I admit. It wasn’t easy for me to adapt into this “watching style”. It takes a while for me to settle in into my current pacing. Compared to when I started blogging, the way I watch anime and the amount of time I spent watching anime have changed. Not too drastically, but the effects didn’t go unnoticed.
Since last year, most of my time has been filled with work-related projects and constant traveling. Going away from a few days to a week to another place has a few disadvantages, most notably bad Internet connection. If I’m having bad Internet connection, how am I suppose to get my dose of anime? I remember last year when I traveled to a less developed city in my country, I struggled even to get my cellphone’s signal working, let alone Internet access.
Even if I have stable Internet connection, there’s no guarantee I have free time to watch. I’m on a business trip. To reduce such trips, I should get as many done as possible while I’m at whatever place I’m supposed to be at. That means working through the night.
So what’s this new “watching style” I’m saying? No fixed schedule.
During my early years of anime fandom, I’d watch an episode the moment it aired. Hence, I was more or less on a fix schedule. The main reason was I didn’t want to miss out. I didn’t want not to know what others are talking on tweeter. I didn’t want spoilers. I wanted to stay in the loop. Also during that time, I was doing episodic blogging for selected series, so timely posts are important.
But now, I might have to wait (not by choice) until 2-3 weeks later before I’m able to catch up with the airing series. I usually do my catching-up on weekends, but if my weekends are filled with social activities, it’ll take a month or so later before I finally caught up with others.
At first, I felt I’m missing out. I’m sure there are tons of fun anime out there, but I just don’t have time. Moreover, I felt like I don’t know what people were talking about half the time. Are what they’re saying suppose to be funny? Are they not suppose to? I don’t get it.
After getting over that feeling, I’ve settled into a passive way of watching anime. When I say passive, I just meant anime’s taking the back seat. Getting the latest anime isn’t a priority anymore. Heck, I’m not even sampling series these days. I solely rely on recommendations and tweets on my timeline that caught my attention.
There are also other ways to stay current with latest release like what I did with Sakurasou, which I watched on my iPad, in the hotel and while on plane. Instead of wasting time people-watching at the airport or flipping through pointless magazines on the plane, fitting an episode or two while flying not only makes the trip seems shorter and mood lightened too (depending on what you’re watching).
The point is, it doesn’t really many how frequent I watch anime per week. It isn’t about how much time I spent on anime per week. The more time I spent on anime doesn’t make me a better fan. A hobby is meant to be enjoyed in a relaxed manner. I’m doing just that.
