How do you watch anime?
After watching the Naruto Hundo on Cartoon Network this weekend I think I learned something. How you watch anime can change your perception of the anime. I’ve been watching Naruto on a weekly basis for a while now and I’ve been enjoying it. After watching the weekend long marathon I found that I enjoy it even more now. Let me explain what I mean.
When watching one or two episodes a week, I got to know the main characters pretty well. I have my favorites, just like with any other anime. The secondary characters kinda faded into the background though. I even had a little trouble remember who was who. Now that I’ve watched a few story arcs all at once I have a better understanding of the show. I also have a better idea of the secondary characters, and even a few more favorites.
That got me to thinking about how I watch anime. When I watch anime on TV, like the shows on Cartoon Network, I usually only see an episode at a time. When I rent DVDs I can see several at a time. If I manage to get a whole set I can see an entire story arch or even the whole thing all at once. All these ways to watch anime have their own pros and cons.
Watching an episode or two per week gives you something to look forward to, it stretches out the enjoyment of the show. You can miss things though. Sometimes references to past events, or foreshadowing of future events, can slip past you. It’s also more difficult to get to know characters who aren’t in every episode.
Watching an entire story line at once, or even a couple DVDs at a time, means things that happened three to ten episodes back are fresher in your mind. You’ll have a better chance of catching the more subtle references to earlier episodes. You’ll also get to know people other than the main characters a lot better.
Shikamaru and Rock Lee are a couple of my favorite characters now.
After watching the Naruto Hundo I thinks I know the show better than I used to. Shikamaru and Rock Lee are a couple of my favorite characters now. I no longer see Ino as a pale clone of Sakura, she has her own unique personality and history. I’ve gotten to know the village hidden in the leaves. I can understand why Naruto wants to become Hokage. I can understand why he loves his village and wants to protect his home. All this because I sat down and watched a few story arcs in one weekend. I’m glad I did.
So, how do you prefer to watch anime?
Anime, Opinion, Naruto, Naruto Hundo, Naruto Marathon, Cartoon Network, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, Hokage, Hidden Leaf Village
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:42 am
The daily/weekly series running on a couple of the channels plus a little help from Anime Network On Demand is enough to get you started in finding a series you want to get into. On Demand can be very sporatic with their timeframe, and it (along with the regular channels) doesn’t always show them in order. At that point, if you really want to get into the series, it’s time to start looking into getting the DVDs. I used to random purchase while I was parusing the rack at store; but, with the ever growing rental options, it’s much more economical to join an online video store.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:01 pm
I agree, DVDs are the way to go. I also agree with the rental idea. That’s pretty much what I was thinking when I wrote about places to rent anime online.
Don’t discount random purchases. If you buy ‘em in the right place you can get some great bargains. I’ve found some decent anime shows doing that.
August 26th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
When I lived in Los Angeles, there use to be this store that was dedicated to Anime, even the naughty stuff.
Now I usually get it from Netflix and watch it online.