Fic Writer and Reader, general nerd, OG Irontai shipper, lover of rarepairs and space trains. Currrently working on some fanfics, drabbles, and anime reviews.
So I figured if I do continue these anime reviews, I should probably explain my rating system.
My system has a certain number of rankings I present to each title based on certain criteria. That criteria is:
Story
Characters
Sound and Animation
Personal Enjoyment
Overall Content Warnings
Each of these things I analyze, and then decide on how much certain aspects of these five things could affect another’s enjoyment. Once I’m done, I form the review in an easy format, starting with personal anecdote with a content warning, and then moving on to Story, Characters, Sound and Animation, and ending on Final Thoughts with a rating and information on where you can currently legally access what I talked about. You can see examples of that here and here with my first two full reviews.
Now, as for the ratings, these are the ones I came up with. The five ratings are:
Certified Classic
Shelf Worthy
Stream it
Skip it
Certified Fuck It
Long, in depth explanation for each rating under the cut
The Certified Classic Rating: a rating I reserve for only the best of the best, and series I believe need all the attention they can get.
This means that the series has either flown under the radar, or had a decent following at some point but that following has either massively declined in recent memory or vanished all together.
These are series that I feel need a bit of extra love and attention and that I know many people with either love themselves, or they know someone who would absolutely adore them as much as I have.
Essentially, this is my ‘Cult Classic’ tag. My smaller, more honest souls that should be cherished but have yet to be discovered by others.
The Shelf Worthy Rating: a rating I reserve for only the best of the best, and those series that are worth the hype.
This means this series is incredibly good. As good as the Certified Classics.
However, unlike the Certified Classics, these series either have an incredibly large following currently, (like whatever new anime is currently airing in the season) or are considered an Anime Essential (in the same vein as the FMA franchise, Gundam Multiverse, DBZ, Sailor Moon, or Cowboy Bebop).
Essentially, this is the ranking reserved for those series who have made such a strong name for themselves based on their quality, that they’ve become part of the anime lexicon, are easily recognizable, and/or are currently receiving all the attention.
TL:DR: It’s mainstream and you know it, even if you’ve never seen it. And I agree with the majority that it’s worth the purchase.
The Stream It Rating: a rating reserved for series that have a rather high level of ‘your millage may vary’ content, but is still worth giving a try.
This is essentially where I put series that I either do not see as highly as others may, or its got too much content that it makes me wary of recommending it to just about anyone.
It’s also where I put series that have not aged well in some aspect, be it in how it deals with certain topics or issues, dub quality if one is available, or overall animation.
Basically, if it gives me too many misgivings on any level, I’ll recommend you just try it before you buy it.
The Skip It Rating: a rating reserved for series I feel do not live up to the hype, and are not worth the time.
This is for series that have either highly disappointed me in some way, shape, or form, or have been hyped up so much that upon seeing the content it makes me question why anyone would watch this.
These are the shows I dislike greatly, but may still have one or two redeeming qualities to them such as good animation or a fantastic soundtrack that makes it perfect AMV or writing fodder. Or perhaps is connected in some way to a better product that you can check out instead, such as if its based on a book or a video game.
You and can friends can watch it, but you’ll only really be able to enjoy it with a damn good drinking game.
If you were to ask me if I’d recommend it, or if I enjoyed it, I’ll be blunt and tell you that you’re not missing much and can do without whatever gets this rating.
The Certified Fuck It Rating: a rating reserved for only the worst of the worst, and those that I feel you should avoid at all cost.
Anything with this rating is something I will adamantly insist you do not come into contact with. There are no redeeming qualities to this product, and you’re better off chucking it into the garbage where it belongs, plain and simple. We’re talking Fallout 76 levels of what the fuckery.
These series aren’t even worth a hate watch. Not worth the drinking game.
Do not pass episode 1. Do not collect $200 in merch. Go straight to jail.
Please for the love of the old Otaku Legends, do not watch whatever gets the Certified Fuck It.
And that’s how my reviews and ratings are going to be.
I hope this helps make sense of my thought process for anyone curious.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and hope you’re looking forward to the next review.
PSA for anyone who uses ingramspark, or anyone you know who does, you now need to opt out to prevent them from selling your books to AI tech companies to train their AI. 🤦♀️
Here's the angry email I wrote to the customer service desk. I don't know if I'll get any answer but feel free to copy and paste if you want.
Hello,
I am writing to express my deep disappointment and concern about Ingram's behind-closed-doors sale of author's work to AI companies. I learned about this new practice through posts on Instagram and tumblr, not through any official email announcement or documentation through my author portal, and I was horrified to learn that it was an opt-out situation. How do I know my work hasn't already been scraped or stolen before I opted out? Would I be paid for the sale, or would Ingram spark receive all the proceeds of my hard work?
Furthermore, the opt-out form had to be linked in these off-site posts. This is a huge breach of trust for a small indie author who's trying to break out in the industry. When I searched for "AI" on Ingram's website, the opt-out page did not come up in the search results. Also, I publish through the IngramSpark Website, so I wouldn't have known to go to the "Ingram Content Group" website to find the page, and the opt-out page didn't show up in the search results on that page either. The only results that come up are "helpful" guides on AI marketing strategies, which I find offensive as well (though irrelevant to the topic at hand). It's as though the company is intentionally trying to hide the opt-out form to keep as many authors as possible ignorant and enrolled to unfairly profit off their stolen work.
This is a huge breach of trust for a small indie author who's trying to break out in the industry. I am betrayed, angry, and hopeless. I chose Ingramspark because of your wide distribution network, access to libraries and small bookstores, and high print quality for my illustrations. I want to sell wide. I bring my book to art markets. I want to have a product I can be proud of. I don't want to rely on Amazon's monopoly, and other distributors don't offer what you do.
Please reverse this decision and publicly apologize to the writing community. You would not have your business without us.
During a high speed car chase pursuit, the FOX 11 Los Angeles helicopter had an unexpected moment when they spotted a rooster and a chicken casually walking down the sidewalk right in the middle of the pursuit.
