2017-03-07, 23:05 | Link #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Do new anime fans watch older shows?
This question was prompted in part by the difficulties I've had trying to attract new fans to the weekly group "Let's Watch ____ Together!" events I've done for a couple older anime series.
I first got into anime about ten years ago when I was in university (yes, I know that makes me a relative newcomer compared to some of the people on this forum). That was in the days before almost everything was quickly made available via streaming. Back then it was relatively common for anime fans to check out shows that had been out for a while. In theory it should now be even easier to access older shows, as many of them are now available via easy and legal online streaming. But it also seems to me that thanks to sites like Crunchyroll there's a massive amount of new content readily available. It sometimes seems to me that even those of us who were anime fans before the streaming era are so busy with real life and keeping up with newer shows that we have difficulty finding time to check out older series. (I've rewatched some old favorites recently, but its been a while since I last watched an older show that I wasn't already familiar with.) So I guess my question is, is it still common for new fans to check out older series? Or are they mostly too wrapped up in the recent stuff to worry about checking out older titles? Last edited by Darthtabby; 2017-03-08 at 00:15. |
2017-03-07, 23:36 | Link #2 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2015
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... for those who do, perhaps useful to post this link to a centennial celebration offer at a site which gives online access to the classics, for a limited time.
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2017-03-08, 05:40 | Link #3 |
RUN, YOU FOOLS!
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost
Age: 44
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I would usually recommend watching older series in one of those "poorer" seasons where you dont have much series to follow. That's how I caught on Baccano and LoGH back in 2008 and early-2011.
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2017-03-08, 09:40 | Link #4 | |
Just another tanuki.
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Germany
Age: 31
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When I started actively watching anime in 2012 I've watched lots of new and ongoing shows at the same time. I used to consume even mediocre or bad shows for a couple of seasons, but after a while I came to the conclusion that I should rather invest my time better by watching stuff that really interests me.
Right now I'm usually watching about 5 to 8 ongoing shows, some of them at the end of each season because I don't like waiting for new episodes unless it's a very episodic or relaxing show with low focus on the story. I'm interested in watching anime from its roots to modern shows. Most of the non-ongoing stuff I watch tends to be from the 00s, but I recently make an effort to familiarize myself more with anime from the 60s, 70s, 80s an 90s. Quote:
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2017-03-08, 09:42 | Link #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Virginia, USA
Age: 62
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In my experience, new fans usually aren't interested in older shows. Of the people I know who came to anime years after me, only 1 (my husband) ever even tolerated older shows and now he won't bother with them. I've given up trying to get him or the others to watch older shows.
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2017-03-08, 10:15 | Link #6 |
Just another tanuki.
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Germany
Age: 31
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I think it's a matter of development. New fans usually get introduced to anime via one or a few mainstream shows, and tend to check out other big titles in addition to ongoing anime after that. But I think many fans tend to get more interested in older stuff once their scope expands. For example, watching a show of a certain creator can bring you to check out other shows of the same creators.
But many modern anime fans seem mostly content to focus on new stuff. I'm sure that's partly because art style and pacing of modern anime is what they are used to and appreciate and because they like to engage in discussions and social activities that revolve around the stuff that's currently popular. It might be also due to the fact that many fans enjoy anime as a form of entertainment, but are not overly interested in anime as a medium and anime culture. |
2017-03-09, 16:49 | Link #8 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Austria
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2017-03-10, 11:22 | Link #11 | |
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Besides that, it's also a matter of tastes I think. I'm finding that many anime today just lack that grit and spark of imagination that I used to find appealing. There's so many "me too" adaptations, riding that wave of light novels and cheap to produce romance and comedy plots. At times it doesn't feel like the industry that produced titles like Fantastic Children, Noein, Dennou Coil, Kino no Tabi, Last Exile, Rozen Maiden, Simoun, or Boogeypop Phantom. Could the industry today produce another Akira, or even another Evangelion? I'm really not sure. Ah well. There's still stuff like Flip Flappers. Sometimes you take what you can get. But my point is that while I found things like that worth watching, newer viewers may not.
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2017-03-11, 06:32 | Link #12 | |
Just another tanuki.
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Germany
Age: 31
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But we have seen titles like Shinsekai Yori, Ping Pong, Space Dandy, Shouwa Genroku, Mob Psycho 100, Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Mushishi, Little Witch Academia, Parasyte, Ronja, Kyousougiga, JoJo, Mawaru Penguindrum etc. in the last couple of years, plus some really good movies. I'd take most of those over Last Exile, Rozen Maiden or Boogeypop Phantom any day. I personally hope that the Western influences in anime will get stronger as Crunchyroll and Netflix start to produce original content, and that it will turn into some kind of counter-movement against the countless light novel adaptions and copycat works. I'm very excited for Children of Ether, for example, and extremly curious about Perfect Bones. We're at the beginning of an interesting development that has already produced some cool and very creative works (Space Dandy, Little Witch Academia) and also some mediocre ones (Under The Dog). There's also some nteresting stuff announced, including two Yuasa movies (plus an unanounced TV series). But I also think that it is only natural that animes resonate with you more strongly if you are an unexperienced fan. Once you have seen a few thousand episodes, you get the feeling that few things new and old are able to surprise you. That's only natural, of course. But what I dislike most about modern anime is that many of the works feel insincere to me. There is no shortage of bad or generic works in any age, but when I watch an older work, even if badly executed, it usually feels less pretentious to me. That doesn't excuse all the garbage that was produced in the last couple of decades (especially during the golden age of OVA). But when I compare fanservice in modern shows to fanservice in shows from two or three decades ago (and I always disliked fanservice), I definitely find the modern fanservice more repulsive. But anyway, that's only the bad stuff. While there are few highlights for me among modern TV anime, I still think there are many solid mid-tier works being produced every season. For example, I'd never hype stuff like 91 Days or Onihei, but I still enjoy watching them. Last edited by Tanuki.; 2017-03-11 at 06:49. |
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2017-03-11, 16:01 | Link #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Stockport UK
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Recently I was watching the first episode of recommended anime, mostly recommended by friends of websites. Normally I would watch 4 in an evening, more or less at random in terms of age.
Most have lived up to their reputation, some seemed a bit generic, like they were rehashing concepts already used in other shows. |
2017-03-12, 05:46 | Link #15 | |
今宵の虎徹は血に飢えている
Join Date: Jan 2009
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I watch absolutely anything as long as I have time. All of my favorites are in the 80s to early 2000s era but I watch present ones as long as time and mood allows. And I still dig back for earlier stuff if I am looking for something to watch
And yeah, while I do think older stuff are "better" for my tastes, but for people who bemoan the so called downhill slide of anime..... Take it for what it is and enjoy it if you can or move on if you can't..... Getting upset with an entire generation of titles is as pointless as fans of Picasso attacking van Gogh or something. Quote:
Boogiepop is an LN. And so is Kino no Tabi..... So no, it's more about picking stuff that appeals to you. Not everything is going to suit you and that's true whatever the era. Even now you have to look hard to find LN and manga that you like just as it was 10+ years ago. If you like an LN chances are you'll be more keen on its corresponding anime.
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2017-03-12, 11:02 | Link #16 | |
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
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Join Date: Mar 2006
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There were are a lot of shows that were "big deals", but you kind of had to be there to know why. It's nice to binge watch them, but not everyone wants to feel late to the party.
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2017-03-12, 11:46 | Link #17 |
今宵の虎徹は血に飢えている
Join Date: Jan 2009
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If they feel connection to a certain title then they will stick around for the whole thing after seeing the first episode or so. If not then, well, I don't think prevailing attitudes are going to make them actually like something that does not appeal to them anyway
Sure I get what you mean by being part of a fandom wave but truth is, that's only one part of the entire hobby. It's unlikely you'll actually become a long term fan of something you feel no connection to anyway even if all your friends and peers around you are hyping it up. Something similar...cosplayers and fan clubs. Plenty of those around but many of them are in it really for socializing and nothing else. They don't actually fully follow their respective titles and once the fad dies down, they too leave. Actual content of a title OTOH, does not change. In other words.....if you are attracted to something because of crowd fervor and being part of a new classic etc but look back years later and remember only that yet cannot really identify what in the actual content you liked.....does that even count as having properly watched the title? And on the other hand if it was the content that struck you the most....then why would it be any different as times pass unless your taste in stories has also changed? Opinions are one thing but what really convinces people to really stay or not are their own tastes IMO...
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2017-03-12, 14:20 | Link #18 |
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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I still wonder why LNs are always singled out. It's like people don't read them but seem to have a specific image of them ruining anime. How did this even happen? I was looking for a nice recent manga to read recently that was still being published but finding something good was about as hard as finding a good ln or original anime.
Unless they are trying to say that they only want anime series of 10+ year old franchises. |
2017-03-12, 15:01 | Link #19 |
Just another tanuki.
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Germany
Age: 31
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I think people are specifically refering to the considerable amount of fantasy world / harem / self-aware-comedy-but-still-fanservicy / otaku protagonist anime adaptions that have been popular for a couple of years now. Though, of course, you shouldn't reduce the medium to those titles.
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2017-03-12, 22:57 | Link #20 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
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I didn't know 2 or at most 3 isekai or battle harem adaptions out of 40+ shows per season means popular. There's so many shows to watch per season but everyone gravitates towards these. Hmmm. |
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