| Hey all, As I've mentioned elsewhere on these boards, I'm relatively new to anime. I go to a lot of anime conventions for work, and for the past year or so it seems like every other person who walks by at cons is cosplaying a character from Attack on Titan. So, about a month ago, I finally decided to check that show out and see what all the hype is about. I liked it, so I searched for other action anime and found my way to Fate/Zero, after which I immediately watched Fate/Stay Night. Now, most recently, I just finished Sword Art Online. What I'd like to discuss, rather than the content of those shows, is how I end up feeling after watching anime, and see if anyone else feels the same way. I watched the first 25 episodes of Attack on Titan in about 2 days, or nights specifically, after work. I was working at a con at the time, so when it wrapped up I would grab some food, head back to my hotel, and watch AoT until I couldn't stay awake anymore. I was totally hooked, somewhat by the action and the mood of the series, but mostly by the fact that the show leaves you not quite knowing what's going on and wanting to discover more about the mysteries of the titans, and the history of the walled city, humanity, and the world. When I finished the 25th episode, I felt pretty good. I read up a bit and saw that more episodes were coming, and I was content to check back in on those when they come out. I then moved on to Fate/Zero, which I started the next night. The tone of that series was totally different, but I was immediately hooked by Kiritsugu, Iri, and Saber. I devoured that series in about 2 days, as well. It left me feeling quite a bit different than AoT, though. The ending, particularly Kiritsugu's storyline, was so soul-crushing that I felt the need to move immediately on to Fate/Stay Night to see what happened next. It was my first taste of bittersweet in anime, with the bitter far outweighing the sweet. I liked the series even more than AoT, but it left me with something of a hole inside. I proceeded to watch Fate/Stay Night, which I liked a lot less than Fate/Zero from an animation, character development, and general storyline perspective. However, the storyline between Shirou and Saber pretty much absolutely crushed me. As the final episode drew to an end, I found myself frantically thinking, "No. It can't end this way. It just can't. They wouldn't let it." But it did. The resolution I had been increasingly hoping for and expecting as the series progressed was not there at the end, and the feeling of having a hole in my chest was the greatest it had yet been at the end of watching an anime series. Now, a few weeks later, move on to Sword Art Online. I was immediately hooked on this series, I think initially because I've played sooo much WoW that all the game speak and just the idea of a Virtual Reality MMORPG in general spoke right to my heart. Aincrad was beautiful, epic, and full of so much of what I've known from being in MMOs. The Aincrad story arc was, as of this moment, my favorite thing I've ever seen. The ALfheim arc had it's moments too, to be sure, but in general wasn't quite as captivating to me. But, having finished all 25 episodes of SAO now, I just have the hugest hole in my chest and sinking feeling in my stomach. The world of SAO just feels so much more awesome than the real world. Kirito is so many things that it would awesome to be but that obviously can't happen IRL. The epic quests that he and the others go on can't be replicated by any stretch of the imagination IRL. And above all, the relationships that he has, particularly with Asuna, are the things of daydreams and fantasies IRL. I guess what I'm getting at is that having finished SAO, I am borderline devastated that Aincrad, and to a lesser extent ALfheim, aren't real. I want them, and Kirito and Asuna and Leafa to be real. Or, rather, I want to be in that world with them. But none of it's real, and that reality is so depressing. I've been listening to Vols. 1 & 2 of the OST to SAO quite a bit, as I'm a musician by trade and I find the music very enjoyable and excellent as far as anime soundtracks go, but hearing the themes from the series just makes the whole thing seem painfully real when it's not and will never be. Anywho, no one that I know IRL would be able to sympathize with this, so I figured I'd just throw it out there on here and see if anyone can relate. Cheers! |
| "time to finish another series and/or check out the OVAs!" |
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| Enjoy that feeling while it lasts. Eventually you'll become a pretentious asshole like me who only feels emptiness after finishing a series. |
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Veronin said: Enjoy that feeling while it lasts. Eventually you'll become a pretentious asshole like me who only feels emptiness after finishing a series. |
| And I mean that in the most sexually painful way possible. |
| After finishing a series, I either stopped for a while and keep wondering, "This is the end, huh... Such a pity." Or just continue to the next anime while smiling (I know it's gross lol). |
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| Usually I dont feel anything since most anime out there are average or just crap. Its really hard to find anime that will get you hooked and looking forward to the next episode. But yeah, everytime I finish something really good, Im left with a void that lasts for days and I usually listen to the ost to cope with it or just move on to next one. |
"I have been wielding a blade since before your were swimming around your father's scrotum." - Kurou |
| Like starting a new one. |
| "Let Justice Be Done!" My Theme Fight again, fight again for justice! |
shinonW said: After finishing a series, I either stopped for a while and keep wondering, "This is the end, huh... Such a pity." Or just continue to the next anime while smiling (I know it's gross lol). I think I'm just going to go back and re-watch SAO over, and over, and over until it loses all its luster. That's inevitably what I've done with everything I've ever really enjoyed in life :p |
freeflowme said: And too watch the tentacle scene over and over again.shinonW said: After finishing a series, I either stopped for a while and keep wondering, "This is the end, huh... Such a pity." Or just continue to the next anime while smiling (I know it's gross lol). I think I'm just going to go back and re-watch SAO over, and over, and over until it loses all its luster. That's inevitably what I've done with everything I've ever really enjoyed in life :p |
"I have been wielding a blade since before your were swimming around your father's scrotum." - Kurou |
RedRoseFring said: Like starting a new one. Yeah, I always don't want to start a new one, though, because then the world of whatever anime I was just engrossed in fade into memory. I want to keep the feeling going as long as I can. I guess that's just torturing myself, though... AsianKungFu said: And too watch the tentacle scene over and over again. Ehh... I almost skipped that the first time through the series, even. It just bothered me so much, for Kirito's sake. |
| depends on whether or not the show sucked |
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| There are not many shows that are really worth being sad for. My usual feeling is "ugh, finally it's over." and immediately I start something new, hoping it's not gonna disappoint me. The only shows that really gave me this famous ~emptiness~ after they were over were: Nichijou Gintama Baccano Aku no Hana Arakawa Under the Bridge Obviously, most of them are comedy... I just have the feeling there are not so many comedy Anime with good humor out there. |
If life ain't just a joke Then why are we laughing? If life ain't just a joke Then why am I dead? |
| I have mixed feelings. I hated finishing Kaze No Stigma and DRR because they are so good, but at the same time I like it because it means I can move on to another series I have been waiting to watch. |
LiYuxin said: There are not many shows that are really worth being sad for. My usual feeling is "ugh, finally it's over." and immediately I start something new, hoping it's not gonna disappoint me. Huh, I must just be easy to please :p Particularly with SAO, I felt like I would've loved to stay in Aincrad for 10x longer. If there were 150 episodes in that arc instead of just 15, I would be so happy... |
| If I loved the anime I enter a state of profound melancholy where I constantly reminisce on it and think about how much I loved being immersed in its world and characters. This applies to all media, really. I want to talk about it with someone else, and find out if anyone else feels the same way, et cetera. Then ultimately (couple of days) I get over it and move on to something new. If the anime was meh or bad, I'm just happy to be done with it and look forward to starting something new and hopefully better. |
| Relieved that i don't have to watch that shitty anime anymore. |
Moog- said: If I loved the anime I enter a state of profound melancholy where I constantly reminisce on it and think about how much I loved being immersed in its world and characters. This applies to all media, really. I want to talk about it with someone else, and find out if anyone else feels the same way, et cetera. Then ultimately (couple of days) I get over it and move on to something new. If the anime was meh or bad, I'm just happy to be done with it and look forward to starting something new and hopefully better. That's about how I feel. Glad someone else feels the same way :) I guess I haven't watched anything yet that struck me as truly bad. I've always been sad it's over, thus far, not glad. kokkoderrisch said: Relieved that i don't have to watch that shitty anime anymore. I'm noticing that this state of jadedness is common amongst anime viewers. I wonder how long before I start to feel the same way :p |
| I got the same feeling after watching certain anime including Claymore, Deadman Wonderland, Panty and Stocking, Spice and Wolf, Kaze no Stigma and The Legend of The Legendary Heroes. I go: "Wow, things are getting interesting. That ending left a sequel wide open! I absolutely have to find out when the next season of ______ comes out!" The rest is history. |
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| It depends on the anime. If the anime that I enjoyed from the beginning to the end and if the end is good, I feel happy, I can thought: hey, I can watch it again! And if its an anime that I enjoyed a several episodes and a bad ending I feel unhappy. |
| Heh, I was hoping a bunch of people would totally resonate with the feeling of being just absolutely wrecked and depressed when a good anime is over precisely because it's over, you've experienced all there is to that amazing universe that you loved, and that universe and all its awesomeness will never be real. A bunch of people have asked if I'm feeling okay today, because apparently I seem weird. I can't remember the last time that people noticed that I seemed particularly bummed, so my state of mind must be showing. If I could trade my life for Kirito's today, I just might. |
| When I finished Gintama I felt a little depressed, because that show was hilarious I wish it never ended. |
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freeflowme said: Heh, I was hoping a bunch of people would totally resonate with the feeling of being just absolutely wrecked and depressed when a good anime is over precisely because it's over, you've experienced all there is to that amazing universe that you loved, and that universe and all its awesomeness will never be real. All these people feel sad too :'-( http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=579435 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=624049 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=60271 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=719723 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=539100 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=676277 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=645331 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=645129 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=99742 |
| There's no need for all this tension. |
| The same as when I started, only more entertained and a little annoyed I gotta go find something else |
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| If it's bad or average: Glad, on to the next one If it's good or genius: Meh, I'd love to watch more |
| I usually drop an anime if I don't find it entertaining so I never really get that empty feeling if I do finish one because the ones I do decide to go through are ones that often hooked me. 99% of the time I feel hella depressed. I don't want to pick up a new anime, but rather go back and re-watch the clips of my just finished anime to revel in nostalgia. More often than not I purchase and download the OST if I really liked the soundtrack and search for OVAs or upcoming seasons if there are any. |
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Veronin said: Enjoy that feeling while it lasts. Eventually you'll become a pretentious asshole like me who only feels emptiness after finishing a series. So much this. I can't even enjoy a series to its fullest anymore unless it's a masterpiece. I remember the early days of anime. I could watch the shitty harem ones and still be entertained. *sigh* Ever since I saw Gurren Lagann, everything has been going downhill for me. |
Majikkusesu said: All these people feel sad too :'-( http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=579435 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=624049 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=60271 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=719723 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=539100 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=676277 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=645331 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=645129 http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=99742 Thank you so, SO much for linking these. Reading other people's experiences is making me feel quite a bit better. It's good to know that others have walked away from series feeling the same way. Xari said: 99% of the time I feel hella depressed. I don't want to pick up a new anime, but rather go back and re-watch the clips of my just finished anime to revel in nostalgia. More often than not I purchase and download the OST if I really liked the soundtrack and search for OVAs or upcoming seasons if there are any. Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing with SAO right now. Just started it over from the beginning. Nothing ever compares with that first time through a series, though, when you don't know what's coming next, or how things are going to play out. I got both volumes of the OST and have been listening to them quite a bit, as well :) Ryugen said: Veronin said: Enjoy that feeling while it lasts. Eventually you'll become a pretentious asshole like me who only feels emptiness after finishing a series. So much this. I can't even enjoy a series to its fullest anymore unless it's a masterpiece. I remember the early days of anime. I could watch the shitty harem ones and still be entertained. *sigh* Ever since I saw Gurren Lagann, everything has been going downhill for me. This does brighten my mood a bit. I know that "becoming a pretentious asshole" feeling, though. I did it with several genres of music throughout high school and college. I suppose it will eventually happen with anime, too. |
| On to the next one. |
Nyaaaria- said: You really are the king of marathoning  |
| Depends on how I liked it. If it was good I'm sad because I'll never get that one time feel of watching something good for the first time. If it was trash then I'm happy because I've got plenty of other stuff to watch. |
| As long as I find the end satisfying then I am fine with it. |
| I go "Wow, that was great/good/ok/meh/bad" Then "It "surpass my expectation"/"Just as good as I hope"/"worse than I thought".." Then I move on. |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| I've had that kind of feelings also, after finishing Persona 4 The Animation and Wake Up Girls. I just wish I could just stay with those characters 4 ever. Haven't seen Fate/Zero but AoT nor SAO gave me that feeling, probably because it's obvious there will be a 2nd season so u know u will be seeing more of those characters |
| If it's a series I really enjoyed happy. If it's a series I was just plowing through to finish relieved. Lately I tend to watch series with the question of, do I find this good enough to own always in the back of my head which kinda undermines my own feelings I think. Rarely do I ever feel sad about finishing a series though. |
| Like I can do some shit that actually matters. |
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| I feel an immense pleasure from increasing my completed anime count. |
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| Really good. I feel a nice sense of accomplishment after having completed something, unless it was something that was depressing or disappointing. |
| "Laws exist only for those who cannot live without clinging onto them." -Souske Aizen "Bleach"  |
| I had about a 6 hour drive to make today, which gave me a lot of time to think. And I got to wondering why no other media effects me in the same way anime does, or to put it another way why anime is the only form of media that effects my emotions so greatly. I have gotten really into historical novels in the past, particularly Dracula, The Count of Monte Cristo, and other Alexandre Dumas stuff like the whole D'Artagnan series. I've felt a slight pang when I finish those books, like I'm saying goodbye to good friends whom I've adventured with. But I've never felt just soul-crushingly sad that the story is over, or that their world isn't real. I suppose the answer to that could be because those books are, for the most part, set in the "real" world. Similarly, I've been really into fantasy novels like LoTR, and the movie trilogy as well. Nothing is as immersive as Tolkein's writing, and nothing was as visually impactful in the early 2000s as the LoTR movies. Yet I never felt sad when those were over. I was content to watch them time and time again. But for whatever strange reason, anime is different. I care WAY more about the characters and what happens to them in the anime I've watched than I've ever cared about characters in any novel I've read or live-action movie I've watched. And I get WAY more engrossed in the world of the anime that I'm watching than I ever got engrossed in Middle Earth, or any other place, although I could at one point tell you all kinds of specifications about the distances between the imaginary places in Tolkein's fantasy world, etc. Anywho, anime has a strange effect on me for sure, and I'm not quite sure why as of yet. But something about it just really grips my heart and mind. |
freeflowme said: Welcome to anime. Real life will start to feel shittier and shittier with each awesome anime series you finish.The world of SAO just feels so much more awesome than the real world. freeflowme said: Thats because a lot of people on MAL are idiots misinformed individuals that believe in the sunk cost fallacy. If you dont like something you should just drop it.kokkoderrisch said: I'm noticing that this state of jadedness is common amongst anime viewers. I wonder how long before I start to feel the same way :pRelieved that i don't have to watch that shitty anime anymore. To answer the OP if I love the show I just finished then I have to go find some awesome fanart and save it so I can use it as a background image. Or I'll buy the blueray or manga when it comes out. Or maybe I'll just rewatch an episode or listen to the ost. It varies. |
Sol_OuJun 27, 2014 11:44 PM
| If it's one I really loved then I would be like: NO please dont be the last episode..T^T Isn't there going to be another season? please someone tell me if there will!!?? If it's an anime I just liked alot and has an huge open ending I'm like: NO WAY! Why anime? Why do you do this to me??!! that ending was horrible! You didnt explain anything at all!! :( But after that outbreak I would just put it aside and go for the next one.. xP If it's an anime I liked for a bit or didnt that much I'm like: Ahh.. so that's your ending ey? Fine by me.. It's anime, but it's allway's a different one.. Fot me it has to give me the right feels.. =3 |
| probably horny |
| Depends on how the anime ends. |
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| Either: 1. Ask myself 'what do I do now?' 2. Thumbs up. 3. Meh, next! 4. I've gouged my eyes out. |
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