I do two types of reviews on my blog.

For shows that I’m watching in a more binge style, where I’m devouring episodes of something already finished, or for shows I’ve watched in the past: I give them a review without having done a seasonal watch. I use a more conventional review format with things like story, characters, romance, content warnings, or whatever else I think is relevant.

For shows that I am following in a seasonal format, and have done posts, YouTube videos, or both for, I use a review in progress method. This consists of thoughts going in, first episode impressions, whether a show passed the three episode rule, a half way check at around six episodes, a 3/4 check at around nine episodes, and then a final set of overall opinions as a season comes to a close. This allows me to track how I’m feeling about a series as I go along, rather than trying to remember what the heck happened back in episode one.

As for my rating system, I review in stars, ranging from 1 (did not finish) to five (awesome). The breakdown of what each rating means is as follows.

1 Star:

I do not give full reviews to things that I deem 1 star. Why? Because 1 star means I disliked something to the point that I didn’t finish it. So, instead of a full review, a 1 star rating gets something assigned to the DNF (did not finish) files. Every few months, when enough non-completed things stack up, I’ll make a post highlighting stuff that I watched and did not complete. I do this for several reasons:

1) I cannot, in good conscience, give a full review of something I did not fully watch.

2) I want people to be aware that I tried to watch a show so they don’t keep asking me to review something I’ve tried and that has not worked for me.

3) Despite my own view on whatever it is that is listed in the DNF Files, I want people to be aware of the shows I don’t care for just as much as the ones I love. Because something working or not working for me does not, of itself, guarantee that the same show is or isn’t going to work for you. 

4) While I don’t want to put something “on blast”, I do want to record why I did or didn’t like it so that I can continue to establish and hone my own tastes and preferences. 

2 Stars:

A 2 star rating is reserved for a show that I completed but that, for one of several reasons, had massive problems that would make it a skip for me if I could turn back time and talk to myself. Things that could justify giving a show two stars include massive plot screw ups like holes, deus ex machina, ‘it was all a dream’, or other personal pet peeves; characters who have a massive flaw that makes me wanna knock their heads together; shifts in storytelling that break established rules in a way that is meant to make the viewer seem stupid, and many more.

3 Stars:

This is where every show starts and where the vast majority will end up. A 3 star show is a show that I generally enjoyed watching. It likely has a quirk here or there, but nothing that would make me go, “Well, I’m definitely not watching the next season of this.”. The problem, of course, is that it also doesn’t have me itching to watch that next season, either. If you grew up watching American Idol and liked Randy, this is a show that’s ‘a’ight”. It’s vanilla and could have done with something to make it really stand out.

4 Stars:

This is a rock solid show that I would recommend without hesitation. It’s not quite the Best of the Best, but it’s some damn fine entertainment that I’d be confident in recommending to people who like the genre, themes and tropes that it contains. It’s likely getting a 4 star rating because it’s not neutral enough for 3 flowers, but also doesn’t quite have that extra level of polish or connection that I require to give something 5 stars. A 4 star show likely has some key element, like characterization, plot, costume design, atmosphere, or sound, that I feel is a cut above its competition. But not everything is at that highest of high levels.

5 Stars:

A show that gets 5 stars from me is a show that, in my opinion, highlights all of the best qualities of the genre, themes, and tropes that it is trying to use to tell a story. The cast is stellar and draws me in, the plot knows when to pick up the pace and when to back off, things like music, art design, and lighting are used in specific situations to enhance the kind of story that those who made this are trying to tell. A 5 star show is the kind of experience where I want to race around the internet telling people to run, not walk, to whatever site is hosting the show so they can watch it immediately! 

The Kat’s Meow Award for Amazing Storytelling

Something I’ve decided to bring over from my old book blog, I Write, I Read, I Review is my Kat’s Meow Award for Amazing Storytelling. I’ve altered the description and criteria to apply to anime, but it will basically be following the same principle it did on that blog.

If you see this at the bottom of a review, it generally means that the anime receiving it did some things that I felt were very special. The Kat’s Meow is my personal recommendation that a show is full of awesome, my site’s equivalent to an Editors’ Choice award on a gaming website. It’s the highest honour that I can award anything that I watch and it’s not something I set out hoping to give a show. Rather, it’s something I give only if I feel a show has done something extremely special to warrant it.

Reasons a show might be considered for The Kat’s Meow:

• I loved the cast and they were memorable to me in any number of ways
• I felt that the show was entertaining, had a powerful message and managed to keep both of these things in balance.
• A show made me laugh, cry, consider something important, or all of these things at once.
• A show made me look at something in my own life, present or past, and really consider or evaluate it.
• I felt that I knew the characters, setting, etc. in a show as carefully as I would if I were writing its script myself. 
• A show left a lasting impression on me or made me want to share it with family and friends. 

The above is by no means a complete list and as shows give me other reasons I will do my best to update this.