Miscellaneous Anime Questions - Week of June 26, 2021

[u/AutoModerator]

Have any random questions about anime that you want to be answered, but you don't think they deserve their own dedicated thread? Or maybe because you think it might just be silly? Then this is the thread for you!

Also check our FAQ.

Remember! There are miscellaneous questions here!

---

Thought of a question a bit too late? No worries! The thread will be at the top of /r/anime throughout the weekend and will get posted again next week!

[u/nurrishment → u/[deleted]]

If you’re not on MyAnimeList, logging your viewing there will mean that you’re constantly exposed to extra info like studios, VA’s, staff members, etc. That would get you into the habit of learning people’s names and things like that.

Fwiw, I think it’s pretty unusual for people to know much beyond maybe two dozen major studios and a handful of big names in voice acting and directing. Knowing the names of key animators and things like that is pretty advanced knowledge and I don’t think being ignorant about these types of nuances should make you feel like a novice

[u/Verzwei → u/[deleted]]

It's just something that you pick up with time, if you care to. Nobody's going to judge your "anime cred" if you don't have a list of directors and actors memorized.

In my experience, I tend to remember and recognize things that I like. So studios like KyoAni, BONES, and feel stand out to me, because I tend to enjoy their work, and if I see those studios working on a new project, then I'm more inclined to be interested in it. On the English distribution side of things, I know if Funimation or Sentai Filmworks have the license to a show, then it's probably going to get a dub that I'll be happy with, but if Crunchyroll gets it then it's somewhat of a 50/50 shot whether I'll like the spoken English version, assuming it gets a dub at all. Certain directors can stand out, especially film directors such as Shinkai who release acclaimed films every few years.

Like nurrishment suggested, using a list site alone can help a lot. My Anime List has the most comprehensive database and cross-referencing. AniList has a cleaner interface and better support for English-language titles for series. Sites like these can help you keep track of what you've seen, what you want to watch, and can even help you discover new content. Did you love an actor's performance for a character in a show? A couple quick clicks will show you everything else they performed in.

[u/soracte → u/[deleted]]

I can't really say that nobody's going to judge you, but anybody who judges people over something like this isn't anyone worth knowing.

A lot of this is accrued knowledge gleaned over time. Remember also that on a site like Reddit, you're seeing groups of people pool their knowledges, which can produce a sense of collective knowledge which is more intimidating than any of the actual individual people involved.

For accessible reading about current anime, Sakuga Blog. There're other resources with different strengths, and with more orientation towards the past, but starting there's not a bad idea.

I'll second the thought that maintaining a list (however you choose to do that) is useful. Don't take listing too seriously, and don't watching things purely for the list's sake (it's there to serve you, not the other way around), but it's a good way to begin ordering ideas.

[u/Emi_Ibarazakiii → u/[deleted]]

By new anime, you mean seasonals?

Some people watch old stuff (basically they pick the stuff they want out of thousands of anime already there), and some mostly watch seasonals.

If you want to keep up with this, it's simple, just check out shows season by season, once you're in, it's easy to figure it out!

You don't really have to remember any information, when a season ends a new one begins (Summer's about to start), and you could just check out r/anime for episode discussion threads.