Which "tropes" annoy you the most?

[FrostyFireMage]

I despise the whole "Draco in Leather Pants" trope in general. I hate it when people feel sympathy for a complete asshole and try to justify their actions just because they're physically attractive, while a mostly good character is called the Antichrist for a mild misdemeanor.

I'm also not fond of the "Dead Little Sister" trope either. It seems like a lazy way to generate sympathy for a tough-as-nails character.

[Strunk]

"Dead Little Sister" can be used for far more purposes than just generic "tough as nails" characters, although it isn't always.

I hate the trope "TvTropes will ruin your life", because it's true.

"Dead all along", unless done very well. The same with "All just a dream".

"Pointless sacrifice" and "Sacrificial lion", not overall, but a lot of the time they're used badly.

Of course, "Tropes are not bad", so they can all be used to good effect under the right circumstances.

Oh, and "Die for our ship". It's horrible, no matter how it's used.

[Parrhesia]

TVTropes annoys me the most in general.

[Loki Laufeyson]

"Dead all along", unless done very well.

Ive seen that one used in a very mindfuckery sort of way and it was kinda amazing.

Tsundere. Omg this trope. Im so sick of that one, its not even funny. D:<

[Agro]

TVTropes annoys me the most in general.

[Superbus]

I don't know what "trope" this would qualify as because I don't go to TVTropes, but the continued slide towards a 100% moe future really has me depressed. Every female in anime has to be a completely useless moeblob, a fucking tsundere, or a spunky 19 year old who looks 11 and is prominently featured in sexy poses to attract the elusive pedophile market.

[Firespark Faerie]

Man, I love TVTropes. Anyway, I need to begin my case by calling out one trope in particular: Trope Are Not Bad. I've yet to find a specific trope that bothers me terribly, and I feel that even the oldest and most overdone cliches can be entertaining if pulled off in the right way. Another one of my personal favorite tropes is Lampshade Hanging,, which is a good lighthearted way of dealing with some of these tropes if the nature of the work allows for it. Of course, even lampshading a cliche takes effort to pull off right. One trope for example that really bothers me is Heroic Sacrifice, where a character does something incredibly brave and is killed as a result. I always feel this as undeserving for the character who did something so brave, even if they had no intention of surviving, and I'm aware this is sometimes done in real life as well. However, if done right it can still provide an epic scene, and some nice comic relief if it turns out the character survived and then makes a remark like, "You thought I was dead? Ha! It takes more than a bomb to kill ME!" Cid in Final Fantasy IV provides a good example of this played right from his sacrifice to the humorous scene where it's revealed he's alive.

Edited February 9, 2013 by Firespark Faerie

[Snowy_One]

Chainmail Bikini annoys me to death. I mean, I can understand wanting female characters to be physically attractive despite their armor, but... you can do that without stupid-ass things such as flaunting your navel or having a clear opening in your chestplate just so people can see the woman's breasts.

The Unfair Sex, at least when it's not parodied/mocked. Do I even need to explain why?

[Firespark Faerie]

I always found Chainmail Bikini characters to be laughable. When played as parody as well as for fanservice, it can be pretty funny. It's obvious that the armor is highly impractical, but that's what makes it comical. Battle Ballgown can fit in here as well depending on the design, but these generally at least offer protection while providing lots of fancy adornments for the enemy to grab hold of you with.

Another one that bugs me is Paper Thin Disguise. While this works just fine in comedy settings, when done elsewhere it really makes the characters look stupid. Master Roshi's disguse as "Jackie Chun" in early Dragon Ball stories is extremely obvious, yet nearly everyone is fooled by it. One character suspects his identity at first, but then believes they're not the same person. This doesn't even fall into Clark Kenting, as Roshi's posture and mannerisms are completely unchanged while disguised0 he just took off his sunglasses and put on a wig. Granted, Goku isn't that bright, but I found it silly that Bulma or Krillin couldn't see through it.

Edited February 9, 2013 by Firespark Faerie

[Rehab]

Exploitative, offensive and generally regressive tropes too numerous too name when played straight, especially when they owe their existence to the creators having assumed that they're what I or a demographic [so large and amorphous that it can barely avoid being] close to mine want to see.

I first learned about ryona, or at least that anybody had bothered to categorize it into a _{genre from tvtropes. That probably colors my opinion of tvtropes, despite that I feel universal hate for the place can get overblown, as opposed to the precision-focused hate that I feel parts of it deserve.}

Edited February 11, 2013 by Rehab

[Loki Laufeyson]

The only thing that really wrinkles my laundry about TV Tropes itself is the insane focus of anime the site has, the Japanese named tropes that arent Japan/anime specific, and including fan fiction in examples.

[Gold Vanguard]

1360452768[/url]' post='2279507']

The only thing that really wrinkles my laundry about TV Tropes itself is the insane focus of anime the site has, the Japanese named tropes that arent Japan/anime specific, and including fan fiction in examples.

What's wrong with using Fan Fiction as an example?

[Tamanoir]

Exploitative, offensive and generally regressive tropes too numerous too name when played straight, especially when they owe their existence to the creators having assumed that they're what I or a demographic [so large and amorphous that it can barely avoid being] close to mine want to see.

I first learned about ryona, or at least that anybody had bothered to categorize it into a _{genre from tvtropes. That probably colors my opinion of tvtropes, despite that I feel universal hate for the place can get overblown, as opposed to the precision-focused hate that I feel parts of it deserve.}

_{This. So much.}

_{Yeah, Tsundere makes me sigh each time I see it... However pure Tsun is totally OK and should be see more often (Katina from SRW...)}

_{I also agree with Chainmail Bikini.}

_{And Hard Works Hardly Works is absolutely horrible. I don't think than any explanations are needed. (Which is maybe why I love so much Badass Normal).}

[Esau of Isaac]

I don't know what "trope" this would qualify as because I don't go to TVTropes, but the continued slide towards a 100% moe future really has me depressed. Every female in anime has to be a completely useless moeblob, a fucking tsundere, or a spunky 19 year old who looks 11 and is prominently featured in sexy poses to attract the elusive pedophile market.

TVTropes coined the term, I guess, but it's come to broadly refer to any kind of (usually more common) plot device or possible contrivance found in entertainment, be it character behaviors, twists, etc. For example, the asshole with a heart of gold is a sort of trope as it refers to a character archetype popularized in videogames, movies, television, and books.

I honestly can't say I wholly dislike any kind of plot point inherently, but I do hate it when people reference TVTropes listings as though they are word of law. It is difficult to discuss some book or game and why you liked its plot when the person you're conversing with is doing their best to link to every single possible article they can find "proving" how awful it is.

Yeah, Tsundere makes me sigh each time I see it... However pure Tsun is totally OK and should be see more often (Katina from SRW...)

Katina's a huge tsundere. That's like her entire relationship with Russel.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Esau of Isaac

[peener weener]

I don't know what "trope" this would qualify as because I don't go to TVTropes, but the continued slide towards a 100% moe future really has me depressed. Every female in anime has to be a completely useless moeblob, a fucking tsundere, or a spunky 19 year old who looks 11 and is prominently featured in sexy poses to attract the elusive pedophile market.

I think I can see the problem. The problem is that you are watching anime.

[Snowy_One]

It's not that Tsundere can't be done right. That girl from Hey Arnold, while not the best, was a lot better than most Tsundere's I see for example. It's that they tend to get presented where one of the sides doesn't really make sense. Either they have no reason to like the guy so their Tsun side makes no sense, or they have no reason to hate the guy so the dere side makes no sense. 'Oh no! This man spoke nasty words to me, shows disinterest in me in general, killed some/all of my family, and wants to do something that would destroy the world! But damn can he wear those leather pants! I'm in love! <3<3<3' or 'He's done nothing but be nice to me, gives me presents, obviously would never willingly harm me, and saved my cat from a burning building despite hating cats because he knows how much Sgt. Fluffles matters to me... BUT HE THREATENS MY STATUS AS A STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN BY LIKING ME SO I MUST HATE HIM!'

[Doga]

I enjoy the occasional skulk around TvTropes, but I have a friend who goes on there a bit too much. When he's talking to me about fantasy and such online, he has a tendency to make tropes proper nouns. It's like he's an encyclopedia of tropes.

[Tamanoir]

It's not that Tsundere can't be done right. That girl from Hey Arnold, while not the best, was a lot better than most Tsundere's I see for example. It's that they tend to get presented where one of the sides doesn't really make sense. Either they have no reason to like the guy so their Tsun side makes no sense, or they have no reason to hate the guy so the dere side makes no sense. 'Oh no! This man spoke nasty words to me, shows disinterest in me in general, killed some/all of my family, and wants to do something that would destroy the world! But damn can he wear those leather pants! I'm in love! <3<3<3' or 'He's done nothing but be nice to me, gives me presents, obviously would never willingly harm me, and saved my cat from a burning building despite hating cats because he knows how much Sgt. Fluffles matters to me... BUT HE THREATENS MY STATUS AS A STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN BY LIKING ME SO I MUST HATE HIM!'

The problem is that, as of now, Tsundere has absolutely zero thought in it. This is just use as fetish bait.

It absolutely reducts a character to 2 traits instead of 1. This... isn't a progress.

And it's often reduced to the "Tsundere Cathphrases", which are anoying no matter the situations.

So my point is that it'sabsolutely zero effort.

Katina's a huge tsundere. That's like her entire relationship with Russel.

It's just that her Dere Side is the actually Tsun side of more example.

Another good example of Tsundere is Hime Utsumiya, from Brain Powerd, because she'sa mild example, and have some reasons to be angry at Yuu.

Also, even if I can find myself guilty of this, it's absolutely stupid to consider TVTropes as the Gospel. It should be used as a tool to expand argumentation. That's how it's the best.

And finally, if you want to be totally fair, you should condemn both Moe and Ecchi, because they have a similar purpose (Let's not trump ourselves...), even if it's by (sometimes) differents ways.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Also, even if I can find myself guilty of this, it's absolutely stupid to consider TVTropes as the Gospel. It should be used as a tool to expand argumentation. That's how it's the best.

Arr. Its also a good tool to see how things can be subverted and deconstructed.

[epilepsyduck]

While I admittedly only use Tv Tropes to find works I might like, everything about Stuffed in the Fridge is just plain irritating. Characters who suffer just to further the story of another character and have no development of their own smacks of lazy writing, and the times where it's been done well are far outnumbered by the times where its used for cheap drama.

And I cosign "Draco In Leather Pants" for worst trope of all time. It's just everywhere in fanfic.

[Parrhesia]

Arr. Its also a good tool to see how things can be subverted and deconstructed.

80% of 'subverted/averted/deconstructed' tropes turn out to be the absence of a trope.

Anyway my absolute least favourite tropes are the ones where Tropers put personal experience on them because they're creepy little shits. The ones most devoid of purpose, though, are probably the character description ones. HAVING GREEN EYES IS NOT A FUCKING TROPE.

[Original Alear]

The ones that require you to hold a note for a particularly long time, but I haven't read troped hebrew out loud since I was 13.

Xanatos gambits. I hate always winning. Also, I'm pretty sure I know about this one because of my friend, so that's alright then.

Uh. Ones which refer to something I like and, IMO, interpret it badly (i.e., they understand something in a poor way). Sometimes they may have the better understanding, but it's me, so you know I'm skeptical of that when I haven't even seen them fire back a comment. Anyway, noticing things like that would be one of many reasons I don't go there much.

So I guess you could say I hate YMMV.

[Tamanoir]

While I admittedly only use Tv Tropes to find works I might like, everything about Stuffed in the Fridge is just plain irritating. Characters who suffer just to further the story of another character and have no development of their own smacks of lazy writing, and the times where it's been done well are far outnumbered by the times where its used for cheap drama.

And I cosign "Draco In Leather Pants" for worst trope of all time. It's just everywhere in fanfic.

As irritating as it can be, I still consider Hard Works Hardly Works to be worse.

It's just absolutely depressing. And even worse, it applies to the characters we are supposed to root for (AKA basically every Shonen Hero ever made).

[Loki Laufeyson]

80% of 'subverted/averted/deconstructed' tropes turn out to be the absence of a trope.

Which is the fault of the Tropers for listing it wrong in examples. I noticed that too and im like "wait.....no..."

Anyway my absolute least favourite tropes are the ones where Tropers put personal experience on them because they're creepy little shits.

Ha. They are also wimps. See Nightmare Fuel for details. Jeezuz what a bunch of jokahs. And yeah, the fanservice tropes are pretty heavy with that kind of thing (creepy Troper Syndrome) and yeeeahhhh.

Im glad they did away with Troper Tales cuz that shit was just plain stupid. I think that site could use quite a bit of retooling because Tropers just get carried away and the tropes themselves end up losing all meaning as a result.

Edited February 12, 2013 by Virion

[Gold Vanguard]

My least favorite trope is "Ass Pull". I hate it when shows do this. When used they almost never explain how it happens and the viewers are suppose deal with it. When its done for comedy it's acceptable because it's played for laughs.