#beyblade is so fun and i love the characters man but the beyblade battles kill me every time

[mushroom-drogone]

Dagger Dran, jump him!

me and my brother keep making "[beyblade name], jump him!!" jokes because of how sometimes beyblades get yelled at and seem to suddenly move in directions that they just couldn't realistically do

and now we've just watched about 6 episodes of Metal Fusion and it's theoretically real?!!!! Why are these beyblades jumping up rocks and propelling themselves from the floor!!!!

[beyblader-observations]

Reasons to watch Bakuten Shoot Beyblade (updated)

I want to take some time to recommend one of my favorite anime to everyone: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade! Most people don’t know it’s an anime, or even more than a toy franchise. Yes, it did start as a toy, but there is more to it than that. This is a wonderful anime, and I believe more people will like it if they give it a shot. Main Characters: 1. Tyson Granger/ Takao Kinomiya
Tyson is your typical, lovable main character. As with most shounen heroes, he wants to be the best. In his case, he wants to be the best Beyblader. He is excessively confident, energetic, charismatic, and cares deeply for his friends. He can be annoying and rude, but that just adds to his boyish charm. 2. Kai Hiwatari
Kai is the character who any fan of this show loves and hates at the same time. He’s an immensely powerful Beyblader who hates the world and everyone in it. Striving for perfection, he will crush anyone in his way to achieve it. He’s a multi-faceted character on the border between good and evil. 3. Max Tate / Max Mizuhara
Max is the adorable little puppy-like member of the group. Incredibly bubbly and optimistic, he’s the one you can always trust to cheer up his friends. He loves tackle-hugging everyone. 4. Ray Kon / Rei Kon
Ray is the cool and collected member or of the group. He comes from a Chinese clan of cat-people, so many aspects of his personality resemble a feline. He is the most polite, charming member of the group. Cultural Diversity If you think the four characters I just named are the only important ones, you are mistaken! There are 100s of important characters in this series (in addition to a bunch of unimportant characters)! They all have their own unique personalities and significance to the plot! One thing I love about this large array of characters is their cultural differences. As the main characters travel to Beyblade tournaments, they meet characters from all over the world! They fight teams from all different countries. As they travel to tournament sites, we get little glimpses of life in these countries! Even the main four were raised in different countries. Japan, USA, China, and Russia. Relationships
As if the characters weren’t great enough on their own, their connections with each other make them all the more lovable! The characters share strong bonds. Everyone has a unique way of interacting with one another due to their personality, upbringing, or personal opinion towards the other characters. 
As a shounen sports manga, teamwork is very important. Watching these characters work together is inspiring and admirable. Emotions 
The gamut of different emotions can be surprising. At first glance it just seems like kids playing a game, but there is more than that. In their world, Beyblading is the most popular sport. While watching this show, we see the “athlete’s” lives as they go through obstacles to win these competitions. The story is portrayed dramatically in a way that can take you from laughter to tears. Variety in animation style One fun fact about Beyblade is that if you don’t like the art style of one series, you might like the next. The original Beyblade series is separated into 3 parts: Beyblade, Beyblade V Force, and Beyblade G Revolution. Each of these have very different animation and artistic styles.
 Comedy This anime is hilarious! They throw in jokes and slang all the time. The Canadian dub makes it great because they even add characters that didn’t exist in the Japanese version just to make it more funny and entertaining to a Western audience! It’s even funny when it isn’t necessarily supposed to be… Action Of course, this show has action! It’s not your typical man to man fighting. It’s with spinning tops. But it’s portrayed in a way to make you feel like the Beyblader is in the battle. In some cases, this is actually true. This can get violent. The Beyblades get hurt often. They have living beasts inside them, and when they get damaged it hurts these spirits! But the frightening part is when the Beyblader actually gets injured during battle! Some Beybladers go to extreme measures to win, creating really dangerous Beyblades! They aren’t afraid to slice up their opponent with their blades! Some characters die or nearly die in the process. 
Dark Side This anime can get surprisingly dark. There are underground organizations torturing children and turning them into Beyblade killing machines! If the child soldiers don’t obey their orders, they are taken away and locked in dungeons! Children are experimented on to the point that they are almost no longer human, all for the sake of dominating the world through conquering the sport of Beyblading! And this is all just in the first season! Backstories Each character has their own unique backstory, which makes them feel very real. They've all had very different experiences that shaped who they are, why they Beybattle, and how they interact with others. Their roots and upbringings are all so diverse. The one thing that bonds all of these different characters together is their common interest in Beyblading. Like real people, some of them have led pretty carefree lives, while others have past trauma that really took a toll on them. Despite being a generally light hearted show, the characters' pasts can get rather depressing. A lot of the characters’ pasts involve either death of or separation from a parental figure. In the case of some characters, it involves being trapped in one of the Beyblade dungeons mentioned above. Some characters suffer from abandonment issues, loneliness, and a fear of loss or rejection. Also, the characters' stories leave room for interpretation and headcanons. Dynamic characters There is so much to these characters! They're very dimensional to the point that they feel like real people. Once you think you know a character, you'll learn something new about them that makes you view them in an entirely different light. The characters change drastically from the beginning to the end of the story. Characters who were thought to be bad guys were really just misguided. Characters switch sides at the flip of a dime, so it's hard to tell who is going to be an enemy and who will be a friend. The characters were so well thought out that I ended up loving all the characters that I hated in the beginning. With so many great characters, you are bound to find someone you can relate to. Romance If you look for romance in an anime as I often do, you won’t be disappointed. Although most isn't explicitly stated, there is certainly room for shipping in this series. The strong relationships lend well for imagining more. There is at least one canonical couple. The others are mostly up to interpretation. Often a character will say or do something that points to a possible romantic interest in another character. The vagueness of the relationships make it fun to try to figure out who likes who. A lot of characters have strong bonds that could be viewed in many different ways. Mythology The Beyblades are not spinning tops. They contain living spirits of ancient beasts! These beasts are from real Asian mythology going back centuries and were not made up specifically for this show. The four main Bitbeasts are Dragoon, Dranzer, Driger, and Draciel. These are a dragon, Phoenix, white tiger, and turtle-chimera. These creatures are from ancient mythology, symbolizing the four cardinal directions. More information here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Symbols_(China) Other characters have beasts that are based on mythology from other parts of the world, for instance Greek mythology and medieval European mythology. There are a lot of supernatural events in this series. So don't be surprised if a Beyblade blasts the roof off of a stadium or if someone is transported to another dimension. There's also sci-fi stuff like robots and androids. Music The music in this anime is amazing! Both the English and Japanese soundtracks are great! I listen to them again and again! If the less than perfect animation ever gets too rough on your eyes, or if you don’t feel like watching the Beyblades spinning during a battle, I encourage you to close your eyes and listen to the music. The dub’s 90s rock music is so fun and catchy! And the Japanese songs are very pretty! The music is made specifically for the anime, with Beyblade-related lyrics! Motivational After speaking to other fans of Beyblade, I have to emphasize that this series is extremely motivational and inspirational. The characters have to push through so many struggles to follow their dreams to become great Beybladers. Perseverance is a big theme of the series. It emphasizes the importance of sticking to your beliefs and aspirations and never giving up. Seeing the characters get pushed down so many times to see them get back up and fight with even more confidence is really encouraging. The story emphasizes to have confidence in your own ability. A lot of advice from the series can be taken out of context to be applicable to real life. It shows that you can find friends in unlikely places, and that friends can help you overcome the toughest of times. Strength in this series comes not from physical ability, but from the heart. The Beybladers learn over and over that if they have the right mindset and believe in themselves, they can accomplish their goals. Another theme is that it's possible to change for the better. Throughout the series, Tyson/Takao helps people find the good in their own hearts. The characters who were going down the wrong path learn that they can change if they just believe in their own abilities. After talking to many Beyblade fans, I've learned that this series changes lives to the point that people wouldn't be who they are today if it wasn't for Beyblade. Refreshing So if for no other reason, I encourage you to watch this show simply because it’s a nice breathe of fresh air. It’s different from most other anime out there these days. If you want something with a lot of depth that leaves you with a cheerful and uplifting feeling, this anime is highly recommended.

[ultraericthered]

Y’know what? I ought to present my own version of this, but for anime shows only.

- UPDATED AFTER 2020 -

A Place Further Than The Universe: One cours perfection. 10/10

Ace Attorney: The Animation: Watched both seasons of this at the same time I was getting into the visual novel series. While neither season are as good as the games themselves, they mostly do great at adapting the original and best trilogy of Phoenix Wright. 7.5/10 overall (S1: 7/10, S2: 8/10)

Akame Ga Kill!: Watched this in 2016. Ridiculously try-hard with it’s edginess and bleak, torn-up world. There are some good characters and action scenes to be found, and you can have a lot of fun with its stupidity, but overall it’s not even as good as it’s manga, which wasn’t that much better anyway! 5.5/10

Angel Beats!: Watched and finished it very recently. Absolutely loved it while it lasted, it was hilarious, emotionally resonant and gutpunching in all the best ways. I even got it on Blu-Ray after finishing it, it is that good. The biggest drawback would be that yeah, its storyline was meant to have gotten the two cours treatment in order to properly develop the characters and arcs, as the intention for so much more clearly shows at points. 8.5/10

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day: First watched this last year and re-watched it this year. Incredibly well done emotional tale of loss, grief, friendships fractured and renewed, growing up and moving on with life even in the wake of tragedy. Menma is among the most precious anime characters ever. Only loses a point for some parts not hitting as strongly as they should’ve, which was thankfully a rarity. 9/10

Assassination Classroom: Seiji Kishi hits it out of the park again with probably the biggest show I’ve seen him direct. Korosensei is an iconic anime character and Sonny Strait plays him to perfection in the dub. The biggest drawback would be that a lot of the student characters are interchangeable and scarcely explored or developed as their own individuals, especially compared to the manga which had more time and opportunity to do so. 8/10 overall (S1: 7.5/10, S2: 8.5/10)

Attack On Titan: Saw some of this in 2016 but haven’t really kept up with it since, but from what I’ve seen and heard, it gets profoundly good. 8/10

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers: Can’t really consider any of the other Bakugan series’ to be ones that I “watched” ‘cause they’re just awful, but this first one was actually pretty enjoyable. This would’ve gotten a solid 5 had it not been for a single character and a single plot twist regarding her, which boosts it’s score considerably. 6/10

Berserk: Haven’t actually watched this in full, but I know enough about it to give it both my respect and my overall disinterest. 5/10

Beyblade: Never really sucked me in. It was mostly pretty stupid. 2/10

Beyblade V-Force: It’s not exactly good, but it’s a notable improvement over the first series. I could actually find myself engaged with this one, particularly whenever the Saint Shields and Zeo Zaggart were around. 4/10

Beyblade G-Revolution: Meh, not as good as V-Force was. 3/10

Black Cat: Watched this in 2014. It was an overall decent Shonen anime with an enticing setting and fun characters, but it really went off the rails from it’s manga counterpart towards the end and that just felt off to me. 7/10

Black Lagoon: A Tarantino style anime, and all that entails, for good and for bad. I find I’m only really watching it for Dutch and/or Revy anyway, and I’m probably hardly alone there. 7/10

Bleach: This series was actually really good in it’s first four or five seasons, but man did it ever go to shit afterwards due to having to adapt a manga that did the same. 4/10

Blood -C: Saw this in 2016. It was...bizarre. Probably one of the most WTF-inducing experience I’ve had with an anime, but it sure left an impression. 6/10

Blue Exorcist: Saw some of this last year, will probably be watching more of it at some point. Pretty weird premise, but I enjoy what gets done with it and its characters. 7/10

Candy Candy: Old anime I’ve only watched some of. At it’s best it’s alright and certainly not anything terrible, but the writing is pretty simplistic and it got drawn on for a bit too long. Not helping is that it was apparently not a pleasant experience for the people making the damn thing. 4/10

Carole & Tuesday: A Netflix exclusive Shinichiro Watanabe anime that I like to imagine takes place in the Cowboy Bebop galaxy. It’s first half was so fucking solid - what the Hell happened in the second half? 4.5/10 overall (S1: 6/10, S2: 3/10)

CLANNAD The Animation: Jun Maeda’s VN Magnum Opus was adapted into an anime that covered both the initial VN and After Story. Filled with endearing, likable characters and a well developed narrative across years of a life lived and shared with others, it’s overall very strong, emotional, thought provoking, wholesome, beautiful, and just gets better as it goes along. 8.5/10 overall (Initial Series: 8/10, After Story: 9/10)

Code Geass: A well put together and infectiously entertaining series with a compelling main cast of characters in it’s debut season, but not very thought through as a narrative, which ended up costing it towards the end. The second season was a trainwreck and nothing that’s come after it has been any good. 6/10 overall (R1: 6.5/10, R2: 4.5/10)

Cowboy Bebop: A 26 episode masterpiece of animated storytelling. First watched it in full in 2013 and my love for it has not diminished since then. 10/10

Danganronpa: The Animation: Scary, intriguing, and super fun animated adaptation of a delightfully twisted visual novel. 7/10

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak Academy: FUCK this one, though! It seemingly seeks to actively diminish, desecrate and destroy everything that worked about the plot and cast of characters in the original two visual novels, and it’s just abysmally written all around. Has zero reason for existing. Am not a fan. 1/10

Darling In The FranXX: It started off fun and has things in it that I enjoyed (Zero Two and Ichigo are both so bae), but after 16 episodes it just fell apart completely and was overall Studio Trigger’s weakest outing at that time. 5/10

Death Note: Excellently dark crime drama and psychological thriller series starring one of the greatest villains to come out of a Japanese medium, but am I alone in finding the anime adaptation to be wanting in many areas? I like the manga and even the two Japanese live action films better. 8/10

Digimon Adventure: An absolute classic of a children’s fantastical adventure anime that even adults can enjoy, and it still holds up all these years later. Whether I see it subbed or dubbed, it’s just delightful. 9.5/10

Digimon Adventure 02: Following up Adventure with a direct sequel wasn’t the wisest idea, and the writing gets majorly sloppy, especially in the show’s second half. Despite this, it’s entertaining and has a good heart to it. 6.5/10

Digimon Tamers: This is to Digimon series’ what Evangelion was to the mecha anime genre, and contains the most appeal for mature audiences. 10/10

Digimon Frontier: A neat Super Sentai gimmick, some great villains, and a Digital World with an excellent lore behind it is wasted on a series that’s mostly poorly structured, poorly written, and a downright chore to get through. 4/10

Digimon Savers: While it had a very strong middle section, it’s always weighed down by hitting off these by-the-numbers Shonen series cliches and leading to a truly terribly conceived final arc. 6/10

Digimon Xros Wars: It started out just plain fun, then it actually got super engaging and epic. And then that “Young Hunters” season fucked everything up. 7/10 overall (S1: 6/10, S2: 8/10, S3: 1/10)

Digimon Adventure Tri: A revisiting of the Adventure universe several years later was a nice idea. Too bad it was absolutely let down in execution by poorly stylized animation and fanfiction level writing. 2/10

Digimon Universe: Appmon: Is more kid friendly even than most other entries in the franchise, but it overall succeeds at being what it sets out to be. 5/10

DN Angel: A standout anime-exclusive character and an intimidating villain just barely saved this anime from total disaster ‘cause otherwise, it is BAD. Read the manga instead. 2/10

Dragon Ball: A Shonen anime classic that started strong and finished strong, featuring some of the most memorable characters, gags, and fights in manga/anime history. 7/10

Dragon Ball Z: My gateway anime, so it’s very fondly remembered. It started even stronger than it’s predecessor, but somehow finished weaker and while mostly entertaining, it was too bogged down by filler that made this ball drag on. 6/10

Dragon Ball GT: Needless. It had some good ideas and moments of fun and humor at the start when Aya Matsui was writing for it, but afterwards it became a stale replication of DBZ that almost feels like bad self-parody. Not a fan. 3/10

Dragon Ball Kai: It’s original 98 episode run was the quintessential Dragon Ball Z anime, trimming the needless filler and keeping the sagas moving at a good pace. The “Final Chapters” series that only covered the Buu Saga wasn’t as good ‘cause it’s the Buu Saga, and even so, they half-assed it. 9/10 overall (S1: 10/10, The Final Chapters: 7.5/10)

Dragon Ball Super: Always fun to watch for the characters, the fights, and the ideas that Toriyama has brought to the table for others to work with, but the franchise can never quite escape it’s Buu Saga slump at this point, especially when it’s all the Goku and Vegeta Super Saiyan Super Show. 6/10

Duel Masters: In terms of the dub, I was with this Yu-Gi-Oh! rip-off turned Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged predecessor for it’s first season, but it lost me in it’s latter two. 4.5/10

Elfen Lied: Shows promise in the first couple of episodes, but then just turns rancid and is a poorly written, poorly executed, not at all pleasant anime to sit through. This is another case where the manga is infinitely better. 4/10

El Hazard: The Magnificent World: One of the finest anime OVA mini-series’ I’ve ever seen in terms of artwork, storytelling, and creativity. 7/10

El Hazard: The Wanderers: Y’know how some animated movies get shows spun off from them? That’s what this feels like, and while it’s not quite as strong as the original OVA, it’s still irresistibly entertaining to watch. 7/10

Eureka Seven: The journey is slow and rough, but the ultimate destination makes this anime a masterpiece and an experience you don’t regret once it’s done. 8.5/10

Eureka 7: AO: No goodwill it built up early on can redeem this steaming garbage pile for taking an absolute shit on everything that made the original as good as it was.1/10

Excel Saga: The best pure comedy anime I’ve watched. Shinichi Watanabe is a strange, twisted, maniacal genius and I am so here for what he turns out. 9/10

Fairy Tail: When it starts out, you’re totally with it. But then as it goes on you realize that this is just another poorly realized Shonen series that’s not worth your time. Or at least, that’s how I saw it. 4/10

The Familiar Of Zero: I gave this one three strikes and it was out. Set pieces for an interesting action-fantasy comedy are completely wasted, I could give no shits about the plot and characters, and the main romance is based in domestic abuse. This anime is vile and should be avoided at all costs. 1/10

Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya: A magical girl spin-off of Fate: Stay Night starring Ilya Von Einsbern in the lead role with Rin and Luvia as sidekicks. I certainly got enjoyment out of it when I watched it in 2017, but it’s overall just okay. 5.5/10

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003): Always been torn on this one. What it does well, it does very well. But when it goes wrong, it goes frustratingly wrong. So I could never fully get into it like I’d wanted to. 6/10

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: Now this is more like it! 10/10

Full Metal Panic!: Saw some of this in 2016. It’s fun when I watch it, but aside from the main characters and their antics, it doesn’t stick out in my memory most of the time. 5.5/10

Future Diary: It begins as total dirty-wrong trash, but you quick get the sense that it’s deliberately, calculatedly so, which makes it easy to have fun with it in spite of some bad writing here and there. It’s endgame really saves the whole thing, and Yuno Gasai is Iconic(TM) for a damn good reason. 6.5/10

Hellsing (2001): What the BLOODY Hell is all this deranged, gritty nonsense? 3/10

Hellsing Ultimate: Now this is more like it! One of the best horror anime of all time. 8/10

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni: But not THE best. If you ask me, THIS is THE best horror anime of all time. It gave me chills when I first watched it in 2015 and it does so whenever I revisit it. But despite all the misery and scares, it’s got such a great heart to it and is so well thought-out, intricately plotted and incredibly written. 9/10

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai: Not quite the memorably scary spectacle that the first season was, but it’s story escalates to the point of perfectly done closure and emotional catharsis in the end. 8/10

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kira: 4 episodes of goofiness with the Hinamizawa cast. How can you go wrong there?  7/10

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Rei: This was alright, but I actually enjoyed the silly first and last episodes more than I did the main story in the middle three. 6/10

InuYasha: The anime’s first three seasons were solid, so it was upsetting to see all of it’s potential go to waste as the show dragged out and stagnated. “The Final Act” at least finally brought things to a worthy close. 6.5/10

Kill La Kill: Seconding animebw on this one, except my score’s not quite as high. 8/10

Little Witch Academia: A fun outing at a discount Hogwarts for witches, with main characters whose antics you find yourself not tiring of as it goes on. 7/10

Love, Chunibyou, and Other Delusions: Pure madcap high school romcom FUN from start to finish, with a good amount of heart to it too, particularly in the initial season. Far surpasses it’s own source material in every regard. 7/10 overall (S1: 8/10, S2: 6/10)

Love Live: School Idol Project: A nice, breezy, down-to-earth, oftentimes funny and sometimes seriously emotional school idol-based series. 7.5/10 overall (S1: 6.5/10, S2: 8.5/10)

Love Live Sunshine!: Same as above, but even better! 8.5/10 overall (S1: 9/10, S2: 8./10)

Magic Knight Rayearth: Yeah, this one’s a famed mahou shoujo class for a reason. 7/10

March Comes In Like A Lion: 8.5/10 overall (S1: 8/10, S2: 9/10)

Marmalade Boy: Saw some of this in 2017. It’s alright, but falls a bit short of it’s potential despite the nice chemistry of the lead characters keeping it afloat. 4/10

My-HiME: This one needed to come together much better than it did. It was fairly enjoyable in it’s first half, but it’s second half was a tonal mess. 6/10

My-Otome: Meh. It’s alright, but not even as good as My-HiME. 5/10

Medabots: Watched this from time to time a long time ago. It’s decent fun. 5/10

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: It’s first season, when watched in proper order, is a fantastic bit of absurdist comedy meets slice-of-life meets science fiction in one big chaotic mess, with the lead characters of Haruhi and Kyon really giving it it’s appeal. The second season was a disaster that killed any chance of this anime getting any more content. 7.5/10 overall (S1: 8/10. S2: 3/10)

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam: I got some enjoyment out of this one because it’s so bad. It goes so relentlessly grim and depressing that it becomes hilarious to watch unfold. 4/10

Mobile Fighter G Gundam: This is what Gundam, and most mecha anime in general, should aspire to be - an infectious balancing of over-the-top action, campy humor, and actual sincere heart and drama to it’s overarching plot. 9/10

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: One of the most well known Gundam series and one that I find just alright overall. I mainly enjoyed the most memorable characters like Duo, Relena, Zechs, and Trieze. 5/10

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Has exceptionally good themes, messages, ideas and characters. Had it only been executed just a little bit better overall. 7/10

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: Y’know what? I’ll take all the flaws of the first SEED series over whatever the Hell this crap is. 3/10

Mobile Suit Gundam 00: The first season was another case of a good idea with lackluster execution, and the second season was so bad it killed any and all interest in Gundam that I had going forward. 3/10 overall (S1: 4/10, S2: 2/10)

Monster: A psychological thriller/morality tale masterwork, as an anime and a manga. 10/10

Mushrambo: How...how am I supposed to properly judge this one? My only memories of it are from it’s dub, “Shinzo”, which was downright incoherent half the time. ???/10

My Bride Is A Mermaid: Watched this in 2015. Half the time it felt like it was trying too hard to be an Excel Saga type of show, but the other half of the time, it’s weird and wacky charm won me over. Watching these weirdo characters getting into mishaps is a lot of fun. 7/10

My Hero Academia: Pretty much the One Piece of the new era. 6.5/10

Nadja of Tomorrow: A competently done take on what’s essentially a young woman's’ novel in animated form. Mostly enjoyed this one for Rosemary, though. 8.5/10

Nanana’s Buried Treasure: Watched this just a while back. The idea behind this series is so intriguing, so what a fucking letdown that it both doesn’t go all the way with it and only lasts for a measly 11 episodes, ending with no resolution to the story that had been developing whatsoever! 4/10

Naruto: It was alright in it’s first series and could even be entertaining and exciting, especially during the Chunin Exams. Post-timeskip, I don’t think I’ve seen a Shonen series that I consider to be more wretched and terribly written. Kishimoto is a hack author and a shit person. 2/10 overall (S1: 3/10, Shippuden: 1/10)

Neon Genesis Evangelion: You know I love this one! Another 26 episode masterpiece of animated storytelling, one that deconstructed and redefined the mecha genre and was very influential on both mecha anime and anime in general. It’s impact cannot be denied or understated, ever. 10/10

Nisekoi: The first season actually managed to work for me in spite of some truly lousy writing for it’s main story, and the second season plus OVAs were actually not quite as strong in spite of discarding said story. But overall, it’s a pretty charming and entertaining affair with a very fun and engaging female lead. 6.5/10 overall (S1: 6/10, S2 + OVAs: 5/10)

Noragami: Share animebw’s sentiments here, except I liked the first season better ‘cause it had more Hiyori involvement. Hiyori is super bae. 7/10 overall (S1: 7.5/10, S2: 6.5/10)

One Piece: Loved this one back when it was in it’s prime, got so damn fatigued with it afterwards. Can’t say it’s bad, but it’s gone on so long that it’s well past the point where I see it as good and worth my time. 6.5/10

Ouran High School Host Club: Not much story and character development going on here, but the comedy was on point and the characters just plain fun and endearing in how over-the-top they could go. 6.5/10

Pokemon (Original Series): The Gen 1 section of the original series is an absolute classic in it’s imaginative writing and consistent quality entertainment value. The Gen 2 section just went on too long and got more and more stale until it at least managed to stick a good landing in the end. 7.5/10 overall (G1: 9/10, G2: 4/10)

Pokemon: Advanced Generation: The same formula established in the previous series but with a new coat of paint. It was average at best and had some particularly good episodes in the Battle Frontier arc. The score gets bumped higher than I’d give it otherwise due to the sole factor of May and her development as a character, which was excellently done. 6.5/10

Pokemon: Diamond And Pearl: The same ol’ formula but with more gimmicks and ongoing storylines added, doing nothing to detract from the fact that the paint was starting to dry here. Mostly not very fun to watch or look at, and overall a badly written vanity project for a hack writer. PokeAni at it’s absolute weakest. 3/10

Pokemon: Best Wishes: This one took a soft reboot approach and shook up the formula, being the breath of fresh air that the anime needed, and I love it for that. But the writing wasn’t always top notch, and the series as a whole peaked early into BWS2. Following the Episode N arc, there wasn’t much reason to engage with it anymore and it’s final year was overall a trainwreck that sent the series off with a whimper. 7/10 overall (S1: 8/10, S2: 5/10)

Pokemon XY: For it’s first two years, it was Diamond And Pearl all over again except it did some thing even worse. But some of the stuff it gradually set up did bear fruit in its third year, XY&Z, which had a captivating main storyline to it that concluded in a spectacular climax. I’m overall not a fan of it, though it has more to do with it’s fanbase than anything it actually did. 4.5/10 overall (XY: 3.5/10, XY&Z: 5.5/10)

Pokemon: Sun and Moon: This has to be the most drastic and welcome reboot that the anime’s had yet. With an overhaul of the writing team now led by Aya Matsui and a fresh approach totally free of the usual patterns, this is the best and freshest that PokeAni has ever been since it started and I’ve been enjoying it immensely. 9/10

Pokemon Journeys: 7/10 overall. (Main series: 7.5/10, OVA: 5/10)

The Powerpuff Girls Z: It’s not Craig McCraken’s series, but it’s clearly not trying to be, and for the most part I thought it did alright at being it’s own thing. 5/10

The Prince Of Tennis: SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE. 1/10

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: This is to the magical girl genre what Evengelion was to mecha anime and what Digimon Tamers was to Digimon. Deliciously dark, cruel, and intense the more it goes on, but also effectively emotional and with some good spiritual, moral themes to it. 9.5/10

Ranma 1/2: Like Inuyasha, its first three seasons provide some quality enjoyment before it goes to shit in the following seasons. I still gladly take it over the manga, but the dated dirty humor, sexism, racism, and homophobia that pops up frequently is wince-inducing either way. 5.5/10

Rave Master: Actually a really good manga. Not so good an anime. I remember more about the silly dub and it’s cheesy music than I do about the anime itself. 5/10

Revolutionary Girl Utena: Haven’t watched it in full, but what I have seen and what I do know about it is that it’s quality Shoujo with much to enjoy and appreciate. 9.5/10

The Rising Of The Shield Hero: It’s not easy to adapt something from a source material that was putrid garbage written by an incel with serious issues, but boy is it fun to watch people try. While not as good as the manga adaptation, I think this anime came together pretty well and is a guilty pleasure. 5/10

Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals: Better than anything else in the Naruto franchise, proving that Rock Lee makes a better underdog lead than Naruto Uzumaki ever did. 6.5/10

Rurouni Kenshin: An action-filled and dramatic yet also humor-filled and charming anime series, and one of the all-time classics of Shonen. 8/10

Sailor Moon: If you want a straight-up magical girl anime that provides the best of what the genre could offer, you cannot ask for better than Sailor Moon. One of the all-time classics of Shoujo and a very well put-together series. 8.5/10

Sailor Moon R: Almost as good as the first. Has a very rough middle section with a very bad subplot featured, but overall an ideal follow-up and a classic in it’s own right. 8/10

Sailor Moon S: This is where the Sailor Moon anime begun to lose it’s luster. Was solid in its first half but got downright miserable in its second half, with even a stellar climax leading into some shockingly awful final episodes. Saving graces were an iconic lesbian romance and an excellent main antagonist. 6/10

Sailor Moon Super S: Well I do enjoy it, mainly for the fun Circus baddies, but...it’s really not good. Too much formulaic filler fluff and not enough story or character development, with Chibi Usa’s character getting way more time and attention than was necessary, becoming an unwanted irritation as a result. 4.5/10

Sailor Moon Stars: Yeah, it’s really sad how low Sailor Moon sunk as an anime by the end. I’m hard pressed to find any redeeming value in this one besides top-notch animation and some enjoyable villains here and there. 1/10

Sailor Moon Crystal: A more manga-accurate Sailor Moon adaptation. The first arc was adapted and animated pretty atrociously, the second arc was adapted and animated marginally better, and the third was an amazing improvement and a thrill to experience. 6/10 overall (S1: 4/10, S2: 6.5/10, S3: 8/10)

School Live! - A silly, cute, wholesome and light-hearted 12 episode anime that encapsulates the School Life/Slice of Life subgenre in anime. No Zombie Apocalypses, psychological horror, and emotional pain to be seen here, no sirree! Though if it did have such things, I supposed that’d make it worth 8/10

Scry-Ed: Saw some of this long ago. It had some fun points in a “So Bad, It’s Good” way, but more often it was just horrendously plotted and aggravating to watch. 2/10

Shaman King: A fairly average Shonen anime on the whole, but it actually ends great when compared to how its manga source material ended up. 6/10

The Slayers: Watched this in 2005. This, years prior to it, was everything that “Familiar Of Zero” failed to be. Incredibly fun and absorbing in how it goes about things, with a deeply flawed yet lovable and hilarious main cast. 9/10

Slayers Next: Watched this right afterwards that same year. As great as the first one was, this one was even better, with a more tight overarching narrative, more comedy and further fleshed out character dynamics, and great new additions like Martina and Xellos. Slayers never got better than this. 9.5/10

SSSS Gridman: A dang good reinvention of the old Kaiju-fighting Tokosatsu hero, Gridman, for only 12 episodes. The action, atmosphere, and animation is never dull, and while some of the characters could’ve been better developed, the core arc given to the villainous Akane Shinjo more than makes up for it. 7.5/10

Star Driver: Watched this twice last year and have been revisiting it even now. There’s just something about how it’s setting, it’s soundtrack, it’s characters, it’s formula and it’s overarching narrative all click together that makes this campy and unorthodox yet sincere and thrilling take on a mecha anime a thing of beauty and an absolute joy to watch. In my heart it’s a 9/10, but for technicalities’ sake (that whole section with Madoka and Kou really made the show falter), I give it one grade lower. 8.5/10

Tenchi Muyo!: Another enjoyable, beautifully drawn anime OVA mini-series, where the writing and animation is always top notch.It spun off a whole bunch of other shows and really popularized the “harem anime” genre that I’m not particularly a fan of, but this here was the best that Tenchi could ever get. 7/10

Tengen Tonpa Gurren Lagann: Unlike animebw, I enjoyed the section of the anime where Kamina was around ‘cause of how knowingly stupid and fun the show was. and then it got even better following his tragic demise. It was the goddamn time skip and everything they did following it that took me out of it. At least the animation, action and effects were always superb. 6/10

Toradora: In it’s first season, it was as good as anime romcoms get. But I feel its second season really faltered by piling on more melodramatic angst and unpleasant complications than what should be possible for these characters, especially Minori. Plus, it all ended way too predictably. 8/10 (S1: 8.5/10, S2: 7.5/10)

Trigun: An anime classic to this day for certain, but I think it’s also kind of overrated. 7/10

Umineko No Naku Koro Ni: Strong material, utter travesty of an adaptation. 4.5/10

Vinland Saga: One word properly describes this one: EPIC. 10/10

Vision Of Escaflowne: A well remembered fantasy-action Shoujo series from the 90′s. Quality entertainment with a very unique heroine and some very touching emotional bonds at the heart of it all. 7/10

WataMote: I enjoy it. Don’t know if I can put into words what it even is, but I do enjoy it. 7/10

Wolf’s Rain: Another 26 episode (actually 30 episode) masterpiece with the writing talent of Keiko Nobumoto. But damn, this one’s depressing as fuck. 8.5/10

Yu-Gi-Oh!: First adaptation of one of my favorite Shonen manga. Even for a late 90′s anime, the animation budget is cheap, yet there’s just enough charm, character, well structured storytelling and enjoyability for me to forgive it. It feels like what an anime version of a Disney Afternoon cartoon would be. 8/10

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Monster: Second adaptation, and the one that made it’s way to the West to become a phenomenon and get me into the series. It’s first two seasons are overall faithful adaptations of the manga despite many notable divergences on the path of the same basic story to the same destination. From the Noah Kaiba filler arc and onward, things started to get more and more dumb and off from the manga. But it’s still a solid series and certainly an entertaining one. 7/10

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: The first Yu-Gi-Oh! spinoff that at first acquitted it’s own existence by being a partial spoof of itself, but it got seriously bad and less fun in it’s latter half. 4.5/10 overall (S1 & S2: 5.5/10, S3 & S4: 3.5/10)

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds: The second Yu-Gi-Oh! spinoff was even dumber than GX yet took itself super seriously. It’s first two seasons had it’s bright spots, but it’s third season was a needless dud. 4/10 overall (S1 & S2: 4.5/10, S3: 3.5/10)

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: The fourth Yu-Gi-Oh! spinoff (ZeXal was so bad, I skipped it over). Surprisingly good in it’s first season, still engaged me in it’s second despite some ideas just not working, but a flaming, exploding trainwreck in it’s third and final one, making it more clear than ever that Yu-Gi-Oh! spinoffs can’t ever do shit right all the way through or stick the landing. 4/10 overall (S1: 7/10, S2: 5.5/10. S3: 2.5/10)

Yu Yu Hakusho: Absolutely excellent action Shonen series with thrilling and creative fights, a wonderfully progressing narrative, great characters, and an anime that’s, for the most part, even better than it’s manga source material. It doesn’t get a perfect score only because of that Three Kings arc that came in between Chapter Black and the series finale. That was stupid and ultimately pointless as fuck. 9.5/10

Zatch Bell: A slightly more imaginative, quirkier and better version of Shaman King. Very easy anime to enjoy, but one that takes a while to get a big plot going and one that just kind of fizzled out in it’s last 50 episodes as it got cut off just before the manga’s climactic points and final arc. 7/10

What I’ve Already Watched

This is a list of anime I’ve watched prior to starting this blog. For shows I watched during it, check out my other, upcoming list!

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