About AnimeRadar Pro
We got tired of
reading numbers.
Two editors, one shared conviction: anime deserves better coverage than a bar graph and a user score. Founded in Regensburg in 2021.
How this started
AnimeRadar Pro came from a specific frustration. In 2020, two editorial colleagues — Nadia Volkert and Takumi Brandt — were writing for a film criticism journal and watching anime on the side. What bothered them wasn't the lack of coverage. It was the form of the coverage: everywhere, anime was being reduced to a number.
An 8.4 doesn't tell you whether the animation is expressive or merely fluid. It doesn't tell you if the pacing drags in the middle or if the ending earns what the first episode promised. It certainly doesn't tell you whether this particular show is something you personally will respond to.
So they built something different. In early 2021, the first Seasonal Radar went up — a structured set of verdicts for the winter season, arguing in prose rather than pointing to a score. No sponsored links, no platform partnerships, no preview copy arrangements. Just two people who watch a lot of anime and have opinions about it.
That's still what AnimeRadar Pro is. Registered in Germany, funded by readers, and editorially independent in every practical sense of that phrase.
By the numbers
Editorial approach
How we write about anime
Verdicts, not scores
Every series gets one of four verdicts: Essential, Watch, Wait, or Skip. Each is argued in prose. You can disagree — but you'll know what you're disagreeing with.
Argued, not described
We don't recap plot. We don't describe animation. We make a case for or against — and we acknowledge where a show is good at something we don't personally value.
No preview access
We don't accept screeners, don't attend studio events, and don't work with PR agencies. What you read is based on what's available to you on legal streaming.
Corrections are public
When we get something factually wrong, we correct it with a visible note, not a silent edit. We changed our reading of two series in 2024 — those changes are documented.
The editors
Who writes here
Two people. No rotating roster of contributors, no interns given a press account. These are the only two voices on AnimeRadar Pro.