In light of all the self styled, so called otakus, and the racist fools who generalize all anime as DBZ and Pokemon, I've devised Barrington's Anime Class of Access. (BACA for short. Hey, what's so goddamn funny?)
Anyone with a rating of 2 or less should just plain shut up about anime. 4 or less, and you should still really try and avoid any generalizations. 5 and up have my respect. I'm personally at 7 .5 to 8 (and rising!)
Rating 1: Basic TV
i.e. KidsWB, Fox Family
Examples: Pokemon, Cardcaptors*, Escaflowne* (* heavily edited and censored. Dosen't really count as anime. Just american tripe with stolen Japanese cels. Thats right, the problem lies in the 'land of the free,' where you always have to watch your mouth lest someone gets pissed. and that's before 9/11... opps, im ramling. lets continue)
Rating 2: Basic Cable
i.e. Cartoon Network, SciFi Channel
Examples: Dominion Tank Police*, DBZ*, Sailor Moon* (* see above)
Rating 3: Premium Cable
i.e. Showtime Beyond, Cinemax
Examples: Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll
Rating 4: Membership to a really crappy video store.
i.e. BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO!
Examples: Agent Aika, Project A-ko
Rating 5: Membership to a top-of-the-line (100+ anime titles), but nonspecialized video store. Or Having a lot of money and just buying them at Sam Goody's.
i.e. Madison, WI's Four Star Video Haven
Examples: Nadesico, Evangelion
Rating 6: Membership of a private viewing club, with regular showings of 'fansubbed' anime.
i.e. A university club of some sort. Whoever did Gen-Con.
Examples: FLCL, Excel Saga
Rating 7: Membership to a good anime specialty store, including a decent Fansub lineup, or high speed Internet Access along with a good scouring program
i.e. Milwaukee WI's Model Zone, an Otacon of some sort, WinMX, Gnutella
Examples: The End of Evangelion. Fansubbed DBZ and Sailor Moon Episodes (WHOLLY different than that Toonazi crap)
Rating 8: Having the right connnections with multiple class 6 and 7 sources and the ability to get just about anything thats been fansubbed.
Rating 9: Having a fluent understanding of the Japanese language and the ability to order any un subtitled, undubbed original tape/DVD/manga/general merchandise directly from Japan.
Rating 10: You live in Japan.
So... what's your rating?