No better way to waste time than to write a bunch of crap that nobody is going to read, ねえ?
I am not an otaku and really have little tolerance for all things otaku; I just happen to like stories and there are a lot of good stories in anime not to mention the fact that pretty much all Western music, movies, and television is nothing but horseshit these days. I also love BUMP OF CHICKEN.
Some people take MAL ratings too seriously; MAL ratings are mainly about personal preference and taste. This site is MyAnimeList, the key pronoun being my, 俺の, etc. At the end of the day, aggregate MAL scores don't really matter but some people seem to think that the whole world revolves about them.
With that mini-diatribe out of the way, here is how I rate:
Firstly, I try to use the whole scale. I basically put things into 6 tiers with the top two tiers being things I like and the bottom two tiers being things I didn't like and everything else in the middle two tiers.
Tier 1: 8-10 (Things I really liked or thought were spectacular)
Anything I've given an 8 or better to is something I really liked and thought was well worth my time. Almost all of my favorite shows are an 8 or better. An 8 may sometimes have a very small number of extremely minor flaws whereas a 9 is something that is fairly strong and solid altogether. I don't give 9s or 10s very often; if I really liked something, chances are it is an 8. A 10, which I give significantly less often than a 9, is something which moved me either emotionally or intellectually or something that was just simply spectacular; basically, a masterpiece in my judgement.
An 8 or better has a high to very high re-watch value.
Tier 2: 7 (Things that were pretty good)
A 7 is something that I thought was pretty good and worth watching; it was definitely something that I liked overall. However, a 7 tends to be a show that just didn't blow me away or knock me off of my feet and/or a show with a small (this is the key word) handful of noticeable flaws or things I simply didn’t care for. However, in spite of these things, it was still pretty good.
A 7 typically has a medium to high re-watch value.
Tier 3: 6 (Things that weren't perfect but decent overall)
A 6 is something that I thought was decent overall but I did feel like there was something major lacking. Either it just wasn't as good as a 7 or there were quite a few significant flaws or things I didn't like although the positive aspects outweighed the negative aspects.
While this is certainly not exhaustive and doesn't describe every 6, there are a handful of categories that a good number of 6's fall into. Some 6's were shows that were not bad but they just didn't "suck me in" and so the watch and re-watch value is not as high. Some 6's were things that I was rather disappointed in and had higher hopes for. Some 6's were things I felt had some serious issues or flaws even though it turned out decent or passable all together. A few 6's were simply things that I found to be mindlessly entertaining but nothing more.
A 6 typically has a low to medium re-watch value.
Tier 4: 5 (Meh)
If there is one phrase that can describe a 5 for me it is probably "meh." Generally speaking, many 5's are things that I really didn't hate but also really didn't love either. There are a number of reasons I give a 5, depending on the show. A 5 is something that possesses at least one (sometimes more) of the following:
(a) It is something that really didn't stand out or something that felt very average and typical. Many 5's in this category were shows that really didn't solicit a reaction, either good or bad, from me. On the other hand, some 5's fall to the opposite extreme where at times I liked it while at other times I disliked it (usually, this happens roughly an equal number of times)
(b) It is something that had many positive and negative aspects, roughly equal in number but the negative aspects were very noticeable and, in my judgement, major issues. A good many 5's are in this category.
(c) It was a show for which I had higher hopes, but unlike a 6, it simply didn't average out to be as good so the disappointment factor was more significant.
(d) It was a show that I found to be excruciatingly boring and therefore difficult to watch.
A 5 usually has a very low to low re-watch value but there are some things that have more of a medium re-watch value.
Tier 5: 4 (Pretty crappy with some positive elements)
A 4 is something I didn't like overall but saw a small number of positive things about it. However, I felt that the negative aspects and the flaws grossly outweighed the positive things. Some 4's were things I wished I could rate higher but tended to have some content that I either found excessively (this is the keyword) objectionable or offensive, out of place, or simply inconsistent with what the series was attempting to do (many series with a semi-decent plot but overly excessive ecchi get 4's for this reason).
It is quite likely I will never re-watch anything to which I've given a 4.
Tier 6: 1-3 (Awful/garbage/not fit to be called trash)
A 4 is something I thought was bad with some positive elements whereas a 3 or lower is something that I felt was a complete waste of time with an obvious varying degree of disdain; a 2 or a 1, which I rarely give, is something I thought was just complete garbage.
I will most certainly never re-watch anything to which I've given a 3 or lower.
Things I Have Not Rated (The "Null Tier")
Sometimes, I don't rate certain shows. I almost never rate things that merely serve as recap for another show I have already rated. Sometimes, I do not rate shows with at least 2 cours whose story arc has not been resolved in the last cour. This is mainly because it can be difficult to rate the development of a story that has not been completed. Although it rarely happens, sometimes I don't rate things simply because I don't know what to rate it.
Finally, with practically no exception, I don't rate shows that I am currently watching and haven't finished (this obviously includes currently airing shows). There have been many shows that really redeemed themselves in the end and so I like to give a fair chance to everything I watch, especially since I am a story driven viewer (to a certain degree, I can forgive bad animation and voice acting if the story is good).
I may or may not rate a show I dropped. If I do, it is usually because it solicited a very negative reaction from me early on in the series and these ratings are usually quite bad (4 or lower). I never give 1s to shows I drop, simply because I haven't finished the show. If I give a 2 to a dropped show, that probably means I feel like it would have received a 1 had I finished it.
Notable History/Seasonal Comments
9-26-18: Been a while since I made an entry. For Summer 2018, Angolmois: Genkou Kassenki was a superb historical drama. War is truly hell and often times, the innocent suffer. As usual, great shows like this are underrated.
Sadly, this Fall season looks awful.
3-31-17: Wow. Winter 2017 has been quite possibly one of the worst anime seasons in recent history. I didn't rate any series an 8 or better (there were a few pretty good shows to which I gave a 7 but not many) and several shows that I thought would be pretty good turned out to be complete flops. Shiesh. I feel like I wasted a nontrivial portion of my life this season.
Fortunately, the Spring 2017 season looks to be significantly better; I am very much looking forward to Rinne S3, Uchouten Kazoku 2, and Sagrada Reset. Oh please don't be a crappy spring season...
8-5-16: Completed Planetarian around 12:13 AM - this is my 300th completed entry.
9-23-15: Around 8:15 PM, I hit 250 entries with Kyoukai no Rinne. Speaking of which, this series was excellent. I am very picky about comedy and I thought it was one of the most intelligent comedies I have ever seen. Naturally, I am pleased about S2.
3-30-15: Honestly, the Winter 2015 season has been surprisingly good. I've given more 8's this time around than I ever have and I've given very few shows a score less than 7, which is also very unusual in a given season. Some people didn't like this season and I have a difficult time seeing why - there were a few let-downs (Aldonoah.Zero started off really well in S1 but the second season, while I still liked it, was a bit lacking in many ways) but overall, there was some great stuff (sadly, most of which has been overlooked).
1-12-15: Around 4:00AM, hit the 200th entry with "Expelled from Paradise" The 201st entry was hit on 2/2/15 with Ginga Tetsudou Monogatari at roughly around 7:35 PM.
9-27-14: I finally gave an 8 to a harem (Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?); up to this point, I have never rated a harem this high so this is a big deal to me.
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