I was asked this question, quite innocently, by someone in real life who actually expressed an interest in my blog and what I spend so much of my time working on. And I have to admit, I did have that momentary pause as I thought it through. It isn’t as though I haven’t had weekends where I haven’t been in the mood for watching that next episode of whatever (fairly recently my desire to finish Conception or Release the Spyce has been pretty low and A Certain Magical Index was dropped because I just couldn’t stomach watching anymore) or even seasons where it feels like there are slim pickings on shows I am genuinely interested to watch. More importantly, it is something I have seen happen to quite a number of other bloggers. They take a break and put the blog on hold or change topics for awhile because they feel they’ve hit a rut or they’ve lost their passion for anime.
And there’s been a real glut of these kinds of announcements recently with reviewers and those who discuss anime deciding they need a break to re-find their passion or just explore other options. It makes sense that when you are putting so much of your time into one thing burn out is a real problem.
For me though, that isn’t something I am overly worried about. While I have the off day or weekend where I am genuinely too tired or just over everything, for me stories have always been what have grounded me. Whether it is books, movies, TV, games, or any other form, I’ve always surrounded myself with stories. It is a feeling like no other for me; that moment of possibility and hope when I hit play on a new show or movie or crack open a novel for the first time. The pure joy found in watching Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai or falling in love with something like Girls’ Last Tour, or even just the fun of revisiting something like Sword Art Online, is more than enough to keep me coming back for more.
And specifically with anime, I think the reason I’m not concerned about ever getting too tired of it is because I don’t limit myself to a handful of genres. I’ll give pretty much anything a go (now that I’ve gotten over my snobbery about sports stories and I’ve become less inclined to drop shows that are in a genre I don’t like mostly because I want to give things a bit more of a go) and I’m regularly surprised by what shows end up grabbing me. And my tastes change with the season and with circumstances. Basically, every season is a new beginning and while I might end up disappointed by the end the wonderful thing about seasonal anime is it is seasonal. In three months time a whole new round of shows will roll out. In the meantime, it isn’t as though my watch list has actually gotten any shorter. There are a plethora of shows I genuinely want to watch that I just never had the time for so a slow season might give me that opportunity.
I think I might feel differently if I was just an anime fan. However, it isn’t actually anime I’m in love with. I’m in love with stories. Well crafted stories with great characters, trashy and predictable stories, stories that fall apart under the weight of too much ambition, characters that I can love, hate, feel something for, just experiencing stories. For me, anime is the medium that allows me to experience an incredible range of stories in a way that is fun and engaging. Some of them have great depth and others are completely shallow and cliché filled dribble and yet there’s always something out there and the next great story that will blow me away could be just a click away.
So to answer the question of what happens when I get tired of anime, I would have to say that I don’t anticipate that happening. I anticipate the kinds of anime I like and what I look for in an anime to change over time as it has already, and I anticipate that there will be seasons where I get a bit stuck as nothing really grabs my interest, but given the wide variety of shows out there if I ever can’t find any anime that I want to watch it would have to be because I lost my love of stories. And that would be a very sad day indeed.
A question then to all the ani-bloggers out there: Do you ever worry you will get tired of anime?
Thanks for reading
Karandi James
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I loved this! As a writer, I love the story itself and this reminded me how much anime is always coming up with new ones. You’re never bored with anime.
Agreed. There’s always something new or a new approach to something old to be found with anime.
I’ve had the odd time where I’ve burned myself out Anime wise, but I always find myself coming back eventually because there’s always something new that ends up catching my interest and sucks me back in.
I’ve been a fan for so long at this point though that I doubt it’d ever become a permanent thing though. I always find my way back to Anime, some how.
Recently I’ve burned out on A Certain Magical Index. I used to love it and objectively season three isn’t any worse than the last two. Yet, I just don’t have the patience for its flaws anymore. I find that happening with a lot of ongoing shows. Even My Hero Academia season three tired me a little. However, despite that, there are heaps of anime that I genuinely love every single season so I still can’t really see me getting sick of all anime.
It’s definitely a valid question, but before reading this post and tanteikid94’s post, the idea has never crossed my mind. I just don’t think it will happen! The thing about anime is that it’s sooooo diverse. I have lost a lot of interest in sports and shojo manga, but now I’m into shonen anime. If I get a bit tired of shonen anime or think I’ve been watching too much of it, I’ll just move onto a different genre of anime!
I agree, there’s so many different genres and styles with anime and so many kinds of stories, when tired of one type there’s plenty of others to watch. It is very exciting being an anime fan these days with so much access.
I don’t see this happening to myself, as anime offers so much that other mediums simply can’t or wouldn’t be as effective, if they could. There’s an inherent nature to anime that establishes many conceits for the viewer to accept.
For some (mostly older viewers who never watched or quickly grew out of animation as at a young age–not that all of them feel this way about anime/animation, but from my experience, there’s quite a few), this is a barrier that they can’t get passed.
But for those who buy into it, they have a whole new realm of possibilities for storytelling and animation opened up to them. And surprisingly often (at least for me), it’s nothing short of fantastical wonderment.
May consider writing my own post in response to the question.
I’d love to read it if you do. Lita Kino recently did a response to this.
I’m just getting back into watching anime again, so might not happen for a while. Looking forward to breaking my fast!
I would love to read your response post to this question, Ace!! ^^
If I do, it will be quite some time before I get around to it as I haven’t been watching all that much anime as of late.
Your encouragement and enthusiasm is noted though.
I never really stop thinking about it.
Will I eventually get tired of anime? Maybe, but since I’m someone who tend to live more in the present than looking at the future, for now I’m not concern about it. And even if it has to happen one day, I know I will find something else to entertain me.
What you said = spot on! 😀
There had been some moment I was about to give up watching anime, not because I couldn’t able to find decent time. I was just the type who was picky and very particular with genres as my preference for romantic comedy and reverse harem. When I started my blog seriously, this was the time I learned to appreciate the beauty of the medium as getting in touch with wide variety of genres by reading reviews and thoughts of anime bloggers. I learned to dig deeper and examine some great treasures in the anime universe, and I thought, there were a lot, from watching fantasy, adventures, historical shows and now the fact I am currently involving myself to the shounen world. That’s why, I believe, my experience as an anime blogger has allowed me to explore the wonders of anime. 🙂
I agree. It was only because of other bloggers recommending it that I eventually picked up a couple of sports anime. Before I’d avoided them without fail but now there’s actually a few that I really enjoyed.
Sometimes I feel myself getting a bit burned out by romance anime, but I surround myself with so many other things (podcasts, nonfiction books, video games, etc) that it’s easy to give myself a bit of a break, especially since my review schedule isn’t that tight. But sometimes its also better to power-through those moods, and who knows you’ll probably find something truly enjoyable you never knew existed.
I get that. I sometimes start an anime and don’t really feel in the mood for it but if I just watch a couple of episodes I sometimes find myself really enjoying it. That’s why I usually give things a second go even if I’ve done a fast drop on the first attempt.
I may be tired of blogging but I’ll never be tired of watching anime. Watching anime is kind of hobby to me and it helps me relax when I’m stress out. But then, I limit myself from watching for me to do other stuff. Sometimes, I take a break. But I always love watching it.
Well..in two weeks time I turn 42..and I still love anime. I don’t think that will ever change. In fact as I think I have already told you, it was your blog that rekindled my love for anime after an almost 5-6 year hiatus. Like you I just love stories. If they are done well, and it contains interesting characters too…I just can’t stop watching it. And so far each year new, and interesting new stories are written…both in books, movies and anime. So…no, never going to get tired on anime. Great post! 😊
Here’s to many more interesting stories in the future.
I will write a response post.
Looking forward to it.
Cheers
I second that for myself 😁
Looking forward to it.
I think once you open yourself up to other genres and stories, it’s easier to beat the anime blues. Like you, I’ll try to give anything a chance and have ended up surprised with things that I thought wouldn’t work for me, but once I start limiting myself to one genre I notice that I get bored since everything starts to blend together.
Yes, I find if I watch a lot of the same genre in one season I end up finding them all very much the same. It is why I try to make sure I’m not covering too many of the same type of show at any one time.
I actually get bored of anime quite often but since my blog theme is so broad I can just play some games or watch some western movies and tv shows so my blog doesn’t go on hiatus.
You do cover an interesting range on your blog sometimes.
Like Moya-san and you put it, it isn’t as much getting tired if anime/manga as it os getting tired of stories.
Or getting tired of fun.
Not really… probable right?
At the same time, I guess taking breaks ARE important because anime much like books or even movies follow a rough pattern.
Sort of.
(Like a couple of years back when mythology was in?)
The break may be shifting to another medium or another genre. If , like you, someone’s already with multiple genres, then it doesn’t seem likely.
That said a break from expressing one’s opinions about a medium like anime may not be as much of a assurance as watching it….
Good on you for persevering in your interests in anime. I’m not sure if I mentioned this to you or maybe you read one of my posts talking about it, but there was a time where I fell out of anime for years and didn’t get back into it until 2016. Part of it was dealing with school at the time, jobs, finding other interests, and also not wanting to be bullied anymore for liking anime. It’s a good thing my interest in that and independent movies were rekindled while also feeling confident in my hobbies.
Glad to hear that you came back to anime though and that you feel more confident in your hobbies now.
Yes. It has been a godsend to say the least. I’m happy I can be more assertive with things pertaining and not pertaining to anime or movies.
I don’t see how it would be possible to get tired of anime. It’s like saying that I would get tired of watching movies. Sure, I will probably get tired of a specific genre at some point but that doesn’t mean I will be tired of the medium anime. Anime is a medium as any other that tells a story. To me there is no difference between anime and western movies and tv-shows. As there is no difference between manga and comics and books. Different mediums but they all tell a story and I want the story. So no, I don’t understand why one would get tired.
It doesn’t really worry me. I’ve had breaks from anime before, but I’ve ended up coming back. I think I’m the same as you here. I like stories more than anything so, while my tastes may change over time, as long as there are stories out there, I’ll be happy.
Let’s hope this is true.
The thought of worrying about getting tired of anime hasn’t really crossed my mind until now. I just believe that I never will because I really love anime as a medium and, like you, I’m looking at the stories and characters. It’s always fun to see different ideas and lives portrayed and presented in various universes and characters. As in novels or series, they are able to live the lives I can’t live and it’s enjoyable to watch various “what if”‘s to unfold.
And yeah, I have a lot of other interests; I don’t get enough anime in my life, so I don’t think I will ever outgrow loving anime. 😀
The what ifs are fantastic because there’s no real end to where that question could lead.
I am already worried about this season as I don’t have anything to write… 😛
Though I’m fully aware of is an excuse to others; I can’t actually do anything about it myself when I don’t have the willpower!