It’s a solid season. There are few series that really stand out as amazing, but there really are a lot of solid stories this time, and there’s actually surprisingly little crap. It’s definitely an untypical winter season with a lot of series focused either on summer, or just being completely upbeat contrary to the kinds of series you usually see released at this time of the year.
#31 (new) – Senki Zesshou Symphogear – (4,75/10) – I was very surprised to see how many people actually liked this, so with that I at least tried to give this series a few more episodes just in case I really was wrong. But after four episodes, I can’t take it anymore. The amount of stupidity and fake shock factor here is just way too much. The characters do nothing to make themselves more engaging, the entire cast is just painful to watch. This is one of those shows that feels made by people who want to make something epic, but have no idea what it really takes to actually do that beyond explosions.
#30 (19) – Amagami SS+ – (5/10) – I refuse to spend more time on this crap. Especially now that it also started to introduce completely stupid and pointless drama.
#29 (new) – High School DxD – (5/10) – Want some boobs but don’t want to watch porn? Well, then this show is for you. Otherwise, stay away at all costs!
#28 (new) – The New Prince of Tennis – (5,5/10) – This is just completely stupid. I gave this until the second episode, but that was just too much. Why would you bother to give someone a completely stupid power as having a tennis racquet with only two strings… if you don’t even use this?
#27 (18) – Persona 4 The Animation – (5,75/10) – I give up. I can’t take it anymore, I don’t want to watch this. This show moves way too fast, and yet at the end of the day it doesn’t really accomplish anything. The summer holiday arc in particular stands out: that could actually have been a good story with a good concept behind it, but things moved at such a rate that they were impossible to properly follow unless you’ve played the games. AIC was already one of my least favorite production companies out there, and seeing how they treated what could have been an interesting story doesn’t really make that better.
#26 (new) – Zero no Tsukaima – (6/10) – Thank god that this is the final one. There are just too many bad points about this show that it’s seemingly impossible for it to redeem itself to me at this point.
#25 (new) – Brave10 – (6/10) – I lasted about two and a half episodes for this one. This series is just crap: bishies fighting each other who are way too busy trying to look cool, amongst a female lead who grows exponentially more annoying with every single episode.
#24 (16) – Guilty Crown – (6,75/10) – I realized something this month: the creators are making up this story as they go along, don’t they? I mean, previously this series was just bland. This month however, something changed. What caught my attention above all is how incredibly convenient everything that Shu pulled out of his ass was. Never before were the things he did here hinted at all, and all of them turned out to be exactly what he needed at exactly the right time. I mean, this is even worse than Code Geass:at least that series realized it made no sense and just went to hell with it. This show is actually trying to take itself seriously at the same time. It’s very jarring to see the entire cast suddenly make a 180 degree leap in personality while crap like this goes on at the same time. I mean, Mirai Nikki may have plotholes, but even they aren’t as blatant as the stuff that this series pulls.
#23 (new) – Recorder to Randoseru – (7/10) – I can’t get anything out of this series. It’s just a collection of pointless skits that are all just forced. Once in a while it gets a good joke, but most of them are just badly delivered or just don’t work n the first place. It’s also just too short to just build up for anything, really.
#22 (new) – Kill me Baby – (7,25/10) – I’ve also dropped this series. It’s better than I expected, but in the end it’s just a collection of random gags that fall flat more often than not. Over the course of four episode, there is nothing that really progressed or changed, so I see no point in continuing this thing.
#21 (new) – Area no Kishi – (7,5/10) – The problem with this series is that it’s really inspired by Adachi. Sure, it’s about football techniques while Adachi’s series are more about slice of life, but this month was entirely centered around the big Adachi inspired twist. And sorry, but with that in mind, I just can’t help but compare and realize how bloody melodramatic that was.
#20 (15) – Bakuman – (7,5/10) – It’s getting harder and harder to watch this series. I thought that things were missing, and that the first season could be more exciting. I did not expect the creators to turn this into a bloody soap opera. The drama between the characters is just completely annoying and uninteresting. And the bad twists just keep coming. It’s still interesting to see these characters evolve, but I don’t want to watch 40 more episodes of this thing. Because it’s going to be so goddamn long, this one’s on the verge of being dropped.
#19 (new) – Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou – (7,75/10) – Danshi Koukousei is a hit and miss comedy. When it misses, it’s very awkward. When it hits, it’s awesome. There are times when the characters aren’t really sure what personality they’re supposed to have, but the skits that work totally make up for it.
#18 (26) – Nisemonogatari – (7,75/10) – Don’t get me wrong: I really want to like this series. This series has a really good artistic direction. Heck, it’s actually more toned down than Bakemonogatari, and actually focuses on the characters instead of random scenery, eyeballs or blank screens. The story for once isn’t formulaic (or at least so far) and it actually devotes a lot of time to flesh out the characters. But seriously. This show has the most fanserivce of the entire season, and with High School DxD that’s really saying something here! It’s all incredibly pointless and grating. I mean, I understand that there’s functional nude: if nudity fits in this storyline, go ahead and show it. This show though is just showing episodes where characters randomly walk around naked for no particular reason, for the largest amount of their airtime! I mean, why bother giving the characters clothes at all if you’re going this route anyway?
#17 (new) – Listen Girls, I am your Father – (7,75/10) – I think that this one is the surprise of the season. It started off incredibly bad and generic, but there was a surprising amount of heart in the later episodes. Now please don’t turn this into another Astarotte no Omocha, because I like how down to earth this show has been so far. And drop the obvious fanservice, please.
#16 (new) – Thermae Romae – (7,75/10) – The best episode was episode 4. Episode3s 5 and 6 were a bit less interesting,but still it’s a very solid comedy overall. Also, I’m not asking for terrific animation. Heck, I’m just asking for animation on the level of Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki, where things actually do not feel like a bunch of cardboard cutouts sliding across the screen.
#15 (new) – Ano Natsu de Matteru – (7,75/10) – Look, I fully understand why this series gets its praises. The characters are well acted. It’s full of cliches, but everything about this series is well written and delivered. I still consider it a very good series. But the main cast just gets on my nerves too much. The lead character still is too much like the same annoying harem lead, and the romantic cliches in the scenario are just things of which I’ve seen too many to really enjoy at this point.
#14 (new) – Inu X Boku SS – (7,75/10) – This show has the potential to go into really interesting directions. With 3 episodes its themes are already quite engaging, but its big problem is that it’s too one-sided at the moment. This both goes for the drama, and the characters. The rest of the series will need more variety.
#13 (new) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8/10) – This turned out to be a very charming series with only five-minute episodes. It makes great use of its time (all skits re about 30 seconds long; compare that to Recorder to Randoseru which drags on its scenes beyond belief)and every skit has a lot of energy and well done punchlines to remain funny.
#12 (new) – Another – (8/10) – Another doesn’t seem to offer anything new, nor will it end up as one of the better horror series out there. Still, it is one thing: very solid. The dialogue is natural and detailed, outside of a few points here and there where it’s trying a bit too hard, and it already delivered a pretty solid atmosphere so far with some good build-up.
#11 (9) – Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam – (8/10) – The big problem with Ginyoku no Fam is, well, Fam. Fifteen episodes in, and it still doesn’t really feel like she belongs in this series. Apart from that though, I still am really drawn into this series. The setting is still rock-solid and the series continues to expand upon it, the action is just amazing and the side characters are also growing more on me.
#10 (13) – Mirai Nikki – (8,25/10)
Mirai Nikki has improved a lot over the past month. It’s gotten more fun to watch, the characters have become more interesting and especially the dynamics between Yukiteru and Yuno improved here. The show still is full of plotholes, but something tells me that the author wasn’t particular on avoiding these things.
#9 (new) – Mouretsu Pirates – (8,25/10)
The great thing about the three big sci-fi shows this season is that they’re all completely different, and yet none is inferior to the other. Mouretsu Pirates stands out with its slow execution, really allowing the characters to play themselves out. In the meantime it mixes this with hard sci-fi and interesting theories behind this setting. This series is laid-back, yet very interesting to watch. It’s definitely not what you’d expect based on the title and promo material.
#8 (new) – Aquarion Evol – (8,25/10)
This is another surprisingly fun series to watch. On paper a show that explores males versus females seems very dull, but this show actually made it a very fun series to watch. It also has the biggest production values of the season, and it really leads to a series with gorgeous visuals and music. The direction also is very good here and it’s a very engaging series so far.
#7 (new) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8,25/10)
Rinne no Lagrange has very sharp direction. The chemistry between the characters is quite witty, and it’s also taking care to subtly flesh out the setting it takes place in. It’s got characters who at first sight are annoying cliches, and yet turns out to be completely different. Like the other two big sci-fi shows, it’s consistently fun to watch.
#6 (8) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,25/10)
As the series goes on more and more, ti also gets better and better. This was pretty much as expected though, because at this time this series still is very nearly the equivalent of just rewatching the first season. There are a few differences here and there, but I still don’t feel like they’re big enough to warrant this complete remake. The big difference between this series and Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood is that Brotherhood just took 15 episodes to get to the new content. At what point can we start to expect this series to reach new material? Episode 40 or something? The good news however is that the series has been a huge success, and Hunter X Hunter has actually managed to conquer a place in the top 10 of TV-ratings. So when we’ll finally get to the point where we’ll get new content, it’s pretty certain that they’ll extend this past the original 45 episodes that were promised. Of course, that brings along other problems of long running shounen, but let’s not worry about that one for now.
#5 (11) – Phi Brain – (8,25/10)
Phi Brain really surprised me in how good it became. Ever since Rook appeared, there hasn’t been a wasted moment, and it delivered some really good character development here, both on the side cast and the main cast. These people actually succeeded in making a show about solving puzzles.
#4 (10) – Tantei Opera Milki Holmes – (8,5/10)
This show is madness! Seriously, this is even crazier than the first season. Every episode so far has been completely hilarious and delivered some of the wtf-like scenarios. The acting and performances are also completely hyperactive and full of energy, and the animation is also really well done. If you’re looking for something with a ton of energy, then look no further. This show thrives on being completely stupid and crazy, and I really like how it’s being delivered so far.
#3 (4) – Chihayafuru – (8,75/10)
Chihayafuru has surpassed itself this month. There was so much emotion put into just this one tournament, and the creators perfectly went into the heads of the lead characters. It was everything that a mid-climax should be. The big question now is: how the heck are they going to finish it?
#2 (2) – Natsume Yuujin-Chou – (9/10)
This season started with a rock-solid set of episodes. In fact, it’s had the best opening episodes of any season of Natsume so far. Where the third season was all about Natsume’s development, this is more varied, and has a bit of everything here. And somehow, all of them work really well. This show is both heart-warming as tense, and this series is still happily adding all kinds of details to Natsume’s character, as if it’s far from done yet.
#1 (3) – Hyouge Mono – (9/10)
Well, it took a while, but in this month we finally got to see the finale of Hyouge Mono. And it really was worth the wait. The way in which this series decided to close off was really well chosen, and it set a really high standard for the other endings for the rest of the year. We can only hope that they’ll make more series like this.
While I agree with most of the scores I have to say that Mirai Nikki, despite being one of my favorite Mangas, has a terrible production value. The animation quality seems to be dropping every freakin’ episode.
If you’re planning on dropping Bakuman,you’re going to miss the better parts which come later on.I agree with you that they have this cheesy drama here,but hey,it’s not so horrible either.You must have gotten used to the high standards from what the other series are offering,but romance/drama was never Bakuman’s strong point to begin with.
It’s a very different series out there than your regular shonen with power-ups/fights etc. The creativity of the authors is praiseworthy
Completely agree with you on Symphogear. That show is just completely atrocious.
On the other hand, I feel that the rating for Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou is really low. That is actually one of my favorites this season. I agree that its not very consistent but overall I find it hilarious.
Guilty Crown’s half way climax was one of the worst episodes of anything I have ever seen. I’m also really glad to see Phi Brain up so high because it really deserves that after the last episode
I hate to “that guy”, but I find you are way too critical of Nisemonogatari. It’s certainly not the best show this season but to rank it below Mirai Nikki, Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!, and Ano Natsu de Matteru is just ridiculous.
That said, I’m glad you gave Hyouge Mono and Natsume Yuujin-Chou the praise they deserve. Both are excellent, well-executed series that I would recommend to anyone.
Why? So far it has been nothing else than semi-humorous banter and fanservice. The production values and aesthetics are nice, but that is all it has going for it right now.
If it goes ahead and makes the plot interesting (which might start next episode??) I might forgive it for its first few episodes. Psgels might too since he “wants to like it”. There just isn’t much reason to (yet?).
If you’re not watching it for the “semi-humorous banter”, then why watch it at all? It’s a series whose plot is driven primarily by dialogue and character development, not action. I happen to find the plot pretty interesting, especially the subtle foreshadowing of future events and throwbacks to past events to give a circular notion to the story as a whole. The fanservice is really just the icing on this stylistic and interesting cake.
Because so far, the banter is not really advancing the plot. It’s just banter for the sake of banter (ok there is *some* char development).
I liked the plot in Bakemonagatari. Nisemonagatari (SO FAR) is just semi-humorous banter and fanservice. The plot only somewhat started in the last episode. The first 3 episodes could be missing and I would still be able to follow the plot.
As I said in shoutbox, I like Nissio Issin’s plots, but not necessarily the way he writes dialogue.
With all that said, if the plot starts becoming more involved in the next couple of episode, I can easily see myself liking this.
I’m surprised you didn’t give Hyouge Mono a 90 seeing as how you seemed to like it so much :/
Yeah, maybe now all those people who kept telling him he underrated Madoka will finally start to understand his ratings a bit better. Oh, who am I kidding 🙂
It really should have been rated higher though!
Haha
I think it’s just one of those things though. When your views align with someone else’s 90% of the time, the 10% of the time when it doesn’t feels really jarring.
I agree with F. I have some disagreements with the rest of the list too, but Nisemonogatari is where I find your logic most flawed. Not so much about how good the show is, but how you found the fanservice to be lacking and random.
The fanservice we’ve seen so far has all been pretty beneficial to the series’ characters and their dynamics. Kanbaru has already been established as a perverted freak and Sengoku as a girl transitioning from childish innocence to adulthood. The nude moments with Shinobu and Araragi seemed more like an indication of how close and similar they were instead of just being random. Fanservice has happened to pretty much every character in Araragi’s harem, and normally, this would be distasteful in the sense of excessive sexualization of women. But Araragi is officially hooked up with Senjougahara, which means the fanservice layers on their relationship and character instead of taking away from it. Araragi, who’s been depicted plenty of times as a pervert, always strays away from the action when it counts, showing that he’s a character who values relationships more than sex. The fact that Senjougahara is jealous, but also noticeably affected by the fanservice shows her closeness with Araragi’s harem and her own values as a person. I mean, here we have actual subtle characterization happening because of the fanservice, but you seemed to have completely missed out on it.
Well, we must accept the fact that Psgels is not a critic. Never was. He’s an otaku with plenty of time. The opinions of an otaku are based on taste, which is incompatible with the criteria of the true critic. While there is no disputing taste, a true critic has serenity of mind, a delicate taste, are well-practiced and well-versed in comparison between animes, independent of prejudice and have functional senses. Having two or three of those isn’t enough.
sure, but he’s also a blogger that evaluates these shows, which means part of his function is to try and act the role of a critic.
Indeed. A blogger who takes his impressions for granted and pretends they’re objective is not a critic. That u could see past the obvious “titillation” factor automatically makes u a much better candidate of a true critic.
Psgels reminds me of those knee-jerk readers who couldn’t see past the surface violence of American Psycho to grasp the innate meaning of satire and existentialism.
That he cannot see past the titillation of Nisemonogatari classifies his reviews as opinion, not criticism.
I already had a lot of problems with the fanservice in Bakemonogatari, so seeing this being done even more in the sequel has obviously ticked me off. I get that it’s supposed to flesh out the characters and all, but there is just so much of it and it’s there so often that it’s become very shameless in my opinion.
Also, Ouroboros: I’m not really an otaku, or at least I don’t consider myself one. Really. I’m just a guy who likes anime a lot and who likes writing about it.
I understand that you’re entitled to your opinion, so I’ll just put this as an alternative perspective on the fanservice. With so much fanservice, putting them into context with one another as a whole is sort of obligatory. And once that’s done, you see depending on who’s the subject of the fanservice, Araragi treats them quite differently. In the case of Sengoku, Shinobu, and Hachikuji, he’s quite oblivious to the “shamelessness” because of how he sees them as people. Just like how you wouldn’t have much of a reaction seeing your younger sister nude, Araragi doesn’t care too much about their fanservice, or, in Hachikuji’s case, is comfortable enough with his brotherly role to initiate fanservice. This establishes the clear sibling dynamic that Araragi places on these characters and his own sort of childishness. In the case of Hanekawa, Senjougahara, and Kanbaru, Araragi is quite aware of them as women and the effects show. But he makes it clear that he’s not willing to step over certain boundaries, which just develops his character even further as a person with a high sense of integrity and morals.
Bringing in my own opinion, if fanservice disgusts you or something, that’s one matter. But showing contempt for fanservice that’s so closely tied to the characters and their relationships just because it’s fanservice…well, that’s not really a matter of taste. It’s more like blind hatred and it does keep you from fully enjoying a series, especially if, like you said, it’s being used so much and so often.
You’re overcomplicating it. The problem is, there isn’t much else than fanservice in the series yet. As I said above, right now it’s semi-humorous banter and fanservice. That’s all. It might prove to be significant later, or the plot might get more… involved, but right now I’m kinda getting bored with it. (I mean the only time I was amused, was with the courage series in the first episode).
Alright. I won’t call u that term (is it a perjorative?) and please do keep up the good work. 🙂
I’m going to be an ass here, but only because you’re expecting way too much of psgels. It’s not logic.. it’s opinions. Holding psgels to a higher standard because he blogs is.. just odd. Unless you go around telling every blogger the same thing?
I mean, it’s only fair that if you’re going to hold psgels feet to the fire, that you go onto Nise fansites and tell them that their opinions are a bit too lofty, and they should simmer down because they’re being illogical, isn’t it?
I hold psgels to a higher standard because he does make some really insightful comments and I enjoy his blog. I’m using Nise more as an example for the benefits of fanservice because I’d like to see what insights he’d have from them instead of just casually lopping it off to the side as trash. But, ok, perhaps I am a little out of line for having expectations from a casual blogger.
Bearing in mind that (as I mentioned to Ouroboros) I screwed up my post (sorry), I don’t think you are “out of line”.. but I do think you may be going a bit overboard.
You seem to think psgels can’t see past the fanservice, and that his opinion about the fanservice means he’s written off everything else about the show. I didn’t get that impression at all.
The fact is, Nise doesn’t NEED all that fanservice to tell it’s story. And for some of us, it’s an impedence to our enjoyment. To others it is not. But we’re still watching the show, because we DO see the good bits.
Based off my impressions (which may or may not be correct), I saw that he was enjoying the series more than Bakemonogatari because a lot of annoying aspects got fixed. But the fanservice stood out for him as the main negative issue, so that was the issue I concentrated on. Perhaps my wording choice wasn’t very good, but rather than not needing fanservice to tell its story, I wanted to point out examples of how the fanservice enhances the story. Whether or not psgel accepts fanservice as being useful is up to him. But because psgel enjoys subtle characterization based off a lot of his blog posts, I wanted to point out a different perspective that showcased that about Nisemonogatari while putting fanservice in a different light that might be of interest to him.
aside from that, I can understand why you think we might be “attacking” psgels because of our comments, but this is ultimately us rationalizing our own opinion as you said it. rationalizing an opinion creates logic, because you’re connecting specific aspects with your opinion. an opinion is trivial in the manner that it doesn’t have much argumentative weight to it. it’s completely subjective and a matter of preference. rationalizing it steps up your opinion.
Incorrect. Psgels is an anime blogger who sets up his opinions as criticism because he is not keeping his thoughts about anime to himself. He is sharing them with the world as judgment of aesthetic merit.
When I or u say that some show is awesome we are not just saying something purely subjective, random and inconstant. We are also making a statement that this show is awesome and I think you will agree too.
Psgels saying Nisemonogatari is inferior due to fan-service is telling us something definite about the aesthetic merit of the show.
Now I don’t think your analogy holds– this isn’t some anti-Nisemonogatari hater site.
Also how do u know I’m not debunking some fanboy somewhere? 😉
More specifically, I think simply saying a show is awesome and then giving one-sided comments is an opinion, but then attempting to give objective reasoning that people can connect to is when it starts to become logic and/or criticism.
Damn, when I wrote my post I didn’t realize I was actually responding to two people; my fault for posting while at work. My analogy can go right to hell.
I agree with you that he’s not a critic, so there’s no argument there. I’d like to suggest, however, that you’re being a bit presumptuous to think psgels doesn’t see the good parts of Nise.. he flat-out mentions that he does. His blurb was just dominated by his opinion about the fanservice (much like Nise is dominated by fanservice to begin with).
Also, I can’t be sure, but you seem to be saying that it would be better to limit an opinion to something trivial, rather than trying to rationalize it? I don’t want to put words in your mouth, though if that is what you were saying, I disagree wholeheartedly. One’s opinions will never change if they don’t learn why others disagree, and sharing your opinions is a great way to discover those disagreements.
“but also noticeably affected by the fanservice shows her closeness with Araragi’s harem and her own values as a person.”
sorry, meant *unaffected here.
I really don’t get why can’t bloggers and reviewers just admit that a certain comedy series wasn’t appealing to them. Instead, they have to go blaming the script, jokes, characters, when there’s nothing wrong with them. Indeed, it’s a quite subjective matter, that’s why it feels arrogant to try imposing your opinion like it was a fact. I put Gintama on hold a loooong time ago and don’t feel like returning to it anytime soon, but you don’t see me going around saying Gintama is awful, do you?
As for Symphogear… Yeah, I feel kinda silly for having defended it earlier – but the first episode was definitely the best. It still has potential, though.
I think it’s fair for someone to say WHY they didn’t like something. I believe people just read posts like psgels with some snooty, condescending tone of voice like he’s armchair quarterbacking (and he might be sometimes). It’s only the same arrogance we all apply to our own opinions, but it’s easy to forget that he’s probably not swirling fine wine and passing judgements like a film critic on high.
For Symphogear, i’ve heard it was orginally programmed for 24 episodes but was cut to 13 episodes, the problem being that they warned the writers very late, that’s why it’s such a mess (I guess they also randomly cut budget as well). If I was the writer and the producers pulled such a thing on me, I would lose all motivation so I don’t see Symphogear ever picking up.
Hunter x Hunter got a fair bit better in my eyes this month, and I’m happy Chihayafuru has kept up it’s entertainment somehow. I’m looking forward to catching up on Phi Brain, too.
But it sounds weird to hear you say that there’s surprisingly little crap and then go on to describe 10 or 11 of the 31 shows in a way that sounds like they’re.. well, crap. I guess that’s the problem with empty words like “crap”.
^I agree with the last statement, although I guess it could just be because some of the series are ongoing from fall season.
I think you should be looking forward to the next arc of Natsume. It was one of my favorite recent arcs…except maybe the end of the newest volume.
I always like these month summaries, though I do have to wonder about the rating system at times. For example, Kill Me Baby is given a 7.25, which sounds like a rather good score (especially for a silly gag comedy), but there’s apparently “no point in continuing it.” Similarly, people are upset with Psgels’s viewpoint of Nisemonogatari (which he is 100% entitled to), and yet it IS being rated a 7.75. Which is a very high score! It’s only one point less than Chihayafuru, which has been given nothing but constant praise on this blog.
More so, the shows at the very bottom of the list are in the five range, which seems rather generous when considering how much they’re being derided. Are these being rated based on how much the shows are actually enjoyed?
Anyways, I’m certainly glad to see Natsume Yuujinchou so high up the list. It’s a rather unique series in general, and I quite like all the characters. Always looking forward to seeing more of them.
My main disagreement though will be in regards to Another, which I feel in many ways is a breath of fresh air for the anime horror genre. Another just has this atmosphere that’s being taken much more seriously than the average anime set in school. The characters seem more realistic, and the mysteries are being handled really well. Every episode has left me theorizing more and more about what’s going on with class 3, Mei, Kouichi, and the events of 26 years ago. The only series that’s gripped me this much with its mystery is probably Higurashi, though even then the general tone and plot style is quite different. I’m really anxious to see how Another will play out.
As for Kill me Baby: it got a relatively high rating because some of the jokes are quite good. The “getting nothing out of it” mostly means that I have no reason to continue watching it because there is no progression in the episodes. Because of that I’m not going to contnue in the hopes of it getting better.
Also, I need to have a better place where I explain what the ratings mean. At the m oment they can be found at the bottom of the review index pages, but I admit that those are very hard to find. I’ll just quote them here; just divide them by 10 and you’ll have the ratings that I use for these monthly summaries.
100/100: The perfect anime. I’ve yet to encounter one, though.
97,5/100: The best of the best of the best, my all-time favourite(s).
95/100: Truly amazing and outstanding series, the best of their genres. These series made a huge impact on me.
92,5/100: Simply fantastic anime. These series have many areas in which they stand out like no other.
90/100: Anime that achieved exactly what they set out to do. Incredibly solid productions with so many things to like about them.
87,5/100: Awesome series. These stand out in many different areas and provide a very solid experience.
85/100: Excellent series. They may have a few flaws here and there, but overall they remain wonderful series with quite a few memorable moments.
82,5/100: Series with this score are destined for greatness, although they may have a few flaws here and there.
80/100: Very good series, worth the watch. They may lack highlights, but remain really enjoyable nonetheless.
77,5/100: Enjoyable series. While not the best of the best, they’ve got quite a few good points and are nice to watch, save for a few flaws.
75/100: Series that are either nothing special, or shows that could have been awesome, yet were plagued by too many flaws.
72,5/100: These series did quite a few things wrong here. They’ve got some nice parts, but overall they’re not worth it.
70/100: Very flawed series that are only enjoyable if you’re really bored.
65-69/100: The epitome of mediocrity. These have one or two good points, but mostly they’re just bad and boring.
60-64/100: The bad stuff. Some redeeming qualities, mixed with a whole lot of garbage.
50-59/100: Garbage, stay away.
40-49/100: Utter crap.
<39: Downright Terrible
My problem wasn’t the score – in fact I more or less agree with the score. Rather, my problem was how he could rank such cliché shows (Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai!, and Ano Natsu de Matteru, etc) that are also riddled with “fanservice” above Nisemonogatari.
And I know it he didn’t see the show exclusively as fanservice, it was just the focal point of his criticism.
If you find nothing in Nisemono’s plot and don’t care for the fanservice (which is atleast creative compared to the other shows I mentioned), at least it has witty dialogue and stylistic design going for it. What can you say about the other shows?
Of course, these are my biased opinions.
Ouch on the New Prince of Tennis, though I’m having a stupid amount of fun watching it. I think I set my logic reasoning aside during the first episodes of the original series anyway. I’ll give it to you though that 2 strings was downright insulting to my brain.
Checking out Mouretsu Pirates, the art doesn’t seem to match the description
Well Persona 4 is just destroying his own ranking in psgels blog. I tought it was getting good at ep 12 then we got trolled with the summer arc.
Still to see it below Guilty Crown is very very sad. I may call bias by the previous episodes because the pacing of the main plot is getting better (Rise, Teddie and Mitsuo were pretty good). Still it is not a work or art or anything like that so don’t bother trying to debunk me.
It’s hilarious reading all these people defending Niso as if it was Tolstoy.
Listen up: it’s a pretentious, talky show designed to make you feel witty while you watch girls in various states of undress — and as of the last episode, if screenshots are anything to go by, small underage girls to boot. If that’s your thing then fine, enjoy it. But don’t expect the rest of us to.
Ahhh- I really don’t want to flood the response section with pointless debate, so I’ll just say you are entitled to your opinion. It’s fair to call it pretentious, but the dialogue is legitimately witty. No one’s forcing you to like it, anyway.
*salutes you*
I go my way, you go yours.
Like many others have said, I legitimately cannot understand how you rate your anime. It’s not the system I have a problem with, it’s kind of your entire line of thinking.
I don’t understand how Persona 4 got a lower score than Guilty Crown when you stopped blogging it at episode 8 and you couldn’t stand blogging Guilty Crown for more than three episodes. Persona 4 at least has some likeable and consistent characters with back stories and a straightforward goal in mind (although going from investigating murders to comedy is jarring, yes). Guilty Crown’s characters are flat and boring, and it pulls its entire story out of its ass. You even agreed with me and said that “It’s very jarring to see the entire cast suddenly make a 180 degree leap in personality while crap like this goes on at the same time.”
Perhaps I am biased because I know the entirety of Persona 4’s story and how its characters developed in the game, in contrast to me dropping GC at episode 11. But just felt that this was a tad too unfair. It felt like you gave GC a higher score because it looked prettier or something when that abomination of a series should only have gotten a 3 or 4 at most.
And I’m not going to join the Nisemonogatari debate because you have tons of people hounding on you for that already.
fyi he only blogged about P4 for eight episodes because it won the guarantee to blog fall season contest. At this point though, its clear that the anime is meant to be a love letter to an already existing fanbase for the game rather then trying to pull in new viewers.
The circumstances were indeed different: I blogged Persona for a longer time because if won a contest of what show I should blog. Plus, my expectations for Guilty Crown were much higher (Noitamina and all).
At this point Guilty Crown is very flawed, but at least it has a few good elements, the pacing is still fairly decent and the acting isn’t entirely terrible. Persona however has become downright unwatchable in the way that it rushes through its scenarioos without actually accomplishing much. I’m not someone who played the games, so I see no reason to continue watching it if it solely caters to that audience.
As a game player, I don’t think it’s really good either. I’m one of the few people who liked Persona Trinity because it tried to be its own creation (away from Persona 3) and despite some anti-climaxes and a slow pace, it still had decent atmosphere. Persona 4? The pacing is rushed, the atmosphere is nonexistent, and the editing is terrible. It’s trying to cram so much into 26 episodes instead of being its own creation. You know those rumors about how Persona 4 is having behind-the-scenes trouble? Yeah, it shows. Big time.
My advice? Play the fucking game. It’s pretty cheap, it’s one of the best PS2 games ever, and it has better pacing and atmosphere.
although i know that no one is personally attacking psgel’s taste, it seems like everyone is trying to rationalize why nise is awesome. i think we get the point and seeing the same kind of arguments over and over again is excessive.
anyways, i’m disappointed that hunter x hunter is ranked so low. i’ve also watched the original series but this is one of the few anime that i consistently seek right after it is released in japan. i know the surprise element is taken away but the story is just so interesting! i think it’s tough to be a blogger, so ganbatte! it’s difficult to justify why you like or not like an anime when others don’t agree.
I’m surprised that you think the ranking for Hunter x Hunter is low! 8 is very good, in my opinion.
Actually, HxH was ranked 8th last month and 6th now, it’s a good rank, I don’t see how that counts as low???
oh my bad, i didn’t know it was only ranked 8th last month. thanks for the reminder.
For some reason I really like Brave-10 – it is a really fast-paced action show with decent animation and you have to take the characters with humor. Oh, and the OP and ED for me are maybe the best of the new shows. Usually, I’m not into bishies but in this show they are at least not annoying. I think it’s underrated.
LOLed at the harsh treatment of so many anime but I imagine it’s not undeserved. Either that, or you’re close to getting burned out like it happened to me some years ago. Haven’t been able to watch more than 1-2 shows per season since then, and even then not necessarily to completion. I’m not sure if I should tell you to hang in there or speed towards the cliff 🙂
”I was very surprised to see how many people actually liked this”
I am very surprised too how many people like this blog when they have few pic and few text. People like Symphogeah because is funny and can explain they mistake. Like the first episode the attack of Noise happend simultane with the attack of the girls,who is a very valid interpretation so they don’t stay watching the Destruction. And this serie know how big epic, just you can’t argument against.