The Greatest Show, Man - NerD|OtakU (2024)

I will be giving each show a subjective rating out of 10, according to these five categories:

1. Plot
2. Characters
3. Pace
4. Visuals
5. Shock Value

I will also be grading each title from F Class to SS Class. Both the Japanese and English titles are subject to my wrath and judgment.

SHINGEKU NO KYOJIN - A

ATTACK ON TITAN - B

A strong candidate to begin with, and I’m sure a favorite of more than a few people. Let us take a look at Attack on Titan. With 4 seasons equaling a total of 94 episodes, it’s cutting it close on catch-up time, but I feel its compelling story and incredible twists and turns make it worth the extra time spent on it. From the first episode, we meet Eren Yeager; a bright, young, and mischievous little boy, and his best friends Mikasa and Armin.

We are then treated to S-tier generational trauma, as this is integral to the character-building of the main character. Eren’s mother, Carla Yeager is pinned down and has had her legs crushed by a part of the once protective wall Maria, now broken through by a fearsome titan. She goes from a traumatized woman to a worried mother and although defiant, she ultimately ends up as a hefty meal for unknown titan number 678. Later on, after the trio joins the Scouts, we discover a Titan infiltration within the regiment in the form of Reiner; The Armored Titan, and Beltototord; The Colossal Titan.

The most painful part of the whole show to me was the meaningless and beyond tragic death of everybody’s favorite meat and potato-loving Sasha, at the hands of wannabe hero Gabi. We’re taken on quite a Journey that all comes to a Head (see what I did there?) when Mikasa takes Eren’s and ends the Rumbling Genocide. (Not before a few teeny tiny million deaths though). It’s an incredible, tear-jerking, fist-pumping, and at times confusing but overall outstanding story about patriotism, friendship, loyalty, love, and betrayal.

PLOT: 7/10

It starts strong and then after a couple of seasons it becomes a little confusing, especially after the time jump, but it picks up and finishes with a bang and many swords.

CHARACTERS: 7.5/10

We first get a few memorable characters and are introduced to many interesting titans but as time goes on, it becomes a hassle trying to remember who is who, what each person is fighting for beyond our favorite short King Levi, our main pro/ant-agonist Eren, and his companions turned enemies.

PACE: 6/10

Probably what I struggled most with watching AOT, was the progression of the story. It began very well, and proceeded at a great pace until we got introduced to the nation of Marley, and all of a sudden it’s like I’m watching a completely different show with characters I’ve never met and no explanation as to how we got here. Eventually, they do get back on track and it’s as spectacular as the previous episodes but it could have been handled better in my opinion

VISUALS: 8/10

The choreography with the fight scenes is doing a lot of heavy lifting with my grading of the visuals, and the titan transformations, for the most part, were sublime. But everything else was honestly just ordinary. Character designs with the main titans were mostly good, and for the human contingent of the show, the majority of the characters had unmemorable designs. Probably the best thing to come from this show was the scout Uniforms and associated merchandise that remains timeless.

SHOCK VALUE: 6.5/10

The gruesome death of Mama Yeager in episode 1 has been known to put more than a few people off the anime for a few weeks or month. But apart from that, the discovery of who the Beast and Colossal Titans were, and the fact that future Eren was the secret main villain all along (and a few Gabi related shenanigans) there’s not too much in the ‘Wow’ and ‘Oh my God’ category to be expected.

Overall a fantastic watch and a strong start with a total score of 35/50.

DEMON SLAYER - B

KIMETSU NO YAIBA - B+

PLOT: 6.5/10

Not as strong as others on this list, especially with slow story-building arcs; like the most recent Hashira training arc, and the Sword village arc. But even those often develop into amazing battles and jaw-dropping, breathtaking, and subsequent holding of said breathtaking moments. Ones in which you ask yourself so many questions about the human anatomy like “Is blood really an important thing for us human beings?” and “Just how vital are vital organs?” I’m personally looking forward to more of it, and the eventual downfall of professional Michael Jackson impersonator Muzan.

CHARACTERS: 8.5/10

The character designs on this show are what the anime is all about. Tanjiro with his green and black Kimono and trademark hanafuda earrings. Nezuko with her mouthpiece and overall adorability, her stalker and part-time lightning god (at least when asleep) Zenitsu, as well as the beautiful beast himself Inosuke. We meet so many intriguing characters and it’s so easy to get attached to any one of them (hoping they’re not killed off). Even the demons are well thought out and designed with not too many instances where a character might be ‘nerfed’ just so the hero can make it through the power of friendship. As the show is ongoing, we are sure to meet and fall in love with more and more characters and hopefully see the ones we hate, die horribly.

Pace: 7/10

Demon Slayer has a way of really building up characters and fleshing out their motivations, before really putting them through the wringer and making them use every ounce of their development to stay alive. Examples from the Mugen train arc where the gang and the Flame Hashira go through hell and come out of it (well not Rengoku) battered, bruised, and distraught by the loss of one of their own and the bad guy still alive as well. Or the entertainment district arc where Gyutaro quite literally makes Inosuke re-arrange his internal organs just to stay alive after driving a blade into Tanjiro’s head. The action is fast and thrilling.

Visuals: 9.7/10

The best part of the whole show and better than probably any other show out there, is its stunning visuals. From Tanjiro’s water and subsequent fire-breathing styles to Zenitsu’s lightning-fast attacks, and the stunning day walking Nezuko rising from the ashes when we all thought we were about to lose her. The animation in Demon Slayer is unique and almost hypnotizing. Almost a perfect 10, if not for the few moments they decide to turn it down for comedic purposes, which I’m not mad at.

Shock Factor: 5/10

A few head-turners and some mild “Wows” in store with Demon Slayer. The way our protagonists and associates constantly avoid their certain deaths is extraordinary and needs to be studied by other anime protagonists. Apart from that though, there’s not too much else to be wowed about. At least not yet. Maybe future episodes will provide more twists that will see it rise in the ranks.

Demon Slayer tallies with a final score of 36.7/50 and is guaranteed to not finish last. Overall a Great show and with much more in store, that I, myself, am looking forward to.

RE: ZERO - S

RE: ZERO KARA HAJIMERU ISEKAI SEIKATSU - C

Quite possibly the best Isekai anime to focus on a down-and-out regular guy, Re: Zero is a modern classic. Many of the standard Isekai tropes are on display in this show, but they are transcended by the overall quality of the writing. The character of Subaru is grounded and likable, while the rest of the cast is equally engaging. The first season, in particular, managed to set itself apart from all the other Isekai anime that was released at the time within just a handful of episodes.

Now, Re: Zero can leave a bad first impression, since Subaru is initially presented as obnoxious because he seems to be self-aware of the fact he is in an Isekai. However, this plays into the story extremely well, and the anime gradually breaks down Subaru’s defenses and arrogance, leading to a few genuinely uncomfortable but powerful moments. Even after these turning points, the protagonist’s flaws are not just instantly forgotten, and he regularly makes dumb mistakes that have consequences.

PLOT: 7/10

Not your everyday cliché Isekai, even if it may start that way. But the more you watch, the more you begin to see the nuances and genius behind the path the story takes. Subaru might be a weak little crybaby, who seems to enjoy getting killed over and over again, but seeing him try to figure out how to not die, and get to know more about the characters on the show is worth the watch.

CHARACTERS: 6.5/10

Speaking of the Characters, Subaru himself starts as probably one of the most annoying protagonists of any anime out there but he does get better and relatively much cooler as the story goes on. Emilia is generally an uninteresting dotting love interest, until she is revealed to be a split personality sharing the body of the main antagonist and evil witch from the past. (???)

Rem and Ram? Everyone loves twins. Well, unless the twins are actively trying to murder you, that is. Overall, they’re probably the two best characters on the show, and great for cosplay.

PACE: 7/10

Season one? Peak Cinema (Chefs Kiss), it’s both thrillingly captivating and terrifying. Especially if you knew nothing about it going in. Season 2 slows down, which is why the rating sort of goes down, but the show has great rewatch value for those who decide for whatever bizarre reason that this is their new comfort show.

VISUALS: 6/10

Average, ordinary, and nothing special. The fight scenes are cool and the character designs are nice but is there anything special or outstanding about the animation? Not really, it’s just good.

SHOCK VALUE: 7.5/10

Oh my God, Subaru gets murdered a lot and in some of the most gruesome ways. Rem and Ram are terrifying when they’re not being adorable. And of course, watching this anime has given me an unnatural fear of rabbits. Spine-tingling stuff. Once again, all of that slows down in the 2^nd season but, overall, it’s one of the better elements of the show.

Many people probably haven’t seen this show, so I strongly suggest you put it on your to-binge list immediately. It scores a total of 34/50 dropping right below AOT.

JUJUTSU KAISEN - A

SORCERY FIGHT - D

The way I see it, you can’t make a list like this without including Jujutsu Kaisen. We first meet Yuji Itadori, as just your everyday normal teenager with exceptional physical abilities but no interest in sports or academics. As part of the Occult Research Club at his school, he finds and proceeds to eat one of Sukuna’s fingers to protect his friends who are being attacked by a curse, but fails miserably and ends up becoming Sukuna’s vessel. He is then recruited by Satoru Gojo, a charismatic and eccentric teacher at Tokyo Jujutsu High School, who sees his potential as a sorcerer and a weapon against Sukuna. Sukuna himself used to be the strongest jujutsu sorcerer from over a thousand years ago. He is now regarded as the undisputed King of Curses, and is insanely diabolical.

Yuji meets his classmates, Megumi and Nobara, and together with Gojo and the other teachers and students at his new school they encounter a number of powerful curses, and fight to defeat them and get stronger. All while simultaneously trying to find and allow Yuji to consume the remaining fingers belonging to Sukuna and stop bad curses from destroying mankind.

PLOT: 8/10

JJK is brilliant in the way it handles its characters and how they play into the story. None of them ever feel unnecessary or dull, whether they’re A-list or just background plot characters. The first season is a thrill introducing us to the world and the rules of sorcery and its fighters. The stakes are consistently high, but that does not take away from the development of each character, and you get to fall in love with many of them. And then season 2 comes and kills your favorites with zero regard for your mental well-being. The Movie JJK Zero also does a good job of providing some context to Gojo and Geto’s rivalry as they go from best friends to the worst of enemies. (Due to one’s Genocidal tendencies of course)

CHARACTERS: 9/10

Top-tier writing, character designs, development, and overall one of the best elements of the show. Yuji is fun, stupid, and a good guy who is hopelessly burdened by the weight of the carnage that the Curse living in him unleashes whenever it gets the chance. Sukuna is an evil, maniacal, bloodthirsty but funny guy who unleashes a meteor strike and decides that’s the perfect time for a life or death edition of “English or Spanish”

There are so many cool characters in JJK; Gojo, Mahito, Panda, Toge, and Yuta, among others, that if I began writing about them all I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop.

PACE: 7/10

Easy to follow, and captivating especially for first-time viewers. You’ll be so into it that by the time you realize it, you’ve completely assimilated the lore of the show, and then you’ll begin to tackle the more complicated aspects of it.

VISUALS: 8/10

I mean, the domain expansions, the curse and sorcerer abilities, and Gojo being Gojo in all his glorious self. The fight choreography is another impressive aspect of JJK, especially in season 2. It’s a beautiful show, and the opening and closing visuals are also quite pleasing to the eyes and soul.

SHOCK FACTOR: 7/10

Season 1 is maybe a victim of being the season that introduces the show so while it is very good, it does not have that many jaw-dropping moments. Moving on to JJK Zero and that’s all truly gone down the drain. With Rika, Yuta and how he adopted the cursed spirit, and the bitter end to Geto Suguru’s story thanks to both Yuta and ultimately Gojo. Season 2 then begins to systematically tear away at your soul by consistently killing off your favorite characters one after the other, in an attempt to further develop Yuji’s motivations and I must say, it’s glorious.

With an impressive score of 39/50, JJK comes out comfortably on top.

CONCLUSION