When I last looked on my MAL (MyAnimeList) list, it turned out that, out of my 284 completed anime, there were only 7 anime that have earned the coveted 10/10 score from me, which is an astonishing 2.4% success rate for a perfect score. du5k from One Minute of Dusk has put together an anime blog carnival, where a group of bloggers contribute to a topic, discuss about it on the posts, and write a round-up post at the end of the carnival. This anime blog carnival starts today, on January 9th, and will end on January 15th.
At first glance, it doesn’t seem like these anime have anything in common, with four of them being movies and three being anime series of varying genres.This got me thinking; what exactly were the factors that contributed to these various anime’s “perfect” scores? Let’s take a look at which anime earned a “perfect” score from me:
- The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
- 5 Centimeters Per Second
- My Neighbor Totoro
- The iDOLM@STER
- Redline
- Bakemonogatari
- Mawaru Penguindrum
Looking back at these anime series and movies, the only factors that seem to be almost consistent with my 10/10 scores were storytelling and entertainment factors. Storytelling is an obvious must; after all, if it makes no sense at all, what good is it? Also, in order to grab the audience’s attention, the story must be engaging with several things in mind: interesting characters with their own goals, challenges, and inner conflicts. Bakemonogatari and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya both have their greatest strengths in storytelling, with unique characters and several engaging conflicts. I don’t think that there is any further need to expand on this, being a common factor in scoring amongst various other people, so let’s move onto the next factor.
The entertainment factor is a different story. For this, I consider whether an anime has achieved its purpose, and whether it was entertaining or not. The iDOLM@STER‘s purpose was to cater to the audience through idols, music, and dances, and the series’ popularity reflects its success very well. Redline is an exception to the storytelling factor; rather, it’s all about the action and striking visuals, and it is purely meant to give the audience a hell of a show. Mawaru Penguindrum‘s main purpose is to force the audience to think creatively and actively to figure out the true meanings of the series’s themes or mysteries. Through that, the more persistent audience would enjoy tossing out theories and rejoice at having their theories proven.
5 Centimeters Per Second‘s main draws were the visuals and the poignant, bittersweet romance. Shinkai set out to tell a story by which the audience can easily relate to, and I’d say that he has succeeded very well. My Neighbor Totoro‘s purpose would be to showcase the fond memories of childhood back in the past, and to give the children a chance to imagine and foster a sense of adventure. One of my fondest childhood movies, Totoro has never failed to bring back a strong sense of nostalgia for me at all.
So it would seem that I give a “perfect” score to those that I feel have accomplished their purpose perfectly. Also, on a personal note, I’d say that visuals and animation are also huge factors for me naturally, whereas music and voice-acting are the weakest factors for me, considering my deafness. But there is no actual definitive perfect scoring system set in place, because it’s purely subjective. And that’s where the anime blog carnival comes in. It’ll be interesting to compare and contrast our scoring systems, and we might even tweak our own scoring systems in response to all these discussions. So, do check out the various blogs participating as well below! What makes a “perfect” score for you?
Other bloggers participating:
- Anime B&B by Marina (article)
- The Otaku’s Study by Sam (article)
- Anime Viking by Marow (article)
- Nopy’s Blog by Nopy (article)
- Draggle’s Anime Blog by draggle (article)
- Hachimitsu by Mira (article)
- Ace Railgun by AceRailgun(article)
- Leap250’s Blog by Leap250 (article)
- Mainichi Anime Yume by Yumeka (article)
- Lemmas and Submodalities by SnippetTee (article)
- World of Yamaguchi Hoshiko by hoshiko (article)
- Listless Ink by Yi (article)
- deluscar by Kai (article)
- One Minute of Dusk by du5k (article)
- Ambivalence, or is it Ambiguity? by @fkeroge (article) & Valence (article)
- The G-Empire by Overlord-G (article)
Ephemeral Dreams 
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It seems to be a trend so far that everyone tend to rate anime that have good characters and a good story more highly then anime with just good art or music.
But it is nice to have anime like Redline getting great scores from time to time based solely on entertainment value.
The storytelling and characters factors are pretty much expected in scoring system nowadays, I believe, and it’s really no surprise to me at all. ^_^
Redline’s purpose was to deliver one heck of a show. Exclamations and strong reactions erupted around the ani-blogging community last year. Therefore, I’d say that it achieved its purpose perfectly and it’s perfect for pure raw, unadulterated entertainment.
For me, I think the key ingredient of a 10/10 series is in the feeling it creates. I have to look back on a series after it’s done and think of it as something bigger and more enjoyable than most of the other works I’ve watched. I end up giving out a 10 more often than many others, but I think I’m also much more strict about what I’ll actually start watching.
The emotions evoked from watching a series do play a role in my scoring system, though I’d say that it’s more to do with the entertainment factor. I think that most of the series I’ve rated as 9 on MAL were cases where I find myself enjoying the emotions evoked.
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Yes, I agree that as long as the anime fulfill its purpose perfectly, it deserves that perfect score. And even that is also subjective.
Every one of the anime has a purpose, and it may hit the right notes or strike a discord as per our tastes. Even fanservice anime has their own purpose as well: to give us our guily pleasures. ^_^
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For me, it will have to be everything – characters, visuals, story, sounds, and what it leaves behind. Giving a score of 10/10 is synonymous to saying “there is NOTHING wrong on this one” – hence, perfect. Up to date, I’ll agree with you on 5 cm/s. It is a masterful piece of art and I can’t wait to see Hoshi O Ou Kodomo as well.
Cheers!
If that’s your criteria, then I would be hard-pressed to find that perfect anime for myself! Though it is perfectly possible for anyone else to consider those factors.
I love 5 Centimeters Per Second, and it’s my all-time favorite anime movie, so great! I actually watched Hoshi o Ou Kodomo, and I felt that it was not quite up to par with 5 cm/s. It was still quite nice and poignant, but it just wasn’t enough to warrant a perfect score from me. ^_^’
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Wow, your 2.4% is three times more exclusive than my 6.5%.
I had the same problem as you when I looked at my 10/10 list, the titles didn’t seem like they had much in common. I couldn’t even consider “story” to be a defining trait because some of the anime on my list didn’t even have one. That’s how I came up with how long it can hold your attention. I can see how story and purpose would work for you though.
I guess I’m a very strict scorer, ahaha.
Same here, animation is one of the things I consider the most in watching an anime. Together with genre, those two are the ones which put my foot on the door. I also don’t mind giving a perfect score or 10/10 if I feel like the perfect score is the only one that can give justice on how much I enjoyed the anime.
Sometimes I kinda wish that more anime would try to show more variations in animations such as camera shots or lighting moods much like Bakemonogatari and Mawaru Penguindrum. Now that I think about it, most of the anime on my perfect score list have incorporated some great shots and lighting. I also don’t mind giving a perfect score if the anime gets a big reaction from me as well! ^_^
Something in common from your 7 picks would be, and I’m not entirely sure, very nice visuals, be it uniqueness or sheer beauty.
I agree that a show is successful if it stayed true and accomplished its purpose. In the end, a series would be its own judge I think, like – Did it live up to how it start? or Did the story really progress in its favor?
I think sheer beauty fits my picks more, ahaha. They really were quite stunning visually, and the visuals certainly enhanced the stories.
I agree very much that if the show stayed straight and true, then it would surely be successful. If there’s no clear purpose or theme present, then it would just confuse and disorientate the audience. ^_^
This is cool, because I’ve just recently worked my MAL list around. For the longest time, you and I shared Bakemonogatari and 5 Centimeters per Second as 10/10 shows. A few days ago I decided to demote those two and Madoka down to 9/10, leaving only 3 “perfect” anime on my list. It was a tough decision, (especially Bakemono and 5cm/s) because I love those anime from the bottom of my heart. I don’t like the third chapter of 5cm/s, for reasons I won’t write here, and I usually skip it. I reasoned that an anime of which a third I skip can’t really be ‘perfect’ can it?
I still occasionally doubt if I made the right call. I take my MAL ratings quite seriously and I curve very harshly — anime have a 1.49% success rate of getting a 10/10 on my list. I guess time will tell, or a rewatch is due up.
I reasoned that an anime of which a third I skip can’t really be ‘perfect’ can it?
I think that’s perfectly fine, if there’s one major part that just doesn’t satisfy you. A perfect score would dictate that everything must be “perfect,” but we know that true perfection can never be achieved. It’s fine to have a few flaws, but sometimes once in a while, there is just one huge flaw that most of us can’t deal with. Only time will tell, indeed. ^_^
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Wow interesting choices, not sure if “The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya” warrants a perfect score for me. Sure it IS a good movie, and it’s superior then season two but.. ahh well.. everyone’s subjective to their own views ;p I totally agree with your choices on 5 Centimeters Per Second, Redline and Mawaru Penguindrum though ;D
I think The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya has the most biased score from me, since I’m a big fan of the franchise! ^_^
I really like your “entertainment” factor for rating anime. I’ve seen quite a lot of twists on this with the other carnival participants–call it “heart”, “nostalgia”, “lasting impression”, “enjoyment factor”, they all point to a more ambiguous way of rating when compared to the stricter rubric way of scoring.
I also kind of giggled at the diversity in your 10-rated list. That really does show the impact of a show’s ability to entertain and fulfill its own intentions.
I think that everyone has at least one unique factor in his/her own scoring system, and you’re right. This factor contributes to a more ambiguous rating based on feelings or lasting impressions, but that’s a nice point for letting people how it made the scorers feel at the end!
Ahaha, I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to make sense of the list being so varied, at first. It certainly showed the impact of a very wide range of genres. ^_^
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Let’s sum it up: Story and entertainment value if I got it right. To me, the story is only relevant when it’s the central focus. Entertainment value is a must of course. Animation and music is what I concern myself the least with.
Excellent post dood.
Yes, for me, I value story and entertainment value. And I’d say that animation is another strong factor if only because I’m much more receptive visually. ^_^
Thanks!
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