Thread: Do you ever take breaks from anime?

I know this is an odd question but I have seemed to do this myself since about the age of 11. I would get into all kind of anime series and then all at once, I wouldn't watch any. Sometimes for a few months, other times for a few years. I don't think this is because I lose interest but my interests in other things sparked and I don't have as much time.

Yeah, I do this a lot. I'd probably say I'm more interested in American live action TV shows than anything else. It's less of a gamble to find enjoyable American shows (please don't kill me guys) than anime series. Take series like Sword Art Online or Attack on Titan for example. I think there's a big enjoyment dip. I'm not saying this doesn't happen with American live action. It just personally happens less often.

Sometimes I find some great anime series, but I do take a lot of "breaks". I think part of the reason is the huge amount of anime. It can be a challenge to find something enjoyable unless you're very open and enjoy high school settings/filler.

Originally Posted by Mantis

Yeah, I do this a lot. I'd probably say I'm more interested in American live action TV shows than anything else. It's less of a gamble to find enjoyable American shows (please don't kill me guys) than anime series. Take series like Sword Art Online or Attack on Titan for example. I think there's a big enjoyment dip. I'm not saying this doesn't happen with American live action. It just personally happens less often.

Sometimes I find some great anime series, but I do take a lot of "breaks". I think part of the reason is the huge amount of anime. It can be a challenge to find something enjoyable unless you're very open and enjoy high school settings/filler.

Yeah there is a lot of anime out there that seems to be very a like and basically tells stories about teens in high school. I had my fill of that when I was a teen myself so it isn't very appealing to me. I tend to have a hard time finding new series to get into which is likely why my breaks can last a few years. I also tend to get into series that are not "new". Like something that came out in 2009 might spark my interest tomorrow.

I usually just watch a few episodes of certain anime at a time. I've stopped binging, simply because I just don't enjoy anime when I binge them. I'll usually watch 2-3 episodes of one anime, then go on to another, and then to maybe a third.
Right now, I've set up a list of anime I want to watch. It will usually be maybe a sports anime (YowaPedal right now, and Ace of the Diamond), a shoenen (which is basically taken up by My Hero Academia), and then some random ass anime on Crunchyroll that looked interesting. (Right now that's My Tennage Romance SNAFU, and an incredible cute anime called Shonen Maid). I'll usually watch maybe 2 episodes of one, then the other, and the other. That way each anime still feels fresh, and it doesn't get stale. And by having just a few, I can remember the characters and stories easily.

@Mantis: You're not offending me, man lol. Most American TV is...ok at best. Hell, look at how many shows have been canceled of Fox. It's a long running gag.

I do that quit often nowadays since I'm in my mid thirties. It was a lot easier to binge watch a season or two of anime in a day in my teens and twenties, but now I have to place myself or I start getting tired of watching it and force stop for weeks to a month before I start the series again. I've been an oldtaku for awhile now.

Nah, I like anime better than other storytelling mediums. Something just way more appealing to me about animated characters, but I can't put my finger on it. Plus I love the bite-size lengths of 20 mins a piece. I never really binge though.

Admittedly I do get burnt out on it sometimes, because sometimes I feel the creativity isn't there. Sometimes they play it too safe (Like, how many school anime do we need lol). I usually reduce how much I watch, but never really fully take a break from it. Usually that one hidden gem brings you right back

Yeah, I'll take a break for a while. It's usually a result of heavy workloads or school...but sometimes I just watch an excellent series and then I'm not in the mood to follow it up with something else that I feel won't be as good.

I had my anime breaks in the past, the longest was 10 years after college. I focused in work and business and my family but after all that was settled I came back to watching anime. I watched all the animes titles and episodes that I've missed. Starting with the 4 series of Macross, Rurouni Kenshin, Bleach and Naruto up to Shippuden and now Boruto. Now I'm watching anime daily for 2-3 hours a day and I'm enjoying it.

I tend to step back from anime and binging games when I have a lot of courseowrk to do during term time (I'm coming up to my final year at University).
Most of the time I'll probably only play games during that time if my friends invite me.