My heart is dying, my soul is crying and I'm so pretentious.

Aion

Aion

Time-Traveller
/future linkin park lyrics end

There comes a time in every mans life when he asks himself, "Why are you watching these animated girls with big eyes, bigger boobs and belt like skirts?" As normal as it is to watch real, smaller eyed girls with big boobs and belt like skirts, I can't say the same when it comes to animated girls.

Likewise, there comes a time when a person has to look inwards and question why they like what they like and hate what they hate. For a long time I loved anime so much that the flaws didn't matter. I didn't care about the lack of originality, the amount of seemingly mentally challenged Narutards in existence or the size of females breasts and skirts in anime. I watched, I enjoyed and I then watched some more.

But something changed around a year or so ago. My drive vanished, I started thinking about the faults the anime industry has that never entered my mind when I was into it and I just didn't care. The problem has gotten worse until it reached the point where, even though I think LotGH has one of the best stories ever, I didn't have the motivation required to see it through to the end. I had to push myself to keep watching.

Before LotGH I had decided at random that I'd watch 5 episodes per day starting with Seirei no Moribito, no matter what. That plan failed fast, not even lasting a few weeks. And since I stopped watching LotGH, I hadn't watched anything for something like a month until today, when I watched the first episode of the new FMA series. After watching that, all I could think was that it had poor direction, poor art, poor pacing and too much filler - I got near to no enjoyment out of it.

I really don't know what's happened to me. The exact same thing happened with JRPGs and I now only ever play them every once in awhile, sometimes going a year without beating one. I didn't think it was possible to fall in love with a genre and then just stop caring. It mkes me wonder if depression eats away at you over the years, slowly making a person feel like an empty shell by pulling away every ounce of enjoyment gained.

...yeah, that was a bit random, huh? Sorry - I just felt like rambling and I don't have a blog. It's just that, since I now can only be bothered to rewatch my favourite series from time to time, I can't see my anime love affair lasting for much longer, and that bothers me when anime was one of the few things I liked at one point.

/end rambling
 
If you think of selling your collection out, let me know. I can easy your burden =P

On a serious note. Anime is a hobby, your situation changes, your tastes mature and because of that, your hobbies change as well. I used to go bowling at least three times a week. I've kept doing that until the place i used to go closed for refurbishment. It stayed closed for two months, which was enough for me to never pick up another bowling ball again and not doing it ever since.

Before that it was ping pong, and before that was x-men comics, etc...
 
Re: My heart is dying, my soul is crying and I'm so pretenti

Aion said:
It mkes me wonder if depression eats away at you over the years, slowly making a person feel like an empty shell by pulling away every ounce of enjoyment gained.
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Lol, trust me, your not the only one that wonders that.

I say don't worry about it.
A few years ago i would watch Anime non-stop, it wouldn't matter what it was, i would even watch anime full of gratuitous fan service (something which i now hate!).
Slowly i started watching less and less and getting more and more picky, and even, on occasion, wondered why i even like Anime and Manga.
I've found that my obssession comes in highs and lows. Sometimes i go for long stretches watching and reading nothing, and then for some reason something sparks again.
Don't force it, you'll like what you like, and thats it.
 
No. The point was that, despite LotGH having an amazing story and being an all time classic, I stopped watching it. The point was that, nothing new, not even great series, interest me very much these days.

Part of the blame with LotGH can be put on its pacing and endless length. Further blame can be put on the truly huge cast it has. But the main reason I stopped watching was me just not feeling the same passion I felt for anime back when I first started.

I don't know what I want. My problem is that nothing moves me these days, not even great stories. If not even the best can keep my attention then little else has much of a chance. I don't want to ditch the anime habit because live-action has very rarely done much for me - most Hollywood flicks are only decent and, aside from rarities such as Firefly, TV series tend to suck - but there isn't a lot I can do when I lack the will to watch anime.

/depressed
 
I was sort of like this for a while. Man it up. Do different things, luckily enough for me there was a **** load of games I haven't played due to being on a gaming hiatus for three years. Go play some games that aren't Japanese or RPG related.

Also:

After watching that, all I could think was that it had poor direction, poor art, poor pacing and too much filler - I got near to no enjoyment out of it.

There's only been two episodes of FMA so far, too much filler...? What?
 
How strange, I've been feeling the same way at the moment.

I usually have breaks but I find myself totally disinterested at the minute. I haven't watched or wanted to watch anything for a few months now.

Ergo Proxy boxset arrived recently and I just stuck it on my shelf and haven't looked at it since. Maybe in a couple of months the feeling will come back and I'll want to watch something again. I do tend to go through stages anyway. Although I don't tend to look at my collection and go 'Meh'.

I guess only time will tell.
 
I think everyone has a BS tolerance level. When you watch something decent, your BS tolerance limit decreases, you become accustomed to excellent anime. Its like aging. You become sceptical and bitter.

I found myself watching less and less lately. Not because I don't want to. I'm itching to watch something nice, its only that I can't force myself to go and pick up Naruto or Bleach again, where I have -very fortunately- left it.
Those times are gone. Now its the time to be tr00 and kvlt. :D Ok that last one's a joke.
 
Spyro201 said:
CitizenGeek said:
Hmm, so LotGH makes you hate anime? But I'm just about to start watching that ... :/
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What is LotGH!?!?!
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Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Supposedly as epic as Yamato or maybe more.

OT - Isn't it your second anime low in less than a year? I understand the burnout feeling as I've been through it several times. I'm not feeling this much recently, as I began to "rotate" my hobbies. Things like one day for gaming, another for anime, another night out at the movies, a couple nights a week to sort things on the website.
 
I think that people over-think the concerns of anime.

I only see anime as another form of entertainment like any other: video games, novels, et cetera.

I spend days: drawing, then I will go into town. When I get back I will spend time writing my novel or doing college work. Then I will play Resident Evil 4 for a while whilst listening to my stereo. Then, come nightfall, I'll just sit down and watch a film or a volume of anime. What of it?

I do not question the reason "why" I watch cute animated girls, with big-breasts and really short skirts, prancing around with guns and such:- because I KNOW the reason "why". It's because they are fun to sit down and watch and usually come complete with decent plots and action. Then there are those that over-complicate a simple form of entertainment by coming out with a load of over-dramatic dilly dally.

It's like saying "I watch Eastenders! Why, O Why, is thou sitting here watching this acting when one could be outside experiencing such things oneself?! I'm a loser, I'm going to die! I am so lonely!" -WRONG! It is just a source of entertainment by means of television.
 
He's questioning why because he no longer feels the same love for anime that he used to. It's only natural to get a bit introspective when something you were once passionate about no longer excites.

But, you know, this happens to us all and these phases invariably pass. The problem is that anime is so widely and readily available today that people end up watching too much too quickly. I don't doubt that there are fans who've watched more in three years than I have in fifteen. Sometimes all it requires is a break and one special film or series and suddenly you're back in love and ready to start the destructive cycle anew.

:)
 
I'd agree with everyone who's said you've overdone anime for however long and now your just less interested because of it.

If your not interested in watching anime, don't bother. It's basically what happened to me. For months I just didn't bother watching or reading anything.
Eventually though, things that I loved like the Ghibli movies, like remebering that feeling when I first read Azumanga, they just drew me back into it. After the break from it I found myself revisiting my favourite series and films again, rather than going out there and just grabbing anything that looks remotely good.

Now, I watch nowhere near as much as I used to. I just occaisionally watch an episode or two when I have a bit of time or when I feel like a good bit of Mushishi, or whatever.
If the attraction to animes lost, then just forget about it for a while. I'm sure eventually you'll remember that one movie or series that felt special the first time around and you'll end up getting back into it.
 
It's like anything really: moderation is required.

If you watch too much anime your appreciation is bound to wear thin. Every time I've felt that way I've just ditched anime for a while and focused on some other hobby: western films and TV, model making, gaming etc.

To make a stupid analogy: it's like a favourite food you start eating regularly - gradually the novelty wears off and it stops tasting good.
 
I'm 18 and I fell older! I'm already sitting down writing a dystopian thriller and taking walks through the country. But at the same time I still play Playstations and such, and am also still an active student with a healthy status.

I stopped watching anime for a while because of novels. I got amazed by a book and then prefered reading. At the same time I spent ages doing college work at college and at home: no time for anime. Now I watch one volume of something every few night and get amazed by it again.

Last night I watched an anime for the first time in, roughly, a week and I enjoyed it a lot! (Coyote Ragtime Show). Try finding new hobbies only to watch anime once every so often after a week or two, and the good feelings you get when watching one come back.
 
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