordeals of characters and create a mood that elicits a powerful emotional response from the viewer. Being able to do this nets you bonus points. It doesn't really matter if it's out of happiness or sadness as long as the anime provokes strong emotions in me. I'd just prefer it not be too depressing. Examples: anything by Key, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0.
Good characterization/character development. The plot could be as strong as paper and I wouldn't care--as long as the characters are interesting and well-developed. Conversely, you could have the coolest/most intriguing plot ever and I wouldn't care if I hated the characters. (Of course, this isn't to say I don't care about the plot; character development is just way more important.) Good character development actually makes me, you know, care about what's going on.
Romance. It has to be done right--which means characters have to display real chemistry throughout the course of a relationship that experiences actual progress through real interactions. Forcing pairings between characters with no personality or have as much chemistry as a rock and a piece of cardboard is bad writing and only appeases viewers that know nothing about what real relationships look like. All you end up with is shallow attraction.
Emotionless/kuudere/dandere/ice queen girls. As you can see, they make up 6/10 of my favorite characters. Call it a fetish of mine. I just love seeing how they react, interact, develop, and change. They're characters I gravitate out of desire to help them. They're also one of the reasons why I love Brina Palencia: She's just SO GOOD at these types of roles.
Good voice acting. I prefer to listen to the English dub (if available) whenever I can. There's only been one English dub in my history of watching that I couldn't stand and switched to Japanese after about 30 seconds: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (just Keiichi; his voice actor was TURRible).
Pretty/clean animation/visuals. High amounts of detail. Yeah, I'm pretty shallow in this area. 1080p is God: I'll watch everything in 1080p if I can.
Action. Of course, there's plenty of good stuff without action/doesn't require it, but action is preferable for me. I like lots of explosions, violence, and lack of censorship. If someone dies, I want to see it happen in all of its gruesome details (most of the time; there are times when it's more effective story writing not to). If there should be blood, I want to see it. Examples: Macross Frontier, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom.
Mind fucks. Things that defy all common sense. Trippy sequences. Psychological stuff. Example: End of Evangelion.
Interesting/witty dialogue/conversations. Examples: Spice and Wolf, Lucky Star.
Closure. I don't like open endings; but sometimes, if done right, they're not so bad. The ending can make all the difference in how I feel about an anime. Example: Kanon.
Dislike:
Plot-induced stupidity. I hate seeing characters derp out just so the plot can progress a certain way. It just makes me scream at them for being retarded, and beat my face against the wall.
Melodrama. If the majority of the conflicts in your work arise from failures to communicate and simple misunderstandings--somehow resulting in problems massively disproportionate to their trivial causes--you are bad at introducing real sources of conflict. Ergo, you are a bad writer. Examples: Toradora!, Spice and Wolf II.
Fanservice. There are times when nudity happens due to the story or reasonable circumstances/events; by definition, this is not fanservice, because fanservice is gratuitous. If the fanservice is subtle or tactfully implemented, it's more tolerable, although still not justified. Don't throw big tits, shower scenes, and panty shots in there just for shits and giggles. Blatant and in-your-face fanservice is an insult to my intelligence and only appeals to dumb, shallow, perverted viewers. Ecchi is particularly bad: it's basically just a big fanservice fest with no substance.
Downer endings. I just hate being left with a shitty, depressing feeling at the end. Bittersweet can be okay, though.
Cliches. The word carries a negative connotation for a reason. Get original, bitch. Example: Guilty Crown (ALL of it).
Pussy protagonists. I don't want to watch some tard with no balls cry and angst about how big of a pussy he is. Either fix yourself, or stop wasting screen time. Example: all the poorly-written Shinji Ikari clones.
Wasted potential. If a series is bad and possessed no potential, whatever. But I'm really bothered when there was obvious potential for an anime to be great but fell short. Can probably blame writing and directing here.
How I rate shit:
Below I've listed a title for each rating, along with some synonyms to help make the picture a little clearer.
10 - Godly. 9 - Epic. Phenomenal. Amazing. 8 - Excellent. Great. 7 - Good. 6 - Solid. Above average. 5 - Average. Decent, fine, alright, okay. Worth my time. 4 - Mediocre. Meh, blah, eh, below average. Generally a waste of time. 3 - Bad. Waste of time. 2 - Shit. Terrible. Complete waste of time. 1 - Deplorable. Claw my eyes out from the stupidity shit. Bash my face against the wall, then proceed to weep for the human race shit. Shake my head at the stupidity of people shit. Shoot myself for destroying precious seconds of my life. This rating is reserved for only the most retarded trash in existence.
It's important to note that a 5 or 6 is not bad for me. 6 is above average; 5 is average; 4 is below average. 7 is considered well above average (just look at the stuff I have there).
I usually write the most prevalent thoughts that come to mind when I put stuff in the tags for an anime. But if you'd like more info on why I rated it how I did, just comment/message me and ask about it.
It's crucial to know the distinction between liking something and rating it critically based on its merits. You can rate something 3 or 4 and still like it. Does that mean it's good? Hell no.
As outlined above, my ratings are based almost completely on quality and by no means necessarily reflect how much I like it. If I didn't, my ratings would be completely lopsided (way too many extreme highs and lows).
It's safe to assume that if something is rated 5 or more, I like it (although it's possible that I "like" lower rated anime "more" than higher ones).
4 is the gray space where an equal measure of "liked" vs. "not liked" anime reside.
If something is rated 3, it's generally safe to assume I don't like it (although there are some rare ones that I do like).
I won't like anything rated 2 or 1.
Favorite shit:
MAL doesn't let you have enough favorites. So here are some expanded lists of other favorite stuffs (in *approximate* order).
Voice actors - English voice actors, a short description of why, as well as some of my favorite performances by each (only judging their performance, not the characters themselves).
Brittney Karbowski. Seriously. Instant awesome: just add Brittney. She is so good at bringing every character she plays to life and giving them a colorful personality--even insignificant ones, like Kiko from Darker than Black. (I would just grin every time she showed up on screen, because I knew to expect something entertaining.) She may use her "normal" voice for most of her roles (my favorite), but has shown that she is capable of much more, and has no problem deviating from it (Riful of Claymore; Cal of Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, Selim of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood; Black Star of Soul Eater). Unfortunately used in a lot of ecchi/harems. Favorite roles: Ayu (Kanon), Yuri (Angel Beats!), Cal (Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom), Black Star (Soul Eater).
Chris Patton. Very close second to Brittney Karbowski, Chris has quite an impressive resume of roles--both significant and insignificant. He has an extremely unique, soft, gentle, sexy voice (if only I were gay...) that's easily distinguishable to anyone with a little experience with his performances. He's extremely good at emotionally intense scenes as well. I personally feel he's most suited towards lead roles. Favorite roles: Yuuichi (Kanon), Sousuke (Full Metal Panic!), Greed (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood), Hiroki (The Place Promised in Our Early Days).
Brina Palencia. Easily the biggest reason is because of how fuckin' good she is at emotionless girls. However, this definitely isn't all she's good at. One word: Holo. 'Nuff said. Favorite roles: Lyuze (Casshern Sins), Rei (Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0), Yin (Darker than Black), Holo (Spice and Wolf), Ai (Hell Girl) [SO PISSED FUNimation didn't do the next 2 seasons].
Luci Christian. HOLY SHIT 'dis woman is the chameleon of voice actors, with a resume even more impressive than Chris Patton's. Her voice has such a retardedly huge range that she's able to voice just about any fuckin' character you could hope for. From Haruko to Nagisa to Havoc to Tsugumi to Kaname to Truth to Haiji to even fuckin' Rare the Hare. It's nearly impossible for me to recognize her anywhere; I usually won't realize she voiced a certain character until I actually check to see who voiced them and--lo and behold--there she is. How she does it, God only knows... Favorite roles: Haruko (Air), Nagisa (Clannad), Havoc (Darker than Black), Narrator (Okami-san).
Johnny Yong Bosch. Always seems to get the most entertaining roles, and plays them extremely well. Always fun to listen to. Favorite roles: Lelouch (Code Geass), Izaya (Durarara!!), Koizumi (Haruhi Suzumiya).
Crispin Freeman. Dynamic duo with Johnny. Just plain extremely talented. Kyon (Haruhi Suzumiya), Alucard (Hellsing Ultimate), Shizuo (Durarara!!), Rude (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children).
Honorable mentions:
Emily Neves. Doesn't really need an explanation. Favorite roles: Kanade (Angel Beats!), Kotomi (Clannad).
David Matranga. I kind of envision him as taking Chris Patton and making his normal speaking voice gravlier and deeper. David is also extremely good at emotionally intense scenes (Clannad anyone?), and is really good at breaking up normal speech patterns in interesting and different ways. Favorite roles: Tomoya (Clannad), Hinata (Angel Beats!), Ghost (Halo Legends) [an unexpected act from him, but no less amazing].
Greg Ayres. Dude's fucking hilarious, and is amazing at every role he plays. Super good at being the butt monkey. Favorite roles: Sunohara (Clannad), Naoi (Angel Beats!), Kitagawa (Kanon).
Hilary Haag. She has a pretty interesting voice. She's good at putting on a show, brings her characters to life, and is also good at varying her voice. Favorite roles: Yui (Angel Beats!), Fuko (Clannad), Balot (Mardock Scramble), Tessa (Full Metal Panic!).
Newton Pittman. Just for his role as Zwei in Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom. It took him a little while to get the hang of his character, but once he did...
Lindsay Seidel. Same boat as Newton Pittman. Her Ein was just amazing. How she doesn't have more roles is beyond me.
Jason Liebrecht. I just love the dude's voice. Especially when it's in Takizawa mode. Favorite roles: Takizawa (Eden of the East), Hei (Darker than Black), Syaoran (Tsubasa Chronicle: Tokyo Revelations).
Vic Mignogna. Seriously, who DOESN'T know this mofo? Favorite roles: Ed (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood), Yukito (Air), Spirit Albarn (Soul Eater)
Todd Haberkorn. Same boat as Jason Liebrecht. Favorite roles: Ling (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood), Death the Kid (Soul Eater), Ren (Hell Girl).
Monica Rial. Cute, diabetes-inducing voice. Good thing I already have that. Don't recommend listening to her voice for long periods of time, though. Favorite roles: Misuzu (Air), Ringo (Casshern Sins), Ringo (Okami-san), Hazuki (Moon Phase), Sakura (Tsubasa Chronicle: Tokyo Revelations).
Wendee Lee. Awesome as Konata (Lucky Star). Also Haruhi Suzumiya.
Illich Guardiola. Fucking hilarious. Very unique and interesting voice. Always puts on a great show. Yusuke (Clannad), Kuze (ef).
Travis Willingham. Just for Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood).
Best anime music.
Best OSTs
Clannad
Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
Jigoku Shoujo
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Rebuild of Evangelion
Air
Kanon (2006)
Angel Beats!
Anything by Tenmon
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Best insert songs
Angel Beats!
Macross Frontier
“Insonnia” – Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
“Tsubasa wo Kudasai” – Evangelion 2.22
“Aozora” – Air
“Komm, Suesser Tod” – End of Evangelion
“Euterpe” – Guilty Crown
Best OPs
“Tori no Uta” – Air
“My Soul, Your Beats!” – Angel Beats!
“to the beginning” – Fate/Zero
“Kibou ni Tsuite” – AKB0048
“Oath Sign” – Fate/Zero
“Lion” – Macross Frontier
“Synchronicity” – Tsubasa Chronicle: Tokyo Revelations
“Period” – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
“Calendula Requiem” – Shiki
“Higurashi no Naku Koro ni” – Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
“The Everlasting Guilty Crown” – Guilty Crown
Honorable mentions (in no particular order)
“Again” – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
“Rain” – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
“Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi” – Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino
“Toki wo Kizamu Uta” – Clannad ~After Story~
“Resonance” – Soul Eater
“KARMA” – Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
“Naraku no Hana” – Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
“euphoric field” – ef - a tale of memories
“Connect” – Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
“Magic Number” – Kobato.
“Hacking to the Gate” – Steins;Gate
“Colors” – Code Geass
“Motteke! Sailor Fuku” – Lucky Star
“You” – Shuffle!
Best EDs
“Magia” – Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
“Kaze no Tadoritsuku Basho - Original Ver. -” – Kanon
“Basting” – Jigoku Shoujo
“Ichiban no Takaramono (Yui ver.)” – Angel Beats!
“Brave Song” – Angel Beats!
“Kimi no Koe” – The Place Promised in Our Early Days
“Sakura Nagashi” – Evangelion 3.0
“Kowarekake no Orgel” – Kowarekake no Orgel
“secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (10 years after Ver.)” – AnoHana
“Hazy” – Hanasaku Iroha
“Amrita” – Tsubasa Chronicle Movie
“Toki Tsukasadoru Juuni no Meiyaku” – Steins;Gate
“MEMORIA” – Fate/Zero
Honorable mentions
“Ao no Ether” – Macross Frontier
“You Raise Me Up” – Romeo X Juliet
“Dreams” – Darker than Black
“Transparent” – Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
“Hello Goodbye & Hello” – Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo
“Beautiful World” – Evangelion 1.0
“Nagashi Sakura” – Evangelion 3.0
“Anata ni Deawanakereba ~Natsuyuki Fuyuhana~” – Natsuyuki Rendezvous
“Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru” – AKB0048
“One more time, One more chance” – 5 Centimeters per Second
“Scarborough Fair” – Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino
“Bokura no Ashiato” – Black Rock Shooter (TV)
“Blood Teller” – Mirai Nikki
“Nippon Egao Hyakkei” – Joshiraku
“Departures” – Guilty Crown
“STRENGTH” – Soul Eater
“Tsuki Akari” – Darker than Black
“Perfect World” – Spice and Wolf
“One more time, One more chance” – 5 Centimeters per Second
Seems pretty consistent to me with 5 being the actual average among all shows and it probably makes it easier to communicate to other people what my opinion of the show is but okay we just disagree on that.
Well there's Miuna, the visuals and Kana Hanazawa's voice. Also with my rating system 7/10 basically means "decent". Scores under 5 are mostly reserved for shows that I won't even bother watching since I know they're gonna suck/be a waste of time. So 5 could still be the average if we add up all the shit that's out there.
Unfortunate about VE since I think it's probably the best anime made in the last few years at least. I can understand some of the episodic stuff and flashbacks weren't handled perfectly but the main story and theme of the show were still amazing in my opinion.
I'll send you a fr in case you don't mind.
Oh wow. I've kinda been checking back maybe a couple of times per year just to see if you'd update your list but I didn't expect you to actually start making reviews again. Glad to see you finally finished Nagi no Asukara after it sitting on your list at 6 episodes for like 5 years. Pretty much agree with everything in your review except in my rating system it's still worth a 7/10. Miuna was the best character for sure.
Just in case you've been living under a rock, I wanna let you know that Rem is a thing now and also you might really enjoy Violet Evergarden. EG protagonist, insane visuals, theme of society recovering after a big war, super emotional, even uses blood/action in the positive way you describe.
Anyway thanks for introducing me to shows like Usagi Drop, Kobato and Kimi ni Todoke back in the day. They're still some of my favorites all these years later.
I love your Kobato review! It instantly became my favorite anime when I first watched it. I could tell from the first episode alone that it was going to be something special and your review summed up pretty much my exact feelings on it.
I hope to see more great videos from you in the future!
All Comments (3599) Comments
Unfortunate about VE since I think it's probably the best anime made in the last few years at least. I can understand some of the episodic stuff and flashbacks weren't handled perfectly but the main story and theme of the show were still amazing in my opinion.
I'll send you a fr in case you don't mind.
Just in case you've been living under a rock, I wanna let you know that Rem is a thing now and also you might really enjoy Violet Evergarden. EG protagonist, insane visuals, theme of society recovering after a big war, super emotional, even uses blood/action in the positive way you describe.
Anyway thanks for introducing me to shows like Usagi Drop, Kobato and Kimi ni Todoke back in the day. They're still some of my favorites all these years later.
>5/10 to Koe no Katachi
Based
I hope to see more great videos from you in the future!