From elitist to apologist: “Social watching”, and why Autumn’s quantity isn’t a bad thing
This marks the midway point of the third season since I started blogging. Time sure flies. I caught up with Gurren Lagann till episode 18 today, and there’s something about Simon’s ascent into his much-heralded destiny that reminds me of my venture into blogging: I remember when I made my very first post as a reaction to something lolikitsune wrote about Lucky Star (in an amusing parallel, I should also mention that lolikitsune died like Kamina did), breaking through the roof into the surface of anime blogging in the process.
Eight months have passed, and like Simon and his life underground, much has changed since my early days at WordPress.com. While I’m not saving mankind from annihilation any time soon, I have gotten to know quite the idiosyncratic group of bloggers, in addition to having founded The ABC, a joint blogging initiative of which this post happens to be party to. Others taking part in this include Roxas, Mike, Ray, Karura, CCYoshi, Martin, Hige, J. Valdez, and Xerox; tj_han too, if you count his tsundere post.
The quality and quantity of Autumn practically begs for it to be blogged. It’s my hope that I’ll continue to witness many more inspiring seasons such as these, for this season helped me understand many things, among them being that that quality isn’t necessarily better than quantity; prejudice doesn’t help a first impression but rather reinforces existing beliefs; elitism in the face of numerous shows mean that you end up being the social equivalent of Scrooge.
I’m keeping up with 16 shows this season. It’s the most I’ve ever bothered with, and also a first in that it never occurred to me to watch (almost everything) first and critique later. While I’ve never done season previews, I’ll do first impressions. The reason behind it’s that there’s not much to go from by minute-long PVs and random pictures; with any luck, you’ll end up closing yourself out from a show of potential excellence due to that preview. This is where my elitist side went, “Why bother?”
Why bother, indeed. While I previewed the decidedly more harem shows I found myself pondering on whether or not the need for a balanced diet really existed when it came to anime. While it’s one thing to watch what you like, it’s another thing to broaden your horizons of taste. As the fansubs from other shows began to roll in, I began questioning whether the ends (wanting to watch only good shows) really justified the means (watching very few shows).
My hypothesis after numerous conversations with fans and anime bloggers alike on IRC is this: the number of shows you watch are proportionate to how sociable, or how likely you are to be relevant with regards to the community. In other words, the more you watch, the more you’re able to connect with those around you on the internet, and the more you do that, the more meaningful the entire experience of watching anime becomes, assuming that you regard anime as a serious pastime and not a meaningless or casual one to begin with.
If the study of sociology’s taught me anything, it’s that this obviously isn’t applicable to everyone. Some watch for the sake of mere entertainment. Some watch anime without the need to immerse themselves into the fandom (i.e. forums, IRC, 4chan, blogs) as deeply as others.There are those that watch for escapism, and then there are those that watch it because their life sucks/their job blows/they have no luck with real women/it’s their reality.
For those that it applies to, well, the ramifications become obvious given time. While I wouldn’t call IRC the ultimate gauging factor, I’ve gathered that there’s a sense of camaraderie among those who follow a show that isn’t shared with those who don’t. As an example, take this theoretical conversation: There are three people in a chatroom, Boy A, Boy B, and Boy C. When Boy A and Boy B begin talking about Shana and have a little back and forth on whether it sucks or wins, the chances are that Boy C will either try to change the topic, or not participate at all.
once you start watching denouncing a given season as rubbish/mediocre/not as great as the previous ones, it’s a slippery slope of self-justification to elitist hell
This brings me to what I call “social watching”. Social watching isn’t merely watching an anime for the sake of fitting in; the idea is bigger than its name since most, if not all of a fan’s initial impressions of an anime are usually wrong. Higevs mentioned this perspective in the comments on my previous post,
Also, its easy to finger-point about elitism and get it mixed up with a thorough understand of your own tastes. (…) This difference means what seems elitist is really me knowing what I like and having a keen eye for tropes/cliches/whatever that often puts me off in some way.
and while I have to concede that while the possibility of misconstruing such a position as elitism is possible, the fact remains that in reality most, if not all of the overtly negative/elitist stances assume a tragic misunderstanding of the anime they deride, preferring to concentrate on the form rather than the substance behind it; instead of giving a chance (and by chance I mean being honest, not watching the first few episodes for the sake of peer pressure, formality, or mainstream tastes) they give it the cold shoulder.
I would best describe social watching here as the equivalent of interacting in an MMORPG; watching one or two shows when there are 40 or so to choose from this season is like treating an MMORPG as a single-player game, going through levelling hell all alone with no friends or guild to socialise with, all this while spending precious time that could be better wasted on other things like socialising with people in the real world or getting that coveted six-pack.
It’s this very reason why I’m watching so many shows this season and not a select few. Aside from how I’m likely to be wrong about a show if I judge from appearances and hearsay, it helps me relate to my fellow bloggers and peers more, and stay relevant to them while I’m at it. I have more things in common with them, and I’m able to engage them in conversation with greater ease, whether through my blog or otherwise. As an added bonus, watching 16 shows mean that even if half of them turn out to be terrible in the long run, I’ll still have 8 potentially good ones remaining.
This also begs the question of why we blog: I, for one, blog not because I want to show off my impeccable taste and dry wit; rather, I blog to get my readers to see an anime the way I do, and perhaps induce them to like it in the process. Well, maybe I lied about the wit part, but you get the idea. The more I watch, the more I can write about, fulfilling my objective of blogging in the process.
There’s also a lot left to be desired in the general definition of what “good anime” is and what it isn’t. To be honest, after 4 episodes or so of Ghost Hound I’m quite convinced that it’s overrated. While its production values considerably outrank a lot of other anime showing this season, it isn’t so much a story with ideas in it as it is ideas in the form of a story. It isn’t new, for sure; Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain, GITS:SAC, and even Gurren Lagann explore this to some degree.
These four anime are similar in that their themes are obvious even from the start. The structure of the anime is apparent, and what usually takes a considerable amount of time to discover in an average anime is found with ease, which has the effect of endearing an audience to it quickly. On the other hand, anime that have the trappings of something familiar or appear to be run of the mill take longer to be enjoyed in that the substance behind it, if any at all, tend to take longer to surface.
Had I decided to stick to the shows that seemed like they had a high chance of doing well, I would never have discovered the epic storyline and powerful characterisation present in Myself; Yourself, all wrapped up in a package more post-harem than anything. Neither would I have discovered the hilarious, side-splitting antics of the cast in Bamboo Blade, the COOL AND SPICY protagonist of Shugo Chara, or even the deep, artsy, and brilliant ef, had I decided to trust my instincts and not take the plunge. I did, though, and that’s how I ended up watching 16 shows. 0 regrets so far.
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So what exactly is the serious side of anime? It sounds strange to call it a ‘serious pastime’ since in the end it boils down (or should boil down) to the fact that it’s something we watch and write about for our enjoyment; it’s not a job by any means.
I consider myself to watch anime for ‘fun’ (which probably involves some degree of subconscious escapism), and I follow (and run) blogs and forums, but I don’t use IRC, I watch a mediocre amount of shows (10) and 4chan scares me witless.
Does that mean it’s “meaningless or casual”? Perhaps I’m misconstruing your words but it seems a hard judgment. (Incidentally, try not to look at this like I am being personally offended. I’m not.) I think the two instances you provided overlap quite a bit.
There are those who watch a lot of anime and don’t interact much, and there are those who watch very few anime yet are very active (the stereotypical crazy fanboy/girl). And I think that escapism factors at least a little bit into everyone’s reason for watching anime. A lot of people have other reasons as well, and perhaps some are more blatant than others, but being able to connect with a show on a deeper (and perhaps cheesier) emotional level, or being able to see something you can’t normally find on TV (at least in America) is a large factor why some of us watch anime.
Wow, I’m turning into a people apologist too. XD
On a show-by-show note to close things up, M;Y feels like it’s kind of a sign of the times in that a lot of harem shows are Getting Serious now with the plot (every Key show, School Days, Shuffle, Da Capo, etc) – even the ones that are fanservicey or light-hearted; simple storylines and funny antics aren’t cutting it that much anymore. Maybe that’s why Shana II is getting lambasted.
And Shugo Chara is a bit too cool and spicy, personally. To be an ass and compare it to Cardcaptor Sakura, it’s much more blatant and moralistic (the whole ‘just be yourself’ thing), instead of just coming across with a warm, feel-good tone. But I’ve only seen the first episode so far, so we’ll see.
Also, obvious, but look into comment 2. Looks like someone isn’t quite adept enough at stealing posts yet, considering you get a link back. XD
Shame on you, generically titled half-finished likely-trap site!
That’s taken care of comment #2.
Sorry I wasn’t as clear on this. What I meant by “serious”, “meaningless”, and “casual” is that there are different levels of fans; there are those who take what anime has to say, or at least take it as a medium seriously. Then you have the fans who think all anime is just merely pure entertainment (not deep) or that it’s shits and giggles. The type of people who put anime down to look cool in public. That kind.
My examples were meant to be taken in the most extreme sense — those who watch them purely for escapism, entertainment, the types that don’t get involved in any sort of interaction beyond a superficial level, that don’t immerse themselves in fandom to a significant level. Those that watch it for a singular purpose, as opposed to us, who have multiple reasons for doing so.
Oh, and it’s funny, but I don’t see Shugo Chara as being moralistic at all. Maybe it’s because I have a younger sister and I can sort of see her doing the things and relating towards the characters in their growing-up pains and frustrations. Watch more. :P
There is an inherent arrogance that is given off by people who have more knowledge than others when they decide to share it. I’ve known many very intelligent people who loved to talk about whatever it was they were studying at the time. Some of them could captivate others by relating it well; others made it a grueling experience in not trying to look bored.
The difference comes down to being able to relate to those who do not have the same information. I would think.
If I could watch everything I would definitely do so. Well, I would until I determined I didn’t like a show.
Ouch. Truth hurts! Seriously though, I’ve come to wonder whether there is an element of “I had a crap day, I’ll sit down with a beer and watch a bit of ef/Clannad/Kaiji/whatever.” as there always was, but with my increased fansub viewing in recent weeks I think it has a lot to do with being influenced by an increased involvement in the blogosphere. Sadly time zones and work mean I’ve never bothered with irc but spending more time reading other people’s posts has alerted me to more shows, and reading everyone’s views has made me more open-minded. The end result is more viewing, which is invariably attributed to doing something like the joint blogging thing in some way or another.
The current season has been an experiment for me too, mainly in seeing how much I can watch in terms of variety and quantity since, in previous seasons, I felt like I missed out on a lot. The mediocre nature of the majority (which ironically led me to watch more, an odd effect I explained more fully in my own post) was disappointing but this time I decided to stick with it – and noticed a few gems I wouldn’t have otherwise.
It’s a shame that you don’t really dig Ghost Hound, but then I know a lot of people who don’t understand why I like drinking Guinness either. That’s an acquired taste too.
‘post-harem’ is a phrase which deserves elaboration to at least blog entry length. Only if the spirit moves you, of course – and maybe I missed something in your archive which expanded on the classification possibilities the phrase suggests.
Huh, interesting. I actually do watch a lot more than I blog about; I tend to blog regularly about shows I can analyze, which I fully admit I do partly because I do like showing off but mostly because I simply find it fun. I’ve had the experience this season of having my expectations radically broken, especially with ef, and I totally see your point that it’s better to watch a large variety sometimes just to have something to talk about with others. And I’m going to have to ponder your thesis that the number of shows one watches and considers is proportional to one’s influence in the community. Though in the end, I’m going to blog what I like.
I second the notion of a discussion of “post-harem” and what that means. Perhaps it could be a next ABC topic? :)
Martin: It’s not that I hate Ghost Hound per se, it’s just that I don’t find it to be all that great or something I’m liking as much as the other shows that I’m watching, considering its pedigree. It’s a very self-aware show that knows what it’s doing and it’s learned by way of psychology/psychiatry like Eva was. It’s also very atmospheric, but I’m taking longer to warm to it than I have the others, and that’s my main beef with it.
Also, do take the time to drop by IRC, forget all that timezone riff-raff. The Americans stay awake longer than you think, and I can be found idling there all the time, too.
IKnight/Mike: You got me there. I don’t plan on elaborating much till Myself; Yourself shows its hand just yet, but I’ve basically been throwing little stuff like those into my posts as references that I can return to later. I’ve created the “post-shounen” tag as a response to Darker than Black, of which I’ll be elaborating on at a later date, too.
I won’t bore you with Owenspeak, so I’ll keep this short, but let’s take the “post-” affix with relation to rock, for example. Post-rock is rock done differently, moving away from the conventional sound known as “rock” and instead of your usual riffs and melodies you have timbres and tones that rock instruments aren’t commonly known for, resulting in a sound aesthetic that can be new age (Explosions In The Sky), plain rocking instrumental (Te’), or just funky and syncopated (65daysofstatic).
“Post-harem” here would mean moving away from what’s commonly understood as harem, and using typical harem conventions to convey something else from the norm. M;Y is an excellent example in that respect for being a show that does the opposite of what you think it will do; it’s shocked and surprised me by moving in a direction that I could never have seen without the guidance of other bloggers like Shirukii, whose posts on M;Y I eagerly await every week.
I’ve not been paying attention to new anime till recently to be honest, but if this year’s offerings are anything to go by, I’m sold on inventing new terms and phrases by which to address such excellence. Harem is dead. Long live post-harem.
M;Y is actually a pretty huge mess now. It’s like every episode has a different writer who wants to go off on some weird tangent about his favorite character instead of developing a storyline or sticking to anyone for more than an episode at a time. There are obviously really great ideas in every scenario, and I’d love to play the game, but the anime adaptation is pretty much shit at this point. This is rather disappointing because it’s Takumi Nakazawa and such (the fact that he wrote the original shit is the reason why you call it “post-harem”). DCII/CLANNAD/ef pretty much make Myself;Yourself look like a joke at this point. Not that anyone watches DCII except for me. :(
Not that M;Y isn’t enjoyable. It’s just random average renai stuff at this point, and only really fails because of the three excellent renai shows airing alongside it.
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