FAQ (last update: 7/28/20)

Q: How do you decide what Tier ranking a manga gets?
A: It’s a mix of popularity, sales data I could find, and other reviews/ratings. I have tried to order things so that Tier 1 series are series most readers will enjoy, with some caveats that will be added later as I get to the specific reviews for each title. There were also some manga I wasn’t sure about placing, because they once were very popular, but faded in popularity. But I mostly ended up ranking things based on tastes of current day readers.

Q: How much detail does the summary and review give about each series?
A: Thee summary is strictly the central overall plot and the main characters only. For the reviews I've left out most details, minor twists, side/supporting characters, minor plots, character background, side stories and etc so you can discover those when you read them. For major plot twists, they are only mentioned if a good fraction of readers didn't like it. If it was a twist that was more or less justified, then it is not mentioned at all so it doesn't ruin the surprise.

Q: This <manga title> was reclassified as Shounen/Shoujo/Josei/Seinen! Don’t you know it ran in <insert magazine here>?
A: For simplicity’s sake, I have reclassified some series based on the style of art, the story and the demographic that might appreciate the manga the most. So Shounen: male readers, from kids to teens, Seinen: older male readers, Shoujo: female readers, kids to teens, Josei: older female readers. While I appreciate the whole magazine classification thing, it doesn’t help Western Readers much if you want to be super strict about it. I'll leave the real classification to manga scholars.

Q: How does the Genre description in each review work?
A: I tried to order it by from most dominant descriptions to least, but all still focusing on the overall characteristics of the story and centering around the central plot only.

Q: This <insert manga series> has an anime adaptation but it's not mentioned in the review, why is that?
A: After some thought, I decided to only mention it if one is significantly better or worse than the other. But also, I depend on anime reviews for that kind of information. Many popular anime series have tons and tons of reviews while more obscure series have barely any at all, so there also might not be much comparison information available. As well, newer series tend to have more info available compared to older series.

Q: I checked this blog and read a review, and when I checked it again later it had changed, what's up with that?
A: Oops, you caught me! I periodically rewrite and edit reviews based on feedback until I'm happy with them. I try to write reviews to balance things like: too much information/ too little information, too much/too little spoilers, and try to highlight things that may be of interest to others. I write about 3 drafts before publishing, and then afterwards it often gets a few revisions as well. If you would like to be a "test" reader then please add me on LINE, my ID is _tachikoma_

Q: You ranked my favorite series kind of poorly! Does that mean you hate it?
A: Rankings are based on my knowledge of how much an average reader would enjoy the title. If you love a series, but everyone else doesn’t, it doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s probably just a unpopular title. For example Cult classics often miss the mainstream appeal but gather a small but devoted following. Other times there are issues with the title that mainstream readers do not enjoy, but some readers are willing to forgive. I have tried to note such issues in my reviews, as well as who might enjoy it.

Q: This series you recommended is so long! Do I have to read the whole thing?
A: Of course not! In particular, a lot of popular series that were super long ended up varying in quality among the different story arcs. When I get to reviewing those titles, I will note the most/least popular arcs, and what volumes they are. I also don’t recommend reading past the point you aren’t enjoying the series anymore. Personally, I often check fan recommendations and read or skip arcs based on the overall fandom rating, and I will note these in my reviews when I get to those series.

Q: Why aren’t more Shoujo, Josei, Yaoi and Yuri titles ranked better?
A: A lot of Shoujo, Josei, Yaoi and Yuri titles have a niche following. Many readers (particularly male) won’t even touch a Shoujo or Josei title unless it’s got some action or comedy in it. And for Yaoi and Yuri, while they both have some devoted fans, a lot of times just being Yaoi or Yuri will turn off potential readers just by being Yaoi or Yuri. But I will try and highlight exceptional Shoujo, Josei, Yaoi and Yuri titles as I review them, to hopefully bring some more readers into these genres.

Q: There's a mistake in one of your reviews.
A: Please leave a comment and I will fix it as soon as possible. I try and double and triple check things as much as possible. but I do make mistakes sometimes.