In my last post, where I criticised people for instantly judging a season based on Chartfags amazing charts, I got a comment telling people that they should just watch everything in a given season. Instead of replying in the standard form, I felt I could make a pretty good post out of this. Basically, this is why you wouldn’t watch everything in a given season.
Take two people, Scamp and 5camp. Both have the same taste in anime but 5camp isn’t that much of a nerd and doesn’t have the time to check out every show in a given season. Scamp, on the other hand, does. As a little experiment, let’s check out their approaches to the current season and see how different the anime they’re watching is (ignoring sequels for now).
5camp first heard of the new season when he stumbled across Chartfags amazing chart somewhere in the vast reaches of the internet. He instantly crosses of Chu-Bra and Seikon no Qwasar and crappy fanservice shows but his eye catches Durarara as being potentially quite interesting. A few weeks later he follows some forum links to season previews. While he was originally uninterested in Dance in the Vampire Bund because of the underwear-clad loli in the picture, the previews have caught his interest in the anime. He also decides he’ll give Sora no Woto a shot because it’s a anime original production and Ookami Kakushi because it’s done by that Higurashi guy. On the other hand, Ladies vs Butlers and Omamori Himari get shafted because of the obvious fanservice trailers. Now 5camp drops off the map slightly, exams or something, so he misses the start of the new season until he suddenly finds everyone talking about Durarara. A cursory glance across the internet and he’s rather surprised to find a lot of praise for Baka to Test, which he originally dismissed as looking a bit generic, so he decides to give that a shot too.
By my count, 5camp is now trying out Durarara, Vampire Bund, Sora no Woto, Ookami Kakushi and Baka to Test.
Scamp is ignoring what everyone says and watches everything this season. Ladies vs Butlers, Legend of Koizumi, Cobra the Animation, Chu-Bra, Sora no Woto, Baka to Test to whatever, Dance in the Vampire Bund, Onamori Himari, Durarara, Ookami Kakushi, Hanamaru Kindergarden and Seikon no Quasar.
Now that we’re hitting the third and fourth episodes of the anime this season and the crappier anime have been dropped, let’s do a quick comparison between the two in order of how much they’re enjoying the series.
5camp:Durarara, Baka to Test, Sora no Woto
Scamp:Durarara, Baka to Test, Hanamaru Kindergarden, Sora no Woto, Cobra the Animation.
In a way, what you’re looking at here is what really makes an otaku (according to the last OEG round, they didn’t notice I don’t write for Bokutachi anymore so no worries about using the word otaku). Out of the 7 extra shows that Scamp watched, only two he’s still watching now and Cobra is hardly a world beater. While 5camp has let Hanamaru slip under his radar,he’s still managed to catch the better shows of the season anyway. Not everyone is as obsessed with anime as you. Not everyone is willing to sit through all that crap just to uncover that single gem. Why would they? Surely they have better things to do with their time than sit through anime they’ve already identified as being a pile of shite. Oh sure they might miss out on the occasional Hanamru because they thought it would be pedo bait but that’s a small price to pay for a lot of free time.
Of course, Scamp isn’t quite a true otaku. He isn’t watching these crap anime to the end. Maybe Ookami Kakushi stops being terrible and that gets added to the list of watchable anime from the season. He still had to sit through 12 episodes of Chu-Bra, 12 episode of Ladies vs Butlers and be continuously disappointed by Vampire Bund. But instead of sitting through all those crap for that one show that gets better, he instead decided to use that time to socialise and maybe sleep. In fact, mabye I should call this post ‘what makes a true otaku’ although that’s maybe pushing my luck a bit too far…
17 Comments
sometimes a crappy show does grow on you though
which is why it’s fun to sit through all the crap… sometimes… at least imo
*is sitting through all the crap* LvB isn’t nearly as bad as Chu-bra
Yes. One : sometimes a show does grow on you. Two : even if you watch total crap — theres something positive about that too. Mainly — such a person (if he’s not a total otaku) keeps re-refining his tastes. At some point everyone stops consuming shit and want only good stuff. But at the same time, you will keep wanting only specific kinds of good stuff. Whereas if you keep experimenting — your taste broadens.
There are more negatives than positives about watching everything, though, so i still wouldnt advice that.
As someone who does watch every show at the beginning of each season, I agree that with small seasons like this it doesn’t really pay off to watch everything. However, when the seasons get bigger I’ve found that it’s quite easy to ignore a potential gem becaus enobody is simply talking about it.
@chii
Whatever floats your boat. I’ve sat through some pretty terrible stuff and crap never grows on me. Corny stuff can, like Umineko or Cobra, but not genuine crap
@karry
I think I addressed the ‘broadening your horizens’ in a post ages ago but I can’t remember which…anywho yeah, there is a danger of people settling into a groove of only watching certain genres but breaking out of that habit shouldn’t be done by watching every single other show. Take it slow and pick up 2–3 anime outside your preference area
@psgels
True, but trying to watch everything in the larger seasons is even harder than the small seasons. Mr.Average anime fan just isn’t going to find it by himself. I guess the best we can do is if we do come across a gem is to make as much noise about it as possible.
BTW, you just took the 2000th comment on the blog. Congratulations
Dance in the Vampire Bund is so bad, it’s actually funny.
…which isn’t a good sign. No, I’m not advocating you watch it, just commenting on that supposed hit of the season.
5camp sounds kinda like me — I wrote off the fan service shows this season and decided to watch Durarara!!, Sora no Woto, and Vampire Bund from the get go. I was gonna pass on the seemingly generic Baka to Test, but I’m having second thoughts about it now (I did decide to pick up Hanamaru though). The only thing different between us is that once I start watching a show, I diligently keep up with it and rarely drop shows or fall behind on them. I sometimes keep watching shows even if I’m not thrilled with them just because I like to become familiar with a variety of genres and increase my knowledge about anime. But I don’t have time for everything.
Coincidentally, I recently wrote a post about my anime obsession, but even I don’t have the motivation to check every new show that comes out. Watching just the first episode or two is an option, but from my experience, most anime can’t be properly judged from the beginning, so I feel like it’s kind of a waste. I’m interested in what each show is about and such, but for me, anime is meant to be enjoyed, so why watch something you’re not enjoying?
I try to watch as much as I can each season that has some sort of interesting point to me, even if it’s just one point (maybe a certain VA I like, or an interesting visual style, or something outside the norm or whatever). There are certain genres I enjoy more than others, but that doesn’t really mean much overall when I decide what I want to see.
That said, there’s nothing wrong with being selective. People will watch what they want to watch, and that’s how it should be. If they miss out on a potentially great (or even good) show because of that, then that’s their choice.
Bloggers tend to treat picking seasonal shows like SRS BSNS, as if the fate of mankind stood in the balance. Luckily, the stakes are not so harsh that we can still drop series we don’t like and visit shows past the season they first aired. Nowadays it only takes a month or so into a season to know what’s worthwhile, if you know where to look.
Not everyone finds hanamaru garden good or entertaining so assuming that missing it is a price for not watching everything is a bit too much dont you think ?
Anyway nice post, I like your point.
I remember there was a time when I’d check out every show in existence. Then I grew up, figured out that it was unsustainable and have now become a much happier person now that I’m letting everyone else become the guinea pigs while I wait for their pronouncements/verdicts.
@Janette
Vampire Bund…that was meant to be the next big hit after Durarara
@Yumeka
Two schools of thought here. One checks out everything and drops the deadwood quickly. The other tries a limited amount and keeps with them. One relies on the ability to pick out the cream of the crop without watching the shows. The other relies upon initial impressions. I’m defo the first option. I can see the positives of your approach but I hate sitting through something I’m not enjoying. The idea of downloading an episode of something I’m not enjoying…urgh
@Shinmaru
Yeah, even being selective the amount of quality you’ll miss out on is so small that it’s almost not worth even bothering. The thing is if you become too selective, you’d just watch Durarara while proclaiming the current season to be shit, just like the last season and we all know where that path leads
@kadian1364
Picking shows is SRS BSNSS!!! I guess my view is skewed by the fact that I’m a blogger but what the bloggers are enjoying filters through to the masses. I dare say we have a slight say in the popularity of certain series, although that is a debatable fact
@Heinsia
Well this post just went by my own tastes but just swap Hanamaru with whatever other uncovered gem airs in a given season and voila~ (not that Hanamaru is a gem or anything. There’s so few this season it doesn’t really have anything to hide under)
@zzeroparticle
So you’re fine with not missing out on that one show that nobody talks about but you love? Granted, one reason I’m watching everything this season is so I can laugh along with people at Ladies vs Butlers. I missed the Akikan craze and I’m a bit miffed at that
@Scamp I never had much fate in SHAFT, as my first introduction was the supposed hit Maria Holic.
I agreed with you.Come to think of that,except for Durarara every anime in Winter is quite unappealing for me.But hearing many positive review about Baka Test,I tried to watch it although at first I avoid to watch bcoz of boring protag,cliche school setting & even traps!But I recently start watching it & I quite pleased with the story & characters (Shouko ftw!).Really unexpected lol~
I usually just pick out a few shows, and then maybe a few more if reviews are good. Actually, I usually don’t watch the shows until the season is over and the shows are completed.
@Scamp
I’m perfectly fine with that. Increasingly, leisure time has been lacking on my end and I no longer have the energy to muscle out a chunk of time to waste like I used to. If it means I watch all good shows, but miss out on a show that I might love, it’s a sacrifice, yes, but one that I’m ultimately willing to accept so I can make the most of my day to do things that I might consider important. More important than anime even (yeah, I can’t believe I’m saying this either :p )
@Janette
Urgh…Maria Holic. That just gets worse the more I think about it
@Kagura89
Yeah, Durarara is the only obvious hit this season. Sora no Woto and Baka to Test are both good shows but have limited audiences. You’ll usually only have 1–2 big hits in the small seasons and 2–4 in the larger seasons. Such is the way of the world and people need to stop expecting way more than that.
@Glo
Everyone has their own method. I have the time and no other real hobbies so I have the time to check out all these crappy shows for that one gem
@zzeroparticle
I’m pretty sure I’ll reach that stage again one day. I’ve just hit a rather crazy phase in my anime fandom so I’m going through all these crap each season.
my approach is just.…wait until months/years later and see if the anime is still being talked about (and isnt just a bandwagon 34982934 episode generic action shounen). if it has mostly good reviews by then, then i’ll watch it
then again…i’m really lazy.