Even though I did not give it a 10/10, I would like to make it clear that Eureka 7 is my favorite anime series. Check it out if you haven't already :)
Background:
Growing up I occasionally watched anime here and there, such as Yu-Gi-Oh and DBZ, but was never really into it. Much later in college I saw a little bit of One Piece, Naruto (and Elfen Lied of all things), but it still wasn't my thing. Even later on during the pandemic I was introduced to Avatar: The Last Airbender by a family friend, and while I didn't like it at first, I eventually realized what an amazing medium anime can function as in storytelling, and ever since then its been the main form of media I have been using.
Rating:
I'll be the first to admit that my ratings don't make much sense, for example I enjoyed, or appreciated Your Lie in April slightly more than Anohana, but I ended up giving Anohana a slightly better score because I felt it was done better, but conversely, I gave Wolf Children a lower score than several shows and films which weren't nearly as well done, just when I watched Wolf Children I surprisingly did not feel much. Overall, I just generally go with my gut feeling, which isn't objective or subjective, just instinct.
Biases:
I'm biased towards shows and films that deal with different cultures and traditions, that have Romantic elements but that is not the main plot, and good character development. I've got a huge soft sport for sentimental anime, and I am also highly biased towards retro and the historical genres. I am also a complete pushover for good animation and nice ops and eps, I've probably been overly generous in a few ratings in that regard.
Other irrelevant views:
I tend to have a broad view of what is defined as Anime, and I probably would consider shows like the aforementioned Avatar, Legend of Korra, RWBY, Trese, Arcane, to be Anime is some capacity.
My interpretation of the rating system:
While it should be axiomatic, everyone's take on the rating system and what for example a 7 signifies is slightly different. I think the way I rate is pretty typical of other users on this site, but just for clarity my interpretation is as follows:
10 = "Masterpiece" the type of anime that keep you up at night, the ones as soon as you finish you want to watch again. Infinitely re-watchable, every time you see it you see something new. Something you'd recommend to everybody.
9 = "Great" have one or two little issues that keep it from being a ten, but aside from that are just as good, and are also easy to re-watch and universally recommendable
8 = "Very Good" have some problems that are noticeable, but their quality is still very evident and are still an enjoyable watch. If I re-watch I might skip a scene here and there but would still widely recommend.
7 = "Good" there are some prominent issues here, but the anime is still enjoyable and the good parts still outweigh the bad. Would recommend in most instances, but would only re-watch if it were with someone else.
6 = "Fine" these are often anime I feel conflicted about, there is some aspect(s) of the show that is well done, be it animation, music, story, but there are also several prominent problems weighing it down. I would be cautious, but not opposed, in recommending these, and would be open to a re-watch to re-evaluate my thoughts but only after a substantial period of time.
5 = "Average" not necessarily terrible, but something that did not make any impact on me. The bad was negated by the good in equal measure. Anime that didn't try enough or tried too much and ended being all over the place. Probably would not re-watch and would only recommend in really special or specific circumstances.
4 = "Bad" there is definitely some good quality here, and in the hands of a better director or studio this could be a good anime, but is weighed down by its negative qualities, whatever they may be. While sub-standard, there were some moments of enjoyment, even if it might be ironic enjoyment. While I would generally not re-watch or recommend these, but I can understand why some people might like this.
3 = "Very Bad" there are some good qualities here, and it might have had potential at some point, but it's buried deep under mounds of garbage. Not re-watchable, recommendable, not even ironically enjoyable. Unlike a four, I honestly can't understand why anyone in their right mind may enjoy this.
2 = "Horrible" bottom-of-the-barrel, terrible, anime. Might have started off as a good idea or concept, but it's now long gone.
1 = "Appalling" dig beyond the barrel, past the mantel, and then to the centre of the earth where this stuff should be incinerated. Nothing here is remotely redeemable, not the art, not the story, not the characters, not even the concept. Terrible in every conceivable way.
- = "No Score" there is some art/anime, usually the avant-garde and postmodern kind, that I just can't understand or make sense of. A comedy is judged by how well it's a comedy, a romance by how romantic it is. For these works, I have no idea what it is or suppose to be, so it would be unfair and dishonest to give it any ranking.
of course, thank you for sending one! it's been a while since i've checked my notifications so i'm sorry for being late. and thank you for the compliment, if it wasn't obvious, my favorite anime is eureka seven as well :)
glad to see you're interested in older anime. Have you seen my video on early anime? This was one of my favorites from it, 15 mins and animated by the guy who trained the co-founders of Studio Ghibli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOVmubHEz5I
Hey man, you're welcome. It's been a long time since I saw the movie, but it does stick with you. Happy to hear people still come across something so obscure.
No joke- straight after I finished it, I started watching Little Witch Academia (more my type of anime tbh) and there was an Evangelion reference in like episode 3. Couldn't believe it. lol
I appreciate the friendly comment. Thought this would be someone wanting me dead lol. Yeah, I feel like budget constraints may have led to the team choosing less important things over the more important development of the world and lore. From the way it's praised you'd think it was the greatest anime ever made. When the expectation is that high, everything falls short sadly. Glad you like it though. On re-watching some clips and stuff for my review I saw it in a bit of a more positive light- there's definitely some good there. I, for one, get a really kind of haunting feeling from the series overall. Just something about a show that can be a funny high school comedy with a cartoon penguin also being a pretty visceral journey into grief and depression on a literally cosmic scale is a mix that doesn't sit right in my mind. Dunno if that's a good or a bad thing lol.
It's a lesser-loved Yoshiyuki Tomino original, especially compared to some of his older Gundam projects. It's certainly not as bashed as his latest series, but it has twice as fewer favourites. I'd say check out Gundam first, to get acquainted with Tomino's strange style.
No, that's Cynthia Lane from Overman King Gainer in my pfp. Both were designed by Yoshida, and Cynthia herself is somewhat of a proto-Anemone, so she's often confused for her.
I'd say it's a pretty well known anime, but people really don't talk about it enough, I guess since it's 17 years old. I hear it mentioned more than a lot of other anime, but not really talked about. I'm pretty sure there's less than 5 youtube videos specifically about it that don't just summarize the initial premise of the show. Then again, that's still something, which is more I can say for a lot of other stuff, so I'm not complaining.
Hey hey, I saw your E7 and Patema recommendation. Be honest, part of the reason you associated them is because Patema looks like Eureka. That's the reason I originally checked Patema out, lol.
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