So you've hit my anime reviews page... Howdy! As is probably self-explanatory, this page is for personal reviews on anime that I've watched. For this page I've developed my own grading system that I will try to apply to anything I review as is applicable... Mind you, I'm not a professional! This is just for fun, and feel free to agree to disagree if you find any of my opinions objectionable for whatever reason.
THE GRADING SYSTEM
Each series or film I review will be graded on a total of 5 qualities, all of which will be graded on a scale of 1 to 10.
- STORY - Good stories matter! Is the basic plot or overarching storyline good? Did it keep my attention?
- WRITING - If the story's a bust, well... is the writing good? Were the writers able to make it work?
- CHARACTERS - Were the characters, good or evil, likeable to watch? Did I enjoy them as characters?
- SCORE - Was the music good?
- VISUAL INTEREST - Was the animation pretty to look at? Nice style and direction? I use this as a grading quality because as an artist, visuals matter a lot to me and can turn me off of something instantly.
Each of these will be factored into tallying up a final score of... 1 to 12 cookies!
Why cookies? Well, why not...?
And why the odd number of 12? Well... makes things a little less harshly divided! The scores I give can have more of a steady progression to them. Does that make sense? I'd sure hope so.
Anything that gets a coveted 12 outta 12 cookie score gets a special label ... "Pure Sugar"! Anything that gets a 1 out of 10 receives the unwanted label "Rancid Egg".
NUMBER RATINGS
- 1 - Awful! (Rancid Egg)
- 2-3 - Bad
- 4-5 - Meh
- 6-7 - Okay
- 8-9 - Good
- 10-11 - Great
- 12 - Perfect! (Pure Sugar)
Lastly... Reviews will also include my overall thoughts on the series, specific comments I want to make, as well as who my favorite character was, if I had one. I will also include the general timeframe of when I watched the show (example: July 2023 or Summer 2023 if I don't remember the month).
SPY x FAMILY - SEASON 1 (2022)
STORY: 10/10
WRITING: 7/10
CHARACTERS: 10/10
SCORE: 9/10
VISUAL INTEREST: 9/10
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
A very cute anime, and a fairly solid first season. At the point of writing this review, I believe the second season has released, and I do intend to watch it as well.
Now, while SPY x FAMILY is a pretty solid anime with a good premise and storyline, I do have to mention write away that I have one gripe with it and that is Yuri's character... he's pretty transparently a "siscon" type, which if you're unaware of what that might entail, it means the anime is a bit transparent about the fact that Yuri has the hots for his sister Yor. Gross. It's a shame too, because otherwise he could've been a pretty compelling character, but now I just wish they hadn't put him in the show to begin with. He really sours any episode he's in.
Yuri aside, I found SPY x FAMILY's story pretty cute and compelling, especially Yor and Anya's characters. I loved the contrast between Yor's aggressiveness plus her fairly brutal job and her insecurities over being a proper housewife interesting, and hell, if she had her own show that was just about her I'd watch it. I think she was easily my favorite. I loved Anya and how much of a mischievous little shit she was. She reminded me of how I was as a little kid (minus maybe the pink hair, telepathy, and going to a prestigious academy... I had none of those things.) My favorite episode had to be Episode 4, I loved how tense the interview scene was, and when Anya started crying... oh my heart! ;_; I actually cheered out loud when it looked like Yor and Loid were gonna beat the shit out of Murdoch, the asshole would've deserved it.
Considering he doesn't have much presence in this first season, if you can stomach Yuri's character I would recommend giving SPY x FAMILY a chance. It's not perfect, but it's a fun watch.
FAVORITE CHARACTER: Yor
WATCHED: Started October 2022, finished August 2023
FINAL SCORE: 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪⚫⚫⚫ 9/12 COOKIES
DEATH NOTE (2006)
STORY: 10/10
WRITING: 8/10
CHARACTERS: 9/10
SCORE: 9/10
VISUAL INTEREST: 10/10
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I really don’t understand why it took me so long to watch this one. It’s certifiably iconic, and I 100% get why it is. It’s so masterfully suspenseful, as well as engrossing when it comes to the conflicts between Light and L.
Unfortunately after episode 25 my interest did start to wane and I kind of tapped out of a few episodes to do something else while they played in the background. The new antagonists just weren’t as interesting to me as L had been. They were fine, I didn’t hate them, but they just weren’t very interesting.
I still watched to the end though because I so BADLY wanted to see Light get his comeuppance. The ending… it was oddly poetic and bittersweet. I almost felt… kinda bad for Light? But in a conflicted way. Either way though, this one was fantastic! I'd definitely watch it again and recommend it. It's a classic for a reason.
FAVORITE CHARACTER: L
WATCHED: May 2023
FINAL SCORE: 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪⚫⚫ 10/12 COOKIES
PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA (2011)
STORY: 10/10
WRITING: 10/10
CHARACTERS: 10/10
SCORE: 10/10
VISUAL INTEREST: 10/10
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
"The perfect anime doesn't exist -" *shot*
Okay yeah, I would legitimately consider Madoka Magica a perfect anime. I'm mad at myself for putting off watching it as long as I did. This is one of those shows that can't be done justice with words - that you just have to watch to understand. I'll try to do it justice here, but mind that there WILL be spoilers. If you want to go into Madoka Magica blind, don't read my review!
Okay... The eerie set up with Madoka's dream in episode 1. The way she meets Homura. That earth shattering moment in episode 3 where Mami meets her end. Sayaka's slow descent into despair that ends in her passing as she turns into a witch... the mindnumbing reveal of Kyubey's true nature and how soul gems work. And the futility of Homura's efforts in saving Madoka, and the way Madoka's selflessness is always what leads to her own undoing. The way Madoka rewrites the rules of the universe so everyone can have a happy end... this show does it all so perfectly.
One might say Madoka Magica is bleak, or "edgy", but when I look at this story I don't see edginess. I don't just see the suffering of Magical Girls. In Madoka I see a tale of finding hope and optimism in an avenue that encourages despair and tragedy. I see a tale where flowers bloom between the rubble of a decimated city. I see a tale where kindness and love heals. And as cheesy as all of that is, those are my true thoughts here. Madoka is a life-changing anime.
FAVORITE CHARACTER: Homura
WATCHED: February 2023
FINAL SCORE: 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 12/12 COOKIES ✨~ PURE SUGAR! ~✨
BOCCHI THE ROCK! (2022)
STORY: 9/10
WRITING: 8/10
CHARACTERS: 10/10
SCORE: 10/10
VISUAL INTEREST: 10/10
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
MAN, is Bocchi the Rock! a fun time. This show had me laughing more than any other anime I've watched so far. It's so silly, and it kind of owns its silliness. The moments where the animation gets experimental also do a lot to enhance the humor here... man, I NEVER thought I'd see an anime depict social anxiety in such a hilariously relatable way, but they nailed it here. I saw a LOT of my teenage self in Bocchi. God bless her, she tries so hard. You can't watch the show and not be rooting for her.
Speaking of... I found this show's story (which, is a fairly loose one giving its primarily a comedy/slice-of-life) to be fairly encouraging. These teens deserve their big break, and by god you want to see it happen. I actually tensed up when Bocchi's guitar broke during the big concert in the last episode! Like... no, she'd come so far! How can she salvage this? And she did. Not only did she salvage the performance, but the crowd loved it too!!! I was so proud of Bocchi by the end of the season. She was giving me hope that my socially anxious ass could get somewhere too. I REALLY hope this show gets continued, and I completely recommend watching it if you have the time.
FAVORITE CHARACTER: Bocchi
WATCHED: January 2023
FINAL SCORE: 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪⚫ 11/12 COOKIES