Its (about) Me, Not You

By Upaasana Kartik

An Unhelpful Guide on How to Escape the Anime Viewer’s Block

One of the significant non-academic blows I have been facing for the past year is not being able to get into anime. That is a particular concern for me, specifically because I want to write anime reviews, but the logistics of my life don’t allow for that to happen. So what am I doing in this blog entry (because this sure isn’t a review)?

I am going to share 5-minute-crafts-esque DIY “get back to watching anime” Tips and Tricks.

It’s honestly very easy.

Step 1: don’t leave anime.

And you’re set! Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

If you failed step 1, welcome. You can sit on the losers bench with me because I failed too.

The question now is what to do after you’ve failed step 1, which is something I’ve been trying to figure out for, honestly, more than a year now.

I started my journey, like you would expect, with a New and Exciting anime and it just didn’t work. It seemed cool, but I just kept avoiding it.
Then I forced myself to sit through a whole anime just so that I could write about it… Didn’t work either.
[But that review is out if you want to check it out! Along with many even better reviews on the Anime Club @ Ashoka medium page! Hint Hint!!]

But obviously, that was going too far. Enjoying anime comes from the heart [and from a deep desire to exoticize a culture as yours has been in the past]. The right answer was staring me in the face!

I decided to watch my first ever anime. Okay, maybe not first ever, because my first ever was Death Note and considering how I wasn’t able to finish it back then, I doubt I’d be able to finish it now… Detour aside, I did go back to my official first anime. You know how they say you never forget your first? It’s true. Haikyuu truly came through.

Now mind you, it may or may not work for everyone. It didn’t work with this other anime that I loved, but maybe it’s just Haikyuu. Maybe it’s my bias. I guess we’ll never know.

My return has only been a few months in the making and, though I breezed through Haikyuu like nobody’s business, I have honestly been struggling with sticking with anime through and through. I wish there was a cure-all to the viewer’s block. A First world problem, I agree, but the guilt from being self-critical is undeniable and universal.

So what was the point of this entire blog post? Well, 2 things.

1. To tell you that even within the ANIME club, people are struggling with this, so it’s okay to lose interest in things that gave you loads of joy. You can return to it as and when you want to and greet it like an old friend.
2. The REAL REASON: I want to give my unofficial and very biased ranking of the shows that I watched (and am watching) during my watcher’s slump and score them very fairly (no, I take no criticisms) out of 10.

List of Viewer’s Slump watches in almost chronological order but really do you even care? If you’re here, you’re here for the tea:

• Promised Neverland: Season 1 was bomb, season 2 bombed 4/10
• Jujutsu Kaisen: never got around to watching more than 3–5 episodes, ineffective. But was fun! 6/10
• Ahiru No Sora, yes the anime I reviewed: SO MUCH WORK FOR NO PAYOFF!!! DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! 2/10
• Black Clover: Too long for me to even think of starting, still watched a bit. Watching Asta, I could relate to why Kageyama wanted to beat Hinata up so bad. 2/10 only because TOO DAUNTING

• Bungo Stray Dogs: Dazai being a MOOD for the semester 🥰🥰🥰 Also Miyano Mamoru as VA 🥰🥰🥰 10/10 but couldn’t get through the whole thing, so -2
  Final score: 8/10
• Free!: MY BINGE GOT INTERRUPTED AHHHHH 5/10

• Demon Slayer: ALMOST WORKED! I watched the whole thing and then there wasn’t more!!!! IT COULD HAVE WORKED 9.5/10
• Fruits Basket: Cool premise, a bit meh (I’m mostly a shounen and/or sports anime fan) also got distracted halfway. (5/10 but because most of it was my fault:) 5.5/10
• Kaguya Sama: God tier! I wish I had watched more!! Would give it a second shot! 8/10

• My Hero Academia: CANNOT REWATCH! TOO MUCH 6/10 for sheer meme value.
• Banana Fish: WHY THE GAY NO HELP?! 3/10
• Haikyuu!!: THE QUEEN HERSELF 1209387486/10
• Kuroko No Basuke: Sports and they don’t win in the first go, so 8/10

As you can see, I’m just a simple girl. Give me emotional support fictional guys and I will get into the fandom.

In conclusion, try these if you haven’t yet? They might help! Also, (genuine plea) if you have any other Anime that you think may help my slump (you should have known this was going to be about me and only me) please recommend, I need help.

P.S. There are way too many shows here with Miyano Mamoru as the VA! Is there an answer there? Food for thought… (or not)