About Genki Cupboard
Genki Cupboard is a website and bi-monthly podcast about Japanese popular culture. Here I write about anime & manga, Japanese music and video games.
The site started out in December 2013, succeeding my previous project “Genki Up North”, a show I used to host on Newcastle Student Radio where I played Japanese music and talked about anime and all that jazz. After graduating from university and finishing an internship at a local indie games studio, I wanted to continue writing and talking about something I really loved, and I started up Genki Cupboard to do just that.
About Me
I’m Matthew Tinn and I’m a software/web developer living in North East England. I’ve been into Japanese culture since the mid-2000s and I’ve been playing video games since the 90s.
I started off with PC gaming then transitioned to Nintendo when my Grandad bought me a Game Boy Advance and Pokémon Yellow in 2001. A few years later I’d be joining the Official Nintendo Magazine forum, then after coming across a Japanese song (Ike Ike by Hinoi Team) on then staff writer Chris Scullion’s MySpace page, my love of Japanese music was born and from there it escalated into anime, manga and everything else really.
During my time at Northumbria University I was president of the Japanese Animation and Culture Society in 2012/2013 and treasurer of the Computer and Video Games Society in 2011/2012.
These days I’m known for my love of Japanese idols, particularly anything related to the Aikatsu franchise, but I try to experience everything I can about Japan. I’ve visited the country four times now and I’m aiming to visit more and see more places in the future.
I’m a heavy user of Twitter and post a lot of random thoughts there. If you want to follow me you can do so here.
How I Review
While there are arguments for/against review scores, I’ve generally always used them to give a rough guide to how I feel about something. I’ve experimented with a lot of different systems over the years but my current system is as follows.
Review scores go from 10 (highest) to 1 (lowest). They generalise the feeling of the product being reviewed but should only be taken as a rough guide. 10s and 1s are extremely rare, as nothing is ever that perfect or that bad. I refrain from taking 7 as a mid-point as in the games journalism industry. Anything above 5 should be seen as positive, 5 average, then anything below 5 as negative.
10 – Outstanding
Utter perfection. Has smashed all expectations and will set a standard for years and decades to come.
9 – Great
A masterpiece with very few flaws. A must-buy.
8 – Very Good
A great experience that is worth your time and effort.
7 – Good
Well done, however some places disappoint
6 – Fair
Okay. Some will get more out of it than others, but has enough good points to recommend
5 – Average
Not good, but not bad either. May have some outstanding moments.
4- Poor
A poor effort that is difficult to recommend on face-value alone.
3 – Bad
A bad experience that cannot be recommended.
2- Very Bad
Avoid like the plague.
1 – Atrocious
Set it on fire and bury the ashes.