Series you once enjoyed, but now can't stand to watch

[AVPen]

I'll get the ball rolling with an oldie from the days of Toonami:

Gundam Wing
Nearly a decade ago (jeez, I've gotten old), this show captured my tv viewing with it's (at the time, original to me) social politics, mecha action, and interesting characters that you didn't see in standard US cartoons. Recently, I went back and started watching the DVDs again... only to shut the TV off, bang me head against the wall, and wonder:
- Why did I never notice the large amount of reused animated shots on the mechs? (yeah, I know it's TV animation and all, but still...)
- Why are gundam pilots better looking than the women and how can boys that pretty be such asskicking soldiers of death?
- Why is every female character (except for Major Sally and maybe Hilde) such incompetent, male-obsessive, bipolar, and/or psychotic freaks?! :anger200:
- What's with the end credits with Relena being all smiling and happy-go-lucky in Africa with the animals? (she was never THAT happy in the show)
- Why is Zech's "end game" plan the exact same stategy of other Gundam series antagonists? (aka. "Chuck a Huge Object at the Earth to Teach Humanity a Lesson)
- Was there ANY point to the plot of Endless Waltz? (the characters didn't grow/develop at all, Mariemaia came out of absolutely nowhere, the politics were some of the most heavy-handed sermonizing I've ever watched, the redesign of Wing Zero was atrocious, and the anticlimatic ending made me vomit)

[something]

I can't think of any shows I once liked that I now outright hate. There are some I can't watch because my tastes have changed or they just haven't aged well though. I mean, Gundam Wing is the show that got me into anime, but I've tried to rewatch it a couple times and never got more than a few episodes in. It's not bad or anything, it's just no longer anything I really want to watch.

This thread is also similar to the recent thread here: http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showthread.php?t=87798

[yabasugi]

As much as I enjoy rewatching one or two episodes of Hell Girl, I don't think I feel up to rewatching the entire series. The first run through was entertaining and in the end I thought it was a good series. But because of the show's format, I'm not sure the suspense is there any more if I were to revisit the entire series.

I think I could say the same regarding other shows that I've finished, where only one viewing would be enough for me.

[Thomas Alan]

Going back to my own childhood there's Voltron, which just hasn't aged well.

[Suwako Moriya]

I used to be a fan of Gundam Wing, but now I've completely lost interest in Gundam in general. It just doesn't do much for me. I think the main reason I used to like Gundam Wing was mostly the insert songs. Regardless my interest with Gundam died with Seed. I came to the conclusion that the formula of the series wasn't for me. That and quite frankly the franchise is way too over whelming.

Given my recent talk in other parts of the forum, one that definitely comes to mind is School Rumble. Back when I was watching it, I found the series fun. However time has not been favorable to it. My opinion of the series has lowered quite a bit. I can't help, but think this is a case of "potential killed by format". However what's been really telling is the priority level the series has now been given.

Instead of "I must prioritize this over everything else" or "I'll get the next volume/set when the budget allows", it has now reached the point where essentially I'm always going to want to get something else instead. Hence forth I'm currently planning to just trade in the DVDs and spend whatever money I get on stuff more important to me. Even if I don't get much, I'll still have six volumes worth of space free.


I think there might be a few other series, but most are likely ones that are more along the lines of ones where I mainly need a refresher course, but don't really feel like giving myself one. Either that or I completely forgot about the series and don't really think much about it.

[Suwako Moriya]

Going back to my own childhood there's Voltron, which just hasn't aged well.

Ah yes I think the only reason I watched that was for the combination scene.

[dragonrider_cody]

I gotta go with Sailor Moon. I use to love that show, but now I can barely watch an episode or two. It's not bad, it just hasn't aged well. I suppose some things are best left to memory. (That's why I will probably never watch Samurai Pizza Cats again.)

[Shinmaru]

Death Note, although it isn't really because I hate the series now. I just burned myself out on the whole franchise a while ago (read the manga twice, watched the anime, watched the live action movies and kept up with the dub for a few episodes before deciding not to watch it anymore).

Also, I am afraid to watch Excel Saga again, because I don't know if I would think it is funny anymore.

[joelgundam01]

I can't really think of a series, I ran into that problem. However, Gundam Wing is definitely not one of them (still on my top 10), especially after reading the Episode Zero manga (canon to the series). That's were most of the character development is at.

[mk2000]

Death Note, although it isn't really because I hate the series now. I just burned myself out on the whole franchise a while ago (read the manga twice, watched the anime, watched the live action movies and kept up with the dub for a few episodes before deciding not to watch it anymore).

Also, I am afraid to watch Excel Saga again, because I don't know if I would think it is funny anymore.
It was funny? :-)

[EmperorBrandon]

I gotta go with Sailor Moon. I use to love that show, but now I can barely watch an episode or two. It's not bad, it just hasn't aged well. I suppose some things are best left to memory. (That's why I will probably never watch Samurai Pizza Cats again.)

Out of the shows that were my earlier favorites, Sailor Moon is one that tends to come to mind in this category. It's not really that I don't like it anymore or "can't stand to watch" - I've watched through it again not too long ago and enjoyed it decently. It's just that I'm no where near as excited about it as I used to be, though, and other magical girl series have held up much better to my tastes. Cardcaptor Sakura, which I didn't like as much as Sailor Moon at first, has pretty much solidified as an absolute favorite of mine, and there are several other magical girl series that I've gotten into since then that I enjoy watching and rewatching more for various reasons.

[Suwako Moriya]

Ah another one, I remember liking Love Hina when I first watched it. However as I tried to re-watch the series on DVD, I found myself cringing at scenes and skipping past them. I ended up giving the DVDs to a relative. Which means I'm a bad relative.

[Shinmaru]

It was funny? :-)

lol, it was funny when I watched it in high school. A part of me would rather leave it at that, haha.

[Daniel_Perales]

I think I can name a few:

"Speed Racer" - The original series.
I remember how I used to race home from school to try and catch this show when I was a kid. Then, I tried to watch it all over again when it came back on tv more or less about 10 years later. I couldn't stand it.

"Gigantor" - Original series. See above.

"Battle Of The Planets" Same feeling as "Speed Racer".

"DNA^2"
I used to loved it because of the character designs by Masakazu Katsura. But now, it's not enough.

"K.O. Beast"
I remember watching the first two episodes of this as a fan sub being screened at a con so many years ago, and likeing it. I eventually bought the DVDs once it was licensed and watched it twice. Now I don't care for it at all.

"Bubblegum Crisis" - Original OVA and "Crash"
There is only one episode that I can only watch from the entire run, and that's episode 8 "Scoop Chase".

"Revolutionary Girl Utena"
I was really enjoying it for a while. But then, the series started to drag and became repetitious and was becoming quite a chore to keep on watching. I finished it, and put away the DVDs and haven't rewatched it ever since.

"Tenchi In Tokyo"
This is the only "Tenchi" series that I do not care if I ever rewatch it or not. The third OVA is not far off, either.

There are many other shows that I can think of, but those are the shows that stands out right now.


Shows that I'm trying to finish before any judgement if it's worth a rewatch from me:

"Super Gals!" Both seasons.
It was the dub that made this show a must-watch for me. But since the second season is subbed only, I'm in no big hurry to finish it (only managed to watched the first DVD of the second season).

"Urusei Yatsura"
I got all 10 TV Box-sets, but I've been stuck halfway through box 5 for the past year and a half. Didn't care too much about the movie "Beautiful Dreamer" either. And since most of the fans of this series says that was the best of the whole "UY" thing, it didn't inspire me to get the rest of the movies and OVAs.



Danny

[Rando]

Excel Saga. I used to think that was the funniest show in the world. Now I watch it, and it's... I dunno, too geeky for me.

[Mateo_home]

Forgot about Love Hina. Enjoyed it when I first bought it, but looking back I just have no motivation to put it in the DVD slot. And I want to sell it, but I have no motivation for that either. Unfortunately, I feel the same about Ai Yori Aoshi. And I just re watched it earlier this year. Oh no, that's the sequel series.

Real Bout High School. Okay, I saw this when I was still new to anime fandom. Yeah, I haven't been much of a fan during the cel years. Anyway, I was entertained by it back then. Shortly I sold the discs off and thinking if I were to watch it recently, I think I would want to put my head against the bed sheets while it's playing.:P

[Drgnfuel]

Hell Girl- It lost something after watching it once.

Ouran- Trying to watch the series again(4th watch) and it just doesn't seem very funny anymore.

These are the only ones I can think of right now.

[Glamrgrl104]

Thats why you take breaks in between series lol

Only one I can think of luckily I never bought any of it.

Pokemon(loved it as a kid watched some of the movies then I dunno same plot I guess.)

Pani poni dash I've watched the first and 2nd disc three times and most of the time I already know what happens lol
One I might cross off of buying.

Bleach possibly since I bought the first two box sets they've been untouched, well thats probably since I am trying to keep up what happens in the most recent episodes.

[Suwako Moriya]

Thats why you take breaks in between series lol

Break do indeed help avoid general burn out, but when it comes to opinions on specific series they can change over time regardless of how long ago it was one last watched them. For a variety of reasons. However I find often it boils down to a show losing its appeal once the wow factor wears off.

[omo]

For me it's probably Noir. I liked it ...and the more I watch it the less I like it. After I got done with it the more I think about it (and people tend to talk about this show back then) the less I like it. It never got better.

[Suwako Moriya]

For me it's probably Noir. I liked it ...and the more I watch it the less I like it.

The secret to watching Noir is rather simple, just listen to the soundtrack instead.:P

[Ty]

For me it's probably Noir. I liked it ...and the more I watch it the less I like it.

The secret to watching Noir is rather simple, just listen to the soundtrack instead.:P

True. It does hold up better than anything else in the show.

[Suwako Moriya]

The secret to watching Noir is rather simple, just listen to the soundtrack instead.:PTrue. It does hold up better than anything else in the show.

Also I still theorize that the music was meant to distract you from how poor the series was. Granted sometimes I made the mistake of actually paying attention to the actual show itself. To this day I still regret watching it. I say that even if it makes me a heretic. Which is fine because I like to post dangerously on occasion.

In any case this topic makes me glad I try to be selective as possible in terms of what I buy in order to minimize the possible scenario of later wanting to sell off the DVDs in question. Heck until recently I've never had the desire to trade-in or sell a series. Unless of course you count giving away series to relatives. However the series in question I plan to trade in I actually let one of my relatives try, and let's just say he doesn't care for it.

[cjed]

For me it's Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings - I watched this on TV in the '90s, it was one of the very first anime I ever saw. I remember really enjoying it at the time.

Then a couple of years ago I got the DVD box set, and what a disappointment! The animation is poor, the story and characters are poor, I can't believe I thought it was any good at all.

[Spirit Of The Stage]

Only series I can say that springs to mind for me is Love Hina. The reason being it was one (if not THE) first anime I managed to watch in Japanese only and fell in love with the crazy humour, the cute girls and the excellent vocal work.

Now however, quite a few years later, I've been de-sensitised to the fanservice and harem elements as the harem genre I got to find annoying and also didn't help with the poor dub Love Hina was given (and I am a dub fan and rarely gives any dub a complete miss - LH sadly was one of them). Add to that the superior manga in terms of storyline and I just can't get back into it.

[meganly_chan]

Project A-ko This was one of the first anime I got into, and now I just can't stomach it. The obvious... uh... adultness (I guess that's the word I want) is well beyond my comfort level ^^;; I didn't really notice it when I was younger.

[dreamweaver3d]

Transformers! (tv series only)

Why hasn't anyone mentioned Transformers yet?? Oh... shame on ye all.

The tv series hasn't aged well but the movie is still AWESOME (except for the dancing bit on Junkion).

[Daniel_Perales]

Project A-ko This was one of the first anime I got into, and now I just can't stomach it. The obvious... uh... adultness (I guess that's the word I want) is well beyond my comfort level ^^;; I didn't really notice it when I was younger.

The only thing that I liked about "Project A-ko", was the song "Dance Away" that was played somewhere in the first half hour of the movie. I didn't cared for the rest of it.


Danny

[sailor53]

Sailor Moon - I still love the show I just can't watch a lot of it at a time anymore. At least not the series anyway.

Noir - I loved the show when I first bought it but when I tried to re-watch awhile back I didn't get past volume 03.

Tenchi GXP - I liked the series but when I tried to re-watch it I didn't get past volume 01.

Tenchi in Tokyo - Another Tenchi Series I won't be re-watching anytime soon.

[meganly_chan]

Project A-ko This was one of the first anime I got into, and now I just can't stomach it. The obvious... uh... adultness (I guess that's the word I want) is well beyond my comfort level ^^;; I didn't really notice it when I was younger.

The only thing that I liked about "Project A-ko", was the song "Dance Away" that was played somewhere in the first half hour of the movie. I didn't cared for the rest of it.


Danny

That and "Follow Your Dream" - both songs I think are pretty good :)

[Splitter]

Joining the Love Hina camp here as well. It was fun the first time, but the more anime I watched, the more I realized that it really sucked.

[Suwako Moriya]

Joining the Love Hina camp here as well. It was fun the first time, but the more anime I watched, the more I realized that it really sucked.

Well that's what happens when you (by perhaps a miracle) recover from the brain damage caused by Naru.

[Ashyukun]

Well that's what happens when you (by perhaps a miracle) recover from the brain damage caused by Naru.
I think the only reason I kept watching Love Hina was out of a misguided hope that Naru would die a painful death and everyone else would live happily ever after...

[Suwako Moriya]

I think the only reason I kept watching Love Hina was out of a misguided hope that Naru would die a painful death and everyone else would live happily ever after...

Whenever I think back to characters like Naru, a certain scenario comes to mind. It's the one where you have the victim being attacked by this villain. Eventually during the attack the villain gets blocked by the hero. The hero then proceeds to beat the crap out of the villain. Doing things like tossing the villain into a wall or smashing them into ground.

My point is there are times I wish someone would say block the attack of characters like Naru and proceed to "punish" her. I think part of the problem with people like Naru, Akane (Ranma 1/2), Yuna (Maburaho), etc is the following. They all know they can get away with being abusive and evil. Because no one is there to punish them. So I have to wonder how different they'd be if they had people to humble them.

Well to be fair I'm not sure how far I'd want the punishment to be taken. There is such a thing as being excessive. However I would at least like them to be given a sign that the universe doesn't revolve around them. Also for the record in some ways Yuna might be worse than Naru since She treats the guy like property rather than an actual person.

[Ty]

Love Hina is watchable only because Shinobu is one of the original pillars of moe upon which the very concept stands. I suspect it's still going to take some guts to watch the show again whenver that happens, because my hatred for Naru has only deepend over the years.

[Njr Scrawl]

In some ways Naru is more detestable than Asuka in Eva. Asuka has issues & a past helping make her how she is, while Naru is just a comedy cow. Both are better than Suzuka however, a show I can't ever recommend...

[Suwako Moriya]

Love Hina is watchable only because Shinobu is one of the original pillars of moe upon which the very concept stands. I suspect it's still going to take some guts to watch the show again whenver that happens, because my hatred for Naru has only deepend over the years.

Shinobu was one of the few good points to the series. Sadly a few good points can't always make up for several bad. Otherwise I'd be watching and enjoying a lot more series. I can see it now. Everything else sucks, but I like her "hair".

[Isuzu Inugami]

My point is there are times I wish someone would say block the attack of characters like Naru and proceed to "punish" her. I think part of the problem with people like Naru, Akane (Ranma 1/2), Yuna (Maburaho), etc is the following. They all know they can get away with being abusive and evil. Because no one is there to punish them. So I have to wonder how different they'd be if they had people to humble them.


....

These are comedy/romance shows with comedy violence. I guess I just don't get the Naru-hate. It's like getting mad at Wile E. Coyote for being single-minded. Anyway, Naru engages in so much emotional self-sabotage that her not-as-frequent-as-you-think attempts to elevate Keitaro to orbital status almost seem a relief. (Then again I was never much for Shinobu to begin with.) (Kitsune's where it's at! :blush1:)

[Suwako Moriya]

These are comedy/romance shows with comedy violence.

That much is true, so you can look at it one of two ways. Either the style of comedy does not work for some. Or when instead of laughing a person gets angry, it means the comedy has failed for them.

[Sorrow's Companion]

Maison Ikkoku. I used to be a big Takahashi fan, but after rewatching this one, I see how repetitive it just is. Still like Ranma 1/2 though.

[Njr Scrawl]

Maison Ikkoku. I used to be a big Takahashi fan, but after rewatching this one, I see how repetitive it just is. Still like Ranma 1/2 though.

Most people say that the other way around. ;) I see your point though. The loon gang as a whole, & Mrs Ichinose in particular are irritating. Yotsuya & Akemi alone are good characters though. Mrs I. gets better later on, after Ibuki arrives & stirs things up, but until then Mrs I. is an irritation.

Takahashi veterans know which episodes to re-watch, & which not to. :)

[Greg Aubry]

"Bubblegum Crisis" - Original OVA and "Crash"
There is only one episode that I can only watch from the entire run, and that's episode 8 "Scoop Chase".

"Scoop Chase" does represent the high watermark of the series as far as I'm concerned. I can still watch BGC, but knowing full well that it is a product of the time it was made in, I watch it expecting a bit of cheese.

And, actually, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 is something I dug when it came out, but that I had a hard time re-watching fairly recently. I didn't remember it falling apart in the middle and end, but it really does (especially in some of the episodes' animation quality! Skunky!). I chalk that up to the Chiaka Konaka Effect. It's also funny to me that this series was supposed to modernize BGC, yet now looks almost as '90s-dated as the original looks '80s-dated.

"Princess Mononoke" is a little painful to watch in retrospect as well. I didn't realize this until a week or so back. I was giving it a re-watch, and my wife was in another room, doing other things. She'd hear some of the dialogue and just deadpan "I don't know what you're watching, but it sounds really stupid." ...and she LIKES Miyazaki movies! I think that the blame for this one falls on the dub. Some of Claire Danes' lines really DO sound stupid.

[Greg Aubry]

Project A-ko This was one of the first anime I got into, and now I just can't stomach it. The obvious... uh... adultness (I guess that's the word I want) is well beyond my comfort level ^^;; I didn't really notice it when I was younger.

I still really like the first movie for Project A-ko. The animation is a great example of some of the best of '80s anime (see also: Wings of Honneamise, Robot Carnival, Akira, and Neo-Tokyo). However, the OVA sequels that came out were pretty "blah." I had those on VHS, and they're fairly forgettable today.

[DanielJr]

I'd put Sorcerer Hunters here. Didn't mind it when I first saw it, but now it's one of those terrible animes I can't believe I used to like. Put that along with .hack//SIGN. Blargh.

[Just Passing Through]

For me it's Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings - I watched this on TV in the '90s, it was one of the very first anime I ever saw. I remember really enjoying it at the time.

Then a couple of years ago I got the DVD box set, and what a disappointment! The animation is poor, the story and characters are poor, I can't believe I thought it was any good at all.

Released on VHS in the UK as Legend Of The Four Kings. Watching this and Cyber City Oedo on Channel 4's Late Licence is what got me hooked, and while I went out of my way to import the Cyber City DVD when it came out and I was upgrading from tape to disc. I never bothered with Four Kings. In fact, I think the videos have only ever been played twice.

[cjed]

For me it's Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings - I watched this on TV in the '90s, it was one of the very first anime I ever saw. I remember really enjoying it at the time.

Then a couple of years ago I got the DVD box set, and what a disappointment! The animation is poor, the story and characters are poor, I can't believe I thought it was any good at all.

Released on VHS in the UK as Legend Of The Four Kings. Watching this and Cyber City Oedo on Channel 4's Late Licence is what got me hooked, ...

Yup, same here - it was around the same time as I was just getting interested in Japanese culture. You did well if you managed to re-watch your VHS tapes even once. I quit after the 2nd DVD in the set. I've still got them though as (a) I couldn't possibly inflict them on someone else and (b) they have some sentimental value as the fiirst anime I watched.

[loplop]

For me it's probably Noir. I liked it ...and the more I watch it the less I like it. After I got done with it the more I think about it (and people tend to talk about this show back then) the less I like it. It never got better.

I found the complete opposite with Noir, I didn't like it at first but it's on my top ten list now.

On Topic: Ramma 1/2. I recently sold my entire collection of the show because I can't stand it anymore. It may be a classic, but tastes change . . .

[jojo_home]

As a portrait of young adults barely making ends meet, Maison Ikkoku blows every other anime out of the water. Most anime don't get into poverty, but I think the "whole" of the show works remarkably well to show just how long and tough it is to even START an adult life. The rewards are well worth the occasional nonsense that happens in the middle of the show.

Now Ranma 1/2, the only seasons truly worth watching are the first two seasons.

Me, I can't get into Escaflowne anymore. When I first got it I was awed by its production values but subsequent viewings show the story just does not hold and Hitomi is, however you slice it, a fairly passive character.

[Memphis]

Dragonball Z is the only thing I can think of at the moment. Back when I use to watch it I didn't have any issues with all the relliance on Goku, but now I just cringe up at it everytime I hear someone say "We have to wait for Goku" or "if Goku was here". It's like the characters can't think/fend/act for themselves without having Goku's input. They even lack common sense.

[jojo_home]

Transformers! (tv series only)

Why hasn't anyone mentioned Transformers yet?? Oh... shame on ye all.

The tv series hasn't aged well but the movie is still AWESOME (except for the dancing bit on Junkion).


On the contrary, watching it recently, I was surprised how meaty the 3rd season is (which is, incidentally, probably the least popular season with many diehard fans). Maybe the 1st season is a little simplistic at times, but the 3rd one is incredibly dense with backstory, lore and character development.