Firstly, yes It has been an year. The last post is from a time before COVID
Truly Ancient History
In any case, I post whenever I feel like it. Though I will strive to improve my frequency.
Anyway, an update to the Artistic Scale. After having watched around 300 anime titles by now, my taste as well as understanding developed and as such the Measure of Quality must also be updated along with it.
Previously there was a 5 star system with a 6 star band for the truly exceptional. That remains the same, except The Star rating goes up to a maximum of 8 stars, no exceptions. So for refresher, I will define what each star rating means.
1 star = EITHER Entertaining OR Artistic
Like before, 1 star is essentially the statement "I was able to watch it to the end without dropping" and there are 2 possible reasons why
1: It was mindless entertainment, something to shut off your brain with and just enjoy. Examples: Dororo, Pop Team Epic & Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism (I kid you not, this is a show about a guy who beats up girls to induct them into his harem)
2: It was novel, artistic, it did something new for its time that you can remember it by. Examples: Neon Genesis Evangellion, Akudama Drive (This anime is alot of things, Coherent isn't one but it was a fun concept nonetheless. A sort of Suicide Squad if you may), Quan Zhi Gao Shou (This one is an anime about E-Sports go figure)
2 star = Entertaining AND Artistic
Read: Guilty Pleasure
This has more to do with the 3 star band, 2 stars were anime that were fun and novel but aren't something you would tell others to watch for any reason. Mostly if it is cringe, disturbing, perverted or something you enjoyed simply because it catered to your tastes. Examples: K-on, Blend S, Domestic no Kanojo (Yea, I am shirking my Dignity to give these examples xD )
3 star = Would recommend to others
Inclusive of everything that comes before, this show was Artistic, Entertaining and you have no qualms about recommending it to other people. This is where majority of Shows usually end up, the generic normal shows or just plain medicore. They weren't bad but nothing that good either. Don't get me wrong, it isn't an insult it means that this show has escape the trench of being trash and is among the ranks of decent media that are worth ones time, just nothing exceptional.
Examples: SAO Alternative GGO, Hanebado, Joker Game, Overlord, Death Parade
4 star = Rewatch Value
A show with a relevant overarching plot that is slowly built up over episodes until its final delivery at the climax. Such that if you ever happened to watch this show again, the anticipation remains and one can actively notice things that they didn't notice during their first watch.
Examples: Jojo's Bizzare Adventure: All of them (This is important since Jojo has been the only anime with multiple instalments that have all ended up consistently good as well as being easily rewatchable)
5 star = Perfect, Can't think of anything better
Often when watching shows you might feel there was something amiss, or perhaps something too rushed or just not right that feeling is valid and the way I identify it is by asking the question "Could this be done better?" Making a coherent narrative is by no means an easy task. Many writers even most prominent ones run into the issues of Plotholes and Inconsistencies which would be too breaking or too boring to address, hence why Retcons exist to keep things fresh but it can certainl feel jarring.
Anime which do not run into these issues, a Perfect Run as you may. If you felt there was no forseeable way that this anime could have been done better or rather you cannot find any sizeable fault. Then it stands tall among the ranks of the Perfect.
Example: Fate Zero, Initial D, Goblin Slayer, Kimetsu no Yaiba: Demon Slayer, Kara no Kyoukai: Garden of Sinners
6 star = Masterpiece
At its core, art is a manifestation of emotion. It is a form of how man expresses themselves. Art has many mediums, from Still Life to Dance to Music to Theatre and even Animation along with everything else in between. Among these expressions of Art, are such sublime pieces of Work that evokes Emotion even in the hearts of a stranger seeing it for the first time. Anime is no exception, while it is an entertainment medium it isn't exclusively for entertainment. Just as how Drawing isn't exclusive for Comics. An anime that can draw out Emotional Reactions, and intense feelings of Hope, Love, Gratitude, Relief, Pathos, Sadness, and Joy. Such an anime deserves to be called a 'Masterpiece'
It may be a long running title like One Piece and Gintama with its ups and downs, Episodic pieces like Cowboy Beebop, Seasonal Installments like My Hero Academia S4 or even 12 episode hitters like Dr Stone S1 and especially well done titles like Cells at Work: Code Black
A Piece that inspires emotion, is truly a work of art and should be cherished for they are truly marvels
7 star = Masterpiece ++
Carrying on the spirit of the last star band, this set of Masterpieces went above and beyond all Expectation. Setting new heights and standards for all other Mediums of Art to aspire to. These anime do not arouse a single emotion, but a multitude and perhaps several times over within the same instalment. These pieces are often steeped in immense Ideologue, have absolutely Solid Characters that could breathe life into a Vacuum and a Narrative with a Strength that rivals Titans. Such a solid piece of art that is truly the pinnacle of achievement.
Examples: 3-gatsu no lion, Steins;Gate, Haikyuu and Vinland Saga
8 star = GOAT(Greatest of All Time)
A pinnacle of achievement and a Masterpiece already, the last extra icing on the top is if this anime even caters to the exact preferences you had.
In my case, I am a sucker for Well Defined Magic Systems (Magic Systems that obey Sanderson's 3 Laws of Magic with extreme vigour) as well as Historical Themes and Ideologue.
Pieces of Media that have shaped me as a person were those that made me Question and come to Realizations, They were examples to strive for and ofcourse it is my personal Belief that History is of the greatest importance to Man. Mankind has atleast 12,000 Years of History and we barely know any of it from before 4000 years of now (Before Egypt) and the problems we face today such as: How do we live together with different people, the Question of Governance, Corruption, Faith and what not. All these questions our ancestors faced, and in 12,000 years of continued Human Existence many answers to those questions were tested. By learning what our ancestors did, we can avoid repeating mistakes and learn to be better as we build on our successes. Therefore, any anime that lays an emphasis on History instantly becomes a favourite of mine. If there was a Masterpiece that also pulled this off, then surely I would call it the Greatest of All Time.
As of now, there has been only 1 Title to be crowned this honor.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
That is it for my Artistic Scale, hope you find it useful in rating your own pieces and for any future pieces I review myself.
There are several things I should mention tho,
Every star band has a High (H) and Low (L) rating, this is meant to distinguish between Pieces in the same Star Tier.
High can imply it barely missed the next Star ranking or that this piece is comfortably sitting in this tier.
Low can imply that this title barely made it to this tier or that it sits a bit behind the other pieces in the same tier.
High is denoted by a .5 while Low are Whole Numbers.
Example: 4 High = 4.5 ; 3 Low = 3
Furthermore are as follows:
BIAS = Anime that are unable to be fairly judged (For me its Gintama and Carnival Phantasm)
0 Star = Dropped Anime
X Rank = Not my thing (Anime that you do not approve of for personal reasons, for me it would be Banana Fish. It may or may not be good, but my perception is coloured against it due to Homosexual Themes which I do not approve of)
