Today I’m doing something a little different. Strolling along on Netflix looking for something to binge watch for my next article, I noticed one thing. There is a F&%K ton of anime. And while I’ve seen some of them, it would be ridiculous to watch and review each one. So I decided to give you the knowledge to review any anime you want. If, you know, you want to review to an anime or whatever. Let’s be honest. Not a lot of you read Bingeworthy review, and the few of you who do, probably have no interest in watching anime. So this works for people who like anime and people who’ve never seen it. So let’s review -- every anime ever.
The first thing we should tackle about anime, is that there are three categories I like to divide them into. I call it “the Bowen classification of anime.” The first category is the “mega series.” Mega series are ridiculously long anime series with a lot of fighting and a lot of filler (episodes that offer no entertainment value whatsoever, and its only purpose is to lengthen the series). While these shows can be fun, they usually have moments that include everything cliché and made fun of about anime, i.e. giant breasts, yelling and fighting moves, and weird sexualized romance.
The next category is the "otaku/weabu series." Now otaku and weabus are anime fans so dedicated to watching anime, they fill their rooms with everything anime (see similar term: Neckbeards). So the otaku series are for anime fans who will watch anything anime that is usually only subtitled in English and only last about 25 episodes. While mega series have a tone of anime clichés, otaku series truly embody everything cringy and weird about anime.
The last is the “acclaimed series." These are the shows your anime watching friends try to get you into, and for good reason. A lot of these shows are really good. They are able to minimize anime clichés, and are able to provide great stories for a wide demographic of audiences. You can identify these series by the episode count --average about 25 episodes -- usually awesome opening themes (One Punch Man, Death Note, and Cowboy Bebop, to name a few), and they consume your life all together. Generally, these series will have great animation: smooth movement and accurate body figures.
Now that’s how you can classify anime, and you can use it to plan for anime watching events. Mega series are great for background noise for a get-together. Eventually you’ll find a decent fight scene and enjoy the show for a bit. The otaku series are great for making fun of. (That’s pretty much all they are good for). And the acclaimed series are ones you should give your full attention to.
Although anime is somewhat frowned upon and is considered the new nerd media, anime shows can offer a lot in terms of rich storytelling, compelling animation and, most of the time, bad-ass fight scenes. Or girly romance. They have something for everybody. Anyway, I hope you are a bit more open to anime now, so when Netflix suggests you some weird anime, maybe you can give it a shot.
