A few weeks ago, a meme went viral on Reddit that cast shade on Demon Slayer, saying the show got “carried by its art and animation, even though the story is mid.” This led to a flurry of memes mocking other shows for being “mid-tier anime.” So I decided to ask J-List customers which anime they consider to be “mid,” and put the results into this blog post!
Shots Fired! Share Your List of Mid-Tier Anime Shows!
How do you define a mid-tier anime? Of course it’s a totally subjective question, and everyone will have a different list. In general, we might define anime that are “mid” like this:
Shows that are pitched to as wide an audience as possible.
Series that take no risks with the story or characters.
Anime shows that find a generic, safe pattern and follow it forever. I was done with A Certain Magical Index when I realized Touma was always going to end up back in that hospital bed with his memory gone after each arc.
Anything we might have liked in the past, but realized later that it lacked sophistication compared to better anime shows.
So how did J-List customers respond to the graphic above? Read their comments below!
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Compared to School Rumble, Full Metal Panic, Shakugan no Shana, Clannad, Genshiken, Golden Boy and Black Lagoon, all of these are mid-tier anime.
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SAO and Jojo, fight me!
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It’s not wrong. Most action shounen anime like this are trash and devoid of much substance. Though that also doesn’t mean I can’t still watch it and be self-aware and critical of my own choice of entertainment, finding enjoyment in watching trash. After all, it’s just entertainment; no need to be so serious.
I’m a fan but I’ve to say it, Sword Art Online is a mid-tier anime. It’s a series I didn’t expect to be as popular as it is today. Granted, each season is an improvement over the last but its issues still persist for me.
I choose all of them.
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Mid-tier anime are very generic. They aim to appeal to the lowest common denominator. And 99% of shounen fall into that genre. There are a few exceptions that split the difference between good and bad, but when the target audience is boys to teens, the creators are generally not trying for something sophisticated.
How did Hell’s Paradise make me reconsider the shonen anime genre? Read this blog post!
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I love 1,2,4,7,8,9, though I admit that 1,2,4,5,6 are “mid.” Demon Slayer and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure are masterpieces.
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Mid-tier anime for me means a safe execution of an idea while closely following the tropes needed to keep some semblance of progression. Although occasionally the creators drop a dynamic scene that stands out from the rest of the show, to trick the audience into thinking it’s better than it is.
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Honestly can’t disagree with this list. Even JoJo, which I’m very fond of, made its greatest impact as a manga, not an anime.
It’s a matter of perspective. What is mid or just flat-out trash to one person is a masterpiece to another.
Low tier IMHO.
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Using the cringe-ass internet slang “mid” to rate something is senseless and in poor taste.
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All of these are great in their own respective ways. Why else are they all so memorable and live rent-free in the heads of a lot of people?
Thanks for reading this blog post exploring what some fans consider to be mid-tier anime, and why. Which shows do you have on your list of “mid” anime? Tell us in the comments below.
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