du5k decided to hold a “blog carnival” among anime blogs, in which we all discuss the same topic for a week. The idea is that we’ll all publish a post on the topic today, discuss, other people will join in, and everyone will do a wrap-up post on the last day, January 15th.

So here’s the topic:

What makes an A+ anime?

The Answer

I could say that an A+ anime needs detailed and memorable characters. I could say it needs an interesting story. I could say it needs to entertain me. I could say it needs beautiful, fluid animation and an exquisite soundtrack. I could (and do) say it needs to revolutionize the way you view the world.

But all these “answers” simply raise more questions. What is a good character? What is a good story? What entertains me? In the end, we won’t be able to come to any set of criteria (much less objective criteria!) to define what an A+ anime is. So I can’t really say what makes an A+ anime.

But all is not lost. An A+ anime is much like obscenity. I may not be able to define it, but, in the words of Justice Stewart,

I know it when I see it.

Or equivalently, an A+ anime is

Simoun. Continue reading Anime Carnival: What Makes an A+ Anime →