Anime you gave a 2nd chance to and it actually worked out
I think this would be fun to talk about. Anime where you didn't get into, dropped it for whatever reason, then gave it another chance and it actually clicked. I think this is fun, because it is frustrating to try to get into an anime and it just doesn't work out, especially if you can tell why it is beloved.
For me that anime was Ascendance of a Bookworm. I first watched it when it was airing and at some point in that first season I just stopped because outside of the main character, I just found it a bit dull. I don't think that's even the most unreasonable opinion, like the production's not amazing and the characters are not the most immediately engaging personalities in anime history. And this type of traditional medieval fantasy vibe where you're stuck in a blander part of the world by design, not what I'd normally be looking for.
But I had heard so much acclaim for the series in the years since and with the new season being under a beloved studio, I decided to give it another chance last year and it finally clicked for me. I found those early episodes more charming, instead of feeling it needing to be carried by Myne as much. And when I got to that first season finale, I really appreciated the restraint of the series, to make things feel so exciting by simply escalating things one time with one awesome scene that isn't even like an action scene or anything. It sold me that this series is playing the long game (which I assumed based on what I heard), and I found it thoroughly engaging from there.
For me that anime was Ascendance of a Bookworm. I first watched it when it was airing and at some point in that first season I just stopped because outside of the main character, I just found it a bit dull. I don't think that's even the most unreasonable opinion, like the production's not amazing and the characters are not the most immediately engaging personalities in anime history. And this type of traditional medieval fantasy vibe where you're stuck in a blander part of the world by design, not what I'd normally be looking for.
But I had heard so much acclaim for the series in the years since and with the new season being under a beloved studio, I decided to give it another chance last year and it finally clicked for me. I found those early episodes more charming, instead of feeling it needing to be carried by Myne as much. And when I got to that first season finale, I really appreciated the restraint of the series, to make things feel so exciting by simply escalating things one time with one awesome scene that isn't even like an action scene or anything. It sold me that this series is playing the long game (which I assumed based on what I heard), and I found it thoroughly engaging from there.
Commentaires
Fast forward a year, and I rewatched Season 1 and moved onto Season 2 and loved it.
Being in the right mood the receive the story being told is an underrated thing, and I wish more people were cognizant that their own leanings at a particular moment are greatly influential to how an anime will land with you. It's not just that because you didn't like a show when you watched it, that it's bad. It could just be that you watched it at the wrong point in your life.
People change, and so do our tastes. What you once liked/hated may not hold true forever.
Still good story though
I'll admit i did find it a little difficult to get in to even now, but i did push through a few episodes and it worked out.
First time I watched it, I was very new to anime and so when it had some light ‘fan service’ I wasn’t into it.
After some time I’ve become numb to fan service so I was able to enjoy the show.
At the time I finished it, it damn near *tied* FMA:B for the #1 spot on my favorites list, though it's since fallen (so has FMA:B for that matter). Its second movie is still one of my all-time favorite movies, though.
Years ago I first saw some episodes at the San Diego Comic Con. IIRC it was early in the series at the Syrup Village Arc with them fighting the Black Cat pirates on the beach which looked dumb AF at the time.
Years later I gave the series a watch from Ep.1 and appreciated the story buildup over the years since then.
It took me 3 tries to get into Mouryou no Hako.
I still can’t binge it though.
When it came out I was already watching Naruto and Bleach. I just watched the first episode, decided I wasn't interested in another loud mouth idiot MC.
Then a couple years ago I was looking for a long running show to watch on my lunch break and gave Fairy Tail another shot. By episode 4 I had a crush on Lucy.
The show is really funny and has a great cast. Though I still think that Natsu is one of the worst things about the show. I feel that his screen time should be cut in half, with Lucy getting half of that and the other cast getting the rest.
There's a lot more depth to her than most people realize. They just see a blonde girl with big boobs and think that's all she is. Definitely underrated.
Watched it as my third anime without knowing much about it. Found it boring and repetitive the first time and wrote it off as something that was probably good for its time but didn't hold up. Watched it again years later with a different (more depressed) mindset and it clicked.
I just didn’t get into it right at the start. Maybe wasn’t in a good space to really get through some elements in it. Came back to it a couple years later and just got sucked in. Dove through both seasons at a crazy rate. Really got into it and where the story was going.
The first episode is like some weird video project from the mid season of the story. Later on I watched the next episode and it actually made sense.
Week by week when it was airing with Mono I thought the direct comparison hurt it because the first few episodes of Mono had some really strong moments. I even posted a clip one my favorite sequence with the kite, but I stand behind that scene itself being amazing. Because of my tendency to anchor myself to early opinions of a show I kept expecting Mono to hold up to that, but at least for me it sadly could not.
In contrast, Food for the Soul did not have moments that really popped out for me in the first half of its run, but watching the episodes together instead of week by week made me appreciate the slow and gradual character development for our MC Mako. Overall it felt like a much more cohesive story and left me feeling more satisfied. The show is one that needed to simmer instead of explode out of the gate, and payoff in the \[Food for the Soul\] >!Fireworks scene when Mako and Kurea finally call each other by their first name !<I suspect will stay with me. This is why I like giving seasonals that interested me a second shot after their run.
I get the comparison with the supernatural beings, nature being important and "episodic” stories, but I do think they’re quite different shows. Mushishi as a very atmospheric slow moving contemplative anime. Ginko is a fine lead and without him I wouldn’t have liked it as much, but the true stars of the show for me are the mushi of the week and their mysterious ways. Natsume can be very bittersweet but has a lighter show overall with comedy and heartwarming moments never too far away. And it can have impactful emotional yokai of the week stories, but the true star of the show is Natsume himself and his growth and the bonds he creates with various characters over the course of the entire anime. So the enjoyment of these 2 shows comes from different places for me and when I just let Natsume be its own thing I enjoyed it a lot more.
(Speaking about that comparison; I’ve also seen it with Mononoke. And again I get it, but having recently watched it it’s the ‘clear’ Mononoke things that make it stand out and enjoyable for me. Like its unique artstyle and traditional theatre & folktale like storytelling that’s also a bit quirky with the bizarre situations and deadpan nature of the Medicine Seller.)
Initially the outdated animation and the slow pacing made me disinterested, but after my boyfriend's recommendation I picked it again and it's so good! Too bad it ends right after Yang Wen-li and Lohengrann meet. (If you know what I mean)
I felt like I got the gist of the story pattern and it wasn't worth it. Decided to just let it play one weekend while doing chores and it grew on me a little. Enough to finish, but not particularly to my tastes.
When the second season was coming out, I decided to give the first a second chance. It was clear at that point that it was not just a fotm series and that people were really impressed by this thing. I really like fantasy as a genre, so I owed it to myself to give this genre giant a second chance. On rewatch I ended up really liking Subaru and most of the rest of the cast. I think knowing where it was going made me a lot more patient with the start. I completely reverse on the show, and it became one of my favorites.
My first Re:Zero watch happened during my "eliteist" phase as an anime. There's a number of shows I dismissed during that period, that I ended up warming up quite a bit on review. Re:Zero was the biggest swing, but some others were Bunny Senpai, Vinland Saga, Shirobako, the Evangelion Rebuilds, and a lot of studio Ghibli films.
I wasn’t feeling it after the first episode so I dropped it. A while later one of my friends tells me she’s watching it and loved it so I tried it again and ended up loving it. Season 2 was fun too.
I was on a multi year slump and I started it and just couldn’t get into it.
I ended up dropping it and then months later watched Akudama Drive, immediately followed by Vivy.
Those two series broke the slump and I picked up Hunter X Hunter. Loved it. Watched it twice.
Love how positive the series is too.
Same with Stiens Gate gave that another watch and watched it through, first time put me to sleep as well, so couldn't get passed the first episode until.i gave it another watch later on.
I'll need to give serial experimental Lain another watch I was 2 episodes in and I kept falling asleep on it and went to check where I was and was like "wait I'm only on the second episode?!"
I couldn't stand Asta's screaming the first time I watched it. Tried it again a couple years later and after the first few episodes it mostly stopped. It became one of my favorite shows.
I dropped it for whatever reason back when season 2 was airing years ago, but heard high praise for season 4's ending so I decided to give it another shot. I really don't know why I gave up the first time cause I've been hooked all the way through this time!! I finished season 4 last week and am already back to rewatching everything again (and currently back on season 2 lol)
Now? It’s in my top ten shows of all time.
I had already watched 03. EP1 was random battle with no context given. EP2 was the beginning of the story but way faster and with much less vibes. I Just kind of... forgot about it and didn't finish it after that.
I did give it a second chance years later and it was a lot of fun overall once it actually reached the parts of the story it wanted to tell (not the ones it had to rush through).
I remember sitting at the kitchen table telling my dad I wasn't sure I liked it but my friend had recommended it so I was going to watch a few more episodes to be fair to them. I watched episode 1 and 2 and was like meh I'm not into it. Put my phone down and made some food, picked it back up whilst I ate my lunch and watched episode 3 and I'm not sure why but I just fell in love with it.
I've watched over 1100 episodes now and I've rewatched up until the post time skip reveal like 5 times just because I like the build up and Luffy tanking the pacifista.
Although the first episode was great but then the story became slow and I didn't like the concept of compressed gas used to swing in air and fight titans. I dropped it after 3-4 eps while they were still in the academy getting training.
Picked it up again after suggestions from multiple people. Although I still think it's slow in the beginning but boy does it make up for it.
Revisited it in my late 20s (with enough life experience not to be mystified by women anymore) and it became one of my favorite anime of all time.
It was weird seeing a girl being wrapped in a futon. But years later, I rewatched it and it was deep.
Then i rewatched it 6months later and I liked it way more the 2nd time around so I binged the rest of the anime
I was so pissed off with the whole Junpei thing and Mahito became my most hated anime character I dropped the show.
When the movie, JJK-Zero came out, I watched it in the theatre since everyone and their mother was doing it. I fell in love with Yuta and that saved the franchise for me.
Second season came, and a few cathartic moments concerning Mahito (i.e. during the fight with Mechamaru, I was literally at the edge of my seat screaming at the TV, "JUST DIE ALREADY!!!!"), and now JJK is my 6th favourite anime!
For an opposite reason Solo Leveling really clicked with me on my third attempt BECAUSE of how brainless and poorly written it was. Initially I hated how there were no stakes and no real narrative aside "I must level up". But I started thinking about it in terms of trash isekai and it really turns itself around. Season 2 actually has stakes for side characters other than "They slighted Jin-woo so they must die".
First episode felt really cringy but then I
It turned out to be one of my favorite animes.
At the end of episode 4 I was hooked. And it's now one of my favorite anime.
That opening scene is so fucking boring
Heard of the infamous third episode, watched it and was disappointed it's not as fucked up as I expected.
Later on, I got spoiled about a different plot twist, and that sounds so interesting so I came back... and loved the show.
Sayaka and Homura are my favs btw.