Sorry about putting this here guys. There’s this new site that has been stealing all my content (and content from a lot of other great bloggers) called Anime Sensai. They really suck. But I figure I might as well use the opportunity for some advertising. So if you actually came across this post on Anime Sensai, please know that 1 – they did not write it and 2 – although their bots are doing a pretty good job at stealing posts from all over as soon as they are published, they don’t seem to do to great at lifting al the awesome screencaps I collected or all the extra material bloggers put into their content. So make sure to go visit the source link you see on top of posts and as for this one, just come visit my blog: I Drink and Watch Anime. I post daily and actually have awesome readers to interact with. I’m going t be posting this paragraph on top of my posts for a little while. I hope it doesn’t annoy you guys too much.
It’s the new year, so you know what that means. A whole bunch of sites and blogs are going to start putting out their Best Anime of the Year posts. I like these types of posts. I put one out every year as well although mine is a list of anime I enjoyed during the year, but they could have come out at any time so it’s a pretty random affair. Still, I have a great time writing it every year, it makes me think back on great anime moments I got to experience. I figure it does the same for all those other authors that put together best lists.
In any case, I certainly like seeing the best of the year more than the worst of the year but that’s another issue.
However, there is an inherent problem with superlative lists in general. Let me try to illustrate my point. This morning I saw one of these lists on Kotaku. I guess they’re starting early this year since it’s the first one I’ve seen (I’m writing this on Dec 6). I happen to come across it pretty quickly after it was published and it only had one singular comment. And that comment was that the writer’s list of animes they thought were the best in 2022 was wrong. You know the type, the: you didn’t put this show in your list but it was in fact the best.
It wasn’t an aggressive comment. I’ve certainly seen much worse. Believe it or not, I’ve seen people insult each other passionately over their choice of subjective favourite anime. But it still illustrates something. Top lists are more or less meaningless.
There is no completely objective metric with which to measure art. Going by popularity certainly doesn’t guarantee you’ll end up with the “best” and even popularity can be difficult to properly determine. Moreover, there’s no clear definition of “best” in anime to begin with. I personally love calm introspective stories where nothing much happens. But you might think they’re boring. And it’s not like either of us is wrong.
So right off the bat, “Best Anime of the Year” is a title with no clear definition. But it’s also so common that a lot of people think they know what the definition of best anime is. Meaning that we have all these different fans going into it with completely different expectations but thinking we’re all on the same page. Which makes it baffling when someone doesn’t have the same picks.
Another issue is the emotional entanglement a lot of people have with the idea of best anime.
Anime fans can be a passionate bunch. Especially online. And they can take other people’s views on anime very personally sometimes. So even a completely innocent article about a handful of anime you thought were great can be interpreted by some anime fans out there as saying that particular anime were objectively better than others. And that can make them defensive of their own favourite shows. Things tend to escalate quickly in online spaces.
I‘ve always been very careful with the wording I use in my top lists. I will say they are my favourite instead of the “best”. I will stress why certain shows spoke to me personally. The format of my posts also makes me talk about older shows that are no longer fresh news when my post comes out so that mitigates a lot of the downsides of putting out these types of posts. But it also makes my posts less popular and much less SEO friendly. So I don’t necessarily recommend that other authors follow my lead, especially if views are important to them. It’s a bit of a Catch-22.
And honestly, if you feel those top lists with disclaimers and explanations about how they aren’t really top, it’s a lot less fun to read.
As far as I’m concerned, Anime of the Year lists are fine as they are. They are a celebration of our enjoyment for the medium. That’s a good thing! But we just have to all agree that they don’t actually mean anything beyond this one random person who liked these anime and maybe you agree with them.
But what do you think about Anime of the year posts? Do you agree that they are more or less meaningless and just for fun? Do you think there are certain aspects of anime that can be objectively compared to create a less subjective list? Do you post this type of list and how do you choose which anime make the cut?
I do fully agree with your premise of “Best anime list” being completely subjective and ultimately it comes down to the person. I get into a lot of fiery debates about this online (I’m in some pretty fun communities though so by fiery I mean passionate but not mean spirited or anything) because I go even a little further to say that there is no such thing as an anime being objectively better than another.
Mainly because I think that would imply there are qualities that are better than another. I don’t think having more animation frames or a more color contrast for example means that one show has better animation than another. I may prefer it but it’s not objective. So for sure I do see each list as just that person’s thoughts. If there’s an anime I thought looked interesting from the trailer I’m going to watch it whether critics gave it a 10/10 or a 0/10. I more or less know if I’m going to like a show from a good trailer but I’ll even watch shows I don’t think I’ll like because every show has something positive about it. Or in theory I feel like I can find something I’ll like about it.
That said, I do really like reading anime lists and I’ve made a few over time. I prefer to write positive lists like top 10 characters or top 10 lyrical songs but I personally love reading negative lists like 10 worst movies. It’s hard for me to explain but I feel like when I’m reading a positive list, they blend together a bit more because there are only so many ways you can say that a movie or a show is good. (I’ve even got an editorial on the backburner about this) but when someone doesn’t like an anime for example I feel like they’re really able to dive into exactly why they didn’t like it. I may not agree with the reason but it’s really cool to sort of get in their head a bit.
Interesting, I’ve had the opposite experience. People disliking anime and not really explaining it beyond it’s bad but when they like them they go into personal anecdotes and detailed explanations. Mind you I don’t read that many worst of lists
I’ve always taken the term “best anime” or best of anything lists with a grain of salt. Everyone has their biases. Some of us are better at being open about it then others, but either way – I think they’re harmless. I always revert back to if someone has a problem with my list, they should make their own blog!
What would be interesting is taking a look at the older “best of x” lists and seeing how they are perceived with age. There are some best of lists that even a year later, don’t quite hold up due to how tastes have changed and more people re-watch a series. It’s honestly pretty fascinating!
Oh that is an interesting idea! I bet we can dig up some long forgotten stuff. I wanna do it
I wanna take a look but I don’t quite have the time. If you do though, I will be the first one to comment! I’m totally into the results too!
See? Again nobody is stealing from me. Why. I haven’t spoken to my lawyer in years. I should feed my lawyer fresh stupid people off the internet soon… What? My lawyer is not a Tamagotchi? She won’t perish from a lack of sueable humans? Ok.
As for the Best Of Anime debate. I think we all know what that implies. When a writer sums up their yearly Vest Of anything list, ultimately it always comes down to it being a demographic of 1… The writer.
Yes. When you see someone’s Best Of list? Ant Best Of list? It’s always reflective of the writers own best list. Yes. It might contain things that won a lot of awards, or made a lot of money that year in sales. But any Best Of list, first and foremost, is built on the foundation of what one person… The writer… Thinks is the best or worst. No more. No less. Nothing surprising there. Humans succumbing to human nature. Oh well. Probably why I don’t do those lists. Because I know it only reflects my personal biases. And is no measure of what you the reader will find good or bad.
You gotta love the US! Everyone has a lawyer.
I’m not sure everyone does know what it implies judging by the comments. Or potentially there is an issue of people not knowing how to interact with this type of content. Maybe a mix of the two
I like your approach. I use something similar — I just call any list I make a “favorite” of something like that.
I also agree with Dawnstorm. Even trying to be objective is a huge effort, and in the end, unless (like Tanish Shrivastava suggested) what you’re evaluating is very technical with clear pass/fail critieria, even judging structural elements like plot or even grammar comes down to a subjective call.
I mean, language is not math.
Besides, I prefer the approach of reading what you like. That’s the start of a conversation!
Even technical is difficult. Sure I can determine (with software) how many colours are used but is more better? Some stories could use restricted ranges for mood building, realism or as part of the cinematic language while others could go the other way or not at all.
I had a math teacher explain once that sciences are not a science… it’s more like art. Nothing is set in stone that’s what makes progress possible
i dont make these types of posts bc i dont watch enough anime to feel like ive got enough variety to create a good enough post, but i do read a lot and i do make a summary of books i read and i think best lists are all the same, if theyre abt books or anime, sorry not all my fingers arhandy to me rn bc im eating chips LOL
i dont think id ever write a best anything list bc its like you said, it all comes down to prefernce and hwo wide you cast your net i suupose. like, are you mainly only watching fighting shows or are you also taking into account the romance and slice of life etc
I want chips now…
I like that you picked fighting shows, those do seem to get a Lot of representation
me too…i wish i’d saved some for today…
I’m quite lucky, I can just stay in the same boat as you.
“These are the anime I enjoyed this year.” And leave it at that.
I do remember though looking it at the “best” anime of the decade, when 2010s were ending. Apart from letting me know the anime I haven’t watched, it didn’t do anything else.
And though I know that your focus is anime, I like to point out that other mediums also suffer from the same problems. there is no best video game, film, tv show, or book. Otherwise, everyone would just watch / play / read those, instead of looking at other things.
Books can be defined whether they are best or not, if they are about technical topics. If the book delivers the info about a technology in a clear and concise manner, with no errors to very little errors, then that is a good book. Fictional books of course, are in the same boat as the anime.
No one would agree to a specific list.
And you’re right, popularity is not a great way to measure this.
I also use best lists mostly to see if I’ve missed anything.
I like top-X lists; they’re fun. I tend to make them in comments, and I can’t really remember what I call them, but it sould be clear that I’m talking favourites. I’m not sure you can make an objective ranking; if you’re going for objective, you’ve got your work cut out for you – first you’d need a pretty detailed account of your criteria – and then you’d probably also need a theory of why these criterea matter, and under what circumstances they don’t (for example, fluid animation is certainly a plus, but you can make up for lack thereof, and you can “phone it in” – not sure how to quantify that). I personally wouldn’t try. If you’re going for it in some more unsystematic way, you can have fun with that, too – but I’d suggest the tier-list maker rather than the top-X format. Personally, I don’t bother with any attempt at objectivity, also because the posts I tend to enjoy the most are personal and tell me as much about the list-maker’s taste as they do about the anime. (There are lists that feel like someone just used google hits when googling anime and 2022; those are boring.)
I rarely find new stuff to watch on these lists; only sometimes, when I prematurely dropped stuff I might have liked, or didn’t give something a chance.
See I avoid tier lists. I find they are more likely to turn into bashing sessions than top lists. I might be wrong