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This is the first time I've posted a new topic, so I apologize if this subject has been done before.

Firstly, I was wondering if anyone else feels as I do, that different kinds of shows have different kinds of rewatch value. What I mean by this is that I find I tend to watch favorite slice-of-life and/or comedy shows more often than more dramatic shows. For example, I have lost count of how many times I have rewatched Lucky Star and I have watched Azumanga Daioh three times in the past year. On the other hand, as much as I love Kino's Journey and Serial Experiments Lain I waited years between watches on those. Since I inevitably forget details the time makes the rewatch more interesting. Of course I'm mainly talking about TV shows here, as movies or short OVAs are easier to rewatch due to the shorter time involved.

Secondly, I wonder if anyone else has decided to rewatch something due to external factors. Usually if I decide to rewatch something it's just a whim on my part, but sometimes something will trigger the desire. One example: I was listening to a review of The Big O on the AWO podcast (they had ANN's Mike Toole as a guest on this particular episode) and they talked about the show at great length and gave it a very positive review. I found this made me really want to watch the show myself again, so I did.

When I first started collecting anime DVDs I sometimes was rewatching stuff because money was tight and I couldn't afford to buy anything new. Nowadays with the fact that I'm in better shape economically and with the low prices we can get anime for I have a huge backlog of unwatched shows, movies and OVAs. I sometimes think I should feel guilty about rewatching stuff, then I remind myself why I watch anime in the first place-because it makes me happy, so I juat watch what I want to.

I usually watch everything twice, within a fairly short period; first I watch subbed Japanese, and then (if it's available) I watch it in English.
I don't watch a lot of comedy or slice of life, mostly drama, but that does come into play some times. For me its the opposite though; I tend to re-watch drama much more often then comedy (It's worth mentioning that I saw Inception five times in theatre's. Scott Pilgrim? Once).
Perhaps the factor that affects how much I re-watch anime the most is is if the show is something my friends relate to. Most of my friends are not into anime; so when I find a series that can transcend that I share it with everyone (Baccano!, FLCL, Tekkonkinkreet, and Howl's Moving Castle to be precise).

OldCharlieStoletheHandle wrote:

I sometimes think I should feel guilty about rewatching stuff, then I remind myself why I watch anime in the first place-because it makes me happy, so I juat watch what I want to.

And this is important. One can over-think Anime and what it means to them, but in the end it is an entertainment medium. Whether said entertainment is from very risque jokes and gags, wacky and absurd hijinks with zany characters, or highbrow arty-type shows which encourage deeper thought, it doesn't really matter. In the end, what matters is if it is fun. And if it is, then by all means watch it.

So even if you have watched Lucky Star twenty times, if you still get enjoyment out of it then by all means continue rewatching it. When Titanic came out there was a teenage girl who watched it forty-three times in the cinema. It's her life, so if she is happy to watch Jack and Rose for literally more than three dozen times then isn't that okay? At least for her?

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Anyway, for me, I love to partly rewatch shows. A bit of it is nostalgia, but mostly I just to rewatch selected fights or the best moments. Dragonball Z is probably my most watched show; I must have watched Gohan go SSJ2 thirty times by now. It does sometimes worry me that I have this huge Anime backlog and yet I'm rewatching a show that isn't that great and is badly acted and that I've seen waaaay too many times. But as I said before, if it is enjoyable then why not? Sure, it may be the Anime equivalent of comfort food, with a not exceptional taste, and chock full of empty calories. But so? Sometimes I just want to space out and watch something that requires no brain cells, that excites the nine-year-old in me.

And that's why rewatching certain shows is so normal; we like the familiar. Even if it is nothing more than just Goku or Vegeta grunting and screaming for three minutes at a time.

I don't tend to rewatch entire series (with a few notable exceptions) but rather I rewatch particularly gripping episodes multiple times. For example, though I didn't think the series Kimikiss Pure Rogue was outstanding, the episode where spoiler[they are shooting the rooftop scene, the two leads go in for a fake kiss for the camera, and Mao softly begins to cry] that scene was quite superb. I find if I watch a culmination scene such as this, it brings back the ups and downs of most of the series fairly accurately; and without having to rewatch an entire series I can revisit the emotions it held with me.

I mean, I've rewatched Elfen Lied more times than I can count, but I have watched the final episode alone more times still. That episode hits me in the guts every time I see it and does as good a job as watching the series again. Similarly, I have watched Toradora many times now, and yet I find myself every now and again watching the Christmas episode, which I felt to be the most powerful of the series, and being affected as strongly as the first time I saw the series. That series, though, is one of the few exceptions which contains so many of these beautiful little nuggets of great character interaction and funny/heartwarming gems that I usually find myself watching the whole series again anyway after seeing a small bit. I've wasted countless hours on my laptop reliving that one.

Another example that I can't leave out is ef ~ a tale of memories ~, one that I have seen many times. The second-to-last episode, where spoiler[Chihiro tears the pages out of her diary and casts them into the air] leaves me feeling like I've been punched every time I watch it, and yet I can't stop myself from relatively frequently reliving this scene. This and the scene after the credits, left such an impression on me during my first viewing that even watching this and the following episode on their own is enough to take me back to that despair that clawed at me the first time watching.

Yeah, I generally tend to rewatch only single, powerfully emotive episodes of series rather than the entirety. I don't have a lot of time for watching new series, much less rewatching old favourites, but if I'm rewatching in the first place it usually means the series held particular sway over me and as such watching these episodes on their own is usually enough to put me back in the setting and suck me right back into the story again.

i watch a good mix of new shows and rewatches. every once in a while a i go into a rewatch spree and rewatch several series in a row.

the more time between rewatches, the better

ATM im rewatching FMP!

the thing is that, at least for me, some shows don´t have much replay value (regardless of the guality of the series) because sometimes it´s charm lays in the unknow, plot twists, shock and surprise. This is especially true in many Drama series.

for example, i find Elfen Lied and Higurashi not very replayable since they relay pretty much on shock value

I find Slice of Life / Comedy shows much more rewatchable than Drama for the reason stated above, but thats just me

I tend to have my slice of life/dramedies in heavy rotation, because they're appropriate almost any time. I have a slight tendency to watch my action series more in summer and of course my horror/supernatural anime more in October for the obvious seasonal reason (Halloween month). I find it hard to get into anime with alot of snow or winter imagery when it's warmer out and almost always save them for January and February. Finally, there are the heavy dramas - which although excellent I don't watch as often because of the high depression factor. And, of course, I watch more anime (and the rest of my DVD collection in general) when television is off season.

I'm in the boat with people who rewatch particular parts. I'll usually come across something like a blog that reminds me of an anime that I enjoyed, and go watch an episode or two of my favorite moments. I've watched "Pierrot le Fou," episode 20 of Cowboy Bebop, more times than I can count; I love the fight sequences. I also find myself rewatching parts of Haruhi, NGE, and Elfen Lied a lot, mostly because I talk and read about them more than other series. Then again, I haven't been watching anime long enough to say I won't rewatch my favorites in their entirety after a couple years.

I very rarely rewatch entire anime series (or anything else as a matter of fact). I tend to rewatch multiple times not even my favourite episodes, but their parts, or parts involving my favourite characters (ex. many many reruns of the bestof FMA'S Scar according to me), or lets say a really good music background.

I have rewatched many times Nodame Cantabile's episode with Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto no 2, not in the least because the scene is so fantastic, because it is not; it only shows amazed faces of people seating in the audience or Chiaki's fingers, but because I really like this melody. I should probably just get a CD with the concert...

And yes, there is a fair amount of series I loved but did not really think of rewatching them at all- actually Kino's Journey is one of them, or Haibane Renmei. I gave them really high rating, but great as they are, once was just enough and I didn't need any more.
It is easier for me to rewatch a series with characters that I found I could bond with somehow, but even then most of the time when I rewatch anything at all it is because a friend/family member gets into somethinI have seen and I just watch with them. I have rewatched Samurai Champloo and parts of FMA Brotherhood in this way, but I have to say I didn't enjoy them as much as when I saw them for the first time.

I definitely recall having rewatched my anime a lot more when I had less of it, it kinda makes me regret getting new stuff because I know that it lowers the chances of me rewatching good stuff I already have. However, I'll usually only keep something in my collection that I know is worth rewatching to begin with, so it's not like I have a terrible amount of dead weight here. Not to mention that I might miss out on adding something else that I'd like to rewatch some time too.

But I'm all for rewatching something if I really liked it, it seems like I always manage to catch something new in any given rewatch for the most part (well it depends on the show or movie too and if it has a lot of little things to catch, like for a movie and non-anime example, Hot Fuzz, that movie is just as funny every time I see it and I seem to notice one new thing every single time either in the dialogue or the background so I am always up for rewatching Hot Fuzz). Some things I know I want to sit down and rewatch and sometimes just hanging out with a friend and having them go "that sounds interesting" will make me start to rewatch it again, so that's always a plus. Still, I figured if I spent good money to own it, I should be free to watch it as many times as I want or sell or trade it to someone else if I don't think I'll be rewatching it, trade the old in for the new and maybe I'll get something worth rewatching this time.

As for why? Well it's a series I really enjoyed obviously, I don't see why else I would waste my time going back to watch it again if I disliked it the first time. However, there's also that little nagging voice in the back of my head going "but I already know what happens!" and yes, this may be true, but if I'm willing to rewatch movies where I already know what happened, why not for a whole series anyway? I really need to stop thinking that way...and of course the other thing is that I re-read my manga way more often without the same complaint popping up, it might be that with a 26 episode series there's a definite time commitment, I really need to sit down and watch at least one whole episode, preferably one entire disc, but with a manga the time commitment is indefinite and depends on how fast I read it, not to mention that I can stick a bookmark in it and take it with me to physics to ease my boredom for 50 minutes and without headphones or a laptop there at that (I prefer not to draw attention), and manga is more portable than anime, that helps too.

Hmm, now as for rewatching whole vs particular parts...I somehow never considered just watching particular parts again, I have no idea why. I mean, sure there's a few series that wouldn't work for, but for the vast majority, I could see it working. Not to mention my sudden craving to watch an episode, any episode, of Outlaw Star if I'm still up at 1 in the morning, just for old times sake. I suppose it's a thought that's only occurred to me for mostly episodic series to begin with, like Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, Mushi-shi, etc. since they don't have much in the way of a connecting story in most episodes anyway, but I'd imagine that to annoy me in a series that has continuous plot for almost the entire run to just rewatch one part over and over again.

As for right now, I'm currently in the middle of several rewatches that I really need to get around to completing, it's actually making me guilty on watching new stuff and not the other way around as odd as that sounds. I feel like I have an obligation to finish the rewatches that I started and not leave it hanging unnecessarily in a rewatch limbo, and then if I ever look at it on the shelf and want to rewatch it, I don't want to accidentally think "oh, I wasn't rewatching this already" and restart from the beginning. And I'm almost done with my fifth Princess Tutu rewatch anyway, just one more disc! I want to just put it in already! And I'm rewatching I think three other shows and I'm along them at various DVDs at this point (I somehow remember which DVD I've left off at, hooray for not having to write it down for whatever reason, although part of this comes from watching the whole DVD at once or not taking it out of the DVD player until its done).

It really depends on the show, some shows I can watch multiple multiple times and never get tired of it (like Azumanga Daioh, School Rumble, and Tenchi Muyo for example). While others are a less often variety (like Macross, and Godannar for example).

Usually I do re-watch everything every couple of years (or so).
Lately due to renting stuff, I have not been as "focused" on shows I allready own. This is going to change pretty soon, due to the place I rent stuff at is closing down.

As for why I do this: the answer is pretty simple, I enjoy the shows I own, if I did not then I would get rid of them (which I have done for several series I used to own).

I'm an avid collector of the DVDs. Part of the purpose of collecting them is to have a hard copy of the version (or edition) I like the most so that I can rewatch it - if I feel like it.

Can't tell you how many times I've seen Card Captor Sakura. It was my first and the one I treasure the most. I can watch it from start to finish, in its entirety and not feel the least bit bored or stifled.

While I'm madly in love with NGE, watching it is a little more of a "get to the climax" experience for me. I love the ride, but the rewatch value depletes a little each time. I find myself skipping certain episodes or chapters that I find slow and just reliving the action or "freak out" sections.

And, I love most of the Slayers installments, but I prefer to just hit a few select episodes or just watch AMVs to get my fix. I rarely rewatch a Slayers movie or series.

My fiance and I were recently discussing the rewatch value of Air TV which I just started watching with him. This is his second time through, we're on episode 4 and he's whining that he just can't take it anymore and will watch the movie with me. Apparently, he just wants to remember the good parts and the series is just to slow for him to watch again - even though he absolutely loves it.

I think I prefer to watch comedic but engaging shows over serious, thoughtful ones. FMP Fumoffu is another frequented series as well as FMP TSR even though it's more serious. Watching the first season of FMP is like torture even though I love it dearly. A certain part of me just can't wait for the good stuff when there's a lull in the plot.

I've been doing a lot of rewatching lately. Part of it has to do with a tendency I have similar to something Blood- mentioned lately in the "What Are You Watching" thread. When I watch something really good, I don't want to "ruin" the impact by watching something else really good, I want really good show to stand out in my memory for awhile. So, I either do a rewatch or purposefully watch something that I think will be mediocre. I'll do this for awhile and then take a chance on something else that may be great. I've actually been on a slightly accidental roll of excellent new stuff though,Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari started it off and I liked it more than I thought I would, and then the other new shows in between rewatchs, which I expected to be more mediocre, also turned out to be excellent (Eden of the East Movie 2: Paradise Lost and Detroit Metal City), so I'm back to rewatchs...

Of course I also rewatched the Eden series and first movie before the last movie which also brings up the other obvious reason for reason for rewatching something and the main reason I rewatch an action show, to catch up on a story before a sequel. Currently I'm making my way through Toaru Majutsu no Index and with follow up with Railgun to get ready for the new one this fall, despite the fact that I watched them for the first time not all that long ago and had a bit of a problem with the fights in both, I guess I could have just read some good episode recaps but it wouldn't be the same.

I've tried to watch just an episode of a show before, but it doesn't work for me. The best example for this is with Azumanga Daioh, The second Cultural Festival episode is like a tonic to shoo away the blues for me... but it always leads me to go to another episode, and then another, and then I just end up starting from the beginning again (usually watching the Festival episode again.

I'm at a point where I feel guilty for re-watching series, at least a little. Too many good series I know I should watch, but not in the mood to. Instead, I'd rather watch something I know I'll enjoy a whole lot... of course, fun has the highest priority, but time management is important, too. Have to watch some new stuff to keep it all interesting.

The amount of time before I'm willing to re-watch something is between a year and a few years. This includes everything, movies, my favorites, etc. There really isn't an exception yet... Ok aside from that one episode of Buffy (Once More with Feeling) that I watched everyday for about a week, but that was a long time ago. I like to forget some of it and I'd rather not get burnt out on a show that I love.

Fruits basket is a show that I've returned to a surprising amount of times considering that I found it just decent the first time I saw it. Perhaps part of it was my memory of this show wasn't as high compared to my favorites. Regardless, each time I've watched it, I've enjoyed it a bit more.

Texhnolyze(about as bleak as it gets) on the other hand is the complete opposite, but I've re-watched this just as much as any other show. With this one, it's all about the atmosphere, which I find completely absorbing. It's in own league in this regard, but shows like Kaiba come sort of close. Shows that a heavy/unique atmosphere have a lot of re-watch value for me.

I see myself re-watching a lot less now which was already low to begin with. When I think about all the old shows, there are a lot of them I feel like watching, but I can't bring myself to when I have a backlog of new stuff... Unless one of my friends wants to watch a particular series that is, however that is a very rare occurrence.

Mister V wrote:

I'm at a point where I feel guilty for re-watching series, at least a little. Too many good series I know I should watch, but not in the mood to. Instead, I'd rather watch something I know I'll enjoy a whole lot... of course, fun has the highest priority, but time management is important, too. Have to watch some new stuff to keep it all interesting.

I get that often, where I'd rather re-watch something I'm familiar with, than having the anxiety of watching something knew and thinking "do I want to devote my time to watching this... new show, not knowing if I'll like it or not?" Some series I KNOW I want to check out and do right away, others... well, I don't know how I feel about them, and unless it's 100% BAD, I'm OCD and will watch through the whole thing just because I started it :/

Right now, as much as I love my comfort anime, I've been moreso watching more series I haven't seen, than going back and rewatching my favorites. I've been strapped for time and moreso playing games at the moment, so I don't have too much spare time. There's tons in my collection I REALLY want to re-watch, but then I think "Well, I own them, I can watch them whenever... I'll just check out this new show that's streaming right now...".

What I used to do, back when I was REALLY into anime, discovering new series all the time, is watch them via subs when they first come out. Once they got licensed, I'd hunt down the singles (since boxsets were almost non-existant or REAL expensive... remember the first Eva boxset of singles? $200 I think it was Anime hyper

) and once I got the the entire series again, I'd rewatch it... Or just watch vol. 1 over and over several times, like I did with Chobits, patiently awaiting vol. 2 to come out.

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Thoughts on rewatching anime; how often and why?