Most of us drop anime we don’t like after a certain amount of time, whether it be after one, two, or any number of episodes. However, there are some that commit themselves to getting through every anime they decide to watch even if they never grow to like it…
Like I discussed in a previous post, how long we’re willing to give an anime before we decide whether we like it or not varies by person. On one end are fans who will drop an anime if they don’t like the first episode or even the first ten minutes. On the other end however, are fans who will continue to watch an anime even if they never grow to like it, or perhaps even if it gets worse in later episodes!
I’ve come across several “anti-dropping anime” fans over the years as well as their reasons for sticking with even anime they hate. One reason has to do with the nature of most anime as being ongoing stories with developing plots and characters instead of stand-alone, episodic stories. Because of this, they feel that they can’t properly judge an anime without having seen the whole thing and knowing the story’s beginning, middle, and end. Another reason has to do with how they identify themselves as “anime fans.” To them, in order to be a truly knowledgeable and well-rounded anime fan, they need to experience all kinds of anime, even the kinds they don’t like. For example, even if they hate moe anime, they’ll watch K-ON simply because it’s had such a huge impact on the anime medium. Or they might decide to watch a kids anime and find it insufferably boring, but continue to watch it anyway just so they can experience that genre.
Then there are the fans who enjoy watching unlikable anime because they enjoy making fun of such anime. If asked if they really like this anime, they’d probably say no, but what they do enjoy is the act of making fun of it (not that you can’t make fun of anime you actually do like). This is often something done for laughs amongst friends or for satirical posts online. To me, these kinds of anime don’t count as guilty pleasures as I feel guilty pleasures are anime you truly do like even though you recognize their flaws.
Personality also comes into play for people who keep watching anime they don’t like. People who are adamant about finishing everything they start, or who feel a strong sense of commitment whenever they decide to delve into a show, are usually the ones who stick with even anime they hate from beginning to end. They could feel that every show deserves a fair chance regardless of preconceptions. Then there are the cases where an anime becomes so massively popular, they can’t help but want to watch all of it even if they never grow to like it. Like my example with K-ON above, they don’t watch it for enjoyment as much as wanting to see what all the fuss is about or to be able to say that they’ve watched a show so impacting to the medium they love. I’ve also come across cases where people watch anime recommended to them by friends, and even if they don’t like it, they’ll keep watching it to humor their friend.
Am I someone who watches anime I don’t like? Not usually, but I also have a very big tolerance meter for anime. As long as I’m at least neutral to an anime and can derive some pleasure from it without its bad points being too bad, I’ll usually stick with it. My reasons for doing so are mostly rooted in the second reason I listed in this post about wanting to be a very well-versed anime fan and experience all kinds of anime even if some end up disappointing me. Being committed to finishing things I start and wanting to give every anime a fair chance are also reasons I abide by, though I’ve actually gotten more critical of anime than I used to be (of course, having less than ten dropped anime on your list isn’t “critical” to most people =P) But if I blatantly dislike an anime after a few episodes, I’ll drop it – I’m dedicated, but not that much. When you have limited free time in your life, you have to ask yourself “Is the new knowledge and experience in anime fandom I gain from completing this series worth the annoyance and boredom it’s putting me through?” In some rare cases, the answer to this question is yes, but usually not.
To conclude, I’m not typically someone who will watch an anime I dislike 50+% with no sign of liking it more in future episodes. But I’m also not picky when it comes to anime either and enjoy many genres. So, for those who tend to complete even anime they disliked the whole way through, what is it that kept you sticking with such a series? Any of the reasons I discussed already or something else?
*Announcement*: I apologize for going a full week without a new post. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been very busy with training at my new job and didn’t have the time for blogging until now. But I should also give you guys a heads-up that things are a bit iffy at the job right now and there’s a chance it may not work out for me after all. I should know for sure in the next week or two. Until then, posts will still be coming once a week. See you next time~
I actually used to watch animes I didn’t like, but that changed more recently. I used to feel that once I started, there was no real point in watching. This happened with Bleach and Naruto. The main reason for those was, “Well, I’ve watched 200 episodes, no point in stopping.” But this changed when say Aizen was defeated then I sat down and told myself, “He did it! It’s done, big baddie is gone.” Then I started to drop more and more shows, realizing I should watch what I like.
Recently, I tend to follow a sort of system for watching shows. I watch the first three episodes of most shows, then find whatever shows I’m more likely to stick with, then go to about episode seven. Then I proceed to drop what I’ve grown bored with. I did this with Guilty Crown, K-on Season 2 and a lot of others. I do get some flak for dropping shows, but with such a large amount of genres in anime, I think its more worth it to watch what you like. Though I will say it’s always fun to watch a person who dropped a show, debate with a person who still watches and loves a show.
I have similar thoughts about Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece – I’ve watched them for years and have seen so many episodes, why stop now? But I honestly love Naruto and One Piece despite not all of their story arcs being of equal quality. As a whole, they’re fantastic series, and though they could go through mediocre periods, when they’re good, they’re really good. I’m a bit more ambivalent towards Bleach though, but I still like it enough to keep watching.
I don’t really have a set number of episodes to give a show before I’ll drop it. Usually the longer the show, the more time I’ll give it. So I could drop a show after episodes one to thirteen or beyond.
I was definitely committed to watching every anime series when I first started and so far I haven’t dropped any. I just leave them on hold. I agree with Karasu that once time goes by, you definitely feel the need to not waste your time with anime you don’t like. So I think after a certain period of time I will not even bother watching a full series if I don’t find it entertaining by the third episode or so. But yeah the reasons I don’t drop series – you pretty much nailed.
I must be a masochist. XP
That’s interesting that you put everything on hold rather than declare them dropped. Scamp over on The Cart Driver has some series of posts about nothing being dropped forever. While I’m not one who feels the need to put a series on hold if I honestly don’t like it, I know some people would rather leave it at that instead of drop it completely.
I was also committed to watching every anime I started when I first became a fan. I think a lot of people were since every anime was new and exciting at the time, so why would you drop any? But the more anime you see, the more critical you become and thus the more you start to drop series.
I’m definitely not anti-drop; I just try my best not to.
“To them, in order to be a truly knowledgeable and well-rounded anime fan, they need to experience all kinds of anime, even the kinds they don’t like.”
Yeah, pretty much sums my thoughts up. I think the only genre that I still need to watch more of is sports. Excluding series about board/card games, I think my only sports anime is Giant Killing, which I really liked.
“For example, even if they hate moe anime, they’ll watch K-ON simply because it’s had such a huge impact on the anime medium.”
Haha, I’ll watch any moe anime BUT K-On, haha. It is the only anime that I’ve dropped after one episode. :P
I find that I prefer marathoning an anime I dislike over watching it weekly. Once a week gives me too much time for the hate to build up.
That’s good that you’re willing to put up with anime you don’t like for the sake of being a more knowledgeable fan – though it seems like you dislike more anime than you like XD
I don’t think I’ve watched any sports anime and I honestly have no motivation to. I don’t know why…but it’s not a huge genre so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on much.
Heh, well K-ON’s the kind of series where you can tell what it’s going to be like after one episode. Since you’re a music person though, I wonder what you’d think of the K-ON ending songs. They take on a more serious tone than the actual series and a lot are chart-toppers.
I prefer watching a less than stellar show weekly rather than marathon. I couldn’t build up the motivation to watch more than one episode at a time for such a show, but weekly spreads it out better.
Watching bad stuff makes me appreciate the good stuff even more. Like Scamp does, I sometimes actively seek out horrible shows like Apocalypse Zero or Mars of Destruction and it makes me realize just how bad a show can be. Although, aside from those extreme cases, I try to avoid bad shows and seek out the best shows as much as I can, thus using the limited amount of time I have as efficiently as possible. However, even that method doesn’t always work such as for Ano Hana which is a highly ranked show (currently #23 on MAL) but one that I thoroughly did not enjoy. Sometimes I get into a show because a trusted friend recommended it to me and they have given me good recommendations in the past, but I still end up hating the show. All this is simply because everyone has different tastes and ways of thinking.
Watching bad shows certainly does make the good stuff seem better (plus I’m sure it’s fun to laugh at such shows). But I’d rather use my limited free time for anime I like – I enjoy most anime so I don’t need to watch bad stuff to make good stuff look good to me ^^,,,
Most of the time I enjoy the anime that are really popular among my peers, which is why I often go by fellow blogger recommendations when deciding what to watch each season and am rarely disappointed from doing so. There are exceptions of course, but usually I like what most other fans like.
I never drop anime, but when I do, I drop it immediately. Heh.
You’re pretty comprehensive with this post. I don’t know if I’m a special case or what, but while most anibloggers blog anime because they love watching anime, I watch anime because I love blogging anime. So, a show will only really be entertaining for me if I can write an entertaining post about the show. I don’t even watch anime for the sake of watching anime anymore! Not that I ever did, heh.
That’s very interesting that your main passion is blogging about anime rather than watching anime. So a worthwhile series to you would be one that makes good blog posts. That is unique indeed =)
I think you know this already, but I’m one who’ll watch everything he starts through to the end, even if it ends up taking years! ‘They feel that they can’t properly judge an anime without having seen the whole thing and knowing the story’s beginning, middle, and end’ – that, in general, is my take on it.
Not that I think anyone else should hold back from dropping things – it’s just different approaches.
I just always think back to the times I’ve not liked something at first, but then grown to adore it, and wonder if the same might not happen with this or that show I’ve been putting off continuing.
You did mention that and I find it very admirable ^^ I feel I’m a very tolerant anime viewer, but even I couldn’t bring myself to sit through something I really don’t like just for the sake of being able to properly judge it. I’m willing to give things a chance to a point, for example, if I despise the first episode but people say it gets better, I’ll keep going with it and usually end up liking it by the end. But if it’s a genre I know I don’t like or if certain things about it just totally irk me with no sign of being remedied, that’s typically my dropping point. But I certainly commend you for being one of the most committed anime viewers I’ve come across =D
Thanks! I don’t really have a genre I dislike, except possibly hentai, if that counts. Even if it does, it’s not like I’d be bored watching a great long 50+ episode hentai series, because it doesn’t work like that.
I’m not overly keen on mecha, but then there have been lots of awesome mecha series, so I’m happy to give ’em all a go.
There are some shows I watched years ago and didn’t continue after episode 1, or which I saw at a club – but all have gnawed away at my consciousness and all must eventually get watched!
Usually I either drop or keep a show after 3 episodes unless it gets really annoying, unless I like the characters so much it makes watching the show fun, even if the plot clearly goes nowhere. If a show really gets on my nerves during the mid-season point, I’ll seek out reviews of the manga/game it’s based on, and see if it gets better. If the original storyline is being changed a lot, that’s usually not good, though sometimes they make changes for the better. Steins;Gate was one of those series that got annoying half-way through, but the ending was great, and I would have never watched it if I had dropped the series.
Short answer: I don’t watch series I don’t like, unless I see/hear of potential for a great ending somewhere. If I drop a series that gets really good afterwards, I’ll just marathon it later. Life is too short to waste on series I don’t like.
Three episodes seems to be a common point for many fans to decide whether they’ll continue an anime or not. For me, the number varies depending on how long the anime is – the longer the series will be, the more time I’m willing to give it. But again, if it’s just that bad I’ll drop it no matter how long it becomes.
I rarely look at the original source material for a series to see if it gets better – I don’t care for spoilers except for certain cases. So if the anime version doesn’t impress, I’ll see what others have to say about it when its finished. I agree that Steins;Gate was a bit dull in its first half but got great in its second half. Luckily its first half wasn’t so bad that I had any thoughts about dropping it.
I’ve been on the fence with BRS so far — the show has already severely disappointed me in terms of the plot, characterizations, and what seems like symbolism reduced to literalism, which is sad because I *really* like the hyper-kinetic action scenes. If I stay with it, it will be because art trumps plot and like you said, I will basically wind up watching something I don’t like. So maybe that’s another category, sticking with something for aesthetics and spectacle in spite of overall displeasure? Bad art will turn me off of a good story, but good art can keep me around when I should have dropped out.
That is a good point in that you can love a series’ art and visual aspects despite disliking it as a show. In a way, you love its “outer shell” but not its “inner qualities” if that makes sense. I’ve heard of fans who will watch an anime strictly for its art/animation/character designs, so you’re not alone with that =)
It is very rare for me to drop an anime. My Anime List does show around thirty shows that I classify as dropped, this really isn’t the full case. Some of those shows are from when I was a kid watching them on TV and never got to see the whole series. The rest are drops, anime that I was watching I just couldn’t continue to watch, lost interest in,or was bored with. Now this doesn’t mean that they were bad. Elfen Lied is on my list of drops and some of my friends will call blasphemy and ask why I dropped it. My explanation is that at the time of watching it, I was maybe 15 or so (Or even 13. I have lost track of time) and the anime didn’t interest me too much. What I recall were scenes of graphic violence and that’s about it. Was it bad? No, I just wasn’t into this kind of anime six years ago. I was looking for fast-paced, guns ablaze, sword swinging goodness.
I watched loads of anime when at that time looking for the next big thing. Truth be told, if my younger self were to be around today, I think I would still be on a rampage through anime just watching for action rather than plot and characters.
In the more recent years in which I put back into full swing the hobby of watching anime back in 2010, I have near ritualistically watched all my anime on Fridays, waiting a whole week and then kicking back and watching all my anime after high school was done for the week. I believe my watch list at the time was High School of the Dead, Panty and Stocking, and Bakuman. It was with this that I started paying attention to anime season calendars and watching anime adaptations of manga I read, which is also great for recaps too.
Prior to 2010, there was an anime that I tried to watch in 2009, dropped, and picked back up in 2010. This was Bakemonogatari, an anime that I have for the longest time questioned if the novels it adapts from is heavy in dialogue and description, joking that the novels would have a two whole pages in which all Araragi did was describe the breast of one of the female leads and how he couldn’t stop staring (which never seems that far off). It was a bizarre anime, and yet when I came back to it, I embraced everything of it. Animation and all.
So it’s not like I drop an anime because I hate it or anything. I usually drop something on the stance that I just grew bored of it. For the most part, I don’t usually hate many of the series that have premiered over the past two years. Except the anime adaptation of Ao no Exorcist, that made me furious by the last episode. I watched through it only because I started it and I was gonna finish it too.
Now there is a case of anime I have watched in the past and in grand hindsight, I ask myself why I didn’t drop them at all. I’d guess I just thought the anime was cool or I didn’t care so long as it entertained.
But I digress. For the most part, I don’t drop, or I don’t consider myself the type, to drop anime I am watching. I would attribute this to either the anime I have thus far been watching have been good with little reason to drop or that I attempt not to drop anime in an attempt to at least have something watch. Even if it makes me yell at the top of my lungs and record rants to either put on Tumblr or delete the the recording.
I have some anime like those you mentioned in your first paragraph on my list, too; series I watched when I was younger and didn’t necessarily drop them because I didn’t like them, but for other reasons like losing access to them. For me, I usually put such series on hold rather than dropped – on hold for me means that I’m not against watching them again if the right circumstances come about, while dropped means I don’t have any intention of watching them again. For series I watched so long ago and can barely remember how much of them I watched or how I felt about them, I usually won’t even add them to my list.
That’s interesting that you don’t drop anime so much as come back to them later because you weren’t in the right frame of mind for them at the time, like you mentioned with Bakemonogatari. I would count such a series as on hold for me, but I don’t think I’ve ever come back to a dropped series, at least not yet.
I only watch what I’ll enjoy after a bit of pre season research, so a select few. Those are almost always fantastic watches and then I might find a few good ones here and there after I see them for a few minutes. Honestly though I have a hard time disliking a show. I tend to stay away from romantic comedy these days though. I guess I just know what I love and never open a can of worms in the first place.
B GATA H Kei though…. Holy sh*t I hate that show, THAT and shadow skill. They made me sick. 3 minutes and I was almost tearing my hair out. I’m a horror/slice of life (both slow developing in plot and characters usually) kinda fan. With a soft spot for comedy. I stick to my roots so I don’t have to drop shows like Gata and Shadow. I’ll have those shows burned forever in my memory now! Why couldn’t they be more like Tamayura Hitotose and Berserk?!
I also do some pre-season research to determine which shows to watch, unless I already know which ones I want to pick up (for example, they’re sequels of series I liked or they’re by a favorite animation studio). I go by what others say about them online and I’m usually not disappointed by doing so. And like you, I have a good feel of the kind of series I’ll be sure to like and which ones I may not like as much.
There are very few anime I’ve watched that I genuinely didn’t like. I’m a very positive viewer: I can enjoy most anime to some degree even if I acknowledge their flaws (such as the the thoroughly mediocre Devil May Cry anime, which I enjoyed a lot).
The only anime I can recall deliberately dropping are The Familiar of Zero and A-Channel. I only watched half an episode of A-Channel before I knew that I wouldn’t enjoy it. I didn’t find any of the humour funny or any of the characters interesting. With Zero, I watched three episodes read the first two light novels, concluding that simply nothing in the work appealed. Ignoring realism, none of the characters interested me, and neither did the story.
Beyond those two, I’ve watched – or intend to watch – pretty much every series I’ve seen some of, or had recommended to me through friends or through prestige or importance in their genre.
I’d agree with you on the idea that it is worthwhile to watch shows purely for their impact on the industry as a whole and their importance within their genre, though I’ve come across few I haven’t enjoyed.
The mentality of watching anime that one doesn’t enjoy has led me on one occasion I can recall to enjoy a series. I was totally uninterested by episodes one, two and seven (I think) of Lucky Star, but upon forcing myself to watch more came to like the series a lot. That’s pretty much my only example of watching something I don’t want to (lesser anime I’ve dropped, though the number is rather low); series I’ve watched for their renown or importance to their genre I’ve generally enjoyed, such as Code Geass, Cardcaptor Sakura, Air, Elfen Lied, K-On! and Aim For the Top!, and of course all Ghibli films.
I had a similar situation with Lucky Star in that I watched the first episode when it was airing because of its hype, and didn’t like it all that much. Then, over a year later, after seeing what a success it became, growing accustomed to “moe” anime, and falling in love with Kyoto Animation, I decided to watch all of Lucky Star in the summer of 2008 and I ended up loving it, even placing it among my top 10 anime. In this case, it was a series that suffered from a bad first episode and needed to be given more of a chance.
I think, it’s important to note, that when anime fans are complaining about “bad anime”, they usually mean it in relative terms. An anime is bad anime, because it’s one of the worse shows in the season, or of the shows that the person ever watched, or if it’s below expectations.
Other than in case of a few extremes of truly terribad series, that shouldn’t exist, most anime fans who call a show “bad” simply means that “inside the group of things that I like, this is one of the worse.
For example, is a MS paint chart about my own preferences. Every entertainment type in it has it’s better 40%, and worse 60% marked in it’s circle with a gray line. In case of video games, and movies, I only care about them a little, so I only like the best of the best, even if I intellectually know that others would also qualify to the title of good game/movie. With other hobbies, like sports, I don’t even care if it’s the century’s greatest match, I just don’t like sports, period. And the opposite is true for anime. Even if I know that a series is bad, it’s still better for me, than anything else that I could spend my time with.
I guess that’s closest to your second category, “I have to watch everything to call myself an anime fan”, but it’s also kinda like the opposite of that. “I’m an anime fan BECAUSE I’m watching everything.” It’s not that I have to force myself, but I WANT TO watch everything and that is what sets me apart from the people who just watched some great anime, enjoyed it, that went on with their movies and novels and games instead, that they still found better than the AVERAGE anime.
That I like anime shows, “because it’s anime, and I like anime”.
You’re right that most fans have certain genres of anime they really hate and will naturally hate anime in those genres. The same could be said for many things, like music and movies. But perhaps because of the nature of anime fandom, fans are more likely to watch anime even from genres they don’t like.
Your point about liking anime because it’s anime is a great one. I also don’t care for sports, so even a bad anime is more enjoyable to me than the best basketball game of the century. The more important anime is to you – that is, anime in general and not just a few certain genres or a few great titles – the more likely you are to enjoy even anime considered bad. So yeah, excellent point there. And thanks for sharing your little graph =)
Oh, you are much more devoted than me. And there are even more devoted people? wow… I will give an anime a good chance, 4 episodes at least. I understand a show may start slow in the first 1-2 episodes, but if it is no good by the 4th, I will just drop it and find something I like better.
I think I apply that rule to everything. I will try all kind of foods for example, but I will not eat everything if I dislike it. I will try activities, but drop them if I dislike them as well. I just apply the same to anime. No need to force myself through something I do not particularly like.
Good luck in your job! It may take a bit to get used to it :)
Giving an anime a chance for a few episodes is the typical way to go, so nothing wrong with that =)
Thanks for the good luck wishes with my job. I hope it ends up working out.
For me, I tend not to watch bad shows since it’s not in my nature to watch something horrible. I try not to drop unless it’s really bad or an unbearable experience. For instance, I dropped Rio Rainbow Gate after watching two episodes not because of the horrible story, but the whole premise is just really bad. Even so, I don’t bash shows and share why I think it’s bad in a rational manner… This is why I can never participate in terribad sessions since it just will turn me into a bitter person, which I don’t want to become, I’m not a masochist for horrible anime and of course, I’m not the Caustic Critic.
It’s also not in my nature to watch something I truly consider bad. I know some people find things “so bad they’re good” or will watch something bad just so they can make fun of it, but such things usually aren’t for me. I do enjoy other people’s mockery of something I also consider bad, I’m just not good at coming up with it myself.
You may have covered this, and I just didn’t read you right, but I think it’s also important to watch anime for historical and cultural reasons – basically, to be able to get and understand the references made in current anime, or to understand how anime evolved to where it is now, sometimes you have to watch “classic” series to understand context. So I guess this falls a bit under your points “watching anime you dislike because if you don’t watch it all you can’t judge it” and “being an anime fan you have to watch something that had such a huge impact on this medium.” Someone upthread also mentioned that watching bad anime gives you a really good appreciation for the good stuff.
Yeah, what you said would be along the lines of watching certain anime because of their impact on the medium even if you don’t personally enjoy them. You’re watching them because you love anime in general, and such titles are important for any dedicated fan to watch because of their huge influence. Series like Evangelion and Haruhi would fall into this category. I tend to like the very classic and popular shows, so it’s usually not a big chore for me to watch them just for the sake of their impact.
I sometimes finish series that I am not enjoying. For the most part it depends on how much is left in the show. If I have liked the show a lot in the past but it has fallen on hard times lately (Mirai Nikki for example), I will continue watching it but without the passion I used to have. If I am close to the end, I will usually finish no matter what, even if it takes me a while. There is something about walking away from a show right at the end that I can’t stand, especially if I have been watching it as it airs over a long period of time.
If I have just started a series and am not liking it after several episodes, I will almost always drop it unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as hearing that it improves after a certain point. I see little point in watching something that I’m not enjoying, unless I have some strange reason for wanting to finish it. Only time I can think of where I forced myself to watch something was Evangelion, a series that I only started because of it’s “uber god-tier” status among anime fans. I found it dull in the early episodes but eventually grew on me to where I wanted to know what happened.
For whatever reason, I can tolerate mediocre shows much better on a week to week basis. My standards for selecting anime to watch on a season by season basis are lower than my standards for watching older anime. Watching an episode per week allows the mediocrity of a series to wear off and makes it seem like less of a waste of time.
I also tend to finish series I’m not thrilled with if I’m close to their ending, usually if I’m at least halfway through the episodes. I figure I’ve made it that far, I should at least see it through to the end and then be able to properly judge the whole show. By the way, I think Mirai Nikki has actually been getting better – the last few episodes have been really good at least.
I’m totally with you on finding it easier to watch a mediocre series weekly than all at once. Weekly I only have to sit through it for ~24 minutes a week while it’ll take me forever to get it done marathon-style.
I think you covered most of the reasons that people have for watching anime they don’t like. I’m more like you in that I will drop a series that I don’t find entertaining. The only exceptions are when there is one single aspect of it that I love enough to disregard everything else about the series. An example is Venus Versus Virus, which I consider to be one of the worst anime ever, but I finished it because I liked the opening and ending songs more than any other music I had heard in a long time.
Sometimes one single aspect of a series can make me keep on watching it even if I don’t like the rest of it. Great animation or songs for example, can make me overlook a show’s other bad qualities. But I have to at least be okay with things like story and characters or else even good animation and music won’t cut it.
“To them, in order to be a truly knowledgeable and well-rounded anime fan, they need to experience all kinds of anime, even the kinds they don’t like. For example, even if they hate moe anime, they’ll watch K-ON simply because it’s had such a huge impact on the anime medium. Or they might decide to watch a kids anime and find it insufferably boring, but continue to watch it anyway just so they can experience that genre.”
“They could feel that every show deserves a fair chance regardless of preconceptions. ”
Hey I do that. I think exactly this way. I hate the moe genre nowadays, and I begun to hate it AFTER watching preety much every moe anime out there. I had to watch animes of a genre I’m not familiar with, even if I don’t like it, in order to experience the genre and form a opinion about it. Before that when people asked me if I liked the moe genre, I answer to him “I don’t know”. Nowadays, I do know the genre and I dislike it, I have my reasons to do so. It’s better than bashing the genre without proper reasons like some elitistms seems to do so. Though I think I am a bit elitist myself :P
Like shounen-ai, I never say I hate it because I never saw anything about it. Lots of people hate this genre without watching a single episode/chapter, what a shame…
That’s great that you’re willing to give even a genre you don’t like a fair chance so you can at least have a viable opinion about it. You’d be surprised at how many people claim they hate moe and form grandiose opinions about the entire genre from just watching one series or a few episodes of another series. If you saw a previous post I wrote about elitism, I discussed more about this. But yeah, it’s good that even if you don’t like a genre of anime, you can at least have first hand experience to back up your opinion.
What is it you hate about moe anime? Personally, I dislike the practice of constructing characters out of stock tropes with no sense of depth or realism. Furthermore, I personally don’t care for a show where the main focus is moe unless it’s backed up by something worthwhile. Great characters, effective humour, even interesting artwork – there needs to be something to make it a unique work.
In this respect I consider K-On! to be not brilliant, but certainly very effective. It’s not high art – or even a particularly full, rich series; but it has engaging characters and makes them work. It’s also very, very cute. So on its technical merits, I’d say it’s pandering and an example of a series where moe is the core focus – to the detriment, as often noted, of the music aspect of the show (I believe Yumeka has said that this comes out more strongly in the supplementary parts of the show, such as the opening and endings and character singles) – but where it is used very effectively.
Series that I would consider “better” invoke moe more passively. Azumanga Daioh is the classic example of a cute slice of life series but the focus is more so on character-derived humour and an overall relaxing experience. While Chiyo-chan is of course the exception, this is exploited in the sheer shamelessness of a ten year-old being shoved into a high school class, for . And when the characters fangirl over her, the focus is equally on the humour of their reactions as on “holy crap Chiyo-chan’s in a fucking penguin suit”. Even objectively lesser shows I prefer in this regard: YuruYuri is by no means a brilliant show, but I enjoy it because the moe factor is a base for hilarious yuri shenanigans, as well as the enjoyably fast pacing. I’m currently watching Slam Dunk’s spiritual successor Ro Kyu Bu!, which is shamelessly loli moe – though low on fanservice, thankfully – but the characters are quite developed – though not of course physically, with the exception of Airi – and the basketball element strong, if often absent.
While I enjoy K-On!, though not enough to watch season 2, it rings hollow to me as it seems all fluff and no substance. While I sort of quit halfway through the first episode, that was too what bugged me about A-Channel.
Anyway, those are my unexpectedly long thoughts on what there is to dislike on the execution of moe in modern anime.
I fall more or less in the 3rd category, those who watch shows they deem just to make fun of it, but there’s a bit more to it than that. I watch shows I think are bad because I need to feel pain and be enraged. I need to be enraged without sounding ambivalent. Thankfully most of the shows I bash (Apparently harems) have the lowest denominator as its fanbase so it’s okay to trash it. Nobody will miss these shows were they to mysteriously disappear.
So yeah, it has to do with self torture and showing people I’m not all about sugar and spice (Most of my reviews are positive ones).
I think its a little ridiculous to continue watching some you don’t like, it’s definitely not something the average person would do. I like to think my time is valuable, I should spend it doing things I enjoy. I’m certainly not going to watch 200 episodes of Naruto so that I can be a BETTER geek than anyone else. I think, sometimes people invest too much into the nerdy hierarchy of the fandom, they forget why they’re a fan in the first place, usually it’s… REALLY GOOD SHOWS. While “good” is subjective wasting your time with something you don’t consider good just for geek points? For me, thats going too far.
I refer to reviews or popularity when selecting animes to watch, so it really bothers me when I can’t stand to drop the series. Makes me feel like there’s something wrong with me that i can’t enjoy the series like the majority did. And if I managed to marathon-ed through an average series that was rated highly or very popular, I try to convince myself that it was good, although that might not have been the case. The truth is, animes that can make you go wow, this is good, gotta recommend to (best friend, etc) is really rare. People have different tastes, and animes have flaws. Sometimes you can’t stand to the the series due to some reason (poor art, or not your taste, etc), but the series is actually excellent in other ways (plot, characters, etc).