Question open to all
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Hey Fam,
How is everyone doing, staying away from sun burn I hope! Joined Funimation recently and I have a question for all my fellow subscribers:How do you figure out what to watch?
I've always watched anime but not on the level I am not after subscribing to Funi, but all the shows I've known or heard about I've already finished. With about 1000 shows I've never seen or heard of, having trouble figuring out what's good to watch. How do you guys figure it out?
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Easiest place to start is to figure out what genre you're interested in and narrow the search down. Whether it be high school, mecha, fantasy, card games, ecchi, music, etc... there's something new. Once you know the genre you're interested in, and have exhausted the list of obvious choices, turn to the forums, blogs, news groups and go through the list of recommendations/reviews. A lot of the older anime are just as good as the new stuff, but a bit harder to find info about unless you either dig or get a recommendation to watch. However, be aware that just because a recommendation says it's good doesn't mean that you're going to like it. Hands down the worst anime I've ever watched was a recommendation from someone that ranted about how great it was. I personally couldn't believe they actually watched it and still able to talk about anything other than how it was a massive waste of time.
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I built most of my queue by watching top tens on Youtube and by spotting names that come out often in discussions on anime forums and websites.
Since you just subscribed to Funimation, I would recommend that you follow them on some social media and/or on Youtube, they regularly post videos and trailers for their licenced series. Browsing this actual forum could also help you find some interesting one too.
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First off, welcome to the forums! Whenever I watch any series, I either check out ANIChart (here) or Live Chart (here) for show descriptions and see what interests me. I also check out Anime Youtubers to see their take on for a variety of series. I listen to podcasts and they are very helpful too. Like what the_krock said, look at Funimation's Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, blog, and forum.
Hope you find what you're looking for!
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Narrow it down to whichever genres interest you the most (romance, comedy, shounen, etc) then use a database tool like MyAnimeList or something like that to see which shows are highly rated. Read the descriptions and if the show is licensed by Funimation, and if any catch your eye, that's a good place to start
If you have favorite shows already, you can check the recommendations section on your favorite show's page on MyAnimeList as well and see which shows have been recommended by other users, and narrow your search from there
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When I was newer to anime, I would looks up shows in My Anime List (still use it). For shows I liked, I would look at related shows and ones that other users have recommended for that show (similar story, themes, etc). If there is a genre I like, I would look at other shows in the same genre or a mix of genres. Sometimes I look at popular or highly rated shows and see if anything there looks interesting. For upcoming shows, I just look at the list and read synopsis and genres and hope there is something interesting. I do tend to try most of the airing shows.
Last year and again this year, I have participated in the MAL Anime Watching Challenge. Basically, there is a list of 75 (for this year, 50 in the past) challenges based on type, genre, rating etc. You don't have to do them all, (this year there was a bingo card with 49 random challenges and you don't have to do that whole card). It does get me watching some things I would not watch normally.
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Welcome to the fam Gymrat0331!
In addition to the great advice above, there's also a built-in Discover by Mood page:
https://www.funimation.com/moods/
It suggests anime based on wherever the feels take you! Whether it be:
-Classics
-TearJerkers
-Underrated Gems
-Doom & GloomYou might find an old favorite or something new to love!
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How do I figure out what to watch?
I usually go to either Anichart or Livechart and see whats coming up, and then see what shows might be interesting.
Then I read the descriptions of the shows and make a watch list , then when they get announced and the first episode pops up I'll trim the list if any of the shows don't hold my interest. Also don't be afraid to watch shows that are outside your normal genre preferences. You might find something you like, and if not you can drop it. Easy as that.
As for older shows, best thing to do is ask other Forum members here, or Anime Network Forums etc. They can give you a perspective as to whether a show you're uncertain about might be up your alley.
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Divide and conquer.
https://www.funimation.com/shows/all-shows/
Go to a listing that has everything and just page through everything; about 300-400 items if I remember correctly.
How you know which one is good? Look at the pictures. The name, perhaps. "Judging a book by its cover" may not be "a 100% throughput"; given the otherwise overwhelming predicament otherwise, it still remains highly effective strategy. You don't have to find everything on the first pass... Like disk defrag, takes awhile. After all, a cover is still part of the book, is it not?.......
Let the "characters speak to you". Try to be open minded when going about it. Once you find some, research it on Wikipedia, it has everything. The two scans should give you a pretty good idea what to expect before going in and watching at all.
Once you get good at it, works like a charm. Also, good way to find more of what you like once you know what that is, because you will quickly recognize the patterns.
The only real question remains dub v sub, but that requires a wide range of new techniques... Another time, perhaps...
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I'll make a simple check list for you
•Cute girls [✓]
•Aforementioned girls doing cute things[✓]There you have it. Just follow this and you can't go wrong.
Now I know what your thinking:
"MRy27 what do I do when I've exhausted all options in the cute girls doing cute things genre?"Well don't worry I have you covered. With my handy simple checklist the second.
•Cute girls [✓]
•Aforementioned girls doing cute things...but some tragedy occurs that makes you cry manly tears and you curse the heavens however everything works out in the end [✓]Enjoy.
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@MRy27 said in Question open to all:
•Cute girls [✓]
•Aforementioned girls doing cute things...but some tragedy occurs that makes you cry manly tears and you curse the heavens however everything works out in the end [✓]Enjoy.
Internet search for these genre didn't produce a lot of anime related results ;)
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Here's one method that I take: Take about 10 or so shows that catch your eye, then create a spinning wheel using Wheel Decide.
Give the wheel a spin, then watch an episode or two of whatever it lands on. Then rinse and repeat.
Here's my own current wheel, if you're interested to see how it works.
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@SpacemanHardy You've gotta do something about that wheel. Some of the stuff I haven't seen, but there are some seriously good shows that you need to complete.
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@pleco_breeder You're not wrong. Perhaps I'll give it a few spins this weekend.
The problem is I've been spending all my free time between #YearOfFairyTail, as well as watching an episode each of Little Witch Academia and Erased every day, and spending what little time I do have left alternating between my Outlaw Star blurays and the recently released dub of New Game season 1.
