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← darkroom
What is your thought process when picking an anime to watch?
Hey there everyone,
I've been wondering recently how people usually start watching a specific anime, or more precisely, what makes them decide whether or not they'll be watching a specific show.
I guess it's usually pretty easy for people that read mangas / play VN, since they'll probably watch the anime adaptation at some point. However, for people like me that do not take part in reading the source materials, that wouldn't work at all.
Do you develop some kind of natual process for your anime selection, or do you simply refer yourself to various anime recommandations? How would you describe it the best?
In my case, it my pattern usually follows that order :
- Is it a sequel to a show that I previously watched and enjoyed?
- What is the studio behind the adaptation? Is it a studio that I actually like quite a lot? (Usually, Wit Studio, MAPPA, Kyoto Animation and P.A. Works are an instant "yes")
- Is Tomokazu Sugita voicing a character? (Quite a specific question, imo. I hope I'm not the only one having thinking about that kind of stuff)
- Do I like the art-style?
- Do I enjoy the synopsis, and am I curious about the show because of that?
Whenever a question is answered by "yes", I immediately add the show to my watch list, and a "no" makes me skip to the next question, etc...
If I don't get a single "yes" in these 5 questions, I usually don't bother watching that anime, unless some close friend of mine recommends it quite strongly afterwards.
I hope that this whole explanation is understandable, since english isn't my mother tongue. I'm really curious about your thought process, so please could you tell me about it?
Personally, if I see something I like the look of (Cover art, colors, general concept) then I just throw it on my planning. Then I add 3 of my own choice and 3 selected at random to my watching list and watch them in a random order.
If I don't like it, I either drop it or just put it back in planning and try again another time. Depending on how much i dont like it.
Though I generally don't like dropping shows so I plan to eventually finish all the shows I dropped too.
That part about adding 3 at random is quite hilarious. I'm loving the idea, though it would probably kill my brain at some point.
Must be hard to try and finish most of the shows on your drop list, though. Do you think that's something you'll keep doing, or are you seeing the limits?
Considering I've only dropped 16 shows so far, I don't see it being too much of a hassle? Especially considering I've watched a decent chunk of most.
... But I'll have to think about Black clover, fairy tail and naruto lmao.And yeah, the random part just really helps me when I don't know what to pick.
Mainly the character design and the VAs! (and wether they have too much fanservice or a tolerable amount)
I can relate to that. That's pretty effective usually, imo. Whenever you like the characters, most of the shows are at least "tolerable", I guess.
righttt, even if the story is bad, if you like the characters thats enough.
i also look at how they make their female characterss, but thats like in general when im looking for soemthing on my own, bcs lately its about how good can anime tiktok sell them to me lol (but with the things o mentioned before in mind)I wouldn't have thought about Tiktok for anime recommandation, actually. I did not even know that was a thing!
Does it look like something I will like? I'll watch it. And then I'll get excited about watching it.
But what would make you decide if the show "looks like something you'll like"? Do you usually just look at the visuals, or do you read a synopsis? To what extent do you go?
Let's say:
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If people I know are talking about it and saying it's great like Spice and Wolf
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If the concept or the synopsis sounds interesting like Welcome to the NHK
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If I've been wanting to watch it for a long time like Gintama
That's basically what I think about when picking my anime. I don't usually look at visuals although there have been some cases where I watched the anime because of the design but these are the main points.
-
it's literally just based on uh,,, vibes™️ lol. either it pulls me in or it doesn't, and for no particular reason
i relate to #3 though lmao. i've started shows solely for specific voice actors before lol
"Oh this is similar to [insert one of favorite animes]! I might watch."
"Oh this has a female protagonist! Going on my list."That makes the whole process much easier, indeed.
Your '#2 is also quite relatable. Can't say "no" to some nice eye-candy.
Usually If the cover art catches my attention, then I'll read the synopsis and I'll watch it if it sounds interesting. I don't have a strict preference in genre, although it's definitely easier to find action adventure shows these days, so that's usually what I end up finding.
Does the cover poster look cool?, whether or not the synopsis interests me, & the genre tags. For example, I tend to avoid anything with an Isekai tag but give action oriented shows a try more often than not.
Having some nice waifus is always a bonus as-well ;)
oh? this one says steins; gate. plan to watch, watched, completed, rewatched 4293 times, rated 11/10, is usually my thought process when choosing an anime.
I usually look through my planning list and decide based of how much free time I have in the moment and in the recent future. During summer is when I binge long-running shows. The films are for small vacations (a film per day). And the shorter series are just whenever.
I simply search for something different from what I've seen recently.Are you also that kind of people that finds it difficult to pick up a show that you had to put aside because you didn't have enough time to finish it in a single go? If so, you have all my sympathy.
Actually, I continue watching it instead of putting it aside and I barely keep up the pace with my studies
Lmao. Priorities done right, I see.
Jokes aside, I've also been in your situation before. Decided to drop my studies and find something interesting to do as a living.
I mean, if you put more effort in watching anime than in studying, it's probably because you don't like what you're studying for. That was at least my conclusion at that time.
I see where you're coming from, but I do enjoy what I'm studying. I just easily get distracted or immersed in the wrong things and it's sometimes hard to get back on track, once the laziness hits you.
Anyways, I wish you luck in whatever you are pursuing ^^
All I do is pick a random one and read the sypnosis. Ratings, art style, studio, blah blah.. it usually doesn't matter to me. Although I do find myself checking whoever composes the music...it's a weird habit of mine.
That's not as weird as you might think it is. Just like VAs, a good composer can make a 3/10 show worth a 8/10 just because of the OST.
Look at Hiroyuki Sawano... Though most of the shows in which he worked where pretty good by themselves, I believe he's made them even better. He's also a solid "yes" for me, for instance, though I forgot to add it in my written process.
usually i look at the length of the anime if it has any sequels and how many eps but if the story and animation is really good then ill watch it even if it has a lot of eps. Also sometimes i choose anime for a challenge its easier that way
So you usually tend do avoid lenghty shows, but you watch some of them depending on the quality of the animation. Is this right?
well animation and story but if its only really good animation and bad story then i wont be capable of watching it but a good story and slightly bad animation is watchable and yes i do avoid long shows
I take it by its hype because people usually have a reason why theyre hyping a specific show
I pick by vibe :)
Straight to the point, I like this.
Does it also depend on your mood at that moment?
Yh, quite literally.
Though I gotta admit, my method isn't very "efficient", for a lack of a better word. I've been watching anime for roughly a decade, and I still have anime that I've been planning to watch for years.
i choose anime based on synopsis and cover art. if it's an art style I like i will probably click in to see what it's about and if the synopsis doesn't catch me ill skip it unless i hear it was actually really good. but usually cover art catches me first to get me to look at it. i dont have any go to studios because I dont want to miss out on what the others have to offer and i also dont want to get stuck with a show i wont l like simply because of the studio either. i would consider following VAs but i haven't done that yet lol
Having a go-to studio is definitely not a 100% accurate method, I can agree with that. I had quite the sad surprise of having some of my favorite studios produce a "mediocre" show, right after they made multiple masterpieces in a row (Cough.. Cough... P.A.Works... Cough... Cough...).
Visuals are usually good enough to decide if you'll give that show a try or not. Whether you'll enjoy it or not is another question, lmao.
yeah lmao thats for sure. but at least itll look nice so my eyes dont burn, its just the brain that fries
Eh, at least you can turn your brain off in that case. Better take care of your eyes first, because you can't watch a show with your eyes closed.
lmao thats what we thought about books back in my day. but youre right, brain rot first, eyes second
- does it have cute waifus (if yes, go to next question)
- does the plot make any sense (if yes, go to next question)
- is it something binge-worth (if yes, go to next question)
- is it overrated (if no, i should watch this)
If the first 3 questions are all yes, then does it matter if a show is overrated at that point??
- Is the synopsis intriguing
- Do I like the artstyle
- Do I like the voice actors
- What are others' remarks with similar tastes
- Is it long or short
- How often does ppl recommend it
Glad to see people give voice actors the recognition they deserve.
About #5, do you also tend to avoid lenghty shows?
depends, i don't watch long shows consecutively and since im a little new, I prefer watching shorter shows for now
I look through them in this order
How it looks (not cuz it's the most important but it's the first thing you see so it will leave an impression anyways) -> genres -> synopsis -> studio (low importance)
Ignoring the studio, if I happen to dislike any of the other ones I just ignore it, if I like all 3 I'll probably watch it.
I may not have a pattern as a method for picking series because it mostly depends on
my mood at the time. I do know that a no-go for me is romance/harem/ecchi/hentai so
any series with those tags is automatically discarded. I tend to read the plot and if it
somewhat calls my attention I search for trailers and if I like it then I pick it.I understand that people would discard a show if they see the tag harem/ecchi/hentai, but I haven't heard of many people avoiding more generic tags like romance.
Is there a specific reason to that in your case?
Yes, there is. I've come to feel uncomfortable, even awkward towards the way
romance is portrayed in Japanese media (even culture). They are insanely shy and
clumsy and awkward and slow to make moves. I understand their culture and why they
reflect that in media but I do not sympathize with it. It has came to make me feel
embarrassment in certain scenes resulting on me to dislike an entire series. I prefer
seinen topics. As you can see it is only subjective.They've got the talent to make it uncomfortable, indeed. Strangely, I find it captivating and lovable.
Though it does not reflect romance outside of Japan, I find it quite refreshing compared to Europe's / America's vision of romance. I don't really know how to describe my feelings about that, but that's the gist of it.
You're totally right, it's only subjective, but I was really curious about the reasons behind your choice.
for how i find anime from your pattern per say i'd go 1>5>2>4>3 (just because im too lazy to make my own)
for how i pick my anime its basically either by pressing the random button on my planning list or if an anime looked interesting/someone recommended it to me i'd watch it
but for how i watch anime i basically watch 1 action/thriller/psychological anime that requires my full attention while watching and then i watch something rom,sol,comedy or something close to that for a bit of diversity, it just feels right to meSo, you basically alternate between plot-heavy shows and light-hearted ones to keep a good balance?
You're not the first one saying that they pick animes at random, and I find it hilarious. I love it!
Generally it is enough for me if the cover catches my attention, I don't usually read the synopsis to surprise me by watching anime, but if the cover doesn't catch my attention then I read the synopsis
I am a very systematical person, so I generally just go through my to-watch list from start to finish. I usually have a separate note or such where I just add a series whenever I see someone review it or talk about it online (I follow a lot of review pages on instagram and such). Since I usually finish a series if I start it (dropping series bothers me a lot lol), I don't have too many series that I have on hold. So once I finish a series, I just move on to the next one, and I find almost all series entertaining and engaging enough that I don't drop it halfway.
So essentially, I build up my watch list over time, and depending on my schedule I have a rough idea of how many episodes I can watch a day, and then add the series I plan to watch that week on my planning section on anilist and mal. Usually I watch around 14-18 episodes of a series a day, and then add the seasonal series I watch to that. Though sometimes I will look through the trending series on mal and anilist to add to my list, I rarely impulsively add series.
It's just a system that works best for me, because otherwise I'd have too hard of a time choosing from the 200-ish series I plan to watch and I would constantly have series on hold or series that I would forget about for one reason or another.
I kind of like to just watch everything because I think every series has something worth watching for so I don't look at the plot too much because sometimes I think series that are outside of my comfort zone can be some of my favorites (even impulsive seasonal series sometimes grow on me a lot).
Wow, that was pretty detailed. Thanks for your time!
I couldn't force myself to finish a show that I am not enjoying 100% (my drop list is a disaster), so I have a lot of respect for you.
I can definitely agree with you about every series having something worth watching, even more nowadays, when you see the amount of quality seasonal anime that we get. At some point, though, I just can't allow myself to spend the whole day watching anime. When I'm not at work, I usually like to spend my free time with a mix of playing games and watching anime. It's important for me to make the most out of the time spent watching animes, and that's the reason why I usually drop a show quite easily if there is something that bothers me.
The best shows are usually the ones that we expect to enjoy the less, only because they're out of our comfort zone. Whenever it surpasses your expectations, that's when you get attached to a show in the long-term.
I enjoy most shows actually, about 80% I'd say, but part of the reason I don't drop shows is because I was about to drop code geass after season 1 (mecha is one of my least favorite genres), and when I got through it, it became one of my top series, so even since then I'm kind of scared to miss something. But I do see what you mean though, some series take some nerve to get through.
I've gotten good at juggling school and anime though, especially with half-online, half-in person school, and still somehow ended up finishing good grades, so I don't struggle too much with fitting in so many episodes, but I was burnt out recently after I watched 5 unsatisfying series in a row, and I had to take a 2 week break.
But I can definitely see what you mean about series unexpectedly being good, that's definitely part of the reason why I liked code geass the way I did, and seasonals, especially originals, tend to surprise me a lot more (especially vivy this season).
Glad to hear that you're able to combine your passion for anime and your studies without being negative for either of those.
When you burn out because of unsatisfying series, is there something you usually do to keep you occupied in the meantime? Like you focus 100% of your time in your studies, or you play some video games instead?
I generally just read a bit more manga, sometimes I study more, but usually I just listen to music and work on something like a personal project or draw. Recently, the week I was burnt out happened to be finals week so I just studied more, but otherwise I just do another hobby until I regain my interest. I usually just look at more anime analysis and look at my list to try to hype myself up and then I slowly start looking forward to the things I'm planning to watch.
It has to be a genre I enjoy, and it has to have at least somewhat good reviews.
honestly I have 3
- Does it have romance (if yes than I will watch no matter what more or less)
- is the animation/art good
- Is there comedy/comedic relief throughout (by this I mean like Sunohara from Clannad)
So romance is your go-to? Does it mean that you avoid anything that doesn't contain romance?
Comedic relief characters made some of my most enjoyable memories in anime, so I can definitely relate to your #3.
honestly yes and no lmao
romance is my go-to genre, I like seeing the relationships develop, especially when I cant predict them. but I also like other genres aswell such as slice of life or comedy, just romance is my favorite...hopefully I'm making a little bit of sensebut yes I agree, comedic relief characters, if well done, definitely give good memories lmao
nice pfp aswell, whatd you think of the last episode?
That's totally understandable, thanks for the explanation!
Regarding Sentouin Hakenshimasu, I didn't expect much from the show, and the last episode was entertaining enough to make me satisfied with it as a whole. Nothing exceptionnal, but nothing bad as well.
I started watching the show solely because I loved KonoSuba's comedy, and that's what I was looking for in Sentouin Hakenshimasu. Definitely not disappointed in that aspect.
If there is a second season someday, I'd watch it gladly.
your welcome
and yea I agree, it wasn't perfect but definitely gave me a good laugh, and it kinda took on a different version of the normal harem you see
Interesting topic.
I mainly read reviews to determine whether an anime might be worth watching. A lot of shows don't have reviews on Anilist, so oftentimes I end up going to MAL or YouTube. If the reviews talk about quality character writing, I usually add the show to my Planning list because that's what I care about the most.
I tend to also add shows to Planning if they've gotten positive attention to see what's so good about them. Did that with Vivy, 86, and Tokyo Revengers, for instance. Though, it took quite a bit of praise for them to get on my list because their synopses don't really pique my interest, and I'm a bit skeptical of hype for a show that is airing in that it could go downhill at any point.
Ratings play a role in my selection sometimes- I don't pay too much attention to average scores anymore because of shows like School-Live, but if the score distribution for a show says the most common score given it is a 9 or 10, that's a guaranteed addition to Planning.
Lastly, I will watch anything my close friend recommends because I trust her taste.
Those are the main ways I decide whether to add a show to Planning. As for actually getting around to watching it, that depends on how it does with all the above, plus the synopsis. And what I'm feeling at the moment.
That's quite a nice explanation. Thanks!
Since you seem to make a point of watching how a show evolves through the episodes before taking the time to sit in front of it, I guess you don't often watch it as it airs? Do you usually watch the whole show when all the episodes have been released?
What are your go-to Anitubers regarding reviews? Any names that pop instantly in your head?
Yeah, I tend to watch only sequels of shows I've liked in the past as they're airing and leave the rest for after they're finished. If there's a show that's gotten a positive reception and sounds interesting to me, like Odd Taxi, I'll make an exception.
AH Brandon Reviews is one- I've found some pretty good shows thanks to him. Same with Hiding in Public. I check on Mother's Basement and Glass Reflection occasionally, their seasonal overviews in particular can be helpful.
I've been wanting to give Odd Taxi a try for a while, but never gave myself the time to do so. Is it really worth watching?
I don't know the two first Anitubers you mentionned, however, Glass Reflection was my go-to reviewer for a while, though I dropped his content a while ago.
Yes. Tight writing, great attention to detail.
Same. His reviews were more useful to me when I hadn't watched as much anime and just wanted to know what the must-watch ones were.
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