Had a conversation with a guy at the record store about pacing in anime

I was browsing used DVDs last Saturday and this older dude overheard me complaining that One Piece felt too slow. He said shows like that are meant to be savored, not binged, and that I was probably missing all the small character moments. Now I'm wondering if I've been ruining shows by watching them too fast, does anyone else feel like they need to unlearn how they watch?

2 comments

2 Comments

singh.jessica23d agoTop Commenter

I had this exact same experience about a year ago with the show Monster. I was so used to blasting through shows on Netflix that I finished the whole thing in a long weekend. Then I read some forum posts about how people were discussing individual episodes and the tiny details in the animation or the soundtrack, and I realized I remembered practically none of that. So I went back and watched it again, one or two episodes a night, and it was like watching a completely different show. All those small facial expressions and pauses between dialogue started to mean something. Now I force myself to wait at least a day between episodes of anything that feels thoughtful, and I'm honestly enjoying stuff way more than when I tried to finish everything in a rush.

brookefox23d ago

Saw this article the other day about how our brains actually process information better when we give it time to sit between episodes. Makes a lot of sense now that I think about it, kinda like how you remember a dream better if you don't jump up right away.