Forum - View topicWhat to do with anime backlog?
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st_owly
 Posts: 5234 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland |
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I just try not to let my backlog accumulate too much. I managed to slay a lot of it last year from not being at university for that year, but now I'm back so I don't have as much time to watch stuff. I try to watch things from the current season as they're coming out as ~20 minutes a week per show seems less of a commitment and then they don't add to your backlog. Other than that, you can get through a 26 episode show in 1/2 a day and you save time if you skip the credits. I feel less bogged down if I'm watching a few current shows, and one or two from my backlog rather than loads of backlog shows as well as current shows then once I've finished the backlog shows, I start on more of them. I don't really have a priority for my backlog, I just watch what takes my fancy at that time, unless something happens like hearing that a show is going to be removed from Crunchyroll.
Sailor Sarah makes a very good point as well. If you don't like something, don't force yourself to keep watching it. It's OK to drop stuff you don't like. I've also discovered anime makes an excellent accompaniment to breakfast, if you can bring yourself to get up early enough! |
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Alan45
 Village Elder Posts: 9857 Location: Virginia |
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@ Kruszer, Blood- and errinundra
You do realize that the time spent making all those lists could be spent watching your backlog don't you? Just sayin' 
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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I try not to download/buy a show until I'm about ready to watch it. Or if I'm curious in a series, I'll give it the first episode to test my level of interest. The important thing to realize, you'll never complete you backlog, ever, as long as you keep researching and finding more titles to be interested in. I flat out never believe when someone says there's no more interesting anime to watch, or that they've seen it all. Once I actually do clear out all of the titles I'd care to give a shit, I'll probably have seen over 1000 TV series, and my only limiting factor is if it's widely available to find or not, some shows are quite elusive or haven't been rereleased on DVD in any form.
If you keep buying/downloading without watching, it's only going become more difficult to break into it. Though I understand not immediately cracking into something the second you get it. What's worse is when you do watch watching something and then lose interest for a long time, which can happen if you begin to juggle tons of series at once, or get interesting in something else for a while. Like I've been delaying a few series because I've been getting too caught up in movies and Breaking Bad. But both of those are winding down now that I've about cleared out all of the initial and secondary titles I've wanted to check out from the library and I'm about caught up on BB. This isn't me losing interest in anime, I'm almost always caught up on new shows and I watch tons of stuff every day, it's just time that would have been used on watching backlog gets used for other purposes. If your sole entertainment hobby is anime, that backlog will get burned through. |
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kaydub
 Posts: 318 Location: Cincinnati, OH |
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What I do is simply refrain from adding things to my backlog. Mine is literally about as long as my index finger (usually around 15 items or less), even though there are a ton of shows I want to see.
I simply prioritize a handful of titles that I really want to see first, and add them to my list. I won't add anything else until I start clearing titles that are already on my list. It's nice because I don't feel like I'm ever in a rush to clear out my backlog; I can take my time and watch 2-3 episodes a night, and it gives me plenty of time to pick up currently airing shows as well. Plus, having a short backlog makes it easy to stay on track with the titles that you prioritize, and you don't get overwhelmed when trying to decide what to watch next. You can even reorder your list based on priority so that your "must see" show is always next in your queue (I don't currently do this, but I might start in the near future). Once you clear out most or all of the list, you can start adding titles again. In your case, since you already have a large backlog, I'd recommend going though and prioritizing the stuff you haven't watched yet and chugging through it now so that you can clear up some room for when the Christmas sale comes around. If you already know how many things you plan on buying, watch that many things from your current backlog so that you aren't actually adding to the length of your backlog. For example, if you have 100 things on your backlog and want to purchase 10 more, try to clear 10 titles from your backlog so it stays at 100. As long as you make an effort to keep watching stuff, you'll start clearing out your backlog faster than you'd think. Eventually, you can get it down to a manageable size that is much easier to keep track of. |
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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I also do what a few others have mentioned and that is I try to stick to buying things I know I will watch again, which means I've seen most of the things I own already. I find this definitely cuts down on my purchases. Most of the stuff in my backlog is from the time before I started this method and did some blind buys (based on reviews) or a few shows that I had started watching online and thought were interesting enough to risk a purchase. Ever since I started only buying what I know I'm interested in seeing again and becoming stricter about what I watch streaming (I ask myself would I buy this?) I find I have more time for my backlog and its shrunk considerably. |
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EricJ
 Posts: 876 |
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My DVD-drive computer is in the bedroom, so instead of reading before bed (which my eyes aren't as up for, and which would keep me up nights if I found something good), I like to relax by putting on a half hour of something on the computer in the background while I get ready for bed and warm up the electric blanket, etc. I used to rent Netflix disks, for old sitcoms or 80's cartoons, but then I found I had so much of my own anime backlog--starting with a couple of S.A.V.E. boxsets I still hadn't gotten around to watching, and moving on to a whole backlog of old BT digisubs from years and years ago--one episode a night is just right. I'd rotate one disk of something new for a week, than an old torrent that needed cleaning, and then an old favorite. (Going through an xxxHolic set I'd just bought on Amazon put me in the CLAMP mood to go through CCS again, cover to cover.) I find I don't have as much patience to watch them during prime time--When I sit down in the living room to watch, it's usually a movie or "must" TV, so reruns are for down time. 
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Bright_Spear
Posts: 340 |
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And coming from you, that means next to nothing. You do get that sarcasm doesn't have to come from a place of hate right.
Thank you. I seem to give alot more credit to posters around here then dtm42 when I'm joshing people. I believe we've all had a backlog problem, you just have to work out a system to deal with it thats works for you. |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7985 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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Yes, if I had a backlog. I could always do both simultaneously too since I've already seen everything I buy and the PC's in the same room as the television. Multitasking, consider your mind blown.
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4593 |
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One thing that I've found works for me is to not try watching the same general type of series for a few shows in a row, because I wind up feeling more burned-out by the end. For instance, if I've just plowed through a dark psychological thriller, I'll try to pick something else out of my backlog that's more lighthearted and episodic, or at least a more basic entertaining action series. It helps you keep things fresh, and it can give a bit more structure to deciding what to watch next.
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6533 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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1. I don't have a backlog. 
2. Hey, compiling lists is one of life's great pleasures. It's almost as good as watching anime. As someone once said: "All people can be put into one of two categories - those who put things into categories and those who don't." 
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Chiibi
 Posts: 4829 |
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Heh, I do the exact same thing! I have so much on my shelf, it's unreal!
So I normally marathon it when I'm in the mood. If I can't because of time, I'll pick a specific time of day (normally before bed) and watch two or three episodes each night throughout the week. You can finish series pretty quickly that way. Try that! |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9857 Location: Virginia |
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@ Kruszer, errinundra
You got me there, however I still think your time could be better spent. However, if you actually enjoy making lists, more power to you. I do like to be organized and I have tried making lists, but I run into two problems: 1. If I'm going to the trouble of making a list, I want it to be right. I end up getting lost in the set up part and never start the list. 2. If I do get a list started, I find that the data entry part gets to be more trouble than it is worth and I quit keeping it up. I do have spread sheets of both anime and manga. Neither is up to date and neither is very satisfactory. I have felt for a long time that at least for me being lazy is a great antidote for OCD tendencies.
Now if Blood- will just explain how he doesn't have a backlog... |
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Sailor S
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If he even tries, after every other word you can start doing the *bullshit* coughs. |
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GDFan
 Posts: 254 Location: North of Boston |
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I know some of you alphabetize your shelves. Mine are split into two main sections, hybrid releases and sub-only titles. The only organization beyond this is the "watched" and "haven't watched" section of both halves. The "haven't watched" parts have been slowly overtaking my entire shelves for a while now. I'm unsure as to how, or why, I've let it come to this. All I know is that I buy anime at about 3x the rate at which I watch it.
Generally, I'm not too concerned with this. I enjoy researching, buying, and collecting anime, almost more than I do watching it. As long as I am able to enjoy my collection, there's nothing wrong with what I am doing. Am I right 
And when I start to think there is, I just tell myself that it's for the best. The way things have been going for about, I dunno, the last five or six years, I have been anticipating my inevitable layoff. When this day comes, I will have a crap-load of anime to either watch(to pass the time,) sell(to keep myself afloat,) or both. Sure, there might be some better investments out there, but at this time in my life, this is what I am doing, and enjoying, ridiculous backlog and all. |
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Kruszer
Posts: 7985 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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I basically use the My Anime section here as my own personal FAQ list by creating customized lists for stuff I've noticed I frequently look up for ease of information access. For instance how many of the 1,134 that I've seen are a specific type of medium, demographic, genre, rating, etc. |
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