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I thought it might be helpful to have a little guide to how I think about ratings. that said, rating is of course a subjective process and while I try to make my ratings consistent, well...these are just ratings on an anime website! and personally, I have tried to embrace the subjective nature of ratings--these ratings do not strive to represent what I view as how good something is "objective," but rather where they fit into my personal enjoyment of anime. the goal is to be apples to apples within my own personal rankings (though I have constructed these such that they can be somewhat comparable to MAL averages).

it's hard to distil what elements make a show good, but the shows I love most create deep emotional investment via memorable characters and memorable situations (often action, romance, or both). that said, I also appreciate shows that are technically well crafted--a well paced show gets extra points in my book, whereas a poorly paced one will get knocked. pacing counts for a lot to me, as it can really undermine an otherwise great show.

I enjoy sincerity, sentimentality, and in particular "hype" sincerity or what a friend called "sentimental maximalism." I like wholesome romances, exciting action...but lots of other things too! ultimately, it comes down to execution. I've certainly been surprised before!

if I really like a show, it is generally either because I got deeply invested, or because the execution was particularly good. for my favorite shows, it is both!

7: this is my baseline for a show that I enjoyed, even enjoyed a lot, but lacked something more...generally deep emotional investment, or particularly superb execution. with shows here generally there is more of a personal sense of distance with what is happening
8: for me, the difference between a 7 and an 8 is either consistency of execution, or a deeper sense of emotional investment. some shows have the execution of a 7, but are particularly well put together and executed that it creates a more engrossing, more powerful effect. some shows might have some technical issues (usually pacing), but have a strong enough core that my emotional investment overcomes technical quibbles
9: near perfect. generally, shows that I find incredible in most ways, but might have some technical issues...generally, these are shows that could have been 10s if not for what I thought were some issues with pacing, characterization, or story that made them feel like they were "held back" from their full potential. more abstractly, these are generally shows where something felt like it just didn't quite come together "perfectly"
10: a masterpiece. generally these are shows that resonate deeply with me. my rankings might make it sound like these shows have to create a deep emotional connection while being technical brilliant, but in practice it tends to be shows that feel like they "come together" perfectly for me, skewing on the side of deep emotional investment. they generally will have strong pacing and no glaring technical issues.
6: while this is the first "bad" score for me, it doesn't mean I disliked a show! it just means there were some structural issues. maybe it goes a bit stale, or it didn't create much of a sense of investment
1-5: differening levels of garbage. how low just depends on how irredeemable. a 5, for example, can still be enjoyable, but overall has enough serious issues that it goes in the garbage pile

beyond ratings, I'm always looking for interesting people to chat about anime with. I like people who get excited about anime, and take it seriously...but not too seriously. I want to focus on what makes us all love anime, but remember that just because we love something doesn't mean it is perfect. critique is an act of love.