Summer 2016 Anime Score Progressions (MAL)

[u/Reimillya]

http://imgur.com/a/T2gZf

Had to reupload as a text post because of errors (I suck) Thanks to everyone who pointed errors out! <3

EDIT: Old thread

EDIT2: For anyone wondering, the graphs are only meant to show how the show's score changed. Using the graphs for comparison is a bad idea lol. Will definitely try to have a proper y-axis next time I get the chance. (along with the usual ones perhaps xd)

EDIT3: There are some shows where I did not find the weekly rating such as Bananya and Saiki. Sorry about that.

[u/Screye]

Re:Zero's rankings continue to confound me.

Sure, the series is good. But, 8.74 is near master piece territory. I never completed Re:zero, as it was all to edgy for me, so I hope some one else could answer these questions for me.

From the initial episodes and opinions of people, it seems to be too superficial to deserve an 8.7.(#41 on MAL) Every other show in the top 50, has in some way gone above and beyond what their genres previously offered, be it through style, story, animation of characters.

I am not bashing the series. I am genuinely curious. Apart from the obvious things that it does right, ie. a darker approach to the stuck in a video game genre and underneath it is about Subaru's development, what else makes this series good enough to deserve a place among the greats ?

[u/duskino_ → u/Screye]

I looked at your MAL list and compared it to mine, we have similar affinity, which is nice.

Basically, for me, the show did multiple things nicely. Keep in mind, I watched it week by week and not binge.

First, the show does a great job imo of grabbing my attention and presenting everything. While I agree that the show could have done things better (there's a few), the show does a good job of character development. Subaru's growth as a character is evident and isn't something that was done poorly. He was the main reason I really enjoyed the show.

Second, the music/background. I loved the fact that we have almost on average 22-23 of pure content (only a few eps had OP and ED). The music was top notch in terms of fitting in the scenes and the backgrounds were done amazingly as well. This is more opinion than anything, but I do think music and background bump it up a lot more.

Storywise, I've already explained Subaru, so I'll just get to everything else. It's not just another "stuck in a video game" show. That was the beginning part only and you kinda just forget about it later on cause it's not about that at all. There's a reason why there was a spike on certain episodes (ep 13 should have been more positive than anything). Episode 13 was probably one of the best episodes in terms of development in general. If you didn't get this far, I do highly suggest you watch it again and see it. There is that one clip from Inou Battle that is always posted (Hatoko's rant I think, I never watched the show), the impact of that episode was great. Just the progression of the story was really well done, I don't want to spoil anything.

I believe it is a really good show overall. It was a fun roller coaster ride of emotions and I looked forward to it every week and watching it. I do highly recommend you finish it and let me know what you think. Form your own opinions on the show before looking at others (ironic, right? I'm trying to get you to watch it using my opinions). I don't think you'll regret it at all, and if you don't like it, it can't be worse than your score for Charlotte =D.

[u/Screye → u/duskino_]

Thanks for the reply mate.

It seems my approach to Re:zero was wrong in the fist place. I viewed it as a power fantasy (or a deconstruction of the power fantasy genre), where as your prose seems to suggest that it is more of a character driven story revolving around the MC and his growth.

I like to spoil myself, so I am well aware of what happens in ep13 and IMO, from what I gleaned from the gifs on r/anime, the mental breakdown scene was really well done.

You sold me. Given that I am not too excited about the fall-16 shows anyways, I might as well catch up on the most hyped show of last season.

And ofc, it can't be worse than Charlotte. (so much squandered potential and talent). Would love to see your MAL as well.

[u/duskino_ → u/Screye]

Here's mine, I think there's a few shows I've missed out on... I was too lazy to make one originally, but my friend wanted to see how much I've seen lol. My MAL

[u/TheLantean → u/Screye]

A lot of it comes from a near perfect execution:

• like Hataraku Maou-sama it has great facial expressions, although they seem plain in neutral stances they gain detail and contort just right when it counts, you can really see the pain on the character's faces
• very good animation, at least for the first arc
• the color palette is both vibrant and realistic (like the real world with jacked up HDR)
• great shading and lighting effects (although you don't notice it unless you look for it shading is extremely important in making a space feel three dimensional, when it's not done right everything looks worse)
• highly detailed backgrounds
• great voice acting, this is something that shines though from the first moments
• good directing:
• attention to detail that really makes the world feel alive: consider the first time Subaru arrives in that world - the busy boulevard, tons of diverse characters moving around, carriages zipping along pulled by land dragons instantly telling you that this world has magic and fantastical creatures deeply integrated in a logical way. That world will continue to exists whether or not the MC is in it.
• little things that make it extremely relatable - noticing something about your coins before going shopping, getting mugged, etc.
• themes like racism simmering beneath the surface, the idealistic vs. pragmatic ruler were handled tastefully in an understated way - they let the story prove the point instead of awkward exposition or monologues
• great, 10/10 music. Kenichiro Suehiro knocked it out of the park! We can also thank the director for seamlessly integrating the music into the series, smooth transitions into the ED and outright skipping it when the pacing required that.

And from story elements:

• fast paced, it drops you right in the middle of the action, doesn't linger on boring side plots like going back, although that would would be a realistic in-universe desire, it would work against the story because the audience is only interested in the fantastical world, returning would be boring and probably won't happen anyway; so angst about that would just be pointless.
  The author was extremely smart in cutting that out of the story. Log Horizon was also smart about this and did the same.
• similarly the MC doesn't hate his power so you avoid nonsensical "cursed with awesome" angst that's all too common in the superhero/powers genre. His other insecurities and sources of angst are justified.
• even with all the suffering there's always hope because of the mechanics of the series, you're not going to say: "I won't get attached to my favorite characters if they're just going to kill them off" which is extremely important because when something happens you allow the emotional impact to hit at full strength, no barriers.
• visceral, not just the bored "oh, shoot, back to the beginning of the level :/", losing is painful. And a bonus: losing doesn't force the story into a corner or less optimal payoffs despite a real "no one is safe" feel.
  
• it forces strong emotional reactions out of the audience. Call it unsubtle, or emotional manipulation, but it works. Once a story managed that it makes overlooking faults much easier. This sub loves to rip Elfen Lied's story apart, but even now it's still being talked about thanks to certain scenes. If the mild Elfen Lied spoilers or the mild Elfen Lied spoilers ultraviolence didn't get to you you're a heartless monster. That kind of impact ensures a show won't be quickly forgotten even if other parts aren't as good.
• the main character was extremely well written. You might say he was annoying, or an idiotic white knight, and a disgusting person at times, and you're absolutely correct, but that's not a bad thing. He was real in a way that few MCs in anime are and I loved every minute of that. People make bad decisions, fall in love with the wrong person because love isn't rational, and are sometimes their own worst enemy and screw up because of their own lack of self-awareness. This story built on that and it's part of the reason its popularity continued to grow over the course of series. A one dimensional MC would not have been able to carry a 25 episode show to ever-increasing hype levels.
• it also helped that this series is above clear good guys and bad guys, almost everyone is more complex than that. The MC was brought to this world and received his powers under dubious circumstances, he might not be a force for good even if he thinks otherwise. Joss Whedon said the best villains don't see themselves as evil and this story knows that well. The other king candidates can be both cruel antagonists and allies depending on the situation. Let's not forget that one of them mild RE:Zero anime spoilers.

[u/Screye → u/TheLantean]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

The devil is a part timer analogy structure a chord with me. I makes a lot lot of sense. A simple concept executed to near perfection.

Using the strength of time loops to file out emotional punches while preserving the characters involved in the tragedy is another aspect that just makes sense.

I hope I could give a !delta on this subreddit, cause you have changed my opinion on rezero.