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Hi. Historically I've been more of a manga reader, but I have phases where I prefer anime for one reason or another. Because of that, I have more confidence in my manga scores, but whatever.

Some rating criteria:
- Characters are usually most important to me. If the characters are weak or not noteworthy, then the work probably won't be higher than 7. Characters with a strong, unique identity are good here. They don't have to develop over the course of the story, but they would need strong characterization in other areas to possibly make up for it. This also includes little things like gestures, speech patterns, costume design, reactions (and how the work presents those reactions), etc. A character that is "trope-y" can still be strong if those tropes are justified in-universe in a natural manner, or plays/twists them into something unique (though this can be done very poorly). As long as the character cannot be completely described by a list of tropes, then tropes are fine.
- A strong plot isn't necessarily required, but if there IS a plot, then it should be impactful and not have obvious plot holes. It's also nice if there is a very strong reason why the plot should exist (i.e., it has some strong theme or insight).
- If a work has some element that is "unique" to it, I may rate it higher than an otherwise similar work that doesn't have that "uniqueness." This is because if a work is not "unique," it can be more difficult to recommend because there are other works that can do the same thing and act as a substitute. 9s and 10s will have some amount of uniqueness to them. Of course, uniqueness alone canNOT carry an entire work. At the absolute most, uniqueness probably will be worth 1 point.
- I can recommend some works that have a strong start/middle but a poor ending or no ending at all. A strong ending is nice to have, though, and it is probably impossible for a work with a bad ending to receive a 10.
- I tend to be interested in social dynamics and philosophical concepts. This is most relevant for my 9s and 10s, but it's also possible for me to rate an otherwise weaker work slightly higher because it touches these subjects with good respect and/or execution. This tends to be the case since that usually causes me to think about the work even after experiencing it, which makes me appreciate the work more as a whole.
- Over-explaining or over-dramatizing philosophical ideas (i.e. being preachy) is a huge turnoff for me. If a work wishes to be "deep," they better do it well, do it differently, or don't do it at all. It just gives me the impression that the creator wants to prove that they are smarter than they really are, and once that happens, I've already lost my sense of immersion in the work. A work could lose a point or two just because of this. (It's still possible for preachy philosophy to work if it's acknowledged by the work how silly it is, or if it's very clear that it's only the character's philosophy and not necessarily the story's or the creator's philosophy.)
- Thus, subtlety in posing interesting philosophical concepts or issues could earn a work a point just because of how commonly anime/manga tend to be on the preachier side.
- Scores are not set in stone. Oftentimes I will reevaluate and change my scores to reflect how I feel about a work long after I experience it. This means many of scores are in hindsight and don't necessarily reflect my experience in that moment. I'm okay with that, because I don't believe a work should only be judged the moment it is experienced. A work that manages to stand the test of time (even when the developments of the story are known) deserves to have a higher score than one that fizzles out with time. It is also impractical to judge every work just by my initial feeling, since I won't be able to remember the exact initial feelings for every work I experience, making accurate comparisons between newer works and older works impossible. My initial feelings are more prone to change with my mood, anyway.
- I don't tend to like rating works without watching/reading a significant portion of them first. For anime, I mostly rate shows that I watched more than half of. For manga, it can depend since many of them are long, so I go by my instinct for when I feel I have read enough to understand the essence of the series before possibly rating. Sometimes, if I don't have a strong opinion for why I stop consuming a series, I'll leave them both "Dropped" but also unrated, so having them unrated doesn't necessarily mean anything.
- Some works I have listed as "Completed" but also are unrated. This is because I am unconfident in what I would think of the work if I were to judge it fairly. It could be that I haven't watched/read the work in a long time, or that I watched/read it under unusual circumstances.

What each score means:

1) Spectacularly bad; Painful. So bad that the reasons why I hated it still haunt me long after I've read/watched the work, and most likely it would get worse with every reread/rewatch. I would only subject my most hated enemies to read/watch this.
2) Nothing of value. I see no reason why someone would read/watch this. It might not even be eye-gougingly horrible, but it might as well not exist.
3) The normal version of bad. Could be boring, unmemorable, and/or poorly constructed such as having significant plot holes, but at least, I can still imagine someone else might barely like it.
4) Boring, but watchable/readable. Might also include works that started with some potential, and then completely flopped afterward. Not a complete waste of time, but I'd rather read/watch something else.
5) Has something to it that is enjoyable, but is either done much better elsewhere or is bogged down by other flaws. The borderline of the "dropped" threshold. The "so bad, it's good" kind of stuff can also be as high as here.

My recommendations start here:
6) Fairly enjoyable. Usually these are either fairly conventional in a good way, or have a great concept with poor execution.
7) Nice. Usually not much to say about these, other than they are fairly easy to recommend in passing.
8) Amazing. They do everything or almost everything right. If something is conventionally good, this is probably as high as I can rate it. Consider this a glowing recommendation for most people.

For something to be rated higher, oftentimes it's a question of what it doesn't do.

9) Powerful; Brilliant. It sets out to do a lot of things, executes them well, and is very difficult to find flaws in; or, it sets out to do a few things but goes above and beyond in all of them. Some of these could be 10 material, but their flaws might be too noticeable or they might need something more.

10) Resonating; a Personal Classic. This is a work I've read/watched multiple times, and the work is just as amazing or more amazing with every read/watch. Something that is merely excellent doesn't belong here. These works have great depth, but I rate it as a 10 because I can see and experience that depth. Thus, a 10 cannot be anything but almost purely subjective for me, but it would feel plain wrong to not give these works a 10. That doesn't mean they are flawless, but rather the power of the work blinds me of those flaws. That's just how strong these works are for me. At this point, these aren't just works that I love; they are important to me and close to my identity as a person.