We all know the feeling. You start a new anime series and you invest your time, mind, body, and soul into it. You binge-watch for days, imagining yourself as the protagonist, making up scenarios in your head, and becoming that hero that you never were. Every time when you press “Next Episode,” you’re thrust again into the world of pixels. You immerse yourself in it, but what happens once it ends? How do you deal with that slap back into reality? Here are some tips that I have learned over the years!
1. Re-watch it until you get sick of it (aka, stay in the anime world).
Personally, after watching "Guilty Crown," I refused to believe that it was over and I re-watched episodes 20-22 around nine times. The first three times, it was still amazing and tearjerking. After the third time, though, it got less and less appealing. I knew what would happen in every second of these three episodes, so I had nothing to look forward to other than reminiscing.
If you miss it too much and you can’t function normally, then just lock yourself up in your room and re-watch it. Either you’ll fall harder for it or you will end up craving new content.
2. Talk it out (aka, stay in the anime world).
Season two of "Darker than Black" utterly ruined me. The first season was great, so I decided to watch the second. The last few episodes blew my mind and I honestly didn’t understand what or how anything happened. When I figured out all of the symbolism and how everything tied perfectly together, my mind exploded again. Option one didn’t work. No matter how many times I re-watched it, it only got better. I was stuck in a limbo between the anime’s world and actual reality (most people will agree with me that the former is indescribably better than the latter). Luckily, I had friends who didn’t mind my rambling and analyzations regarding the anime.
There’s nothing better than just being able to vocalize your thoughts and emotions. Find someone who you can talk it out with, someone who won’t judge your taste in anime. If you can come to terms with the ending of the anime, then coping with it will be so much easier.
3. Go read the manga (aka, stay in the anime world).
I watched "Tokyo Ghoul" many, many times. For a while, I just rewatched the first season, especially the Jason v. Kaneki scene, wishing that I was Kaneki. During my finals week, I got around to watching the second season and I absolutely fell in love. Like almost every other anime series I’ve watched, the last episode destroyed me. Once I exhausted my interest in the anime, my friend suggested that I read "Tokyo Ghoul:re," something that’d satisfy me until the third anime season came out (and it still hasn’t).
Most anime series are based on manga. So, if you want to get to the source of your happiness/addiction/whatever, just go any manga website (I prefer bato.to) and binge-read.
Over time, it’ll be easier to let it go and move on. Then, one day, you’ll stumble across an amazing new anime and the cycle will continue. The best thing is that you can stay in the anime world for as long as you want! Each time that you fear that you're falling back to reality, just click "Next Episode" or "Previous Episode."
I hope that my little tips have made it easier for you to cope with the overwhelming feelings that you get after your beloved anime series ends.
TL;DR: You're going to feel the same thing after every anime ends, so if you can't deal with it, see below:
Just go watch something like "Naruto Shippuden" or "One Piece." They’ll never end.
