Post-Anime Depression Syndrome

[Valigarmander]

Watching a good anime can get you to feel immersed in it. You become attached to the characters, and the settings and situations become familiar to you. Then, it's all over. The series ends, and all the stories, all the trials and tribulations of the characters you've grown to love end and you can never meet them again outside of rewatching the series. Maybe there wasn't enough closure for you, or maybe too much. Sometimes when a series you love comes to an end, it can lead to a feeling of emptiness and depression known as Post-Anime Depression Syndrome. Other symptoms of PADS include constantly thinking about the anime, very deep insight, and ignoring the people around you.

Probably the only series that had this effect on me was Cowboy Bebop. Perhaps FLCL too to a lesser degree, though it only had six episodes.

It doesn't just have to apply to anime. Syndromes similar to PADS can be experienced with cartoons, comics, novels, films, video games, or anything that lasts long enough for you to grow attached to it. For example, I get this feeling virtually any time I complete a Final Fantasy game. Have any of you experienced this before?

[ZeldaGirl]

Even before clicking on the topic, Cowboy Bebop was on my mind. My fiance and I are on our second run-through together (I've seen it more, but he's just really getting into it), and we're nearing the end...

Same with FF, some of them. I remember finishing 10 and being emotionally sucker-punched (a testament, since it's not my favorite anyway).

I love rethinking about what I've watched. The brilliant thing about Bebop in particular is how much depth there is in the storytelling; something new comes out every viewing.

[Random User]

Oh gods I hate this feeling. I've been getting really into Spice and Wolf recently and I know I'm gonna hate when I'm finished with it.

I have experienced this when I was done reading this really sad, and outstandingly good fanfic of My Little Pony entitled My Little Dashie. I couldn't stop thinking about the story or how the ending went and I couldn't stop replaying the whole story in my head.

[Apollo the Just]

FMA:B

why did you have an ending

<////////3

[also applies to pretty much anything you have seen me fangirl over, ever]

[never guess what I am thinking about right now]

[yes even though it updates like twice a day shut up]

[Kargath]

cl's stuck on homestuck

[Rainbow Dash]

i feel legitimately sad when an anime i like is over

this really extends to anything though

[LOOT]

Not just ending, having a character die at all that's awesome is what sucks. Fist of the North Star certainly really rocks it.

[spoiler]Rei dying SUCKED. He was a legit cool character with one of the most awesome fighting styles ever. Made Wolverine look like a damn wuss. What's that? You use metal claws to tear your opponent up? He uses his goddamn fingers and makes people fall apart in a second.[/spoiler]

I don't care if it is a post-apocalyptic wasteland where death is about as common as dust and should be expected amongst anybody who appears.

But, lucky me, a few new stories of FotNS have made it out in the last decade. The back stories, the three part OVA that I still need to see, Ken's Rage which I'm about to play the demo of. IT WILL NEVER END FOR ME.

... which is probably bad because again it's a series that takes place in a wasteland people are suffering.

[X-3]

^^Exactly. It's all about that emotional investment I guess.

If I've stuck with a show for 20+ episodes and genuinely liked it I'll feel a bit down afterwards.

[Apollo the Just]

Oh my god if we are going into character deaths, I again bring up FMA

I THINK YOU ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHO I MEAN.

ALL OF MY SADS.

[Bomby]

As much as I've enjoyed most of the anime I've seen, I always found that ending one anime was exciting because that meant that I could start another right away. Even with the infamously divisive ending(s) of Neon Genesis Evangelion, I felt satisfied upon completing it, and was interested enough in revisiting the series and diving deeper into the diegetic world that already existed that I wasn't exactly dying for more. Of course, right now I'm hotly anticipating the release of Evangelion 3.0 and 4.0.

However, I have to admit I'm kind of feeling it for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya right now. I still have The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya to watch, though. Now that I think about it, I kind of felt it for Azumanga Daioh. I guess it probably has to do with the fact that those are kind of more "hang out" shows where you feel like you're just hanging out with the characters more than anything.

[Deepfake]

So true. +10 smartguy points to Val.

[Jenocide]

I get PADS. Frequently. With manga too. It's not unusual to find me crying when I finish something even if it wasn't a particularly sad ending.

[FlyingWaffles]

Gotta agree with CL when it comes to FMA. -_-

Even if an anime isn't particularly great, if it manages to keep me hooked until the end, it almost always gets to me that it's over. A few weeks ago you were in a world of someone's imagination, then nothings left. It's just all over. It also doesn't help when the actual ending of a show is disappointing.

[X-3]

It's probably a good idea to put the name of the anime you're spoiling outside of the tag.

[LOOT]

Oh my god if we are going into character deaths, I again bring up FMA

I THINK YOU ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHO I MEAN.

ALL OF MY SADS.

SNORT

[spoiler]To elaborate on Rei's death, he didn't just die to big bad Raoh, oh no. He was struck in a pressure point that gave him three days to live, each day put him in increasing pain. As one last hurrah he goes after Yuda because he's a misogynist jackass and enslaved Mamiya years ago. He arrives at Yuda's base, not there. Travels to another town, turns out he's been double had (And turns the decoy into a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.). When he comes back to the village Toki offers to press a pressure point to extend his life by just one more day, at the expense at some horrible pain. To compare the pain, he was coughing up blood every now and then before and collapsed from the pain a couple of times. When the point was struck HIS NAILS POPPED STRAIGHT UP. All this so he could finally kill Yuda who shows up finally.[/spoiler]

DAMN SON I THINK THAT BEATS FMA.

[Deepfake]

but loot, fma was a good anime

[Jere]

I know what you mean there Val and i still have some issues looking back at some series now and again.

FMA i missed when it was over but i was content enough with it that i felt ok.

I have more problems with series that leaves me hanging in a way or another or gives me a stupid explanation and i have to relly on Heavy amounts of ignorance and theorizing too get through with it.

Digimon Season 2 left me in such a bad state that i had to re watch it years later just to see if it was that bad only to discover that it got worse and i now are on a path where the last 3-5 minutes of the last episode is just a big freaking illusion.

GummiBears Allso left a loning for more because it was kind of a downer ending for me.

There is a load of other shows and books etc that i miss but i Always in some way manage to find something new that get my attention

[Apollo the Just]

^ This. Thisthisthis. Exactly.

It's just that for some shows it takes longer for me to get in the mood to find something new in order to get over whatever amazing thing I just finished.

Also, back to FMA because as far as anime goes it is the series that gives me the most feels, the ending to Brotherhood was so very nicely wrapped up in a parcel of perfection and awesome that I finished it feeling very content, only filling about 3 folders of solid awesome fanart before moving on to something else. Probably dragons.

The FIRST anime, however, had such an out-of-the-blue ending with so many things that left me with sads and not-fulfilled-ness that it took me significantly longer to get over.

[spoiler]the fact that the brothers were in a completely different world from ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE ELSE just did not sit well with me. I was not pleased by this fact.

Also the entire other world thing just seemed so freaking last-minute and out of the blue and weird and yeeeaaahhhh I had post-FMA depression syndrome for a loooong-ass time[/spoiler]

[SephirothKirby]

Cowboy Bebop was devastating when I finished it for the first time :<