| I can't say that resonates with me. I've been on and off with watching shows like One Piece and Bleach. But that's mainly because I don't have as much patience and energy with catching up on long-running anime. Not so much because I worry about adding it as a completed entry. I have completed long-running anime like Naruto. But I was a kid when I got into it and I didn't think about the length of shows back then. |
| Watching for numbers because it's fun exists here. I'm not one of them though. |
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| I don't believe so, at least not for me. If anything it makes it a lot easier to find anime these days. So if you're referring to spoilers the internet in general is guilty of that. |
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W0RST-GENERATION said: its just a diary so I can remember what episode im on. That's what I do. And it's fun to flip through the diary sometimes and think back on the stuff I watched. I don't think MAL is really necessary for me, though, it's just a nice-to-have. For one thing, I don't track movies I watch on Letterboxd or something, or track video games I play. I still enjoy those two hobbies. I fully understand the danger of this becoming a chore and a obsession, though. From time to time I remember to stop myself from falling into that. |
| *Watches anime and never updates list with anything but hentai* |
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| The show that didn't resonate with me are the ones that get low scores. A lot of my numbers come from watching seasonal anime religiously. sadly a good 80% of seasonal anime is forgettable. I am also trying to clear shows I missed back in the day which I do enjoy more as I have hand picked them myself |
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| No MAL tells me if there are any ova, specials and movies I missed and even tells me when S2 are announced. Its so useful I would never go back to when I wasn't using it. |
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| I avoid longer shows just cause they are time consuming rather than anything to do with mal. Only watch shows that pique my own interest and mal is just a handy tool to store that information |
| Humans only live for a hundred years, it is as unreal as a dream that ends in an instant. What is the point of a person living in this world? No more than just being on a journey, and witnessing interesting things. Although I do not want to die, I do not fear death. I am already on my right path, I have no regrets even if I die. — Fang Yuan (Reverend Insanity) |
| This really depends on the users themselves. I mainly use it to keep track of the shows I watched so I know where I stopped, especially the long running shows like One Piece. The only time I do the increase number of entries thing was for the shorts that are listed on MAL, but that was only for fun and it's not like I binge watch the shorts all the time. It's actually interesting to find some shorts to watch when you don't have much time in your hands in real life. Though I know some people love to increase their list numbers to impress fellow users on MAL, if that's their choice then there's nothing to stop them from doing so. If they don't find anime enjoyable and only watch stuff to increase their numbers then it's their own problem. Database sites are there to list the anime works and sometimes (like MAL) allows you to list and keep track of the shows you watched. So if you use MAL properly, then you're ok. |
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| Big lists aren't as important as days spent watching to truly know how much a person has watched. I've seen people with almost double the amount on their list than I have but less days watched, so I know most of it is just shorts to beef up their list. Someone can have 100-200 on their list but really long shows to increase the days watched. |
W0RST-GENERATION said: you werent concerned about your worthless list, or if you're 'cultured' enough. Pen and Paper. Same with videogames that I finished before Backloggd. I would be omitting all the Hanimes I completed if I were concerned about making my list cooler. W0RST-GENERATION said: like avoiding a long series because it will take months for it to be marked as 'completed'. MAL is the perfect tool for long series, so that you could remember which episode are you on, especially after long breaks of watching a shorter series in between major arcs or doing something else not anime-related. For me personal enjoyment comes first before anything else. It doesn't have to be watching anime, it could be videogames, or even growing a worthless and uncultured list that doesn't mean anything and no one cares about. If it makes you happy go for it lmao. A little obssession is not that bad, go watch: short MVs, OVAs, movies, specials, etc. and mark it accordingly. Though, I'll have to draw the line where you actually lie to grow your list to impress others. But skipping nonsense fillers on long series is okay. It's not like there's an option that says "Completed (fillers skipped)", that automatically decrements the counter of your episodes watched by getting the value of your fillers skipped. |
on 
| In the Anime Watching Challenges Club and it's actually pretty helpful for getting motivation to watch anime. Without having a particular goal, I get decision paralysis on what to even watch, and usually just end up watching nothing. Besides, having some weird goals means I watch shows I wouldn't otherwise see, which has let me see some very enjoyable series (though also some series that I didn't enjoy). It's not like I actually care about the stats or imaginary points of either myself or anyone else. |
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| That entirely depends on what you're referring to as "long shows" because if we're talking about shounen I would probably roll my eyes. |
| If you reply back to me and I never respond, I lost interest and don't care. Sorry about that. |
| Depends on how interesting and meaningful the show was to me. Of course, many seasonal shows don't fall into that category. |
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W0RST-GENERATION said: Most of them, actually. This is the primary reason I use episode discussions and spend time reflecting on completed anime. You could pull a random 6/10 from my list that I watched in 2016 and I could tell you why I gave it that score.How many of those 1,000 shows have you remembered or have resonated with you? |
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| MAL and AniList are essential tools for me being able to keep up as someone who is on the Autism spectrum. I tend to hyperfixate on specific interests which means I bounce between shows A LOT, so having a sort of digital bookmark of where I last left off is SUPER helpful . I stopped caring about stats a long time ago and am actively trying to SHRINK my plan to watch list to only the things that I think really look like something I would stick with rather than just filler slop to boost number |
This post is brought to you by your local transfem gamer goblin. Will not tolerate bigotry and will fight against "anti-woke" sentiment to make the anime community a safer place.  |
| The assumption that a sizable anime list equates to a lack of appreciation fundamentally misunderstands how media engagement varies between individuals. A high volume of completed series does not inherently indicate superficial consumption, just as a smaller list does not guarantee deeper appreciation. The notion that tracking one's anime on MAL "ruins the fun" oversimplifies the purpose such a system serves, it is not merely a numbers game for every user but also a means of organization, reflection, and discovery. Personally, every anime I have watched has left an imprint, whether through profound emotional resonance, moments of joy, or lessons that continue to shape my worldview. A large list is not a testament to mindless consumption but rather to a diverse and evolving engagement with the medium. I gravitate toward shorter series not out of impatience, but because prolonged narratives often struggle to sustain their impact unless they are truly exceptional. This is not a dismissal of long-form storytelling but a recognition of personal preference. Moreover, the suggestion that shorter series are chosen merely to inflate numbers ignores the possibility that some viewers, like myself, seek variety and contrast in their media diet. Cycling between older and newer works, mainstream hits and hidden gems, fosters a broader appreciation of the medium rather than a static, repetitive experience. Engagement with anime, as with any art form, is inherently subjective, no single approach dictates what constitutes genuine appreciation. At its core, this argument reflects a rigid perception of how anime should be consumed, failing to account for the diversity of experiences and preferences that shape individual engagement. The medium thrives on variety, and so too should the ways in which people choose to enjoy it. |
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| No, but it does make me question the amount of time I've spent in the forums. The wasted time going back and forth with some people....I could have been watching more anime instead of arguing over whether or not it's ok to spank your monkey to a drawing. |
| MAL is what you make of it. Stats and numbers shouldn't matter, except for people who specifically get off on them. As you can tell from the mean score of most shows, the majority of people don't actually absorb the things they watch (even in the short term). So you've just gotta do your own thing and then shitpost accordingly. We'll be right here beside, bitching and moaning as we always have been! |
If i am honest, I pressure myself alot to increase my MAL stats, Forum posts, Anime days watched, Completed seasons, Reviews etc. I just force myself to increase that number no matter the cost at this point and It's increasing very slowly but at least the forum post number goes up quickly.  |
| Only if it actually bothers you that people CAN and WILL care about stuff like their profile, their list or their opinion beeing read, online. In which case.....you're the problem, cause you allow things that have nothing to do with you or what you watch annoy you, to a point where Anime becomes less fun for you. Follow your own advice and use MaL only as a diary, if you want to do that. That's fine. |
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| Having watched 100s of series MAL or any listing site would generally improve my enjoyment from a variety of methods. The obvious is it's an easy spot to get announcements, view seasonal airing shows, and just generally browse a database for new shows to watch. Things that would otherwise be painful to do if I had to manually track every subscription service or otherwise find comprehensive sites with large catalogs before they get shutdown. Trying to remember every aspect of every show is going to get more difficult with increased exposure to a medium so just having a tidy list of shows I can filter with tags and sort them by shows I enjoyed the most is great especially for providing recommendations or just when I want to revisit specific moments from a series. I also like seeing stat number go up but it doesn't impact my selection of shows because if you're getting a variety of shows both completed amount and day count goes up. Which two numbers going up is obviously better than one number going up. If anything I'd argue that not having some method of organizing shows you watch or a tool to seek out new shows means you just end up in a rewatching loop assuming you stay connected to the medium at all. |
| MAL hasn't ruined it, it has simply made it easier, considering we have our seasonal charts. |
| Just an avid anime watcher of 20 years, not much else I could say about myself (that I don't want to reveal, of course, just ask if you wanna know more!) "So...look up, face forward, toward your chosen horizon and just...walk on." - Noah, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 |
Reply to W0RST-GENERATION
@Merve2Love By your logic, nobody should share their opinions ever because 'it has nothing to do with you' go ahead then and comment this on every MAL forums post
You're obviously butt hurt lmao.
You're obviously butt hurt lmao.
| @W0RST-GENERATION Am I?^^ Im just telling you to not put so much importance to this stuff. You said that other people sharing their things online makes Anime worse, for you. That's sad. So yeah: It has nothing to do with you. Don't let random strangers on the internet hinder your enjoyment of something that doesn't even require you to necessarily engage with other people :) It's not that big of a deal. Stop torturing yourself, if it bothers you to be on here. |
Merve2LoveMar 28, 5:31 AM
|
Reply to W0RST-GENERATION
@Merve2Love Nah, I'll post whatever opinions I want. I'm free to do that. Idc if it has 'nothing to do with me' people like to share thier takes regardless,.
Idc what anyone says, its 100% normal to have takes on things that dont affect you. Yes, the way people treat anime as a competition has nothing to do with me, but I can still give my opinion, cos why tf not?
So should we stop telling obese people to get fit because it has nothing to do with us?
What about alcoholics? Yes, its not on the same level as the anime case but you get the point. People like to express thier thoughts.
Thats why we have forums, people can share thier takes. Now does it ACTUALLY bother me to the point where my life quality is now decreased? No. If you wanna treat anime like a numbers game, more power to you, but that wont stop me from thinking its sad.
Its not like I go to bed worrying about you guys. No. I posted this opinion because I was bored. Im not on some mission to get you guys.
Plus. I even said in my post that 'its not wrong' to be like this. So...
Idc what anyone says, its 100% normal to have takes on things that dont affect you. Yes, the way people treat anime as a competition has nothing to do with me, but I can still give my opinion, cos why tf not?
So should we stop telling obese people to get fit because it has nothing to do with us?
What about alcoholics? Yes, its not on the same level as the anime case but you get the point. People like to express thier thoughts.
Thats why we have forums, people can share thier takes. Now does it ACTUALLY bother me to the point where my life quality is now decreased? No. If you wanna treat anime like a numbers game, more power to you, but that wont stop me from thinking its sad.
Its not like I go to bed worrying about you guys. No. I posted this opinion because I was bored. Im not on some mission to get you guys.
Plus. I even said in my post that 'its not wrong' to be like this. So...
| @W0RST-GENERATION Sure...you can. Nobody said you can't post anything you want, you know^^ I was just trying to give you some perspective xD My bad. |
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| I must ask: OP, are you talking about any specific case, or are you just imagining a "hypothetical case that maybe could happen, IDK"? |
| MAL isn't about stats and numbers to me. My autistic tendencies just cause me to enjoy cataloging things. The added structure enhances my enjoyment. |
| it made watching anime competitive for me, and if it wasnt for that i wouldn't have discovered many of my favorite series |
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| I just post some random thoughts about anime on here. I don't take this site very seriously, so I don't think this site is ruining my fun. |
| I would 100% be missing out without database notifications and seasonal anime lists/began airing alerts etc. Also after watching a hefty amount of shows it helps me refresh on what I've watched and inevitably go on a rewatch spree. Idk how long I've been typing that reply but reading these posts is a blast fr. |
Reply to W0RST-GENERATION
@thewiru A hypothetical case, im not talking about anyone individually in my post or accusing people, its just something that could happen if you care too much about numbers. I believe you can still care about numbers and still not let it decide your worth as an anime fan and still have a healthy relationship with anime
I dont think someone with a big list is impressive nor is a small list something to look down at
I recently saw your post where you said you felt like having only seen 80 anime/80 entries was a source of shame, and I dont think that should be a source of shame. Your self worth isnt tied to a number.
If you had fun watching those mere 80, then isnt that the whole point of it all? You had fun. For that, you should be happy, and not use 80 as a mark of shame
Its like how people feel ugly if people dont like thier instagram photos, numbers can affect you negatively.
I dont think someone with a big list is impressive nor is a small list something to look down at
I recently saw your post where you said you felt like having only seen 80 anime/80 entries was a source of shame, and I dont think that should be a source of shame. Your self worth isnt tied to a number.
If you had fun watching those mere 80, then isnt that the whole point of it all? You had fun. For that, you should be happy, and not use 80 as a mark of shame
Its like how people feel ugly if people dont like thier instagram photos, numbers can affect you negatively.
W0RST-GENERATION said: @thewiru A hypothetical case, im not talking about anyone individually in my post or accusing people, its just something that could happen if you care too much about numbers. I believe you can still care about numbers and still not let it decide your worth as an anime fan and still have a healthy relationship with anime I mean, doing that is a bit silly, because there's always something you can miss, so you end up just creating a boogeyman. It kind of reminds me about how a lot of views about Dark Souls are from people who never played the game and just "theorized it shouldn't work". I was like that before playing the game myself: You think that it not having a pause will be a very big deal... but it isn't. That it not having a mini-map will also be a dealbreaker... but it isn't. That you dying a lot will be a massive issue... but it really isn't, because the game is build from the ground up with all those things in mind. W0RST-GENERATION said: I recently saw your post where you said you felt like having only seen 80 anime/80 entries was a source of shame, and I dont think that should be a source of shame. Your self worth isnt tied to a number. If I dress like a poor person, people will think that I'm a poor person. If I dress like a rich person, people will think that I'm a rich person. It's simply how things work: From someone else's point of view, there's little difference between a "self-worth that you can't prove to anyone" and a simple delusion. What's the easier way to show that you're rich: Trying to explain your portfolio/how you make money or simply getting somewhere with an expensive car? Likewise, in the middle of a bunch of people, the easiest way to easily showcase that would be having big numbers. Granted, at the time I used to care way more about those things than I do nowadays. I made my MAL account in 2014, but only began using it in 2016, and at the time I was glad that I had created it two years prior, so people in the forums would think that I was / treat me like a newfag. It's quite funny, then, that now that I'm here "at the top", I don't look down at people that are below me. For instance, you joined in August 2024, but I don't treat you any differently from someone that joined in, say, August 2014. I guess that a lot of it were just insecurities I have regarding first impressions. I've only realized it recently, but I did/do things like that in order to "Get closer to the people I find cool and distance myself from those I find unpleasant", "cool kids club" logic. It's funny looking back at the 80 number, though. Back then it was something I envisioned that a "bored normie" could easily get to or easily surpassed. Nowadays, seemingly, the bar has gone so low that now 80 is considered a big number. Part of it possibly came from the fact that I, like many other people at the time, took that as a "group identity" first before "taking it as a hobby". So yeah, I was already making "PROUD TO BE AN OTAKU" posts before I had even watched 10 anime. That era (Around 2011-2015) was strange because this effect happened to a fuckton of hobbies, from gaming to rock music: Most facebook pages/groups of those spent WAY MORE time making posts about "How cool it was to be part of this group" or "How people with this hobby are cool and superior" rather than posting about the hobby in question. So in gaming pages, for instance, you would have 500 posts like this but no post discussing any game in particular. So in time, having numbers was also a way for me to differentiate myself from those, because I really wanted people to talk about what I was watching rather than that type of post. |
| Where and who told you all this ? Or it's just one of those delusional Americans posts ? Jesus, I haven't read so much crap since last week when some random MyAnimeList guy told me I watched to much Anime and he dislikes breasts. Either way this crap you wrote, that's not how I feel. I use Myanimelist to track what I have watched, want to watch and dropped. And I have been created my Profile through the years to show appreciation to Anime, Manga, Webtoon and characters that I like. And show everyon else what I'm into. Cultured enough, rofl. |
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| I think most people just care about either posting on the forums or just keeping track of the anime that they watch in general. It's pretty reasonable to say that most people have a long list on an anime website because they are anime fans in the first place. For my personally it's true I don't want to watch anime like one piece but that's just because it too long to watch 1000 episodes, not because of database stats. |
| Go read berserk it's the best thing ever |
| MyAnimeList is ultimately just a tool, and everyone should use it in the way that best suits their enjoyment. For me, it's mainly about tracking what I watch, discovering recommendations, and looking up information about different series, reading insightful reviews and thought provoking discussions. Stats can be interesting, but they shouldn’t dictate how we experience anime. It’s similar to how I use Last.fm for tracking the music I listen to. I don’t feel any pressure to listen just to boost numbers—it's more about getting an accurate picture of my listening history over time, getting recommendations and discovering artists and songs that will resonate with me. The same applies to anime; I’m not watching for the sake of improving stats but rather to genuinely enjoy each series and reflect on my experience with it. We may feel peer pressured to "improve" our stats for the sake of social acceptance for having # number of completed shows, but it's meaningless if one is not really enjoying the journey and engaging with content that is truly meaningful to us. At the end of the day, everyone engages with anime differently, and it’s great that MyAnimeList provides the flexibility for people to use it in whatever way makes the most sense for them. |
terrascuraMar 28, 3:15 PM
 We can be heroes, forever and ever. ✰ Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming. I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring. 🌸🌸🌸 |
Reply to thewiru
W0RST-GENERATION said:
@thewiru A hypothetical case, im not talking about anyone individually in my post or accusing people, its just something that could happen if you care too much about numbers. I believe you can still care about numbers and still not let it decide your worth as an anime fan and still have a healthy relationship with anime
@thewiru A hypothetical case, im not talking about anyone individually in my post or accusing people, its just something that could happen if you care too much about numbers. I believe you can still care about numbers and still not let it decide your worth as an anime fan and still have a healthy relationship with anime
I mean, doing that is a bit silly, because there's always something you can miss, so you end up just creating a boogeyman.
It kind of reminds me about how a lot of views about Dark Souls are from people who never played the game and just "theorized it shouldn't work".
I was like that before playing the game myself: You think that it not having a pause will be a very big deal... but it isn't. That it not having a mini-map will also be a dealbreaker... but it isn't. That you dying a lot will be a massive issue... but it really isn't, because the game is build from the ground up with all those things in mind.
W0RST-GENERATION said:
I recently saw your post where you said you felt like having only seen 80 anime/80 entries was a source of shame, and I dont think that should be a source of shame. Your self worth isnt tied to a number.
I recently saw your post where you said you felt like having only seen 80 anime/80 entries was a source of shame, and I dont think that should be a source of shame. Your self worth isnt tied to a number.
If I dress like a poor person, people will think that I'm a poor person. If I dress like a rich person, people will think that I'm a rich person.
It's simply how things work: From someone else's point of view, there's little difference between a "self-worth that you can't prove to anyone" and a simple delusion.
What's the easier way to show that you're rich: Trying to explain your portfolio/how you make money or simply getting somewhere with an expensive car?
Likewise, in the middle of a bunch of people, the easiest way to easily showcase that would be having big numbers.
Granted, at the time I used to care way more about those things than I do nowadays. I made my MAL account in 2014, but only began using it in 2016, and at the time I was glad that I had created it two years prior, so people in the forums would think that I was / treat me like a newfag.
It's quite funny, then, that now that I'm here "at the top", I don't look down at people that are below me. For instance, you joined in August 2024, but I don't treat you any differently from someone that joined in, say, August 2014.
I guess that a lot of it were just insecurities I have regarding first impressions.
I've only realized it recently, but I did/do things like that in order to "Get closer to the people I find cool and distance myself from those I find unpleasant", "cool kids club" logic.
It's funny looking back at the 80 number, though. Back then it was something I envisioned that a "bored normie" could easily get to or easily surpassed. Nowadays, seemingly, the bar has gone so low that now 80 is considered a big number.
Part of it possibly came from the fact that I, like many other people at the time, took that as a "group identity" first before "taking it as a hobby". So yeah, I was already making "PROUD TO BE AN OTAKU" posts before I had even watched 10 anime.
That era (Around 2011-2015) was strange because this effect happened to a fuckton of hobbies, from gaming to rock music: Most facebook pages/groups of those spent WAY MORE time making posts about "How cool it was to be part of this group" or "How people with this hobby are cool and superior" rather than posting about the hobby in question.
So in gaming pages, for instance, you would have 500 posts like this
but no post discussing any game in particular.
So in time, having numbers was also a way for me to differentiate myself from those, because I really wanted people to talk about what I was watching rather than that type of post.
| @thewiru I understand where you're coming from, yes, usually people will judge you based on what they can see at a first glance. But not everyone things like that, personally, I think its way more impressive if a person has only seen a couple of shows but they have a very deep understanding and appreciation to those shows and its characters and they are basically an expert, over someone who just consumes thousands and therefore has to spread his attention, only having a surface level appreciation for what they watch (not saying you are like this, or that everyone who likes big numbers is like this) but how can possibly have the brain capacity to fully appreciate over 1,000 shows?? You're bound to throw away a few hundred You need to liberate your self from impressing others. Believe me, people only care about them selves. Status means NOTHING in the face of character. So yes, people can think im broke, or a normie cos I have 91 entries, or that idk what im talking about, but as long as I'm happy internally, i couldnt ask for me You do realise that no matter what you do, even if you had 1000 attempts, people still wont be happy with you, right? You need to live for your self. If you wanna set big anime goals, fine. But do it for your self, not to fit in with others. Wether your list is 24, or 1,831, we are all valid as each other. |
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