In my opinion episodic Anime don't mix well with a serious story. It makes it to predictable most of the time. That's no good for a serious story right? Well not all of the time. Usually episodic Anime work well with Comedy like in "My
Ordinary Life".
By... "
TheAwsome"
Agreed. In animes like 'Sket Dance' episodic sections work well because it doesn't take you out of the immersion of the story. It really feels like just another episode since the entire show doesn't follow a consistent plot. But in any show which has a long
continuous plotline, or even a semi-serious, shortone, it can actually break the immersion.
In a show like 'Bleach' most people just end up skipping it or waiting until the part is over. I feel that I lost release dates with episodes that did not matter one lick to the series. In some cases I stopped watching the show entirely and just waited a few
months to pick it back up after hearing if it had anything to do with the storyline.
Then again it might have something to offer, even if it's just a reference, in something bigger. Take Haruhi for example. We all know the notorious time loop episodes. It's almost like starting a new character in DA:Origins and having to redo the mage tower.
But, for me, having it referenced in the movie gave me some sort of commitment. As opposed to my friend who watched the first 5 episodes of the loop and gave up on the series, only to have me tell him that there was one or two episodes left in it. Regardless
how I feel about it, my friend had given up on the series nonetheless.
So long, drawn out answer short, I feel in a serious anime this is a huge deal breaker for me. I'd rather have a recap episode than a filler episode.