I so often find myself feeling quite down after watching an anime series from start to finish, slightly since I have to find another one to watch which is a long and arduous process. Mainly because the rich and interesting stories make me melancholic about how my life is so dull and monotonous and that I will never experience as rich and interesting events in my life as shown on the screen. Finding love in those way interesting and wonderful, being forced in to heroic actions to save loved ones, none of that will occur, I will merely continue to be just another meaningless drone of society, toiling away for nothing, until I eventually die.

Might anyone else experience such feelings or concerns at all, anime related or otherwise, or am I just a bit of a whiny emo b?tch?

It hadn't until I read this post!

After finishing a series, I always find it an exciting challenge (and a chance to explore heaps of different series) to find another series to watch. Take the time in between series as an opportunity to read what fellow anime watchers have to say about different series - or just scroll through the anime discussed at AP.

I don't mean to trivialise what you've written but I think you need to remember that anime is suppost to be a form of entertainment - like movies, TV and books.

If you feel that way after a series, you could perhaps not watch that next series of anime like you planned, but instead go somewhere more lively and meet people or go out with friends. If you only ever imagine life you will never live it (or so i've heard 'cause I don't seem to have a life outside of Uni). Get a new hobby, go to a new shop or spend a day sightseeing, remember a long journey starts with the first step (ah!! I think I horribly slaughtered that saying).

Okay, so maybe I was a wee bit too melodramatic with the thread after all :P too much of a penchant for the dramatic on my end I suppose... I do have a life and stuff, I'm also at university, and I do enjoy watching new things, it's just the overall feeling I get right at the end, after it finishes there's a sort of emptiness for a brief time. Also the aforementioned meaninglessness of life :P but there's nothing to do about that in the end.

Sometimes, but mostly because I know it'll never be real

Sometime i feel anime is really borin' .. if the anime is for lil kids >.>.. but sometimes i feel happy when i watch my favorite animes

The only time I feel depressed after watching an anime is if the story line was pretty sad or I didn't like the ending LOL. I have to agree with tishdon finding a new anime to watch is always an adventure or for me (because I have a huge list of 'to see' anime) it's a accomplishment because it means that I'm one step closer to crossing off all on the list (which will never happen because I keep adding more on to it XD

Anime makes us dream of a world we wish existed

Life might seem meaningless because despite how great fulfilled your life is, it probably doesn't compare to the world of whatever anime you watch.
Being a doctor vs. owning a mecha, or having cool powers, or fighting enemies. (Yes it sounds corny to me too :) ) Because lets face it, we always reminisce about how awesome and cool it would be to live the protagonist's life. Feeling insignificance compared to that is inevitable. Which is why I loved Castle In The Sky. Its kiddish and 1980s graphics. But it gave such adventure and imagination.

And while the series is over, emptiness rolls in because...well theres no more of that anime. If it was good you really crave more because it probably gave such a great ending.

Anime is entertainment, but its great storytelling. TV can only offer reality shows and the news. Books are phenomenal, but, personally, Watch>Read & Graphics>Imagination. Books are probably better but I'm just too lazy.

And unlike those American reality television shows, Japanese are very honorable, and take serious pride in their work, even if its to make cartoons. In essence, if an anime doesn't impact you emotionally, than it isn't doing it's job. Why do people love anime so much? :)

I still remember the very first time I watched Grave of the Fireflies. My high school japanese teacher explained that it he thought it was necessary viewing. He was very right, and it stands as one of the most powerful movies I've ever watched, animated or no. I will admit the room got a bit dusty (I teared up)

Well sometimes iam pretty down maybe more often reently, they made me think lot about life and other importat things.
Its question me often if it is right to live my life the way i do or other stuff that makes me then more depressed but sometimes t makes just happy to watch anime or anime cure the depression XD

I was thinking depressed in terms of, because you just watched an awesome drama anime and now you wanna cry.

I sometimes do feel jealous of the way the characters in anime live their lives, like for example how some guys in harem animes get surrounded by so many girls, or how girls will cook for them, wake them up etc., but I mostly and almost always look on the bright side and just enjoy the show as what it is. I try to put those negative feelings aside, saying "it's never going to happen don't bother thinking about it". That way I can enjoy my anime more.

It sometimes is depressing to have to finish watch an anime that you so dearly love because it was so good, but because it was so good you just want more. I'm still waiting for animes like Initial D to continue on with a fifth season, and it makes me itch to wanna see what kind of animation they're going to throw at us. It makes me sad to have to finish watching a series, but it makes me real happy when they announce another season for that anime like School Rumble 3rd term, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2, Hayate no Gotoku season 2, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 3, Clannad after story and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann's movie.

It sometimes makes me wish that girls in reality would act like girls in anime because I find the girls in anime more girl-ish and more likeable.

I usually don't feel this way and automatically put any negative feelings aside regarding anime, but if I stop and think about it, there are a few changes I like made that I know will never happen.

If the anime haves a sad ending. Like when someone I like dies. Or if the ending sucks.

Those drama-type animes are sad. I remember that last sad anime I watched was Gurren-Lagann, when you-know-what-happens...

For me, actually, its the opposite. If I don't watch anime, read a manga, hear the OSTs in one day, I get depressed . Just like social-pariah said, most of what happens in anime, will not happen in your life. I also feel that sometimes but what the heck! My ANIME life and my REAL life is very far apart. So there's no way I can confuse the two.

I feel the exact same way. It's like... my life will always be in the same dull repetitive routine, nothing exciting will ever happen. Or maybe I'm wasting away the good parts of my life watching too much anime. But at the same time I love it and even though I know the things that happen in animes can never come true, it's entertaining and I love the excitement I feel when I'm watching a good series.

Not really. Although sometimes I feel sad after finishing the anime, It doesn't make me so sad to the point of depression. I guess for me the effects of watching anime is different. I watch anime so that I won't get depress. Even if that anime is really a tear jerker...