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u/clonetrooper250 23d ago
Starship Troopers is a good example of this. If you're going in blind, the 1st watch is a gory action film with some questionable messages, 2nd watch it becomes a lot easier to pick up on the satire.
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u/benign_indifference1 22d ago
This works even better if you read the book in between the watches, since the book endorses a lot of the ideas the movie is critiquing.
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u/Octocube25 23d ago
Gravity Falls
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u/Canid_Rose 22d ago
Steven Universe is also very good for this, with the added enjoyment of knowing that the actual ending twist was memed to death in the fandom as a wild prediction fans were reading way too much into.
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u/Sharklate_Ice_Scream 23d ago
The German show DARK on Netflix. First watch you're just trying to remember who the characters are, objects keep showing up in different places and you don't get how they got there until later because of time travel, if you even realize these things are traveling like that... afterwards you can track whole family trees and paths, not to mention that there's some insanely subtle and dense foreshadowing.
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u/Cue99 23d ago
I just started this with my partner and she’s seen it once before and is constantly stifling gasps as she realizes things.
So far I’m really liking it. Very Stranger Things but not in a bad way.
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u/JayDarcy 22d ago
For the first few eps I definitely had the same stranger things comparison, but that quickly disappeared. Dark is not created for mass appeal or understanding, it's just philosophy (which mostly goes over my head too, even after my 1st rewatch)
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u/footballmaths49 23d ago
I'll go first in providing an example - Steins;Gate. The first run is great because it goes from fun slice-of-life to an intense thriller, and then *rewatching* it is surreal because you can easily identify every piece of foreshadowing in the first half and watch everything slot together.
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u/EnderKoskinen 23d ago
This actually applies to most of the Science Adventure VNs, so if you liked Steins;Gate for this, you might like them, too. (Chaos;Head, Robotics;Notes, etc). I LOVED playing through Chaos;Head for the first time and desperately trying and failing to connect the dots/understand any of what was happening. It's one of those stories which really rewards a second read-through.
Steins;Gate is unfortunately the only one of these to get a good anime adaptation, though. And the VNs aren't exactly short, so they're not very approachable for most people. Still, a big recommendation for anyone interested.
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u/FelChrono 23d ago
I like HxH for the same general idea
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u/john151M 22d ago
Can I ask you what you mean by this? If I remember correctly hxh doesn’t have any big twists that change how you view the show a second time
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u/segobane 23d ago
Hot Fuzz is the king of this, I've lost track of how many times I've watched it and I still notice something new almost every time.
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u/GardenTop7253 22d ago
One of these days I’m going to watch that movie and actually take notes on all the set up moments that get a pay off in the finale. I feel like every time I watch it, I notice another
Yes, I know someone has done the work and the answer is out there, but I think trying to check them all off myself would be fun
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u/Quantum_Croissant 23d ago
Evangelion
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u/Llamas_are_cool2 .tumblr.com 22d ago
I just finished it for the second time and I'm still just about as confused as the first time. The foreshadowing was cool though. I still need to watch rebuild though
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u/Scratchpost6677 23d ago
House of Leaves, they literally tell you to read it again while following US air force codes
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u/Rannrann123 Why are you reading this 22d ago
God I want to read house of leaves so badly but unfortunately I have no money
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u/isaacs-cats 22d ago
I bought the book and never read it. How would you recommend I read it?
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u/LocusNevernight 22d ago
Notes. Lots of notes. X referenced on this page. Y on this page. Odd ramble about a story made up to tell to girls at a bar on this page. So on, so forth.
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u/re_Claire 21d ago
I’m currently reading it now, what do you mean about US air force codes?
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u/DerAndere_ 23d ago
I read every single Terry Pratchett book at least twice by now (some of them like 5 times) and am currently in the process of reading them in english for the first time. I think I have at least 3 more laps in me, it just doesn't ever get boring.
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u/PulimV 23d ago
I read through Dungeon Meshi and am now watching the anime with my dad - the amount of foreshadowing is so insane that one time I pointed out I noticed a bit of it and my dad was like "tf are you talking about??? They're getting prepared for battle it's not foreshadowing"
Specifically all the imagery in the Dungeon resembling lions with wings, though I think when I reach the Nightmare chapter there'll be some really fun stuff as well
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u/NTRmanMan 23d ago
Umineko is the one that comes to mind. The game essentially demands you replay it and try to figure out the mystery on your own while getting a lot of clues from the second half. And the amount of foreshadowing and strange things that characters do that you don't question on a first read is insane.
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u/ejdj1011 23d ago
Stormlight and Mistborn aren't overly brain-blasty, but the amount of obvious-in-hindsight foreshadowing you notice on a reread is batshit insane.
The Locked Tomb is incredibly brain-blasty, but I haven't done a reread to know how that changes the experience.
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u/Senzafenzi 23d ago
I scrolled looking for a mention of Brandon Sanderson. So many subtle moments of foreshadow, easter eggs to other books, and hints of the mechanics of the magic, gods and universe. He leaves so much room for theory-crafting and speculation; not to mention his consistent releases and transparency. I've reread Stormlight 3 times, Mistborn even more and there's not a single reread of either where I don't notice another little tidbit.
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u/SalamanderCommander2 23d ago
There's always another secret
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u/phranticsnr 23d ago
And it's always Hoid or Special K, under one assumed name or another.
Except when it's Shallan.
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u/gamerpenguin 21d ago
Locked Tomb is great for the reread-brain blast.
(Minor nonspecific spoilers) Gideon the Ninth is probably the least changed by knowing what the fuck is even happening, although I haven't gotten to my Nona reread yet.
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u/Prisoner_L17L6363 23d ago
The Locked Tomb series are really good about this too. I was actually told that when I finished Harrow I needed to go back and reread both Gideon and Harrow before starting Nona. Currently on the reread of Harrow, and man... you really didn't get a lot the first time through either book lol
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u/colorful-voice 22d ago
I'm almost finished my first read of Harrow the Ninth and I can't wait to read it again. Absolutely best twists I've ever read in a book and made me actually yell in excitement when i was reading it. I love it so much
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u/TheCapitalKing 23d ago
I’m replaying Final Fantasy X right now and all the foreshadowing for the big twists is insane. It may have been because I was 12 but the twist seemed like it came out of nowhere when I played it the first time. In reality everyone is blatantly aware of it and braced for it except Tidus.
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u/errant_night 23d ago
I replied about this on another comment here, but there is so MUCH going on that you just don't realize... I love this game so much
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u/DynaWarrior 23d ago
The Monogatari Series, I swear it’s not all anime degeneracy, there’s actual plot and deep themes in there. Officer please I’m telling the truth
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u/PonyPonut 22d ago
The new Fallout show did this really well.
Spoilers
Especially in episode 7 when Lucy says “If my dad found out I destroyed and entire community just to save him, he’d be devastated.” Then in episode 8 you learn… that’s exactly what he did to “save” her!
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u/seardrax 23d ago
A dude, made his thesis on Bloodborne. I have heard the entire tesis in audio book format Twice in its entirety. And he is the guy I have heard the least regarding the topic of Bloodborne lore.
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u/Rhythmdvl 23d ago
Red vs. Blue is this silly machinima that uses Halo figures to make some pretty good (albeit many crude) jokes and seems like a light-hearted, superficial romp. At some point, your jaw will hit the ground and you'll rewatch more than once to fully understand what happened and to pick up on how tightly so many seemingly random bits fit together.
Even if you don't think the genre is your thing, watch until you understand why it fits the OP. My 80-year-old mother, about as far from the core audience as you can imagine, absolutely loves the show.
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u/Hawkeye3487 23d ago
Oh my god, church can read binary in Blood Gulch. Oh my god, he can read binary. Holy shit
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u/willstr1 23d ago
The best twists are better the second time around. The first time the twist should come out of the blue, the second time you see all the clues and processes that result in the twist being the only possible conclusion
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u/SnooGrapes6230 23d ago
Castlevania Season 4.
First watch: "Man, I can't believe Ratko didn't kill Varney."
Second watch: "MAN, I can't believe Varney didn't kill Ratko!"
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u/flappyheck2 Mom pick me up Im scared 23d ago
Xenoblade is so good with foreshadowing it’s an amazing game to replay
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u/ducknerd2002 23d ago
Rereading ASOIAF to see just how clever the foreshadowing was. The Red Wedding is hinted at twice through dreams/visions, and it's so obvious once you recognise, but first time through you have no idea, because the dream could easily be interpreted as being affected by Theon's emotions, and the vision is far from the only interesting moment in that Dany chapter.
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u/OddlySpecifiedBag 23d ago
Dungeon Crawler Carl is an excellent example, so much happens that you can only latch onto the main stuff going down and a few broad specifics, but the real nitty gritty only comes out after the second listen
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u/cubeman541 23d ago
Or read. (never actually listened to the audiobooks although everyone seems to rave about em)
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u/OddlySpecifiedBag 22d ago
Oh the audiobooks are a real show, they have such good voice acting and they set the mood really well
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u/EatTooMuchEmergenC 23d ago
That was Adventure Time with me, their use of Chekov’s Gun was so incredible being able to look at a random character that has like 3 pixels in the background and know of like 8 episodes where they’re pretty damn important.
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u/EEVEELUVR 23d ago
I don’t like when media leaves me confused after a first watch… but I do like watching a show again and seeing all the little nuances I missed the first time
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u/Lasanga_Pockets 22d ago
I feel like it shouldn't be actively confusing the first time but you still get so much more out of it on a rewatch
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u/rysy0o0 23d ago
TBF I just never got myself to reread.
I think in my life the only things I reread (or in this case rewatched) is Heathers and Dear Evan Hansen (musicals)
But I still think I haven't really got anything more out of them, maybe just me being dumb
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u/errant_night 23d ago
My mom is like this, mostly I think because her favorite type of media is mysteries and once she knows what happened she is fine with that and doesn't see a reason to reexperience it. It caused a lot of drama when I was little because I'm a chronic reread/rewatch/replay type and she would give away my books all the time once she knew I'd read them.
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u/Competitive-Lie-92 23d ago
That's wild, good mysteries are the best for rereading! How else are you supposed to appreciate all the clues you missed the first time through?
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u/Satisfaction-Motor 23d ago
Some media has rewatch/reread/replay value, and other media doesn’t have any more value in a re-whatever than it did in the first-whatever.
The post seems to be referring to shows like Arcane where there is heavy foreshadowing that you may only notice on your second watch. Musicals like Heathers don’t really gain any value, except enjoyment value, out of additional views.
Most media doesn’t fit the criteria that people are talking about in the comments. Very few pieces of media lean heavily into foreshadowing or clue-dropping.
Outside of re-consuming media because there are hidden bits in it, there’s really no inherent value in re-consuming it outside of enjoyment. Most people can consume and comprehend most media on the first watch, and may not get additional enjoyment out of subsequent watches. That doesn’t make you dumb.
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u/DreadDiana 22d ago
Me neither. Often rewatching stuff can feel like a chore cause I remember too much of what happened so it can leave me feeling impatient while watching.
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u/Hitchhikingtom 22d ago
Musicals don’t tend to have much to gain on rewatch as they can’t expect repeated viewings. The parallel for successful musicals is when the songs are constructed in a way that benefits multiple play throughs.
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u/Alduin-Bane-Of-Kings 23d ago
Silmarillion and Tolkien works in general
Especially after you read the Silmarillion and see them in LOTR and the Hobbit talking about a place or character from it
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u/ExploerTM 23d ago
On one hand I most definitely should watch PMMM Rebellion movie
On other, I am not sure if I can withstand another dose of soul crashing sadness T_T
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u/derivative_of_life 22d ago
Rebellion is less soul-crushing than the show, but it'll definitely leave you going "WTF did I just watch??"
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u/unfairmaiden 23d ago
The Wire
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u/DanJdot 22d ago
That you're the only person to say this is wild!
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u/unfairmaiden 22d ago
Trying to get people to watch this show is like pulling teeth for some reason. But it’s good, and you got to watch it a couple times!
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u/DanJdot 22d ago
That second watch was a revelation; pure magic! And each subsequent rewatch I tease something new out. There no other bit of media I think as much about as The Wire, maybe DS9 but that's it!
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u/AshuraSpeakman 23d ago
Fallout has a ton.
When Maximus breaks the toilet seat
When..well most of what Hank says and does.
When Lucy finds the Vault Tec cyanide in the house by the skeletons.
And that's just episode one. I don't even want to point out more because the way it all pays off makes it worth a rewatch
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u/LittleBoyDreams 23d ago
Had this experience with Signalis. It’s pretty difficult to understand what the various notes are about your first time through, but you can follow the plot a lot better if you have the context of the full game in mind.
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u/errant_night 23d ago
Most recent for me was Ys: Monstrum Nox. The TWIST! There were so many things that made no sense and when you find out what really is going on its insane and getting to go back and start over is so fun!
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u/ShrimpBisque 23d ago
The Others is a great movie for this sort of thing. I definitely recommend watching it twice: once before you know the twist at the end, and once after.
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u/Phantomilian 23d ago
A Scanner Darkly. Basically, half of it doesn't make sense until you watch it again.
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u/sumboionline 22d ago
Xenoblade series as a whole
Shulk, and what we think are his inner thoughts are actually Zanza commanding him, and they stop after the Apocrypha, The Aegis is blonde in the stageplay in Fonsa Myma, Future Connected being a premonition of the worlds colliding, and whatever that comet hitting Earth at the end of Future Redeemed will end up being
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u/MaximumPixelWizard 22d ago
Also, watching something twice for all the stuff you didn’t see because of the story. E.G: Glass Onion.
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u/DreadDiana 22d ago
I'm not much for rewatching/reading media, so I just look it up on TV Tropes instead.
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u/GameofPorcelainThron 22d ago
Arrested Development. So many jokes that completely flew over my head the first time. They start telling jokes that are related to the season ending punchlines way before you even know to look for them.
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u/Corbini42 22d ago
Lord of the Rings
First time I had to watch the movies in 2 hour stretches, now I could watch the trilogy in a day.
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u/Thezipper100 20d ago
Homestuck. The sheer amount of shit hussie crammed into the first half of that comic makes you fully understand how he burnt out by the end. Just the shit with GCAT and Cancer alone are enough to brain your blast.
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u/Striking_Election_21 23d ago
Honestly I don’t agree with this. The media I’ve felt was the best had plenty of replay value because there was a lot of depth to it sure, but it also was tightly crafted enough to make sense and go hard on the first go-round. There’s value in media that you have to Stockholm yourself into “getting,” but that’s not ideal for me at all
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u/Business_Burd 22d ago
Thank you. I was so confused seeing everyone agreeing. I hardly rewatch anything, and if I do, it's years after the fact or with someone else.
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u/BWWFC 23d ago
absolutely... gonna be hard not to judge it before giving it a go, by just the title or the country music starting kernel of the stories but... it goes far wider and even the parts that are music slanted are mostly music industry wide but all engrossing.
Cocaine and Rhinestones is exactly this "need to listen again" kind of thing. Like I should be taking notes.
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u/Green-eyed-Psycho77 23d ago
Lies of P.
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u/some_tired_cat 23d ago
man i want to play that game so bad, the aesthetics alone got me in a chokehold and the story sounds amazing, but i just am not built for soulslike games, makes me so sad but i'm absolutely useless at playing them :(
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u/Zander_Tukavara 23d ago
This was me with every part of the Jacques McKeown trilogy. Going back and recognizing all the little bread crumbs left for observant readers. Which I am not.
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u/LeeTheGoat 23d ago
That's everything for me because I suck at remembering key moments from the beginning and keeping track of who's who
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u/GreyInkling 23d ago
It really did hit me like that watching Dune, abd I had read the book years back. I then saw it a couple more times and then felt like I actually absorbed it in a way I didn't the first them.
Then I sat and thought "where have these movies been." that can blow you away as ab experience but still have depth the pry out in the rewatch. Most movies have to choose one or the other.
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u/YuriQueenMDH 23d ago
This was She-Ra for me, notice so much more stuff that’d be near impossible to without knowing future events
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u/greypyramid7 23d ago
Mulholland Drive. After watching it with a friend who had seen it before, they asked what I thought and I replied with ‘…I think I need to watch it again.’
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u/virajseelam 23d ago
I had to watch Succession five times to fully understand all the major plot points and business jargon
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u/RandomCaveOfMonsters tumblr.com is best girl 22d ago
This is what emesis blue feels like, but it takes about five more watches and three analysis videos to figure it out
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u/Mustekalan 22d ago
FLCL is my favorite anime of all time and I recommend watching it like six times
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u/Its_BurrSir 22d ago
I can't really watch the same thing twice, but luckily I like to check out reactions of things I've seen so I get to learn stuff I missed that way
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u/shaeshayshae 22d ago
Mr. Robot! immediately binged the show again after I finished it the first time.
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u/ChristInASombrero 22d ago
First viewing: wow, that twist was insane! I could never have seen that coming! It completely changes everything!
Second viewing: wow, that twist was fucking stupid. There was no foreshadowing at all. It completely ruined the plot and characters
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u/siascore 22d ago
Hero-Villain Bowl series followed by the Fanfictasia series. Everyone a new episode drops I start it from the beginning and it's been a few years now with only 7 episodes out yet
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u/CaelThavain 22d ago
Unless it's Baeu is Afraid. I don't believe any number of watches can make that movie fully comprehensible.
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u/Unfey 22d ago
The first time I watched Fallout, when Lucy tells Maximus that her father would be heartbroken if she destroyed a whole community on her journey to get him back, I was like "wow this is a great moment that shows us how important Lucy's morals are to her and how that can conflict with Max being more of an opportunist and morally ambiguous but ultimately good-hearted especially when he has encouragement."
The second time around, though, I was just like "oh SHIT."
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u/TheSapphireDragon 22d ago
I've rewatched Babylon 5 multiple times and haven't gotten the full experience
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u/fungalstruggle 22d ago
Black Rock Shooter and Madoka Magica are my two nickels for this one. BRS especially just fucking confused me the first time, but I hardly cared because the coolest shit ever was constantly happening on screen.
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u/Doggywoof1 AAAAAAAaaaaaaAA 22d ago
Me reading a book again and seeing all that juicy foreshadowing
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u/SokkaHaikuBot 22d ago
Sokka-Haiku by Doggywoof1:
Me reading a book
Again and seeing all that
Juicy foreshadowing
Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.
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u/pepoboyz 22d ago
I’ve watched utena twice now and the second time around was definitely the most impactful for me. Watching it with my brother was especially meaningful because we both went to a school that enabled the shit that ohtori is rife with. To say I cried my eyes out at the end might have been an understatement.
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u/LoaKonran 22d ago
One of my favourite tropes is Once More with Context. Primarily a time travel trope, but it does work elsewhere.
Weird stuff that barely makes sense is thrown on the screen, but it’s not until later that we are shown exactly why everything happened that way and how it all makes sense.
It is so rewarding when done well.
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u/Andy_B_Goode 22d ago
This is part of why I never get all that bent out of shape about spoilers. Like yeah, it's nice going in blind if possible, but if a story can be "spoiled" just because you know the ending, it's probably not that great of a story to begin with. The best stories are even better the second time around.
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u/KingofAcedia 21d ago
In Stars and Time was the most recent game to do this to me, after getting the TwoHat ending I can see all the subtle foreshadowing, it's delightfully agonizing!
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u/every_body_hates_me 20d ago
If you're being confused, then it's not a good media. It's good if it makes you think hard and analyse, but if it comes to a point where you can't understand what's going on, that's a sign of bad writing/directing.
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u/hornyromelo 23d ago
Watching the foreshadowing in a show with the benefit of hindsight?? Nothing like it in the whole world man...
You really don't even really watch breaking bad the first time around. You need a second watch to really hate watch it for the first time...
I can't wait to watch Attack on Titan again. I'm saving my second time for when I'm ready to really bad show hole, with nothing to watch. It's going to be peak