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The Mike Toole Show - New Year's Resolution


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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 5:30 pm Reply with quote
I don't even look at my backlog, it's tons of shows long and grows ever longer the more I learn about anime. Though it doesn't trouble me because I know I'll eventually watch most of it some time or another.
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sakurahitagi



Joined: 12 Jan 2014
Posts: 70
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 6:31 pm Reply with quote
I have a huge backlog including Toradora, Bunny Drop, Samurai Champloo, Eden of the East, Mobile Suit Gundam, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Slayers, FMA Brotherhood, Hetalia, Natsume (1-3), Fantastic Children, Haibane Renmei, Irresponsible Captain Tylor. Le Chevalier de Eon, Planetes, Princess Jellyfish, Rahxephon, RomeoxJuliet, Rose of Versailles, Steins;Gate, Witch Hunter Robin, and Wolfs Rain. I have a tendency to focus on simulcasts over dvds and blu rays...
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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 6:59 pm Reply with quote
The two main things in my backlog are the rest of Sakura Wars tv and Escaflowne bought both of them as part of the 2011 Holiday sale at rightstuf watched a few episodes and just didn't watch the rest.

I also just got Golion and I need to get watching that since the first anime I saw was Lion Force Voltron.

I just dont get that big of a backlog because I rarely ever buy anime. Its mostly about a hundred dollar at the big Holiday sale at Rightstuf and thats it.
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diadumenian



Joined: 01 Nov 2007
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Sorry Mike, but watching a show at 1.5 or 2x doesn't count. You can skip the opening and closing, assuming you've seen them all the way through at least once, but those are the only valid shortcuts.

If you're struggling to finish a series, mix it in with something you want to watch, and exercise some discipline. FORCE yourself to watch an episode of the "so-so" series before you watch an episode of something you're really looking forward to. Helped me get through SAO and Sunday Without God.
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CrazyCanuck



Joined: 06 Jan 2006
Posts: 100
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:43 pm Reply with quote
How big is my backlog? This is a question I've actively avoided asking for quite some time. I've occasionally made an effort to clear it. They have all failed.

I barely buy new anime anymore. I used to routinely buy 50 discs a month, often more. Dig up the old "What did you buy this month" threads. They are scary. Now I don't buy 50 a year.

Someone suggested finishing their backlog by the end of the year at one disc a day. I've checked my list. At one disc a day, starting tomorrow, with zero new purchases. I would be done on December first... of 2021.

That's 2880 unwatched discs. And that excludes discs I have watched partially or seen the contents already via a different method. Fortunately there are not many of those. Almost everything I bought was a blind buy. So there are a handful of things I bought remastered versions of, or saw at a friend's house or rented on VHS in the dark ages, or watched on TV (generally decades ago). Sure I haven't watched my Voltron DVDs, but I've seen the show. I watched Rayearth plenty of times, but never the remastered discs I got cheap. Even if I included them, it would add less than a year to the time.

Like I've said, I've tried to clear the backlog. I've tried alphabetical sorts of at least three different kinds. I keep getting bogged by a handful of very, very long titles. I just don't have the fortitude to slog through all of Bleach, even at one disc a day. Or Naruto. Or Urusei Yatsura. Or Dragonball.

I've tried watching whatever catches my interest at the time, putting off scary long ones until later. I inevitably wind up rewatching something I enjoyed. Or I get bored and wander off after a disc or two. The number of disc 1s I have watched are orders of magnitude higher than the number of disc 2s. when I wander back to the title I start over to make sure the details are fresh and then I wander off again with little or no progress...

My name is CrazyCanuck and I am a hoarder and an animeholic. It has been three months since I last finished an anime series. I have eleven new series en route from the Rightstuf Christmas sale and I can't wait to start them. Please help me...
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:50 pm Reply with quote
If this thread has done anything it has been to tell me that 1): I'm not alone and 2): not the worst.

Thank goodness on both counts.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 8:23 pm Reply with quote
diadumenian wrote:
Sorry Mike, but watching a show at 1.5 or 2x doesn't count. You can skip the opening and closing, assuming you've seen them all the way through at least once, but those are the only valid shortcuts.


If you still fully ingest the show and miss nothing, how does 1.5x not count? I've watched many great films at 1.5x speed, doesn't really lessen any impact a scene might have. For some anime, they just move too slowly at normal speed, especially the older ones to the point where 1.5x speed actually feels normal and not fast at all. Doesn't matter if it's cheating, you still see the show.
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noigeL



Joined: 14 Feb 2012
Posts: 149
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 8:33 pm Reply with quote
Pretty significant backlog over here. Never did a count, but there's many 26-episode series and some 50-ish, plus a few 100+ behemoths such as Urusei Yatsura. I have managed to whittle away at it this last year and a half since I'm not really acquiring many new titles but the amount of time I have available to watch anime is usually a little slim.
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Cptn_Taylor



Joined: 08 Nov 2013
Posts: 925
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 8:48 pm Reply with quote
diadumenian wrote:
Sorry Mike, but watching a show at 1.5 or 2x doesn't count. You can skip the opening and closing, assuming you've seen them all the way through at least once, but those are the only valid shortcuts.

If you're struggling to finish a series, mix it in with something you want to watch, and exercise some discipline. FORCE yourself to watch an episode of the "so-so" series before you watch an episode of something you're really looking forward to. Helped me get through SAO and Sunday Without God.



Force yourself to watch... ? Shocked
If you're struggling to finish a series then don't finish it. Simple as that.
Watching anime is not a job (unless you are paid to do it and even then some professional reviewers suffer burnout), having to suffer just so you can tick another complete series is just plain STUPID.
Watch less, watch things that really pique your curiosity.

As for watching it at 1.5x or 2x as fast. Ha ha ha you're doing it wrong. 1x is the correct speed. At 1.5 or 2x as fast you're not watching anime, you're brainlessly consuming it. Dare I say it is not a good thing.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 8:48 pm Reply with quote
My backlog is pretty modest, as far as anime I own on physical media but haven't attended to. I have Barefoot Gen, Area 88 (watched half), and Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail to get to.

For some reason, I can watch 291 episodes of guys powering up and punching holes in each other, but sitting down to watch a movie about Hiroshima survivors makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. Perhaps it being autobiographical adds to that, that it really happened, you can't escape the reality of it.

Digitally, there are some shows from last season I haven't caught up on. I still have a few episodes of Coppelion I haven't seen yet and I might get back into Nagi no Asukara, but I doubt it.

Manga-wise, I haven't even delved into Gundam The Origin vol 2 yet and a big set of the Nausicaa manga remains largely unread on my shelf.
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 10:59 pm Reply with quote
My primary backlog is twenty-eight shows I keep track of on Sticky Notes. I'm more than halfway through the two longest entries, Naruto and Pokémon, though, which helps things seem less daunting. Those will get replaced with seven more series I particularly want to watch that I have in mind as I finish them.

I compiled a spreadsheet recently. Taking everything I've bought and downloaded (and not yet watched), and then adding most of my anime series bookmarks and word documents (anime that sounded interesting or that are influential or otherwise good), I apparently have 171 titles comprising 3,117 episodes and 32 movies that I want to check out some day, and that's not counting the long/complicated episode/movie counts of Lupin III and Slayers. Myanimelist estimates I've watched just over twice that much anime in my life so far.

If I stopped watching current anime, I could probably finish most of that list this year... but I really like watching current anime. My main goal is to finish those main ones this year, though.

victor viper wrote:
Interesting article as always. The comment about finishing Lucky Star but not Tekkaman Blade made me think of all the crappy shows I've watched in their entirety, while leaving far better shows unfinished. My secret shame is that I watched all of DearS but I never got around to finishing Last Exile. I guess everybody has a similar experience.

Tell me about it. In the space of a week I watched bloody Akikan and the equally wretched Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka. I've still only seen fourteen episodes of Macross and two of Space Runaway Ideon.

Cptn_Taylor wrote:
As for watching it at 1.5x or 2x as fast. Ha ha ha you're doing it wrong. 1x is the correct speed. At 1.5 or 2x as fast you're not watching anime, you're brainlessly consuming it. Dare I say it is not a good thing.

Actually, I've found watching Naruto at around double speed provides me with an experience much closer to reading the manga. At normal speed it drags awfully and makes me lose interest even more than Naruto does by itself.
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kamiikazeheart



Joined: 26 May 2010
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:12 pm Reply with quote
After taking a long hard look at my DVDaf list, my backlog is almost 300 shows long and that's just my anime collection! Ugh.
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Zhou-BR



Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Posts: 1419
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:14 pm Reply with quote
My "pile of shame" used to be somewhat manageable, but it got out of control once Bandai Entertainment went out of business, which drove me into a boxset-buying frenzy. And I still think it was a good decision, given that many of those shows have yet to get license-rescued.

Thanks to a six-week vacation at the end of last year, I got to watch some stuff I kept putting off like Gilgamesh (horrible animation and artwork, excellent writing and a memorably shocking ending), Clockwork Fighters: Hiwou's War (great traditional cel animation by Bones and some very solid writing, at least for people who don't resent Shou Aikawa for trying to teach them some Japanese history), Angelic Layer (fun and cute, but not very well animated and colored by Bones' standards) and Ghost Slayers Ayashi (the TV series was great, but I really didn't like the way the OVA sequel ended).

Since I tend to prioritize shows I've never watched before, it will take a long time before I decide to watch some of the latest boxsets I bought, but I'll make an effort to finish Twelve Kingdoms on Blu-ray because the Brazillian dub I watched years ago was truly terrible. I also want to finish the ZZ Gundam streams so I can finally watch Char's Counterattack and F91. However, the fact that I just got the Orguss BD-box makes me want to drop everything else for now. Decisions, decisions...

penguintruth wrote:
Manga-wise, I haven't even delved into Gundam The Origin vol 2 yet and a big set of the Nausicaa manga remains largely unread on my shelf.


Aw, man, Nausicäa... I bought the slipcase set by Viz last year, thinking I could read the whole series in a weekend, but that thing is dense as hell. Actually, the storytelling gets more decompressed as it goes along, but it took me a couple of weeks to finish it, and I felt exhausted after I finished each volume. Still, I'm very glad I got to read that masterpiece.


Last edited by Zhou-BR on Sat Feb 08, 2014 6:15 pm; edited 2 times in total
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OldCharlieStoletheHandle



Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 1288
Location: Mastic Beach, NY
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:16 pm Reply with quote
According to FilmAF, my physical anime backlog is 699 titles, 1255 discs. That does include a few titles I watched by other means. I actually have titles that have been in my collection for over 6 years unwatched.
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GVman



Joined: 14 Jul 2010
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:19 pm Reply with quote
Am I the only one whose mad we didn't get the original Japanese-dubbed TV series of Gaiking?

Lesse, with anime I got:

Second half of Rose of Versailles
Full Metal Panic and The Second Raid
Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick
RahXephon
Shin Getter Robo vs. Neo Getter Robo
Dan-Guard
Martian Successor Nadesico, Gekiganger 3, and the move
Revolutionary Girl Utena movie
Skull Man
The rest of Saiyuki
Argentosoma from episode 11 to 26
Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen and Orphen Revenge
A few more episodes of the Kyoto arc of Rurouni Kenshin, followed by those crappy fillers that I'll probably never watch
The rest of GoLion; I'm around episode 24 or something
Tekkaman Blade
First BD set of the Patlabor TV series

I think that's it; I have a few more I haven't watched the DVDs of, but I watched through other means. I also have Moonphase, and I am DONE with that show, lemme tell ya! I forced myself to see 18 episodes, and now I don't care if I spent money on it!

With manga:
Ranma 1/2 1-36
Gundam the Origin 1-3
Mai the Psychic Girl 2-3
Satsuma Gishiden 2-3
Shaman King 1*
Togari 1
Phoenix Right 1*
Yu-Gi-Oh! R 1**

Not much for manga; the Ranma won't take me long to read through. Shaman King I want to sell; I bought it and then learned about the censorship. Phoenix Wright I just haven't had any interest in reading. As for YGO!R, I got that in a grab bag I bought at a con.

Anyway, typing this out makes me realize my backlog ain't too big; I just need to get to work. Granted, it gets MASSIVE if I throw in the stuff I have downloaded/watch through streaming... I didn't used to have much of a backlog until my junior of college. Things got hectic...

Quote:
Taking these films in leaves me with two questions: after an onslaught of 70s Toei super robot goodness, when are we going to get a streaming partner for the studio's Super Robot Girls Z, their cynical, cashing-in attempt to revive old franchises by turning robots into adorable teen girls? I don't care how dreadful it sounds, I want to see this damn thing!


Despite how bad the show sounds, I feel like the folks behind the show get Go Nagai's sense of humor; it's not any more raunchy or fanservicey than his Cutie Honey manga, that's for sure. Also, some Uncle Gos make a few appearances in the show.

And get to work on GaoGaiGar. NOW. The whole damn show is great; both the first and second halves. If anything, the second half didn't meet my lofty expectations of it; since I loved the first half, I figured the second must be ten times as good. Their both equally good in my eyes, though a bunch of folks think differently.

Good God, I think I've edited my post three times now; I just keep remembering stuff.


Last edited by GVman on Mon Jan 13, 2014 5:49 pm; edited 3 times in total
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