iMAL

(The API is apparently coming back “early 2020” so with hope this year the app can thrive again!) Even with the API down this app keeps my hopes and dreams alive. Having it show countdowns for when new episodes are coming out, being able to update/rank episodes/chapters and shows still. This app really makes me happy. I wish the API would come back so I could view friends lists on the app again but honestly I’m pretty happy with what I’ve got, just hope for the future I guess. Love the app even with its restrictions (which isn’t its fault) and even with the episode countdown not working every now and then (which being my favorite part is a bit of a bummer but I’ll take what I can get). Great work and will continue to use it till it won’t let me.

It’s sad that this is the only app that lets you sync and update your myanimelist account. This app seems to work whenever it wants to, I’d say maybe 65-70% of the time. I get errors by swiping up and trying to update my list at least once a week which makes the app mess up my list. Thankfully this doesn’t actually affect your list on MAL’s website which would be terrible. If you get an update error your completed and/or plan to watch will be messed up and will have maybe half the amount of shows on it. Also viewing shows sometimes results in errors. However when this app does work which is a bit more than half the time, it’s pretty great. I can actually view my list offline which is great although I can’t actually view the shows’ page. I’m still able to see if there are shows I would like to watch if I have nothing to do for a few minutes or so. This app also looks nice and when it does work it’s very easy to use. It’s mainly just a condiment problem and because this is the only app which syncs your MAL account this is what you’ll have to deal with since using the website on mobile isn’t the greatest, especially when viewing your list.

So I’ve just started using this app and I have to say I have some issues with it. Certain features either don’t work at all (like the friend’s list) or will show up being an error and then I can use it after I select “okay”. I think if it’s a legit companion app then all features that are offered should work without any issues, but they don’t. There’s only one true reason I like using this app and it’s because it lets me keep track of episodes I’ve seen and which anime’s I’ve watched/manga I’ve read. If all of the features actually worked, I would definitely give it all stars, but since they don’t I really cannot justify giving it more than 2 stars. On top of it saying the users should complain to the website, when shouldn’t the developer be working closely with the website to ensure everything works smoothly?