Do you avoid watching your favorite anime? | GR Anime Discussion

This video is a bit more personal, but it's on a topic that I wanted to explore a bit. Have you ever gotten to a point where you are, for lack of a better word, afraid to watch more of your favourite anime?

[rederratic]

I used to be just like this, but then I really thought about it over the course of a few months. I came to the conclusion that your life may end suddenly, and I want to watch my favorite things before that time comes. Just like music, film (anime) is a temporal art-form. It is not like a painting, which exists permanently. It exists temporality as the medium it is made in, and that’s how it’s meant to be enjoyed. It exists temporarily, only as you watch it, and that’s what makes it even more beautiful in my opinion. Don’t hesitate to watch something because then it will be over, enjoy it that much more knowing that it will end.

[hobojoalt]

I feel like this is the real world version of hording items because "I might need it later"

[elfwyn]

We have a saying in Germany: "Vorfreude ist die schönste Freude" which means Anticipation is the greatest Joy. I also have some DVD and Bluray Boxes I never opened, even though they are great shows.

[ReiyukaE]

"Do I OWN a record player?

...NO."
perfect delivery, that.

[thechosenone]

This is Gigguk with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

[museofsalzburg]

This is absolutely not just a you thing. I've had that kind of feeling twice: first after finishing Hunter x Hunter, and then again after finishing Sangatsu no Lion. It's the absolute worst, because they were both such great experiences. My first thought after finishing both of them wasn't "Wow, that was such an amazing series!", it was "Wow, I'm never going to have that kind of experience ever again." And so yes, I'd say most seasoned anime watchers have developed this wariness about watching anime they know they are going to have an intense experience with.

In the case of those two and Made in Abyss though, the source material is keeping me

As long as I don't read the latest HxH chapter, there's always

[MGengarDude]

I normally wait for a while before watching my favourite anime in order to keep myself fresh on it, and reestablish my love for it again and again.

[lobstertelephone]

Ah yes, this is what I like to call Schrodinger's anime

[Raph___A]

"Who avoids watching their favorite anime?" is the real question!

[JackRackam]

I've had a very similar experience with Makoto Shinkai's films! I sat on Your Name almost until Weathering with You was released, and have been waiting for the right time to watch that film ever since. I haven't loved everything he's done (looking at you, Garden of Words) but 5 cm/s and Your Name were so impactful for me that I know I want to at least try any film he's made. Part of my hesitation is that watching Your Name left me in a weird mood for like a week and I need to prepare myself for that, but a big part is that I'm afraid of the possibility that I'll know for certain there won't ever be a film that gives me the same experience that 5 cm/s did when I was a kid. But what's ultimately convinced me to watch Weathering with You sooner rather than later, is I know I'm not the same person I was when I first watched 5 cm/s and I'm even more afraid that if I wait too long then his stories just won't hit me the same way anymore, and the possibility of being unable to relate to a movie that could've been one of my absolute favorites if I'd watched it sooner is much worse than my fear of watching it too soon

[UnknownWriter]

this is me with Violet Evergarden. I haven't seen anything beyond the initial anime, even though it became a very important anime to me emotionally when it released. I agree with the sentiment of "I don't want to be in a world where there is no more Violet Evergarden to watch or enjoy." Heck, it part of why I haven't kept up with reading Spice & Wolf despite owning all the light novels plus 3 of the sequel series Wolf & Parchment. I don't want it to end and be over forever.

[Penkeychain]

I feel like there are a pessimistic and an optimistic side to this;
"I might never see another show like this again" vs. "The idea that I might eventually find a show that gives me the same feeling, or even greater, is exciting.
I only did what you describe once, and that was when I realized that Sangatsu no Lion was going to be one of my favorites at like episode 6. It was a dark time for me, and I wanted the ability to always watch more. Since the show aired I have seen all of the anime (I am on my 2nd Rewatch) and chosen not to read ahead with the manga. I haven't found anything remotely like it. But I get excited by the idea that I will. And that I might find it where I least expect it.
Life is short, and unpredictable. Things might happen that'll leave you with way less time to spend on hobbies. Or make you have to carefully consider if you want to "risk" getting to know something new that may leave you dissatisfied or if you want to rewatch an old favorite. (or you know, unable to continue pursuing that hobby altogether)

For as long as you still have time you can spend on lots of anime, try to find the ones you're gonna love the most. Watch anime from every decade, in every format and all kinds of genres. And personally, I want to make sure I get to all the ones I am most excited for sooner than later. (although excitement for various things always keeps changing around for me)
There's just so much great anime, that there is no way you could run out of the ones you're going to enjoy, or even love, anytime soon (depending on personal preference, but I still believe this holds true for most people who love anime to a varying degree).

[SnowAnayathatweirdgirl]

I'm stuck on Legend of the Galactic Heroes episode 98. Me and my grandfather were watching it together when he passed away I can't watch it. I know its amazing, but in my heart it doesn't feel right moving forward and finishing it cause I feel like finishing it will be the end of that one thing me and my grandpa had ongoing. If that makes sense or not I don't care that's why I can't finish LOTGH, but it's my favorite one of my top 5 anime of all time I just can't get passed that episode.

I get what your saying it's a fear of something being finished. I mean it's not something your alone in. Death Parade I wish I could re-experience how I felt first time through and flip my shit when I ask someone if they know it and they don't. I get mad jealous that they get to experience those feelings for the first time.

[rockshrimp]

I've had this video saved in my "Watch later" playlist for 2 years, so yeah, this is really relatable

[BrianPlaysHome]

Never clicked on a video faster. Saw the title and immediately clicked!
That inevitable emptiness that hits after finishing an amazing show makes me afraid to keep watching on, or even start shows I really want to watch.
Bc I know they'll be over before I realise, and I'll never get to experience that same exact beauty, enjoyment and escape again.
The end always makes me feel empty and wishing for more. So sometimes it seems better to hold off indefinitely, so you know there's still something to look forward to.

[thisperson]

I feel the same but in a different way, I personally only fear rewatching shows that made me cry and it's not like I'm afraid of crying... The thing is, I absolutely love crying but only because it makes me feel normal but then the fact that an anime, a drawing with voice overs made me cry kinda scares me because I do not cry in real life, I've been to 3 funerals of close family members and I didn't cry... That's the part that scares me, I can bawl my eyes out over an anime but can't cry at funerals, why? Why can I form a more emotional attachment to fictional characters than I can real people? Real people I have genuine memories with, people I've loved for as long as I can remember. That thought absolutely *terrifies* me.

Anime that have made me feel this way are Your Name, A Silent Voice, Violet Evergarden, (ironically) Made In Abyss...

And a recent addition to the list is Episode 1 of Oshi No Ko, that absolutely destroyed more than any show has and even still, an hour doesn't go by where I don't hear the words "I love you... aah I finally said it, that definitely wasn't a lie." It just echos in my head with that scene playing over and over and I couldn't figure out what the feeling was, couldn't tell if I was sad, angry, shocked, then I figured it out... It's grief, in my 20 years of life, the funerals I've been too, things I've seen, nothing has made me grieve before and now the first episode of Oshi No Ko scares me more than anything else because I was able to grieve over it but not over irl things.

Despite all that, the shows I listed are some of my favourites ever, Your Name is still 2nd place on the list of anime that I'm afraid to re-watch, it awoke a fear in me that I never knew I had, memory loss. I've genuinely decided that if I ever am diagnosed with some kind of memory loss that I just want to be put to sleep if you know what I mean, there's just something absolutely heart wrenching about making beautiful memories with people you love, just for those memories to fade into nothingness. And Oshi No Ko despite all the trauma, has already, within 4 episodes... Hell within the first episode, cemented its place in my top 5 anime and I consider the first episode to be one of the greatest first episodes of any media ever made.

[berserk]

Confession: I want to see Arkada with a beard.

Okay a little moustache will also do

[cussundriakneal]

And i'm just over here: "I'm avoiding this because i can't emotionally handle that thing right now, i just... not... gonaa deal with it."

[Hypernva]

Took me 5 months to watch "Rascal does not dream of a dreaming girl" beforehand I knew it would be an emotional rollercoaster

[FamilyFriendlyGaming]

You can watch it, and then watch it again years later when you have forgotten most of it. We did this with Babylon 5. Watched it on TV, then DVD, and then watched it again five years later on DVD. Did we remember part of it? Sure. There were also parts we forgot the second and third watch throughs. Life is too short. You never know when the bell tolls for thee. Watch it and then there are no regrets. Carpe Diem. You can't assume you will have tomorrow to watch it.