Alright, let’s get deep in how I personally do my reviews. In all honesty, I couldn’t think up of ten things for this list. The final three tips will be my own personal take on doing reviews. The things I do when I start a review and such. I hope this can shed some light on how you do reviews as well.

1. The Burnout is Real
2. Death of the Author
3. A Personal Rating Scale
4. The Influence of the Director
5. Say thanks to your lurkers
6. The Appeal of Bad Anime
7. Hitting the Wall

8. TPAB’s Personal Review Style (Comptrast)

Firstly, I watch an anime trying to ascertain its ultimate goal. What is it ultimately trying to convey to the audience? I usually find the answer when I try and compare the anime to another anime. Now, yes, anime should stand on its own merits but some shows are ideally similar. I’m not sure if its on purpose, but some anime is often trying to reach the same goal as another anime. It’s also easier to review an anime as you compare and contrast it to another one. I do this all the time, since some anime serves as a base for most of my reviews. I guess its how most anime gives its first impression. When I watched Parasyte, the first thing that popped in my head is Tokyo Ghoul. It’s the same concept of monsters eating humans, but then I slowly contrast the two since Parasyte’s take on the concept is more dramatic than anything else. I start my reviews with the familiar, comparing to something recognizable, but I soon build on it by comparing and contrasting points.

My brain also does this automatically, so I often just write what I experience. When I watched Amagi Brilliant Park, I felt like I was re-watching Tamako Market. Even some of the characters are recycled, and I’m not sure if KyoAni did it on purpose. Did anyone else notice it, or was everyone swept by the studio’s hype?

Some anime fails miserably though. You understand its ultimate goal, but it just falls short of it. I often compare and contrast as well. One good example of this would be Inobato and Invaders of the Rokujouma. Both anime tried to go for the same ultimate goal, but one did it better. I can’t help comparing Inobato to the other show, because Rokujouma nailed all of its points while Inobato falls short of it. I’ve done many rants about how an anime failed to be like the other, but you should realize that I point out an anime’s elements first before I compare it to another show. I don’t just solely rely on endlessly comparing one show to another. That’s not how it works. I compare and contrast as a base for my review, but a review should focus on the merits of the anime you are reviewing. They are not 100% similar, so pointing out the show’s positives and negatives is the main aim of the review.

Coincidentally, I’ve given an anime a perfect score because of how much it looks like another perfect anime. Yuuki Yuuna Yuusha de Aru is Puella Magi Madoka Magica upon first impression, but they contrast on their main idea and they both nailed it perfectly. YuYuYu intentionally built itself up as an answer to Madoka, and I just loved every minute of it. Seeing how both anime relate to each other and then dissecting where they differ was such a delight to review. Now, this is my personal way of reviewing anime. I start here and, if you want to try reviewing an anime, you might want to start here too. It’s a good jumping off point for any review, in my opinion.