Vent: my anime club went from late-night marathons to spreadsheet planning

Back in 2019 we used to meet at Dave's apartment every Friday and just throw on whatever DVD boxset someone grabbed, we'd watch 10 episodes of some random mecha show and argue about it until 3am. Now the same club requires a Google poll 2 weeks ahead, a designated host with a working projector, and we only watch stuff that fits the season's "themes" which someone decided on. It all changed after our old group split up in 2021, half moved away and the new recruits wanted more structure, so now we spend more time voting on episode order than actually watching. Last month we spent 40 minutes debating whether to skip the filler arc in Gintama and I nearly walked out. I get that people got jobs and kids and whatever, but nobody's forcing them to commit to a weekly 2 hour block. Has anyone else seen their chill viewing group turn into a part-time admin job? How do you push back without sounding like you hate fun?

1 comments

1 Comment

sethanderson1mo ago

Man, that hits close to home. I ran a gaming group that turned into a full on project management gig once someone made a shared calendar and a "suggestions box." Next thing you know we're voting on pizza toppings and someone's tracking "attendance trends." What killed me is the same folks who wanted all that structure were the first to bail when real life got busy. Now I just watch stuff alone and text two buddies "you free tonight?" and if they say no, I watch it myself. Way less drama. Your club sounds like it's one bad meeting away from needing a mission statement and a budget committee. Maybe just show up one week with the old DVD boxset and start it up without asking. Worst case they kick you out and you get your Friday nights back.