I’m sure we’ve all been in the situation where someone recommends an anime for us to watch that we’re not too thrilled with right away, yet they assure us that “it gets good later.” But how late should “later” be before it starts to feel like it’s not worth our time?…
I’ve heard opinions from both ends of the spectrum – fans who will drop any series right away if the first episode doesn’t immediately catch their interest, down to fans who will watch any series they start until the end to see if it was worth it. Besides someone’s overall patience with their entertainment, I think other factors are involved as well. Time, for example, could be one. Fans who have more free time on their hands could be more willing to put up with a mediocre beginning in an anime than fans who have less free time and don’t want to waste it on anime that’s not entertaining them from the get-go. Whether or not fans have prior expectations about the anime’s source material, original creator, or production studio are other things that could determine how much or how little of a chance they’re willing to give an anime. If they have faith in the original creator or are familiar with its original manga, they might have more patience with a series than someone who’s not familiar with these things. And of course, personality comes into play – if you’re patient and easy-going with your anime, you’ll probably be willing to wait longer for a series to “get good” than someone who’s less patient and more specific with their anime.
As I’ve discussed in a previous post, it takes a lot for me to drop an anime. Over ten years as a fan and I’ve dropped less than ten of the series I started watching. So does that mean I think an anime should have unlimited time to “get good”? I’ll admit I’m more patient than others when it comes to mediocre series, but I do have limits too.
To start things off, I try to be less judgmental at the beginning of a series since I know they need time for stories to unfold and characters to develop. So as long as the first episode of an anime isn’t a total bore or full of flaws, I’m willing to give it a chance passed that point. After that, the length of the series will also play a role. Usually the longer a series is, the more patience I try to have since I know more episodes equals more chances for the story to take a turn for the better or something else in the series to suddenly impress me. For example, if a 26-episode series is still boring me by episode 10, I’ll probably be more inclined to drop it than I would if a 50-episode series still hadn’t gotten good by episode 10. Once I make it passed the halfway point of a series, I become less inclined to give up on it since I figure “I’m over halfway done, might as well see how it ends.” As long as I don’t have any huge issues with a series and am able to derive a decent amount of enjoyment from it, I’ll stick with it till the end if my free time permits.
For long-running anime with hundreds of episodes, I know they take an extra amount of time to get good, though my experience has shown me that the payoff is worth it. I didn’t start to love Inuyasha until the episodes hit the 20s or 30s, and then it became my all time favorite series for a while. My favorite character in One Piece wasn’t even introduced until the episodes hit the 60s! Since the long-running shonen anime could take longer than two-cour anime to get “get good,” only certain kinds of fans are willing to get into them, which is understandable.
But, despite what I said above, sometimes a series does certain things that push by buttons as early as the first episode, causing me to not want to give it a chance regardless of length. For example, despite the fact that it’s a two-cour series, I found the first three episodes of the currently airing Persona 4 so boring and flawed, I just didn’t have the motivation to continue. My mind can be changed down the line though. If the latter half of Persona 4 gets an amazing amount of acclaim, I might be willing to give it another try. If a series I dropped early on suddenly becomes a huge success (as is the case with Lucky Star for me), I’ll most likely give it another chance. I tend to like the anime that become very popular, so for me personally, that would be a big factor in determining how much of a chance I’m willing to give a series. But for the average anime, if the bad outweighs the good for me in the first few episodes, I’ll be more inclined to drop it than if I was simply neutral to the first few episodes.
Another factor is exactly how “good” the “get good” part seems to be. If I were someone who hadn’t watched Madoka Magica yet and was ready to drop it by episode 2 because it wasn’t doing anything for me, I’m sure everyone who’s seen it would passionately tell me to give it a chance passed that point. So I’d most likely do so (helped by the fact that it’s only 12 episodes), whereas, I wouldn’t get such unanimous convincing for a lesser known series where maybe only a few people would tell me it “gets good later” while others would say it doesn’t (if it was a longer series, that would also be a deterrent). So an anime’s overall popularity is another thing that could make or break my decision to continue a series.
To conclude, there are a multitude of factors at play in determining how much time we’re each willing to give an anime to “get good” – how much free time we have, what we’ve heard about the series from others, how many total episodes it has, our background knowledge about the series, and how much patience we personally have when it comes to hobbies and entertainment. So now I’d like to know, how many episodes are you willing to give an anime to “get good”? Do any of the things I discussed above apply to you? Are there any other factors you think are important?
Interesting post. Generally if I like the first episode at all, I’ll give a series three or four episodes to catch my interest, unless the series has or gets a lot of hype from the anime community. That’s usually enough time to I’m more likely to keep going with a series if I like the characters, but the plot annoys me than the reverse.
Yeah, three or four episodes is usually what I give a series that fails to catch my interest in the beginning. If it’s extremely popular though, and not too long, I may just watch it all the way through regardless =P
I usually follow the three episode rule; if I don’t find at least one thing that I like about the show by then, I’ll drop it. This could be anything from the premise or the characters to “I really like that one guy who shows up every now and again, I’ll keep watching it for that reason.” Basically, I give shows a lot of leeway. You brought up a good point about the episode length too, and I tend to follow the same line of thinking. If a twelve-episode series isn’t grabbing me by episode three, it’s safe to say that I’m not going to like it. But if a 50-episode series is still getting itself warmed up at episode 10, I’m willing to give it more time.
I agree, as long as there’s something I like and am looking forward to by the first few episodes, I’ll keep watching. And yeah, I’ll give more time to longer series and less time to shorter ones. But in all cases, if the bad severely outweighs the good in a series for me, I’ll most likely drop it sooner rather than later. Doesn’t happen very often though.
I always give all anime a chance. At least 4 episodes. Some of them works well, like Oreimo. That was not something I liked at the beginning, but later turned out to be pretty good. Others do not turn out as well, like high-school of the dead. I do not like zombie movies much, so had to drop that after to eps.
There are exceptions though, there are series that start out incredibly well, and can grab me on the 1st episode. Code Geass, Claymore, for example those really nailed a story on the first episode. It’s not easy to pull off, but can really help.
So I will give it a good chance (at least 4) , but I’m not as patient as you I guess.
I think for one and sometimes two-cour series, 3-4 episodes is a good gauge for whether you’ll like a series or not. You’re right that few anime are able to pull off a noticeably impressive first episode simply because of the nature of anime stories with their various subplots and foreshadowing that aren’t explored until one has seen all episodes. But yes, a gripping first episode can be a huge plus =D
I usually watch the entire series, then decide whether or not to drop it. Usually, no show has a great pilot episode anyway. The only show I dropped after the first episode was Best Student Council. Most shows I drop, I just forgot to watch for some time.
What do you mean by “watch the entire series, then decide whether or not to drop it”? If you’ve already watched all the episodes, how can you drop it?
I must be lucky since I learned very quickly of which anime I’d like. Even able to tell by screenshots or by the images on a DVD cover. I can’t think of an anime where I waited for it to get good, so I’m sure it’s not more than the first episode for me.
Over the years, I’ve gotten good at figuring out which anime I would like and which I wouldn’t just from looking at a few pictures and reading a bit about its story and background. This is another reason why I rarely drop anime. I’m also just not very fussy with anime either =P
You pretty much hit everything right on the head. My time is precious to me, as after putting the kids down and spending time with my wife, I really need to make a decision between getting 7 hours of sleep or watching a few episodes and getting 6. And so, unless the series has a lot of acclaim, I’ve been recommended it personally, there’s a plot twist I know is coming, or some other similar factor, I generally give a show two episodes before dropping it, though I’ve been known to sometimes (read: frequently) last only half of one episode.
Wanting to make the most of what little free time you have is certainly a good reason for only watching anime you especially like right from the get-go. I’ve never dropped an anime after just half an episode, but there’s nothing wrong with that, especially if your time for personal hobbies is limited. I suppose if I ever reach a point in my life where I have little free time, I may have to adopt your methods XD
Three episodes. Five max.
I’ve dropped very few shows only after one episode. I like to give things a chance. Compared to other people, I haven’t dropped too many shows. I pick up a lot of things I’ve dropped back up again. My opinion on them usually doesn’t change from the initial impression though.
Yeah, 3-5 episodes is a good gauging number for one and even two-cour anime. I would have more leeway with 50-100+ episode series though. My opinion usually does change from the first 3-5 episodes, ranging anywhere from much more positive compared to my initial impressions (Madoka, and Toradora! for example), or more negative than my initial impressions ([C] and No.6). It’s rarely on the extreme negative side though or I would have dropped the series.
As a seiyuu otaku I tend to finish every anime that has very good acting, nevermind how uninteresting the plot (like in recently finished Horizon, where I still have no idea what was going on, the world was too large for 13 episodes), on the other hand, if the acting is bad I, now at least, drop the series without completing the first episode, like I did with Suzuka.
I don’t really drop sequels to the anime I already like, but the current Shana could make me do so- I simply don’t really care what will happen next- and that’s my main criterium- if I lose interest- I drop. Come to think of it, I was on verge of dropping Madoka earlier this year, but, knowing it was Shinbo’s work I was sure that it’d have more to it.
You’re the first person I’ve seen who would watch a series based on good acting alone…that’s great though =) Being a “seiyuu otaku” is certainly unique. If an anime has a seiyuu I particularly like, it could indeed affect how much of a chance I’ll give it. But things like plot and characters still take precedence for me.
@Jeremia –
Regarding Horizon…
I recommend reading the Wikipedia Entry. To avoid spoilers I normally try to NOT read Wikipedia while watching a series, but I had made an exception before starting Horizon – mainly because I had such little interest in the series beforehand that I didn’t think I’d actually be watching the series. I’m glad I read the entry in advance, because that helped reduce (but not eliminate) confusion when I watched season 1.
After reading Wikipedia, I also recommend watching the season again from the beginning. I missed a lot the first time around.
Horizon surprised me because initially I was very put off by the fanservice aspects, and I normally do not like buffoon characters – and, of course, there is a lot that is nonsensical. But I grew to really like the characters. Decent writing, good art and direction, and an all-star seiyuu cast help a lot. As long as one doesn’t take the series too seriously, I think Horizon is a lot of fun. I’m now a Horizon fangirl and am really looking forward to season 2 starting this summer.
An additional resource is the Horizon Wiki. Besides character and terminology descriptions, there’s a good Q&A section there.
For those of us who watch new anime as they come out, another factor to consider is “strength of season”. Last fall, for example, had a lot of solid series and I basically dropped everything that didn’t catch my interest within its first episode – I could afford that and still have enough to watch. Compare to winter 2011, which had two giants in Madoka and Hourou Musuko but nothing else of note – I was much more willing to go along with various shows even if they weren’t as impressive. I got through Yumekui Merry, for example, and that only went downhill after the first episode.
That’s a good point and I actually tend to follow it as well. If there are already a lot of great series airing in a particular season, I’ll be more picky with others for that season. On the flip side, if there are few winners in a particular season, I’ll put up with more mediocrity.
I tend to think carefully about what anime I choose to watch, so I generally don’t choose anime to watch on a whim. It’s only been the past two anime seasons that I’ve decided to pick up anime simply based on first impressions. As such, amongst my small anime collection, I’ve only dropped one anime series to date: Zero no Tsukaima. I found it kind of funny, I guess, but after half a season I couldn’t find enough reasons for me to justify watching the series that seemed a blatant excuse for fanservice.
I watch anime on a whim sometimes, but I generally have lots of different factors involved when picking anime – hype is a big one for me as I like to watch all the popular titles. What studio is producing it is another thing. What friends or people I respect are saying about it is another. And of course, my own opinion based on reading a synopsis or seeing pictures. Since I rarely drop series, I would say my method works :3
My rule of thumb for any series regardless of length is a disc’s worth, i.e. around 4 or 5 episodes. I can certainly be very critical of a title that doesn’t deliver whatever I’m looking for in an anime, but I’m aware that one episode often just isn’t enough time for the creators to have been able to show off their production in the way they might want to. On the other hand, I don’t usually see much point in watching past the first handful of episodes if I’m absolutely not interested by that point. I’m sure many anime can and do get better after that number, but if that’s about 2 hours of my time devoted to something that simply makes me bored, then I usually don’t see why I should continue. By that stage, if the anime hasn’t managed to grip me, then that’s a fairly serious flaw of the title right there. I certainly wouldn’t give a regular TV series more than 2 or so hours of my time if I didn’t particularly care for it, and moreover, I probably tend to be a little more critical of anime in general because of the fact that I love the medium so much.
Good points. I agree with you and other commenters above that 3-5 episodes is a good amount to invest in a series before deciding whether to continue with it or not. Unless I can’t find a single enjoyable thing by that point, I’ll most likely continue watching it. The shorter the series is, the better the chance I’ll continue it – if I’m already 5 episodes through an 11-episode series, even if I don’t particularly like it I may just finish it since I’m already about halfway through (again, as long as I don’t totally hate it at that point).
I don’t see any point in trying to come up with rules for this sort of thing. It’s a question of whether or not to make a trade-off; to watch some TV you wouldn’t normally watch, for the possibility that you’ll get something good later. So whether or not to continue watching should depend on how likely you think the improvement is, whether you expect such an improvement to bring it up to “good and enjoyable” or “utterly brilliant”, and perhaps most importantly, how sub-optimal it is currently. If it’s kind-of-fun-but-there-are-other-things-I-could-be-doing, then just seeing some glimmer of potential in the distant future might be enough. If it’s totally boring, then I’d need a very good reason to be watching entertainment which bores me.
But for the most part, I find just watching the first episode of a show is enough to judge whether I want to keep watching it. That’s because I’ve noticed that almost without exception, all my favourites have first episodes which are either good, or at least interesting. I find if a show is going to do something great, it’ll either get at least some indicative traces of that greatness right in at the start, or manage a “background level” which is entertaining enough anyway. (This may be because interesting modes of presentation are a large part of what works for me, and these tend to be used throughout.) “Slow boilers” can certainly become good, but not good enough to justify watching something which doesn’t interest me in the hope of a reward.
Great thoughts as always. Though I like to categorize all aspects of my fandom, even down to a topic like this, I agree that everything boils down to taste and what you’re looking for in your hobby. In this case, how much of your time you feel is worth giving to an anime in the hopes that there’s a payoff for it. I wouldn’t always agree that the first episode alone is enough to judge a series (I didn’t particularly like the first episodes of Toradora!, Code Geass, and Lucky Star, but they all later become favorites), but like others have said above, 3-5 episodes seems to be the popular amount of time to give an anime to “get good.”
Personally, I give it a few episodes. I adjust the amount I give a series depending on length. For example, with a 13 episode series, I’d watch 3-4 episodes max before deciding whether or not I will finish the series. If I’m not impressed by then, I drop it. With a 26 episode series, perhaps 5-6. I watch anime mainly to have fun, so I dislike forcing myself to watch episodes of a show unless I’m certain of a payoff.
After a certain point it becomes somewhat irrelevent how good a show is, because it never will be able to live down the fact that a good deal of the show honestly sucked.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a great example of this. It’s weak in it’s early episodes but starts to increase in quality later on in the series once things become more complicated. If it wasn’t for the weak beginning, I’d probably rank it as one of my favorite shows.
Yeah, it’s fair to give more time to longer series. But like you said, if you’re just plain not enjoying it you shouldn’t feel obligated to continue no matter the anime’s length.
Heh, I admit the first few episodes of Eva (before Asuka) aren’t especially great…still good in my opinion, but not like the rest. However, I found the payoff that the latter half of the series gives more than makes up for it, but that’s just me =P
It takes a lot to get me to drop an anime but I have done it a few times. Really it varies. I dropped Inuyasha after 60 or more. Legends of Galactic Heros earned 30 or so watches. Higurashi I dropped after 8 episodes. There are several I dropped after one episode.
Right now White Album is trying my patience. I will probably finish ot though.
I think I like your taste, good sir!
Good examples, though I am sad that Inuyasha didn’t manage to reel you in after you gave it such a good amount of episodes. But like any long-running shonen series, it’s not for everyone.
I found White Album boring but finished it anyway. Aya Hirano and Nana Mizuki with great songs are what kept me interested =P
I find it hard to not watch a show, lol. But then again I only watch anime in a 10pm-2am window where I don’t have much to do and either school or a job is done and I’ll unwind before bed to what ever is currently on. My bud told me Fractale was a huge disappointment after 5 episodes, and then I watched and finished it and COULDN’T disagree more. But I acknowledge I’m an outlier. Few people find Tamayura a fantastic show hahaha. I also really liked Blood-C’s approach. I just watch it until the end and find out for myself since my taste is so perverse.
Well, if you’ve got the time and motivation to get through any series, more power to you =P The advantage of that way of doing thing’s is that, if you do give a series a low rating, you can’t be accused of not giving it enough time XD And like you said, you can always see things through yourself rather than drop a series and have lingering doubts that it may have gotten better later.
40% of the show’s run/episodes. If it doesn’t get interesting by then I’ll consider dropping it and take a look back later and see if something changes.
It seems rather arbitrary. But i figure if the show hasn’t really unleashed it’s best by close to the midway point. It probably won’t have much to offer overall. Even if it does have some wild chaotic ending, it’ll probably be contrived and lack substance anyways.
Yeah, I’ll rarely go beyond the halfway point if a series hasn’t caught my interest since the first episode, especially for a two-cour anime. I’m less likely to drop a one-cour anime at the halfway point only because it’s not much of a time commitment to get through another 5-6 episodes as it would be for 12-13 episodes.
I am one of those crazy people who will watch ALL of an anime, no matter how bad it is, even if it takes me years of putting it off and discs/episodes gathering dust. I hate Higurashi but I will slog through all the seasons. I have thought some anime were the worst thing I’d ever seen at ep one, and then always been compelled to go back to them eventually. Even if a series is hundreds of episodes long, I will watch them.
I’m just a sucker for a story and must know how it ends, even if I end up hating that too. I don’t feel I can judge something properly unless I’ve seen it all.
I may have made my mind up at ep 5 whether I think something is good or bad, but it can always surprise me, and many do.
I guess I’m just more prepared to give my time to animation. Well, with 500+ animes watched, I feel I can relax and get through everything I find really interesting sooner or later.
Wow, that’s some dedication! If someone watched every anime no matter how bad but only watched, like, three titles month, that’s not saying much. But for you, it’s not only impressive that you’ll stick with a series no matter how bad, but the fact that you can do so with the large amount of anime you watch, is amazing. Do you have an account on MyAnimeList.net? You would have one awesome list! How do you make that kind of time? XD
I’ve met a lot of anime fans over the years but I don’t recall any who will always finish any series they hate. So yeah, kudos to you~ No one can accuse you of not giving an anime enough time!
Nooo, I started with a myanimelist account, but I soon realised it was going to take me, like, a full day just to fill it out, so I decided against it.
Lol likewise here, I almost never drop an anime. I’m really careful whenever I chose an anime to watch and always observed carefully other people’s reviews, the synopsis and some other things. Even if the anime is bad, I just finish it still anyhow. If the anime’s short, like 10-20 episodes, hey why not? I don’t really like the feeling of incompleteness and finish all anime I watch as much as possible. From my 10 years experience of anime, I think I can easily count the anime I dropped using only my 5 fingers.
I agree, I can easily count off the anime I’ve dropped and determine what I’ll watch by people’s reviews and general info/background about the series. And I’m less likely to drop shorter anime since their smaller time commitment and my yearning to finish what I start kicks in =)
I tend to ignore other people’s opinions when I decide if an anime is worth watching or not. The only series I’ve completed due to others claiming it’s good is Strike Witches, which I thought was above average but not as good as I was told.
My first “drop” point starts at the first episode. If it looks like a series I won’t enjoy, I just won’t watch it. My second “drop” point is episode 2, just in case it looks like it has potential and episode 1 might’ve been a screw-up. The furthest I get with a series before dropping it is 6-8 episodes in. By then I’ll have an idea of what it’s about and if it’s worth watching. If I make it past 8, then I almost always finish it.
It really depends on the genre! A series with a focus on the story should have set the basis for the overlying plot (if it has one) and premise by about 1/4 of the way through. Anime where the first half appears to be useless filler and the second half a rushed story is probably one of the worst kinds. Of course, genres like comedy, sports or slice-of-life is exempt, but I still expect to have a good grasp of the characters by the time I’m a few episodes in.
The recommendation the anime came with also plays a large role for me. If it was highly recommended by someone I know then I will definitely finish the anime, even if I don’t particularly find it appealing, unless it’s something I wouldn’t watch on principle (e.g. hentai). I can usually trust my friends’ tastes to be sure that the anime will be at least mildly enjoyable. In a similar vein, I’m also probably more likely to continue an anime if the general rating of it is good, for instance on Anime-Planet, rather than one that is rated poorly. That’s just bias on my end, though. In any case I rarely drop anime so I usually stick around long enough to see the anime get good (or not).
I have to admit that now I am working full-time an anime needs to be pretty good from the first episode to keep me watching. That’s not to say that I will discard it completely, but I will put it back in the ever-growing “To Watch” pile and move onto something else which hooks me straight away
I find this particular question very interesting. I once talked about this topic before with other friends who are inclined to anime. I have a model for a new anime series. I almost always watch three episodes. I feel that allows any anime to reach the ‘zone’ as I like to call it where they have introduced the main characters and set up the plot and any other gubbings they wish to throw at us. If they haven’t managed to do that in three episodes that warns me that this show is going to be dangerously slow. Sometimes I watch more than three, maybe four or five, but only for bigger anime series, and only then if I really like the original premise that was described to me before watching the anime.
There have been times where the ‘Big three’ system fails, where it gathers all the points I need to continue watching the anime only for it to become a flop *Cough* Kaze no Stigma *Cough*, and there have been times where just one episode of an anime has convinced me I should leave it on the shelf. But most of the time I stick to watching three episodes. After all, every anime deserves a chance.