What happens to you during the wait?

[oompa loompa]

I've started watching anime pretty recently, well no.. i watched inuyasha way back when i was in the 8th grade, rurouni kenshin in the 9th, but only really got into anime this year ( im a senior now).
anyways , as it happens, i only started watching unfinished series this year , and ive not yet seen a sequel / second season come out ever ( testament to my newness lol) im waiting for the second season of several shows to come out, i was just wondering what you guys - who are more experienced than me - manage this, well , what are your respective experiences with this.

[Echoes]

Watch other stuff while you wait? :P

That's what I do, anyway. If you're really into a series you could collect images and fanart, read fanfictions or if it's an adaptation, find the source material (manga, novels, games) and take a look at that, if the waiting for an announced or suspected second season has got you down.

I suppose I'm not a very credible source of inspiration, though, as I only got into following ongoing series and (obsessively) watching anime last summer myself. Like you, I had seen a few handful of series prior to this, but looking back I wouldn't call myself an anime fan back then.

Currently I'm eagerly anticipating Haruhi S2, Jigoku Shoujo S3 and Higurashi S3 in particular. There are quite a few amazing shows currently airing, though, so it's not that hard.
Shameless plug: Kaiji!

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by oompa loompa

I've started watching anime pretty recently, well no.. i watched inuyasha way back when i was in the 8th grade, rurouni kenshin in the 9th, but only really got into anime this year ( im a senior now).
anyways , as it happens, i only started watching unfinished series this year , and ive not yet seen a sequel / second season come out ever ( testament to my newness lol) im waiting for the second season of several shows to come out, i was just wondering what you guys - who are more experienced than me - manage this, well , what are your respective experiences with this.

Sequels don't come out a season or two after the original is aired . (Except Minami-ke, but it doesn't count because a different studio produced the second season.)
For example: Code Geass's sequel will begin this Spring, about a year after the main series finished airing (putting aside the epic episodes 24-25 that killed the series.)
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid came two years after Fumoffu!, and was a direct sequel to the first season, since Fumoffu! was a series of sidestories adapted from the light novels, so it was released approximately three years after its prequel.
And here's something: Gunslinger Girls' sequel began airing not long ago, about four years after the first series. That's quite long. You could have graduated High School if you were a Freshman (9th Grade. It may be different where you're from.)
Speaking of which, Full Metal Panic! is still in need of a fourth season.

So yeah, sequels sometimes take a while, but this year seems to be laden with them (big ones, at least.) Code Geass, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Zero no Tsukaima, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, and the already airing Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Hidamari Sketch, Gunslinger Girls, Aria the Origination, etc.
There's more, but these are the particularly big/popular ones.

So yes, you will have to learn to cope with the plague that is waiting for a sequel. It hurts, but it makes you stronger.

[Zaris]

Work, sleep, eat, and watch other things. Nothing much more than that. :P

[Rahan]

I suggest you close your eyes, cover your ears with your hands, hold your breath and wait.


But yeah, there have been plenty of sequels lately. For years, the only TV sequels I knew were the Next and Try seasons of Slayers, but now every other show seems to have a sequel planned.

I guess the recent trend of light novels'adaptations (with one season = x books) made producers realize a show was not dead one year after his airing date and it was possible to restart them.
On the other hand, is it me or are there no more OVA sequels ? (I mean, real series of at least 5-6 OVA, not your average 20 mn episode unrelated to main storyline we get now). There was sure a lot of them in Eighties and Nineties

[Slice of Life]

You have to learn to let go.

When I watch anime I know I'm in for a ride of 13-ish or 26-ish episodes. And that's it. I assume that things are resolved until then. If there is something to be resolved and the anime isn't episodic or slice of life, which is the standard case anyway.

If things are resolved until then, OK.

If there is a clear open end I yell at the screen, curse the producers and swear never to watch the sequel even if there will be one in the future. If there really appears a sequel some day I've long calmed down and may watch it anyway. Or decide that the first season already wasn't worth it.

[GuidoHunter_Toki]

Well as for me I've never really had trouble waiting for a next season of any show to come out. With the exception of House and Haruhi though, which is not like I'm pulling my hair out of my head kind of anticipation. Anyways I usually just rewatch the show I'm waiting for or I just enjoy my many other interests in life. I know I'm probably not being much help but all I can say is just find something else to captivate your mind for a while.

[Quzor]

I find that video games are a fantastic way to take your mind off of waiting for the next season of whatever anime you are watching. Try picking up that controller with a nice RPG, like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy (might I suggest 7, 8, 10, and 12 particularly), Skies of Arcadia, Grandia, or something of the like. Also, action adventure games are good, because they're shorter, and you can play through more of them while you wait for your next season to make its appearance. Or, like others have said, watching new stuff is always a good idea.

[Vagrant0]

Easy, you catch up on some of the older series which are established anime cannon. There are several older series out there which were of the sort that set a precident for various concepts, genere, or have been used in parody many times. Depending on your interests, there are always a few such series.

The best thing about older anime is that there are often several seasons already subbed, and you can work through them at your own pace.

[Terrestrial Dream]

Study? Play game? Read a book? Watch more anime? Really if you got nothing to watch I suggest go and watch some of the older animes, from the 70's, 80's and 90's.

[KholdStare]

I don't just watch anime when I wait, I watch them all then drop half of them...hehe.

[Nenkitsune]

I read manga and watch more anime (i've got like 5 different series i have to watch that are completed. fully downloaded but have yet to watch)

and i'm on the internet all the time. I also spend stupid amounts of time tinkering with things.
I spent 5 hours today playing with Vocaloid 2 to try and make the opening theme from Spice and Wolf.

[King Lycan]

i just watched Fate Stay Night while i was waiting for new manag chapters and i started watching Clannad and now im hooked on it

[UzumakiW]

Can't really do much about it. The wait definetely eats at your patience though. However, for me, I always have a bunch of anime series lined up to watch, so that's how I deal with it, just watch other series while I wait.

[tripperazn]

Usually, anime is a portal to other (often better) things. If I really like a series I will check out the source material or some offshoot (manga, visual novel, w/e). Watching Haruhi led me to read the novels, Clannad to the visual novel, and Hayate no Gotoku to the manga are just some recent examples. One downside is that the source material pretty much spoils the second season.

[Nenkitsune]

Originally Posted by UzumakiW

Can't really do much about it. The wait definetely eats at your patience though. However, for me, I always have a bunch of anime series lined up to watch, so that's how I deal with it, just watch other series while I wait.

yep, exactly what I'm doing right now. Catching up on Kaiji while i wait for my other shows to come out, and at the same time, fearing what'll happen when i finish the like 3 or 4 other series.

[DragoonKain3]

Just like fansubs, I approach sequels with the mind set that it will come whenever it's ready. No sense bashing yourself just because you want more of a certain series... why not spend that time doing more productive things, like other stuff or try other new series?

Or if you're a newb, why not catch up on stuff you have missed? I mean, when I first started watching digisubs, I had a backlog of anime that lasted me a year.

[Nenkitsune]

i wish i had the harddrive space to last me that long lol.