| How come nowadays people reject episodic anime? Older popular series were known for having a lot of episodes and sometimes they weren't directly correlated; you could take some episodes and it wouldn't be a bother to the plot. Despite that these episodes were fun. What has changed that makes people dislike episodic series? Is there an anime you used to like but now not as much for this reason? |
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| The main argument is its lack of cohesiveness, or in other words, loss of connection with the plot and direction. I can't say much since I rarely watch episodic anime, but I've seen too many idiots say that Violet Evergarden being episodic as damaging to the story. No connection? Really? I think the culmination at the end of the anime and its stellar character development are what tied the knot. |
| There are some good ones, but if the stories are not interconnected it makes investing in the characters and the plot really hard, because you know that the stuff you are seeing now might never be brought up again. |
| I wasn't aware that people reject episodic anime. I thought everyone was in for it. |
"Nobody could laugh at someone who's trying their hardest" -Machio- |
| I reject it because its too long, a waste of time really. You have a story, then you add filler. Thats episodic anime. Or you just repeat the same arcs over and over again, lame. Just tell the story and let me watch a different show after Im done. if I wanted the exact same show again, I would simply rewatch it. If Ep 4-9 of a 12ep show arent driving the plot or the characters forward, why would I watch them? Its different when its something like SoL or comedy, where "plot" barely exists to begin with and you are just there for the characters interacting at all. But I simply dont need that in every single anime. @RumpelstiltskinX because Ep1 and the end just feel very different from the middle. You have some comedy eps which atleast give us backstory to the characters but some eps really can be cut out entirely and you would have the same story, thats simply not great pacing, its added fat. |
| "This emotion is mine alone. It is for Madoka alone." - Homura or how I would descripe Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. |
| the repetitiveness of episodic shows is to blame. most people want an engaging story with exciting twists, constant progress to an endpoint and a finale to remember. it's kinda hard to do if you reset everything with each episode but not impossible. anime has done it before. |
| 馬鹿げた倫理 全部ガラクタで |
| About half of my favourites are episodic anime and all the episodic anime I've watched are great. People dislike them simply because they're episodic. |
| They just cannot comprehend that there's a minor plot inside a the bigger plot for anime with a plot. They probably never finish side quest when playing game because it just a filler to them. They probably skipping a good song that didn't capture the theme of the album. |
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| This is just my opinion but the strength of episodic anime is that you can pretty much watch them in any order and even if you drop them for a while, you can still pick them right back up again and get right back in the thick of things. That said I also think that is why I don't like it, there's not much keeping me invested to see what happens next. Like, who cares if I watch this episode if the next episode has little to anything to do with it? Just to name some examples: I've dropped Cowboy Bebop because of its episodic nature. Maybe it gets good, and I do plan maybe one day to returning to it, but the first 3 episodes just felt like a bunch of random crap happening and I didn't find it enjoyable or engrossing at all. Violet Evergarden also plays around with an episodic structure, I think my issue with that series was more that it felt the directors couldn't make up their mind of what the plot was supposed to be, so in the last couple episodes they try to haphazardly tie everything together. If the show had stuck to an overarching plot or episodic storytelling, I thought it would be good (and it still was to some extent) but it tries to do both, and I feel it is to its detriment. That said I think episodic storytelling does work well in comedy, because there is rarely some detailed overarching story in those shows. Some comedies I've seen such as Nichijou, Squid Girl, and Ranma 1/2 use episodic structures more or less and I think that method worked well with that comedy style. |
| I dislike episodic anime too but I will admit that the dislike comes from anime fans expecting every anime to be well-written works that connect every episode, something that doesn't exist in TV western animation. Because anime, in it's best form, stands out above the rest, that MUST mean that all anime should standout above western animation. That's why so many anime are rated less than a 7/10. Essentially, anime fans self-delusion created a major sense of entitlement...and I'm guilty of it, even now. And if this post come off as a word salad, it's because I'm multitasking. |
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| Some factors that come into mind are the show's impact and the viewer's free time. I guess some would rather watch something that carries a meaningful purpose throughout the show. If the show sets clear goals and progresses with them from beginning to end, I think there are better chances of the viewer resonating with/remembering the show's main themes than them recalling ones from an episodic anime. They're more likely satisfied with their time spent and end up thinking it's a good watch. I grew up watching western cartoons, where majority of them were mainly episodic, so I think that influenced my liking for episodic anime. Like, I enjoyed Saiki K and Gintama, and Kekkai Sensen is one of my favorites. For me, the random-like episodes are good way for helping me remember the characters and their personalities better. |
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| "How come nowadays people reject episodic anime?" Because the people are prejudice, that's why. Having N+ episode continuing story which is padded with unnecessary characterization and countless flashbacks can be painful to watch too. The only rule of entertainment which applies is do the authors actually have something interesting to share with us, the format doesn't matter that much. |
| The dislike comes from the fact that writing a good overarching story is inherently harder than a lot of good self-contained ones. With that said, no plot/episodic plot is better than a mediocre overarching plot, but that's not so obvious for newcomers who are still at a point where every plot is good for them. |
| People having low attention span dislike it the most. |
 Scordolo's Recent Reviews To your eternity Vanitas no Karte |
| Digimon Ghost Game is probably the only episodic anime I kinda dislike. That show seriously needs a proper story... |
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| Me too. This is Gintama's biggest (and probably only) flaw. |
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| Personally I just think that they're not suited towards being watched back to back in a short time but work rather well when watched periodic. Aside from that I guess that people dislike the lack of consequences and the feeling of "comfort" that nothing bill change from status quo at the end of the day |
smoochie smoochie[/center] |
| Just different preferences, episodic anime probably wouldn't be very interesting to people who prefer more story-focused anime like made in abyss |
| Because Most people on this anime site are anime enthusiast. They are not same people who switch on tv and watch anything without much prior knowledge for a quick time pass. Plus earlier there were not as much choice as now |
AdampkNov 4, 2022 3:49 AM
  Click for a anime mashup! Still not gone bandwagon u, keep crying. Here u are welcome to CRINGE at my EXISTENCE |
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| Episodic shows may be tiresome to binge, especially if they're too repetitive. Other than that, I don't really see any flaws in them |
| i wouldn't say i straight up reject them but yes i do not like them. today's anime community is very much used to the sequential animes. they try to gauge the anime just based upon the first 3 episodes or decide if it's good or not based on the pace, the character devlopment, world building and how it is done at a proper pace at reasonable episode counts. and the biggest concern is people looking for plot in every anime. a concrete goal or reason. all this is not really possible with episodic anime where everything is so non-cohesive and disconnected. plus it's not really possible to make new long running animes these days. productions melt down even for 12 episode animes nowadays due to unforseen circumstances and studios nowadays are taking up more projects in quanity and are not focusing much on a single anime. they see what's in demand or what the higher ups want to see produced and that's what is made. long animes are obviously pretty expensive to produce too so that's one more reason as to why long episodic animes are dead and most likely will remain dead. plus today's generation can't even watch a single 20 minute anime episode without getting distracted how can you expect them to watch long animes, tuning in every week? watching hundreds of episodes of mostly same stuff? don't you think producers will incur a loss? i'm not saying episodic animes are boring but people nowadays are more accustomed to the type of anime that are releasing today. the only time i think i wouldn't mind watching an episodic anime is while eating or something. like turned on the tv and there's an episodic anime and i would just watch an episode or two of it. watching an episodic anime from start to finsih and that too every single episode can be absurd. though exceptions exists like Gintama. |
TsutanaiFuunNov 4, 2022 4:07 AM
 The end of an era. Thank you Wit, Mappa and Isayama. Feeling half happy, half sad. Kawaii waifus and precious best girls <3333 |
| Well in my opinion episodic anime (except Slice of Life) are boring. Cowboy Bepop and Tiger & Bunny are the big examples for me |
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| As said, they're harder to get invested in : as each episode has its own conclusion, you don't feel the need to watch the next episode right after. But that's it, they're cool too. I loved Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop and Ulysse 31. |
| I don't dislike episodic anime, but I don't exactly prefer them either. I really loved Cowboy Bebop and Mushishi, but other than those I'm not the biggest fan of episodic shows... but sometimes it's nice to watch them in-between other, non-episodic anime. |
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RumpelstiltskinX said: Nah, cliff hangers are bad. Specifically designing the progression of the plot to always have the most interesting development between episodes is really artificial, and frustrating, even when you don't have to wait a week between episodes...I know what you mean. Most people dislike Cowboy Bebop just because its episodic. I legit never see any other critisms against it other than that. Which is kinda frustrating but I guess some people just want every episode to end on a cliff hanger which you dont really get with episodic shows. |
| Because people don't have the attention span to watch a whole episode from beginning to end anymore. It's much easier to put 13 episodes on autoplay and then continue browsing tiktok. |
| I don’t really get the general dislike for episodic shows ether. I guess different strokes for different folks. |
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RumpelstiltskinX said: I just explained it to you. But given how dismissive you are about others opinions and how defensive you are about cowboy bepop I guess I shouldnt be surprised. Comander-07 said: I reject it because its too long, a waste of time really. You have a story, then you add filler. Thats episodic anime. Or you just repeat the same arcs over and over again, lame. Just tell the story and let me watch a different show after Im done. if I wanted the exact same show again, I would simply rewatch it. If Ep 4-9 of a 12ep show arent driving the plot or the characters forward, why would I watch them? Its different when its something like SoL or comedy, where "plot" barely exists to begin with and you are just there for the characters interacting at all. But I simply dont need that in every single anime. @RumpelstiltskinX because Ep1 and the end just feel very different from the middle. You have some comedy eps which atleast give us backstory to the characters but some eps really can be cut out entirely and you would have the same story, thats simply not great pacing, its added fat. Not sure why you didnt like anything in the middle. For me Cowboy Bebop has some of the best episodes in all of anime. Examples being Jupiter Jazz, Ballad of Fall Angels, Pierrot le Fou, Toys in the Attic, and Brain Scratch. Even some of the worst episodes of Bebop I thought are still very watchable because how much I love these characters plus the general vibe of the show and the all time great ost by Yoko Kanno. All Im saying is EP1 was way better than what came after it, aside from a few eps here and there and well the end. Having "some of" doesnt really mean anything. Yes its certainly an anime, out of all anime ever made this is one of them. Just because some eps are good doesnt mean every ep is. I have watched the show years ago so I dont remember specific episode titles, Im also not saying the show is bad. But I personally prefer Trigun over it because its less episodic. |
| "This emotion is mine alone. It is for Madoka alone." - Homura or how I would descripe Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. |
Serafos said: Digimon Ghost Game is probably the only episodic anime I kinda dislike. That show seriously needs a proper story... You should try GeGeGe no Kitaro. It is a similar show with more of a story. |
| その目だれの目？ |
| Episodic animu is satanic beta male way to make 1000 episode make 1,000,000,000 dollar. Reject |
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| looks at how high the score for good episodic shows are: kino's journey, mushishi, natsume's book of friends looks at how well praised the semi episodic shows are: great teacher onizuka, death parade, cowboy bebop, evangelion wonders why you think people dislike episodic shows |
| Also available at: YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK8spdL1M_J-z0vO2C7jPLw Second Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AshPolygonsDo/videos Twitter: https://x.com/APolygons2 Backloggd: https://backloggd.com/games/lib/rating?page=8 IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/user/ur107632777/?ref_=uspf_nv_profile |
Usagi-san-chan said: How come nowadays people reject episodic anime? Older popular series were known for having a lot of episodes and sometimes they weren't directly correlated; you could take some episodes and it wouldn't be a bother to the plot. Despite that these episodes were fun. What has changed that makes people dislike episodic series? Is there an anime you used to like but now not as much for this reason? Uh where is this statement coming from? Last time I checked Yuru Camp and Mushishi are both very highly rated on here. You have plenty of semi episodic shows like Cowboy Bebop that are also highly acclaimed. |
| Internet, simulcast... back then the older series came on TV which were not simulcasted, they showed 1 or 2 episodes everyday so people could watch them everyday so the number didn't matter.. Now it takes 3 months to watch 12 episodes is way longer.. In that time one could watch 90 episodes of an anime on TV, now something like this will take 90 weeks.. People will lose their interest... |
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| I actually don't know, I guess people forgot how to have fun, I swear I met people who said they were angry because Sailor Moon had transformation scenes in all episodes. This is basically just like complaining about ecchi in an ecchi anime |
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Catalano said: I actually don't know, I guess people forgot how to have fun, I swear I met people who said they were angry because Sailor Moon had transformation scenes in all episodes. This is basically just like complaining about ecchi in an ecchi anime Well, if I ever had any inclination to watch a pre-Madoka magical girl series, which I won't, I would totally optimize my time by skipping repetitive transformation scenes. |
Azulmagia88 said: JaniSIr said: Well, if I ever had any inclination to watch a pre-Madoka magical girl series, which I won't, I would totally optimize my time by skipping repetitive transformation scenes. You could try Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha doesn't have many transformation scenes and they are quick. But it's one of those non-Edgy magical girl series... What's the point of cute girls if they aren't even a little bit depressed? |
Azulmagia88 said: JaniSIr said: But it's one of those non-Edgy magical girl series... What's the point of cute girls if they aren't even a little bit depressed? Its not all sunshine and rainbows. Cute girls aren't allowed to be depressed. The least I expect from my cute anime girls is severe PTSD. https://myanimelist.net/manga/94235/Mahou_Shoujo_Tokushusen_Asuka |
kycnui said: but I've seen too many idiots say that Violet Evergarden being episodic as damaging to the story. its stellar character development are what tied the knot. Actually, it's the episodic nature that disrupted the character-driven depiction, instead of progressing it. Right after the love letters story is the star-gazing, and that personality never appeared again on screen isn't what people call 'progressive'. |
Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know I need someone. Helpppppp!  |
SgtBateMan said: The depiction was incredibly subtle and there was development with the titular character every episode. I didn't see any disruption unless there is just lack of comprehension in your part. Like bro, did we watch the same show? kycnui said: but I've seen too many idiots say that Violet Evergarden being episodic as damaging to the story. its stellar character development are what tied the knot. Actually, it's the episodic nature that disrupted the character-driven depiction, instead of progressing it. Maybe you're saying that the focus was on the side characters every episode and left Violet actually sidelined, that I would agree. But she's developing based on her experiences with those characters. |
kycnui said: SgtBateMan said: The depiction was incredibly subtle and there was development with the titular character every episode. I didn't see any disruption unless there is just lack of comprehension in your part. Like bro, did we watch the same show? Actually, it's the episodic nature that disrupted the character-driven depiction, instead of progressing it. Maybe you're saying that the focus was on the side characters every episode and left Violet actually sidelined, that I would agree. But she's developing based on her experiences with those characters. JaniSIr said: SgtBateMan said: Actually, it's the episodic nature that disrupted the character-driven depiction, instead of progressing it. Right after the love letters story is the star-gazing, and that personality never appeared again on screen isn't what people call 'progressive'. Did you really miss the point of Violet gaining new experiences that she never had before? Cmon... Kyoto Animation tried to packed too many things that the star-gazing stood out like the sore thumb and the episodic nature a drag. They could have trimmed down some and made the character-driven part clearer. |
SgtBateManNov 4, 2022 4:54 PM
Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know I need someone. Helpppppp! |
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