Michael is Low on Hit Points

1  Baka-Raptor

Never really cared for Cowboy Bebop or FLCL. Stylish anime just doesn't seem to hook me.

2  fangzhao

Ugh. This happens to me all the time.

Rozen Maiden, FLCL, Natsume Yuujinchou, Haibane Renmei, and Genshiken come to mind, but I'm sure that there are countless more of these good, but not good, shows for me.

3  ilikewhiterice

I think everyone has shows like that. For me I loved Lovely Complex but recently when I re-downloaded it I just cant seem to want to even start it. Same goes for my attempt at watching Macross 7. I am interested in it, like the show, and want to know what happens next but I try to find something else to watch or read instead anytime I have free time where I could marathon a few episodes.

4  IcyStorm

Escaflowne, since Owen says it's the greatest thing ever. I don't feel particularly drawn to it, even though I do WANT to watch it.

Same with Legend of the Galactic Heroes, actually. I did like the three episodes I've watched so far, but I'm in no rush.

It really depends for me though. I couldn't get into Baccano! the first time through; something about it didn't click with me. A few months later I started the show again and I marathoned it.

5  Author

Do Tweeny Witches really belong with SAC and LoGH? Honestly this selection seems dubious.

6  kadian1364

Yeah, that kind of thing happens to me all the time. Right now, it's Beck and Monster, where in the past, it's been Mushishi, FMA the first, and Gurren Lagann. There's this mental hang-up when I have a batch of episodes of an anime I really, really like. It takes me a lot of effort (much more than catching some random eps of something like, say, Queen's Blade) to mentally focus on returning to a great show. Usually, there isn't even any problem with the content of the episodes themselves, so I'm perfectly content to marathon series, but often schedules don't allow the time. It's just difficult for me to stop-and-start a couple episodes everyday for an extended time. Weird, I know.

Re  Michael is LoHP

@ Baka-Raptor

Maybe it is style and energy I need to compel me forward? Or mystery / intrigue? It's hard for me to pin down exactly what I need.

@ fangzhao

You seem to have plenty of diversity in your list, so it's definitely not a specific style of genre tripping you up.

@ ilikewhiterice

It's weird how we just start putting off watching the series for no real reason. I think to myself, "I should watch more of this," and then when I get the opportunity to do just that, I turn around and say, "I'm just not in the mood right now." And then I get further and further away from the series... Doesn't make much sense to me why I do that.

@ IcyStorm

I feel the first two episodes of Escaflowne are weak, but then the anime picks up after that, until it eventually crashes and burns at the end. I could definitely see how a weak start or a sputtering finale could leave you hanging, even though overall the series is quite good.

I got past episode 21 of LoGH. I really liked it. Nothing surprised me, but nothing let me all that much down either. I'm not sure why I stopped watching it. I will pick it up eventually and most likely finish it, but I feel I should be enjoying it more than I actually am.

For you it was Baccano! For me, the exact same thing happened with Fate / stay night. For that series, it was inflated expectations leading to a drop, and then deflated expectations leading to a marathon I very much enjoyed.

@ Author

Oh, I'm not grouping them by genre or any other similarities of that kind. It's just that I feel the shows are all solid and I should be liking them more than I actually seem to.

@ kadian1364

I kind of feel you on that one. There's a certain rhythm you get while watching a series, and if you get sidetracked then it's hard to get that rhythm back. And you want that rhythm with a good show.

Other shows -- Bleach for me -- aren't all that great, so I can start and stop them without remorse. I'm not hurting Bleach by falling out of rhythm, as it is more of a turn-off-the-brain anime for me anyways.

7  psgels

"Do Tweeny Witches really belong with SAC and LoGH? Honestly this selection seems dubious."

Hell yeah! Tweeny Witches belong in any list of classics!

Ahem, anyway, it's of course understandable that not all anime of great quality make the same impact. They may have one or two flaws that completely ruins it for one person, and yet they don't seem to matter for another. I have the same thing for Wolf's Rain: great, imaginative setting... but the characters and plot can be so stupid and predicteable at times.

8  Gargron

I have the same feeling. I'm currently watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and Noir, but though they are great I often can't force myself to even open their folders. I take some new shows instead then.

I think what is missing in the older-but-great anime is that visual style I, and probably you, are familiar with.

9  Sorrow-kun

"I've knocked so-called good series before. Nanoha left me full of disappointment. I haven't written a piece on it yet, but I hated how Shigofumi turned out."

"So called" is probably the right thing to say, because neither of these are good anime. I don't think there's any controversy in suggesting these are flawed in some manner.

10  RP

For whatever reason, Cowboy Bebop never hooked me. I enjoyed the episodes I've watched, but I've been stuck on episode 6 for like a year now.

If I'm not putting the show off because I have some qualm with the story or the characters (e.g., Eden of the East) I think it has to do with pacing (e.g., Bebop). If it feels disjointed or slow, it's going to lose me. So I tend to struggle with standalone episodic series or heavy, dramatic series with a slow-moving plot.

11  schneider

I didn't really pick up LOGH until the teens, when I started to remember character's names and allegiances. When you get to that part it's smooth sailing.

SAC, well, I managed to marathon it. And needed a chaser afterwards. (I watched a few episodes of Dai-Guard to get my head ready for sleep at 1 AM)

I've no experience with Tweeny Witches, though.

I believe that some shows exist to be watched in a detached pace. Stuff like Mushishi and Bartender don't lend well to a marathon, since I want to take my time reflecting on each episode I watched.

12  Omisyth

@Sorrow-kun

Biased view of Shigofumi is biased.

Now that I think about it, there aren't actually any shows that are classics that I haven't watched and liked. That's either some sort of subconsious peer pressure or the shows are just my kind of shows.

Write the article on Shigofumi! And prepare for battle.

Re  Michael is LoHP

@ Author

Just saw the post on your blog. Thanks for the shout out.

@ psgels

I knew you'd appreciate Tweeny Witches!

It's weird, because it isn't so much the flaws that are ruining these series for me. I still very much like them all. I still want to watch them all. But then I don't, for reasons that are alluding me. Maybe the flaws are getting to me more than I want to admit?

@ Gargron

Older anime has its own visual flare. There's something to those hand drawn cells -- a sort of classic-ness, maybe -- that has its own positive feel.

@ Sorrow-kun

Well, that's all subjective. Both series appear to have many fans.

The point I was trying to make is that I wasn't being light on shows I didn't like. I like all three shows, yet I'm having trouble motivating myself to watch them, which is weird to me.

@ RP

What's confusing me here is all three of these series I mentioned seem right up my alley. I love big, sprawling epics like LoGH. I enjoy more artsy and easy going anime like Tweeny Witches. And the politics, implications of technology, etc. in Stand Alone Complex is music to my ears. And yet... what's missing? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe I'm being too light on these series since they bring with them so much promise?

@ schneider

Yeah, it took me a while to wrap my head around LoGH. They could have eased the viewer in more gently, but that's not why I backed away from it... I think.

One of the issues is that I'm not actually watching these shows at a detached pace. I'm just not watching them at all. LoGH and SAC have been on hold for what seems like forever now. I'm "watching" Tweeny Witches, but keeping up a schedule for a completed show that is not "marathon immediately" is proving difficult for me.

@ Omisyth

The post on Shigofumi is in the pipeline... along with a million other posts I've been meaning to right. Go ahead and "say lazy." It's true.

13  RP

Hmm, maybe it's the characters? Maybe the tone is a little off? Or maybe they're just less interesting than you're willing to admit? ;-)

14  TheBigN

It's not like you have to like everything out there that's good, as I do that a lot, but damn if it doesn't feel weird because I'm on the "opposite side". :P

Re  Michael is LoHP

@ RP

I'm thinking it might be the latter. I can see their flaws, but maybe what I do like about those series is blinding me to the severity of those flaws. I consciously say that I like them, but my subconscious thinks differently. But dammit, I want to love all three of those anime so badly!

@ TheBigN

I'm not trying to make myself like something that others deem is good. I deem certain aspects of those shows as good, and it seems certain things are holding me back more than I want them to.

15  Glo the Legend

Ghost in the Shell 2nd GIG. I watched the first season (it took some time), and I haven't started the second season, even though I know it's good.

Everyone said D. Gray-Man was good, that was complete bullshit though, and I dropped that crappy show after 40 episodes of mediocrity.

Gintama is an awesome show, and I love every episode I watch, but for some reason, I can't bang out a bunch of them in one sitting. It's definitely an awesome show though.

Re  Michael is LoHP

@ Glo the Legend

I got one chapter into the D. Gray-Man manga before I gave it up. I then tried the anime, and made it through a whole two episodes... That was giving it up to easy, so I'll go back and give it another chance someday.

I can watch a couple of Gintama episodes in a row no problem. Even if I get tired of watching it, that's only a temporary burn out. If I later think to myself, "I should be watching Gintama," then I'll go right ahead and watch more. I can't seem to do that with either SAC, Tweeny, or LoGH. Maybe because those series require more of a commitment than an episodic comedy, I would think.

16  Kairu Ishimaru

All animes that you mentioned which you didnt like is the same with the animes I tried watching and didnt even liked it for some reason.. Which for others, they like it.. a lot.

Re  Michael is LoHP

@ Kairu Ishimaru

The more I come to think about this post, the more I come to accept that there's just some things about these three anime that are holding me back. I can still see that they are all quite good. But some of their flaws affect me more than they should and drop my perception of the shows down to so-so.

17  Vanishing Mist

Perhaps its simply that they're in their own way very completed. That probably sounds strange, but when something feels finished, I know I rarely return until years later. I'll watch something like Exel Saga several times over (funny and enjoyable, but a long way from being a masterpiece) without the slightest problem, but when it comes to something that hit a chord deep within me, and then wrapped itself up well, I let it be. Perhaps its because deep down I don't wish for it to loose its magic through over familiarity. I find it takes about five years for me to re-watch something that left a strong impression on me while I'll browse for hours immediately afterwards for something similar. Especially if it ended well. A good series that leaves a cliff hanger at the end drives me crazy, on the other hand, and will be worn out quickly as I'll watch it over and over again looking for a satisfying ending. But something complete is safe from me until I've almost forgotten it, no matter how much I love it.

Re  Michael is LoHP

@ Vanishing Mist

Your response is a bit different from what I'm getting at here, but you bring up something very interesting that I wish to touch upon after reading it, and that's to do with the way a series ends and how it affects your future magnetism to that series.

When a series ends well, wraps up all the loose ends, and generally has a happy finale, there's definitely a solidity there and a sense of completeness that makes it easier to part with the series.

But things are different when the ending isn't fully developed / rushed / poorly constructed, or loose strings are left hanging, or maybe worst of all, the series ends on a melancholy note, one where bad things broke up the characters' good times and happiness, leaving your imagination wanting to put together your own happy ending, causing you to harp on the series well past its finale.

In other words, happy endings feel complete and "as they should be," whereas sad endings nail you emotionally and keep you mentally focused on the show afterwards, maybe trying to figure out an alternate reality with everything working out.

Just some random thoughts your comment brought to my mind!