Writing about Seasonal Anime
I had a conversation on twitter a few days ago that inspired me to write about this. This is something I’ve been thinking about for some time now but I don’t think there’s any particular time this should be brought up. The conversation was about Seasonal anime and how you would essentially NEED to watch seasonal anime and stay current in order to write about anime. I have quite a few friends that not only write about seasonal anime but also write weekly for each episodes release. I wanted to talk about my position on this.
I for one do not like writing on an episode by episode basis. I feel like I would find myself talking shit about the series than appreciating it. I feel that I personally can’t write about something if I feel no passion towards it. My best articles are either about the anime I love or the anime I can’t fucking stand. There’s no middle ground for me. I have nothing but respect for people that do it on a daily basis, that’s totally fine if you enjoy it. I personally just don’t have the time/energy.
I’m very happy that we are at a point where you can watch anime on a seasonal basis and it’s easily accessible BUT that doesn’t mean that I will love everything that comes out. I’m currently watching 13 shows this season and I want to drop half of them SO BAD. It gets to the point where you feel like this is a job instead of the hobby it once was. I love writing about anime that feel shorter like it went by in five minutes while at the edge of my seat. I love writing about series that I want to talk to my friends about but they don’t have the time to be bothered with it.
I feel that people can also feel the complete opposite of how I feel. It would make sense for people that are releasing weekly reviews. I especially feel that people may write on a weekly basis because they can’t have conversations with friends about all the anime they watch. I somewhat started Black and Yellow Otaku Gamers to have a way to release my thoughts about series since the majority of the anime I was watching was nowhere near the radar of people I knew. Then again, you do have twitter for that as well.
I just wanted to talk about my thoughts on this subject. I would really love to get some feedback from whoever is reading this. I’m mostly doing this to start a conversation with you, whoever you are. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and please leave a comment below and let’s get the conversation going!
8 Replies to “Writing about Seasonal Anime”
Episodic reviews are kind of odd in that when I go back at the end of the season sometimes I’ve just more or less said the same thing about a show week after week and othertimes my opinion has gone up-down and all over the place episode to episode. I kind of like it though because as you said, it is the conversation you want to have with someone after watching and it is fun hearing how everyone else took the new episode.
You bring up a good point. I can see that situation arise with many shows this season where your opinion of an anime will change drastically between a short amount of time. The conversations that come out of seasonal anime posts are what make it fun/worth it but you could burn out fast if you do episodic posts imo.
Interesting read
Thank you!
When I first started my anime blog, I definitely felt that my initial intention was to try and write about all the seasonal anime I thought were interesting. It’s a lot of time spent to watch, analyze, reflect and write about them all, which is why I just try to spend time on both long and short form writing on my blog and Twitter, respectively, to balance things out. I don’t know if it really works out though to be honest, haha.
I agree with you on that it’s a heck of a lot easier to write something that gives you some sort of emotional energy to push you into writing a piece than trying to drudge up the energy yourself when you can care less about the anime you’re trying to write a review or analysis on.
I can also relate to the feeling of loving something to the point where at times it can become a chore, especially if life and time (scheduling) are against you. It makes me want to cry.
Damn, I agree with many of these points. Balance is hard to not only find but maintain. I don’t do episodic posts for that reason. We do first impressions(three episode test), mid-season review and final review. Even that can become a lot.
I know Digibro is a contentious figure in the anime community, but I feel thankful that he’s made me see that there’s no point in writing about something that doesn’t interest you. What people are really after is interesting content, and constantly forcing yourself to find emotion for something that doesn’t speak to you won’t be nearly as productive as writing on what genuinely speaks to you. That’s the main reason I like anime and art in general anyway, to find things that speak to me and make me see things around me in a different way/light.