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Answerman - The Shape of Things


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:04 pm Reply with quote
Ah yes, clearing backlogs....

I used to do that marathon style especially during breaks and Summers. I don't do that much often much anymore but I did get a few times when I get burned out as well.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:15 pm Reply with quote
Ah, burnout. Best way to fix that is to watch something really, really strong. Not just good but actually amazing. Rekindles the fire like nothing else.

----------

Anime musicals may be vanishingly rare but there is currently a glut of idol shows which always have lots of singing and dancing.

Justin wrote:
...although most of them were kayu eiga, which weren't even really musicals but more standard films with a few musical interludes.


That sums up Red Garden nicely. The singing in that show was very intermittent and - if I recall correctly - went away after the first few episodes. The interludes seemed like something that was intended to be bigger and more frequent in the story but for some reason didn't pan out so they were quietly dropped from the show.
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:18 pm Reply with quote
Clearing my backlog.... is, and has always been impossible. I have accepted that my backlog will never be cleared, and I feel better about myself. Why tackle an impossible problem?

As for new shows, I just watch the 1st episode of every new show. After that episode is done, I ask myself "Did anything interest me to watch just one more episode?". If yes, then I give it the three episode rule. If no, I file it under "Not interested" and forget about it. After so many years of watching anime, sometimes I don't even need 3 episodes to decide if I want to watch a show or not. Most of the time, one episode is enough.

If you are lucky, and have friends that you watch anime with, have them all vote yes or no after one episode. Tally the votes, and keep the ones you all agreed with. Then draw a number of those titles out of a hat, and those will be the shows you watch together, weekly. Watching anime with friends is so much more fun then watching alone, IMO. Try it, everyone.
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iloveturkey



Joined: 09 Jun 2014
Posts: 70
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:20 pm Reply with quote
Throw me in the camp who hates combo packs. They just feel and look really cheap to me. From the spindle that's usually already half-broken from holding up 8 disks in the middle to the large, unattractive plastic brick they generally come in. For movies it's generally passable because they can fit in a standard size case, but for TV series it's an eyesore to have such bulky cases.

They could at least throw us a bone and let us print out some cover art for a regular size DVD or BD case and use our own provided cases for the disks.

DmonHiro wrote:
Watching anime with friends is so much more fun then watching alone, IMO. Try it, everyone.


Unless your friends are the kind who like to crack annoying jokes and commentary during the episode like they're some bit-rate internet critic looking for a cheap laugh from thirteen year olds. Went to an anime club like that one time. Never again.


Last edited by iloveturkey on Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:24 pm; edited 2 times in total
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SahgoDN



Joined: 09 Mar 2013
Posts: 86
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:23 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Anime musicals may be vanishingly rare but there is currently a glut of idol shows which always have lots of singing and dancing.


Yep, seems like that's the closest we're gonna get to my dream of a full-on Broadway-like anime.

That being said, I like how the Macross franchise uses its idol songs, as opposed to just "yep, here's the idol show, watch the idol singing". At times, it does almost feel like a musical.

I've been disappointed with how Mekakucity Actors uses its songs (except in episode 11, a little). They come out of nowhere, play in the background of repetitive, lazy footage...they're wasted, in my opinion. But I'll take what I can get...
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:32 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Ah yes, burnout. It happens to all of us at some point or another.

(and I encourage other readers to share their secrets in the forum)


I've had cycles and higher and lower consumption, but never a just "GAH I HATE ANIME I AM DONE; GOODBYE" type of burnout. Like for this Spring season, I believe I started fewer shows than I have in several years. For me, it's a matter of not only following new series and being to able to join in discussions of those new series, but also having a strong appetite for older anime especially in OVA and movie form. Short and high budget anime make for a nice gratifying snack, if you will. They're a good way to up your excitement for the medium and it helps when they're coming out in BluRay form now, like Lodoss. For all that new master has done, it may as well be like watching the show for the first time. If you're just following new stuff and have no tendrils digging into older titles, I can see how burnout might be possible.

Or, it could just be an entirely matter of personality. We already know most Western fans enter because of ZOMG GUNDAM WING COWBOY BEBOP PEW PEW PEW FMA" and they leave because they get tired because they just never really cared beyond watching the surface series that got popular. Other fans just find what they truly love about anime as an entire medium spanning all genres, styles, and demographics. They're now addicts, but also well-informed and knowledgeable. It also helps that I "cheat" and watch most things at 1.2x or 1.5x speed. That helps cut the monotony out of some series and actually makes them more enjoyable. Your brain can still process all the information just fine at that faster time, and it's not like I do it for just bad things either as I watch most movies at 1.5x speed as well and I fully digest them juuuust fine. I'm certain Anna Karenina would have been more palatable at a faster playback, but I made the silly mistake of seeing that at the theater.

Quote:
There are very, very, very few anime made in 2.35:1 aspect ratio (the only ones I can think of off the top of my head are the old Toei films from the 60s)


Tezuka's Cleopatra and Senya Ichiya Monogatari were, and I think at least a few of the Yamato films. More recently, 3.33 and Berserk are 'Scope.
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WWAanimefan



Joined: 19 Jul 2006
Posts: 60
Location: Everett WA USA
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:33 pm Reply with quote
Where to begin? I could not believe the first time I typed words "been an anime fan for over 20 years" myself. Marathoning backlogs? Still doing that. Burnout? As those who suffered through my thread on the Sakura-Con forums attested before they were closed, I burned out more times that I can count. As for Dominion, I still enjoy it and the sequel as well.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5407
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:36 pm Reply with quote
Fortunately for me I have never burned out. I try to only watch what is appealing and/or at least entertaining to me.

To the person returning to anime, this is a list of of some of the shows made since 2010 that I have enjoyed the most and consider them to be of high quality and appealing to any fan of anime.

1. AnoHana (2011)
2. Steins;Gate (2011)
3. Kids on the Slope (2012)
4. Durarara!! (2010)
5. Bunny Drop (2011)
6. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet (2013)
7. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! (2012)
8. Penguindrum (2011)
9. Waiting in the Summer (2012)
10. From the New World (2012)
11. Madoka Magica (2011)
12. Psycho-Pass (2012)
13. Flowers of Evil (2013)
14. The Devil is a Part-Timer! (2013)
15. Hanasaku Iroha (2011)
16. Blast of Tempest (2012)
17. Attack on Titan (2013)
18. Kill la Kill (2013)
19. The Eccentric Family (2013)
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Barbobot



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 460
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:41 pm Reply with quote
I haven't ever gone cold turkey from anime due to burnout, but I went through a year or two where my consumption drastically decreased. Started out early on in late '06 and it was that phase I'm sure most people had where you pretty much consume anything and everything you see. You can only do that for so long before it starts to kill your brain. Eventually it got to the point where there was just 0 desire to watch much of the new shows coming out. I'd be downloading fansubs of a show, but then never end up watching a single episode of that show. Outside of the big shounens (Naruto/One Piece/Bleach) I knocked myself down to really only following 1-3 shows at a time.

I was only slowly coming out of that burnout phase, but then I finally decided to get a Crunchyroll account and that greatly helped me get back into anime. I'm older now obviously and more discerning about what anime I watch so I'll never fall back into my old ways, but I'm watching a lot more now than I was 1-2 years ago.

As for the DVD/Blu-ray combo packs, I can't say I ever end up using the DVD versions, but I do enjoy the peace of mind that comes with having the option available to me should I need it. Plus, compared to other similar releases, the combo packs can end up barely costing more than the blu-ray only sets.
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:57 pm Reply with quote
I'm definitely in the camp of people who love the combo packs. I started buying them before I had a Bluray player, so it was nice to have both since I knew I would get one at some point. But even now that I have a PS3, I still am happy to have the combo packs since I might go to someone's place who doesn't have a DVD, or even on occasion watch something in a car's built-in TV/DVD player. I think the flexibility is a great thing and don't really see any different between those releases and the Bluray or DVD only releases I have when it comes to packaging.

I've also definitely experienced burnout, which is one reason I can be really tough on new shows now - I'll very often stop the first episode 5-10 minutes in if my attention hasn't been grabbed by something.

Of course, the fact that I wasn't able to watch anime regularly for a few years because of crappy Internet where I was living didn't help with the picky-ness, since now I have a huge backlog of things I want to watch and no time to do it, so anything that does take time really needs the impress.
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Fligar



Joined: 14 Feb 2014
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 4:27 pm Reply with quote
What I do to avoid anime burnouts is that I give myself a sacred rule never to break while watching anime. That rule is: Only watch English Dub anime. Why? Because there aren't that many anime that get an english dub, or at least not right away. This gives me a chance to enjoy the english dub anime that there is, and since there is very little of it I just restrain myself from marathoning it and just enjoy it. Yes I do miss some really cool animes, like Kill La Kill and No Game No Life, but I do enjoy what little is there that I can watch.

In my entire life I have upholded this rule and have only broken it 2 times. The only two animes I watched with english subtitles are The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and School Days.
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unitmikey



Joined: 15 Feb 2013
Posts: 286
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 4:38 pm Reply with quote
I've luckily never experienced a "full burnout" where I stopped watching anime completely because I was disinterested. I would recommend that if you are sensing that a burnout is coming, then just pace yourself more and maybe watch one 13 episode show over the course of a week until you are ready to jump back into the pool.

That's not to say I don't have an extensive backlog, because sometimes life intervenes and you have to put all of your hobbies on hold.

I honestly don't want a burnout to happen, and I have no desire to stop any anime whatsoever at this point, but I like all different art styles, storytelling, and genres, so if I want to find something that I really love I have to try out a lot of shows, which I can see leading a lot of people to burnout.


Last edited by unitmikey on Fri Jun 27, 2014 6:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 4:40 pm Reply with quote
The longest burnout I've had lasted about 2 weeks, and it wasn't total. I just stopped watching what I was currently watching, and went looking for stuff that I've missed.
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lesterf1020
Subscriber



Joined: 29 Apr 2008
Posts: 292
Location: Trinidad and Tobago
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 4:54 pm Reply with quote
My solution to avoid burnout is pretty much the opposite of everyone else. I avoid burnout by watching more anime and trying out every new show available. That works for me because I start to burn out when I am watching too much of the same thing. So I try everything, even genres I normally avoid. I drop anything that doesn't work for me and very often I am surprised with a gem I would never even have considered normally. If that doesn't work I check out some old anime. there are some amazing gems there. Thanks to that I have favorites even in genres I normally hate.
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DangerMouse



Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 3980
PostPosted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 4:55 pm Reply with quote
marie-antoinette wrote:
I'm definitely in the camp of people who love the combo packs. I started buying them before I had a Bluray player, so it was nice to have both since I knew I would get one at some point. But even now that I have a PS3, I still am happy to have the combo packs since I might go to someone's place who doesn't have a DVD, or even on occasion watch something in a car's built-in TV/DVD player. I think the flexibility is a great thing and don't really see any different between those releases and the Bluray or DVD only releases I have when it comes to packaging.


Same here, I definitely like the combo packs as well even though I had my PS3 right from the start when Blu-ray was getting started, I think the flexibility is good just in case I need the DVD.
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