Naruto Shippuuden had recently ended its fillers spanning over more than 10 episodes. I stopped watching the fillers midway because I thought there are better shows to watch than to watch some pointless fillers. I should probably tell you that I don’t really mind fillers all that much, it’s only Naruto’s and Bleach’s long fillers that I hate. Now, Naruto Shippuuden has started a new arc which I believe will continue with the actual storyline. I’m tempted to skip the remaining 11 episodes worth of fillers I have not watched, and I most likely will. If I do, I wonder if I could enter the latest episode in the progress section for Naruto Shippuuden at my MAL account…
As I wrestle with the idea, I thought of discussing it here. I’m really, really curious how would you guys handle this.
Technically, it’s lying. It’s not the real progress. That would mean skipping 11 episodes, and that’s a rather big chunk of anime version of Naruto’s story. But I heard awful stories about those fillers. My friends had been telling me that they’re horrible so I really don’t feel like watching at all. What I would do won’t result in any good or bad consequences as far as I can tell, unless I run into a die-hard fan and had trouble discussing Naruto Shippuuden with him or her.
So really there’s no fixed way to this. I can’t tell if it’s okay or not. But I wonder, Naruto Shippuuden aside, would you mark an anime as “complete” if you have skipped some of the episodes or fast-forward a few boring episodes. I believe for a blogger, that would only result in lesser understanding of the actual content of an anime title, therefore unable to discuss well. As an anime fan, one might not be able to cheerfully say “I’ve completed XXX number of series” because the truth is he or she didn’t. Completing a series is supposed to mean sitting through all the episodes. As a casual anime viewer, I don’t think it’s too big a deal. It probably didn’t even matter.
Now I ask you, readers and fellow bloggers. Have you ever marked an anime as “complete” when in reality, you might’ve skipped one or two episodes. Or maybe skipped three or four minutes of an episode (not including OP and ED). What’s your view on this situation?
By the way, I have not decide if I’ll watch the fillers. I’m eager to check out what the Winter 2012 Anime Season has in stored for me at the moment.
World of Yamaguchi Hoshiko 
Three or four minutes? yes.
Full episode? never till now…:P
Yeah, I thought so too =)
I’ve never really skipped any episodes of the anime I have watched so far.
I don’t even skip 1 second of the anime. For me every second is crucial.
If I were texting while watching it, I would definitely go back to where I have left off.
So there is really no problem for me regarding your issue.
I was a bit sad about all those Naruto fillers but in the end I think I don’t mind about it at all. If the anime ended for you, you want more episodes, don’t you? Normally I want more so I really don’t mind the fillers that much.
I myself have watched all those Naruto fillers. Some were bad but some were really good. I really like to know more about the characters in the past. Additional episode just to know about the things that they didn’t show is really good. The latest episode of the filler tells a story about how Guy and Kakashi became Eternal Rival (when they were small).
I did that too! When someone talking to me or I’m distracted by something else, I will definitely rewind it. I have to do that, or else I wouldn’t know what’s going on. That’s why I don’t understand how some people can multitask when watching an anime.
Some of the fillers are okay like the flashbacks after Naruto beat Pain. But don’t you think they tend to get very long? Sometimes it took three to four months for a filler arc to complete. It’s a bit tiring after a while, especially so if the arc is boring.
So far, I’ve watched all the fillers. Just not these 11 episodes. Yet.
I can’t understand the multitask part as well. I’ve heard a lot of people do that too. I guess the one who gives low rating to most of the awesome anime is probably this type of person lol xD
They are very long indeed. Well I can’t complain much because I know in the end if the anime ever ends, I would love to watch more of it. I know it sometimes it is boring and all but well, at least there is something.
They are trying to make people buy them manga first before watching the anime. Anime can catch up up very fast to the manga. If they don’t do this type of fillers I guess anime would be like lightyears away of the manga.
It’s up to you to decide. But most of the fillers were good, not as bad as the ones from Naruto (not talking about Shippuuden). The best filler would be the one about Kiba and Naruto.
And I thought they’re making people buy more anime >.<. But you're right, by introducing an anime to a manga (popular or not) will help increase readership too. I'm one good example. I end up reading a few shoujo manga after the anime ended.
I personally never skipped out anything, but there are times where I unknowingly missed out on the segment that is after the ED theme, because I forgot to check if there’s anything left there.
However, there are several titles where I watch at 1.5X speed or even 2X speed through the boring segments. That’s how I deal with the parts I rather not spent so much time on.
In your case, I won’t really have any problem. The progress number beside the title in MAL means how far in the series I’m in, not how many episodes I’ve completed. I don’t follow series like Naruto and Bleach, but I think it’s perfectly reasonable to leave out the stuff that some won’t consider as part of the “true” storyline.
If it really bothers you, why not give each of the fillers a brief look so that you understand the story and events of that filler. So that you “understand” and “seen” the contents, but not necessarily “acknowledge” or care about it.
Oh, I always view it as number of episodes completed. Maybe because when the number of episodes is reached, it’ll prompt me to set is as completed.
I thought of skimming through the episodes too. It’s funny how I always tried to see Naruto and Bleach manga and anime separately, but it has become increasingly difficult to do so these days.
You know I’ve wanted to NOT watch the fillers of Shippuuden and Bleach every time it comes out, but it never happened. I end up watching the fillers and getting frustrated… ’cause if I don’t I’ll feel uneasy for the rest of the week =) It’s one of the things I look forward to in a week =D so no skipping =)
LOL! I know!! It happens to me too until recently. Maybe because there were a lot of other anime to watch during the Fall season so I didn’t feel like I missed something.
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Fortunately, I don’t do things like MAL, so I don’t have to indicate progress/status (so I’ll be off-topic here)…
I hate filler episodes. The huge filler streak in the original Naruto series was the worst. I skipped them all. I hated the majority of the third and final season of Marmalade Boy, which was all filler except for the final episodes. If I could, I’d *unwatch* those filler episodes. They are non-canon and a waste of time. I wish anime series would just stop if they have to wait to resync with the manga.
(Sorry. Just me being crabby.)
Nono, don’t apologize. Even though I have watched all fillers before this, I hated them too. Some are okay but most are terrible. The part that sucks the most is when they differ too much from the original storyline.
I wish for that too. I think all of us will be happy if there are no fillers whatsoever except for maybe the ones selling DVDs/BDs and such.
I generally skip season-type fillers especially in Bleach, Naruto and One Piece. Although I am a big fan of Bleach, I do not have the intentions to spend time on episodes that does not add any value to the main plot of the Manga/Anime, I am not that level of a fan. As for one time fillers, I can bear with it.
Funny enough, I don’t have that much problem with One Piece fillers. Maybe because Bleach and Naruto’s fillers are usually gloomy.
Yes, I don’t mind if they added a few things extra into an episode that isn’t part of the original storyline or maybe just an episode or two. But ten episodes or more? I get frustrated.
I’ve actually done this fairly often. Mostly it’s just the older shows where I watched most of the episodes as they aired on TV. I also tend to skip recap episodes, like the recent one in Hunter x Hunter.
I don’t know of any examples from experience, but I would say skipping Naruto filler is the smart option.
Skipping recap episodes are okay to me because I’ve seen the actual episodes. It’ll be a waste of time watching an episode that retells what happened in the previous say, 12 episodes. Besides, we don’t miss anything skipping recap episodes.
i almost never watch filler episodes and i consider a series complete without them.
in fact the filler episodes made me stop watching naruto and bleach now i just read the manga for both of them.
I thought of dropping the anime before, but I like to see the actions animated. The experience is different from just reading the manga.
I tend to avoid shows with a high episode count (save for a few, like D.Gray-Man) mainly because of the possibility of fillers, so I never really had trouble completing a series.
I have however thought about something similar in regards to the really old shows that I “know” I watched, but I can’t remember if I actually finished them, since they were all televised and I was, probably 10-11 years old. Which really sucks because it’d be hard to re-watch shows like Project ARMS or Flame of Recca, even if I already know the gist of it.
Yeah, that’s another problem too – the ones I saw on TV. I ended up not listing them at all since I wasn’t sure of my progress.
I don’t mark series as complete unless I’ve seen all of the episodes (except for recaps). It just helps me keep track of what I’m missing in case someone talks to me about a certain episode later on.
Yeah, that would be a more accurate count too. It’ll be difficult to discuss a title you said you’ve completed but in actual fact did not.
Since you don’t mark it as complete, do you just leave it as it is or just mark it as “dropped”?
I’ve accidentally skipped an episode or two at times, having forgotten to download them when catching up after falling behind, only to realize something was up after I had watched. I know that there are a few series I’m not entirely positive I finished, that I marked as completed because it’s been ages since I saw them and I really don’t remember much. Other than that, I don’t really skip episodes of things, I just drop them if they get bad enough that you’d have to do so. However, just hearing something is bad isn’t enough to make me a believer, I have to witness it for myself to make that decision.
Oh, I’m opposite in that aspect. I tend not to include those into my list.
Hmm…I notice I’ll be reluctant to drop a series if I’m already halfway through the series, save for long running anime. So usually I’ll follow it till the end. But if it’s still early in the series, yes I’ll drop it.
Yes, I agree with you – I’ll only decide if a series is good or bad after I watch it personally.
I only did it for two series in the past, but did not skip the fillers; more like fast forward them, since I was afraid something of interest would come up. Silly since it was only two fillers (well five for other series). I remember the Naruto fillers and as awfully as they were (some – not all), I decided to sit through them and just watch anyway. As said, that was in the past, being impatient and not really in love with fillers, but sometimes looking at them are not that bad. Really does not count as complete to me, unless I see everything that was intended (awful fillers included).
Yeah, I get what you mean here. Personally, it doesn’t feel right to mark any series as completed if I’ve skipped an episode. Recaps not included.
Let’s put it this way, Naruto fillers ONLY matter to me when Hinata and Ino are involved because they’re my top 2 fav characters in the series…before I quit watching “The Otaku Triforce of Doom” of course.
As for my thoughts on fillers, Hanasaku Iroha quality fillers, GOOD, Bleach fillers, BAD. Nuff said. Basically it depends on the show and its length. Hmm, I think a better way to explain how I feel about fillers is if the filler is either funny, morally interesting or heartwarming, then I’ll enjoy it. If it’s like a filler I remember with an annoying rich kid and the moral is something obvious like money can’t buy everything, then it’s a waste of my time.
Very true, whether fillers are good or not is dependent on the show and its length, especially the length. I think no matter how good the show is, if fillers get too long it’ll be a major turn-off. Eventually.