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c/anime-discussions

1

charlie198•2d ago

Reached episode 300 in my backlog and almost quit anime entirely

I keep a spreadsheet of everything I watch. Got to episode 300 logged last Tuesday and something snapped. I realized I had spent over 100 hours on shows I barely remembered. The titles all blur together now. It felt less like a hobby and more like homework. I almost deleted the whole list. Instead I went back and checked my favorites from before the number got big. They still held up. So the number itself was the warning. It told me I was watching to finish things instead of because I liked them. Has anyone else hit a point where their own watching habits scared them straight? Be honest, did it change what you pick up next?

16

corap61•2d ago

Subs over dubs, but this one show flipped me in 3 episodes

I've been a hardcore sub-only guy since 2018, swore dubs ruined the pacing every time. Then I tried the English dub of that new mecha series last Tuesday and actually caught more character nuance, now I'm questioning my whole stance. Anyone else found a dub that beat the original?

27

xenam84•4d ago

Hot take: I doubted 4K remasters of old anime, then I watched one from 1989

I spent years thinking 4K remasters were just cash grabs, especially for shows made before digital animation. Then I picked up a 1989 OVA on Blu-ray last week and the cel detail was insane, like seeing the paint layers for the first time. But I still think some studios overdo the noise reduction and it kills the original texture. Does anyone else feel like the remaster quality depends more on the company than the era of the show? What's the one release that flipped your opinion either way?

14

iris_barnes87•7d ago

Ran into a guy at an anime convention panel who told me I was watching shows on 2x speed wrong

He said if I'm skipping openings just to binge faster, I'm missing the whole point of the medium, and honestly that one comment at that packed panel in Chicago last fall made me rethink how I've been watching seasonal stuff for like 3 years.

13

ben_fisher•8d ago

Rolled my eyes when a buddy swore by the 3 episode rule for judging new anime, but after dropping shows after one episode for years I finally gave it a real shot.

I gave Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood a solid three episodes last month even though the first one felt slow and now I'm 40 episodes deep and can't stop - has anyone else had a show totally flip for them after a few episodes?

17

the_drew•8d ago

Hot take: the 'skip intro' button ruined anime pacing

I was watching a marathon of Cowboy Bebop with my buddy and he hit skip intro every single time. That's 26 episodes of TANK! just gone. I get it for shows with bad intros but skipping the buildup feels like watching a movie with no opening scene.

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danielowens•9d ago

Question about the episode count for the original Fullmetal Alchemist

I was looking up something on MyAnimeList last night and saw the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist series only has 51 episodes. For some reason I always thought it was closer to 60 or 70, like a full shonen run. Am I the only one who gets the episode counts mixed up between the original and Brotherhood?

3

xena_hernandez98•9d ago

TIL I was ruining my Attack on Titan rewatch by skipping the OVAs

I used to just binge the main episodes and ignore everything else, but last week I watched the OVA where Levi cleans the squad's tomb and it explains so much about his character. Anyone else think the 3D Maneuver Gear OVAs are lowkey required viewing?

28

brian_hart•12d ago

Binge watched a 2003 mecha anime in one weekend and it aged way better than I expected

The animation was clunky and the dub was terrible but the political plot actually made more sense to me now at 32 than it did when I was 15 - has anyone else gone back to an old show and found it hit different as an adult?

2

lisas78•13d ago

Local video store owner told me to watch anime at 1.5x speed for slice-of-life shows

I was in this tiny rental shop in Portland last weekend buying a few blu-rays and the guy behind the counter just drops this tip on me. He said he watches all slow-paced anime at 1.5x speed because the pacing is designed for weekly releases and not binging. I tried it out on the latest season of that farming anime and it honestly cut through all the filler without losing any story. The dialogue still sounds normal, just the pauses get shorter. Has anyone else experimented with playback speed for different genres? I'm curious if it works for action shows too.

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fisher.jessica•1mo ago

Finally hit 100 days of watching anime every day

So I started this dumb challenge back in January where I would watch at least one episode of anime every single day. Yesterday was day 100. But around day 45 I hit a major slump where I couldnt decide what to watch. I was stuck in this loop of scrolling Crunchyroll for 30 minutes then giving up and rewatching old episodes of Gintama instead. So I made a rule for myself. I grabbed a random number generator on my phone and let it pick an anime from my Watchlist that had at least a 7.5 on MAL. Ended up with Space Dandy which I'd ignored for years. That show was so wild and fun it got me back on track immediately. Now I keep a list of like 12 shows queued up so I never have to make another decision when I'm tired. Has anyone else tried a daily watch challenge or do you just binge when you feel like it?

21

viola_garcia56•1mo ago

Pro tip: I started watching anime with Japanese subs and noticed a huge difference after 2 weeks

I used to always watch dubbed shows because I thought reading subtitles would be distracting. But my friend kept pushing me to try subbed for the original voice acting. After about 15 episodes of Attack on Titan in Japanese with subs, I realized the emotion in the voices was way stronger. The yelling and crying felt realer than the English versions I was used to. Has anyone else felt this shift after switching over for a bit?

27

ross.kim•1mo ago

That one guy at Anime Boston 2022 who changed how I watch dubs

I was standing in line at the Crunchyroll panel when this older dude behind me just goes "you know the sub vs dub fight is fake right?" and then explained how the voice director for Cowboy Bebop was an absolute genius. He told me about how they changed whole lines to fit the mouth flaps better and made the jokes land different in English. Has anyone else had a random conversation with a stranger that totally flipped your opinion on something?

22

kimr91•1mo ago

Rant: My crunchyroll subscription kept buffering during the final episode of season 2

I was all set to watch the finale last night and it froze every 3 minutes until I gave up at midnight. Anyone else have issues with their streaming service dropping out at the worst possible time?

11

michael_williams•1mo ago

Heard a guy at the coffee shop say he binged 12 episodes of Frieren in one sitting last Tuesday

That just clicked something for me. I've been slogging through shows at 1 episode a night and missing the whole flow. Last weekend I sat down and watched 8 straight episodes of Dungeon Meshi and caught so many little callbacks I'd have missed otherwise. Anyone else find they enjoy shows way more when you commit to a bigger chunk at once?

19

ward.diana•1mo ago

Finally finished my first 12-episode anime in Japanese without subs

I was at my usual spot in the living room around 2am last Wednesday after a rough dinner rush. I had already watched this show dubbed twice before, so I knew the dialog pretty well. But this time I forced myself to turn off the English subtitles and just listen. I got through the first three episodes and barely understood anything. By episode 8 I started catching phrases and laughs before the visual punchlines. By the final episode I actually teared up at a line I had never noticed before in the dub. It felt like unlocking a secret layer to a story I already loved. Has anyone else tried watching a show you know well without subs for the first time? What series worked for you?

4

oliver_baker49•1mo ago

Had to choose between sub or dub for One Piece, picked the wrong one

I got into One Piece back in April and had to decide between the sub and the dub. I went with the dub because I like multitasking while watching, but after 200 episodes I realized the dub is like 4 years behind. Now I have to switch to sub and relearn all the voices, and it's messing with the whole vibe. Has anyone else had to make this call halfway through a long runner?

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patricia_hill60•1mo ago

I finally finished Black Clover after 4 months of pause

Everyone kept saying it gets good after episode 100. I got to episode 80 back in June and just couldnt keep going with the yelling. Picked it back up last week and forced myself through the next 20 episodes. Yeah the tournament arc was decent but I dont see why people put it next to Naruto. The animation dips are rough too. Anyone else take way longer to warm up to this show than expected?

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charlieh74•1mo ago

Binged the new season of Oshi no Ko in one night and regret everything

I stayed up till 4am Tuesday powering through episodes 8 through 13 back to back on my laptop and now my eyes feel like sandpaper and my brain is fried from all that emotional whiplash. The ending twist hit so hard I just sat there staring at the credits for like five minutes before I even remembered to breathe. Anyone else ever binge a show so hard it messes up your whole next day at work or is that just me being dumb?

15

caleb_bell5•1mo ago

Subbed vs Dubbed for emotional scenes: which actually hits harder?

I watched the big death scene in episode 20 of Cyberpunk Edgerunners in both subbed and dubbed to see which made me feel more. The subbed version had that raw voice acting that felt more real to the characters, but the dubbed let me actually watch the animation without reading. I ended up sticking with subbed because the Japanese voice actor's delivery was just too good, but now I wonder if I missed some visual details. Has anyone else done a side-by-side comparison for a key moment in an anime?

11

charlieh74•1mo ago

My friend swore by watching anime at 1.5x speed and I finally tried it

My buddy Mike from the local anime club kept saying I was wasting time by watching at normal speed. He said he catches the same plot points and the action scenes still look smooth. Last week I gave it a shot on a 26-episode show I was rewatching anyway. I finished the whole thing in like 16 hours instead of 22 and honestly I didn't miss anything important. The fight scenes felt a tiny bit weird at first but my brain adjusted after three episodes. Has anyone else tried this trick or does it ruin the vibe for you?

14

thomas.river•1mo ago

That time I argued with a guy about subbed vs dubbed for 45 minutes at a con

I was at Anime Expo last year in Los Angeles, standing in line for a panel. Some dude behind me started going off about how dubs are always better and subs are for pretentious fans. I tried to just nod along but he kept pushing. I ended up explaining that I watch both depending on the show, and he got real defensive. We stood there going back and forth until the line moved. I don't think either of us changed our mind, but it was kinda funny looking back. Anyone else get stuck in those pointless debates at cons?

11

adam414•1mo ago

Can we talk about dubbing old anime versus subbing it

I tried rewatching Trigun last week with the English dub because I remembered it being great as a kid. By episode 3 I had to switch back to subs because Vash sounded way too goofy and flat compared to the Japanese voice actor who actually sells the sad clown thing. Got me thinking - is the nostalgia for old dubs just rose-tinted glasses or do some of them actually hold up? I learned that newer dubs like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood are way better produced but the 90s stuff feels phoned in. But then my buddy says the Cowboy Bebop dub is still the definitive way to watch it and I get his point. What's your take - do you stick with subs for older series or do you give the dubs a fair shot?

13

sethm58•1mo ago

I finally sat through an entire 26-episode dub and it felt wrong the whole time

I've always been a sub-only guy for like 15 years but decided to watch Full Metal Panic dubbed since I was working in my shop and couldn't keep reading subtitles. By the end of the second episode I realized I was missing half the character tone shifts because the voice actors sounded like they were reading a manual. Has anyone else tried switching formats and immediately regretted it?

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angelamurphy•1mo ago

That guy on the anime sub told me to skip the filler in Naruto Shippuden

Said I'd save like 80 hours and the canon episodes flowed better without it. I listened, and now I feel like I missed half the inside jokes my friends make about it. Anybody else regret skipping filler?