Binging vs. Watching Weekly

When it comes to serial works, there are two schools of thought- some prefer to view each installment as it comes out, while others prefer to binge-watch large quantities of episodes. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages, which I will discuss here.

Watching Weekly

One advantage that watching weekly(or however often each new episode comes out, although weekly is most common)- is instant gratification. Quite simply, many people would rather not wait any longer than necessary for their latest fix of their favorite series, especially if the last installment ended on a cliffhanger.

Of course, those who are caught up with the series will have to wait, but they'll have plenty to do while waiting for the next installment. They can spend this time poring over the most recent release and other chapters, enabling them to spot subtler details and come up with theories.

Lastly, while it may be easier to follow the story if one binges(see that section for more), watching weekly can often provide flashbacks so reviewers who have forgotten significant details won't be completely lost. Those flashbacks tend to be time wasters for people who are binging a series, but can be a good refresher for those who are watching weekly.

Binging

Binging episodes can have its advantages for those who choose to wait.

For starters, binge-watchers won't have to wait a week or more for a resolution to a cliffhanger or an elaboration on a plot twist. Obviously, they'll have to wait that much longer for enough content for them to be released so that they can binge an entire season or story arc, but latecomers to the series won't have to deal with this.

Second, while many serial works' installments are self-contained, others, such as many weekly manga, are small fragments of a larger story. As a result, the story can come off as more coherent and easier to follow if you can view each installment with the previous one fresh on your mind, rather than needing a refresher after having waited a week or more since the last one.

A final consideration is saving money, since it can be cheaper to stream a series that you're binging rather than follow it weekly. Let's say, for example, that a 13-episode anime begins airing on Saturdays, starting January 1, 2022. If you were to watch it every week, you would need to subscribe for three months, plus a fourth month if the series were to go on break. If, however, you were to binge that anime after its completion, it would be feasible to do so after its completion.

Conclusion

Both binging and watching weekly have their advantages and disadvantages. This, combined with the fact that either approach may be better suited to certain viewers or certain series, means that there's no right or wrong approach; only ones that work better in some instances and worse in others. My personal recommendation is that first-time viewers who are eager for more of the content they love should watch weekly, while binging can be a good way to enjoy one's favorite series on a second viewing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fire Emblem Engage: Fell Xenologue Review Part 3

This blog entry contains spoilers for Fire Emblem Engage's Fell Xenologue DLC  Welcome back to the review of the Fell Xenologue DLC. As a brief recap of last time, Alear was summoned to an alternate Elyos and set out to gather the bracelets and safeguard them from an unknown malefactor. Alear's first destination was Firene, where they reclaimed Hector's bracelet from Alfred and Celine. Alear then sets out for Brodia. The group heads to Brodia by foot, sneaking in due to the country's hatred of war resulting in tight border security. The logic seems rather odd, as a warlike country would be no less willing to defend its borders. Nel remarks that they're already in Brodia, and when Alear complains, she snarkily replies that she hopes they can reschedule the parade. Gregory, who's the counterpart of Griss, arrives. Zelestia reveals that she and Gregory are part of a small band of knights known as the Four Winds, which are counterparts to the Four Hounds, and exist
Read more

Game of Thrones Season 8 Review Part 8: Conclusion

Warning: This series contains spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones Now for the conclusion to this series. The General Problems Part of the reason for the decline of Game of Thrones' qualities are the reasons I stated before. The showrunners no longer had Martin's books to guide them, resulting in their writing's shortcomings coming to the fore. The fact that the final two seasons have thirteen episodes between them is a significant factor in why the show ended as poorly as it did. While Daenerys' fall into evil was always destined to be controversial, having more episodes to cover her development might have made it easier to accept. Additionally, giving more episodes to the war with the Night King would have helped him seem like more of a credible threat than he ended up being. Of course, ending a show like this well was always a difficult prospect for a few reasons. First, the ending would inevitably have been the showrunners' creation, and would thus b
Read more

Shinrai's Kotoba: When the Worst Character is Still Necessary to the Narrative

Shinrai: Broken Beyond Despair Spoilers Most of us can think of a few characters we dislike for various reasons, and often, we believe the stories they're in would be better off without them. But sometimes, it's difficult to remove characters the audience dislikes without adversely affecting the narrative. Kotoba Gaikoku from Shinrai: Broken Beyond Despair is one example, as while he seems like an unfunny perverted comic relief character(and to some degree, he is), he plays a crucial role in the story. Who Kotoba Is First, let's explain who Kotoba is and why he's so unlikable. Kotoba is the best friend of Taiko Kikai. He's a notorious pervert who has a thing for both guys and girls, but has especially strong feelings for Momoko Mori, and dislikes her boyfriend Hiro Shiratake for reasons that are not entirely related to romantic jealousy. The first problem is evident- the fact that he's a pervert. It's difficult to write perverts well, since perversion tends
Read more