Title basically covers it, I'm curious to see how you all decide if one is good, because there are some that are well, not so good. This can be for either a Anime Series or Manga.
Series I usually watch 2 episodes before I decide if I like it.
Manga I usually borrow Book 1 from a friend/Library and read it.
It depends on the length of the series. For an anime that is only 11 or 12 episodes long, I'll usually watch the entire thing and then consider the series as a whole. For longer anime, I'll give it 5 or so episodes to capture my attention. I've learned to never judge a manga series based on its first volume due to the fact that many authors are still finding their feet and sorting out story and characters. After about 3-5 volumes I usually feel safe enough to make a definite decision on whether to continue or not.
For an anime I usually have to watch the first 3 or 4 episodes before I decide whether or not I like it enough to buy it. It generally takes me only one episode to decide whether I like a series or not though. As for manga I usually know after reading the first 3 volumes. Three seems to be the magic number for me when it comes to manga, 1 introduces the characters and story, 2 sets things up for background and 3 usually kicks the actual story off. Although in my case I tend torwards long or semilong manga series.
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That makes sense. I'll try to do that with the next series that takes awhile to pick up. I don't read much anime, find watching a series about it, well more entertaining even if I miss alot.
Yes I'll admit, I cry at the end of good animes.
It's a shame you don't read much manga. There are a lot of really good series that haven't been made into anime.
As for me, how long I wait before determining whether a series is good or not... it varies quite a bit. It's a lot easier to say how fast I can determine that I dislike something, which is usually volume 1 or episode 1.
Whether a series is actually good or not... for short series I also usually don't decide until I've finished it. Longer one's I'll give about 4-5 episodes to decide whether it's worth continuing, though some of the really long ones have gotten worse over time.
Then there are the amazing series, occasionally I can tell within the first episode or 2 that I'm absolutely going to adore a series, but this doesn't happen very much, though an example of one for me would be Bakemonogatari.
note: I'm currently listening to the OST of said series.
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If I enjoy it
Well this is both an easy and a hard question. 1st theres the general questions like, Is this anime well exicuted?, are the story & characters appealing? Is the pacing good? If based on a manga, light novel, etc, Is it fairly true to the source material? Is the animation good? does it have a decent level of and balance between quality and entertainment value?
So yes theres many questions I ask myself while watching a show, and then of course theres some additions, subtractions or alterations to these depending on the shows Genre. Afterall one has diffrent expectations for diffrent types of shows. For example I expect A high-bugdet series or an artsy series to be pretty good, so my expectations are high. but with more genaric stuff, or more cheap-niche type shows, I lower my expectations to meet the genere... If a genaric shonen can etnertain me, I'll most likely enjoy it, If a niche-cutsy moe fest can relax me, I'll probably enjoy it, however if a genaric shonen or cutsy-moe show actually fail at being fun as they should be, I probably wont like them.
So yeah I guess im pretty picky when it comes to anime..but theres so dang much of it these days you have to be, Its like digging through the haystack to find the needle, lol.
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I look for the art style and story description, before anything else.
If theres a style I've started to like a lot I'll tend to patrol around in that territory for a bit. Unless I get really board I tend to not quit a series. however really long series and I am talking the MEGA series like pokemon or dragonball, I don't tend to watch threw the entire thing, there are some exceptions here and there though.
To me, it all comes down to if the writers can create an awesome story with equally awesome characters.
Everything else regarding the production (music and art, for example) doesn't really concern me.
I am usually quick in my judging if a series is good or not, even for series that I like. The factors that I use are if the series has a good story, awesome characters and probably most importantly, if the music works well with the subject at hand in the series. I can usually tell if I like a series just by the music.
My Animation Appreciation forum
Pretty much same way I decide if any other visual entertainment medium is good.
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