Is it bad to raw-dog seasonals?

This kind of thing doesn't bother me, because I'm not looking for everything I watch to "special." It's ok with me if something isn't super memorable, or if it doesn't have a lasting impact.

If I enjoyed myself while I was watching it, that's good enough. The fact that I might hardly remember it a year later doesn't change the fact that I enjoyed it.

Personally, I feel like it's a complaint brought up here dally and constantly (and not just on MAL but on other online forums for anime discussion as well) and while I have my own list of series which I would ideally like and prefer to see receive a second or third or whichever number season and be continued, I don't really "get" why it's such a central issue to people to warrant the frequency and zeal with which it's raised repeatedly.

Yes, if I was super emotionally invested in a series then I would be very disappointed if it didn't continue, but if I've seen, say, 350 different anime series, the amount I'm that invested in where I would be negatively emotionally affected and wish or almost wish I didn't start the series at all in the first place if I knew in advance that it wasn't going to continue - that's probably less than 5%.

Most seasonals I watch, I'm not that absorbed in the world created within them that I find it that big of a deal if they don't continue, because there is so much else out there to watch. Maybe if you didn't come into the world of watching anime until your late teens or 20s or older as opposed to watching it religiously from the time you were like 10 years-old and not watching much else and with limited media exposure before that, you have a different perspective on this? My meaning being that you've already watched such an amount of content for years of your life before even touching anime that you realize you're just scratching the surface, of anime and everything else. That's how I feel as someone on this forum who started watching later as opposed to some who started watching (or are even still currently in) middle school/junior high.

I'll just use seasonals from this year as the example. Some will receive prompt successive seasons. Some will take several years or longer in-between. Some will be given a rushed ending and concluded that way. Some will be left open-ended and never revisited or continued, even with an obviously conceptually unintentional abrupt stopping point.

A number I'm comfortable with completing one season of but don't really have a desire to watch beyond that if they do end up continuing, depending on the series in question. A lot of series I end up rating 6/10s or lower I feel that way about. Even some 7/10s which in my mind are low 7s. Like some ones from last year and the past few years: Sentai Daishikkaku, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability, Puniru wa Kawaii Slime, Yofukashi no Uta, etc. All ones I was fine watching a season of but didn't really care to continue further either at the point the next new season was released or at all ever in general.

But just looking at the ones I'd consider my favorite from each season, if they received another season then it would be a nice development and I'd likely watch, but if they don't I'm not going to be despondent. There are dozens of other series releasing every new season and hundreds of series on my PTW backlog. Some of which I'd have to exert some effort to hunt down and acquire, some of which are at least temporarily in limbo from being partial lost media or requiring fansubbing to become watchable, etc. And nothing, including the vast majority of seasonals, even come close to touching some of my top favorite series in anime which were concluded airing years prior to when I originally watched them anyway, and which I'd often rather and enjoy more rewatching in whole or in part or watching reviews and critiques of or analyzing and discussing, etc. then I do going though the average 6/10 seasonal.

Like, I can look at my Top 5 or Top 10 from this year and if none of them continue with additional seasons it won't amount to a fraction of the frustration I feel over series in my favorites like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Noragami not having third seasons. I view seasonals comparatively almost more just as something to pass the time in-between the true greats, like programming on TV you don't expect to fall in love with and flip through just to occupy yourself, and occasionally if you're lucky you inadvertently stumble upon a great one in their own right among them.

no. watching EVERY seasonal anime when you have the benefit of the archive and aren't a slave to TV broadcasts like the Japanese just means you lack discernment and the capacity to judge what is worth watching.

it's the equivalent of people who buy and play every new game that gets glazed but will be forgotten FOTM slop before the month is halfway over.

20 is rookie numbers, 26-27 is where it's usually at

i don't do that.....cause I don't care how others view me as a "anime fan". The fact many seasonals are either not worth watching, or may not get a S2, or may not get a S2 for a good length of time, is primarily the reason I don't watch them, outside of a few prized works, I am super interested in. I used to be more of a seasonal watcher, and then you just kinda realize how many works you aren't following up on or not actually finishing is high, not to mention it's harder to curate good content, compared to stuff that is already out.

I have a huge PTW list, and tons of actually completed titles, I want to focus on going forward. Watching 20 seasonals....I mean that just seems like a waste of time to me. Even in really loaded years, there is no season where 20 shows are worth watching. You would have to explain how doing that is at all fun for you lol. Even when I did watch seasonals, the most I would ever pick up would be like 3-4, while focusing on my backlog. Your backlog, will have more actually good shows to watch, than an entire seasonal listing.

How is that even possible? I would have to quit my job to find the time to watch 20 seasonals lol.

Just watch what you want. Trying to watch as many anime as you can to feel like more of a fan is nonsense.

@Fluffygreygrass thewiru is now spiralling into a existential crisis

@palm-tree I dunno, that sounds like a slippery slope to me, I prefer my list to be as slop free as possible

Are you deadass feeling impostor syndrome watching anime?

You have no friends that's why you spend your life on the forums.

How is that even possible? I would have to quit my job to find the time to watch 20 seasonals lol.

Just watch what you want. Trying to watch as many anime as you can to feel like more of a fan is nonsense.

@Chandela
No shit, it's almost like I was the one who told you that.

Bro why do you have to use MAL in place of a therapist. lmao

@thewiru @Chandela
Well, my post was deleted for "insulting" you the last time the subject came up.

@Ryker-

I’ve had the same basic seasonal anime viewing routine for more than 20 years, and I’ve always had a lot of fun with it. If it was a slippery slope, I’d already be off the cliff after all this time.

I’m not sure what “slop” means here, since people use it to refer to pretty much everything right now, but I genuinely enjoy the vast majority of what I watch. I’m not looking to have a life-changing experience every time I watch a new anime. Just a few pleasant hours is fine.

@LostSpectre
I don't know places where do ask things, no even places to ask where to ask things.
For instance, where could I ask how to write better anime reviews? Where could I ask "What am I missing for only consuming anime?"? Where?

Also, I kinda wanna do therapy, but I don't know how.
How do I explain it to my parents?
And when the therapist asks "Why do you think you need therapy?", what do I answer?

@thewiru
You obviously have a basic understanding of how the internet works, you post things on MAL.

1) To learn how to write better reviews, type in the search bar “how do learn to write better anime reviews” and the search engine will literally list the results of places to go and learn how.


2) want to see a therapist? See step one and replace anime reviews search with “find therapists”, you’ll get a list of in person therapists in your area or how to do virtual therapy with a licensed doctor.

3) how do you tell your parents? That’s on you but anything you tell a licensed therapist is protected under a doctor/client confidentiality law.

4) how do you answer therapist questions? Once again that’s on YOU, people on MAL can’t answer for you.

See how easy that was? If not I can’t help you any further, I’ve given you the simlest way to do things. It’s now up to you to do it.

@LostSpectre
I don't know places where do ask things, no even places to ask where to ask things.
For instance, where could I ask how to write better anime reviews? Where could I ask "What am I missing for only consuming anime?"? Where?

Also, I kinda wanna do therapy, but I don't know how.
How do I explain it to my parents?
And when the therapist asks "Why do you think you need therapy?", what do I answer?

Take a Portuguese course and you'll learn what's considered good writing, allowing you to write better reviews.
Bonus! By reading the assigned books, you'll get the smallest taste of what you've been missing out on.


I don't know.


I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure the therapist has worked with people like you and will know how to handle your confusion.

WDYM by "Take a Portuguese course"?

@thewiru
Here they call them English courses, but I assume they're in Portuguese where you live. An academic staple, known to teach reading and writing.

@thewiru
Here they call them English courses, but I assume they're in Portuguese where you live. An academic staple, known to teach reading and writing.

When you start treating media entertainment like it’s some kind of fucking chore, you’ve basically turned anime into an unpaid job. lol

What you described isn’t anything fucking special. it’s just routine consumption. Meanwhile, something actually special would be like spending time with someone you care about. As an example, after preparing some sashimi, cuddling up with my wife on our living room couch, watching a single seasonal show to binge, while sipping on soju. That’s connection. What you’re doing sounds like coping. Such time spent, experiencing something together with another person seems beyond more meaningful than the 3 months you say you have spent trying force yourself to enjoy over 20 shitty seasonal series. lol

I my eyes, it just boils down to you completely wasting over 3 months of your life. Where you could have spent that time doing shit more enjoyable and more constructive, and completely unrelated to Anime, and likely could have enjoyed it 1000 times more. lol

Plus there doesn't need to be some fucking philosophy to consuming Anime. And asking people how they cope with your particular situation, as if such a thing is just something normal that everyone does to begin with, made me chuckle a bit. lol

You strike me as someone who’s searching for something meaningful in life... But looking for that through anime is only going to end in disappointment. It can trap you in a loop where your world keeps shrinking without you even realizing it. I don’t know your personal situation, but the way you describe your habits sounds like someone with way too much idle time and not enough real-world engagement. And that’s dangerous, because comfort can quietly turn into stagnation. If the people or routines supporting your lifestyle were suddenly gone, what would you have left? The shows, the screen, and the false sense of routine wouldn’t be enough to fill that gap. That’s when reality hits.

Now if I am wrong about this type of characterization, I apologize.

You say you watched 20 seasonal series in 3 months. Assuming that’s 12 episodes each at about 23 minutes per episode, that’s roughly 5,520 minutes of your life. If you had spent that time working a part-time job instead, you’d have gotten way more fulfillment and an actual sense of accomplishment. In those 3 months you wasted, you could’ve earned anywhere between $670 and $1,800 where I live, just doing part-time work.

Now, just imagine if you had that kind of money... What would you do with it? How would you spend it? With that extra chump change, I could go out drinking a few nights a week or even pick up a new hobby. Hell, I’d probably dump it on a new cooking course just to enjoy that familiar feeling of random married women trying to flirt with me, only to shut them down in the end, while learning some new shit and recipes. lol

The world is only as big as you make it for yourself.

So to go back to your question, "How do you usually cope with that?" I don't even put myself in that type of situation to begin with, because I am not some fucking masochist. lol

I don't wanna talk to an AI.
I don't want ready-made answers, I want to talk to people, I want them to listen to me, talk to me.
Has Google read my reviews? No.

Not the issue here.

You're not helping.

Don't tell me to go to therapy if you're not willing to help in the process...