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Do you ever a strange desire to rewatch a show that you didn't particularly enjoy the first time around? No, of course you don't because you aren't a weirdo like me (probably). Years and years ago when I first started getting into anime seriously (beginning of 2009), I bought and watched Blue Gender. I started off kind of digging it but as it went on (it's a two-cours show) it really started to lose its appeal for me. It's been long enough that I can't be super specific about what wasn't working, but I have a memory of the show becoming meandering and boring. I did manage to finish watching it, however.

Given that reaction, you'd think I would be in no hurry to repeat the experience, right? Oh, how wrong you would be. I ended up selling the set I had but for some unexplained reason, in the last few months I have a developed an urge to watch the damn thing again. I really don't get it but I guess urges aren't necessarily logical.

Anyway it made me wonder if there were other freaks like me out there. Ever had the urge to rewatch something you didn't really enjoy the first time? Or an urge to resume something you dropped because you thought it sucked? Or is there a show out there you haven't seen but you suddenly have developed a desire to see it and you can't really understand why?

I've picked things I dropped back up again in the past a couple of times. I don't rewatch the episodes I had previously watched though, simply continuing from where I left off. This worked well a couple of times so far, but the majority of times lead to me finishing something I thought was mediocre overall or dropping it again (I managed to drop a specific anime 3 times, because I'd forgotten I had already dropped it twice the last time I gave it a "second shot")

Blood- wrote:

Do you ever a strange desire to rewatch a show that you didn't particularly enjoy the first time around? No, of course you don't because you aren't a weirdo like me (probably).

We are the same kind of weirdo. I do this at least once a season, and have been known to do what killjoy_the mentioned, which is pick a dropped series back up two or three times, either out of forgetfulness or some misguided urge to try to power through. I do it with books, too, and I have no idea why. (In fact, I'm doing it right now, with Courtney Summers' new YA novel, I'm the Girl. I've stopped it twice so far, but I know I'll go back to it.)

Oh good, I don't feel so alone! And yes, "Dropper's Regret" is a thing I experience most seasons, as well. Sometimes a drop sticks, but other times, I'll go back and nibble at a few more episodes just "to see" if I really want it perma-dropped. I think I briefly dropped Dance, Dance, Danseur but fortunately came to my senses and it's a definite keeper. A somewhat less successful example is I'm Quitting Heroing which I dropped, brought back and have stuck with, but not with the same delight as DDD. Although the latest Heroing episode (episode 9) did kind of amp my interest back up.

I usually try to keep it to things I dropped a long time ago, perhaps even enough that I can't very well elaborate on why I disliked it back then. An example of that succeeding was Shirobako - I think I remember the tone of the first few episodes being too dour and the show felt cynical, so I stopped watching while it was airing, but picking it back up from episode 5 forward in 2018, I liked it a lot. I can't be sure if that was simply a change in my tastes in those years, of if the show does get better after a rocky start (though I haven't seen much of anyone saying that), but I'm glad I went through it

Of course your mood and mental state can play a big role in how you initially react to something. I'm not saying that was the case for you and Shirobako, but for myself I can easily imagine coming across some material that wasn't right for my frame of mind at first introduction, but could be later on.

In the past I have tried to reattempt shows that I never finished. In those occasions enough time had passed that I had to start from the beginning. I think I've tried to watch Wolf's Rain like 3 times and have never finished it. I tried Ergo Proxy like twice, couldn't do it. I dunno, I felt like I liked some aspects of those shows and put so much trust in the wide acclaim that some of them had received (particularly in the case of Wolf's Rain) that I felt like I had to watch them. That was more of a thing when I was still getting into anime, nowadays I tend to finish the shows that I start and if I drop something, I'll probably never revisit it.

One weird thing happened years ago when I watched Gurren Lagann. Around the half-way point to that show, as if struck by lightning, I was hit with a sudden urge to rewatch Toradora. And so I did rewatch Toradora, and to this day I've never finished Gurren Lagann despite really liking that show up until the point that I stopped watching. It's an odd thing and I'm not sure if I'll ever watch Gurren Lagann again. I liked it then, yet somehow I never feel like watching it again. It's partly the reason why I've never tried watching Kill La Kill since in my mind it's very similar to Gurrenn Lagann.

I've attempted to watch a number of title on several occasions without result. To the point where I thought that was rather natural. Most of this dates from the pre streaming period. It used to be that if you wanted to try something being hyped you had to buy it. Having money invested in a title made me try to get into it. Occasionally this worked (Last Exile) but often it didn't. I've learned to be very wary of series that are extremely popular.

Streaming has made a profound difference in my viewing habits (added to a certain amount of burn out). I've become extremely picky in both my online viewing and even more so in my purchases.

One viewing problem I have is finishing a series. This is a big problem when I've read the source material and know where the series is going. I really enjoyed My Dress Up Darling but I can't bring myself to watch the last two episodes. I also have a big problem watching second and later seasons, even when I watched and enjoyed the first. No idea why.

Your difficulty in finishing a series you like or watching subsequent seasons is a bit puzzling, Alan45. I'm the exact opposite. I positively jones for additional helpings if I like the first season of something. For example, Made in Abyss is one of my favourite shows of all time so I'm salivating for The Golden City of the Scorching Sun to start in July. Ditto for The Devil is a Part-timer 2 which is also in July. It's been a 9 year wait for that one!

I wonder if your issue with subsequent seasons is that having enjoyed the first offering, perhaps you have a subconscious fear that the following seasons won't measure up? Or perhaps on some level you are fully satisfied with the experience and don't feel the need for more of the same? Or maybe you're just weird? Wink

You are probably right, I'm just weird. Wink

I gave up trying to figure out "why". I figure that this is entertainment, if I have to force myself to watch something, I'm taking it too seriously. Also I don't really care what others think about a show. I find I'm more comfortable with the odd ball series that only us weirdos like.

The biggest problem is that I'm a reader who got into anime by accident. I tend to default to reading and have to push myself to watch anime. Also I don't watch much TV (no drama shows) and don't go to the movies.

Nothing wrong with being a reader ahead of being a viewer, Alan45. And I agree with your philosophy that if you have to push yourself to watch something, you probably shouldn't bother.

I recently rewatched the Magic Users Club OVA

Was it particularly good the first time I watched it? No
Do I hold a particular feeling of nostalgia for it? No
Are there better things that I could have rewatched? Yes
Are there better things that I could watch... for the first time??? Yes

Why did I watch that admittedly mid old series?

I DON'T KNOW

Welcome to the club, gsilver! We anime watchers simply have to accept that sometimes stuff gets watched/rewatched and there's just no logical reason for it. Demons, maybe?

I rarely get to the point of wanting to watch something I didn't really enjoy the first time, but I do from time to time feel like watching something and I just can't decide what to watch. As someone that has a lot of physical media from really getting into anime during the DVD boom days and being willing to pick things up cheap, I own a lot of shows that I thought were okay at best. So what I do is I have a list of 20 shows I'm not likely to think to rewatch and I roll a D20 to decided what to watch. Sometimes I enjoy the show better randomly like this, other times it's just the same as before, just okay. Once I select a show it gets removed from the list and another show takes its place.

Ha ha, that's an interesting approach, bones2039! Let random chance dictate things. If you feel like it, feel free to give us some examples of titles that the fickle finger of fate decided you should rewatch.

I've got a pretty large physical collection, too, but unlike you, mine has been assembled (starting around 2009) after the DVD boom. I got in at an opportune time because there were lots of single volumes you could get cheaply at that time through places like TRSI. Publishers were going to half sets and full collections rather than the old singles model and retailers were trying to get rid of their old singles inventory. Now, of course, those singles are OOP and often cost a fortune to try and get.

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