Removed reviews:
Uchi no Ko.
Mushoku Tensei.
Shirobako.
Wonder Egg Priority.
Sousou no Frieren.
Osananajimi ga Zettai ni Makenai Love Comedy.
Kakushi Dungeon.
Arknights.
Majo no Tabitabi.
Censored reviews:
Hige wo Soru.
Ousama Ranking.
Isekai Ojisan.
The current name was supposed to be ExemplarCaymanIsland, but the character limit didn't allow it.
If I dropped a manga with a score of 7, it means the manga was a 9/10 or 10/10 at first before deteriorating, still worth reading the early parts.
Recommended light novels:
Everything by Nisio Isin, especially Zaregoto Vol. 2 and Sekai Vol. 1.
KonoSuba.
Combatants Will Be Dispatched.
Recommended visual novels:
Saya no Uta.
Doki Doki Literature Club.
Recommended video games:
Undertale.
Night in the Woods.
To the Moon.
Legacy of Kain Series.
Alice: Madness Returns.
Amanita Design games, esp. Machinarium and Botanicula.
The Coffin of Andy and Leyley.
Recommended films:
The Boondock Saints.
Mad Max: Fury Road.
Crank.
24 Hour Party People.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
Anything by Quentin Tarantino, especially Pulp Fiction.
Anything by Terry Gilliam, especially Brazil.
Recommended TV Series:
Arrested Development.
Spaced.
Archer.
Yes, Minister.
Fawlty Towers.
HBO's Chernobyl.
The Wire.
Friends.
Recommended novels:
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.
Anything by Joseph Heller, especially Catch-22.
Anything by Neil Stephenson, especially Snow Crash.
Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher; Hussite Trilogy.
Robert Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress; Starship Troopers.
O. Henry, Cabbages and Kings.
Recommended non-fiction:
Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene; The Extended Phenotype; The God Delusion.
Steven Levitt, Freakonomics; SuperFreakonomics.
Lee Smolin, The Trouble With Physics.
Erich Fromm, The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness.
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged.
Recommended video essays:
youtube.com/watch?v=VdNhwb7iuI4 - Bioshock Infinite Critique by Matthewmatosis, the single best piece of critique of a work of fiction I know of.
youtube.com/watch?v=lwkk74GZTdE - Inception's Ending Explained in 4 Minutes by Studio Ersatz, a quick explanation of the purpose of fiction.
youtube.com/watch?v=0cNiEJfkq_M - Titanic Confused Matthew Review by Confused Matthew, an example of a good film critique.
youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI&list=PLZJ2yOBfQ1hr3wacUOgHhY_ZFZ2ujxAEo - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review by RedLetterMedia, a timeless classic even though RedLetterMedia are moronic pseuds that could not recognize a good movie if it bit them in the ass and held on.
youtube.com/watch?v=5eW6Eagr9XA - The 4 things it takes to be an expert by Veritasium, how to understand that you're listening to someone speaking out of their ass about things they don't understand but pretend they do.
Tags Glossary is in blog posts.
I use an actual 10-point scale, not the school paper grading scale where 60/100 is a failure, so here’s a quick conversion of my scores into yours: 8-10 = your 10; 7 = your 9; 5-6 = your 7; 1-4 = your 1.
Actually, I use a 15-point scale, some series are 15/10 in comparison to a normal 10/10 series, and I don't see a point in dropping the score for 95% of other series just because there are a select few which are massively superior.
Everything rated on my list 8+ is a good anime I'd recommend to any anime watcher. Everything rated 10+ is good fiction, period, that I'd recommend to anyone with good taste even if they don't watch anime (your mom that wouldn't approve of you watching cartoons with naked lolis does not have good taste).
More details:
10 - Masterpiece. A show that fits all of the following criteria: a) technically and artistically competent - good direction, intelligent writing, great art and music; b) thought-provoking - literally, makes you want to think about what you saw; c) unique - offers something most other works of fiction don’t; d) huge rewatch value - can be watched 3+ times and remain fun; e) didactic - actually teaches you something about life.
9.5/10 - Masterpiece*. A show that has all of the qualities of a masterpiece, except the didacticism. It's flawless, but it's not like watching it will change your life.
9 - Great. Lacks a single quality of a masterpiece.
8 - Good. Lacks 2+ qualities of a masterpiece, but is enjoyable otherwise. No serious flaws. Mandatory rewatch value.
7.5/10 - Masterpiece**. A show that could’ve been a masterpiece if not for some egregious flaws.
7 - Fine. A show that is “generic”, or uninspiring, or flawed, but enjoyable otherwise. Low rewatch value.
6 - Mediocre. Timekiller - you don’t regret watching it, but you’ll forget it once it’s over. No rewatch value.
5 - Guilty pleasure. Objectively it’s garbage, but there is at least one aspect that is interesting and worth watching for. Also a score for bad sequels that you watch for the sake of completion.
4 - Bad. No value that justifies not dropping it and spending time on one of the hundreds of better shows in existence. Also a score for bad adaptations of good source material and pointless OVAs.
3 - Terrible. Immersion-breaking flaws that ruin your ability to care. Something you drop in the middle of an episode.
2 - Unwatchable. Literally - it’s so bad it physically hurts to watch it.
1 - Crime against humanity. Morally and/or intellectually insulting. Whoever is responsible for it needs to get stabbed to death with rusty spoons.
If you're watching seasonals with English subs, watch Muse Asia / Bilibili (B-Global), they produce better English translations than Crunchyroll/HIDIVE.
Context: This show's title is "Aharen-san Is Indecipherable".
Context: Shirogane wins.
Context: Black Hair says "You look different," White Hair replies 気のせい/"In one's imagination".
Context: Left is a translation of what was said in Japanese. Right is cancer.
Comments