A few reviews

[Malthus]

Kon is actually my favorite anime director, but those other directors are more miss than hit for me.  I wouldn't compare him to them at all.

Ah to clarify, I'm not comparing their styles directly I was merely trying to say that they each have a style and one which might not be to everyone's tastes.

We'll have to agree to disagree on post 90's Gundam though. Both Gundam Seed and Gundam 00 are triumphs in my opinion and Origin and Iron Blooded Orphans both have moments of excellence. I suppose the nice thing about the Gundam meta franchise is that there's something for everyone.

I think it might be worth creating a new thread for anime reviews or an anime 'book club' style thread where people test drive suggestions and give their honest feedback. Anime is like Jazz. Some people love it, others hate it. There are so many people who have a perception about what it is or it isnt or 'what makes a good anime good' when the fact of the matter is it is a hugely diverse genre comprised of dozens of sub genres each with wide ranging themes and styles. I count myself a fan but it's fair to say there are far more anime I dislike than ones I do. Full disclosure my anime collection far outweighs my live action collection (mainly as it was the only way to watch them prior to streaming) and I have dedicated bookcase for my manga collection.