Writing Tips and Reviews

What is filler?

When it comes to writing, filler can be useful, but it's also a double-sided sword. It's purpose is to lengthen the run time and how it's done is important.

A common example is Steven Universe, love it or hate it, you can't deny that it's full of filler. And that filler is not placed in a great position. In the middle of the cluster arc, we get episodes about mayor elections and I believe the restaurant episodes as well. It's been a while since I've seen it. This was not a good idea, tensions were at high stakes and the world itself was in danger. The better solution is to finish the arc and then go into filler before the next arc, it would be a good break in between arcs to lessen the tension.

Another common example is High Guardian Spice. A show known for its first episode being pure filler and boring at that. I won't deny that Steven Universe's was at least fun and did lead to further development. The new mayor was better at organizing gem threats and the old mayor reopened the donut shop when the original owners left. It also led to some good character development for the old mayor and how he wanted to feel needed. HGS' filler is boring. We know nothing of the two girls we're supposed to be following, we barely know their family, and their house is seen in the opening and a single flashback. It would've been better for the episode to be about the girls at home, yes, it would've been filler, but it would've been worthwhile.

A personal story I love to kick is When the Stars Align. No, not the Genshin event, it's an old story I reviewed in the past that was... so full of filler, the heroes crying over getting called out, and information we were supposed to know because... read the author's mind I suppose. The story is by far the worst example of filler. What do you think is worse than putting filler in the middle of a world threatening arc or having the first episode literally tell us nothing? How about 11/12 chapters being pure filler? Do you know the video of the pronoun gal crying because she got called a "lady" at the bar? It's that, but for 11 chapters.

Filler is fine in some places but it can't be so boring it loses peoples interests or so drawn out that none of the actual story happens. It's not fair to an audience for them to have to read/watch an entire chapter/episode of filler with nothing to look forward to or nothing to gain. Steven Universe suffered from putting filler in the wrong place, HGS suffered from its filler being boring as hell, and When the Stars Aligned suffered from just being filler with a fake promise from the prologue.

A good example of doing filler is Demon Slayer, arcs are fully able to take place and tensions remain high when during a short break. But it never has filler in the middle of an arc and the filler it does have is never boring. Training arcs are important and they also give the characters a chance to interact with one another on a normal basis. It's kind of like the weekend for them. Fate Stay Night also has filler but it's often during break times and mostly Rin and Shirou getting to know one another.

Do you see what kind of filler I like? It's when the characters have a break in the main story to interact with one another. We get to learn about them and how they fit in the world. Coffee scenes may be over done, but they give people a view of a calm day in the character's life. The scene where Rin, Shirou, and Artoria going to lunch maybe be filler, but it was worth it to see them all talk as a friends. How about in Grand Order when Fujimaru and Romani are hanging out in the room? While a fun scene, it shows their personalities and how Romani is a guy who wants to cheer up the mood while Fujimaru is someone who wants to fit in.

Can you tell me what you learn from Rosemary and Sage meeting their parents in the middle of no where whole Rosemary trips on nothing? Can you tell me what you learn from Amber setting up a party, yelling at the principal, and then crying about how much of a victim she is when she's in detention? The answer to both is not much. Very little can be gained when the focus is all over the place. No one needed 3 transportation scenes ending with learning Anise and Aloe are married while the episode is called "journey to high guardian". No one needs 11 chapters of a bunch of children crying about how they're the victims because they got caught breaking the rules.

Thinking about it, both of them suffer from attempting to give small hints to the main story but in HGS' case, doing nothing was more important, and in the other's case, children crying was more important. Still can't believe HGS got an entire season.

Shows have a time limit of how far they can go, unless they're able to get another season, they have about 12-24 episodes to tell their stories. This is why they should be focused on the main story. The first episode or two sets up the world and characters, the next introduce the plot, and it goes to the climax before the conclusion. Often the last episode is a teaser to a possible second season. In the area of anime, they're based on mangas, which follow the arc structure with filler in maybe 1-2 issues before getting into the next arc.

Western books are different, they don't tend to have much filler in the same way eastern works do. Some solely focus on the main story and only have breaks at the end when the story is finished. It's not often they continue for over 10 books like manga or light novels do. Western shows do tend to follow the arc rule, Amphibia's second season focuses on the main story (its first season was fun build up to test the world and characters), and only took a filler episode as a break to have one last night of fun. But you can also get Star vs the Forces of Evil where the final season was packed with filler and a rushed finale because they ran out of time. I wonder why.