I got a great idea from a twitter friend to finally write a decent blog post. Sadly it’s the post that I’ve been hesitating to write for a really long time. Everytime I would want to write this post, I’d put it off thinking it’s just temporary and that I’d change my mind soon after. I guess I finally decided to stop being a pansy and say it loud and clear: I think I’ve finally lost interest in manga and anime. 
This has happened to me once before. In 2004 I got really bored with shows and it had been a year after I quit fansubbing. I got into Japanese dramas which then led me into this weird obsession with Johnny’s and at the time the only anime I recall watching is School Rumble. Then comes 2006.
2006 was the year when I got into anime blogging. Seeing all the great blogs of animeblogger.net, reading people’s recaps of shows like Haruhi and Higurashi sparked my interest. I was watching 17 shows per week and posting 4-5 blog posts a day. I started going to anime cons once more, cosplaying again, buying more manga, drawing my first doujinshi, and finally making my first visual novel.
After releasing RenAi Blogger things sorta went downhill. I think I felt like I’ve “done it all”. Fansubbing, scanlating, cosplaying, doujinshi drawing, visual novel making, blogging, figure collecting. I mean how much more is there left? By fall of 2008 I was really sick of episodic blogging and the mediocre selection of shows really didn’t stimulate my interests. The time I used to spend on all this stuff was now spent on playing an online golf game because I found that more interesting than watching the same exact shows I’ve seen in the last 10 years of anime viewing. In a way, the blog crash was sort of a relief for me.
It gave me a chance to start over without all the pressure from certain fan groups, but also gave me that “you don’t HAVE to always blog anime feeling.” Unfortunately while this was good in a sense, it had a drastic effect on my anime viewing. One of the reasons I started blogging summaries of shows was to keep myself from getting back logged. Prior to anime blogging, I would backlog on shows and then by the time the show ended, I found myself losing interest and deleting the show without ever finishing it (i.e. honey & clover). With anime blogging it kept me on track with every episode that aired, I was never behind and therefore I’d finish watching more anime.
However now it’s different. Watching a show weekly makes the show seem really awful. It’s like “why is it that back in the day shows seemed much better?” The answer is simple: because I marathoned them since most of the shows I watched had aired years before I was even into anime. Now watching every week you can only judge on what you see that week and most of the time, it’s pretty bad. (See Akikan.) All the shows that I thought were great back then like Slayers, seem like complete shit to me now.
For example, this weekend an MMORPG I play had a special double experience event so I decided to make that my priority. Due to this, I completely forgot what shows aired and what I was supposed to download to “watch later”. I was like “ok I know there’s Abyss which I always back log on.” Then yesterday it hit me that I forgot about Akikan. Every Thursday I remember that I have to watch Clannad, but then I have to sit there scratching my head to remind myself that oh yea there’s also Kurokami. On Monday I completely forgot about Soul Eater because I was annoyed coming home from a work day where the entire internet at work was down and I had to figure out what to do with myself for 8 hours.
It’s Wednesday, I still haven’t seen this week’s Soul Eater, last week’s Akikan and Abyss and today is drama day so that means I need to now download Meichan no Shitsuji which is about the only thing I can seem to remember to blog lately. It’s pretty sad, but it’s really obvious what my brain gives a crap about on the subconscious level. Sadly, anime isn’t it anymore. Even some of my hobbies outside of anime/manga are pretty much dying too.
I haven’t actually bought any new manga in almost 6 months. I used to walk into book off and hoarde loads of it. In the last 6 months I hoarded loads of it back to book off to sell to them. I kinda wanna know what happens with Shugo Chara & Kaichou wa Maid Sama but I don’t have the patience to care to put in the effort to get the chapters. Any manga series I read now, is one that is complete so I can finish it off in one shot. I hardly ever use NicoNico anymore and as much as I like Vocaloid music I can’t be bothered to keep up with it anymore. I tried to force myself to draw an anime or manga related fanart at least once a week but again on Sunday I broke my schedule and drew nothing.
I haven’t had cable TV in my apartment in 4 years. This was because Anime & Manga were enough to entertain me and not have me bother with paying an extra $50 a month. But now? I actually have shows I want to watch on US TV. Omg it’s a miracle? And I don’t mean watching Death Note dubs here either. Hell I could hardly ever find anything interesting on Imagin Asian. I feel like I saw the same commercials for their shows on their channel then I did actual anime or whatever the hell else they were showing at the time. (Hit me on my iphone~mahmah iphone~ 
)
“Maybe it’s just a phase.” I think I kept telling myself that eventually I’d get back into anime just like I did back in 2006 but so far that hasn’t happened. I feel like every show I watch is a rehash of what I’ve seen before, and the ones I don’t watch are not interesting for me to watch anyway. I haven’t been able to make it through more than 5 minutes of new season episodes (causing me to rage about poop). I’ve been trying to keep my interest going for the last half a year but it’s just not there anymore.
Unlike this blog, I’ve been actively updating my game blog because that’s currently where my interest lies. Even though I play games that have somewhat of an “anime feel” or relevance to them, it’s more of an active approach to this hobby. The whole watch anime as it is just isn’t working for me anymore. It feels like watching a rerun of the same show except in each episode they change their hair and clothes or something. I guess I’ll try to finish off what I’m watching this season and maybe pop in here & there to post some commentary but at this point I can’t guarantee anything. There’s just no motivation at all.
Maybe just like in 2006, the Spring season will bring the interest back in, but looking at the upcoming shows on MoonPhase, other than Full Metal Alchemist sequel I can’t see myself jumping back on board.
What do you show the anime fan who’s seen it all? Ahh, well it’s been a fun ride and maybe once you’ve recharged you’ll find a new series that will draw you back.
if you find the answer to this do let me know
Yeah, there’s alot of shit anime lately. I’m watching fewer shows than ever this season, but the ones I am watching I enjoy immensely.
Clannad, Kurokami, Rideback, Marimite
The problem for me is the ones I’m watching I don’t enjoy as immensely as you. :/ I seem more to be watching them out of obligation or out of the whole “well I need something to watch on the train this weekend” kind of thing. There’s no actual anticipation.
You deleted Honey and clover w/o finish it???
D; it’s a good show IMO…
Hopefully you’ll return in time for the upcoming lolitastic Hayate the Combat Butler OVA from J.C.Staff and the director of Skygirls and The Familiar of Zero.
Okay, maybe not.
You commented on my blog that you kept putting off your art to play that Pangya game, so while you’re taking a break and waiting for another anime to catch your interest, why not draw?
Try drawing non-anime style characters, or things you wouldn’t normally draw, such as landscapes, still-lifes, architecture, or machinery. Try art with non-digital media such as paint or sculpture. If you ask me, losing your motivation to draw is worse than losing your motivation to watch anime.
I know what you mean I’m having the same anime crisis right now. All new series are utterly shitty, I can’t get through the first episode in most of (if not all) of the case. I thought, hey, I still have a lot of old series that I’ve burned to watch later but when it comes to choose at least one I just can’t find a decent one either and end up with nothing.
Well at least you still have Megaten, I gave up on Pangya after A18 double event and I’m not really a fan of Online RPG. I think I need to find a new hobby or I’ll die from boredom…
I think it’s is a natural burn-out from being involved in the culture—”scene,” if you like—of anything. You can enjoy a type of entertainment or activity for a long time, but it seems like you can only be a big part of the culture around it for so long. It can be very frustrating to try and force yourself to keep up when it doesn’t feel organic to you anymore.
There’s always new blood to come along and do the weekly posts, and nothing wrong with kicking back and letting them do the work. And you can move on to other things. Just feel good about when you were blogging, and remember you can always go back and re-watch good series down the road.
And the cool thing about Twitter is that you can still keep up with your friends, even if you’re absent from the environment you met and interacted with them in.
I think the sooner people realise that there’s nothing wrong with only watching one or two shows a season, the sooner people will stop burning themselves out by watching way too much shit. Infact, there’s nothing wrong with watching nothing in a season, a stance I take quite frequently.
Seriously, what the hell are you doing watching Akikan anyway? The kissing?
There’s nothing really wrong with just grabbing stuff to watch on the train either. It’s entertainment, and a train journey is a gap of time that could do with some entertainment crammed into it. So what if there’s no anticipation as long as the material is vaguely entertaining whilst watching it.
But, yeah, have fun gaming. I guess spreading my entertainment time rather more equally between anime, gaming, regular TV and other interests over the years has somewhat insulated me from getting too bored of anime. Sucks that you’ve reached that plateau, but these things happen if you over indulge in anything, really.
Hinano, your post actually reflects what’s been happening to me too. I haven’t watched anime in over a year and a half now, except for the occasionally episode. I keep telling myself to watch Clannad, but I just haven’t bothered to. I used to buy a lot of manga and follow a lot of series, but I haven’t bought any in over a year and a half too. Your experiences with Vocaloid/Niconico also parallel that of mine.
Over time, people’s interests change. I think the important thing is to do what interests you. That’s how I’ve been taking it. If I actually did feel like watching an anime episode, reading a manga chapter, listening to some new Miku songs or playing a new eroge, I’d go do it. (I think MMOs are probably part of the problem. Excuse me while I go back to playing Mabinogi…)
Overall, I think anime-related things still pervade among your interests. Even though it may be fading away, it’s still there.
I totally see where you’re coming from. Right now I’m don’t even bother with keeping up with any of the series I’m watching, I don’t even have the patience to wait for the episode to download.
The only series I’m watching are Natsume and maybe Soul Eater and Kurokami, and even these I don’t watch on the day they come out.
I keep telling myself that I’ll marathon the other series I was supposed to watch once they’re done but I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen.
I’m thinking Spring season will be better but only three series attracted my attention so we’ll see.
Also – obligation kills the fun in anything. Fuck blogging and just watch stuff when you feel like it.
What the heck, you still have the game blog? Time to clicky-click-click and make fun of golf games again.
Other than Druaga (which of course makes fun of games/other anime) I haven’t watched an anime since true tears, and before 2007 i hadn’t watched anime since 2002 so I totally feel where you are coming from
Though I am disappointed that there will no longer be this special somewhat Narutard free place to make fun of Naruto.
I’m all for taking time off from doing whatever that doesn’t jive anymore, as long as you give the rest of us a shoutout.
But as long as you keep forcing old animu down JP’s throat, I’m satisfied.
Digi> Yea that’s pretty much what I’m doing now. As far as Akikan, I was hoping it would be as awesome as Inukami but they’re trying to add a stupid srz business back story which is making it kinda lame lol.
John> I’m still reading Naruto and I’ll probably still be posting about it. Surprisingly that’s about the only thing I actually anticipate, but more in a sense of “I anticipate the ending so all the Narutards can go jump off a cliff in despair”
Scheris> now that soul eater is in filler land, I’m hesistant to watch it xD
Micchi> haha thanks, great to see someone else who’s on the same path as me. And I think i totally understand your eroge backlog, I had that happen to me and I ended up quitting playing all games for months until DC Girls Symphony.
Aqua> Yea it’s good to see I can still talk to blogger friends on twitter, although it’s not really about anime anymore these days
Abi> You should give Megaten a chance you might enjoy it, you can always uninstall if its not up your alley. Pangya kinda sucks lately with all the banning and hackers so I’m not really into it either.
Sixten> I tried to do that before, doesn’t really help ^^; My inspiration comes usually from my hobbies. The least I’ve been doing is at least drawing some Pangya fanart and maybe I’ll do some fanart from Megaten.
I have also faded in and out of anime over the years. I find taking time away from anime never kills my core interest in returning to it. I enjoy it, it’s an industry and it’ll be there when I want to get back into it.
I never feel like I’m missing out on “something” if I miss a year of shows. The themes and memes play out pretty much the same. Lolis, magic, school angst, guns, upskirts, bishie, impossibly cool hair, and so on. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I too would rather watch all the episodes together (weekend marathons) so downloading is pretty “eh” for me. Entire shows are coming out on DVD for ridiculously low prices these days. Season #1 “Black Lagoon” for $25 (USD) … watched it all, loved it, sold it second hand to my friend for $15 and a cigarette.
Obsessions change; addictions don’t. Walk from it all.
=^.^=
I figured this was going to come sooner or later. Just make sure you don’t disappear from the interwebs entirely :p
naza> well like I said. I actively update my game blog lol
Keith> haha I wouldn’t even bother to spend money on it, feels like a waste to me. I don’t actually have friends who are as much into anime anymore either. i think we all sorta abandoned the obsessed otaku thing back in college
Bascially what DiGi said. If it feels like a chore to you instead of fun (especially if it’s not a specific obligation that you have to fill), you need to take a break for yourself. Even if it’s a permanent one. :3
Well, like always I think it’s sad (or rather disappointing) when you realize you’re losing interest in a hobby you once enjoyed so much. But it’s certainly a natural thing. After watching a certain amount, things will get boring because nothing seems new anymore (my problem with shoujo right now).
I do hope that you manage to get back some of your excitement for anime again someday (partially due to my selfish desire to see more blogging from you, heh), but if you’re not enjoying it, you should definitely stop. You’ll probably have absolutely no chance of getting the enjoyment back if you force yourself to like it.
Though yeah, I’m still hoping you find something anime-related to blog about every so often.
@DiGiKerot
Hell, train rides make up like, 3 hours of watching stuff every day!
Yea maybe I’ll have more to say about FMA in the spring but yea I dunno anymore. The excitement’s just gone for me
well if you feel bored of it and done it all you can all ways move on. close the anime/manga door that feel your life and do some thing else to take up the time. its been fun reading your anime blogs.
@jpmeyer
THREE HOURS?!? Christ, no wonder you manage to get through so much old crap…
Or maybe animu is just shit? But I still love animu.
@Hinano: Ah…well I guess being a retired animator makes me think twice about how people make a living. I’ll buy anime if I think it’s worth the price … like I’d buy a the drawings of a good artist.
Good art is good company.
=^.^=
If Akikan is boring, you can try watching Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai, the ED is especially good
.
I think drawing anime/manga as well as real life are good; both keep you interested. Sometimes studying it is what makes it fun to watch or read (i.e. how can you tell the romance between the characters work? Is this pair the wrong match?etc).
I guess it is difficult to keep interested in a hobby, but trying out new things, or doing old things differently may help.
Just take a break for as long as you need to, then try to come back and watch the best shows that you’ve missed. Maybe that’ll help?
It sucks though, you invested so much time, money, and energy into an interest/hobby that you slowly lose interest in.
I agree with Digi. Also, it may not be all of anime that’s bad but maybe just the genres that you like to watch?
Could be those you know, those “melancholic periods”, tend to occur once in a while. Just concentrate on other stuffs for the time being and jump back into anime again after that.
It does look like a case of too much crap in too little time XD I think cutting back on lousy anime would do wonders your anime health. Maybe you could just take a break from anime and return to a series that affirmed by anibloggers you trust and regain your mojo with the good ol’ marathon?
maybe that might worked. at least it did in the case of code geass. I actually enjoyed marathoning it after the fact (both seasons) since a lot of people were hyping it up.
I just keep my fulfilment of cute stuff and Dejiko satisfied these days. Not watching anything, just reading people doing summaries. Yes, there is a Santa Claus Hinan… wait… that is wrong quote.
Yes, things have deteriorated hinano. Most of the n00bs don’t realise it because they thing everything new coming out is “teh win1!!1!” Yes overall the visual quality of the stuff has gotten better on average but the storylines suck. Most of the stuff are pandering more of the same to the same focused demographic. Tsuntsun and deredere was fine in the beginning. Now it is getting ridiculous. Copypasta repeated referencing is getting stupid. More lame H-game conversions. List can go on.
Currently I’m on a roll. 13 + 5 weeks without a single weekly show. Waiting for more Kojika OVA goodness. At least it has emodrama in taboo topics. And the world needs more Di Gi Charat craziness. Kanako and dorm sensei isn’t good enough.
Haha, I recently started watching a ton of anime again, partially to fill in bits of free time that keeps cropping up, but mostly cause my internet connection now allows me to torrent rather freely (without interrupt my internet browsing, unlike before, which really hurt my anime viewing).
I do have to say most of what I watch I don’t like all that much, though I have a great ability at getting worked up over dumb things.
However, RideBack this season has been making me quite happy. But maybe it’s cause I like mecha, motorcycles, and ballet >_> And there aren’t racing anime that often, eh.
But yeah, I totally had a bit like that a long while ago, where I switched mostly to gaming rather than anime. Eventually I got back into things, and marathoned what I had left collecting (as a result, I actually missed a lot of the good stuff in 2006, but marathoned about half of it eventually).
Right now, I’m having the reverse. I have just a ton of games collecting (mostly RPG’s) that I really should be making progress on… but as a gamer I live in 3, 6, 12 hour game session chunks, especially with RPG’s. It’s really just not as convenient as a 25~ minute show I can fit in during my breakfast.
It’s really bad, since I know these games are excellent too. D:
Also, reading all this reminds me, I still haven’t tried out MegaTen :\
lmao, thats what you get for watching boring shows hehe (j/k)
right now i only watch what i think its interesting enough or its macross related(because i like the mechas)
aside from interesting shows in my life, i went back to manga. reading things like biomeat XD
they are way more interesting than reading random shoujos or things like that(which i used to enjoy. oh boy +_+)
AND aside from all the anime/manga stuff. recently i`m into watching House XD. went through s1 to s5 in 3 weeks or so haha
games on college break(or when i get some free time i guess, since i expect to start working soon)
finished stalker, gave up on crysis(dont ask me why), finished world in conflict. a bit of pangya and some kongregate.
well, things go away and oftenly comes back. just like mmo. one day you`re clean of it. other u`re grinding everyday haha
boh, and about megaten. started this by seeing you posting about it. its interesting that guild with crappy name has always nice ppl to play(they tag along with you frequently =p) but sometimes i might invite you for a change XDDDD
i never know when exactly you log to save a time to play in a party. (too bad this game alows only 5 players each group)
and dont play that much. or you`ll get tired of it. (yeah, i am tired, i am not. oh heck XDDD)
(bugging here, hope i didnt doublepost)
I know a thing or two about anime burn out. Generally I’ve doing some cold turkey to get over it. I’ve been putting one a many shows on hiatus (I’ve been back logging abyss too), but what I’ve been trying to do is be a bit more selective. Out of all the series I picked up during the fall that haven’t already ended, surprisingly the only one besides skip beat (which made a brilliant turn for the better after I caught up) that I anticipate on a weekly basis is toradora, or what I like to the call the tsundere anime that wasn’t, it’s been a pleasant surprise actually it’s unfortunate your experience with ZnT kept you away from it, it’s actually really great. Anyway taking a break is not a bad idea what is a bad idea is forcing yourself to watch mediocre shows. In short be very selective and maybe pick up a show here or there to see if maybe your interest will respark
I guess it’s normal to lose interest at some point. When every show you watch seems like something you’ve watched before, then maybe it’s time to give it a break.
Nowadays I can only marathon shows and I watch one show every 2 months, at the most. My patience and attention span to watch something repetitive have diminished considerably.
Truth is… as you grow up, your priorities change and time becomes too precious to waste on things that don’t even thrill you any more. When you come home from work/college you want to see something refreshing.
I still watch Asian Dramas, in the little free time I have. But even that is becoming something that I MUST do because I run an Asian Drama club and should be updated on stuff.
I saw the headline of the post and I thought yep, this is sad but I have had the same exact feeling. I watched a ton of anime and loved it not too long ago but in the past seven months have been slowly drawing away from it. True there is a lot of bad shows out right now and the scope seems limited but I think there is a breaking point in an anime viewers life. Now I am sure there are people who will not agree but I totally know where you are coming from and am really glad you talked about it in depth.
Digi> I do enjoy at least watching some Japanese dramas. They don’t come out as often, aren’t nearly as long as anime, and while they have repeated themes as well, due to gaps in airing/production they’re still more interesting to watch.
Toast> haha I mean I’ve been into games since I was like 8, it was an on & off thing while my anime hobby was only like a 10 year tennure, where I still played games in between. I guess my gaming hobby is stronger? I dunno.
kakkoii> I’ve been trying to be selective, hell I’m only watching like 4 shows a week now but even that is just boring me now. Maybe this is the dreaded awful winter season disease?
algelic> haha I admit I only “watch” dramas now. I hardly pay attention to actors or whatever anymore. It’s more like “hey this is the guy from that drama I saw last spring” or something
Kiara> Yea I figured it’s about time. Something that’s been on my mind for a while and I only realized that now’s a good time to write on it because I’m really just ignoring my anime hobby recently.
berz> I’m like annoyed that you joined the game cause of me, then you go off joining someone else’s guild instead of mine
So now everytime we need like an extra person (or we have space for one) you’re busy with your guild so I never bother to msg you anymore ^^; I don’t play it that much, I mean I’m at work 9-5 come home and play only for about 4 hours a day. Some days not even that because I’ll take a break to watch anime or drama. You’re the one who rushed ahead and got to level 29 in a week!
Hinano> They are also more ridiculously fun to watch. Now to ponder to marathon 7 Kamichama DVDs and die at the end…
Hinano> I gave Megaten the chance and I didn’t like it. I really don’t like TPP-like PRGs like WOW/Lineage/Megaten, prefer more Diablo/RO isomeric approach with mouse control. I know that you can use mouse in Megaten too but it was more annoying than using WASD
.
Abi> Heh alright, I use mouse mostly because you need to use your shortcut keys to attack. RO is really REALLY simple. I also hated how RO’s quests were really pointless and that you had to fight in dungeons with everyone else (vs getting your own instance.) Ro doesn’t involve thinking, you just click & grind, which to me at this point is really boring but I guess if you like those simple type of games, Megaten is probably not for you.
Hinano> Its not about simplicity but about controls. I agree, RO is boring but at least doesn’t piss me off when I try to kill a monster, when Megaten is more than capable of doing it. Sorry but I can’t force myself to play a game than annoy me all the time, I mean games should be fun, right?
Honey, you’ve been saying this for 2 years; It’s about time you admitted it to yourself.
There is no law stating you have blog or obsess about anime or anything else. It’s all in fun and it was a good run. Most anime blogs die after the first post. (Usually after spelling “kawaii” with a “Q”.) You’ve made about 7 billion and 6, so it’s ok to move on.
You have a lot on your plate: Stinky fish eating co-workers, evil neighbors, 88% of the NY population, and the worst thing of all, a future husband. They call them balls & chains for a reason.
Plus you’ve aged…. a lot!! Once you hit a quarter of a century, it’s all down hill.
Back pain, predicting the weather with your joints. Social Security. etc.
I’ll be happy as long as you’re happy.
After 10 years of doing something it’s only reasonable that you might get bored. Don’t feel like there’s a responsibility to anyone or yourself in even watching anime. And perhaps try and be a bit more harsh on mediocre shows (like Akikan) and keep up only with things that really interest you.
Barring that, just enjoy gaming for what it’s worth
Sabrina> LOL You make it sound like I’m ready to retire!!
Do you have google talk? we gotta chat sometime haha.
omi> Yea I really should be, now that I think about it I only picked it up cause nothing else remotely interested me.
>Hinano
Lol, no, I myself have played video games since before I could remember (only reason I even know is because my dad had video taped me playing like, Street Fighter 2 when I was 2 or 3 years old hahaha).
Though, I had also watched anime around that age (Cantonese dubs on television), but when I moved to Canada it became an almost complete hiatus (aside from stuff like Pokemon, DBZ, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, etc.) until around 2004, when I stumbled onto the fansubbing scene (while looking up a show I really liked as a kid, Mahoujin Guru Guru).
I dunno, maybe it’s because I sort of burn out on video games, then burn out on anime, then switch back, that I’m fine, ahahaha.
But yeah, it might be that your gaming hobby is just stronger. For me, anime has completely taken over my gaming hobby, so unlike before (where I’d play things like Nintendo First party games, FPS’s, RTS’s, and a lot of American/European games), pretty much all the games I play now are heavily anime styled and Japanese, pretty much. So like, RPG’s, 2D fighters, and schmups. xD
Who knows though, 10 years is a long time. God knows how I’ll feel when I hit 25.
I definitely wouldn’t know about burnout, but maybe you could find a good anime that you haven’t seen yet? It would all depend on your interests of course, but who knows, there might just be something worthwhile out there. According to our lists I’ve seen only 70 less anime than you, but I was still enthralled by the recent ef and the current Clannad. Of course, my experience in the otaku community is also just starting, but who knows, there might be something great out there that you overlooked. You could also try watching back something that you enjoyed a long time ago, but that would probably make things worse when you realize that there aren’t any other shows like it.
Alternatively, you can also just keep playing games. Sometimes it can be tiring to over saturate yourself with one particular hobby, so maybe if you distance yourself from anime for a while it’ll make it more appealing when you return.
Either way, just make sure you keep doing what you want. Forcing yourself to watch anime and write posts will result in low quality that neither you nor your readers will enjoy, so take some time off if you have to. I’m sure the community will always welcome you back, and anime definitely isn’t going anywhere, so there’s bound to be something worth watching in the future
Seeya later. Have a nice life. Less competition for me in the long run with you gone.
Ahh… well I guess life does that for you… burn out is common. right now burn out is from the school thing. Which I am taking some time off of.
As for anime blogging burnout, I went through that a 2 years or so ago, where I ignored an entire season of anime, because of episode writing burn out….
So I dropped episode reviewing. I think it depends on what series will compell you to write what you will.
If anime has lost that spark for you, then don’t force it.. personally as an anime fan though, I find that I bounce back from anime to drama to music or to video games.. other aspects of Japanese culture. Otherwise I take time off to concentrate on reading English fiction books.
You can always be a lurker… and just watch anime on free will. Meeting you in real life, following you on Twitter, and reader. I have realized that, our anime watching are quite different, but what makes it interesting to read your blog is the devil advocacy position that you write of.
I myself can’t think of taking such a stance, and to read of it, is quite refreshing in some aspects.
But if it gets to be a chore.. then stop.. and just end it…
I watch Anime as a form of relaxation, not that I don’t mind an action packed gore fest such as Kurozuka occasionally. When Hidamari or Natsume Yuujinchou stop being relieving to watch I imagine I’ll be in the same boat as you. I used to watch a lot more shows, but as my free time and interest waned I’ve raised my standards and only watch shows that I can relate to, have wonderful storytelling, or are fabulously entertaining trainwrecks. Maybe it’s easier to enjoy anime once you stop watching the mediocre. Or maybe it’ll be the reverse and even good shows will become stale.
Right, where was I? I think taking a break is great for renewing your passion/interest in a hobby. I took a break last semester since regular viewing was getting in the way of my school work. I feel I was able to appreciate it more without having worries in the back of my head that I should be studying or getting work done. It was nice to be able to focus on a show and not try to keep up with multiple plot lines week to week.
Unless a series is episodic or does a great job of making you anticipate the next episode (Ef memories did this for me) I try to hold off and marathon it when I have an extra weekend off. If that doesn’t work maybe even in small packs of 3 episodes or more, it’s a must for fillertastic animu.
My apologies for the mass amount of tangents. Hopefully by cutting back you’ll find something inspiring that gets you back into the hobby or into something else entirely.
Well, this is only my opinion BUT…
It sounds to me like with schedule’s and everything, you’ve made anime too big a deal in your life. You should watch it because you want to, not like a chore. If one week you don’t feel up to tuning in then don’t bother, tell yourself, “it’s ok if I miss it, if I want to see it bad enough that I remember later then I can download it then.” I think it’s fine if you lose interest and drop something.
I used to be the same, but now anime is less like “anime” and more like each individual show is it’s own thing. I lump catching this weeks episode of Skip Beat with remembering that Grey’s Anatomy airs on Thursday night.
If blogging is recking it for you, then I guess you should probably just stop- even though I love reading your posts. Fandom isn’t a job, you don’t have to hit all the bases either. Just do the stuff you enjoy. For me, I don’t like writing fanfics, drawing fanart or doujinshi so I just don’t. Watching something I like when I feel like it is enough to make me happy.
Anyway, seems that you’re in a rut. Might just be January, it tends to do that to people. To be honest, I think ANIME itself is in a rut, I haven’t found any gems lately anyway. Maybe next season will bring something that sparks new, not forced, interest.
You need to rekindle your old passion, and I suggest blogging Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Trust me you will enjoy it.
Otherwise I think you will be back once you get bored of games. I play games, but if I play a game I finish it in a straight shot or two shots.
I will alert you when Yuki gets prego in White Album, so you can help me pray for that miscarriage. I suspect we are a bit alike in that once in a while you just need to use a cudgel to beat something. You’re a future Russian Mother-in-Law I know you some fight buried inside of you.
Also I do not believe you have done everything in the otaku manual…only the PG stuff.
I’m drowning in comments… saaave this little one that will surely be ignored! (Oh, forget it.)
So anime blogging’s lost the new shiny. It happens.
Long term, the problem with anime blogging is that… you have friends and fans listening, but the dubbers and the studios don’t. So either you’re doing this because you love the community or the medium.
I think you still have that love for the community, otherwise you wouldn’t have written this big big Wall of Text. (No offense meant.)
The medium, well, anime’s in a bit of an economic downturn as well as a quality downturn. I know what you mean about a lack of interesting stuff. Even Maki (of Dosh Dosh fame) seems to agree.
There were some bright spots if you were really looking for them. Heavy Metal Thunder and Kaiba were my own.
But take this as a sign that maybe you should expand your hobbies a little more. Consider working out a little as well.
I know, EVIL! But I’ve felt so much less depressed since I started. And beating up a punching bag can be extremely cathartic, for several obvious reasons. Yoga, cardio, I can help with any of those. If you’re interested.
Maybe you can even take the time off to consider running your own business.
Time is money, invest wisely.
Whatever you decide to do, take care of yourself!
I’ve cut back because I feared the burnout. A couple of friends of mine who are much more into it than I am have been complaining about the quality decline over the last couple of years and are drifting away.
Quite a few people have canceled their cable ’cause they’ve hooked their big screen HDs to their computer and just watch Internet Video feeds.
I don’t wont to burn out on Anime because in spite of everything, I’m finding more original stuff than what TV has to offer. I think about the only thing I like these days is House.
I’ve had similar feelings, the only advice I can give is anime should be a hobby you enjoy, don’t make it into a job, if the show doesn’t interest you, don’t watch it, with this philosophy I have saved my self from watching shows that repeat the same old drivel and tired cliche over and over again that you have seen in countless shows and only watch the good stuff.
Btw I do read each & every comment XD
I think a lot of people mistook this post as “I’m quitting blogging” which I’m not. it’s more of a “i’m drastically cutting down”.
I am still watching Akikan. Good lawd I don’t know why but other than laughing at how terribly it’s drawn I don’t have much to say. I think this post was more of a “I really like blogging, but I don’t feel there’s any anime nowdays that compells me to write as much as I used to, and that makes me a sad panda.”
Like everyone said, maybe something will pop up in the spring to bring it all back for me. this week’s Clannad was actually moving and worth writing about.
アニメがつまならければエロゲやればいいじゃない。
Ｂｙ マリー・アントワネット
I’ve reached the big 3-0 and its the same for me. there only so much of high school setting and teenage girls i can take. Heck i’m beginning to believe a loli is a default jc staff character instead of every high school girl in a manga.
you’re just growing older that’s all! you fall out of the anime/manga world and a child takes your place. Thats why these studios recycle out the same ecchi/shounen crap just like fans get recycled. On cable its been the bold and the beautiful repeats for me brook x ridge hell yeah!
ひでぽん> ちょwwwwww
エロゲーはもうあきたww
エロシーンを見るとまじで笑う。
“何そのじゅるうう”ってwwww
dick jones> that’s why I avoid JC Staff like the plague lol. As far as us cable tv I really like the show “Snapped” LOL. Murder mysteries have always intrigued me
I don’t really watch TV apart from Mythbusters, House and probably CHINESE DRAMAS. D:
Most of the time is filled with work, work, and I’M IN THE ARRRRRRRRRRRRRMY.
I still have time to fit in animé. Pity about the blog tho. I might fix that with something soon.
Although I haven’t read every comment so I don’t know if this has been said already, I’d suggest taking it easy. I’ve felt like this before, especially when I’m constantly forgetting to watch shows as they air like you are.
Try maybe watching just a few shows at a time, so it isn’t such a huge time commitment. I mean, if you hate Akikan and White Album so much, why are you watching them?
And if you think this season sucks ass (which it does) just don’t watch anything. Go marathon something you haven’t seen yet, or just take a break for a little bit.
I mean, I only watch maybe an hour every night but am still able to watch everything I want to
I am in a somewhat similar situation. Due to 1 month without broadband internet, stuff piled up like mad. Animes, Blogs (large images there :/ ), Gametrailers, things like AVGN, TGWTG or Screwattack, some stuff on Youtube etc.
So I tried to keep up with everything, especially with the animes. One would think I would devour those shows now, but I couldn’t bring myself to watch all of them yet. There are still over 60 freaking episodes of all kinds of animes I currently watch left! I think, I am in a phase of losing interest… but then again I wonder. Do you know that feeling, when you cannot bring yourself to do something particular, but when you get over that feeling you enjoy doing it and you’re satisfied afterwards (well in most cases)? That’s kinda how I feel at the moment.
Somehow it’s “meh no anime today, maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow” but then if I bring myself to watch Gintama after two weeks having the files lingering around on my harddisk I’m laughing my ass off. Animes just don’t charm me as before, even if they’re all quality shows (I’m very picky, as a result I only keep track of 15 shows right now, 4 of them ending soon).
Oh and btw, Anidb notifications are an easy way to keep track of what subs to watch in case you don’t remember
Oh well, I guess that’s what happens when you constantly surround yourself with the same stuff for years and years lol. It loses its appeal. But Full Metal isn’t very far off, and that show is beyond awesome so hopefully that’ll do it!
Btw, I -finally- started a blog (lol) Let’s see if I can keep it up without falling apart. XD
(http://www.theamericanotaku.wordpress.com)
I’ve waxed and waned multiple times, in fact no one my age probably has such a small anime collection since I sold it off a couple times (what the hell do I want a bunch of VHSs around anyway). My most recent resurgence I guess was around the same time as you, prompted by Haruhi and such.
Even with blogging making me watch more than ever, I try to keep it balanced. Watch some live-action US TV, go to movies, keep it all in perspective. It reminds you why you enjoy anime in the first place. And yeah, I get the whole Akikan for the lulz, but maybe filter out some stuff
oh also, planning a wedding probably doesn’t help.
otou-san> yea hahah I suppose the wedding thing has my mind on other stuff instead of anime xDD
Mini-hinano or mini-jp
Can’t exactly empathize with you since I’ve yet to go through this phase yet I can see where you’re coming at since it happened to two of my seniors, both who inspired me into becoming into a fan today. Sadly in their case, it was outright abandonment of the hobby that brought us together in the first place.
I live on to continue their legacy ;_;
Someday you’ll realize you’re only reading Bleach every week and wonder why you’ve even been reading the series for approaching 5 years. That’s where I’m at.
LoGH is calling you…
there’s also “regular” (non j-culture) books/literature.
If you’re still watching stuff that you don’t like, you should post about it because fangirl hate posts are your best posts.
but what if I LIKE it LOLOL
Then post anyway and I’ll rip it.
and then one day you will find yourself sick of playing games and you won’t feel like updating your games blog either. That’s what happen to me.
hahaha I wouldn’t be surprised but we’ll see
I know where you coming from man
I started in the early days where you had to mail in your vhs tapes to one of the few sites that even did fansubs to watch. The reason I have stuck to anime over the last 14 years is because once in a while you do get a great series that fills that entertainment gap and seriously very few American TV shows do that because they usually get canceled before they do a full run. Other then anime video games are good but they also have their own brick walls you eventually hit I recommend some Kdramas those are always nice to try out 
ConQuest> Rofl omg I remember that. Thankfully I only ordered from places that would provide their own VHS tapes xDDD
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