Is watching too much anime a waste of time?

_Konoyaro_ said:


Yo that's actually a joke. I'm not 91 lmao.

That's great that you enjoy it. I'm just trying to warn some people so that they don't end up with regret, you feel me?

ren0080 said:
idk, I have 1,667.5 days of watch time according to MAL.
But is it really a waste of time if I enjoy it? I personally enjoy my time watching anime so yeah, it's a No for me.

sawdust337 said:
it's only subjective and everyone should answer this question themselfs, I have no right to tell someone "stop watching anime this is a waste of time!!!"
if in your opinion anime is waste of time (for you), then it is, if it's not, then it's not

aniwtchr11 said:
I think anime could be a waste of time if it disrupts the more important aspects of your life or if it becomes a chore. You know, if you feel that procrastination guilt, it probably means you're wasting your time. Also, if you feel you're watching too much anime, well, you know, stop watching or reduce the amount and go do whatever you think you should be doing.

_Konoyaro_ said:


Well it's not a waste of time if you enjoy it, I can agree to that. But if you compare it to doing more "useful" stuff (work, keeping your body healthy, socializing etc...), I'd say in majority (some anime are masterpieces you just have to watch) it's a waste of time.

ren0080 said:


I mean, you can do both if you like.
I see anime as a hobby, not something I'd do 24/7. I also have a life outside, I go to the gym every week, and I hang out with my friends to watch movies in theaters.

And there's no definition of "useful" stuff since it's subjective. For example, Anitubers literally have to watch anime because it's their job, for them it's their source of money and it's useful (at least I think so).
And outside of anime, there are chess GMs that dedicates their life to chess which isn't exactly the most "useful" thing in the world, but it's their job and they like it. The same can be said with every sport. idk, that's just my take. Feel free to disagree.

Kuxu said:
Watching anime is not a waste of time.

But it's a break, a moment to relax and enjoy. It's not (or at least it shouldn't be) your main activity. If you make it your main activity, then you're doing it wrong.

Asking whether anime is a waste of time is like asking whether drinking beer is problem... well, it depends on how much you drink.

-rojazu- said:
Yes its far too much. But it depends on how long you have been doing it for...

I have just cracked 200 days, the vast majority of which has been completed in the past 2 years... and I realise it to be an addiction. I bargain with myself and agree to keep smashing it until I complete my PTW list... only for it to permanently be 2000 episodes away from completion.

So I'm engaging a new strategem - to keep avg mins/day <120. That way I can keep adding and watching however much I want but I can only watch at a max rate of 5 episodes/day.

Everything in moderation is a good thing.

Mummykun said:
It's only a waste of time if you're making the mistake of watching anime with subtitles. Otherwise, it's definitely not a waste of time.
Watching anime is a great way of improving your Japanese and acquiring a lot of culture.

Waves02 said:
I'd say it depends on which anime you watch. There aren't that many good anime out there and lately for example, I've been running into a lot of overrated anime (Darling in the FranXX and Kaguya-sama Love is War being among them) and I can say without any doubt that those are wastes of time.

Now if you would actually enjoy watching an anime, that doesn't fall into wasting your time. Enjoyment is most important to me, so if I have to complete an anime for a challenge for example and I hate said anime, I will curse it to hell and back and probably drop it too.

You do have to do other hobbies too, pick up a book once in a while, go sight-seeing in the mountains, anything.

Doflamingo45 said:
I've seen 400+ lmao. You blow me out of the water, 1610, the dedication is strong, jeez.

Waves02 said:


Yes, exactly. I've only recently (December 2020) re-started watching anime and I've been limiting it to "you can only watch anime from 8 pm to 11 pm, when you have to go to sleep" and it's been working for me. Otherwise, I have to study for uni, read books, listen to music non-stop like usual and go on walks once in a while. If it weren't for the pandemic and I were to move back to the city, I would go out more too, but I don't like clubs so I would go for concerts or hanging out with friends in LGB friendly bars.

Indeed, I think anything that's entertainment and takes up a lot of your time is not okay, unless that's your job, like idk movie critic or having to watch a lot of theater because you want to be an actor? You get the idea. Maybe you could play video games a bit more if you also want to learn how to create them.

Kaiseki said:
In my opinion, if you watch anime when you know there are obligations that haven't been completed, then it's a waste of time. But if it's done after your obligation has been completed, then it's not a waste of time

When you really want to relax and have no assignments, you can watch anime, Humans need a lot of entertainment. That's normal.

PhillipMannering said:
I mean the upfront answer would be yes.
You said "too much" not a lot, and in my opinion too much of anything is just not good.
Obviously, then comes the question, what counts as "too" much anime? That differs per person but in general once it starts affecting your priorities or eating away from work/school/etc time then yes it's probably time to tone it down.

_Konoyaro_ said:


I didn't even realize that I watched that much anime until I started scrolling through the anime lists on here lmao. And now I regret watching 1610+ anime... Wasted some opportunities school-wise, job-wise etc...

Fml lol

_Konoyaro_ said:
I've watched about 1610 anime, but I am still adding anime to MAL since I've only joined this site on February 26th 2021 (so there's a lot more).

At this point I've realized that the majority of anime I've watched was probably a waste of time (pretty late to realize that huh?).
Sure watching anime is fun and all and there are certain things you learn from it (Japanese, history, culture...), but it shouldn't get out of hand. I could have invested my time in exercising, learning new stuff, school etc...
We did have the whole lockdown thing, so there was a lot of free time, but really try to keep yourself from watching too much anime. I mean if it's your only hobby I won't refrain you from watching it (I can't do that either way lol), but try to set a certain limit for yourself and spend more time doing healthy stuff (it's worth it!).

Let me know what you think about this.

sekaiwaKIREI said:

how long did you spend accumulating 1600+ anime completed? i usually binge watch, so that on days when i don't have any time to watch anime i'm not on cliffhangers or anything. i think watching shows over a longer period of time is better though, as it means you aren't spending too much time on anime.

_Konoyaro_ said:


I started watching anime in 2004. In the beginning I was like a freak and finished about 4 shows a week, depending on the amount of episodes. So yeah eventually that got up to 1600 (but there are still anime I have to add so I'd estimate that the actual number is around 2200 or something like that)

Moruna said:
Can't relate, but I do feel sorry for you.
Hope you will find the way to make up for all the stuff you missed thanks to anime watching.
Good luck buddy.

_Konoyaro_ said:


Thanks! Lately I've found the perfect balance between watching anime and other stuff (music, sports etc...)
So I'm back on track :)

Nurguburu said:
Can I ask how do u have a lot of total anime watched and how old are u?

_Konoyaro_ said:


I'm 35 right now and I've basically been watching anime since 2004 like a freak. I'd finish about 4 shows a week, depending on the amount of episodes. This eventually got up to 1600+ anime (there are still anime I have to add to MAL, so I'd estimate my total watched anime to be around 2200).