I started following seasonal anime sometime in 2006. Since I don’t have the time or motivation to check out every series each season (or even half), and I also have an aversion to dropping anime and I don’t like to just “sample” the first episode or two, I’ve come to realize that there are many factors involved for deciding which series to watch…
For something as commonplace in the fandom as deciding which anime to watch each season, there’s actually a variety of criteria one can use to decide, and naturally the criteria differs for each fan.
When the new season comes around, one of my first influences is to get a quick sampling of the story and character designs, usually via chartfag. I know first impressions of the character designs can be very telling – some fans will skip over any show with too many “moe” characters, some will do the same for characters who look ugly or strange to them. And likewise, some fans will pay more attention to moe, bishounen, realistic-looking character, etc., designs over others. For me personally, this isn’t much of an issue. I’ll gladly watch any show filled with cute moe characters (K-ON!, Clannad), serious shonen characters (Rainbow, Death Note), or any others. The only thing I actively avoid is ecchi and excessive fan service (a little is fine). Unless the character designs are just too hideous in my eyes, which I don’t think has ever happened, it won’t deter me from watching a show. But if I happen to especially like the character designs, that helps in my decision making.
Why I decided to watch Bakemonogatari – sudden popularity
After glancing at the initial promo pictures for each series, next is to read the little blurb of what they’re about. If any are sequels to a show I liked previously, chances are I’ll watch it unless it’s been way too long since I watched the previous series and I feel I need to refresh my memory with a rewatch first. The title of the anime series usually doesn’t matter to me. If there’s something I don’t like about it, like redundancy (The Legend of the Legendary Heroes), or a bit of perversity (Cat Shit One, Chu-Bra!), that might deter me unless I like other things about it.
When it comes to what the series is about, I’m pretty open to anything. I know some fans will avoid series that sound depressing, others will avoid anything that sounds fan-pandering or cliche, still others will avoid specific genres all together. Besides ecchi, I’ll watch anything. I am guilty of casting initial doubt on series that sound like pandering harem or wish-fulfilling shonen cliches, but that could be dissolved if I hear good things about them.
Why I decided to watch Toradora! – hype
Since I’m not very picky with character designs or story, one of the first things I’ll look for in a new series is animation studio. I’ll watch anything from Kyoto Animation regardless of other factors. I’ll usually watch anything from BONES and MadHouse too. If the series is made by a studio I like more than not (J.C. Staff, A-1 Pictures, Production I.G), that could make me more interested. Likewise, if it’s made by a studio I’ve never heard of or I’ve had issues with in the past, that could deter me unless I like other things about it.
Hype and familiarity with the original creator are two additional factors. I may not have initially picked up Toradora! or Durarara!! if fans weren’t talking about them even before they aired. My likeness for Jun Maeda’s work helped me decide to watch Angel Beats! (hype too). And watching Bakemonogatari and Seirei no Moribito made me decide to watch Katanagatari and Kemono no Souja Erin respectively. I don’t read manga or play games much, so familiarity with a manga or game turned anime doesn’t usually affect me. I also don’t consider music much of a factor since it has little bearing on the rest of the anime (Yoko Kanno and Yuki Kajiura could be exceptions) and many lame anime have had fantastic openings and endings.
Why I decided to watch Death Note – unique story
After my chartfag perusal, I’ll pick a handful of series to consider. When the season starts and the first episodes are released, I’ll first watch the ones I’m intent on watching. For others, I’ll wait and see which ones become the most popular, particularly amongst friends and on Anime Nano. I find ANN’s season preview guides helpful too, though I do take their biases into account. Even if a series I wasn’t even considering suddenly shoots up to high popularity, I’ll probably pick it up. This may sound kind of undignified, but like I said, I’m open to just about all genres of anime, so why not watch the popular ones so I can be part of more discussions and better experience the trends of the fandom? And nine times out of ten I end up loving the popular series anyway.
Why I decided to watch K-ON! – Kyoto Animation
Usually by the third week of the season, taking all the above factors into account, I’ll know which shows I’m watching and which I either won’t ever watch, or will have to pick up at a later time.
To summarize, my determining factors for which shows to watch are as follows (starting from most important):
1. sequel of a show I liked
2. initial hype
3. popularity
4. animation studio
5. I like the original creator/source
6. appealing story
7. appealing character designs
8. genre
9. music
So how do you decide which anime to watch and not watch each season?
Mine is not that different…
1. Getting a Chartfag
2. If the show is connected to some I liked, I will watch it
3. If the show is adaptation of something I liked, I will watch it
4. I’ll take a show into consideration if:
4.1. The art looks nice
4.2. The description is intriguing
5. I check for info about shows in consideration around teh net (forums, wiki, etc…)
6. I check trailers of upcoming shows
7. When the season starts I also check various blogs to see if there is something good I missed
As for what I find to be most important… well as I like it I watch it. I don’t care for reasons behind why I watch it
@ Nayrael
Good list there. Somewhat similar to mine with the only difference being trailers. For some reason I don’t have any interest in watching the trailers or openings/endings to preview a series. I guess it’s because I feel most of them could be misleading and make even mediocre shows look really good.
I just watch the first ep of everything that’s subbed, unless it’s just too far from my tastes to begin with (which means I’ll try about half of a season’s offerings, or more). I rank what I watch, and watch what I have time for from that list.
What passes the one-ep test, gets a three-ep test. I’ll eventually get around to finishing most things that pass the 1-ep test, but only follow the stuff that passes the 3-ep test while it airs – there are simply too many better anime in my backlog to waste time on mediocre offerings.
I do read blogs/etc to see whether shows have impressed others, or changed considerably. If they have I’ll give them another shot (ie, put them higher on my prioritized-list). Popular shows I find awful still sometimes get a second chance, since I like knowing what’s appealing to the otaku droves. If it’s just fanservice, though, odds are I’ll steer clear – I have better things to titilate me.
Of the criteria you listed, the only ones that really make a difference to me are “appealing story”, and “appealing character designs”. The rest have been shown to be unreliable at best (animation studio, music, hype, popularity), or just so far off my radar that I don’t normally care (genre, original creator/source, sequel). If I gauged anime by the priorities you listed, I would probably have stopped watching anime in disgust many, many years ago (just like I did with North American TV).
@ Hogart
Your way of deciding sounds very organized and better than mine actually. But I personally don’t like to do the 1-3 episode taste tests because, since most anime stories have very defined beginnings, middles, and ends, I feel they have to be appreciated as a whole and one has to know the whole story in order to properly judge them, especially for the shorter series. I could name so many series that didn’t particularly impress me in the first three episodes only to completely blow my mind by the ending. That’s one of the reasons I’m a stickler about dropping anime and will follow a series through once I start watching it. And also, I’m just not fussy about anime so I’m rarely disappointed using my method. But for most fans with particular tastes, I think your method is better.
I pretty much go with any show done by my favorite animation studios, until they somehow disappoint me (KyoAni, Bones, Madhouse, Production I.G., etc.). For other shows, I tend to go with the ones with the most appealing character designs, most stylish character designs (likeMononoke and Kaiba, underrated series of 2008), interesting basic premise, and if I enjoyed the source material (Fullmetal Alchemist 2009, Kobato). The only downside to that is that I’d be tempted to drop it once it strays away too much with a bad alternate story or something. There are also certain genres that I’m used to, but I don’t let that influence my decisions on which anime I’m going to watch.
For series that I’m unsure of, I sometimes go with fan reactions in my anime-watching decisions. I usually ignore first episode impressions, and if fan reaction is still good during the middle of the series… chances are, I’ll pick it up.
@ Mikoto
Nice to know someone else who cares about animation studios =) I’m also glad to know that someone’s not afraid of unusual character designs like those of Kaiba and Mononoke. That’s a big turn off for potential One Piece viewers, which saddens me.
In a way, I’m glad I’m rarely familiar with the original manga/novel/game of an anime before watching it – keeps my expectations lower XD
first I stalk random curiosity. the blog gives really good summaries and previews of the anime season so I usually pick my series from there.
one of my main criteria is genre. a psychological/horror/mystery story is much more appealing than a mahou shoujo or slice of life to me.
then i try my already selected series out for an episode. if i’m not hooked by the plot, if the characters are annoying/really unoriginal/unappealing to me, or if there’s a lot of fanservice, i won’t watch another…unless there’s a hype (how i got into drrr!).
other things that i look for are animation studio, the composer, and style. sometimes the seiyuu cast may also get me to watch a show that i was not going to chose initially.
@ Myna
I think I’m one of the few veteran bloggers who’s almost never visited Random Curiosity. I’ve gone there a few times for anime screencaps, but that’s about it. Maybe I should give their seasonal previews a try.
And OMG, I totally forgot about seiyuu being a factor! It’s not too high on my criteria list, but if a series has a seiyuu or two that I like, it could definitely sway me.
It depends. I check blog posts, look on Melative or even look up a series at tvtropes to see if a series sound interesting before diving into. I’m not much of a big taste tester since I’m pretty much picky when it comes to new Anime. This is why I rarely dive into anything new since I don’t know how good it is.
When I watch something new, I usually give it three episodes before deciding on continuing or drop a series. I don’t do this with series I bought DVDs for since I don’t want to waste my money if I were to drop it.
And there are some genres I don’t like… such as Mecha and ecchi. I care less about those. Otherwise, I have no preference over animation studios and stuff although Kyoto Animation heavily influence me with their shows…
@ chikorita157
So you’ll buy DVDs of a series without watching it all fansubbed first? I don’t think there are many fans who do that, so good for you =)
Although I don’t care much for genre, there are some I tend to lean more towards than others. I like slice-of-life/comedy and drama/fantasy or sci-fi. Mecha/military and horror not as much, and ecchi, never.
Go KyoAni~
I’d honestly say there probably is no set method in picking what I want to watch, though Mikoto’s is probably closest to the mark. However, it’s probably best to really just wait until they are finished and going off of feedback.
@ Emperor J
Yeah, logically it would be best to go off reactions to the entire series rather than first impressions, since most anime stories are non-episodic and lead up to a conclusion. But the Internet being as it is now, we all want to watch the latest shows as they air just like the Japanese fans. No one wants to wait until the end when the episodes are available as they air. But I think those who are willing to wait may actually get a better viewing experience.
I always look at the supposed “genre” first. If it’s something clearly fanservicey or just doesn’t match my tastes, then I don’t watch or try it. If I find out that it’s actually a good show later through the community, then I’ll pick it up. Next I look at the director of the series. After that it’s animation company. I usually don’t need to go much farther from there.
@ Mystlord
I too avoid fanservicey series, but other than that, I’m pretty much open to all genres. And like you, if I later hear a series that I passed by ended up being a hit, I’ll check it out as soon as possible (since the longer I wait, the less motivation I’ll have to pick it up).
Ah yes, directors are another factor. I actually don’t know anything about any anime directors (besides Miyazaki XD), but I know some fans pay close attention to that.
@Yumeka: yeah, I agree that a lot of series may have weak starts, but I give series a fair shot and have quite low standards – otherwise I would have dropped Working! right away last season (and quite a few shows besides it).
I just tend to not care about watching a show as it airs, so I’ll just toss it somewhere suitable on my list of shows-to-watch, unless it’s so terrible that I doubt I’ll ever want to watch it (or unless some aniblogger implies it might be worth it after all).
I’ve found this to be successful for my varied tastes, because I generally like the stuff I watch right away, and only rarely find shows that beat my expectation when they’re tucked away lower on my list of priorities.
I think, Without sampling an anime yourself, the decision of which anime to watch will become too dependent on the surrounding hype. While listening to others opinions (i.e. objective thinking) is definitely a good thing, I’d rather choose an anime to watch base on my own preference of 3 important factors: “Story”, “Flow” and “Purpose”, which are more subjective than objective.
+ “Story” is how interesting the plot of an Anime can be. The more twist and faster pace of the plot, the better the story. In other word, the story has to be surprising enough to keep me guessing (but got it wrong more than right) and want to see more of it, as well as being fast enough to keep me from getting bored.
Story twist and pace are different from genre to genre, and depending on the viewer’s personality, an Anime may or may not have enough twist and speed. In my opinion, Code Geass has the best “Story” element among the mecha genres, if not among all the Anime I have watched.
+ “Flow” is how well-combined the art, soundFX, specialFX, music and animation of an Anime can be. The more streamlined and comfortable feeling the Anime delivers, the better the flow. Many people think of “Story” and “Flow” as one, but I’d like to seperate the two. Story is a static element of an Anime. What makes the story move is the Flow.
I think that there are some Animes that have good “Story”, but bad “Flow”, like Bakemonogatari. The rapid changes of art style and lack of animation made me feel interupted and uncomfortable when watching Bakemonogatari. I kept wanting to know more about the story, while being irritated by its flow. The art style itself is interesing and unique, not to mention good specialFX. But somehow I feel that the combination of sound, color and animation is not quite right in Bakemonogatari.
Some Animes focus way more on the Flow than the story. Lucky Star is one Slice-of-life genre Anime that has not much Story to offer, yet amazingly appealing to me, because of the flow. Artstyle and animation of Lucky Star are simple, yet engaging. And the soundFX is just right.
+ “Purpose” is the lesson, the thing that you get while watching (or afer watching) the Anime. Don’t we all love Anime that have outstanding characters with their own strengths? Or even better, if they realize their strengths only after a lot of hardship. I always choose my favorite Animes to watch over and over several times a year base on the “Purpose” factor. Funny enough, Lucky Star’s purpose is to motivate my studying.
Once again, the 3 factors above are more subjective than objective.
@ Odin Force
Very good criteria you have there – I especially like your concept of an anime’s “flow.” That gives me more to think about when I review anime.
Deciding to watch anime based solely by what people say won’t work for everyone. I happen to follow it because I usually like the popular series anyway, but having one’s own criteria like what you have is best.
Your post got me reflecting on my own anime-watching habits, something I haven’t consciously done before…. =)
So, I rarely follow what’s being offered during any given season, as I prefer retroactively cherry-picking series I find appealing based on what I’ve heard from other people or reviews I’ve read on blogs/ANN. Therefore, my current watching menu literally spans two decades, ranging from Patlabor (late 1980s) to Basilisk, Natsume’s Book of Friends and a few other mid-2000s series, up to K-ON!!, which is still ongoing.
Based on the criteria you’ve listed, I think my most important criterion would be “genre,” as I’m mostly drawn to sci-fi, cyberpunk/dystopic, and slice-of-life/light-hearted kinds of series. Hence, Ghost in the Shell SAC & the movies all have a special place in my heart, as do Planetes, ARIA, and (oddly enough) Ouran High School Host Club. But, I will step outside the box if there’s enough “hype/popularity” about a series, which explains my following of K-ON!. I initially wrote it off as another high-school-girls-moeblobs series, but after watching a few eps I began to understand why both male & female fans find the girls endearing without being overcute.
And it doesn’t hurt when there’s some memorable “music” or songs involved, as in K-ON (hummable J-pop is always good) and Macross Frontier (the quadruple combo of Yoko Kanno + Megumi Nakajima + May’n + Maaya Sakamoto is enough to melt the hardest heart, eh?). I also look at the “animation studio” if I’m on the fence about whether to follow a series – I usually give the benefit of doubt to series done by Production IG, Sunrise/Bandai, & Gonzo.
One other factor that wasn’t on your list but I find does influence my watching habits is a desire to follow the career of a particular voice actor/actress. I’m a fan of Maaya Sakamoto and thus I try and follow series she’s done to see how creatively she can stretch her vocal talents: her Haruhi in Ouran sounds so different from Hitomi in Escaflowne or Chrona in Soul Eater. That’s what got me onto Ouran High School, and I thoroughly enjoyed that series in the end. I wonder if other people have particular seiyuu they admire and if that influences their anime-watching?
@ f0calizer
I admire those who are content not to follow only currently popular series and who want to take time to watch older (and sometimes forgotten) series. I mostly follow seasonal anime because I like to be able to discuss with friends and the blogsphere, and to see the current trends in the fandom. But I really should take time to watch older series that I missed out on too.
It seems like you’re interested in a good variety of anime, from serious ones like Ghost in the Shell, to light ones like K-ON! =)
Yeah, like I told Myna above, I forgot to mention seiyuu in the post. I don’t have to watch an anime just because a particular seiyuu is in it, but it could definitely influence me if it has seiyuu I like.
Thanks for comment by the way. Hope to meet-up with you one day XD
I hesitate to pick up and start watching too many new anime series, as there are too many old completed series that I want to get to. So that means I only start watching new ones that really, really interest me.
For summer, I’m just watching NuraMago. I just saw the picture and read a capsule description, and saw bishonen + shonen + samurai – and that was all I needed, really. ;) I’m easy to please. Seriously, I think for me it’s just a matter of going for what I know I already like: shonen stories, action, bishonen, shonen-ai, yaoi. Last season was a good balance for me, as I watched one popular series everyone was watching (Durarara!) and one that seemed as tailor-made for my interests as if the producers had read my mind (Hakuouki). (Oh, and one I nearly forgot: UraBoku, which is still ongoing.) I don’t pay attention to studios, although sometimes I think I should…
@ Jan
I don’t take enough time to watch older series I have on my “Plan To Watch.” Maybe once in a while, but not very often. I’m usually 80% currently airing shows and 20% rewatching. I really should remedy that and take time to watch old shows.
I like watching a variety of anime genres, but I suppose one good point to doing what you do – sticking to genres you like – is that you’re less likely to be disappointed =)
I will watch an anime if it contains any of the following factors:
1. Blood
2. High popularity (unless it’s something gay like K-On)
3. High amount of hype (unless it’s something gay like K-On)
4. Lesbians
This is what I refer to as the “Quadrant of Glo,” and yes, I just made that up right now.
For me, it looks something like this.
sequel of a show I liked
appealing character designs
appealing story
music
genre
initial hype
popularity
I like the original creator/source
animation studio
I don’t really know much about creators and studios so I don’t really factor that in.
Usually I check out a summary, an opening, and then watch three episodes to judge it before deciding whether to continue. It slightly annoys me when people drop an excellent series after a not so stellar first or second episode. Other than that, I check around forums and blogs to see what’s good. Sometimes I randomly pick from whatever I see there and watch it (and I am SO glad, that’s how picked up such an excellent and emotionally powerful series like Wolf’s Rain). I also check the studios and some of the seiyuu featured.