Forum Settings
Forums

People complain about people with low mean scores, but isn't having too low of standards equally bad?

New
Jun 18, 2022 2:00 PM
#1

Offline
Jul 2019
15881
Random thought.

It came to mind for me that the anime community can be very aggressive to people with low mean scores of extremely high standards, but has no one bothered to see what good it could do?

Having high standards would mean being able to fairly differentiate between good and bad anime, instead of just giving everything 7-10. It would be useful to individuals who want to come into anime to experience actual good anime for their tastes as opposed to just literally everything.

What do you think, should the community gatekeep against people who are harsh to anime or what? You tell me.
Jun 18, 2022 2:15 PM
#2

Offline
Sep 2015
7662
the answer is that it's a fucking number on an anime site, and if you care about this at all, in any way, you seriously need to get laid.

Jun 18, 2022 2:16 PM
#3

Offline
Mar 2021
910
kid, this is myanimelist dot net. everyone complains about everything here, no one is happy. if we were happy we wouldn't be watching anime.
Jun 18, 2022 2:18 PM
#4

Offline
Mar 2019
669
Extremes on both ends of the rating scale are bad and wrong.

Of course, the people at those ends won't care.

The high end makes more sense because selection bias sees people pick the things they think they'll like and therefore get rated more highly. Low end makes less sense because you are watching, and continue to watch. a lot of things you don't like - or at least don't think are good.

High standards shouldn't mean being unable to see some good elements to a thing. I feel like most of these people seem to think if some elements of a show are bad, then the entire thing is bad and it deserves that 1/10 or whatever - when most of the time that just isn't true.

But, again, the people who rate on the extremes don't care what random forum users say because "it's myanimelist."
Jun 18, 2022 2:20 PM
#5

Offline
Apr 2020
400
I personally don't get people who get mad at people for having an opinion, I do dislike when people give everything a 1 except for 1 thing but besides that being strict really shouldn't be that big of a deal. I'm pretty strict, if there's a huge problem I will give it a 1 that's all. People should stop giving everything a 10 but at the same time people should stop giving everything a 1 too.
Just make sure to give your own honest feedback I would say and don't criticize others for it
Jun 18, 2022 2:22 PM
#6

Offline
Jul 2015
419
People are going to change their tastes as time goes on.
They'll also change their scores based on other's opinion.

That's why I don't use numbers. I use words.
I don't care if you rate something a 7, and I rated it 10. You liked it, I liked it. Why did we both like it? That's more interesting than arguing numbers because your 7 may not equal my 10.

Can't boil tens of thousands of shows down to a simple 1-10 numbering scheme.

Jun 18, 2022 2:26 PM
#7

Offline
Aug 2018
8449
I don't care. I don't let scores dictate what I watch. I choose for myself. If the synopsis sounds interesting I'll give it a try. Although in defense of MAL scores, I've never watched anything rated a 6 that I think deserves much higher than that. All 5s and below are obviously terrible, immediately apparent right on the surface level.
Jun 18, 2022 2:28 PM
#8

Offline
Feb 2020
2519
Low mean scores and low standards are equally fine.
Jun 18, 2022 2:40 PM
#9
Offline
Jul 2018
562316
NextUniverse said:
It came to mind for me that the anime community can be very aggressive to people with low mean scores of extremely high standards


I don't think they're nearly as vocal as people who complain about those who rate anime before they finish them or those who complain about people's ratings for mainstream series. If they enjoy thinking critically about the shows they watch, that's fine. But they shouldn't make it everyone else's problem through their frequent rants about the state of the anime industry and the quality of anime. At the end of the day, it's not the only entertainment medium. If they can't find shows that engage them, they should look elsewhere. I just don't get this mindset where people are so entitled in thinking that every anime is supposed to cater to their interests.
Jun 18, 2022 2:48 PM

Offline
Mar 2020
3583
People with high mean scores like everything, liking everything means they have no specified taste.
Jun 18, 2022 3:22 PM

Offline
Oct 2017
4519
People with incredibly high ratings all I really get is this dude just likes every show he watches. That at least makes sense might be new, might have lower standards whatever it makes sense for him to at least keep investing in a hobby he likes. People who unironically have like 500 completed titles and like a mean score of 2 are either trolling, not using the scoring system properly or literally hate their lives by wasting their time on a hobby that they don't like. Ultimately IDC but it's hard to take anyone seriously with a high completed list and a very low mean score.
Jun 18, 2022 3:33 PM
Offline
Mar 2021
429
Any community has some problems about ratting or score. Usually, most people just follow the score and mainstreamer's or fandom hype.

Low score show i have seen each season doesn't completely mean bad. There are lot shows that surprisingly good, but they're so much underwatched/underappreciated. If they have better score, people will watch them later. Also they can be good recommendation for next generation lol.
Jun 18, 2022 3:54 PM
ranked 54 in FAL
Offline
Mar 2018
1533
NextUniverse said:



Having high standards would mean being able to fairly differentiate between good and bad anime, instead of just giving everything 7-10. It would be useful to individuals who want to come into anime to experience actual good anime for their tastes as opposed to just literally everything.



hard disagree, having a low mean score or high standards (which you could also have when having a high mean score by having less interest in 7's for instance) does not mean being able to differentiate between "good and bad anime", it just means having a particular approach to rating anime, based on one's preferences, which honestly is not really that different than having a high mean score.

there is no "actual good anime" and while there are shows that one could discern to be more likely to be enjoyed on average, there is no guarantee that another person would enjoy your recommendation, doesn't really matter if your mean score is a 4 or if it's a 9. for your rec to be useful to someone, your tastes need to match theirs or your understanding of their tastes or wants needs to be better.

i agree that the community can be aggressive towards people with low mean score with all that "you must hate anime" bullshit but to be fair, this thread isn't much better with its passive-aggressive insinuation towards high mean scores of having no standards.

high mean scores, low ones and everything in between are all fine and two people with opposing approaches towards rating can share more in taste and in what constitutes good and bad to them than people with the same approach to rating sometimes.
for instance, imagine someone that gives a 4-5 to everything you rate 1-2 and a 9-10 to everything you rate 6-7, surely you'll find their standards for what makes a good anime more agreeable than someone that has the exact same mean score as you, but rates all of your 1's tens and all of your favorites 1's.

Jun 18, 2022 4:09 PM

Offline
Dec 2015
2836
I think it should be more like this, the more you watch the lower you meanscore becomes.

Lets call out the elites, that having all this rules and mental walls in their head, it's a reason why their meanscore is low to 99% of the times. They can't simple enjoy a enjoyable Anime.

This is ofc just one example of why a few people have low meanscore.

For me, my meanscore is going down, because I'm watching a lot thanks tot hat i'm watching as much as i do, i come over a lot of garbage too but at the same time a lot of freaking awesomeness.

I think, i'm way to gernorus with scoring, especially when it comes to 10s.

well that's me, ofc.

Jun 18, 2022 4:22 PM
Offline
Feb 2019
306
It should not be gatekept for such reasons. I recon that it somewhat evens out to a degree. Some are harsh and others too lenient. The scores aren't definite anyway, and I only use them as advisory or roughly indicate whether people enjoyed it or not.
Jun 18, 2022 4:34 PM

Offline
Jun 2021
16
I think people with low mean scores are anime fans that watch a lot of animes(and they do not find animes that they like that often anymore) and give a try to a lot of shows even if they seem bad(thus, giving lower scores to a lot of "bad" shows) and people with high mean scores simply enjoy the media more and watch shows that they know they will like(thus, giving higher scores to a lot of animes).

I don't think it has that much to do with standards, but it has to do with what they watch and what they enjoy.

But, of course that's just my take.

Jun 18, 2022 4:41 PM

Offline
Sep 2010
4742
Mean scores are literally meaningless.

You watch an anime with 1000 episodes and rate it 10.
You watch an OVA with one episode and rate it 1.
Your mean score is now 5.5

People who watch a lot of long running anime and/or OVAs/Specials are guaranteed to have a much lower mean score.
Jun 18, 2022 4:59 PM

Offline
Sep 2018
4770
Define "bad".

Low standards? You might be "bad" at giving recommendations to more picky/more experienced watchers, but feel free to enjoy whatever you want. No gatekeeping.

High mean score? Your list might do a "bad" job at displaying your taste, something useful not just for when others have a look at it but also for better understanding yourself. If you don't care, it doesn't really matter.

Low mean score? Nothing bad about it. Mean score and enjoyment aren't related, since the level of enjoyment we assign to each score is completely arbitrary. Your 6/10 might correspond to someone else's 2/10.
Jun 18, 2022 5:04 PM
Offline
Apr 2022
167
Lovers gonna love and haters gonna hate. Not everyone's fault that if someone cannot enjoy a show.

Everyone's mean score will naturally lowers as they watch more shows because your expectation increase with your experience. Truely critical viewers would be very aware of their own bias, and judge a show more objectively instead of basing it entirely on their subjective taste, experience and expectations about a show. Persistent low mean score usually just means the person waste too much time on being a hater and keeps over-criticizing shows that they should have dropped less than 3 episodes in, but instead kept going for some odd reasons and now is too angry and took it out on the anime score or what not.

I have seen shows that started off with a really really good score but got pushed down to 7.7 because the ending episodes bombed really hard (looking at you WEP, lmao), and I have seen truly trash shows that never exceed score of 7 through out, which is more or less the "MAL average" where anything above is generally something worth giving a try and see if you may like it too.

Eventually everything just evens out because people who love the show will over score it when they see MAL score is lower then their expectation, and vice versa haters are gonna do the same thing in the opposite direction. Everything will evens out because it's a community score, and the score for the most part does reflect pretty well the general consensus of the show and if how much the community enjoyed it. If you think that's a normie score and it's garbage, then it really is a you problem.
Jun 18, 2022 5:15 PM

Offline
Nov 2017
1156
NextUniverse said:
Random thought.

It came to mind for me that the anime community can be very aggressive to people with low mean scores of extremely high standards, but has no one bothered to see what good it could do?

Having high standards would mean being able to fairly differentiate between good and bad anime, instead of just giving everything 7-10. It would be useful to individuals who want to come into anime to experience actual good anime for their tastes as opposed to just literally everything.

What do you think, should the community gatekeep against people who are harsh to anime or what? You tell me.



if we really have to put it into perspective then having "low" standards doesn't equal bad. It means you are able to enjoy a large amount of anime.

Having a "good" mean score means that u focus on watching stuff that you actually enjoy instead of wasting your time on stuff that you won't like. It can also mean that, as stated above, you enjoy a large amount of anime and are open to new things.

How can you enjoy something if you are judging every little thing throughout the whole series/movie. You are looking for flaws, which would make sense if you are making an analysis for it but I'm guessing people are watching anime because they enjoy it not because they are writing a 20 pages essay for every anime/manga the watch/read.


For example, I never put much thought while watching Disney movies. But recently I've had to rewatch them and analyze every little thing because I had to write essays about them.
MacchiaStellaJun 18, 2022 5:18 PM
"he has it big as a cactus
but he won't let go of my head
and I puke on his cock bitch" - Boy by Fishball 
Jun 18, 2022 5:37 PM

Offline
May 2020
2508
low average score means u are watching despite not watching, aka they are miserable

high average score means they enjoy most things and are happy

not really sure how u equate the two
Jun 18, 2022 6:20 PM

Offline
Jun 2021
8
I mean, neither low mean scores nor high mean scores are a bad thing. Everyone enjoys anime/manga differently. I like the variety of opinions when it comes to different works, it makes this site interesting tbh. Different aspects are considered when it comes to ranking works, such as loving/hating certain characters, the quality of drawing/animation, plot, or even nostalgia, and to me all of those are valid. If you are really picky with your taste in anime/manga, it's totally fine! And, if you love most of the works you have consumed to the point you give them high scores, that's totally fine as well!
Jun 18, 2022 7:49 PM

Offline
Jul 2017
2209
There is actually nothing wrong with utilizing the whole 1-10 scale, despite what some people might say. I just don’t see how there’s much of a point to rating anything if one can only rate from 7-10. For most people, a score of 7 means “good” so if 7 is the lowest possible score that one can give, that would mean that the worst anime ever would still be considered “good” lmao. But with that being said, we should all just rate in whatever way that makes the most sense to each of us. For me, utilizing the whole 1-10 scale is what makes the most sense to me.

But yeah, I think some people should chill out about low mean scores lol. Bad anime outnumbers good anime, so having a low mean score shouldn’t be considered that farfetched. Plus, I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with having above average standards. As for gatekeeping, I believe it’s quite silly to gatekeep someone just because he/she has a very low mean score.
Jun 18, 2022 7:50 PM

Offline
May 2021
3635
I don't think that people who rate from 7 to 10 have necessarily low standards. They could pretty much just follow the mean scores of the site and decide to give scores that are not that many standard deviations from the average, which is reasonable if you don't care about ratings.

As an example, your first 10 anime are all >8 average in MAL. You decide that 3 of them are your favorites (9-10), 3 of them are good (8-9), 3 of them are average (7-8), and 1 of them is bad. You can pretty much give a 6 to the bad anime as you could theorize that if the anime is above 8 then there must be a ton of worse anime available, hence it would be unfair to give a score that is lower than that



More topics from this board

» ⛄ Winter 2025: Anime of the Season & discussion ( 1 2 )

nirererin - Yesterday

54 by Shizuna »»
34 seconds ago

» Former PlayStation president said NieR Automata saved the Japanese industry from soullessly copying Western trends.

RobertBobert - 2 hours ago

11 by Dienen »»
2 minutes ago

Poll: » japanese fans wants to feel and western fans wants to think

deg - Mar 29

24 by MYZIC »»
40 minutes ago

» Do wholesome anime moments make you cringe?

fallout45 - 7 hours ago

17 by Saputrai »»
40 minutes ago

» ⛄ Winter 2025: OP/ ED of the Season & discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 )

nirererin - Mar 20

244 by juanlqr »»
41 minutes ago
It’s time to ditch the text file.
Keep track of your anime easily by creating your own list.
Sign Up Login