| Yeah plot is most important, if a shoes got good characters and plot I'll watch it and usually do a rewatch |
Sometimes it takes a real man to be best girl. Gilgamesh is also chad.   |
| Yeah, but I also check the genre and theme tags. |
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| Character designs, the anime's age, genre and plot are factors for why I pick what I pick. I hardly look at scores. Plot doesn't really matter if you like ecchi or CGDCT I think. |
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| I mean, yeah. Dont care if something is rated 9.98/10 or so when the whole story is about a buch of girls drinking tea or some shit. |
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| Not at all. I just look at the genres and themes because I'm more likely to enjoy an anime from one of my favorite genres, but even among my least favorite ones I found quite a few good anime. The score of an anime heavily depends on its production value (some drama also helps). Between a decent story with good visuals and a decent story with mediocre production value you might as well watch the former first, so that's why trying every highly rated anime is worth it (but only if you're willing to drop the boring ones as soon as possible, otherwise you'll waste a lot of time). |
| If I find something interesting looking with a 5.xx rating I will watch it, while not touching FMAB and such. |
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| Score might not be a reliable measure always but it's damn useful to have. You just have to know how to read ratings, using people's impressions, positive comments, negative comments, and that's when the plot description becomes a tool as well. It's like in imdb, where a movie between 6,7-7,8 can be either dull and boring or one of the most interesting movies you've ever seen in your life. I will never watch Oshi No Ko no matter how much certain types of anime watchers say it was produced by the angels themselves. On the other hand, some other or the popular animes, this or other season, might have the most pedantic, pretentious and pseud top-rated review trying to pass as highbrow, and then I decide that I will watch that precisely that one title. |
RissenicusMay 1, 2023 11:08 AM
| "Chimp in state of nature never jerks off, but in captivity he does, wat does this mean? In state of nature he’s too busy, to put plainly. He is concerned with mastering space: solving problem of life in and under trees, mastering what tools he can, mastering social relations in the jockeying for power and status. Deprived of this drive to development and self-increase he devolves to pointless masturbation, in captivity, where he senses he is in owned space and therefore the futility of all his efforts and all his actions." |
| No, I don't even read the synopsis. I pick anime by title, studio, PV, art style or poster art. |
| Imagine how boring this world would be without Japan - a comment at youtube |
| I take into account the plot plus the genre and poster |
| no I like going in blind, its more interesting that way |
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| I'm wary of judging by synopsis alone since that's not the plot but often simply the starting point of the plot/ shows the theme and describe the initial settings. What's important is what the author can do with that start, not the start. So while reading synopsis is useful to see if the story looks like something that would interest me, the rating, or the reviews, can be interesting as well to get a better idea of what the author managed to do with that start. That's why I decide to watch or read something. Now, in the end, what will make me like it or not, has a lot to do with the plot. So I heavily disagree in plot not mattering to me; but t o peoples in general... I suppose that has always been a thing for many peoples. After all, action movies aren't especially about the plot, and they've been popular since they exist, pretty much. |
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Zefyris said: Pretty much agreed as I usually to some more research like PVs and what people on forums or reddit and such are generally saying (aka opinions/comments) about the series whether its ongoing or completed.I'm wary of judging by synopsis alone since that's not the plot but often simply the starting point of the plot/ shows the theme and describe the initial settings. What's important is what the author can do with that start, not the start. So while reading synopsis is useful to see if the story looks like something that would interest me, the rating, or the reviews, can be interesting as well to get a better idea of what the author managed to do with that start. That's why I decide to watch or read something. Now, in the end, what will make me like it or not, has a lot to do with the plot. So I heavily disagree in plot not mattering to me; but t o peoples in general... I suppose that has always been a thing for many peoples. After all, action movies aren't especially about the plot, and they've been popular since they exist, pretty much. |
| It's not decisive for me. A lot of great ideas for a plot have disappointed me seriously: 20th Century Boys, Death Note and Steins Gate come to mind; they were sort of original and creative but ended up being mediocre in the execution. Personally reviews are more helpful to determine what to watch/read. If a reviewer makes the anime sound interesting, then I'm more likely to watch it than if I just read the synopsis. |
UnoPuntoCincoMay 1, 2023 12:26 PM
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| Yes, also characters and genre too. |
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| Poster, synopsis, staff, tags, etc are what decides it for me. I think people who look take number scores seriously are insane. If it looks even mildly interesting I will check it out someday. |
| My pronoun is he, because I'll never be him. |
| I'd say that synopsis is definitely the main element for me to deciding to watch something. The other is if people I trust like it. |
| I start with the art styles, then I look at the theme tags, and finally I go by the brief description of the anime. If the rating is super low, I will look at reviews before committing to the anime, if it's super low it usually helps me decide if it's worth my time. |
My Candies:  “Even when you were so depressed and emotionally unstable, the taste of your coffee jelly stayed the same." Kusuo Saiki  |
| Yes, but also depends on the genre and things like if it's a story-driven series or not. |
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| No, ratings are not a good way. There's good stuff in #1000 and ahead. Completely disagree. |
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| A good way is finding anime related to what you already like. It's simple and works. |
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| "Its plot seems soo bad but its actually such a good anime". I don't understand how this is possible, and that gives away my answer, I guess. |
| The plot is the least important thing for me. I choose what to watch based off pictures I've seen of it or if there's a character I like. If it looks nice I will try it out. Other than maybe knowing a one sentence summary I go in blind. |
| "Do you decide to watch anime based off of plot?" Yes I do |
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| I think that plots vs ratings is a dicothomy only if you subject yourself to a no-drop policy. If you don't you can avoid the flaws of both methods and create your own way to pick which show you'll be watching. I, for one, decide based on the visual key, and then drop everything I don't feel like continuing along the way. The first couple of weeks of the season are pretty stacked, but then everything settles down and it usually doesn't end up taking more than an hour per day, unless the season is full of bangers. |
| Plot descriptions? Who gives a shit about those? Ratings? Don't even get me started on those. If you want to truly enjoy anime, you need to throw all that shit out the window and just dive into whatever looks interesting to you. |
| More on its premise, theme and the genre. |
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| Though seeing screenshots, video clips and fan art on image boards, or what shows up more often though my YouTube recommendations. |
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| I'd say mostly no. |
| Plot is the last thing I care about. I care much more about the artstyle and overall feeling that it gives off. I watch anything that seems interesting to me. In my opinion, excessively caring about the plot in a visual medium is a stupid thing to do. If I wanted plot, I would just read a book. For the same reason; I don't like things like plot focused movies and movie-games. |
Thanatos1May 1, 2023 11:47 PM
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| yes, good art direction and atmosphere is key too but plot prob most important at the end of the day |
| "Do you decide to watch anime based off of plot?" That goes without saying when we talk about continuing a show, but the decision making before I start a show is a bit more random. Only partially. I would evade certain themes like sport, tearjerkers or whatever, but the sysnposes can be misleading and would figure it out what the story is only when I actually experience it. In other words - I am a bad prophet at guessing shows based only on their profiles in MAL, even if those are in my favorite genres. On the other hand fandom reactions can give me a hint if I would hate a show. There's no mistake in the cases of Chainsaw Man and Oshi No Ko. Manga fans leaking spoilers how "good" those get, only confirm my suspections, because those plot points sound quite stupid. |
alshuMay 1, 2023 11:39 PM
| A bit of everything. If something has a high rating its going to naturally be more appealing than if it was something with a low rating. Its why sites like RottenTomatoes, IMDb and Letterboxd are popular. For better or worse, its used as a filter for movies/TV shows. A good rating will peak my interest, but I still need to like the art/animation style and the genre. I don't want to watch Clannad because the artstyle on the girls just looks so dumb. Their eyes are too distracting for me to be immersed with the story. Gintama doesn't interest me because it just seems like a parody of different anime. Ratings, art, characters and genre are all a big factor for me. I wouldn't say plot is the most important for me personally, because I can watch things where the plot is literally just "defeat the villain" and "win this game". I can watch anything with good art and interesting characters. |
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| ....Yeah? Why else would I watch it? |
| In the end, all girls are like the rose bride |
| i honestly go in blind. i dont read the synopsis. well, i do check the genre sometimes, but i judge it after the first three episodes pretty much |
by Toshi  |
| Assuming "plot" is synonymous with premise here, then yes. It's worked really well for me so far, though it isn't the only variable I look at. Artstyle and genre can be of interest too. |
  ｲ乇刀乇乃尺ﾑ乇 ㊎   ㊰☽ Shaded Horizon ☾ |
| Nah I never pick an anime based of the rating before, maybe FMAB? But that's only because it's a #1. Title, cover, synopsis, genre, theme, pv, op, ed, random clips, friends, & popularity are the reason why I decide to watch an anime. |
| Not for me. I pick based on how appealing the poster/cover art of an anime looks to me. I also like to give as many shows a chance as I can. Very often I'm feeling pressured to watch a show, when I see how many members it has, or how high it's score is. It's annoying because that raises my expectations unnecessarily. An example would be "Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko!". The show is very popular, so I ended up having unfounded expectations and wouldn't you know it, after completing it, I felt it was just alright. Same with Spy x Family last year. |
| I for the most part never read the plot synopsis. I like being suprised. |
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| Particularly not. But if there's an anime whose plot catches my attention, I'll probably watch it. |
| I usually take the plot into account before deciding which anime I should watch, but it's up to my personal preference after all. In addition, art style and character design matter too. |
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| Yeah, that and genre. Having someone I know recommend it to me is a bonus. |
The siren of a flightless bird Quietly destroying its cage Dance, until tonight, with a raised voice- For I don't want to lose hope! -Utsuro wo Aogu, Vivid BAS SQUAD |
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