Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - December 30, 2025
This is a daily megathread for general chatter about anime. Have questions or need recommendations? Here to show off your merch? Want to talk about what you just watched.
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Commentaires
[](#towel)[](#neat)[](#anko)[](#morecomfy)
[](#hardthink)
[Image at Imgur](https://imgur.com/gallery/top-10-anime-of-fall-2025-A6r9LJI)
But first i forgot to tell you guys last month that the amount of cities that show these movies has increased from 3 to 7 including: Almere, Breda, Groningen and The Hague.
Now then I know this is like the second sequel where I haven’t watched the first movie, but just like with Ghost in the Shell I feel I could comprehend everything perfectly fine.
The movie was an absolute VIBE and very enjoyable, the only thing I didn’t like was that they didn’t show the fight with the last henchmen. They just kinda cut to the aftermath of the fight.
Other than that it’s pretty good film with some interesting characters and really good animation.
8/10 highly recommend
Which means, here I go posting [boobs](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/20cb5784ca3b.jpg) again! And a [bonus](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/0d804b6dc790.jpg)
[](#mugiwait)
[](#watashiworried)
Those who know, know
More seriously though, we've had at least two great yuri each season since spring of this year, and it looks like we're getting two more next season (with the Watanare second cour on top of that, which I'm super hyped for).
[](#mugiwait)
Tbf, season 1 being such a filter means that there's a heavy sequel bias once you get down to S6.
I agree with the rest though, it's great.
I agree with the rest though, it's great.
One of my favourites from the year.
I love how the Kingdom EDs get all fancy and break the mould, whereas the openings are usually the most standard that you can imagine.
ACTION
- Demon Slayer 9.5/10
- Sakamoto Days 7.5/10
- Hunter x Hunter 8/10
- Kaiju no.8 8.5/10
- Frieren 9.75/10
- Solo Leveling 8/10
- Fire Force 7/10
- Naruto 10/10
- JJK 10/10
- Black Clover 9.75/10
- Mashle (watching)
ROMANCE
-BlueBox 10/10
-My dress up darling 8.75/10
Horimiya 6/10
-Oregairu 7/10
-Morethanamarriedcouplebutnotlovers 9.5/10
-Bunny Girl Senpai 10/10
-The Angel next door spoils me rotten 10/10
-Toradora 8.5/10
-Quintessential Quintuplets 9.5/10
-Love is War 8.75/10
- My love story with yamada 7.5/10
- The fragrant flower blooms with dignity 10/10
- Apothecary Diaries 10/10
- Call of the night 7.5/10
- Relife 9.25/10
- Fruits Basket 8.5/10
- Golden Time 5/10
- Kimizero 6.5/10
-Chitose in a ramune bottle 6.75/10
- Pet girl of Sakurasou 9/10
- Irina the Vampire Cosmonaut 8.75/10
- Romantic Killer 8.5/10
- Kono Oto Tomare (watching)
ROMANCE & ACTION OR NONE
- Haikyuu 10/10
- Sword Art Online 9.5/10
- Kuroko no Basket 9.5/10
- Cyberpunk Edgerunners 9.75/10
Overlord is a pretty good action/adventure show
https://myanimelist.net/animelist/Totesnotaphanpy?status=7&order=4&order2=0
I think we have fairly similar tastes, so you can check out my MAL for more ideas, and feel free to ask questions about any of the shows on my list :)
youve covered a lot of the basics. Its time to open up.
I thought the movie was great before but now seeing it in a proper quality has me floored
We’re coming up on the 10 year anniversary of this one! It’s a great show that is criminally slept on!
Definitely had some things move around compared to where I was at [halfway through the season](https://imgur.com/iY0zC2g), though my top favorites were locked in pretty much the whole season.
Also, for all the "Fall 2025 is such a weak season" talk that's been everywhere, I'd call this one arguably my best season of the year lol. Even with Tougen Anki at the bottom, it's just a 7/10 bottom and not, like, a 4 or a 5 (which I *did* have during Spring and Winter, respectively [](#bored)), and my 8/10 tier is just empty because the other "not *super* feeling it but I do quite enjoy this" shows that I started the season with got better for me and bumped up to a 9. It's very close with Summer though (that one still had Tougen Anki at the bottom and then just two 8/10s in comparison).
I suppose I should start thinking about my 2025 overall rankings now. [](#spinning)
|Title|Score|Comment|
:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:--|
|Shoshimin Season 2|10| This show has the most captivating dialogue of any anime that I've ever watched, and it's made even better by stunning visuals and cinematography. I was so immersed in it that it felt like each episode passed in less than five minutes.
|Grand Blue Season 2|9| Time and time again, it made me laugh so hard that my tummy hurt. Its style of humor works perfectly with me. There's also something about guys acting like lovable, harmless morons that warms my heart.
|Medalist|9| Sheer grit and determination. She just wanted it more. A real fighter. First to the rink, last to leave. It's sports anime in its purest, most beautiful form, and the facial expressions and skating animation/sound design left a deep impression.
|Zenshuu|9| I love a hopeless fight against inevitability. We see miracle after miracle after miracle and yet there's this creeping sense of despair that just keeps growing and growing, and it all culminates beautifully.
|Catcher in the Ballpark|8|A combination of funny and sweet. It convincingly showed that sports teams are so much more than just the players on the field at any given time.
|Bad Girl|8| Rom-com miscommunication and misunderstandings taken to new extremes with very funny results. All of the girls were hopelessly stupid in ways I've never really seen before.
|100 Girlfriends|8| A show that knows just how ridiculous its premise is and keeps pushing its ridiculousness further and further. Over and over again, it kept amazing me with the direction it chose to take things.
|Turkey!|8| I learned so much about bowling watching this anime. It really gives you a good breakdown of all of the intricacies of this fascinating sport. Seriously though, the way that this show tells one of the most ridiculous stories I've ever seen with the most serious, straight face is just incredible.
|Food Court|7| Wada just keeps dropping gem after gem after gem after gem. How can one girl be so right about everything in the world? It should be impossible, and yet here we are.
|Mr. Yano's Ordinary Days|7| It's a cute little romance story. It's neat that the main couple actually get to know each other, and there are a bunch of creative events. I was especially fond of the parts where they flirt and get embarrassed. There just isn't nearly enough flirting in anime.
Out of curiosity(and do forgive my ignorance), but how much of Anime is consumed via TV broadcast slots in Japan versus streaming online? Do Japan still mostly consume anime via TV broadcasts?
In my country we've basically moved most of our viewing to online streaming so it feels a bit strange seeing anime availability still being determined by TV broadcast slots. It reminds me of when some shows episodes gets delayed due to sports events like tabletennis tournaments.
There almost surely is proper data floating around but I can't be bothered to search for it right now.
It's clear from that live daytime TV is on a downward trend. I can find snippets for 90s and older shows (usually peak and average stuff and popular things were in the double-digits) and IIRC it started to fall after the 70s as a VCRs became available. VCRs eventually gave way to DVR and then "I'll just watch the official VOD".
Much of the anime consumed in the West these days are the late night slots and those were cheap slots because they have no data recorded (<0.1% viewership for mainstream channels and no research done for smaller channels that cropped up) and as those hardly chart (only a few exceptional and not on too late shows like Demon Slayer and Apothecary Diaries chart) there's no trend. There are a lot of other factors that lead to the migration from early evening to late night.
Back to consumption today. What can noted however is your typical 2025 seasonal anime [being on many streaming platforms](https://saihito-anime.com/onair/) wouldn't be likely if there was no demand (occasional timed exclusivity but complete exclusive is much rarer). It might be a small demand but it's spread in a lot of places and niches. Something like Nicovideo provides a few metrics (or some shows have more of a sense of community, just this season Style of Nohara Hoiroshi's Lunch got a lot of comments) but most others provide nothing.
As for when that started I remember there were some VOD services in the 2000s but you'd gave to look at official sites for seasonal anime and see when you first have an onair section (that would herald a more mainstream and contemporary approach). With a very small sample I was finding them in 2013 (e.g. [Golden Time](http://golden-time.jp/onair/)) so that's a by the latest figure.
> feels a bit strange seeing anime availability still being determined by TV broadcast slots. It reminds me of when some shows episodes gets delayed due to sports events like table tennis tournaments.
TV broadcaster is usually part of the production committee and they want people to watch it on TV. There has been been some shows when episodes are a week before TV broadcast on some Streaming platforms (e.g. Acro Trip and Blue Box were like this, for the former CR had the week early license while the latter Netflix didn't because...Netflix Japan did).
While the planning side is still bad like "oh, I didn't think we'd have the London 2012 Olympic Games, hey Eurkea Seven AO go end some other time" (honestly having to wait 6 weeks for the ending was a fitting end to a trainwreck of a show and a you had to be there experience) at least fixed events like Christmas are not a problem which they were 30 years ago for TV Tokyo which lead to an episode a load of early evening anime (including NGE) being on early morning instead.
Unfortunately, to be blunt, nothing else this season particularly piqued my interest. The other seasonals I tried out, I dropped fairly quickly. At least I’m not alone in not enjoying this season much compared to other seasons this year, but of course, to each their own.
I feel like it has alot of janky animation especially depending on the episode and the compositing and art goes from fantastic to very average from scene to scene.
Maybe my expectations were too high based on what people have said, but I feel like it wasn't even the best animated show of that year. Onimai and Heavenly Delusion were way more consistant with similiar peaks based on what i've seen so far.
Anyway I know alot of this is because of the behind the scenes and production issues which is a whole other discussion and I expect season 3 to be stronger because that apparently has a way better schedule...
It isn't, that became an issue later, and even then it wouldnt change much if it aired in other circumstances. Season 3 will be the same thing regardless if the production is good or not, unorthodox storyboards and experimental animation, that's the whole selling point of working in a show like this, you can go wild at the same time that you work with newer and established legends
>Onimai and Heavenly Delusion were way more consistant with similiar peaks based on what i've seen so far
Few JJK episodes which will come later are more ambitious than anything these 2 shows have to offer. One of the eps in fact is an all timer for its ambition. However, it is also true that these two shows are much more consistent and polished than JJK S2.
Yes, OniMai's art and animation were absolutely glorious, full of traditional animation perfection and hit that point where the narrative content and animation were so well harmonized that each strengthened the other.
https://i.imgur.com/zuXbJDA.gif
- This doesn't appear to be about [anime per our definition.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/wiki/rules#wiki_everything_posted_here_must_be_anime_specific)
- You might consider posting this to /r/Donghua2D
instead.
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Man, I'm really going to miss this season's bunch of shows. So much feel goodness.
And then there was Watatabe to balance things out but in a good way - by representing the dark side of the human heart in the most realistic way (despite having actual monsters in it).
And for a dash of mad fun we had Sanda and Saihito.
Fall 2025 was a great season, naysayers be damned.
Why would you want that lol
[Results were mixed](https://myanimelist.net/animelist/Durinthal?order=-14&status=2&tag=romance-year-5) for a few different reasons that can be broken down by decade:
* 2015 — I was already watching airing anime regularly in 2015 so most of the ones left for the shortlist were entries I passed over before, usually due to a lack of interest. A lot of those were battle school ecchi harem entries, very much not to my general taste but I've decided that for now at least I'm a completionist when it comes to romance anime. The main exception was __Working!!__ (which started earlier but the third season was that year) and I loved the workplace comedy shenanigans there.
* 2005 — This was a mixed bag with a number of other ecchi series and mediocre visual novel adaptions, but also a couple of interesting action/adventure shows (__Basilisk__ and __Elemental Gelade__) and a few dramas that were fun as a rollercoaster ride even if I didn't find them well-written (__Suzuka__ and __Peach Girl__).
* 1995 — The standout year with some classics like __Tenchi Muyou__ and __Magic Knight Rayearth__, but also two series from the same creators as some of my favorites: __H2__ (manga by Mitsuru Adachi who also wrote Cross Game) and __Gokinjo Monogatari__ (manga by Ai Yazawa who also wrote Nana) which were both great. Maybe the most surprising series from the whole shortlist for me was __Kaitou Saint Tail__, which is a magical girl heist series with a first love at the core.
That was fun but don't think I'm going to be that ambitious again, at least in the near future. I already have [a plan for next year](https://i.durinthal.net/anime/bingo/bingo-2026-base.jpg) that's a lot smaller in scope, returning to the romances I've dropped before.
[](#mugiwait)
Around midway through the year I figured I wasn't going to get a full blackout so I decided to see how many other entries I could get while minimizing full lines, so I had a plan to avoid most of the ones I didn't get to.
[](#teehee)
[](#sakurathink)
[](#kannathumbs)
[](#teehee)
Hope you enjoy Kubo when you pick it back up! I thought it was a sweet show, and the parts that follow in the manga are even better. We Never Learn was nice, but there were a few things about the humor and fanservice that lowered my opinion of it. Dreaming Boy was just okay, nothing special but a decent way to pass the time. Love of Kill is one I ended up liking more than I expected at first - the beginning episodes were rough, but I found the dynamic between the leads improved over time, and I got pretty invested in the action/suspense side of the story.
Koikimo is kind of a poor man's Takane & Hana, but I had fun with it. Love of Kill was worth watching just for the yandere male lead. Kubo was boring, but basically fine. I genuinely enjoy Kakuriyo, but as a cooking slice of life, not a romance. And I don't know why Ancient Magus' Bride is in a romance list.
I could make an entire post about how the romance tag is more broadly applied than it should be.
[](#elves)
And Koikimo is going to be an interesting one. Normally if I don't finish the first episode it doesn't go on my dropped list so for that show I deliberately stayed to the end just so I could put it there.
After years of doing smaller boards I'm finally jumping in with a 7x7 for 2026, albeit one that is covering every possible thing I can think of that I plan on checking out.
- Please don't use slang that includes a slur in it on /r/anime.
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The two big races of cour 2 go ludicrously hard, genuinely some of the most exciting sequences I’ve seen in anime in the ending stretches of each. Michelle My Baby is so fuckin’ hot ffs. Dicta Striker is an absolute real one. I regret looking up the Wikipedia entries of some of the horses. Super Creek’s trainer is gorgeous and also those two are basically a couple, it’s so blatant, lol.
Idk if I will watch any other horse girl stuff though, what I’ve read about other parts of the franchise suggests the cast of this one is just way more distinct and charismatic.
Also I love that there’s a genuine racing superpower that only the absolute elite can unlock. The sheer aura of it, lol, this series is peak aura farming. Tamamo Cross is Her.
- Best new anime: **Sanda**
- Best sequel: I actually didn't watch any sequel hah. Only one on my radar was **Tales of wedding rings**, but I didn't get around to actually watching it.
- Best girl: **SQ**. Honorable mentions to Fuyumura who was fantastic at first BUT kinda faded away over the season, Niko (who might have had a shot if she had more screentime), and Namatame (I will not elaborate). But SQ was a contender all season, and when she got her episode, that made her skyrocket to the top!
- Best boy: [Gnosia]>!**Yuri** assuming that we can call him boy/girl based on what gender he spawns in?!< If not, probably Sanda.
- Best support/side character: **Yagiuda**
- Worst/Most hated character: Naming villains/monsters is the easy way out of these questions, so instead of naming Sanda's principal, I'm gonna name [Sanda (maybe spoiler I guess)]>!**Ono**!< She really didn't do anything for me, and her scenes were probably my least favorites of the show.
- Best OP: **Gnosia**
- Best ED: **Gnosia**
- Surprise of the season: **Sanda**
- Disappointment of the season: **My Friend's Little AWOL Character Has It In for Me!** (Bunch of honorable mentions for this one, shows that were promising either by the premise or the 1st episode, then fell flat).
(Reading this list, it looks like I only watched Sanda and Gnosia, but I watched 8 or 10 shows... It's just that nothing was particularly good imho. I think this is my worst season in like 8 years of watching anime. Sanda and Gnosia were good, but everything else, I could have not watched them, and wouldn't miss much).
> Best OP: Gnosia
> Best ED: Gnosia
Surprisingly based takes from someone who avoids isekai like it's the plague. ^(Assuming Gnosia ED1) Having said that,
> my radar was Tales of wedding rings, but I didn't get around to actually watching it
Still time to correct your mistakes
SQ is great, but in Gnosia Comet is best girl for me. Adorable ~~dumbfucks~~ airheads always score high with me. For Sanda, Niko actually took the spot from Fuyumura in my case. Would be even better if she got even more screentime as you mentioned, but what we got was already plenty fun.
> Best boy: [Gnosia]
Hah, I feel like Gnosia in general is not really suited for best boy/girl rankings, considering like idk a third of the crew is non-binary lol. But yea, your choice fits I'd say, it's my top2 as well, right after Wandance's Kabo.
> Best ED: Gnosia
I sure hope you mean ED1 since that was a straight up banger. It looks like they will keep the one OP for both cours since that hasn't changed yet as opposed to the ED. The OP is fine, but ED1 was fucking perfect for the vibes of this show, makes me wish they would have chosen that ED to stay for both cours and switch up the OP instead.
> but I watched 8 or 10 shows... It's just that nothing was particularly good imho. I think this is my worst season in like 8 years of watching anime. Sanda and Gnosia were good, but everything else, I could have not watched them, and wouldn't miss much
You can't say that without naming the shows, now you got me curious. ~~Not that you would need to go out of your way to name them in the first place if you would have just put up your MAL in your flair already lol~~
There were a few shows I was kinda hyped for, but failed to keep my interest (Punchy Lady, Monster wants to eat me, and that random Isekai whose title I forgot)
I checked your MAL and noticed you didn't really care for it either. What didn't you like?
I hated three main things:
* It felt too short for the story it was trying to tell but too long for a movie.
* I couldn't believe they made the chief bully the protagonist and the victim of his own bullying.
* It hit disability rep written by non-disabled people cliche bingo.
I'm sure most fans of the manga would agree with that.
>It hit disability rep written by non-disabled people cliche bingo.
Can you elaborate here?
It's fucking wild to me that anyone who isn't a malignant narcissist would have a problem with that.
You could ask why I feel that way, but I guess pathologizing me for disliking a movie you like is fun too.
https://i.imgur.com/HWx6yUQ.gif
Last airing show of the year done with Kimikoe, also the final romance allocation in the awards since I watched The Lenticulars earlier today (and I'm assuming Chitose-kun's still getting punted to next year).
It's absolutely my favorite anime of the year, loved it from start to finish and I need to start shilling it more.
Behavioral economics and the cost of options..
That said, 100 gfs s2, dandadan or Frieren for now
[](#mugiwait)
at least 2 of those shows are good.
lmk when the show becomes good. I'm only ~92 episodes behind on seasonal content atm
I kind of wish more anime would do this even if doing it more often would technically ruin the magic.
[](#thoughtful)
That "struggle struggle struggle" at 1:50 is too damn cute
(She also has one of the best episodes!)
So Given:10th mix anime when?
I'm still utterly convinced that Utaha was the scriptwriter for that lol
Selling comedies is always a bit hard, but I swear, barring my other rewatch of Hinamatsuri this year, Joshiraku is maybe the funniest anime I saw in 2025. I myself was surprised because I always had a mild take of ‘Yeah, Joshiraku is decent I guess’ and rewatched it in a whim, but goodness what a great comedy. I have been thinking of posting clips of some of these shows I rewatch and I’m honestly tempted to post like 80% of episode 11 because that one is on bangers only mode.
So Joshiraku is another CGDCT that is also about cute girls yapping, [I mean, they say it themselves! You know what you are here for](https://i.imgur.com/3KseTVR.jpeg). So these 5 girls are rakugo storytellers and we see them chit chat in the backroom of their theater about random stuff. This is p much the premise of most skits with some notable exceptions. But Joshiraku is considerably more comedic so no snippets of their lives, it's all skit comedy.
However, the real charm is the humor of the show, which is brought to us by the original mangaka Kumeta; more famous for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and recently, Kakushigoto.
Joshiraku is another banger on his resume, containing that characteristic blend of slapstick, satire, parody, meta humor and surrealism.
So like I described, this is a skit format comedy, three per episode. Two of them are the yapping I talked about which really is about any topic. Some trope, some daily life rant, etc. If you have seen SZS, you know the drill I’m talking about. Then there are these, tourism skits?? So the second skit in all episodes has the cast go to some random location, usually wearing the most absolutely fire outfits you have ever seen, like seriously the char designer cooked in this show. And I wouldn’t call these ‘tourism ads’ like I do with this type of expository content, being Kumeta, it is usually accompanied by some commentary about the place and the like rather than just ‘look at this cool place’. I remember a meme that went ‘You have to be this japanese to be able to understand the joke’ and I feel these skits were where it was felt the most since it did play with some regional stereotypes.
And ofc, the cast. Can't have a comedy work without a good cast. I like them all, Marii is a big loser, Kukuru is this insane girl, Kigu is an asshole in disguise, Tetora doesn’t have a very characteristic personality but goes with the flow and always pulls some bangers.Gankyou is about the only one who is just a bit there, she is just a tsukkomi with some asshole tendencies, I dunno but I can’t say she was as fun as the others. Its hard to say because they all kinda work as a unit and there isn’t much characterization in this show.
And not to forget of the dual bangers it has for OP and ED, one the strongest combos I can remember.
Overall, Joshiraku is great. Really fun cast, many laughs, not generic feeling at all, its a blast. It may have parodies and japanese in-jokes but they are absolutely not a detriment. Big recommend, I think this may be the first time I up an anime score by two points but 9/10.
Seems like a good one for listening practice if nothing else. I know that wasn't what you were selling it on, but you might have a buyer lol
It will be my second rewatch of the series. Still as good as ever. I miss my favorite seiyuu (Ayahi Takagaki) getting the main roles. And call me oldschool but I also miss this specific vibe that romantic dramas from 2000s had. Last time I felt it was probably while watching White Album 2 in 2015 or, maybe, Bloom Into You in 2018. Even a few rare recent VN adaptations like Island, Atri or Summer Pokets could not capture this vibe and I miss it.
Will probably finish it in a couple of days. Thinking of rewatching *Strawberry Panic* next (will be my second rewatch also).
Is there any equivalent in the European Union/UK/Europe? (Yes i know Crunchyroll exists).
And for Europeans, don't you all think there's a need for a distribution company in Europe, or simply to improve accessibility and centralize distribution more? Because Europe is very diverse, which makes it a much more complicated and disorganized market than the US. For example, sometimes if you want to buy a DVD that only Germany has, its most likely in German dubbed and subbed, not even English subs. Also, for example Crunchyroll despite all European countries of the EU, despite being on a single political Union, have shows that arent available in other EU countries. I know there was Kazé for example, which was absorbed by Crunchyroll. USA, they have a big population all speaking on a same language, is much more easy to invest and distrubute, for example, discotekmedia is awesome on that department, announcing Naoki Urasawa Monster on Bluray, to find that in Europe from what ive seen its a German edition and dubbed and subbed in German (kinda makes sense with the story lmao).
And no, im not asking EU to take action and make a continent political move for weebs have acess to anime. Im just discussing how the European market is... Messy and frustrating.
Doesnt help Japan is complicated to do bussiness. You think in the future, now that Anime is... More mainstream i guess? There will be some changes in the European market or some future company rising?
I think from what ive seen, the best distributor in Europe is the UK (Spain is a underrated one, specially with classical animes, too bad if someone from Sweden wants to buy it and they dont speak or read spanish they wont buy it).
Like man, I'd complain about the CSM Movie being #2, but what's even the point? The list has been garbage for years, and all I want to know at this point is when did it become as borderline unusable as it now is.
Having a new anime climb up a list like this only becomes meaningful if that's a particularly difficult task to accomplish. If something's making it on every three months, then the list becomes putty and any usefulness goes out the window.
Anime in general hasn't improved *that* much in the last 40 years that you should see this much recency bias on the chart and it should be fairly static at this point. At the very least, you shouldn't see almost a third of the list airing in the last two years. I guess if you're new to anime and are looking for a list of the most popular newer anime it works, but something like this ought to be a bit more versatile.
As for the other problems, it's basically the same as it's ever been. Look, for example, at [the list as it stood in 2010](https://web.archive.org/web/20100729150256/https://myanimelist.net/topanime.php). It's at least a lot easier to browse without all the Gintama (and SnK/etc.) spam, but it's still a total joke. You have the 2nd of the Eva rebuilds rated as the #6 top anime of all-time, while no other NGE entry makes the top 30. The 2nd of the TTGL movies at #18, despite mostly just being a condensed version of the tv series. Some random One Piece movie at #20. Extreme recency bias, with only five of the top 30 being more than 10 years old and only a single one being more than 15 years old (at present there are eleven and six respectively that are that age in the top 30). Etc.
>The 2nd of the TTGL movies at #18, despite mostly just being a condensed version of the tv series
Well, the *Attack on Titan* compilation movie is currently #32, so the more things change, the more they stay the same I guess.
That being said, in *practice* you run into a ton of sampling issues, as the list is rife for abuse/brigading. Not everyone is watching everything and therefore the data pool gets tainted by far more bad data than it can filter out, not the mention the known issue with sequels and other shows with high barrier to entries.
These days though I think it’s particularly bad, since people have started to weaponize it to “win a point”. Fandoms will brigade their series of choice with 10s so that someone can write articles about it being at the top, and they can then use it to “show” why their show is actually the best. That’s not even mentioning how the broader culture is way too generous with 10/10s for anything mildly popular and so the top of the list gets absolutely swamped with them.
So yeah, I mean it’s a mess all the way down.
I don't think so. I do not think every person's opinion is equally valuable on every piece of media. There's no point in asking mine on most Narou-kei, and that's fine.
Anime critique and analysis breaks down entirely if there’s not at least a core set of assumptions that we can all agree on that set the rules for everything else. Without them, it’s just meaningless squabbling.
I mean many professional critics will disregard any form of numerical classification all together because 1) it’s all people will focus on, and 2) it’s assigning an arbitrary, subjective value, to what should be (as close as it can be to) objective analysis. Reviews fundamentally serve to tell you, the reader, whether something is worth your time. It’s the reviewers job to less assign value to the elements of a work, and more to express them in a concise fashion so that others can make that ultimate determination for themselves.
Problem is everyone thinks they’re a critic, and do it in all the wrong ways, and then here we are.
I think that's missing the point of critics. There is no such thing as objective analysis". A good review corroborates the critic's experience in a way that helps you make an informed decision by analyzing the work, an inherently subjective process (and one that can very much include value judgements). The issue with review scores isn't that they're subjective, but that they're reductive while diverting attention away from the reviewer's reasoning.
Further, the issue with score aggregation is that its foundation is built on something both subjective in definition and application, and reductive by design on top of that. We can't even agree on what 7/10 means, so we sure aren't going to get anything sensible by performing statistics on that.
[**blond**](#terror)?
My take, 52 episodes in, is that *One Piece* starts off as a decent enough mid-tier Shounen. Animation isn't flashy, pacing is already kind of ass, characters have potential, but the writing isn't anything special.
The East Blue Saga gets a light 7/10. For those that say *One Piece* is a masterpiece from the get-go, I question your logic.
Another loss for logic. Fun is where it's at. [](#cheekygahara)
Jokes aside, most One Piece fans look back fondly on the early days, but they wouldn't call it a "masterpiece" until much later, when the themes and world are in full picture. ~~They're all wrong, btw. One Piece has been a masterpiece ever since a red nosed Shigeru Chiba got a rubbery hit the nuts.~~
That's not to say you should watch it while waiting for a golden egg to drop all of a sudden. Watch it if you've enjoyed it so far.
That's what I've heard most frequently, but I've heard all kinds of takes from zealots not helping their case.
>I've heard all kinds of takes from zealots not helping their case.
I mean, is it really a surprise that "people who call something a masterpiece are also big fans of it?" Like, I'm taking a wild swing here, but people who call LotR a masterpiece are probably LotR fans too.
I mean my goal here is to test the claim that *One Piece* is as good as people make it out to be, something I can only do (as many would point out) by watching the series. It would be irresponsible not to at least acknowledge my assessment of that claim along the way.
Now I can't comment on the validity of the overall claim, as I'm obviously not that far along, but I can at least make progress in dispelling the more sensational takes of the lot.
> starts off as a decent enough mid-tier Shounen.
Yes, that's largely been my impression too, albeit with much less to go on. There are some instances where the story-telling shows a lot more craft, like the way Nami is introduced to the story, which is all show, no tell, and nothing to guide the audience as to know what to do with her.
The setting and approach to world building also seem to hint at something a little more than average too, but certainly the character writing after two episodes is pretty bland and unremarkable.
The East Blue saga is still the series settling into its pattern, and the more typical story format will become apparent once you get to the next big arcs. Whether the more typical writing is better than East Blue... well, now that is a question. I will say that the high highs of the series come later, so you still have the generally acknowledged to be the best arcs still ahead. I will also say that there are things about early era One Piece I miss and wish would come back, having almost caught up with the series as I am (currently in ep 1121).
For example, Yuu Kobayashi did some job for Yozakura Quartet: Hoshi no Umi (though, I could not find the credits on AniDB, but I rememver her mentioned in the staff when it was announced).
[](#tiredfate)
With that I am done all my December anime, and all my anime for the year. I lined up 6 romance dramas for the month
- Nagi no Asukara
- White Album 2
- Amagami SS
- Denpa Onna
- True Tears
- ef
And most of them turned out to be good, fitting picks. I am satisfied.
One neat coincidence was that unlike True Tears and White Album 2 which I knew were heavily Winter themed romances, or Amagami which I knew was heavily focused around Christmas, I included ef entirely on a whim and had no idea Christmas was an important part of its story as well.
Then again, I suppose nothing in this world is coincidence, only inevitability.
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