Just a few days ago, a blog post at the Behind the Nihon Review had myself thinking about the usefulness of the three-episode test I have been using for the past three seasons and questioning the rationale of dropping Anime. As we all know, fans have different tastes and expectations when it comes to the shows they watch. After I took a look of the three episode taste tests and the number of shows I dropped in the past two years, its quite obvious that dropping Anime is rather difficult for myself and I haven’t found a good reason to do so (Image Source).
With each passing season, new shows start airing. For some, it gives them a feeling that they must try each airing Anime out to see which one is worthwhile to watch and ones to drop. Some people do this through a “Three Episode Test” (also called the Three Episode Taste Test) to get a good idea of how the show will potentially be. When I started the initiative back in the Fall 2010 Anime Season, I have only found myself dropping only two shows and continued watching the rest. For me, it was just a glorified three episode impressions posts that didn’t do much.
The main flaw with the “Three Episode Test” is that one never realizes what lies ahead after the third episode since things could get better. For instance, when I watched the first three episodes of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, I thought it’s going to be more of the cute girls doing cute thing. Later on, the jokes got more entertaining as the girls are thrown into more absurd situations like the “Prince and the Pauper” parody in Episode 5. The belief of “the show can better” weakens the effectiveness of the taste testing since three episodes is only a small part of the overall picture unless the show is so terrible that most people are going to stop it. Then again, there were some instances that shows that failed to meet my exceptions like the poorly done ending of Fractale. This belief is going to depend on the viewer and the show he or she watches.
Since I’m on the topic of taste testing, dropping Anime is closely related. As everyone knows, I’m a somewhat generous critic and I tend to enjoy most of the stuff I decide to watch with a few exceptions. To me, dropping a show is liken to giving up since you do not know how the show ends. However, there are some exceptions where I had to drop since the show is completely unwatchable or there is something in the show that made me uncomfortable. For instance, Yosuga no Sora had a good story, but the explicit sexual scenes caused me to feel uneasy. In another instance, I have dropped Rio: Rainbow Gate since the story was incredibly senseless and it focused more on what revealing outfits should Rio wear in each episode.
Then again, this is where my pickiness comes in handy as I only pick a few shows that spark my interest and I would stick with them throughout the whole season. I feel that watching everything the season has to offer is not the best way to see what shows to watch since it could cause Anime fatigue. Only focusing on a select few has enhanced my viewing experience for the best, reduced the need to drop and refined my watching habit.
In conclusion, the “Three Episode Test” effectiveness has increasingly become very iffy from my experience. Some people may prefer doing it this way, which is fine. I just feel that trying every show that airs in a new season is not an ineffective way of determining what show to watch as three episodes doesn’t tell the whole story most of the time, especially when one is blogging about it. This is probably a reason why I continue to only pick a few shows and stick with them like some people have done. Also, dropping anime is also very subjective and can vary person to person. In the end of the day though, you should ask yourself “Why am I dropping this show?” or “Can it get better after this point?” Even if the show manages to be continually bad, there will always be something in the show that you have enjoyed. This is probably the reason why I haven’t dropped Oretachi. Even if the story is a pile of mediocrity, at least it had some funny jokes and cute girls.
For me, a “taste test” is simply necessary to know if a show is worth watching at all and to “rank” it in some way so I know what to watch at a given time. I don’t expect that I will watch “the best” shows as they air, nor do I care. I just pick whatever my mood wants to watch at the time. I’m also not the type that minds watching older shows, so I can probably get away with it partly because of that.
So generally, I follow those shows I am enjoying the most, and let the others sit on the backburner until I have more time. If I’m no longer sure that I’m enjoying a show that much, I’ll swap it for one that’s on the backburner (of which there is no shortage). By then I probably have more of an idea of who is enjoying it and who isn’t and can adjust my expectations accordingly to get the most out of it.
However, there are two reasons I might not adhere to this policy. First, if a show seems more fun to discuss online while it’s airing, which happens once in a while even for less-popular series. Second, when I don’t have the time to seriously watch something that begs my attention. I usually just watch the fluffier stuff I can tolerate, and wait to marathon the better stuff when I have the time.
It’s completely understandable that taste testing is a good idea, especially with new series since nobody knows how they are going to end up. On the other hand, it’s the complete opposite with older series since there are blogs and sites who already write reviews on the whole series. Unless you are streaming an older series off Crunchyroll or watching them on Anime Network, there is amount of money you are committing to watch the show legally. Once you commit yourself, there is no turning back, but it wouldn’t be a problem with the stuff I mentioned earlier…
Since I’m a busy blogger, I tend to put off some shows and marathon it at the end, which kind of leaves a lot of shows lingering on my watching list… but one day I’ll complete them.
I think the three episode taste test is driven by the “it might get better” phenomenon. One could judge shows based solely on the first episode, but that might not be a true representation of the series, so three episodes are intended to give it a chance to make its case before coming to a conclusion. Granted it STILL might get better, but I basically leave it to others to write reviews about shows I might have dismissed too early. If I read a review that says the show turned out to be different than what I expected (based on 3 episodes, or whatever), I have the opportunity to return to it.
As to dropping, I drop a lot of series, some after 3 episodes, some after 1, sometimes I get sick of a show somewhere along the way (that is past the 3 episodes). In general I don’t worry about dropping a show, because if I’m not enjoying it, I have better things to do with my time.
While three episodes may be enough in most cases as most shows are 11-13 episodes, there are still going to be a few shows that is going to take more than three episodes in order to understand the whole feeling of the story, especially longer series. But then again, people tend to dismiss shows even earlier than the promised three episodes, which kind of miss the whole point of effective taste testing. Then again, first impressions do mean a lot with anything in life and if the first episode manages to do bad, the average viewer is going to dismiss it unfairly… On the flip side, the general aniblogosphere tends to give shows a chance, which is a good thing.
On my end, as I’ve grown older, time has become the scarcest commodity out there and I just can’t waste it on zero or negative value activities. So while college was a great time to sample as much anime as possible, it’s not so doable now. This time, instead of taste-testing, I just pick up a few shows I know will be good (I’ve got a decent track record of identifying stuff I’ll like) and then sit and wait for all the reviews from people I trust to come out before I venture into other stuff.
While I still have 1 and a half years of college left, I find it pretty stressful if I go out and watch everything the season has to offer. Picking a few shows and then replacing them if I don’t like them is usually the strategy I go after to reduce fatigue.
Then again, it depended on my workload since a year ago, I had easy classes but the spring semester of this year kind of stressed me out. This was the reason why I didn’t blog as frequently. As they say, watching and blogging anime is not an easy task, but it’s worth it.
Well I usually give things the same treatment just three episodes, if things don’t improve I drop em fast but I did go back recently to watch Oretachi with episode 4 things finally got into “story mode” so that kind of helped. For me I always look at production quality sure a show can look amazing and cool but he story could always be crap, generally I drop if I get bored or don’t really even care anymore.
For me, the story, characters and the aesthetics means a lot when it comes to watching any type of Anime. This is why I am not too keen of watching everything in the roof because I’m not a Caustic Critic who is out to harshly criticize every show in the roof. Anime for me is a medium of enjoyment and it’s something that I don’t want to become something joyless. This is the main reason I avoid watching terribad shows, because I know it’s bad… On the other hand, there are people that enjoys watching shows fail… Different strokes for different folks I guess.
If I taste test a show and find that it doesn’t strike my fancy within the first three episodes, I tend to put it on hold, following reviews/blog posts to see if anything good or interesting crops up. If I had just dropped any show that I didn’t like, I would’ve dropped Eva long before it got good, something that I know I’d eventually regret.
While it is a good rule to follow, I don’t think that it means any show should be outright tossed out rather than put on the back burner, even if the quality is horrendous.
I agree with you considering that most people just drop shows without realizing the potential of getting better in the future… When I drop shows that are still airing, I still check other people who are blogging the show to see the direction it’s heading in. I did this for nearly all the dropped shows, besides Haruhi-chan/Churuya-san since there was no point in doing so. So far, I haven’t been convinced to do a “No show is dropped forever” thing since there is no compelling reason… Yosuga no Sora, well maybe when I have the courage to look pass the borderline softcore porn. Besides from that, I think it’s a good practice that most people should get into.
I usually don’t go as far as the third episode. Though this may be naive of me, I drop [airing] shows based on their first episode. For shows that have already aired, I feel a bit more attachment (I mean, I spend all that time downloading the series…).
In either case, I rarely regret dropping shows. After years of watching girl cartoons, I’ve developed a sense of what I’m looking for in anime. First episodes say a lot about how the rest of the show is going to be structured, if I’ll like the characters, etc. so I’ve come to trust my gut on this.
On three episodes not being enough: I think that’s a bit ridiculous. First episodes may not tell that much, but three episodes should be enough to give people an idea of what to expect from the show. If you go on any further, you’d practically be watching the entire show. If it turns out “it gets better” isn’t true, then you’d’ve wasted a bunch of time on a crappy anime.
But then again, if you have the time…
I disagree with you mainly because most people fall in the “first impressions” trap. Unless it’s a comedy/slice of life/harem show, you are most likely missing a lot by giving up in the first episode. While first impressions do matter a lot to people, it doesn’t give an accurate indication of how the show will end up… It’s just like writing off Hidan no Aria since it has a Rie Kugimiya tsundere in it… without realizing the rest of the cast and the action scenes!
Being a good critic or viewer is always fair and giving shows a chance with at least three episodes minimum. From experience, one episode is never going to be enough to get a sense of enjoyment, not alone 3 minutes of watching the first episode. So, I definitely recommend to try harder, even if the first few episodes may look bad as there is no harm doing so. Also, doing some research before watching like reading other people’s first impressions (spoilers withholding) also helps.
Whatever floats your boat is fine…
“Three episode test”, makes a lot of sense. Time is valuable and we don’t have the time to watch that much anime if it’s not really worth it xD
Thanks for sharing! 😀
I agree with you that the whole ‘3 episode test’ isn’t a good gauge to determine whether an anime is worth dropping or not, and like you, I often resort to just sticking to a few animes throughout the season after reading their synopsis on various anime sites. (Then again, synopsis alone isn’t enough to determine one’s hours over 3 months to fully appreciate and analysis the anime)
I think it also depends on the animation studio producing the animes and the writers for the animes. If I like the animation studio or writer for a particular anime, I tend to stick to it longer than 3 episodes, even if the first 3 episodes were horrible.
After years of following anime, my best technique is the ‘quarter to half’ one. I handpick a few animes from each season that fall in genres I enjoy or animation studios/writers I like. Then if an anime is supposedly going to last for 12 episodes, I’ll watch a minimum of 3 episodes (a quarter of 12). If the 3 episodes were horrible, they’ll fall in my ‘pending’ list and if it get worse from episode 4 to 6 (half of 12), I’ll drop it for good. Same goes for 26-episodes or 24-episodes animes.
Because I believe that if you didn’t enjoy at least half of the anime, it isn’t worth your time. I think that animes (and mangas) have a purpose of entertaining or bringing across a message. If it can’t even entertain you or you don’t care/don’t get the message its trying to bring across to you, there’s no point.
It may be a good anime for others, but you shouldn’t waste your time on something that can’t entertain you.
Unless you disagree or wish to express your opinions on my message, there’s no need to reply this message(: I’ve been following this blog for a while so I thought that as a fellow anime fan, I should at least show my support by sharing my own opinions since you took time out to share yours (:
Keep up the good work (: