Anime Tropes you hate

[Blanc]

If you know, you know.

Are there certain tropes that appear frequently in anime that you just can’t stand? Tropes that once you see you’re immediately turned-off from even giving the anime a chance more than an episode? Maybe I’m speaking as a jaded anime fan, but there’s quite a few of these for me— thankfully most are boxed into the genres they often inhabit, but sometimes I’m not so lucky.

Keep it civil guys! And remember these are all opinions, if there are tropes in here you like someone else doesn’t, feel free to talk it out and discuss differences, but be cool about it, okay? Everyone is allowed to have their own feelings.

I often hate ‘self-insert’ protagonists. I understand the appeal, but it just isn’t for me. I don’t like these because they are often liked by other characters just because they are ‘nice’ with little substance beyond this. Character writing is super important for me to enjoy an anime and this can kill the vibe immediately.

Fanservice. I’m not going into detail on this one, and neither should anyone else, just know it more often than not takes me out of a dramatic story or scene. I just often find it so unnecessary.

Power level being treated as a gag. This is one that’s cropped up recently, mostly in isekai and power fantasies, but occasionally in shounen. Where the protagonist is already super OP, and their Op-ness gets treated as hysterically unbelievable for the gag. (ex. character going, “oh, don’t worry about it, I already leveled the building!” and the rest go “WHAAAAT?!”) I just don’t see this kind of thing as funny at all. It gets old fast to me.

When characters are nothing more than tropes. A little redundant sounding in this thread, but I hate when you can very much tell a character is just a single trope at their core (a tsundere, an airhead, a delinquent etc etc) characters can have these qualities, but I’d really like some more complexity going on than just surface level personality traits!

Normal guy meets extraordinary girl. It’s hard to place my feelings on this one, as more often than not it’s just a formula for a love story, but I’d like to see less gender-roles in play whenever I see this sort of story. It’s hard to think about this one without going into the weeds. I guess I could say I don’t really hate it, but the formula I see is overdone, and I’d like to see some norms broken.

I’m sure I have more than these, but I’ll think more on it later, for now, I’d like to hear your thoughts!

 

[Fitzy3386]

The two big ones for me are the "Chivalrous Pervert" and the "Perverted Old Man." There's seemingly no avoiding either of them, even my all-time favorite anime features the perverted old man. The jokes were never funny to begin with, after this long they're unfunny AND played out.

 

[Blanc]

The two big ones for me are the "Chivalrous Pervert" and the "Perverted Old Man." There's seemingly no avoiding either of them, even my all-time favorite anime features the perverted old man. The jokes were never funny to begin with, after this long they're unfunny AND played out.

(RARE FITZY FORUM APPEARANCE HELLO!!)

Omg, yes to both of these. These feel like tropes that should’ve died in the early 2000s, and I’m honestly cringing they’re still around. They’re just written in as poor excuses to include fanservice where there otherwise wouldn’t be, or put the MC in a pedestal as a hero (if they are not already ‘The Chivalrous Pervert’ of course). This entire trope is almost what turned me off Mushoku Tensei, an anime I have some really big mixed feelings about due to including a plethora of tropes I hate while having insanely good character writing.

It’s crazy how even in the most popular anime we have to put up with characters like these. Ugh.

 

[sleepwick]

honestly, both of the tropes i'd list here have already been said.

i don't mind some fanservice but excessive fanservice just isn't for me. even if it doesn't make me outright stop watching (though, there have been some extreme cases for me where i've just taken a break from watching for a while because it was just too much), i'll kind of just be sitting there rolling my eyes at it when it gets to a certain point. in general fanservice isn't for me, it's just a matter of if it's done little enough that i can just ignore it or not.

The two big ones for me are the "Chivalrous Pervert" and the "Perverted Old Man." There's seemingly no avoiding either of them, even my all-time favorite anime features the perverted old man. The jokes were never funny to begin with, after this long they're unfunny AND played out.

and MASSIVE agree on this one. in general i don't tend to like pervert type characters. i'm sure they can be alright if handled well and in certain contexts, but i just tend to find that most animes take what they do with these characters way too far, to a degree that isn't funny, just uncomfortable.

 

[Neo Blaze]

I feel the isekai genre has become one big trope, and one I'm decidedly not a fan of. There's so many isekai shows coming out every season and they all have the same tired premise or some variation thereof. Not to mention isekai is like the only genre you can tell what genre most of the shows are by the title alone, since the show's names are usually uninspired too. An isekai show really needs to have some kind of twist or unique, trope-defying approach for me to get interested in it.

I'm also not a fan of excessive fanservice. I'm not completely against it if it's infrequent in a show or it's some one-off joke, but if it gets to the point where female characters are nothing but eye candy and their physical features are constantly referenced or part of a joke, I check out. That's part of the reason I did not like Grand Blue at all, for example.

 

[toastghost]

the thousand year old child thing, i think it can be pulled off in some stories, but i hate how it gives creepy fans an excuse to be super weird about them and then have the excuse "well she's actually 5000 years old so its ok" like dude no

 

[Zexy]

I also kinda do not like isekai as a genre, fanservice is getting old of course, do not even get me started on any type of perverts, and yeah self-inserts (the so called Mary Sues and Gary Stus). But all that has been said and done already, just making clear I agree.

I kinda do not like the overuse of amnesia as a trope, how easily it may come, sometimes it goes away just as easily (may only last for one episode), and how it tends to work in media (nothing like real life).

I also do not like the concept of "beach episode" because it rarely is not fanservice.

 

[Neo Blaze]

I also do not like the concept of "beach episode" because it rarely is not fanservice.

Very much agree with this one. I'm a sucker for romance and slice-of-life anime, but a good number of them have a beach episode and they usually play out very similar. And as you said, there's often nothing more to them other than fanservice.

 

[Tood]

I don't like tsunderes. I feel like a lot of them get so aggressive or snappy towards their love interests, to the point where I feel as though any actual sane person would just think "wtf is wrong with this person" and leave. I feel like they're a character type that's been way too exaggerated over the years to even be likeable.

Fantasy "i was reincarnated as the villain" or "i was teleported into the game and now I'm there forever??" type isekais also piss me off. Like, just write a story in that setting to begin with??? Why does it always have to be a corny isekai plot? Like, you can make relatable characters in a non-realistic setting with good writing, they don't need to be a literal 16 yr old from modern Japan all the damn time to make people care about them. -1000000 points if the series is also a harem/reverse harem series, too; those are the tropiest ones of all.

Or, if it has to be an isekai, at least make it so that the actual real world and fake world both actually matter in the plot, like some Digimon/Inuyasha/whatever series. Just so it isn't just a fantasy series where the mc has a cell phone, or something.

 

[KenderCharmeleon]

I'm tired when the heroine is just there to give explanations to younger audience and actually can't do anything by herself without being saved by the protagonist or something or just there to boast how the protagonist is strong and exceptional. If they are lucky, they might given the right to give a shout to warn the protagonist about a danger, and that's that. They do nothing else from the show than being annoying.

 

[Superfanj]

I don't like tsunderes. I feel like a lot of them get so aggressive or snappy towards their love interests, to the point where I feel as though any actual sane person would just think "wtf is wrong with this person" and leave. I feel like they're a character type that's been way too exaggerated over the years to even be likeable.

Fantasy "i was reincarnated as the villain" or "i was teleported into the game and now I'm there forever??" type isekais also piss me off. Like, just write a story in that setting to begin with??? Why does it always have to be a corny isekai plot? Like, you can make relatable characters in a non-realistic setting with good writing, they don't need to be a literal 16 yr old from modern Japan all the damn time to make people care about them. -1000000 points if the series is also a harem/reverse harem series, too; those are the tropiest ones of all.

Or, if it has to be an isekai, at least make it so that the actual real world and fake world both actually matter in the plot, like some Digimon/Inuyasha/whatever series. Just so it isn't just a fantasy series where the mc has a cell phone, or something.

I'm with you with tsunderes. They'll act so harshly that sometimes, they'll use violence against their lovers. I think they're just too exaggerated, as you said.

 

[Sheep]

Fanservice typically, and gotta agree with the 'perverted old man' trope too. Master Roshi from DBZ would have been so cool if that wasn't part of his character. ):

 

[Cybelyrium]

Yandere. I have a deep hate for this one, because of how overused it is in media and also how people seem to always flock towards it. Another reason I dislike it is because of how this is treating a serious problem (stalking to an obsessive point) as a joke or something to make the viewer attracted to.
Another trope I hate is "power of friendship". If not executed well it can just be something tacky and boring to appeal children and an excuse to have the protagonist win. A story is not made of wins only and if there's an extreme unbalance of win/lose in an anime it becomes very predictable.
I love Azumanga Daioh, it being one of my favorite anime/manga, but if there's one thing I hate in it is the "comic relief" perverted man trope as mentioned previously. Seems to be a recurring gag in anime for some reason, probably something seen as funny in the east, but I particularly don't like it either.
I have a ton of tropes I could talk about here, but these three seem to bother me the most.

 

[Zexy]

There are so many other tropes out there, it may just be that most are not as overused.

Unpopular opinion for a Pokémon forum, but the older I get, the less I like the idea of "the power of friendship" solving everything. But it can still lead to some good stories if used correctly, as in not exactly shonen style, but something like Steins;Gate, Higurashi and other series with a more adult theme.

 

[Proxima Centauri B]

I dont like "power of friendship" trope,its overused in the "this solves everything and gets boring.

I never liked the Tsundere and Yandere trope like they can be abusive. Its get its cartoons but I dont get whats supposed to be appealing about it or how you can spin it as being anyway good.

Useless Heroine too

 

[Cybelyrium]

Wow, It almost sounds like you don't like any tropes at all!

No, I'm just not a fan of a lot of things popular anime tend to do, however the others are more obscure and specific.

 

[Juliko]

HOOOOOOOO BOY don't even get me started on the anime tropes that make me want to bash my head against the wall. Don't get me wrong, I love the anime/manga industry for all the stories it can tell, but there are some tropes that really, really, REALLY need to die. But I don't have time right now to get into all of them, so I'll just talk about the one trope that seriously makes me seethe with hatred: Boob grabbing, usually the non-consensual kind. Seriously, why do so many anime/manga have characters do this?! I don't get it! If it was consensual on both sides, I wouldn't mind, but if it isn't, I'm pretty sure that's considered sexual assault! Yet so so so MANY anime/manga treat it as either no big deal, a gag, or brush it off like it's perfectly normal WHEN IT CLEARLY ISN'T!!! Especially when the character on the receiving end of it is shown to not like it!! It isn't funny or cute or anything, it's fucking sexual assault no matter how you slice it! I've been taught from a very young age that nobody should ever touch someone else's private parts (Unless you're adults and both parties consent to it). It's basic sex education 101! I hated it when I first discovered it as a high schooler (Thanks, Haruhi Suzumiya), and I still hate it now, and I cannot understand why this trope is so prevalent. I've dropped and actively avoided several series because they felt the need to shove this in, especially when it either doesn't do anything to further the story (And usually it doesn't!) and actively ruins the intended tone or atmosphere of whatever scene its in (Case in point: Orbital Children threw one in during what's intended to be an intense, dramatic scene...but shoving that trope in there completely ruined it)! God, this whole boob-grabbing trope needs to die.

Oh wait, there's another trope I loathe with the fury of a thousand suns: Brother/sister incest. Do I even need to explain this one?

 

[Palamon]

I hate first guy/girl wins. It's just... sigh one of those I wish wasn't the case most of the time, but it is. And I barely watch romance these days.

 

[PainterFight]

I never thought of it, but I just can't stand the Yandere trope in anime. Stalking is creepy. A love interest who won't stop being obsessed with you and would kill anyone trying to meddle with your relationship is even creepier. Also, age gap romances. Hooo boy.

 

[Blanc]

don't like tsunderes. I feel like a lot of them get so aggressive or snappy towards their love interests, to the point where I feel as though any actual sane person would just think "wtf is wrong with this person" and leave. I feel like they're a character type that's been way too exaggerated over the years to even be likeable.

This is entirely understandable. I like tsunderes, but I feel it’s often difficult to find one that is written well, or written as more than the trope of being a tsundere, even. I actually find more well written tsunderes in video games over anime, I wonder why.

Unpopular opinion for a Pokémon forum, but the older I get, the less I like the idea of "the power of friendship" solving everything.

I understand where you’re coming from. It tends to be a very Deus Ex Machina way out of situations. I haven’t seen it used toooo much in the anime I’ve watched lately but it definitely does destroy impact a scene can have unless they get creative with it.

Yandere. I have a deep hate for this one, because of how overused it is in media and also how people seem to always flock towards it.

I don’t hate them but I entirely see your point, I find Yanderes are often hard to handle, as fanbases are strangely notorious to flanderizing these types of characters often to extremes. Similar to what I said about tsunderes, it's a character trope that I think isn’t tackled as often as well as it could be. I think the best characterization of a yandere I’ve seen is Kaede Fuyo, from a now quite dated anime based off a visual novel called “Shuffle!”. If I remember correctly, Kaede starts off as the childhood friend trope, that slowly deteriorates into yandere tendencies without going too far off the edge. I agree I don’t like yanderes being reduced to gag material, I don’t mind them in media actually, but I feel they are a character archtype that should be taken (and written) more seriously.

wouldn't mind, but if it isn't, I'm pretty sure that's considered sexual assault! Yet so so so MANY anime/manga treat it as either no big deal, a gag, or brush it off like it's perfectly normal WHEN IT CLEARLY ISN'T!!

Another trope I thought would die in the early 2000s and didn’t. Regrettably.

I hate first guy/girl wins. It's just... sigh one of those I wish wasn't the case most of the time, but it is. And I barely watch romance these days.

I agree, I also like being surprised at who the characters end up with! There are a few anime out there that manage this but it’s definitely rare.


Circling back, I raise you guys another of mine that doesn’t really have a name, but I notice it quite often in shounen/seinen anime. Let’s call it— “Girl character is strong— but not too strong!” I mean this either physically via strength or magical powers in a series, and emotionally. I am a huge, HUGE fan of powerful women in anime, women who are either shown to stand toe to toe with men or even protect men playing much more of a ‘shining knight’ role than the male protagonist. It’s a very niche one, but I noticed often when I finally find this trope, later on in a series the girl always ends up bested by the male lead, or shown to be emotionally softer after all and just compensating her toughness. I wouldn’t mind this if I didn’t feel it was often a cop-out for when the MC’s masculinity starts to look threatened rather than adding dimension to a character.

…I think I’m just tired of gender roles. LOL.

I'm tired when the heroine is just there to give explanations to younger audience and actually can't do anything by herself without being saved by the protagonist or something or just there to boast how the protagonist is strong and exceptional. If they are lucky, they might given the right to give a shout to warn the protagonist about a danger, and that's that. They do nothing else from the show than being annoying.

This also plays into my above take, I think. I also hate this, it happens waaay too often. I used to also find these types of characters annoying, but lately I disregard them and more get annoyed at the show itself for dooming the narrative of that character.