As many of you know, I don’t mess with review scores. But I know how popular assigning scores are for many anime bloggers. Well, I dusted off some of the things I learned in my statistics classes and put together a tool that might help you.
It can be hard to quantify a feeling about an anime. But a statistical tool called the Likert Scale comes to the rescue. The scales gives you several options to choose from for each question being considered. The tool uses these scales to help you score different aspects of anime: Story and Character, Sound and Music, and other categories. All you have to do is click your impressions and then press the score button. The tool does the calculations and gives you percentage ratings for each category and a overall percent score. Then you just have to copy the HTML code and paste it into your review (in your editor’s code view).
So far, I only have a few basic questions in each category. If you enjoy the tool and want to see more questions, let me know. I programmed it so I can easily add questions or change existing questions. I can also add other statistical features in the future if needed.
I will note that the tool doesn’t save your scores or ask what anime you are reviewing (or episode), so other calculations like standard deviation are not feasible.
Oh, here is the tool. It’s blandly called JapanPowered’s Anime Review Tool.
I hope you find it useful. If you use it and want to see changes or other questions, let me know.
What goes on under the hood
For those who like numbers, I will explain the simple calculations. You don’t need to know them to use the tool of course!
Each of the Likert Scale answers has an integer number from 1-5, with 5 being the top score for each question. An anime that you select all “neutral/average” answers will score 60%. The lowest possible score is 20%.
For each category, I use the following equation to determine the percentage:
P = (∑q / n * 5) * 100
The percent equals the sum of all the question answers (q) divided by the total number of questions multiplied by 5. Why five? Because 5 is the highest possible score for each question. Then convert it all into a percentage by multiplying by 100.
I’m sure there is a better way of doing it. The equation prevents a score of 0% and a neutral rating of 50%, but I thought the compromise was okay. After all, even the worst anime has some redeeming qualities.
The overall rating uses the same calculation for all the questions.
In case you missed it, here is the link again: JapanPowered’s Anime Review Tool.
