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Hello, my name is Blood- and I am a recovering anime addict. I became addicted back in January 2009 and since that time I have watched (as of today, July 5, 2024) 1,186 anime TV shows, 218 OAV titles and 165 movies to completion. I have also started watching 516 other titles that I dropped after a certain point. In the past, it was not unusual for me to watch 20+ of whatever new shows debuted in that particular season. Even as late as this past Winter season I was watching 25+ currently airing shows.

But something happened in the Spring. For reasons not entirely clear to me, I started to get way less patient. If I encountered even the least resistance, I dropped titles like a hot potato. And I'm not talking about just bad or mediocre shows, either. Two previous franchise favourites of mine, Konosuba and Laid Back Camp, didn't make it past the first episode of their new seasons. I ended up "only" watching about a dozen of the new titles which is definitely on the low side for me. This summer looks like it's going to be even more sparse.

The thing is I don't think I'm suffering from anime burnout. I'm following three ongoing shows right now and adore them all: The Fable, Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction and YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master. So I still have a thirst for anime that engages me. It just seems that the number of anime that engages me has shrunk, considerably.

Of the new season so far, I'm only following one to date, Red Cat Ramen and I'm not convinced I'll stick with it. I would have loved to watch Suicide Squad Isekai but I live in Canada and can't get Hulu here. Hopefully it will pop up on Disney+ at some point. Oh yeah, Oshi no Ko season 2 was another first episode I couldn't get through despite enjoying the first season. Something is going on with me, just not sure what.

Anyway, is anybody else out there watching less than their historical levels?

Nope, my anime watching has pretty much stayed even during the entire 38 years that I’ve been watching it. It’s also very rare that I drop a title once I start watching it. The spring season was fairly unique in the sense that I actually dropped two shows.

Whoa, Beltane70, you are a model of consistency! If you don't mind me asking, how many new shows do you tend to watch in any given season?

I've been there for a couple of years now. I only watch a few series each season, usually stuff where I have already read the source material. I haven't quit the hobby, I still spend much of my time reading manga and light novels. I find that shows I enjoyed the first time around I still enjoy on a rewatch.

I think it was streaming that got me. When I started, I was limited to what I could buy or rent and just watched everything I could get my hands on. All of a sudden I was drowning in new anime and had to pick and choose. That brought to my attention just how bad some of the shows I watched in the past (and probably still have copies of) were. This made me look hard at stuff now streaming and limit myself to shows I am sure I will like. It doesn't help that I have always preferred reading to watching. I haven't watched any form of US fictional TV for years.

Blood- wrote:

Whoa, Beltane70, you are a model of consistency! If you don't mind me asking, how many new shows do you tend to watch in any given season?

Usually around a dozen or so. I think my record was around 22 shows one season, but there was also a few older shows that I was watching at that time as well. I generally tend to do my anime watching while having dinner.

I tend to only watch anime these days if it's with other people, which leads to fewer shows (and more isekai) than I'd like, but it's just difficult to fit in more on my own time.

I had a phase in the early 2000s when I watched just about everything I could get my hands on, which led to some burnout, but by the late 2000s, I was more discerning of what I watched and began to really enjoy it again. Nowadays, I feel that I should be watching more, as it can take me a while to even get to the shows and movies that I'm really excited about.

I moved to Japan, got into Japanese stage plays, and sort of just fell out with anime. I think the only anime I've watched in the past few years are those connected to my favorite stage play series.

Japanese Musicals, though... those are amazing. Some are based on anime and manga (Cesare, JoJo, In This Corner of the World), some are not (Cross Road (though it's by the writer of Mars Red), Isabeau (by the writer of TouSta).)

Korean musicals are also great, but so difficult to get into if you don't speak Korean. I basically just know them through Japanese productions (which also tend to have recordings more than the Korean productions. The most famous Korean musical is probably Frankenstein, and the only DVD of that is from Japan).

I do speak enough Japanese, so I'm trying to lower that barrier for Japanese musicals, at least, posting news and things about them in English.

If anyone cares.

I tend to watch less nowadays largely between having more going on in my life where I don't have as much personal time for hobbies compared to my younger days of fandom, and having a pretty nasty case of burnout years ago that led me to almost consider giving up anime all together when I was tiring of all the familiar cliches and trends coming out of many recent titles I picked up on from what I've seen over the years. I'm way more fussy with what I choose to watch nowadays as a result and this is coming from someone who has completed over 2300 anime titles throughout the 20+ years he has been a fan.

Hi Blood-

I can see where you're coming from and I agree with the sentiments @Alan45 made in regards to streaming. I get overwhelmed looking at the home screen on Crunchyroll. You're familiar with my situation and would think that I'd lock into anything that popped up on the screen but it seems like I'm doing a lot of window shopping anymore. I'll load an episode up and start watching it, if the first five minutes don't pull me in then I'm on to the next.

I have a whole list of shows I've been wanting to watch for years and honestly haven't even touched any of them yet. I had been kinda hoping to 'discover' my own series I guess.

It's almost as if the abundance of options has turned my anime viewing into a dating app. I'll check the profile and pics then quickly move on to the next one as there may be something even better in the next block.

Then I look at the lineup for Toonami the next month and remember where I came from. I've left some brothers inside that don't have the luxury I have today and here I am being picky about what I spend my time on.

The lack of available time to spend watching does play into it as well. I just don't have large blocks of time to invest in something right now so it feels like I'm wasting the time I do have by watching something I'm not 100% bought in on.

I'm also inundated with anime in my everyday life. I'm playing games like Genshin Impact which to me is basically 'playing' an anime. It shows up in all my various news feeds. I'm buying T-shirts, bumper stickers, posters, figures, pins, watching streamers talk about anime on twitch, etc. So while I may not be watching as much anime as I'd like, I'm definitely living a life with a high level of exposure to anime.

So yeah The freedom of choice may not be as freeing as one may hope.

@ Andy26 - I think you are experiencing what existentialists refer to as the paralysis that can come from having TOO many choices. Or the old analogy of trying to drink from a fire hose applies as well. But I hope you stumble across something that really engages you soon. There's nothing better.

A lot of fun in a hobby that involves collecting is hunting down elusive items to add to your collection. When suddenly everything is available everywhere it takes some of the fun out. At least with anime you can watch what you buy.

My primary hobby since grade school has always been reading. When I got to be an adult with my own income I got into the habit of trying to obtain everything my favorite authors published. Try finding everything put out by say Edgar Rice Burroughs or Earl Stanley Gardner, it can be quite a trip. While most of those books have come and gone as my preferences changed I still have several authors I collect. Most of those collections were mature in the sense that I had everything or everything but a few rarities. I moved on to other interests and just shelved what I had. Then came the internet. All of a sudden my area of search expanded to the whole English speaking world. I was able to pick up those rarities and replace copies of books in bad condition. After a year or so of online search and I'm back to mature collections with nothing to find. It makes me feel like that song "Is that all there is?"

I can say from my own perspective that I'm suffering from a burnout which has been going on for a few years (5?). However, thinking deeper about, I'm not entirely sure if it's really a burnout or just becoming pickier. I cannot pinpoint an exact year of when I stopped watching seasonal shows entirely but a short answer is that everything feels the same (genre wise, most shows are now isekai fantasies). I don't really think it is fair to blame isekai since I swapped to manga as an easy-and-quick to consume medium to get through the day and I read A LOT of that trash. Then again, a lot of that said trash gets adapted into anime later.

But I've also become a full-time working adult (Yay, taxes and other commitments!). That has cut time to enjoy my hobbies so I need to spend it wisely on things that captivate me. Gone are the days of catching simulcasts, now I'm maybe lucky to be motivated to binge a series or two each season. However, reading manga-soon-to-be/eventually-adapted-as-anime lets me filter a lot of things unless I think it's "fun" or "adapted well (pretty?)*."

*Otome Mob & Realist Hero are two shows I didn't bother watching since I found their art inferior to the manga.

tl;dr

1. Too much Isekai.
2. Adulting sucks.
3. Swapped mediums to manga which acts as a filter for many series.
and an answer to be more deeply examined:
4. Japan (and its culture) no longer holds that mystique it sort of had when I first watched anime.

"Anybody Else Watching Less Anime These Days?"

Yup.

Guess I'll give more then a 1 word answer.

Sure nough.

That was 2 words.

Ok, pointless rum fueled not funny joking aside, my viewing habit has hit a big low the past 2 year. I always had ebbs and flows with manga and anime. I'd favor one over the other for periods of time, then flip flop. With the increase in the amount of manga my library system has, coupled with shitty work hours, a rise in playing boardgames and watching board game content, and watching more D&D related content I simply have less time for anime. Currently it's on a bit of a rebound for me though.

I have noticed me spending habits on physical anime has PLUMETED the past 2 years. My manga purchasing has dwindled a decent amount, but that's more related to the rise in library content. Now I don't have buy series to read them (legally), and I can just buy the ones I know I like. In terms of anime though, yea I've only bought 2 series thus far all year in 2024. Plus 2 anime movies. Almost everything I want I can stream. However, as a vhs/dvd purchaser and having seen the trends in media consumption I know the value of having physical media so it's not taken away. I'll probably shop more sales the second half of this year to get some series I really liked and want to re-watch to ensure I have the ability to do so.

In terms of new shows (i.e. shows I've not seen before or in a very long time) maybe. While there is an abundance of shows not all of them interest me. That said if something does catch my eye I do try to give it an episode or two before deciding whether or not to commit. Why? Because I know not all shows have good first episodes (a trend that seems to be becoming the norm nowadays sadly), and more often than not the later episodes are better than the first one is, so to me it's unfair to drop a show just because of one bad episode. An example I always come back to is Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor, as despite having a mediocre first episode it went on to have solid remaining episodes and became a show I actually enjoyed and have seen multiple times, something that wouldn't have happened had I just written it off after E1.

As for your issue it definitely seems to be a combination of lack of patience and expecting too much/having unrealistic expectations. It's similar to how people get so hyped for Nintendo/Sony/Etc. Directs but then get let down when their unrealistic expectations weren't met even though it was their own fault for having them in the first place. For example with Oshi No Ko I've not watched the S2 premiere yet but it seems unreasonable and unrealistic to expect it to be the same as the S1 premiere. Also some episodes just have slow starts but then ramp up as they progress.

Something you could try doing is watching an episode in short bursts with a break in-between. For example, watch a few minutes, take a break, watch a few more minutes, repeat. Conversely if you primarily watch sub you could always try watching dub instead and see if you enjoy it more then*.

Side note: I do wish there were more dub reactions on places like Youtube (there's Blind Wave, Ninja Kuma and occasionally TheFlamingShark but that's about it), as while I understand sub is more popular it just bugs me that people downplay good quality dubs so much and pretend that they don't exist when they most definitely do.

I actually try to watch a lot more than I used to. In '07 I had major burnout and didn't really get back into anime till around '17, and even then I was very selective. These days (since about '21), whenever I create or update a Series Discussion thread, I inadvertently end up with a seasonal list of at least a dozen shows, now. A lot of it is to just satiate my curiosity so I can fill in genre and theme descriptors. But I also feel its nice to have a diverse portfolio of titles viewed.

I'm a bit of a media-lover, though. Live-action, animated, video games; you name it. Media is my bible because for every story told, there's the chance of another lesson learned, and I love expanding my general knowledge.

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