Overheard a guy at a con say he skips episode 1 of every anime and I can't stop thinking about it

I was in line for a panel at Anime Expo in LA last July and this dude in front of me told his friend he always skips the first episode because "they never matter anyway." Like, I get that some shows have slow starts, but he straight up avoids all character setup and worldbuilding. Has anyone else run into people with a weird viewing rule like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

fisher.charlie1mo ago

Honestly I get that some first episodes are slow but skipping them completely is wild. What worked for me was just watching the first episode on 1.5x speed if it drags, that way you still get the setup without feeling like you're wasting time. Tbh a lot of shows hide important clues or tiny worldbuilding details in episode 1 that pay off way later, like in Steins;Gate or Attack on Titan. Skipping that just seems like you're setting yourself up to be confused later.

knight.taylor1mo ago

Same, I literally fell asleep during the first episode of Steins;Gate and woke up confused, so I feel this deep in my bones. Totally agree with @fisher.charlie that the 1.5x speed trick saves the day though, it's the lazy person's compromise.