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Anime Bio
I've been an avid anime fan since 2012, though I loved watching Studio Ghibli films long before that.
I made my first active entrance into the anime realm by watching Eden of the East, purely out of curiosity. (I have not rated Eden of the East due to the length of time since last watching it, and I thus feel unable to give a full and fair rating.) I enjoyed Eden of the East and watched a couple of other anime, such as Noir, before stumbling onto Sword Art Online, upon an acquaintance's recommendation.
I am not ashamed to say that Sword Art Online is what got me hooked on anime. Yes, it was not the greatest anime ever made, as my final rating of it would suggest, but I cannot deny that I had fun watching the first arc of the show. After realizing the true potential anime had to offer, I wanted more, much more, even if Sword Art Online was not, by any means, the pinnacle of that potential.
Since then, I have watched a plethora of anime shows and movies, and I would now argue that I am something of an intermediate critic. I am neither a casual viewer, as I do have certain standards for what I view, but neither am I so critical of everything I watch that I do not take pleasure in it; enjoyment remains a key standard that I measure anime by!
How to Start Watching Anime
For anyone looking to use my list as a guide of what to watch, I strongly advise that you utilize the tags that I have put for all of the anime I have rated. An anime rated very highly may still disappoint you, if it's in a genre you naturally dislike; conversely, an anime rated lower than others may still impress you, if it's in a genre you naturally like.
If you are somewhat new to anime and unsure of where to begin, I suggest that you start by watching a variety of movies from differing genres. Movies are typically not as good as TV shows, in my opinion, but they are much shorter, and it is much easier to watch a variety of movies to discover your genre(s) of preference. Once you have pinpointed the genre you'd like to watch more of, move on to TV shows within that genre.
If you already know what genres you naturally favor, then I suggest skipping straight to TV shows, perhaps with the exception of the Studio Ghibli films and Wolf Children (Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki).
Recommendations
For those who trend more towards romantic or livelihood oriented (aka Slice of Life) films, I suggest Wolf Children (Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki) as a movie to start with; I will warn that you may feel spoiled, afterwards, as Wolf Children is one of the best movies in this genre!
For those who trend more towards action films, I suggest Captain Harlock and Akira as movies to start with; Captain Harlock has flashy CGI, but Akira is a more classical action-supernatural anime. Admittedly, though, I'm not much of an action movie fan, so I have limited suggestions to make, for this category.
For those who trend more towards sci-fi films, I suggest Ghost in the Shell as a movie to start with; do not expect a flashy animation style, but do expect a very in-depth and thought-provoking plot!
For those who trend more towards adventure films, I suggest virtually any Studio Ghibli film; check the sub-genres to pinpoint the Studio Ghibli film you feel you'd most enjoy. Studio Ghibli films are very artistic, in nature, however, and are not entirely indicative of most anime adventure works.
For those who trend more towards comedy films, I suggest Summer Wars. In truth, though, you're better off going straight to a TV show, as my list of rated comedy films is nothing more than Summer Wars. Summer Wars is a great film, but good comedy films are otherwise difficult to come by.
For those who want their minds made up for them entirely, I suggest working your way through my Favorites list, then, starting with Fate/Zero (TV show). After Fate/Zero, skip around my Favorites list to the shows that interest you; none of them will disappoint, I hope!
Rating Criteria
To anyone curious as to what criteria I use to rate anime, I can only say that I have loose guidelines. For one, I don't rate anime that I feel I have not seen recently enough to properly recall and rate. For anime I do rate, I judge primarily based on artistic quality (that entails full production, including scripting, voice acting, and soundtrack) and enjoyment (including my own reactions as a fan).
I am open to watching and giving a written review for shows upon request, but I will only give written reviews for shows I watch in their entirety; this means that I won't review shows so terrible that I can't stomach finishing them.
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