Preparing for the Perfect Binge Watching Session

I'm a binge watcher. I can't help it. Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll have all spoiled me rotten. I recently caught up to Fairytail's current release schedule. No longer can I spend 6+ hours immersed in the world of Fiore, now I can only enjoy it for 20 minutes once a week.

So, I did what I always do and went in search of another anime to binge watch while waiting for the new episodes of Fairytail to release. Then I began my ritual of preparing to binge watch the entire series in two days or less.

I've gotten it down to science, and as such I thought I'd share it with those that might be interested.

Step 1: Finish all chores, homework, work, etc. 

 Some of you might groan at this, but it's incredibly important. The key to a perfect Binge Watching session is a minimum of interruptions. If you've got important things that need to be done, like turning in an essay that's due on Monday, get it done now.

You might say, "oh, it'll be fine. I'll wait until I'm done with this and then crank out that essay in no time flat." But unless it's an anime you've seen before, you can't possibly predict how you're going to be feeling once you've finished watching it. Just imagine that you decided to binge watch Angel Beats, are you really going to feel like writing your essay after that ending?

Step 2: Take a shower and Put on Something Comfy

Chances are, you're not going to remember once you've gotten into the midst of whatever anime you've chosen. This is not only for the benefit of everyone around you, but your own benefit as well. Feeling grimy and nasty can seriously but a damper on your enjoyment of a show.

Don't forget to slip into something comfy (I prefer my Pjs) and preferably clean too.

Step 3: Round up Your Favorite Snacks and Plenty of Water

You're still going to have to come up for air around meal times, but there's nothing better than nervously chomping through pocky during super intense moments.

Be sure you drink plenty of water during this as well. If you're like me, then you absolutely love soda and probably drink it several times a day. That's not going to help you stay hydrated and healthy though. Yes, more water means you'll need to pee more often, but it also means fewer trips to the doctor because of infections. Which one is going to put more of a hamper on your anime watching time?

I personally keep a great big glass of water next to me at all times and take a sip every now and then. Then get up to refill it when I take a break for the bathroom or food.

Step 4: Communicate

It's not really fair to get pissed at the people in your life for interrupting your binge watching if they had no idea you were actually doing it. So take a few minutes to communicate your intentions to the people who are most likely to interrupt you.

Pro Tip: You'll have better success with parental figures if you approach it like this, "Mom/Dad, I finished all my chores and my homework. I'm going to go watch anime in my room now. Is there anything else you need me to do first?"

There's a good chance they'll be suspicious of you, especially if you're not usually this nice. Just tell them you'd like to watch your show with as few interruptions as possible and decided to get everything out of the way before hand.

Step 5: Find a binge watch worthy anime

Now this step may seem like a no-brainer, but it's really important. Take you time to read reviews and mentally prepare yourself for whatever you're about to watch. If you don't usually watch Slice of Life anime, then you're not likely to have the perfect binge session with one.

Figure out how much time you have to actually watch anime and choose your show based on that. I can comfortably watch 24 episode in two days and still have plenty of time for chores and various other things that need my attention. For less time than that, you might want to experiment with watching anime movies instead.

Step 6: When Someone Interrupts you, Don't be an ass

It's inevitable, someone will interrupt. They always do. Ignoring them, yelling at them, or just being rude aren't going to make them go away any faster and may actually make it more difficult for you to complete your session.

Just stay calm, pause your show, and address whatever it is that they need/want your attention for. Chances are you'll probably think it's dumb and that they could've waited until you were done. Don't voice that opinion. Keep the peace, by doing whatever they want as quickly as possible so you can get back to your show. They'll appreciate you taking the time to complete the task quickly, and without complaining, and be less likely to disturb you in the future.

Step 7: Don't be Discouraged

If things don't work out, if repeated interruptions get in the way, if the show you picked ended up really crappy or just confusing, then don't be discouraged. You can always try again next time. Not every single binge session you have will be able to be called "perfect."

Life gets in the way sometimes and no one can plan for that. Just keep your chin up, and try again next time.

Starting my Summer with Anime Awesomeness

I've been absent from updating for a little while, since real life stuff kept getting in the way of my anime time. But I'm back now and I thought I'd share the anime that I'm currently watching to get my summer started off right.

First up is Fairytail. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that's read my blog before. This show is pretty much my favorite thing ever, at least right now. A high powered battle-anime with a fantasy twist. Lots of really interesting characters and story arcs.

The best part is, if you've never watched it before, you'll have quite a lot of episodes to binge watch before you catch up to the current arc.

Next we've got, Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? This anime kind of took me by surprise. With a name like that, I was expecting a rather thin harem anime in a fantasy setting. What I got was a harem anime, in a fantasy setting, with a surprisingly complex world full of really interesting characters. And, unlike some harem anime out there, not every single female character in the show is obsessed with the main character.

This anime just finished up its first season. No word yet if it's going to get a second, but the first one is so good you should definitely give it a try.

No Game, No Life, another anime with only one season so far but definitely a must watch for the gamers out there. The premise is that a brother and sister gamer team gets pulled into a fantasy world where all conflicts are solved through games. I absolutely loved the main characters, and definitely enjoyed the plot.



Tokyo Ghoul, I'm currently on the second season of this and simply can't stop watching it. It's definitely not for the faint of heart. As far as bloody anime go, this isn't as bad as say Elfen Lied, but it does get pretty extreme. There's also a pretty extensive torture scenario in the first season that had me curling my toes in fear. Our hero starts out as pretty wimpy, and not all that interesting, but he definitely grows and changes as the series progresses.

What about you? Is there an anime you recommend watching this summer? Old or new, it doesn't matter. I'm always looking for new ideas on what to watch next. I'm thinking my next series will be either Yona of the Dawn or Parasyte: The Maxim unless I get some other suggestions here.

We're all Otaku, Can't We All Just Get Along?

I'm a little upset right now. Actually a lot upset. I felt that I really need to write a post about this and kind of get my feelings out there a bit.

So I was on Instagram last night and saw an image that someone posted. I can't find it now and I can't

remember exactly what it said, but it was basically someone in the Attack on Titan fandom berating another fan (and wishing they get eaten by a titan) simply because they didn't know that Shingeki no Kyojin was the Japanese name for the anime/manga.

In that person's mind, the other fan deserved death by titan because they didn't have the same level of knowledge. 

Do you realize how idiotic that is?

If someone shares your fandom why the hell would you disparage them!? If they lack the same level of knowledge as you, then enlighten them! Don't be an asshole. 

Someone is not an Otaku based on how much, or how little, they know about anime. They're otaku based on their love for anime, manga, and all things Japan. 

I know I made a post a while back talking about this very subject, but I feel it needs to be touched on again. In that post, I mention that being an Otaku is more than just how many anime you've watched. It's also more than how knowledgeable you are about Anime. 

Imagine a scenario where you come across someone who doesn't know that Princess Mononoke and My Neighbor Totoro were made by the same studio. They've never even heard the name Hayao Miyazaki. But they've still got a totoro hoodie, they've memorized all the lines in Japanese and English, they cosplayed Mononoke at the last con they went to. 

I admit, that scenario is kind of far fetched, but it's not implausible. Would you say that person is less of a fan than you are? 

Personally I'd embrace that person, compliment their cosplay, and introduce them to the rest of the Ghibli films. I'd share my knowledge with them which would not only benefit them, but potentially earn me a life long friend. 

We Otaku get picked on and misunderstood enough by people who don't understand us and our obsession. Try as we might, we're always going to be somewhat misunderstood by people who just haven't accepted that anime is more than a Japanese Cartoon. 

Why then should we isolate and push away people that actually share our fandom? Instead of telling someone they're not an Otaku because they've only ever watched Naruto, why don't you say "Hey, if you liked Naruto then I bet you'll like Fairy Tail as well."

If you make an effort to improve the people around you, your own life will be improved as well. 

I hope someone reads this and takes something away from what I've shared here today. I feel it's important, not only to Otaku but to everyone. 

Bloody Anime

I've dabbled in the "horror" anime a little. Not much, mind you, but a little.

My very first one was Blood+ but it wasn't that bad in the long run. I enjoyed the story a lot and found it to be a very interesting twist to the whole Vampire thing. I've been actively avoiding Blood C, I've heard people say it was terrible and I'd like to avoid spoiling an anime that's nearly perfect in my mind.

The next one was Elfen Lied. Let me tell you, I was not prepared for that. It was well above the level of blood and gore that Blood+ exposed me to. But, at least in my opinion, the gore always seemed to make sense for the sake of the story. It's been a long time since I've watched it all the way through so I might be mis-remembering,

Since then I've watched a number of different anime, all with varying levels of blood and gore. Not all of them could be classified as "horror" but some of the scenes might be described as "horrifying."

I couldn't name them all even if I tried.

The most recent "bloody" anime I watched was Psycho Pass. Which I completely enjoyed. I keep hearing that there's more to it than what I was able to watch on Netflix. I'll have to do some more research to find out if that's true or not. But anyway, as with Elfen Lied and Blood+, I always felt like the gore and the blood made sense for the story that was being told.

So I've been sitting here waffling back and forth on this decision that I'm sure is going to affect me.

I'm considering watching Parasyte - the maxim- because it sounds really interesting and the plot is actually kind of intriguing to me. But every time I see the trailer for it, I kind of wince a little and peek at the screen through squinted eyes because I'm not sure I want to see it or not.

However, the manga has supposedly won several awards and is being made into a pair of live action movies. Apparently the first one earned something like 800 million yen in it's first two weeks, that's roughly 6.6 million US dollars.

So obviously it's good. Obviously people like it. I just don't know if I'm too much of a weenie to handle it or not.

Thoughts?