Quote:
Originally Posted by relentlessflame
This is basically the reason for the writing theory about having strong beginnings and endings: because that's what the reader will remember most. It stands to reason that shows that are most positively-rated will tend towards those with the strongest endings, because the ending is usually fresh on the mind of the person doing the rating at that time. Likewise, a show that's great all along but fumbles at the ending may end up being a bit unfairly punished in ratings because the anger/disappointment hasn't yet subsided. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to pass and maybe a re-viewing before people can take a more holistic view and re-consider their feelings about the work on the whole. (Shows that fumble in the middle may actually benefit further because people who give up in the middle may just drop the show without rating it... though it may be offset by completionists who get increasingly bitter with each passing week...)
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Well, I think a huge hazard is that people look back in retrospect and will be like "Omg, now that I think about it, this ending makes no sense. I've outgrown..." This feels to me as a desire to simply pass the final judgement (aka rating) for the sake of doing it. But truth is the process may never end.
I think this desire to want to be objective often detaches oneself from the actaul experience with viewing. You can poke holes in everything if you stare long enough, but in reality did it affect the experience?
And indeed, certain shows like Clannad and Angel Beats have some pretty questionable endings (In retrospect I think even less of those now), but then when I look back on random scenes from the shows themselves, I remember that I actually greatly enjoyed whatever I watched. So, yea, in some cases it may cause some anime to be seen better in retrospect, and in particular, I've been more forgiving of Angel Beats even though I was pretty critical when watching it and I have never rewatched it.
For some of the more controversial endings, it may take months or even years to reach a complete conclusion. Evangelion was definitely a huge one for myself, since my initial reaction that ending wasn't very pretty.
