I’ve been working on the new cruft engine, and it occurred to me that I could export my current anime ratings on this site, and perform a bit of regression on them to see what factors I like in an anime, and which ones I’m not so crazy for.
So, what does running the numbers through a spreadsheet tell me?
Apparently, I don’t care much if an anime has a chibi or realistic style, if it has a crazy ending or surreal elements, if its plot is romantic or angsty, or if the setting is Japan.
I like larger-budget productions: nothing has a larger effect on my overall rating than the “cheap” column. I’m a bit turned off by over-the-top attempts to turn me on: fanservice is also negatively related to an anime’s overall rating, but only to a small extent compared to budget. I suppose this explains how I can stand Burst Angel, which is what I’m watching right now: it’s a high-budget excuse for eyecandy. Alternatively, fanservice is used as a crutch by low-budget productions without a good plot; looking at the lowest six rated anime, I would describe all of them as cheap, and five of them as fanservicey. Nothing else has a serious negative impact on my impression of an anime.
So, that leaves things I want to see in an anime. My ideal anime apparently has an introspective but strong protagonist. The plot should be meaningful, full of fantasy, but resolved by the end of the series — and taking chances with something I haven’t seen before helps. A good soundtrack helps a little, but can’t save a show that doesn’t have anything else to offer (Arjuna? Is that you?); I’m surprised that humor doesn’t even have this small effect.
It’ll be interesting to see how other people compare once the new engine is done.