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Wrote off episodic anime for years, then a friend in Tulsa made me watch 4 episodes of Mushishi in one sitting | Anime Discussions - Vivisector

morgan.jason•1mo ago

Wrote off episodic anime for years, then a friend in Tulsa made me watch 4 episodes of Mushishi in one sitting

I always figured shows without a big ongoing plot were just filler and I would get bored fast. My buddy in Tulsa sat me down for 4 episodes of Mushishi back in March and I ended up watching the whole thing in two weeks. Turns out a good self contained story can hit harder than a 200 episode plot that drags in the middle. So for the folks who skip anything not serialized, what is the one episodic show that actually made you change your mind?

2 comments

2 Comments

shanec6125d ago

Gotta disagree with you on the plotless shows thing, because I don't think the lack of a big story is what makes them work. Mushishi is great but it's not great because it's episodic, it's great because the writing and mood are top notch, and honestly a lot of episodic stuff is boring filler too, just like a lot of long serialized shows drag. The real split isn't episodic vs serialized, it's good writing vs bad writing. Some of the best stuff ever made is one story stretched across 60 hours (Breaking Bad, The Wire) and some of it is single stories that stand alone (Twilight Zone, Black Mirror early seasons). What changed your mind wasn't the format, it was that your friend showed you something with actual craft behind it. So the question isn't really which format is better, it's whether the people making the thing care enough to make each piece count.

matthew37125d ago

@shanec61 you're not wrong that good writing beats format every time but I gotta say the format still matters. for me what changed things was realizing I don't need to binge. I can watch one episode of something like Mushishi, sit with it for a day, and that's the whole thing. no cliffhanger, no 3 season commitment. with Breaking Bad I couldn't do that, it pulls you forward whether you want it or not. so yeah the writing has to be there, but the episodic setup lets me actually enjoy it at my own speed instead of feeling like I have homework.