The subreddit's 5-year-old post on pacing fixed my binge problem

Last week I was scrolling through an old thread about why certain shows feel too slow. Someone had posted a breakdown of episode structure, pointing out that most 12 episode anime have a turning point at episode 4 or 5. I used to watch three episodes, drop the show, and call it boring. After reading that, I forced myself through episode 5 of a show I'd quit twice. The pacing clicked. Now I check where the turning point is before dropping anything. Has anyone else used episode counts to decide whether to give a show a real shot?

2 comments

2 Comments

nelson.wren1d ago

that episode 5 rule has saved me from quitting SO many shows. same here.

dylan4631d agoMost Upvoted

Episode 5 rule" works until you hit a show where episode 5 is the boring one and episode 6 is where it gets good. I learned that the hard way with a detective show, dropped it, then my buddy @nelson.wren made me watch episode 6 and I was hooked for four seasons. Now I use a "two episodes past the boring part" rule, which is less catchy but more reliable. Also, I once quit a cooking competition show at episode 5, and it turned out the winner was someone I knew from high school. Missed the whole thing because of that stupid rule. Still bitter about it.