Forum - View topicAnybody Else Watching Less Anime These Days?
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Cam0
 Posts: 4933 |
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I think I've been following far less anime weekly this past year or so. Granted, I've always been one to watch mostly fully aired shows rather than ongoing ones, but I used to pick a few shows every season to follow weekly. My weird thing was that I particularly looked for the very lame looking light novel adaptions as my weekly guilty pleasures. I think I've gotten slightly pickier and have done a lot less bottom of the barrel scraping the past few years. I don't think the amount of anime I watch has gone down though. I think for the past like 9 years I've pretty consistently watched like 50-80 titles every year and my pace this year seems slightly slower compared to the past 4 but nothing hugely out of the ordinary.
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Cardcaptor Takato
 Posts: 5246 |
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I've been watching the same amount of anime since I got into it back in the mid 90s but I've always been one where I watch shows based on positive reviews and listening to podcasts so I'm always watching shows that are at least pretty good or that I'm enjoying. And at this point I've been watching long enough to know what kind of shows I like.
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FishLion
 Posts: 268 |
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For me, when I was in high school I would come home and watch whatever anime I could find streaming on Netflix. Discovering there was more anime than Toonami was a shock to me and I spent a ton of time getting whatever I could. Then I got into college and got so busy I couldn't really game or watch anime anymore. I slowly started watching more again as making more friends that loved anime got me paying attention again, first to Demon Slayer and then Promare, that lead me to revisiting a lot of Studio Ghibli's work again before Dungeon Meshi really got me into weekly viewing and keeping up with news again. I had always been a huge Studio Trigger fan girl, and I was primed to be excited for Imaishi's work from being hugely invested in Gurren Lagann as a kid. Then I started buying manga and subscribing to anime streaming services again. I don't have nearly as much time for viewing as I would like, but I do get as excited about the art form as I did when I was younger. Now, I am treading entirely new ground by learning about how many magical girl shows I missed out on (that are luckily being brought over in droves), revisiting classics I didn't know about, and enjoying all these beautiful new manga editions being published (very happy about Berserk and Cardcaptor Sakura having large print versions).
I think you may be suffering from a version of what I have seen called the Seinfeld effect. When a piece of media becomes extremely popular, it's tropes and ideas are often used in other media of the same genre. In the original meaning, the classic becomes a less interesting because the ideas are worn thin, which is why you can watch Seinfeld and not be nearly as impressed as the audience of the time. This might be why new seasons of old favorites are not nearly as interesting to you, you might care about the characters and plot but do we really think anything besides camping will happen in Yuru Camp? Now that there are so many shows in that vein the original show that popularized it may not be as compelling. I think it also causes an effect where extremely media savvy people that consume a ton of content get so tired of popular tropes that anything that doesn't upset expectations is classified as boring subconsciously. I am unfamiliar with The Fable, but I know Dededede and Yatagarasu are both very mold breaking shows so you being bored with repetitive story telling rather than burned out with anime as a whole makes sense to me. Plus, anime loves it's tropes. I know every genre has conventions that are well worn, but I feel like I constantly see anime that is almost exactly like others in form and concept with a new set of characters and plot points to give the impression of originality. I certainly have genres I adore (trashy romance and magical girl shows) that I let get away with repetitive tropes, but outside of those I am also quick to abandon a show. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24225 |
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@ FishLion - yes, I think you are correct about me getting tired of certain repetitive types of story-telling, which makes sense. I could enjoy the first 100 generic isekai I watched, for example, but then you become desensitized and you need fresher and fresher angles to enjoy the same genre.
Oddly enough, after I started this thread, I started to find that I'm watching more Summer shows than I expected. Not sure what the final tally will end up being but it could be as high as 17 of the new season titles plus the three titles that started in the Spring. |
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Edjwald
 Posts: 1670 |
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Hey Pardner
I only found this thread because I watched Dead Dead Demon's Dededetc for the first time today and loved it (I missed it at first because of its weird debut schedule) and tried to look it up on the forums search. Anyway, in an honest attempt to respond to your original question, I tend to think interests in particular mediums or genres wax and wane in cycles, but if you really love them, you never really lose contact. For example, twenty years ago when there were still DVD stores, I really got into watching low budget independent horror movies. I don't watch them as much anymore, but I still catch them from time to time, particularly in October when I watch a lot of them leading up to Halloween. When the first Iron Man movie came out, I really got into the Marvel super hero movies for a time. I don't watch super hero movies much anymore, but I'll still check out Deadpool and Wolverine tomorrow. I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's not like you have any moral obligation to watch anime, and if they're not a happy place where you can chill, or if you find the offerings are getting stale, you can always take a break for awhile and look for a different diversion. It doesn't mean you're going to lose them or anything. On the other hand, if you're missing the enjoyment you used to get from anime and want to get that back, you can try a couple of things. I'll assume you've already tried heavy drinking and porn and just get straight to the emergency measures. (1) Just quit whining and listen to me and like the anime I tell you to like I don't know why so many people seem to find that difficult. But experience has taught me that you're one of those unreasonable people, so you can always try (2) Revisit some old anime. Aren't you always saying that your memory for anime isn't that great? That could be an advantage. My biggest complaint about the overloaded anime schedules isn't anime fatigue so much as I haven't had as much time to rewatch anime that I loved the first time around. (3) Try some anime adjacent mediums like manga or web novels and the like. (4) Channel your frustration into some of that normie healthy stuff like hiking or building a deck on the back of your house or online dating or fishing. It's entirely possible that after a few weeks of that, you'll be running back to anime screaming for comfort. (5) Start prepping for a zombie apocalypse. Why not? It'll take your mind off your troubles and can't hurt! Anyway, if you're suffering from some kind of malaise or ennui or some other French defined condition, these things pass. And if your later comment indicates that they've passed already, sorry for wasting your time. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24225 |
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Edjwald, ole buddy, I did read that entire post of yours but for some reason the only thing that stuck with me was "heavy drinking and porn."
 I kid, I kid! It seems I might have been a bit premature (that's what she said!) starting up this thread as I am currently following 17 titles (3 which started last season, the rest this season) and I still have 2 more to try out. Mind you, that is still down from many seasons.
I do believe I've become more selective and I have a narrower frame on interest than I used to, but I think this is a good thing. I may be watching less, but title by title I am enjoying what I am watching more. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1670 |
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Glad to hear it. It sounds to me like you got worn out by the steady stream of anime that are just barely good enough to keep you watching while annoying you and coasting on tropes at the same time, until they ultimately go splat on the landing and make you feel like you've wasted your life. This is a pretty good season for unique anime with their own identities.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24225 |
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Oh, forgot to mention that I'm super glad you are watching Dead Dead Demon's (etc). Love that show. It, along with The Fable and The Raven Does Not Choose its Master are the three shows from last season that I'm watching. And yeah, your reasoning as to why I've become more selective is spot on.
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Edjwald
Posts: 1670 |
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I had a weird experience with The Fable. I liked it a lot, but - in my area at least - the show kept having the subtitles out of sync with the characters actions and mouths. I would check back every day or so to see if things got lined up, and I ultimately decided to wait for the DVD to come out.
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AsleepBySunset
Posts: 244 |
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I've watched less anime lately, but that's mainly just because I don't want to get burnt finding out something I watch or want to watch contains AI. I was looking at a promo poster artwork for a new show and the BG looks AI. Why bother watching new anime anymore.
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Jose Cruz
 Posts: 1798 Location: South America |
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While I have been watching anime for about 30 years, my watching intensity varied a lot over the years. I even spent a few years not watching anything (roughly from 2006 to 2009) while I peaked in anime watching around 2017-2018: I have watched over a 100 shows from these two years.
But now, after listing about 1,000 watched shows/movies in my anilist, I got tired of generic shows. Now, I plan to watch only the stuff that I think will be interesting for my specific interests as I am finding myself easily bored from shows that do not match my specific tastes. For example, one show that I am finding extremely interesting after watching a thousand anime is Dead Dead Demon Dedededede Destruction. I also noticed that it's better to re-watch my old favorites than to watch random new crap: it's better to rewatch the 40 episodes of K-On after a few years than to watch the latest cute girl doing cute things show which are all just a worse versions of K-On. |
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Beltane70
 Posts: 3981 |
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Do you mean CGI? I’m not aware of any current or new anime using AI. |
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AsleepBySunset
Posts: 244 |
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Hikari no Ou Season 2 likely used ai for one (and I was looking forward to it at lot). It's faux pass to accuse anime of using ai, so you probably won't see many accusations.
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zidkim
Posts: 1 |
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After 25+ years of watching anime, I find myself looking for more classics and hits that I've missed over the years. I've recently came across Space Brothers and am really enjoying it. My anime count is likely in the 300+ range but not quite sure. I've literally just joined MAL and ANN to connect with the community for the first time while searching for hidden gems.
That aside, I definitely watch less but that's mainly because of my schedule. I remember back in the day when I watched Mushishi for the first time, I watched the entire season in one sitting, inside my room with the peace of the sunlight just making the experience that much more magical. On a side note, would love to connect with others in the community! Feel free to add/message me. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24225 |
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My Bold Anime Watching Plan for Fall 2024
I have a habit of making pronouncements and then not following through, so take the following with a grain of salt. First, a little background. Since January 2009, I have been amassing a ridiculously large anime collection. I currently own 763 anime TV titles, of which I have watched 133 (meaning I have watched the physical copy I own, in addition to possibly other ways, such as streaming); 307 OVA titles, of which I have watched 80; and, 227 movie titles, of which I have watched 57. At this slow rate of watching what I own, I fear even if I live another 30 years (I'm currently 59), I'll croak with a massive, expensive and largely unwatched collection. The main reason for my slowness is that I, historically, have watched so much anime via streaming, usually as it comes out. Not only does this take up a lot of actual time, but it also uses up a lot of my anime watching energy. After keeping up with whatever my weekly streaming total is, I rarely feel fired up enough to pop something in my Blu-ray player. So. *draws deep breath*. I have resolved, beginning in Fall of 2024 to only stream whichever shows I'm watching now that will continue, the sequels of beloved titles (such as the recently released 3rd season of Kimi ni Todoke) or something that I sense will be special or of particular interest to me. An example is the upcoming Uzumaki because I'm a big Junji Ito fan. Another exception will be if a premise really grabs me for some reason, I'll sample it. But I plan to be brutal: 1-episode and if it doesn't immediately feel special, it's gone. I'm pretty confident of recognizing something special right from the first episode. Virtually every anime I've ever truly loved got me from the get go. So, if I can limit my seasonal streaming to say, 5 or 6 shows, I feel confident I will have the time and energy to seriously tackle my physical collection. I have a few titles in various stages of watchedness that I want to clean up and then the plan is to rewatch season 1 of Ghost in the Shell, followed by the second season which I have never seen and the Patlabor TV series, plus the Patlabor New Files OVAs. It's a start. |
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