I think it was based on a light novel, so it wasn't an original horrible script. Why they chose to adapt it? I assume it was popular. Why it got popular? ... marketing? ... people reading it on a dare?
I too am also puzzled by how much legitimately undeniably horrible media gets produced. I am truly baffled.
If you were wondering why cute girls and swords didn't get paired with a good script, the videos go on to contrast Asterisk War with a decent show that shares all those elements and many, many more.
If you wonder why A1 pictures paired up with a bad script? A1 is to anime what McDonald's is to food- an assembly line. Their quality is low, but their presence is so overpowering that they are the first thing you think of when you want to consume food or anime.

i am guessing that it didn't lack depth in character plot and setting although i haven't seen it

So I'm now halfway through Gourmet Girl Graffiti and damn.....this is a lot of food porn. I have seen exactly zero male characters up to this point and it's been wall to wall lady bonding and sexy food eating. I'm waiting for whatever is going on with the main characters' downstairs neighbor to pay off. Overall this show is running on good food and above average levels of fan service, but I'm not entirely sure what demographic we're supposed to be servicing here. Yuri addicted foodies?

Cute girls, comfy and Japanese culture, plus family values.
I really like the character design of Shiina, but I ultimately ended up dropping the show.

On a more rhetorical level, this is just a general problem with media: why do summer blockbusters like the Transformers movies have to be so stupid (and full disclosure: I love most Transformers stuff, even the Michael Bay ones)? Why do kids' shows like Uncle Grandpa and Fairly Odd Parents frequently get the green light when Avatar: the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra both are approached as if they'll fail? Why do unboxing videos on youtube even exist? Why are there so many game genres that the triple-A publishing circle doesn't touch anymore?

In general I think it falls partly to analytics. Extra Credits actually made a half a point on this regarding the show Law and Order (I say half a point because Law and Order was only one half of their point, with the other being the video game Destiny). They basically said that, often after a long day of work, the average person just wants something they can shut off their brain for a little while and relax to, without needing to be challenged intellectually. They may know that it's actually not that good, but they don't make as much time for the higher-quality and more challenging media as they do the easy-to-digest slop.

In a less rhetorical sense, regarding A1 pictures specifically and a number of media studios in general, they churn out a lot of shows, and really most of them are "meh" at best. If they can break even on most of the shows, take a small hit with a few, and make gangbusters on a handful, even with all the crap they put out they'll still be up money-wise. TPMan compared them to McDonald's because that's what Digibro did, but it's probably still an apt comparison. They surely make all the shows they do extremely cheaply, even if they are of decent animation quality, and a large number of people are going to watch the shows regardless, so they will get their money back even if the writing is trash, so why bother paying better writers? Besides, as TP said, they were adapting a light novel, which is probably as easy or easier than adapting a manga.

i don't think intellectually stimulating is the same as high quality, nor do i think something you can mindlessly consume is necessarily lacking in depth of character or plot or setting. Rather, flaws in those kinds of things should make the series more abrasive, though the word depth is fairly ambiguous in this case.

the writing is also by far the cheaper part of producing an anime as far as i know. They save money on writing by using scripts that have already succeeded financially with another audience. They're not really cutting corners on writing so much as outsourcing it, so to say.

The benefits of good writing are not easily quantified and thus are easily rationalized into being an unnecessary cost.

Edit- Just found some wise words on the topic from Tycho of Penny Arcade:

The cost of rewriting a script is relatively low, and the people who produced the asterisk war probably realize this. Therefore, if they chose not to rewrite the script, it must be because they don't think it's bad. This can be for one of two reasons:

1: The script, while something that you don't like, was something that the target audience did like. The target audience of most anime is high school and middle school students, not people in their 20s, and maybe what you dislike about the script (the MC's power level removing any sense of legitimate challenge, every female character existing only as a one-dimensional cliche and fetish object) is what they like about the script.
2: The script actually is bad for the show, but the people who make decisions don't realize that it's bad.

In either case, all you can really do is throw money at the shows you actually do like, so they'll get produced instead.

Been on a horror binge lately with the following...

Another-The closest to traditional western horror. Really enjoyed it despite the story going to hell at the end.

Corpse Party: Tortured Souls-I only recommend this if you're a gore hound.

Shiki- Not scary but I regardless this as a masterpiece on an intellectual level. Your experience may vary depending on how well the show gets you to sympathize with the "bad guys."

Hell Girl-Really repetitive with no real story until the end. That being said the show does a really good job getting you to care about the victim calling for hell girl each and every episode.

Higurashi-You probably already know this one and if you don't go watch it. No like stop what ever you're doing and go watch it right now.

Elfen Lied-This might be one of the most overrated animes I've ever seen. It wasn't terrible just really average and the blood wasn't enough to make me change my mind.

With that said I'm sadly running out of horror animes to watch so now I'm just watching stuff with overall darker themes. Which means I finally had to cave and start watching madoka magica because nobody will shut up about how good madoka magica is. Only two episodes in and it's already obvious to me that kyubey is the most evil thing that ever existed and if I'm wrong about that I'm going to be very disappointed.

boogiepop phantom has a pretty creepy atmosphere

i have not finished it

What little I've seen of it (which by all accounts I should NOT be making a judgement call from) has pretty much turned me away from it.


I think I actually am? I'll have to keep that in mind.


I've heard Shiki described (by Digibro) as having the ability to feel disgusted at humanity and at yourself for being human. I've had it in mind since then.


It was probably because I watched it on Sci-Fi when I was a child, but I found Hell Girl to be both hard to follow and extremely boring. I watched probably half the entire show and I couldn't tell you a single thing about it anymore.


I found that when I watched Higurashi, I was intensely aware of how flawed I should have found it (weird and kinda flat animations, not great voice acting in either language, etc.), but just loved it regardless. It was one of the first shows I ever started thinking obsessively over while I wasn't watching it.


Does it even come that highly rated? I honestly don't remember anymore. I know it was one of the biggest let-downs I've ever had in an anime, for largely the same reason it was for you. There was not nearly enough to save the show and I WAS TRICKED INTO WATCHING ANOTHER INCEST PLOT.


I like Madoka Magica for being not what is expected on more than one level, and for just being well put-together. It's one of those shows that really takes at least two viewings to appreciate because of how the ending plays out, and if that's not for you then I guess there's not much I can say to convince you otherwise. I should actually watch it again with my more critical eye, but I feel there's so much more I could be doing with my time, like watching Haruhi for the first time *coughcoughorDarkSoulscoughcough*.

With Another all I can say is if you like Final Destination watch it otherwise skip.

For me yes Elfen Lied came up a lot in college and you were kind of looked down on if you hadn't seen it. But I dunno the show kinda came across as "watch bad things happen to people just for the sake of it" and I found Lucy very shallow. The best way I can describe it is it's like Evangelion without any effort put into it.

Just finished episode 6 of madoka magika and my stomach is in knots. I hate kyubey more than I've hated any character in anime in a long time. I can tell this show is gonna **** me up by the end because there is no way this show is gonna end on a happy note. Oh well at least I get to hear more music by yuki kaijura.

Kyubey is the best.

Madoka hist with the emotional weight of a sack of puppies to the gut.
I know a guy who watched Another as a comedy- he found the convoluted deaths funny.

Haven't watched anime since Etotama.
That's been like...a year?

I should check out some things I missed probably.

Anyone know where this is from?

Reverse image searching reveals it to be 'Ookami-san and her Seven Companions'. Damned if I know what it's about though.

I have noticed myself really enjoying Tanaka-kun is always listless. The comedic beats, I like literally every named character, the slice of life aspect that doesn't cross over into Lucky Star choco cornet inanity. It has a good balance of guys and girls, too.

I am reminded of Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun, which I am now rewatching. Is there a name for the genre these two share? I mean, beyond slice of life. It's a sort of well grounded comedy that isn't driven by the romance of the two main characters. I am also enjoying the lack of fanservice.

Tanaka-kun is great, yeah. It's in my top 3. My expectations were low after episode 1, but the cast really pulls its weight.
I would probably describe it as a character-driven slice of life comedy.

Kick-Heart is a love story between Romeo, a successful pro-wrestler, and Juliet, a nun who lives a secret double-life as a female pro-wrestler. Romeo’s secret is that he enjoys taking a beating in the ring, while Juliet feels invigorated when facing her opponents as a wrestler. When the two meet in the ring, the fireworks fly. Their story is set in the colorful backdrop of the professional wrestling world. Will Juliet reveal her true identity to the one she loves? Will Romeo be able to share his secret to the world?

another had a nice atmosphere but it was also pretty funny in how over the top it was when the ball got rolling, but japanese humor in general has a lot of absurd elements i think