Plan to Watch List

Plan to Watch List

Introduction

If you’ve been watching anime for any amount of time, you probably have something known as the Plan to Watch list. This is the list of anime series you plan to watch in the future, and it can take a couple of different forms.

For some, this list may simply be in their mind and so not a concrete list, while others, like myself, use websites such as MyAnimeList to give a tangible form to their list. But no matter what form your list may take, there are a few rules which govern the Plan to Watch list.

In my case, while I do have a Plan to Watch list on MAL, it doesn’t include everything I actually plan to watch. As I remember anime I want to watch, I add it to the list, but I often decide to watch something in the future while not on MAL and so it takes a while before it gets added.

The List

The first thing you need to remember about the Plan to Watch list is that it’s a never-ending abyss. By this, I mean it’s impossible to ever truly complete this list and get it down to zero series.

While it may seem like watching more anime would reduce the number of series on your Plan to Watch list, in reality it increases the number. Now, you may be wondering how this is possible, so let me explain.

There are two types of anime series: current seasonal series, and everything else. Because of this, there are two ways people tend to watch anime: some mostly watch the current seasonal series, and some mostly watch everything else.

For those who mostly watch current seasonal anime, this means they have less time to catch up on older series, and so they aren’t really clearing out their Plan to Watch list. They’re also likely adding more old anime, or seasonal anime they missed, to the list as they go.

On the other hand, those who mainly stick to series which have already concluded, this means that they’re constantly adding seasonal anime to their Plan to Watch list at the end of each season, as well as some other old anime.

However, the true tragedy of the Plan to Watch list is when a series gets stuck in the abyss indefinitely. It’s common for an anime to be added to the list, only to be forgotten about or just never watched because you’re never in the mood for it.

To remedy this issue, I’ve attempted to number every (most) of the anime on my Plan to Watch list. By numbering the anime, it gives me an order in which to watch them, so I’ll eventually get around to everything on the list.

Anime series counter from MyAnimeList
Series Counter from MyAnimeList

Conclusion

Unfortunately, even by implementing my strategy of numbering all the anime on your Plan to Watch list to give yourself an order in which to watch them, the list still continues to grow. Science currently hasn’t figured out a way to defeat the Plan to Watch list, but research into this field continues on.

To conclude today’s shorter post, here’s a link to my Plan to Watch list on MAL.

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