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← darkroom
Dropping Anime
For the time I have been watching anime I have never really dropped an anime, even when it was bad I would always see it through. Now that I'm in college I can't really see as much anime as I use too. Just wanted to ask how you feel about dropping an anime, do you mind it or just not care much about it?
I was literally just having this dilemma! I'm one for always trying to see an anime through even if I wasn't really into it but nowadays I just don't have the time to watch as much as I use to. In the end I decided I had to be picky on what I watch. But hey, maybe in the future, when I'm in an anime slump I can return to the ones I've dropped and resume them. Just to say I did it.
Never felt bad about it LOL. If I am unable to keep watching it, I will drop it (whether it be because I have priorities or it was boring). Honestly, if you still absolutely hate it after episode 3, I'd drop it. If it's boring, I'd give it some more time. I find I drop many ongoing anime that are generic because I just don't have the time for them. Sometimes, I will "rescue" a show that I dropped if someone tells me it's worth another shot.
I really don't see the issue here.
Sure, I understand that it might be a new experience for you just not sitting through any show, but there are a few simple question you can ask yourself:Do I overall enjoy the show?
Does the show, if I don't overall get enough enjoyment out of it, provide something that might carry the show for me? (Like one or two certain characters, or interactions of certain characters with one another.)
Is there anything else I'd rather watch than this show?
Is me watching this show me wasting my time that I could spend on other things? (Like watching another show, going out with friends, doing (school-)work, overall doing other enjoyable things. (maybe playing video games if you're into that.))If the answer to the first two is no and the answer to the third and fourth is yes, you're better off dropping the show you don't enjoy and pick another one to watch instead, perhaps one you do enjoy, or alternatively do something else that is fun too.
I used to not drop anime even if i didn't like it much, but then as I went into higher grades the amount of free time I have has reduced quite a bit, so if i don't enjoy the first few episodes of an anime, or just don't have time to watch the episodes then ill drop it. (This logic applies to seasonals as you need to watch 1 episode a week). As for already aired anime ill just keep it on my watchlist until I've got time for it.
This doesn't just apply to anime, but:
I started out by putting things that I wasn’t particularly interested in on hold with an optimistic mindset that “oh! Maybe I’ll feel like it later or maybe I’m just not in the mood for it right now!”
Never got back to them. Ever. If I did, they were ten times worse than when I was first researching said items.Then as the experience grew, I came to the solid conclusion that watching bad anime intentionally can actually help me (because of how I enjoy things) enjoy the medium as a whole more.
- they help you build a lot of analytical skills and ability to breakdown items more quickly and accurately.
- they help you appreciate good anime fifty times more than you already did.
- they become catalysts for expanding your horizons. Even if you despised everything about a show, you'll probably have a spark of interest in a new genre or new aspect that you hadn't considered before Etc etc etc.
Both of these methods have faded quite a bit for me, even though I'll still implement the second a lot of times. However, I've overall completely dropped (heh) the notion of forcing myself to complete shows at this point unless for those purposes; I watch what I want to watch and don't view completion or "three episode rules because blah blah blah" as mandatory because of this simple thing: it's not my job... (a mindset I don't really understand, but won't rag on too hard or care to)
I've noticed that I tend to dunk airing anime like paper balls into a waste basket and I basically will force myself to complete backlog items (not anymore). Before we start- no, it's not because I apply some superiority complex to old anime and an inferiority complex to new anime (what I believe to be a huge falsity that is a topic for another time and place). On this topic though- starting winter 2016, I don't plan to watch anime as they air anymore. The reason being I don't find watching a twenty minute clip of an Asian cartoon every week enjoyable anymore. I use "a twenty minute clip of an Asian cartoon" to exaggerate my point, but really this has become universal, as I'm finding watching a half hour western cartoon or hour long live action series every week dreadful as well. That and I find short sessions of when I do ever play video games anymore or when I read manga/comics etc and novels in short spurts terrible anymore. I guess I'm only really able to appreciate these things in bulk when I'm able to look at them in larger pieces. I suppose that's what I'm getting at, but back on topic. I feel like that will improve a lot of my outlook towards seasonal anime. That's the goal at least.
Another factor I see for a lot of people is how much time these things can consume; they don't want to waste time on something they're finding bad or even just meh. Fortunately for myself, I regiment my schedule like a military and doing this actually grants me a bit more time in the day. Another enormous factor is that I've said "to hell with procrastinating anymore" this year and I'm not doing that with work, or school, or with chores etc- surprise, surprise, a lot more time! Lol. One last huge thing I know as the main source of allowance is that I've always multitasked like a lunatic. So I'm always working on something for uni, work, or doing chores in my apartment as I do my hobbies and I always do them when others are with me, all of this working out very well for multiple reasons I could get into. Whether the people are friends or my girlfriend with me, or in some cases in a Skype call or what have you with people I know online etc.
One reason I find myself making myself finish things is because of strong recommendations and favorites of both online or irl friends? I've never been very susceptible to peer pressure and that's not what it is either. It's more like I realize how passionate I get about various things in the arts and in media and having the knowledge that everyone else is just as passionate and intimate with these things. So I'm desperately trying to find that spark in myself as I view said items and it's frustrating as all hell sometimes. I really need to work on being more direct about being dissatisfied with these things. Saying "this was god awful imo" or "this was just....terrible...I really don't want to watch anymore of this" or "it's just really not doing anything for me" etc. That or just discuss what it is I hated or didn't like about it and what it is they loved so much about it. On the same note, actually, we run across the idea of hype in the community over certain items. Where I do really, really believe that hype is a good aspect of a community for a multitude of reasons (again, another topic for another time and place), but I'm strongly opposed to allowing yourself to judge something based on the principles of hype and the ideas/opinions etc of others, regardless of who they are, when it comes time to formulate your own opinions or to decide that you hate/love something. This also creates all of the overhyped anime, the underhyped underground anime, and the anime left in the middle for whatever. Sorta like an invisible and artificial caste system almost, I've found.
Anyways, I hope I've touched base on many different scenarios from various angles for anyone interested enough to have read all of that. Lol.
I hope I've provided a bit of insight and opportunity for a bit more in-depth conversation on the matter as well.
Kurt calm down '^'
Well, what do you have to say about any of that?
I was just poking fun because you wrote a long post, but I do agree with a majority of what you said. (Even though I've yet to actually apply a lot of it my own life).
As you could maybe guess, I've been a bit absent from the anime community since I started college. But that's not necessarily because I didn't try to wedge anime into my schedule, I just became immensely more social once I got here. Learning how to adapt to social norms has been a little tricky for me, but now that I'm about to have a semester under my belt, I have a better idea of what I want my schedule to look like in the future so I can also see where I can set aside time for the hobbies I'm passionate about.
I guess that doesn't quite relate to the "dropping" topic, but what I'm getting at is that I know what you mean when you say that spare time is valuable and therefore shouldn't be wasted on something you aren't enjoying.
Essentially, yes. I mean, I spend most of the day socializing or working (whether that's school or work work) or whatever, from 7-8 am (when I begin the run with Alyssa every morning, joined by others we've met, depends) to 9 pm (typically, assignments are done throughout the day or I do them in groups similar to the fashion I described to you before as we watch things or listen to things etc and some way or another, the average "I'm already done...?" moment occurs at around 9) and by then, on a typical day, I get a whole two hours or more of free time afterwards, which is more than I've ever had before and I use that to relax. I'm not used to having that two hours where I'm not even writing anything. Usually I'd have to multitask to get any hobby time in the day, but the whole uni schedule and life is greatly more flexible, yes. As someone who I (think) knows that I regiment my schedule like a looney, that's a lot of capitalization. Lol
Lack of procrastinating leads to that two hours.
Multitasking all day leads to that two hours.
Being an "overachiever" as the joke goes, leads to that two hours. I mean, you can even see how much effort I put into writing these posts or responses/calls we've been in while trying (and failing- whether that's or a joke or not is up to your discretion) to entertain whilst working on things, even though an outside view would consider them pointless. Meanwhile, I'm all pessimistic like "if I were an overachiever, that long post would have had 100% correct grammar and ten times the word choice/language and better structure etc"Point is, that's crazy time to me to be able to basically do nothing, up unto the point where I've taken up reading and building models again, drawing or heavy exercising/conditioning again, or using it to watch anime or movies or documentaries with people at the same time (the multitasking, I can't help it, I'm sorry ;_ ;) which I save for those two hours. I'm still able to chew through series like a school of piranha to a steak. XD
The trick is you cut all emotional ties with everything. That way you won't feel bad abandoning it. Look at me, I've been ignoring my (hopefully now ex) girlfriend's calls and texts all week! She's probably worried sick and or maybe even furious but it's not my problem anymore. I've stopped worrying.
Not dropping anime is either a novice move made by people who haven't yet become jaded, or something that people do when they have no life and consequently have the time to finish everything they start.
Although this generally only applies to airing anime, since if you were interested enough to pick up a completed show, it was probably just because you heard enough good (or bad) things about it to force yourself through the whole thing.
Also it's appropriate that you're ending your post with an image from a very droppable show.
i just drop when i see that i'm not gonna enjoy anything even the end... like, for me, my first anime that i dropped was mirai nikki and you all gonna say why and that mirai is good and amazing but i dont see it.. i saw 15 episode of 26 so i saw a lot and not enjoyed at all.
If you know that you would just waste more of your time watching something that you don't like.. i don't think it matters
I honestly find it hard to drop an anime... it has to be very, very bad to turn me away... if you guys check my dropped animes you will see few examples of it.
I honestly wanted to drop Chaos Dragon last season but... let's say that once I start watching something and I find myself in episode 4, I realise how terrible is and I'm like "Well... I'm in this boat already, guess I'll sink with it."
So I'll suck it up and finish what I'm watching, at least I can warn people about how crappy "X" anime is if they ask for it.
Yeah, I don't know if anyone really cares too much about dropping stuff.....
But anyway, I will drop a show that I end up hating, or if say, I don't watch an episode of the show in at least a month if it's a finished anime, then usually I drop it as that usually indicates I've lost interest in it. So if I lose interest, it either gets put on hold or dropped. Exceptions are if I have some other reason like say, I am very busy at the moment.Fundamentally, we watch or do things that keep us interested, entertained and something that we can possibly discuss, or to analyse or study it [for example, in Film Study]. I don't think there is any reason to feel sorry or something for dropping a show. If you're not going to gain any enjoyment out of it, unless it's your job (say, an anime reviewer), there really is no point in seeing and continuing something you have no interest in.
Hm, when I first started with anime, I would always make sure to see it though no matter how awful it was. It was mostly because I hate not finishing things, and was afraid I might miss out on something if I just left it. But lately it's easier. Like others are saying, as I'm getting older I have more things to do and places to be, so it's hard to waste my time pushing myself through an anime that I know I'm not enjoying as much as I'd like to. I don't find it hard to drop a show at all. There's just no point if it's boring and uneventful, or just plain horrendous.
Buuut even then, my standards are pretty low so even if it's an anime hated by most, I'll likely be sticking around lmao
I feel bad about dropping anime, but I watch a lot of on-going stuff so if it's boring I'll just drop it. I can't be bothered to watch anime that I don't really care for every week.
Sometimes I'll put an anime on hold (although usually it's because I can't find complete torrents), but usually if I'm watching a crap anime I'll do something else in the background so it'll go by faster and I don't have to stomach as much of the bad plot/animation. :^)
I don't drop anime, though. My inner completionist won't allow me to.
Same right here.
I drop Anime if I am not enjoying watching it. But seriously I am just pausing watching it for days, weeks or months and when I am in the mood to watch it, I will watch it again and finish it! I have a rule, if I started something I need to finish it no matter what. That being said I'm not gonna drop anything no matter what! Rock n' roll to the world!! XD
I have only dropped four anime, and the reason was that it was painful to watch more.
I really don't like to drop anime, because I'm hopeful it might get better. And at that point, I'm too far in to stop.
It doesn't affect me if I drop an anime. If it doesn't hold my interest, I won't continue. No regrets. Most of the time, I'll know if I'll like it after watching the second episode.
Like the person before me, I'm busy with work, so I only have a few hours to watch before I pass out. To me, it would be a waste of time to watch something that wasn't enjoyable (like the show your image is from).
I do have a few shows that are on hold, mainly because I dread the ending or I need to be in the right mood to continue. And there have been a few times where I'll watch a show and be completely disappointed with a stupid ass cliffhanger for a maybe possible second season (if it became super popular) OR if it ended differently than in the manga. And then the days when I feel like watching shoujo anime, I can't deal with the filler episodes, so I skip. I skip so hard.
The way I see it, is if isn't interesting, drop it... or at the very least put it on hold until you can get yourself interested in it again. I'm not terribly picky about the types of anime I watch/manga I read, but if I'm not enjoying it, what is the point?
Anime and Manga are supposed to be something you watch/read for fun, not something you have to force yourself through just to get it done with. Point in case: I will rewatch Anime that I've watched or even rewatched multiple times rather than chain myself down to watching an Anime that doesn't pique my interests.
The only times I absolutely won't drop something is if somebody asked my opinion on something and I haven't watched/read it yet. In that case, it would have to be abysmally horrible to get me to drop it.
Why not drop it and tell them its shit instead of wasting your time?
I agree, if it's something horrible, I will drop it and tell them not to waste their time, but if it's something I think 'might' get better down the line or may still be something that would interest that person in particular, I try to make it so I can give them a truly honest opinion of it, rather than fudging the details over it. Just my way of doing things, I guess, but to reiterate... if I feel I'm being tortured by watching/reading something, I'll drop it no questions asked. And yes, that even goes for Anime that people have warned me of being horrible in the beginning... if an author/director doesn't know how to hook their audience, not worth my time to get to the 'good parts' as some call it. (again, only when watching for my enjoyment alone)
I don't really mind at all, tbh. My dropped list isn't even 40% of the actual number of the anime I've dropped. But never once did I drop an anime just after watching 1-2 episodes, minimum is 3. If I don't enjoy it, or there's an unnecessary fanservice (I don't like too much of a fanservice or too much of anything, okay ┐(￣ヮ￣)┌), then it's gonna be dropped.
I've always been picky about what I watch and now that I'm in university I can't afford to waste my time with something that's low quality and not enjoyable so I'm even more picky. But at the same time i wanna broaden my horizons and try a variety of shows. So I give series that seem decent a try, if by third episode they're not remotely interesting I drop them with no second thoughts. But maybe when I like a character or the idea of the show i will carry on until the end even if it's disappointing as fuck
just drop it, unless you the type of acomplisher where they watching all anime regadless how shit they are, hoping for receiving an award for completing an anime
Before I never really drop anything. I thought I owed it to the medium I love to watch and criticize the show. Now however I realized it's futility. Anime wasn't going to change really, so I just drop shows I dislike. Still some shows make me wonder why people say they're very good, so I watch them to find out. Only if the show if bearable of course.
