How is important is it for you to be watching current anime shows?
 

I find myself only watching shows that are airing at the time. For example, my whole anime viewing list is dedicated to this spring season. There are many, many anime shows that I haven't seen, and I really want to see them, but I never get round to watching them.

There is the idea that currently airing series are easier to access, but that's never really an issue for me. If I wanted to watch, say, NGE right now I could easily get it, but I'd much rather invest time in this season's offerings, say, watch episode 3 of Hack roots though I'm not really *that* interested in it. NGE intrigues me more, actually.

For me, the discussion and anticipation that takes place in forums is a very large part of my anime viewing. For example, I don't think Higurashi would be as enjoyable if I had waited till it was finished, and then began to watch it. New anime are fresh. You are experiencing it for the first time at the same time others are experiencing it for their first time.

I watch what I like, doesn't matter whether it is current or not.

The only thing that bothers me about current series, is I can't just get the whole thing and watch it through, I have to wait. I'm rather impatient so that is bothersome.

The thing that bothers me about old series: I'll get done watching it and need an outlet for my feelings, but everyone else is already past it and done discussing it. So I'm left on my own little island.

I actually like waiting. It builds anticipation, so when you see "x episode 23" on animesuki, you're very eager to download it and watch it straight away. It's even better when an episode ends on a cliffhanger, IMO =D.

Actually, I prefer watching series that have already finished. I can relate to Orchunter about the whole having to wait thing. I find that with the inconsistency of fansub releases, (sometimes there are a few weeks' gap) I forget a lot of things in previous episodes and end up having to refresh my memory. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about fansubs or anything. I just find it easier to watch a series that's already complete.

However, if I happen to really enjoy the series and it's being released regularly, I watch it as it airs. But most of the time, even if I really want to see it, I wait until it's completely out or at least more than halfway done before I start the first episode. The majority of the shows that I watch are already finished. That's just me, though.

~ Noodlehead

It's not all that important for me, it's just nice and refreshing to go along with a current airing anime series as long as you enjoy them enough. If an anime's not that fun for me to keep waiting for an episode week after week I just won't watch, I'll just wait until it's finished before I re-watch them.

But like you said it can be alot of fun to discuss and make new theorys on for certain anime series as the show goes along with members on the boards.

Most anime can be watched anytime, even after a decade or two.

But if you have an anime thats a hot topic, its best to watch it while its popular. If I were to only start watching Haruhi a few months after the show ended, I probably wouldn't be enjoying it as much as I would now.

I probably would miss out a whole lot on the intricate plot and hidden meanings.

Right now, being a Haruhist is probably one of the best experiences I've ever had for an anime.

Why would it matter if you watch it a few months after or now?

The "intricate plot and hidden meanings" works anytime unless you plan to read on spoilers and what not.

Well in the case of Haruhi you will lose out from those who participated in the form of experience if you are going to watch the show after the series has completely ended.

Its like a party, being in the party is a huge difference to arriving at the party hall after it ended.

And Haruhiism is a really big party right now.

I don't really find it important to watch current series. In most cases, I most certainly prefer marathons, although the best time to watch would probably be a little after the series has ended. That way, you get the full effect of the show and an active discussion as well.

Having to wait for a whole week kills off some of the connection you make to the series. Although you get to participate in current discussions, sometimes there are only so much to talk and discuss about.

That's my POV, and I certainly wouldn't like to think if I hadn't watched Air straight from start to end. ^^

I usually watch shows that have already ended, since I also don't want to keep forgetting the story and other parts of the anime that might need continuity. It's all a different feeling when you watch a show each week (or each 3 months, depends on waiting for the fansub/DVD waiting is even longer)than in a row. Of course, there's always the shows that get me hooked, like School Rumble (now the Second season), and that I wait to be fansubbed, no matter what. Yet, mostly it is the older shows I watch.

To the one above who mentioned it looked like a big party, I can understand that it's a tad different if you're in a forum discussing new animes (since the website itself is about that) this kind of thing might come up. It's just like the forums of Megatokyo where after each new page there's a thread wondering about the story, what comes next, and discussion, etc. And you want to share it, and I understand it.

For me, I think people have to juggle between the two, it's much more effective. But I've personally always had a problem with patience :heh: Thankfully, I can watch another anime/read manga waiting for another episode of that or that show.

I have to admit sometimes participating in the discussion of an anime is more fun than watching the anime itself. I doubt I would have initially got into anime THIS much if it wasn't for the communities - because frankly speaking I have learned a lot that I never saw before from forums and stuff. Online forums can provide input from people from various backgrounds and cultures with different ideologies and hence different viewpoints. You can learn a lot more about a show and perhaps learn a bit about life, too...

So with an older show the problem is that there's noone to discuss it with - the good thing, though, is that there are many more finished reviews of the show and fansites. I think it works out for me - when I watch a whole series in a clump I like to watch it in one go without discussing between episodes. I prefer to watch it all, think very carefully, and then go read stuff. (Though good series will get me reading stuff halfway and looking up things. Like Utena.)
Yet with a newer show where I watch things as they go, I prefer to be able to talk about it while waiting for the show. (To keep it fresh in my mind, too.)

Given the choice though, I'd rather finish a series all in one go than wait episode by episode for it unless it's something like Mushishi (which must be savoured slowly). I do like discussions though, so the best thing for me is to catch up to a show only near the very end and then while waiting for the last episode or something, read through all the discussions and then be able to take part in the fun, almost party-like discussion of the last episode.

These days though I haven't been watching any old shows because I'm short on disk space >_> I need to clear things up very very badly. As for my desire to watch current shows just to be 'in the loop' - I'll readily admit to having that. I admit I still don't like the feeling you get when you miss out on some bloody awesome show airing at the same time and you realise you missed out on a lot only until later and you sound silly having only discovered it for the first time...

I like watching current series when I can share the entertainment with other like-minded people. But those occasionally stall and thats when I pull out my backlog of "series I've downloaded or set aside for such times" and catch up on those.

I am going through my older series and burning them to DVDs (still a bunch I suspect will never get licensed in Region 1) as well as keeping a copy off on a storage drive.

Very, very important. I'm in this partly for the anime themselves, and partly for the feeling of being close to Japan -- which requires watching my favorites as soon as humanly possible after they are broadcast. Compulsive, I know, but that's how it is.

Watching several episodes of an older show all at once has advantages, of course. And like Vexx I have a stock of episodes I haven't got to yet that I watch when I get time. But waiting for the next episode of SHnY or Simoun and grabbing it from cyberspace as soon as it appears is pretty sweet. To get the feeling of actually watching anime on TV, I sometimes wish the encoders didn't remove the ads.

And the discussions, as wao says, can be even more interesting than the shows.

I enjoy and relish the moments when I discover (by myself) new series that I like. It's just so exhilarating to feel the fun of each anime series that you like ...
but I don't give a damn if the show is old or new, really, as long as it fits my taste.

I watch Hiatari Ryoukou EVEN IF that anime IS older than me. ;)

(which reminds me ... )

I have to watch current shows, because I watched every single older show that has been produced and that has interested me.

When I first got into anime fandom, one of the first things I did was look up some historical listings of every single anime produced by Japan to date, crossreference them with synopsis and screenshots, and if they interest me, then watch them if they are available. Thankfully, that was before the explosion of digital fansubbing, so by the time I got onto digisubbing, I had already consumed the classics which interested me. Of course these were mostly OVAs from the OVA boom of the 80s and 90s...watching hundreds of eps of Urusei Yatsura or Touch would have been inconceivable to me.

So fastforward to today, the important thing for me is that I have no backlog, because working at odd hours, travelling frequently to other countries for extended periods on official and semiofficial business, and being one of those people who must have a good eight hours rest each day, I don't think I might find the time should I fall behind.

I currently only have time to watch a maximum of 4-5 30-minute episodes per week, so it's not really a matter of old vs. new, but more like time constraints. Watching older shows takes about 11 hours of continuous watching at the very least (more, if you do other stuff, like life and work), and watching anime is really not the most important thing to me. At least, not important enough to sacrifice other things for. Hence, it's better for me to watch series on a weekly basis.

I wouldn't say that, like DaFool, I have watched every 'old show' that interests me, but it is somewhat true.

Every non-current show I could live without is probably not on my watch list. I think I've seen enough old stuff to have an educated opinion about anime currently on TV, and that sattisfies me.

I just doubt that anything I haven't yet seen would top Shoujo Kakumei Utena or Tenkuu no Escaflowne, so it makes little difference whether to watch old or new based on artistic quality. And since new anime comes out on a weekly basis (and thus easier to watch), then that's my preference.

I personally try to find a way in the middle. Meaning first that I care to be at pace with current season's show. Let's say at least 5 of them, with the "patiently week after week" formula.
This because I find very fascinating to partecipate, sometimes as a simple lurker, more often as active writer, to the discussions about them. An old show doesn't get much discussion about it (unless it's very famous, but that would be a particular case - I always talk about what's average, on tendency). Talking on nowadays, something like SHnY or Higurashi always brings up interesting stuff to read as well as pics, parodies, amv to watch.
That's why I believe it's important to keep the pace with the times. It enriches my anime knowledge a lot. And brings friends too, friends who will be good then as for exchange of suggestions, of analysis on eventual divergences on point of views.
A friend which words I believe could convince me to give a show I rejected a second chance, or all the other way around.

At the same time, I keep my anime storage of shows aired previously. Those show, that at earlier time I decided to postpone on my schedule. Often, in facts, I prefere to wait for a show to finish, then to burn it (in my country the anime releases are near nothing, and besides rarely meeting my tastes anyway) on dvd.

And I always try to keep 2, but at least 1 "old" (old is very subtle here, old may mean also a show aired last winter) show.
Watching these shows is amazing. It's basically like a travel to the past with the eye of the knowledger of the future. It's interesting, in example to see how this now unbelievably famous seiyuu was like earlier in his/her career. It's beautiful to compare art and animations of yesterday and today. Or more importantly, the story plot. Original? Unoriginal? Plain? Was this theme innovative at that time, has it been resumed? Has it been copied? And many many questions among this path.

It's not that I have much time, but I'm quite happy with this formula as for now.

I try to wait till it's a few episodes in so that I don't waste my time on a show that everyone ends up concluding sucks.

Like with Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, I heard raves, so I downloaded later.
I don't feel like I missed anything by waiting a few weeks.

My problem is a little bit different.
When a new season arrives i check out all the first episodes of all the animes that dont seem to be totally crap by the description of anidb.pl.
Recently i got a rythm for watching anime. I look my favourites of the current series straight after downloading (orphan host club, fate stay night, haruhi suzumiya,...), but on the other hand i focus on 1 or 2 complete series i still got in my folders (for now rahxephon and Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito). There are 40 folders of only the "not completely watched folders" in my anime folder.
So in the time between my current favs releases i watch "not so good but still ok current series" and "old" series. Still i dont have that much time to watch anime so my folder gets bigger and bigger and my free space smaller and smaller. And yet i still have some older series i still want to download and complete. Damn you small hdd.

And my forum discussion experiences are a bit different too. Even when i download immediatly and watch it immediatly there are allready a minimum of 3 pages discussion without me having a chance to post. The first posts are often from those who watch the raw and understand japanese or just watch it without understanding it. When i read through some post i find some interesting one, but only after looking much too long. And when i finnally want to post about something i think " fuck it". My post will probably appear on page 8 and noone will read it + the discussion is probably allready on another subtopic than that i want to talk about and i dont wanna be offtopic. Im just not the one for current epsiode discussions. Im rather the one to join the other topics about certain questions, interpetations, relations and some interesting things.

Yeah I have a mix of ongoing and completed series as well. If I'm just sticking to current series, it will drive me crazy waiting for new episodes. Anyway, to answer the question, no it's not really important for me to follow the trend. The only thing that's important to me is to watch as many titles as I can.

I can live with or without discussions.

I watch the current airing shows because I have watched everything else that interest me. Since I go to baka-updates everyday to check for new releases... :D

I have only recently started enjoying anime, and there are a ton of series that I am interested in seeing. I never really paid much attention to the new and unlicensed anime, mainly because I was worried that watching a show ahead of time would take all the fun out of buying the dvd's once they were released. (if they ever were released.)

I decided to watch Ouran High Host Club a few days ago, since some of my favorite sites were raving about it (and because it looked extremely nice) ...and fell in love with it immediately. Now I'm excited about the anime, and I can't wait to get the chance to buy the show on dvd. I'll definently be checking out more new series coming out this season.

Watch good anime, not "was's new". I only watch new anime when my friends recommend it to me. I don't particularly like "new anime" since I have to wait for the episodes instead of d/ling it all then watching it. Although recently the newer anime I've enjoyed alot. Shakugan no shana, F/S Night, Haruhi etc.

Over the years I've become very efficient at watching anime so I'm clearing up by backlock at an alarming rate.

I'm extremely patient and have a fast connection with lots of hard drive space and DVDs so I do technically accumulate it faster than I can watch it, but my real reason for trying to watch stuff ASAP is to avoid spoilers. Sadly the internet is full of people who love to spoil and the only way to avoid that is to avoid forums (you'll see me here less and less now because of it, actually) and/or watch stuff as it comes out.

This of course doesn't mean I don't watch older stuff that I've missed. It's just that my priority is to newer stuff before the latest episode is spoiled.

To answer this question, I have to consider what anime is to me. As you may or may not have already been informed, anime to me at its most fundamental purpose is another form of entertainment. Its age, whether it is airing now, or is many years old, has no direct relation to its intrinsic qualities, its potential to entertain me. Thus, when I'm tired of and/or abandon some animes I'm watching, I occasionally have whims to check out other series, old or not, in Animesuki or other sources to fill in that entertainment gap. It is sometimes that I find overlooked gems, and my favorite shows, through this behavior (eg. Twin Spica, Kurau: Phantom Memory, YKK...etc).

But there is a secondary reason enticing me to watch anime, and that is discourse, as the opening poster and others above have mentioned. Watching current anime series allows me to participate in the active, and almost beyond up-to-date conversations in Animesuki (and other places on the net), interpreting the opinions of others within the context of the latest episodes, and perhaps more importantly, a chance to voice my own thoughts (flexing my mental muscles in the process is just a consequence) for others in the same context to read and digest. Forums and other similar fast-paced and organic discourse societies like this serve as a great source of raw opinions, to find conflicts and consensuses to base an accurate assessment of a series. So to address the topic question, is it important for me to be watching current anime shows? Somewhat, if not to directly satisfy the primary criteria, then for the secondary function.

However, there is another pastime of mine that provides the main portion of entertainment in my life, and that is computer gaming. I've been tapping the keyboard and mouse since I was a wee boy of 7 years old, and I highly doubt anime (or any other hobby) can topple my gaming pastime for dominance. But I can't help but wonder, if anime and manga was my principle diversion instead of secondary, I might have been more active, and more knowledgeable within this culture. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Basically i enjoy watching anime series that has already ended...this is because i can get it over with quickly instead of having to wait for the next episode to come out while biting on my nails...also ending an anime quickly means...
1) you get to see the ending and therefore feel relieved at the outcome or hate the outcome
2)you can let of some steam and opinions in forums (like this one :p)
and 3) you can get onto the next anime

but with that sed i really dnt mind watching up to date ones either...currently im watching bleach (great!) fate/stay night(greater!!!) and naruto (filler shi*=hiss!! boo!!!) and im really looking forward to the next episodes...

i find a mixture of old and new series good cause while waiting for the next episode of the 'new series' to come out i can polish off some old ones which interest me...

oldies but goodies
 

Personnally i do both. But hey, isn't it fun to watch series after everyone and check back over everything that has been said on the forum, just to make fun of those who think they understood it all? Especially with thrillers and/or suspense series.
:p
It's not like i do it, but sometimes it really feels like you're... omniscient? :D

Anyway, i really aren't into making fun of people. But i love digging up threads. I almost never do it, because i know this is sort of annoying, but... i still enjoy it very much.

That's why watching "old" series is something special to me, and less "tiresome" than keeping up with newer series and the "never-ending" threads that are constantly started on them.

Well, it's just my opinion.