Jump to content

Most annoying anime plot device of all time


ittaku

Recommended Posts

I've decided at last what anime plot device annoys me more than anything ever conceived. Since I'm a huge romantic comedy/drama fan, the most annoying plot device of all time is the character, be it hero, heroine or side-kick, that mumbles under their breath something that amounts to a love confession that the other person doesn't hear and when asked about it says 何でもない "Don't worry about it" or, "no, it's nothing"... and then 450 thousand episodes later still is unable to actually convey said emotion.

Anyone else want to describe their pet peeves in anime?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ittaku said:

I've decided at last what anime plot device annoys me more than anything ever conceived. Since I'm a huge romantic comedy/drama fan, the most annoying plot device of all time is the character, be it hero, heroine or side-kick, that mumbles under their breath something that amounts to a love confession that the other person doesn't hear and when asked about it says 何でもない "Don't worry about it" or, "no, it's nothing"... and then 450 thousand episodes later still is unable to actually convey said emotion.

Anyone else want to describe their pet peeves in anime?

This, or when something happens in an episode that seems to be setting things up for something to happen between the obvious romantic pair and then some bullshit misunderstanding/mixup on either character's part sets things back to square one for them until further notice because "status quo".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BookwormOtaku said:

This, or when something happens in an episode that seems to be setting things up for something to happen between the obvious romantic pair and then some bullshit misunderstanding/mixup on either character's part sets things back to square one for them until further notice because "status quo".

Absolutely agree. This plot device was funny 15 years ago but it's really tired these days. It's so refreshing to see the girl turn to the guy and say "it's quite okay, don't apologise" and for the misunderstanding to be swept under the carpet and the relationship to actually progress and leave that nonsense misunderstanding as a very temporary set back instead of being the premise for another 50 episodes of blue balls (see Rakudai no kishi for how to do this right).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i hate it when a character does that. there was a show, cant remember what it was called, but it was about a group of students forming a club to try and make more friends. it was a harem pretty much. one guy and like 8 girls who spontaneously love him. in the second season whenever one of the girls says something that kind of reveals their feelings to him he responds with "Huh? Did you say something?" and they just say "Nevermind" or "forget it." turns out he was doing this on purpose so that he wouldnt ruin the relationship he already had with the girl.

 

hey genius, i found a flaw in your plan. what if the girl actually repeats what she says and she makes sure the next time she does its even louder. you know, cause thats what most normal people would do. but this is anime and it conveniently never becomes a problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really-totally-absolutely respect Konoe Touta (UQ Holder) in that regard. 

He actually told all of the girls in his harem that he loves them, and once he realised that he really loves the main girl he went and proposed the next time he saw her.

For those who don't want to read the spoiler tag, lets say that he's very open about his feelings :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems like you'd LOVE Nisekoi. :Teeku: 

I completely agree though, it's probably one of the most overused plot device in romcoms and it really gets to you after a while.

For me though, the most annoying plot device is when protagonists who are completely useless and have no special abilities can suddenly display amazing feats and physical abilities in order to protect the heroines. Because they're nice guys. It seriously baffles me how far some useless protagonists can actually go in some shows...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, BookwormOtaku said:

This, or when something happens in an episode that seems to be setting things up for something to happen between the obvious romantic pair and then some bullshit misunderstanding/mixup on either character's part sets things back to square one for them until further notice because "status quo".

 

43 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:

Seems like you'd LOVE Nisekoi. :Teeku: 

I completely agree though, it's probably one of the most overused plot device in romcoms and it really gets to you after a while.

For me though, the most annoying plot device is when protagonists who are completely useless and have no special abilities can suddenly display amazing feats and physical abilities in order to protect the heroines. Because they're nice guys. It seriously baffles me how far some useless protagonists can actually go in some shows...

Damnit Nosebleed. Why you gotta take my joke.  This is seriously all that Nisekoi is. You can probably find that flow chart easier than I can.

 

5 hours ago, ittaku said:

I've decided at last what anime plot device annoys me more than anything ever conceived. Since I'm a huge romantic comedy/drama fan, the most annoying plot device of all time is the character, be it hero, heroine or side-kick, that mumbles under their breath something that amounts to a love confession that the other person doesn't hear and when asked about it says 何でもない "Don't worry about it" or, "no, it's nothing"... and then 450 thousand episodes later still is unable to actually convey said emotion.

Anyone else want to describe their pet peeves in anime?

This one doesn't bother me at all.  It's kind of understandable. It's primary use is to lampshade the fact that the character likes someone else to the audience, and from an in world viewpoint, it's literally the character mumbling to himself about his realization/reaffirmation that he likes said character.  The thing that makes this even more relatable/realistic is that it is most frequently used in shonen genre where the character in question muttering it is around the age of 14.  Since you read a lot of it, you should have come across the trope of a character muttering/musing to himself in bed, because like all humans, we talk to ourselves.  This is literally just that at an inopportune time.  The kid is going through puberty or coming of age, and he doesn't actually know how he is going to tell her that he likes her.

Hate it as you may, this is probably more realistic than you would like to admit (minus the girl actually hearing something and going "huh?"), and is just a mixture of the even more common tropes of practicing confessing and muttering to yourself.  I can't defend the part where the girl responds to it, because it's generally impractical except under superhuman circumstances, but the actual muttering itself is pretty realistic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Indeed there are quite a lot of these obvious plot devices, and sure you can make excuses for them, but the reality is the frequency of them is enough to push me over the edge. I singled out that particular one because I can no longer stand seeing it since it's everywhere. When the heroine asks the hero "what did you say?" I'd love for him to turn and say "actually it's you I prefer" out loud or whatever it was that he mumbled under his breath as that sort of relationship progress frankly turns me on whereas the nandemonai answer makes me want to smash the screen or drives me to drink...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh I got another one.

Childhood promises where the protagonist forgets the girl he made a promise with. Or just general "there was this girl in the past I can't remember despite them being super important to me".

I know a child's memory is vague, but things like this used as plot devices and plot armor really ruin a story.

coughNisekoicough

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a kid, dating was as important for me as it is today. With girls, "better a bird in the hand than two birds in the bush". Being a kid doesn't mean being dense.

Plus, you pretty much don't ever forget about someone important to you, no matter how much time passes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:

Oh I got another one.

Childhood promises where the protagonist forgets the girl he made a promise with. Or just general "there was this girl in the past I can't remember despite them being super important to me".

I know a child's memory is vague, but things like this used as plot devices and plot armor really ruin a story.

coughNisekoicough

I remember most of the girls I was acquanted with (closer than others) when I was a child, guys too of course. So it really is a stupid plot device, yes I forgot their names but I remember the circumstances where I knew them. And If I made a promise like that like hell I'll forget it. Especially the identity of the girl. It's possible that I would perfectly remember the girl but forget the details of the promise but the other way around won't work!

I really hate donkan protagonists... thats why I like NTR hentai :D They get whats coming to them. I'm fine even If they have a slight awareness such as Kusanagi Godou (Campione), or even be an outright pervert like Hyodou Issei (DxD), well Issei was kind of donkan too but he had his reasons for that

he was seriously traumatised by getting killed by his first girlfriend, and that issue was directly addressed and was solved

But COMPLETELY donkan protagonists I HATE THEM KILL THEM NTR THEM CANCEL THEIR SHOWS!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, ittaku said:

I've decided at last what anime plot device annoys me more than anything ever conceived. Since I'm a huge romantic comedy/drama fan, the most annoying plot device of all time is the character, be it hero, heroine or side-kick, that mumbles under their breath something that amounts to a love confession that the other person doesn't hear and when asked about it says 何でもない "Don't worry about it" or, "no, it's nothing"... and then 450 thousand episodes later still is unable to actually convey said emotion.

Anyone else want to describe their pet peeves in anime?

I agree with this one. It's so bad. And the worst part is that anime almost always have romance as a subplot, but rarely does it go anywhere. Even with animes that have romance as a genre often end completely unresolved or lack that extra touch at the very end.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, mitchhamilton said:

i hate it when a character does that. there was a show, cant remember what it was called, but it was about a group of students forming a club to try and make more friends. it was a harem pretty much. one guy and like 8 girls who spontaneously love him. in the second season whenever one of the girls says something that kind of reveals their feelings to him he responds with "Huh? Did you say something?" and they just say "Nevermind" or "forget it." turns out he was doing this on purpose so that he wouldnt ruin the relationship he already had with the girl.

 

hey genius, i found a flaw in your plan. what if the girl actually repeats what she says and she makes sure the next time she does its even louder. you know, cause thats what most normal people would do. but this is anime and it conveniently never becomes a problem.

pic related Vx7WXFC.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Nosebleed said:

Oh I got another one.

Childhood promises where the protagonist forgets the girl he made a promise with. Or just general "there was this girl in the past I can't remember despite them being super important to me".

I know a child's memory is vague, but things like this used as plot devices and plot armor really ruin a story.

coughNisekoicough

I remember being introduced to that by Love Hina and even then thought it was stupid (of course that was only the start of that series' problems). This only ever works  when the protagonist has amnesia

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, BookwormOtaku said:

I remember being introduced to that by Love Hina and even then thought it was stupid (of course that was only the start of that series' problems). This only ever works  when the protagonist has amnesia

To its credit, when Love Hina did it, it was original. Over a dozen years later, though, writers are still using this now very tired trope.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, OriginalRen said:

Japan doesn't have locks on any of their doors, and people don't know what knocking is. Also, girls take showers when their friends are over at their house I guess.

Well it is the country where nipples are made of soap bubbles and every tripping male doesn't follow the normal laws of physics  and goes through a dimensional portal that always makes him end up on top of a girl with his hand on her boobs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...