Anime Marathon Musings

When I watched the first couple episodes of Your Lie in April at Fanime, I got really into it, and was very excited to have my anime night start watching it. However, when we started watching it as a group, one episode a week, I did not get anywhere near as into it as I remembered I had been. I’m not sure about the other members of my group, but I don’t think any got really caught up in it. I chalked this up to my sleep-deprived state at Fanime giving me a skewer perception of the show or something. However, I watched more of Your Lie in April both Saturday and Sunday night, and after a couple episodes, I started getting really invested in it again, with episodes easily bringing tears to my eyes as the first couple did when I first watched them.

Thinking on this more, and on our previous experiences, I believe that some anime are well suited to marathons, some well suited to watching one episode a week and some good either way. A few of my favorite shows I’ve watched both in a weekly setting and a marathon setting, and with mixed results. Gankutsuou (retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo) seemed to work great in both forms. Bakemonogatari has an episode that has made me get very emotional the three times I watched it with three different weekly anime groups, however when we watched the whole show in a marathon format, its impact was negligible. I think that show is notably better in a week format, probably due to the fact that it is full of fluff and eye candy that can easily be distracting from the deeper tale of the main characters’ romance that is being woven throughout it. Without time to mull over things and have them sink in, it’s does not have as much of an impact. I guess, also, when a favorite character is gone for a week or two, you miss them, whereas if they simply don’t show up for 24 minutes of a marathon, it’s nothing much. I think Your Lie in April on the other hand is best suited to a marathon form, though I can’t exactly put my finger on why. Maybe I’ll have more to say on this once I finish the show. For my previous anime night attendees, I have an assignment for you! If you had any interest at all in the show, watch 2-3 episodes a night for a few nights until you finish it, and let me know if it improves your opinion of the show (or if you already really liked the show, let me know, though I didn’t really get that vibe =).

Speaking of Gankutsuou, currently being in Venice, and seeing all of the shops selling fancy dress and masks, I really want to make a Gankutsuou costume… and I think I need to re-watch that show  one more time before visiting Chateau d’Ilf in May… =)