Anime Tropes you hate

[Steel_Justice]

OH GOD I FORGOT ABOUT THAT TROPE. i swear it'd be a way better trope if it was used more often as a gag character archetype where the thing was she still acted like an old lady despite looking young, but NYOPE they just use it for fanservice and it's gross.

(and yeah i am 90% sure fire emblem codified that trope, it's a shame since myrrh is one of my fav characters from that series (though she's arguably one of the most... nyormal? examples of the trope in the series) and i have to Contend with the fact she's part of the same character archetype that brought us nowi)

What's worse is that it isn't limited to non-humans. Lysithea from 3 Houses is 20 after the timeskip but still looks young and acts like a child even though she is extremely insistent on telling people not to treat her like one. Clearly she hasn't heard of the phrase "the lady doth protest too much" because otherwise she would have long silenced anyone who thinks she's childish by simply acting her age. It's even stranger when you remember that she isn't even the only female who is 20 after the timeskip. Petra is surprisingly just as young and no one doubts her level of maturity.

 

[CynthiaLover]

Ah, yes, the Faux Action Girl. How could I forget about this one? Whenever a female character (oftentimes the lead, or even sole female) is hyped up as being as badass and competent as her male counterparts, yet she falls flat every single time, really gets my Gogaot. Yugioh was especially bad with this, with Mai being the most standout, though Tori is not far behind. And I can't forget Zoey from Digimon Frontier like Steel_Justice mentioned. Really, her only noticeable win was her final battle with Ranamon, every other battle she needed the guy's help or it ended prematurely (like when Kalmaramon would botch her Titanic Tempest early on). Otherwise she got sidelined or trounced. It says a lot that Kari in Digimon 01, who was freakin' 8 years old, was a more competent Action Girl than Zoey was, and she rarely, if at all, got in the fighting herself. Naruto was even worse in this regard. No matter how you slice it, Sakura was useless from start to finish, and most of the other females were let down by this trope, too. I'd have more use for Ratchet's electro-shock underwear than Sakura had the entire series.

And it's not just limited to anime. Geeta is probably the most notoriously hyped Champion in the Pokemon games yet her team is laughable at best and pathetic at worst. She made Diantha look competent, who is another Faux Action Girl. And yet every time she's on-screen she's portrayed or hyped as this uber badass who demands respect from everyone. And that's before considering she seems to be out for best boy Larry's blood for whatever reason she has.

Another one I dislike is the If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him trope. This is suicidal naivety at best and the enemy will most assuredly take advantage of it. This was probably Holly's chief flaw from the Monster Rancher anime, and it's bitten the gang in the arse more than once ("Run, Tiger, Run" being a particularly good example). It's not just her, as both Yolie and Cody from Digimon 02 suffered from this, especially when Sylphimon and Shakkoumon were forced to kill LadyDevimon and MarineDevimon, respectively, when they were attacking the real world. They were horrified that their partners claimed lives despite the fact that both evil Digimon were threatening innocent lives and/or taking hostages. Cody in particular has no excuse, since his late father was a police officer, so he should've know that sometimes you need to kill to save lives. That is the unfortunate reality, since an enemy (especially one who's clever or cunning) will take full advantage of it, so it's sometimes better to just end them as quickly as possible before they end you by turning this trope against you. And that's why I don't like this trope when it's used, as it has literally fatal repercussions if a person takes this mentality.

 

[guzmania]

tbh maybe she's on my mind BECAUSE of CynthiaLover but part of the immense appreciation i have for cynthia is because she is the absolute reverse of a faux action girl
throughout the game, she's just this traveling scholar you bump into a few times and who helps you out some. not she, the game, nor anyone else, talks her up as a battler. you don't even know she is one until the very end of the league... and even THEN she's beyond humble. she doesn't go "yeah im the champ lol," she just says she's another trainer, just like you, the player.
and then she proceeds to be your opponent in one of the most, if not THE most, infamous boss fight(s) in series history. she's no flash, all substance, and she provides a genuine challenge while also just being... i dunno how to word it. a thoroughly authentic person. it's not a secret that sinnoh is my least favorite region, admittedly, but she's one of the best parts of it and arguably the most memorable champion.

Spoiler: in my response to the title's prompt including a bit more than just yanderes this time, i make mention of certain kinds of characters/designs being sexualized, albeit very briefly - if that makes you uncomfortable, please don't read

...anyway, to get back to the point, i do really hate faux action girls.
last time i only mentioned yanderes, but i'm just not really a fan of -deres in general. please, women have actual personalities, you do not have to box them into a single label of "happy all the time" or "pretends to hate the people she likes." that's why i really like stuff like doki doki literature club, which actively criticizes these tropes (as well as their "respective" characters being total deconstructions of the tropes themselves).
tsunderes especially are very unfortunate cases because the idea of someone forcing themself to be rude to a person they secretly care about as a defense mechanism of sorts (think asuka from evangelion) could actually be super intriguing if written well, but most modern tsunderes are given no explanation or excuse for their behavior and are usually just straight-up verbally or even physically abusive to the object of their desires. and this is supposed to be behavior the audience is meant to enjoy - either it is played for humor (abuse is NOT funny, even when it's a woman abusing a man! the genders of the perpetrator and victim do NOT matter!), or perhaps worse, is meant to make the viewer jealous of the target - yeah, getting slapped by a physically attractive anime girl might seem nice in your head, but there's nothing desirable about getting randomly struck regardless of what the other person looks like.

i'm also really done with those 1000+ year-old immortal girls that look like toddlers. i mean, it would be fine, if not a bit odd, if not for the fact that usually the series - and CERTAINLY the fanbases - try to justify sexualization of said character using her age.
face it. if she looked like she was 1000 years old (ie a literal skeleton), you wouldn't be interested in her at all.

also the perverted old man trope. that one is just played out and unfunny. especially when they creep out on younger characters and/or when they're clearly designed to be sympathetic. actually just screw any time a predator is designed to be genuinely sympathetic in a series ever.

Spoiler

redo of healer being one of the most disturbing, egregious examples of this

also this might be the most controversial one but i dislike... most certainly not feminine boys in anime themselves, of course (i actually love seeing unabashedly gnc characters), but the way they're written. it leaves a lot to be desired in many cases, really. mostly because you always have That One Character when the "big reveal" is made... yeah. there are some other things involving some transphobia sometimes coming into play, but i also really really REALLY hate it when they're constantly fetishized in the source material just for being feminine... like cmon.

so, uh... yeah. i love anime, generally, but there are some recurring elements in a lot of them that just get under my skin, haha...

 

[Princess Viola]

I think it'd be easier to list the anime tropes I like because while I do enjoy anime, I am very particular in what I like and there's so many tropes common in anime that I cannot stand.

Namely like a lot of people, absolutely hate the whole 'this character looks like a child but they're actually 1000 years old' garbage that's just done to sexualize the underage-looking characters. Absolutely disgusting and the only thing worse than it are the people who defend it or say 'they're just drawings'. Which is like, yeah we all get that, they are just drawings and not actually real, but y'all make it clear the only reason why you have any interest in these characters is because they look like children and the fact that you can't understand why other people find that creepy says a lot about you.

I also have admittedly mixed feelings about fanservice, rather than outright hate. I think it's like I hate fanservice where it's so clear it's just made for the male gaze and nothing more. Can't stand that shit, but stuff where it's there but it isn't just 'OMG ALL Y'ALL GUYS OUT THERE WATCHING, CHECK OUT THIS HAWT SEXY ANIME BABE IN OUR SHOW, SHE'S IN A SUPER SKIMPY BIKINI HER BAZONGAS OMG.!!!!' I can be OK with (granted this might be colored by me being lesbian lol)

 

[LightningTopaz]

What grinds my gears in anime:

--unexpected and out of place fanservice (in addition to what everybody else has said, I would also contribute the scenario of the boy walking in on the girl as she is getting dressed and/or undressing, or in the bathroom. granted, fanservice can be tastefully done, but that seems to be fairly rare)
--Just the isekai genre, period (unless you want to take the Digimon/Inuyasha approach, as someone else suggested)
--setting up something cool/amazing, and then never seeing it, or you only see it one time, and then it's not seen again
--Plot twists you can see coming from a mile away
--The story moves verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry sllllllllloooooooowwwwwly... (as in ten episodes on ONE battle slow)
--Or worse, thestorygoessofastyoudon'tevenhaveachancetolearnaboutthecharactersandtheirworldheywaitSTOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPP!!!
--If there's music involved in the story, either the songs are nails on a chalkboard bad, or the character(s) singing are nails on a chalkboard bad

 

[Steel_Justice]

And I can't forget Zoey from Digimon Frontier like Steel_Justice mentioned. Really, her only noticeable win was her final battle with Ranamon, every other battle she needed the guy's help or it ended prematurely (like when Kalmaramon would botch her Titanic Tempest early on). Otherwise she got sidelined or trounced. It says a lot that Kari in Digimon 01, who was freakin' 8 years old, was a more competent Action Girl than Zoey was, and she rarely, if at all, got in the fighting herself.

I don't usually consider comparing Zoey to young Kari but it is pretty embarrassing when the latter's 8 year old version can last longer against Piedmon longer than Zoey can last against even a mid-level Monster of the Week. Zoey's Faux status is especially noticeable since she comes right after Rika. Both may be the Token Girl of their respective generations but Rika is one of the most memorable Action Girls in the series and she's also pretty young too, 13 in the dub and 10 in the sub. Talk about a downgrade.

Another one I dislike is the If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him trope. This is suicidal naivety at best and the enemy will most assuredly take advantage of it. This was probably Holly's chief flaw from the Monster Rancher anime, and it's bitten the gang in the arse more than once ("Run, Tiger, Run" being a particularly good example). It's not just her, as both Yolie and Cody from Digimon 02 suffered from this, especially when Sylphimon and Shakkoumon were forced to kill LadyDevimon and MarineDevimon, respectively, when they were attacking the real world. They were horrified that their partners claimed lives despite the fact that both evil Digimon were threatening innocent lives and/or taking hostages. Cody in particular has no excuse, since his late father was a police officer, so he should've know that sometimes you need to kill to save lives. That is the unfortunate reality, since an enemy (especially one who's clever or cunning) will take full advantage of it, so it's sometimes better to just end them as quickly as possible before they end you by turning this trope against you. And that's why I don't like this trope when it's used, as it has literally fatal repercussions if a person takes this mentality.

Oy this one is also insufferable and it makes no sense. It's like these people never even heard of the concept of self defense. I didn't remember the example from Digimon 02 but it's embarrassing if that's how it is.

If you ask me, a better method to show moral conflict when it comes to a person killing another in a dire situation would be to let the person do it but still be shaken up about doing it afterward if it is their first time. How the character behaves and deals with a death on their conscience would have much more interesting drama or character development than the whole "kill a killer you become just like him" nonsense.

And speaking of nonsense another trope that just baffles me is the idea of certain acts that are taboo regarding siblings or cousins are okay if they are Not Blood Siblings. This might be even more gross than the 1000 year old dragon lolis. It would be a different case if two young people were dating and then their single parents just suddenly hooked up out of nowhere without telling them but I've never seen a set up like this before. Whenever I see this played up as romantic or fanservicey I find it gross and distasteful like any sane person would. Why does this trope even exist?

 

[Dreary_Rowlet]

The "OwO I look like like a kid but I'm actually a 1000 years old" excuse for making child characters sexy.
The trope by itself is an incredibly interesting concept. Imagine this being whose probably seen civilizations fall and rise, having them look like a child could make for some very eerie or some comedic moments. Seriously the comedy potential with this trope is high man.
But no, we don't get that. >:C

 

[Greninjaman]

The only anime I really remember watching is Pokémon, so I guess I can add something: The Once-an-episode gag. I'm fine with it as long as it's something different (or even variations of the same thing) each time. It gets old after a while if it's the same thing each time. Can also get very weird depending on the gag (like Brock and his need to flirt with every girl he sees).

Like, there was a show I watched when I was a kid called Zaboomafoo where the two main characters (once an episode) would go to the closet and get buried under a bunch of stuff. While I can see how it would get old, they did do different things with it. Like there was an episode where they knew it was coming only to find nothing inside.

 

[CynthiaLover]

I don't usually consider comparing Zoey to young Kari but it is pretty embarrassing when the latter's 8 year old version can last longer against Piedmon longer than Zoey can last against even a mid-level Monster of the Week. Zoey's Faux status is especially noticeable since she comes right after Rika. Both may be the Token Girl of their respective generations but Rika is one of the most memorable Action Girls in the series and she's also pretty young too, 13 in the dub and 10 in the sub. Talk about a downgrade.

To say the least. And Kari only got better as she grew up. Like the time Kari and TK ended up in the Dark Ocean in 02 and had to fight the Divermon that were working with a Dragamon in order to escape (a plot point that, sadly, got dropped). And can't forget when Kari stood up to Myotismon back in 01, showing her steel spine despite the whole reason Myotismon was in the real world was to hunt her down and kill her. But when you go from the epic Rika, who was probably one of, if not the Action Girl of the human cast in Digimon, to Zoey, who was an utter disgrace yet constantly hyped up as being on-par with characters like Takuya or Koji, it's embarrassing. Yoshino, thankfully, was better than Zoey was. She started out rather badly (and when you consider her backstory it's understandable why she has issues) but as time went on she became more competent and powerful. Hell, even the two girls who had the two PawnChessmon showed greater competence than Zoey did, and they were pretty much glued to their desks for most of the series. A downgrade indeed when you compare Zoey to both Kari AND Rika.

Oy this one is also insufferable and it makes no sense. It's like these people never even heard of the concept of self defense. I didn't remember the example from Digimon 02 but it's embarrassing if that's how it is.

There were other examples, like how they got upset whenever the Dark Spire Digimon (which they thought were real Digimon) created by Arukenimon were getting killed by Ken at first (because Ken knew the truth at the time). Granted in those examples they realized the truth and didn't hold back afterward, as with the exception of BlackWarGreymon those Digimon weren't even alive or very sentient, but the fact that Yolei and Cody had a tendency to be almost pacifists when it came to dealing killing blows if necessary is a real issue. Considering the 01 cast had no problems killing evil enemy Digimon, like Bakemon, Devimon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters, etc, that were threatening them, and TK and Kari were shown to be willing to deal killing blows in 02 if need be really gives Yolei and Cody no excuse for being that way.

If you ask me, a better method to show moral conflict when it comes to a person killing another in a dire situation would be to let the person do it but still be shaken up about doing it afterward if it is their first time. How the character behaves and deals with a death on their conscience would have much more interesting drama or character development than the whole "kill a killer you become just like him" nonsense.

This idea I like. It shows the moral drama that the trope tries to show but does it better. Nice one.

And speaking of nonsense another trope that just baffles me is the idea of certain acts that are taboo regarding siblings or cousins are okay if they are Not Blood Siblings. This might be even more gross than the 1000 year old dragon lolis. It would be a different case if two young people were dating and then their single parents just suddenly hooked up out of nowhere without telling them but I've never seen a set up like this before. Whenever I see this played up as romantic or fanservicey I find it gross and distasteful like any sane person would. Why does this trope even exist?

This one disgusts me more than the whole 1,000 year old dragon lolis. Especially since I'm not blood related to my family (I was adopted), thus something like this can hit pretty close to home for me. The idea that it's okay for siblings or cousins who aren't blood related to date really makes my skin crawl, as they're still family, blood be damned. Family is family, no matter how you slice it. It's clearly something that's okay in Japan since the trope exists but I find it disgusting like any sensible person would (Japan is a weird place, if I may be so bold, and no offense to anyone here from Japan). But the fact it exists at all really grinds my gears, much less when it's executed the way it is. Incest is disgusting, no matter how you try to justify it.

 

[Princess Viola]

This one disgusts me more than the whole 1,000 year old dragon lolis. Especially since I'm not blood related to my family (I was adopted), thus something like this can hit pretty close to home for me. The idea that it's okay for siblings or cousins who aren't blood related to date really makes my skin crawl, as they're still family, blood be damned. Family is family, no matter how you slice it. It's clearly something that's okay in Japan since the trope exists but I find it disgusting like any sensible person would (Japan is a weird place, if I may be so bold, and no offense to anyone here from Japan). But the fact it exists at all really grinds my gears, much less when it's executed the way it is. Incest is disgusting, no matter how you try to justify it.

Without falling afoul of the rules here, I'll just say that depictions of that kind of stuff like that are by no means unique to Japan at all.

It's the whole reason why the whole meme of 'What are you doing step-bro/step-sis?' exists in the West, for better or worse - that can kind of stuff is popular (and claiming that they're 'not blood relatives' provides a shield against people who criticize that kind of stuff, even though you know as damn well as I do that the people who write this kind of garbage would depict them as blood related if they could. Ugh.)

 

[toastghost]

this isn't one i hate for being problematic or something, but the random monologue and flashback in the middle of a fight scene is always so silly to me, it immediately ruins any sense of suspense or tension the scene had

 

[CynthiaLover]

Now, for the record, I don't outright hate this trope, but I tend to hate how it's executed: the Tagalong Kid. If the resident Tagalong Kid can contribute to the main plot, has some importance to the cast (outside of one of them being basically a glorified babysitter), and is able to assist in times of need then I have no problems with it. But, unfortunately, the Tagalong Kid tends to be more of a hinderance than a help in most examples. Especially if they have traits like being a Bratty Half-Pint and/or Know-Nothing Know-It-All. One example would be Max from the AG Pokemon anime. He rarely contributed to the plot/cast unless the episode was focused around him (the Ralts episode was one of his better ones), he tended to be very much a Bratty Half-Pint toward his sister May, and his tendency to poo-poo Ash's battles and strategies, citing that he could do better, and yet when put into action his tactics SUCKED (like the time he had a Poliwag against a Magby and all he did were buff its stats and not take advantage of its type while the Magby kept whittling Poliwag down to the point he was on the verge of losing until TRio showed up). He was one reason why I tend to dislike Tagalong Kids, or at least if executed the way he was. Ironically, the series clearly learned from it as Bonnie in XY was not only far more tolerable (if not downright adorable), but she became almost a lynchpin during the Team Flare arc thanks to her bond with Zygarde/Squishy. And even outside of that she was arguably smarter and better than Max ever was (she could actually win Pokemon Battles even though she wasn't an official trainer) and had several moments of awesome, showing that she was not just there for the ride like the way Max largely felt like. So while I don't hate the Tagalong Kid trope, I tend to hate how it's executed. If done right then the character can be quite memorable. If done poorly then the character is a royal pain in the arse and has no need to be there.

As for the ever-hot topic of fanservice, I'm sort of on the neutral side of things. I like fanservice, but mostly if it's done tastefully and isn't the character's defining trait or sole reason to exist. Basically I like my fanservice to be the "dessert" to the story/character's "main course". If the fanservice is treated like a bonus aspect of the character/series while the main meat of the character is well-defined and has great depth, then that's how I prefer my fanservice. While I generally don't care for harems (as most of my experiences with harem anime tend to be bad), Sekirei, 12 Beasts, and Monster Musume are some examples of balancing fanservice with the character's nature and personality (with the occasional hiccup), showing that they're not just there to be sexy and it's just one part of their character while showing other layers to them. Characters like Rachnera and Kazehana are some of my favorites not because of their fanservice moments, but because they can show quite a bit of depth to their characters, have actual standards and limits, and have good natures/personalities, even if they can be openly sexual at times. But when the character's (or even the series itself) whole reason for existing is to be the eye candy for the cast/viewer then that's when I get turned off by the fanservice. If the fanservice is done right then I can enjoy the ride, but if it's done poorly then I'll take a hard pass.

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

Like, there was a show I watched when I was a kid called Zaboomafoo where the two main characters (once an episode) would go to the closet and get buried under a bunch of stuff. While I can see how it would get old, they did do different things with it. Like there was an episode where they knew it was coming only to find nothing inside.

You watched it as a kid too??! Awesome! I didn't even remember the closet gag, it's been so long! (Remember the song they did each episode about guessing a mystery animal? That was one of the things that stuck with me from that show.)

 

[Greninjaman]

You watched it as a kid too??! Awesome! I didn't even remember the closet gag, it's been so long! (Remember the song they did each episode about guessing a mystery animal? That was one of the things that stuck with me from that show.)

Yeah. It was a fun show. You never knew what animal they were going to bring in.

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

Yeah. It was a fun show. You never knew what animal they were going to bring in.

Did you know the lemur that appeared on the show is one of these guys?

Coquerel's sifaka - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Greninjaman]

Did you know the lemur that appeared on the show is one of these guys?

Coquerel's sifaka - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I did. Yeah. They canceled the show because the lemur that played Zaboo (at least up until he turns into a puppet) died, if I recall.

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

I did. Yeah. They canceled the show because the lemur that played Zaboo (at least up until he turns into a puppet) died, if I recall.

That he did.

 

[Princess Viola]

IDK if this necessarily counts as a 'trope' or not but does anyone else hate when an anime has a character who is clearly designed to be an adult based on both their appearance and characterization but oh no they're actually a 15 year old high schooler because Japanese media has a serious obsession with high school because it's a universal experience for the audience (and tons of people in Japan have nostalgia for their high school days because it was the only time the majority of them had any real freedom before joining the never-ending and soul-crushing Japanese workforce lol)?

 

[EzloSpirit]

When anime (or manga) tells instead of shows. I don't need characters talking about what is happening in front of my eyes. I don't need everything explained out loud. I don't need characters analyzing other characters' power levels or skills or whatever. Just frakking show me; let me fill in the blanks myself. Not only does this kind of thing disrupt the flow of the episode or volume, but it also feels profoundly patronizing as the viewer/reader.

 

[BeautifulSylveon]

I don't like the tsundere and yandere tropes very much. Especially if there's a double standard about the later (female yanderes being "cute", but male ones being "toxic").

A manga/anime trope I don't like is "female character punching male character funny" trope. If we admit that male-on-female violence is bad, then female-on-male violence should also be seen as bad: it goes in both ways.