There’s this sentiment that’s been thrown around the community, one that’s lingered for quite sometime now but has picked up notable popularity this year in particular:

It’s typically delivered with a negative connotation and followed up with some variant of “how am I suppose to watch this all?”

It’s a really silly statement on its face when you give it a bit of thought, however, still finds itself even in the mouths of some of the biggest voices of our community in one fashion or another.

And that baffles me.

Because while this ever-growing complaint tends to get presented as a launching pad to a host of other issues, the core complaint itself is very simple to resolve.

Actually, you’re probably doing it right now this season.

 

After seeing some of the discussions about this topic over the last few weeks, I feel that this is sadly breaking news for some people.

No one is twisting your arm.

No one has a gun to your head.

You literally don’t have to watch all of the anime that comes out, and thus, having an expanding pool of choices in this medium every three months isn’t a consumer issue if you’re just watching what interests you.

Let me repeat that cool and innovative idea that’s apparently escaped the head space of those who raise this complaint:

                   

I know people have claimed to feel some sense of pressure to “keep up” with seasonal anime. They want to be “in the conversation” but that’s simply a mental hurdle that you need to part ways with.

 

No seriously, ask yourself.

Let’s say you wake up tomorrow to find out that there’s more than 100 airing anime.

Do you honestly try to watch them all?

Or do you do the more reasonable action and rely on your own taste in media, outside perspectives that you trust and natural curiosity to decide what you may give a shot?

The truth is at the end of the day the choice is in your hands. What you watch is literally just that. What YOU watch. Regardless if it’s “old” or “new.”

Remember that.

Remember that you have control.

It might be tempting to pick up a show just because it’s currently popular to talk about, but if you really have no interest in its content, don’t force yourself. This doesn’t have to be an issue for you if you don’t make it one.

 

Being apart of Seasonal Prattle inherently has me checking a lot of content and conversations to put together the self titled section of this blog down below.

It can be time-consuming on certain days, but it’s a joy seeing the array of thoughts and media on various works being put out into the community.

The growing amount of anime each season has only compounded that joy – there are a lot more conversations and pieces of content in a variety of directions now and I wish I could have had that 10 years ago.

And these conversations are only going to get more moving parts as seasons past, and I’m thankful for that.

I’m thankful that the consensus conversation isn’t centered around a handful of “classics” or “must watch anime” that if you haven’t seen you don’t get taken seriously, and if you have, every piece of media and discussion you come across on it is just a rehash of what’s been said for years.

I’m thankful that the sheer volume each season has inherently promotes diversity in consumers’ choice in anime critics.

There’s no “one stop shop” that you can get all of your outside opinions on seasonal from partly because of how vast it is, and the biggest critics in the community are predisposed to talk about only the most popular works for what ultimately amounts to business reasons.

So if you’re looking to hear about anything that’s not the 3 or 4 most visible series airing, you’re going to have to go elsewhere.

That opens up a door for someone who might be talking about a work that’s less popular or niche. That gives them a valuable opportunity to gain an audience and I appreciate that.

 

I enjoy the array of options.

I like picking from all of the choices in a seasonal chart and getting that feeling when I come across one that’s good.

To put it another way, I like discovering my own “gems.”

In smaller seasons years ago, it was easy for some self-proclaimed critic to tell everyone what’s going to be good and what wasn’t before the season started.

They could just point to a bunch of obvious series likely to be worth it – ones with big names / popular studios behind them and those that are backed by well-regarded source material. After that, call anything that’s based on a light novel or video game trash, be cautious on anything that’s anime original to play it safe, follow the popular genre perceptions for whatever is left on the chart (moe, harem, music, ecchi are bad etc) and call it a day.

The sad thing is a lot of the time they were right with this approach. There wasn’t a ton of anime for them to guess at, so often their stereotypical predictions would be greatly more hit than miss in their limited quantities.

The critic would then pat themselves on the back thinking that “they know anime”, positioned now with a sense of credibility to repeat the same guessing formula next season.

In those times it was hard to discover a good seasonal anime and be excited in a discussion that you did.

There was always some popular critic who already told the masses about it and thus you were merely seen as someone just joining that particular show’s bandwagon and wave of hype.

It’s even worse in reverse. Don’t even think about liking an airing work that a popular critic deemed as shit and expect to have a good time talking about it online.

 

Purely from a numbers perspective there’s straight up more chances that a given work breaks convention.

You can’t just rely on lazy assumptions with seasonal anymore.

So you really get to see who actually knows their stuff and who has no idea what they’re talking about when approaching seasonal now at days.

With all of the opportunities for these critics to be wrong, it lends other seasonal viewers like me opportunities to be right.

I now have more chances to get that “discovery feeling” again.

I now have more chances to be surprised at a work’s quality that some pseudo anime authority claimed not to be worth my time .

But more importantly I have more chances to get swept away by this medium that I so fondly enjoy.

And I like that those chances only continue to increase as we get more choices.

As we get more seasonal anime.

 

 

“QUOTE OF THE WEEK”

– A completely sober comment in the thread “this show is just Aquarion but bad.” 

Darling in the FranXX seems to forever be in the toilet, with waves of viewers pissing on it regardless of how each episode shakes out. You can have a well crafted, gracefully told showing from the series – yet viewers will still find some petty facet to complain about.  It’s almost as if hating on Darling in the FranXX is the cool thing to do… 

 

 

SEASONAL PRATTLE

Find what you’re looking for fast
Megalo Box
Steins;Gate 0
 To Be Heroine
Golden Kamuy
Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii
Hinamatsuri
Darling in the FranXX

Megalo Box (10)

All the cuts throughout Yuuri’s fight were easily standouts this week, and I appreciate the attention to detail TMS Entertainment is dishing out down to the trails in his sight line. It’s a fine effort that’s apart of an even finer collective showing from Megalo Box – one that has plenty of solid fundamentals to get by: strong pacing, more than efficient character work, and good dramatic timing. And this praise isn’t even touching this week’s scorpion thematic lining, which while not complex or outwardly clever, still very fitting and effective for the series’ larger. Well done all around.

Steins;Gate 0 (9)

Fortunately every time I try to buy into any of Steins;Gate 0’s scenes I’m immediately met with competent direction, engaging dialogue or a mix of both. This series is just flat-out good at framing its narrative with such intimacy that it’s really easy to emotionally invest in. White Fox is once again doing a fantastic job this week, bringing plenty of fluidity and passion to sharply display this series’ inherently strong source material, all while providing a proper cliffhanger to keep viewers coming back for more.

Worthwhile Prattle:

Steins;Gate and the Trolley Problem

To Be Heroine (4)

Works like this tend to lean on their moment-to-moment curiosity. You can easily get intrigued in its narrative through a number of interesting looking shots and directorial decisions alone. However, To Be Heroine isn’t that basic in its appeal. The series actually has a solid grasp on storytelling through four weeks, and Futaba’s group of friends are legitimately endearing. The way episode four parallels her head space world with her real life drama gives me hope that this series will have an interesting payoff – one that isn’t just thrown in our faces but tactfully pulled off.

Golden Kamuy (9)

Golden Kamuy is blessed with an interesting cast – even supporting characters are written with enough quirks in their personality to make their scenes engaging just on their own. Among them though, Tanigaki might be the most straightforward and I can understand viewers not immediately gravitating towards him. As a fan of his character, I’m hoping more people see him in a better light after this week’s showing and can enjoy what he has to offer.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii (9)

Typically, tired episode scenarios such as a beach or hot spring almost immediately incite criticism. It’s hard to overcome a formula that’s been beaten to death and genuinely produce a “good” episode under that umbrella –  but I feel like WotaKoi makes it work. Despite leaning on a very straightforward amusement park date, our latest showing ended up being more charming than I expected, delivering some fun jabs at the otaku dating experience, as well as some heartwarming romantic beats to round it out. Hirotaka’s concerns regarding change are understandable, and A-1’s smart balance of mixing that into this episode’s resolution made for a very satisfying finish.

 

Hinamatsuri (10)

Hinamatsuri is still very pretty tonally, and actually seems to be more interested in joining its careful in-scene pacing with its consistent love for its cast rather than just focus on nailing jokes this week. And I really enjoy that intimate, methodical approach. It doesn’t provide the most laughs, but it allows viewers to more easily rally behind its tiny victories – whether that be Anzu being able to cherish those who took her in or Hitomi succeeding at working hard. Hinamatsuri’s heart is in a good place and that’s worth embracing.

Darling in the FranXX (20)

Offering an even mix of reasonable character drama and solid aesthetic execution, Darling in the FranXX managed yet another interesting showing. This episode has a knack for cultivating attention, there’s some nice visual tricks sprinkled through this that contributed to an understated sense of scale and intensity as opposed to a bunch of serviceable set pieces. And the narrative itself has its own inherent level of interest – adding a very Trigger level of flair with the introduction and implications that Virm brings.

Worthwhile Prattle:

WHAT. THE. @!#&!$#* IS GOING ON?!?!!?!?

 

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