Do you still watch TV shows? Also, reccomend me stuff lol

[Cassie 1,226 / 23,060]

I was just feeling sad for a variety of reasons, and one of the reasons relates to TV. Specifically, the fact that I watch less. Now, being sad because you watch less TV is probably a bit pathetic and definitely an extremely modern, 1st-world problem, but still. I have it. For me, I specifically wish I watched more anime. I've seen so many people who "used" to watch more anime; it seems like the norm is a few step path:

1. You watch one anime that you love so much, you have to see more like it. So you start binging a bunch of anime.
2. Eventually, the anime don't feel like they hit as hard, and there seem to be so many that you don't have time to watch them all, and it's hard to choose what to pick anyways.
3. You've now become an anime fan, congrats! You probably watch anime like once a month, you've seen a bunch of great shows, but you just want something that hits as much the first time.

So yeah, I'm on step 3. There are actually a lot of good anime that I haven't seen, but I kinda got stuck rewatching anime I liked, and then burned out quicker. Now, I wish I could watch more, because some of the shows I've seen were amazing and engaging and made my heart swell with emotions. There's at least one anime--Your Lie in April--which I can say has changed my life (I just play piano more lol it's not that deep).

 

Part of what feels like the issue is that I started watching so much YouTube. YouTube videos feel so much easier to consume. The site recommends me random stuff, I scroll until something catches my eye, I click, if I get bored, I leave. No commitment. Little attention needed. Darn you, modern technology! I like the YouTube I watch; I think it's good content and not mindless stuff, but I don't like that I get bored watching anime. To be honest, though, I can't tell if it's that I actually get bored, or that I just think I'll get bored--I look at an anime and go "well, that might be good, but imagine all the time I have to spend to watch it getting good, I don't know, a YouTube video will just be 20 quick minutes of goodness", so I don't start watching it. How do you get yourself to watch something?

 

Actually, the last full anime I watched was Death Note, and it was because I found out it was available for free on YouTube. And I was able to watch it then, in only a week or two. What the heck is wrong with me? Something about the YouTube UI is so friendly and inviting that I was able to watch anime because of it when I hadn't watched a full anime that fast in a year. Something about being able to click on a video and then click off and come back later. Maybe other streaming services just need better UI and streaming windows. Netflix's always felt a little clunky, Crunchyroll's felt stiff. Maybe I'm just a YouTube elitist.

 

Lastly, recommend me some anime or manga! I'm not gonna lie, I probably won't watch or read it, but I'm trying to get some motivation to watch stuff. I like fantasy stories because the world's are so enchanting and mythical. I like stories where people aren't bound by the rules of physics or society; they just kinda do what they want and have cool powers and also a romantic relationship. Conflicts and unhappiness are resolved satisfyingly; the world becomes right. Sounds like a dream... Anyways, two anime I recommend are Your Lie in April and Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (Despite the name, I promise it is good and has basically 0 fan service).

Edited June 9, 2023 by Cassie
"I wish I could dive into the sea / but I'm stuck in a hive covered in honey."

[Cpt.Haxray 774 / 13,605]

Honestly, i used to watch TV a lot more, but a lot of the more interesting/fun TV shows have moved off to specific streaming services and it becomes a pain to track down what has what.

 

[Joshy 4,364 / 44,955]

I watch more, but it's still within the "rare" category of about 1 time per week.  It's mostly because my wife likes watching shows and I join, but before hand I almost never watched shows.

[Ben 2,378 / 31,867]

I watch more movies rather than TV shows, though it's because I just like to rewatch my favorite shows, which includes The Simpsons, Futurama, How I Met Your Mother, Friends, That '70s show and various other TV shows in late 90s to early 2010s. Netflix cancels too many shows when it finally gets me hooked on, so I kinda lost interest in finding new shows in that streaming site. 

 

I do recommend this show on Netflix called Heartstopper if you haven't watched yet. It's a LGBT coming-of-age drama series surrounding in I think primary school (or HS in American term because the show is British). It's based on the comics too, so they're having second season coming out in August. I'm currently watching this new show on Hulu called How I Met Your Father, a spin-off from HIMYM, I'd also recommend That '90s Show if you liked the original series.

Edited June 11, 2023 by Ben