If there’s one thing about anime it’s the fact that there’s ALWAYS something new every week, every month, and every year. And you can expect to see at 2 dozens of anime shows from various genres each season.
But the question is :
- How many is too many?
- Can you watch them all?
- Should you watch them all?
- What are the benefits?
- How you should you go about it?
All these questions and more come down to the pros and cons of watching anime every season, and how you can adjust.
Let’s get into it.
PROS:
1. You can watch at a relaxed pace
There are tons and tons of anime airing this season (Spring 2022) and it’ll almost be summer 2022 in less than a month!
One anime I’m watching and have been watching from the start is The Executioner And Her Way Of Life. It’s an Isekai with a new twist and female lead characters.
Because it’s airing now I can naturally watch it at a relaxed pace without:
- Rushing.
- Wasting too much time.
- Being hasty.
Or feeling like I don’t have time to be doing any of it. I mean it’s just 20 minutes per week. Most of everyone in the world has at least 20 minutes to spare.
Besides this anime I’m also watching:
- Spy x Family.
- Summertime Render.
- Aharen Is Indecipherable.
- The Demon Girl Next Door S2.
Anime like Shield Hero S2, Ascendance Of A Bookworm S3 are also on my list but to avoid overdoing it they’re on hold in the background.
As long as you’re not too invested in watching everything and you choose something specific to watch you can do it at a relaxed pace if watching seasonally.
Relevant: 8+ Anime Like The Executioner And Her Way Of Life (Recommended)
2. Keep up with anime trends
Assuming you care enough to pay attention to anime trends, what’s happening, what’s trending, polls, and all of that then watching anime every season gives you this benefit.
This is more important if you’re:
- An anime creator.
- You’re in the industry.
- You make YouTube videos.
- You’re a so called influencer.
Or anything else that’s relevant and would give you more of a reason to keep up with anime trends… Which watching anime every season allows you to do.
If you’re an anime fan in general though watching anime seasonally gives you the benefit of seeing what’s popular, and you could use that as a measuring stick for what to watch or consider.
Related: How To Convince Someone To Watch Anime (Especially Friends)
3. Weekly conversations
It’s no secret that anime fans all over the world use social media, forums, and so on to talk about anime and whatever else they’re interested in.
Watching anime every season gives you the benefit of being part of these weekly conversations, even if it’s just as a consumer or casual fan.
Some of those weekly conversations can be:
- Ratings.
- Opinions.
- Controversy.
- Comparisons.
- Observations.
And whatever else.
If you’re a creator it also gives you the chance to literally be part of the weekly conversations which leads to the next point…
4. Weekly topics to talk about/write about, etc
There’s no better fuel for a creator than an industry that’s filled with so much content, ideas, aspects, and things to talk about non stop.
Think about it:
- There are dozens of anime airing every season.
- People talk about those dozens of anime.
- Some of those anime become controversial.
- Some of those anime go mainstream.
- Others fall out of favor.
And so on…. And that gives you the advantage of being the front and center of a conversation by either:
- Sharing your opinion on it.
- Reviewing an anime.
- Discrediting an anime (if you don’t like it).
And basically giving your take which could gain a lot of attention. The “controversy” aspect is probably the most obvious that people talk about because people can’t shut up about it.
CONS:
5. Spoilers
The problem with watching anime every season is the massive amounts of spoilers depending on the series, but most anime can get this treatment.
On one hand if you’re keeping up with the anime you won’t be spoiled since whatever gets spoiled is something you already knew and was well aware of before the fact.
On the other hand if you’re not watching anime seasonally, you’re behind on an anime, or you’ve decided to NOT watch everything until it’s finished airing you’ll have problems.
Some people don’t know when to shut up because of the HYPE moments an anime can bring, or just the sheer shock value, surprise, and major twists that can take place.
Shounen anime are always the worst culprits when it comes to this like:
- My Hero Academia.
- One Piece.
- Boruto.
- Demon Slayer.
Or any anime with ongoing content like Kaguya Sama, Komi San, and others. Attack On Titan is another one that pissed a lot of people off.
Twitter is usually the main villain.
6. Harder to watch older/other shows simultaneously
This is something I’ve noticed myself. You just can’t watch a lot of (or a few) anime shows seasonally and expect to watch OLDER anime shows at the same time.
One of a few things will happen if you try:
- You’ll end up abandoning the older show you wanted to watch.
- You’ll fall behind with the seasonal anime content.
- You’ll half ass it and watch bits and pieces of both seasonal and other anime content.
- You won’t remember much because you haven’t invested in either properly.
Let’s say you wanna watch Neon Genesis Evangelion because you haven’t watched it yet, but you also wanna watch:
- Ascendance Of A Bookworm S3.
- Rent A Girlfriend S2.
- Shadows House S2.
- Bleach TWBW arc.
Or whatever anime you end up watching throughout 2022 and beyond… How can you do both? NGE isn’t short, and keeping up with so many anime has its own problems.
That leads to my next point….
7. Time management
Watching anime every season comes down to time. And when time is involved you’re basically talking about time management.
- How do you manage your time right?
- How do you watch anime seasonally in a way that’s productive?
- How do you avoid wasting your time?
Watching anime every season comes on top of whatever you’ve got going on in your life or whatever time constraints/responsibilities you need to take care of.
It’s gonna be different for everyone but it’s unavoidable if you plan on watching anime seasonally.
8. Impossible to binge watch
Goes without saying, or does it? When you decide to watch anime every season and keep up with multiple anime every week, which may air on different days, the concept of binging doesn’t exist.
You can’t binge something that’s still airing and hasn’t even finished. That’s obvious, but necessary to point out.
That also means you can’t finish an anime as fast as you want which could be convenient as far as time if you could do that with seasonal anime.
This is a con in this case, but a PRO if you don’t watch anime seasonally at all.
9. Cliffhangers
One of the worst things that can happen when watching a solid anime (or TV series) is cliffhangers. Everyone’s view is different on this but it does affect the experience.
Watching anime every season guarantees you’ll come across cliffhangers, regardless of whether those cliffhangers are good, bad, or ugly.
This is more of either a patience issue or an issue with the cliffhanger itself. It all comes down to the person.
It all comes down to you.
Recommended:
How To Deal With Anime Burnout And Become Interested Again