Wolfe reporting.
So, there's been lots of confusion (apparently) regarding my rating system. I'd like to start by saying that I do not like using a rating system... it's like assigning numerical values to art. Each piece of art is, well, art, so calling one piece a "5" and another piece a "4" seems counter-intuitive for one such as myself.
However, that's not to say a rating system is without its value. After all, a reader is either reading on something they've already seen, or, more importantly, reading to determine whether or not the anime wants to be seen at all. Usually, if I complete an anime, I didn't dislike it. I want to highlight the points I liked and make educated arguments against one point or another (whether it be plot or characters).
Also: I was new to this when I started. I started out without a rating system entirely, and then moved onto a tentative rating system, which is continually evolving. While I can't pretend that it's stable yet (there are bits I intend to modify), I reckon I'm pretty close to my final line.
Ultimately, this comes down to this debate: do I rate based on what I (personally) thought? Or do I rate based on what I (objectively) thought? The perfect example would be in my Baccano! post. There are two comic relief characters that get a lot of screen time in Baccano!, and are, best as I can tell, well-loved by the average viewer. I didn't like them (although I did eventually warm up a little to them). So, do I mark down points under "Characters" solely because I didn't like them? In the personal rating system, I would. Under the objective rating system, I would consider other elements: for instance, both comic relief characters were consistent, had good back-story, and seemed likeable enough (even if they weren't so for me). So, under the objective rating system, I wouldn't mark the anime down for good characters just because I didn't like them.
Second debate: do I rate things down for bad elements, or rate things up for good elements? This is a tough question, in my opinion, and I understand people who do things either way. If rating down for bad elements, I suggest a zero-to-"x" scale, starting off with a perfect score and being marked down for this or that. If rating up for good elements, I also suggest a zero-to-"x" scale, starting off with a score of zero and building the anime up for this or that. If a combination of both the down and up systems is desired, I suggest either a zero-to-"x" scale (whereupon one starts halfway between zero and "x") or a "negative x"-to-"x" scale (whereupon one starts at zero), then bumping the score up or down based on this or that.
Conclusion: my methodology of choice is an objective rating system based on rating things down for "bad" elements. While I include my personal opinion, I don't give it any weight. For an example, I'll point again to my Baccano! review. I gave the Character section a 4 / 4, a perfect score... or, rather, I marked nothing down under Characters. While I noted that I disliked the comic relief, I defended my rating by explaining that each character is thoroughly thought-out (with good back-story as well).
Most of this was said just to sate Roxas' and Woodpecker's confusions, as well as to give advice to Iorek (who is awesome and rather new). I may or may not point out my personal opinion in juxtaposition with my objective opinion in later posts to help avoid confusion.
So, there's been lots of confusion (apparently) regarding my rating system. I'd like to start by saying that I do not like using a rating system... it's like assigning numerical values to art. Each piece of art is, well, art, so calling one piece a "5" and another piece a "4" seems counter-intuitive for one such as myself.
However, that's not to say a rating system is without its value. After all, a reader is either reading on something they've already seen, or, more importantly, reading to determine whether or not the anime wants to be seen at all. Usually, if I complete an anime, I didn't dislike it. I want to highlight the points I liked and make educated arguments against one point or another (whether it be plot or characters).
Also: I was new to this when I started. I started out without a rating system entirely, and then moved onto a tentative rating system, which is continually evolving. While I can't pretend that it's stable yet (there are bits I intend to modify), I reckon I'm pretty close to my final line.
Ultimately, this comes down to this debate: do I rate based on what I (personally) thought? Or do I rate based on what I (objectively) thought? The perfect example would be in my Baccano! post. There are two comic relief characters that get a lot of screen time in Baccano!, and are, best as I can tell, well-loved by the average viewer. I didn't like them (although I did eventually warm up a little to them). So, do I mark down points under "Characters" solely because I didn't like them? In the personal rating system, I would. Under the objective rating system, I would consider other elements: for instance, both comic relief characters were consistent, had good back-story, and seemed likeable enough (even if they weren't so for me). So, under the objective rating system, I wouldn't mark the anime down for good characters just because I didn't like them.
Second debate: do I rate things down for bad elements, or rate things up for good elements? This is a tough question, in my opinion, and I understand people who do things either way. If rating down for bad elements, I suggest a zero-to-"x" scale, starting off with a perfect score and being marked down for this or that. If rating up for good elements, I also suggest a zero-to-"x" scale, starting off with a score of zero and building the anime up for this or that. If a combination of both the down and up systems is desired, I suggest either a zero-to-"x" scale (whereupon one starts halfway between zero and "x") or a "negative x"-to-"x" scale (whereupon one starts at zero), then bumping the score up or down based on this or that.
Conclusion: my methodology of choice is an objective rating system based on rating things down for "bad" elements. While I include my personal opinion, I don't give it any weight. For an example, I'll point again to my Baccano! review. I gave the Character section a 4 / 4, a perfect score... or, rather, I marked nothing down under Characters. While I noted that I disliked the comic relief, I defended my rating by explaining that each character is thoroughly thought-out (with good back-story as well).
Most of this was said just to sate Roxas' and Woodpecker's confusions, as well as to give advice to Iorek (who is awesome and rather new). I may or may not point out my personal opinion in juxtaposition with my objective opinion in later posts to help avoid confusion.
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