Usually we see anime features last one or two seasons. The creators either follow the manga exactly and end the story where the manga ended, or they tell the story that they want in a couple seasons and go out on top of their game. There's nothing wrong with that at all. There's also nothing wrong with creating an absolutely huge anime series that goes on for years and years. These long-running series' have struck a major chord with the viewers, and they can easily sustain new episodes for years to come.
Take a look at Naruto, for example. There's no denying that the franchise is a mega-hit, and it's popularity has jumped from Japan to Europe and North America as well. There's no denying that Naruto is an international superstar, and with that comes hundreds and hundreds of episodes. So many story arcs, characters and crucial moments that it's hard to keep up with!
The same can be said for Bleach. That's another very long-running anime that also seems to have made a splash overseas. It may not be as big as Naruto, but there's definitely a very hardcore following. From my understanding, Bleach has even more characters and craziness to keep track of! I sat down to watch an episode the other week, but when I realized just how many episodes there are, I was crushed! It's simply too much for me to take in.
I just don't have the free time or money to catch up with these franchises. They have been running for years and years, and are too far ahead now. To spend the time watching those old episodes would be a luxury that I do not have. On top of that, I'd end up spending thousands upon thousands of dollars trying to catch up. It's almost a complete impossibility to make things happen.
The same thing happened with me years ago with the Lupin series. I started buying each DVD as it was being released, so I was completely on-top of the series' localization. I also knew that there were a lot of episodes to check out, but as long as I was going along with the releases I would be fine. Then came that day when I had to sell my anime collection to start GoNintendo...and the rest was history. Now I'd have to rebuy all those episodes...but I need that money to live!
Do we have any long-time Naruto or Bleach fans here? How do you keep up with the series'? How have you managed to check out all the episodes out there?
I started watching Bleach when I was 18. At the time there were about 150 episodes out. I just took some time out and marathoned as much as I could. If you like what you're watching, you don't complain. For example, I have never seen anyone complain that there are just too many X-Files or Friends episodes. It's just expected to have many episodes in TV. It comes out weekly, and people see it once every week for years. That's how these shows grow, and how they are meant to be seen. But people get onto them far late in the game, and suddenly feel the pressure of watching 100+ episodes at once. No, that's not the way to do it, if you ask me. Personally, reading the manga is a more interesting experience, as it is the medium from which it originates. There's no filler arcs, and you can read a chapter in 5 minutes. It goes by in a breeze. So I recommend you read the original comics instead if you like a particular series of which you like but don't have the time. You can squeeze a chapter in a few minutes, if you don't miss dialogue and soundtrack.
ReplyDeleteI started watching Naruto and Bleach when they first started showing in America. So I haven't had to really catch up. If I ever missed anything, there would always be somewhere online to watch it.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, unless its an anecdotal series, I stay away from ongoing series with a ten-foot pole.
ReplyDeleteI was able to sit through DBZ because I was really young and it fuelled my testosterone-filled pre-adolescent fantasies of blowing stuff up. But at least it ended.
Then I got into Inu-Yasha. And man was that show great. It really hooked me at that age! Then they finally killed Naraku! Oh wait... nope they didn't... Well they finally collected all the shards! Oh wait.. nope it broke again.
Wash, rinse, repeat. It got so tiresome I dropped the series and never watched again.
I like my series to be small. To be concise. like Evangelion, Tekkaman Blade or Generator Gawl. I'm even having trouble with Gatchaman as I'm only 25 episodes in and its around 70 episodes iirc.
This is why I usually stick with movies and OVAs. They're short, sweet, and usually have significantly higher production values than tv anime. The Lupin OVAs/movies are all I've ever watched. I never watched the show (but I did read some of the manga).
But jeez. Just look at One Piece... still going... no way to catch up. It's all over. Maybe I'll watch the one piece movies but thats it!