The rating system here at Unrivaled is designed to give you a short and long view of the title in question. You can look at just the overall score, or you can look at how we break down the score and come to the conclusion. For each grade in every category, there is a rating from 1 to 5 where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. With the exception of the final grade, there are no in between scores (like 3.5 or 4.8). The final rating is the overall average of all the scores.

Anime and Manga ratings - Anime and Manga ratings are combined and take into account the quality of both formats. We focused on the entire series in general. It is rare to have the quality of the manga and anime not in sync with each other. In case it's not, we will review each format separately. It is not always the best just to get everything technically correct (the animation, sound and music) as both the story and characters have to be interesting enough to keep the reader or viewer hooked.

• Characters: Rates how interesting and engaging the characters are in the series. Complex and deep characters are a plus, but not always necessary.
• Story: Rates how well developed and complex a story is. Scores more points for character development and progress.
• Style: Focuses on the design and physical appeal of the main and sub characters.
• Art: Rates the technical aspect of the artwork. Most popular anime titles will sore high in this category because they get most of this stuff right.
• Tilt: Unrivaled judgment of the series. Wildcard score that can boast or drag down a score.

Movie ratings - We are much tougher on movie ratings because many things have to be done right in the 2 hour or so time. Directors must technically get everything right (plot, story, dialog and special effects). Putting bad special effects in a movie or having a terrible plot are a big no-no and is just a case of bad direction. The stars' performance and chemistry among each other are also important.

• Execution: Rates the plot and story and how it was put together; the flow of the movie, direction and the overall big picture.
• The Stars: Focuses on the performance of the main stars. It could also include co-stars as well, depending on the amount of involvement.
• The Crew: Focuses on the chemistry of the entire cast and how well they worked together. It also focuses on sub-characters and sometimes co-stars performances.
• Special Effects: Rates the technical aspect of the special effects and its fool factor. The point of using special effects is to fool the audience.
• Tilt: Unrivaled judgment of the film. Wildcard score that can boast or drag down a score.

Popcorn rating: How much a movie will be enjoyable in the public theater and a good crowd. A movie may have been fun to watch in the theater, but it doesn't mean it was a good movie. This is a separate rating and has no bearing on the quality of the movie itself.

DVD rating: How good a DVD produced for a movie is. It takes into account technically the video and audio quality and the supplements on the DVD. This is a separate rating and has no bearing on the quality of the movie itself.