What Do You Look For In A Story?

What do you look for in story? Be it a drama, movie, TV show,anime or novel?
I think we try to embellish it with phrases like world buildings, character depth etc but it is usually one thing that we are looking for. If we are truly honest that is.
Some are looking for big boobs @elengee , some are loving looking for small boobs @otaku31
Some want a system story @MangoGuy
Personally, I am interested in fear. A protagonist that is afraid is very captivating for me.
Do not misunderstand, I don't consume horror stories even if I am paid.
It is the reason why I hate fate based story. Fate is an absence of fear since its all.... Que Sera sera

Que Sera Sera 2007 Korean drama
https://mydramalist.com/433-que-sera-sera

 

Well for me, as long as it snatches my attention and keeps me engaged, I would like it. Cause I get tired of things pretty fast. Also of course, the MC must be likeable. Otherwise, generally I have pretty low standards.

 

Common sense, I don't mind the translation, I don't mind the cliqueness, I just want common sense.

 

Development/progression in plot and characters.
Twists. Logical twists .
Entertainment. Coz they are written for readers to be entertainment in either good/bad way. Take your pick. If its boring and dragging, then sayonara.
I dont mind tropes as logn as it makes sense to me.
No white lotuses.
material that can be transcended into fanfic.
In a webtoon, passable art.

 

character's motivation, be it duty/ remorse/ obligation or whatever, if the character's motivations to act aren't well defined, the story tends to get old real fast (or at least i feel like it does)

 

I believe plot development is a given. It does not qualify as a story if it does not have plot and character development.
I am talking about something unique to you that draws you into a story.
Some like big butts and some like small butts.
Potato, Potahto.

 

Fantasy or Scifi... Don't much care for stories set in a boring, realistic "real" world... And when it comes to manga, web novels and light novels, on top of fantasy/scifi, its usually male to female gender bender that I look for... While there are stuff in my reading list that don't have those tags or genres, usually whenever I look for any new interesting stories, I tend to narrow the search to only those that do...

 

I absolutely love survival stories, whether it be in an apocalyptic or horror filled world. I just love to read about how the protagonist would survive though I would never like a pervy and evil MC. A smart MC is nice as long as they are not too OP. What's the use of reading a horror story if the protagonist is just easily blazing through every challenge? I would get bored to tears.

One thing I also look out for is the way the author narrates the story, if he/she consistently breaks the 4th wall, it would automatically be the exit button for me.

I also dislike authors who constantly praise the MC in every other paragraph. Like in the My House of Horrors, as much as I love that novel it gets quite tedious with how the author is always praising Chen Ge. Same with other romance novels whether it be shoujo or BL, it's quite distracting to read about how pretty the MC's/ML's eyes were or how pale their skin is in every other paragraph. Cuz, yeah, we readers get it the MC/ML is pretty, there is no need to always shove it in our faces.

 

I only look forward to MC with a functional brain.

To date, I only found only handful of novels which have MC who have a working brain.

 

I actually like an action fantasy novel that's almost like grinding, MC just focusing on getting stronger like Tutorial is Hard
The thing is I don't like harem and I want MC to have a gold finger like Monster Paradise novel, a system you could say.
I don't really like if MC is strong from the start, and even if MC is OP among humans there would always be non human or certain beings that's stronger than him you get what I'm saying?
Then again if MC that's completely loner it's kinda bored too but I don't really want MC to adventure with someone. I like the story where MC have friends but MC get stronger on his own and his friends also get stronger in his own way. Cause MC have system, obviously his own way of getting stronger different from anyone, he wouldn't risk to tell his friends lest they be in troubles for his own unique power. Thus they met only when each other want to celebrate something or in trouble. Isn't that nice for a relationship?
The novel that I found most of them MC either completely loner or MC have friends and together they get stronger hand in hand. MC's friend is getting dependants on MC. I. Really. Don't. Like. That.
Actually this is why I dropped Tutorial is Hard cause they was another person in Hell Difficulty and MC is helping her. I mean I get it why MC must wait for the girl. However I still don't like it. Ahhhhhhh why there must be a future and a past chapters simultaneously getting told. Damn it. I was soooo frustrated then again this is my own preferences. Note that. My own preferences.
If you wanna know my taste then honestly Monster Paradise is my favourite action packed fantasy MC with a system and summoning beast. Damnnn i just like how his gold finger is card system where he collects cards from defeated monsters. I want to tell u his summoning beast is so cuutteeee, no it is not fluffy kitten, a dog or wolf. It is just that their personality is so cute. Each summoning monster is like a human, they have human bodies cause they mutated from MC's system power up. Each summoning beast are honestly the best. I love it so much. This is so unique. He also get skills and missions. Dammnnnnn. And his sword, physics ability are top notch I'm fangirling over MC
You know what I like the most he hides his abilities. He did show it but not all. Dammnnn it was so cool. He holds a heavy burden no one can imagine slowly waiting for his time to strike. So damn cool, I typed wayyy too much hahahahahah

 

That the characters be semi-belivable or at least fun and interesting. And for the author not to constantly wank the MC off. Besides that a good adventure book is always fun.

 

Well yes, I'd like for them to have a PLOT, but depth doesn't matter. I like to watch the gradual unraveling of the PLOT even more.

But in all honesty, apart from the few genres I avoid, I can pretty much read anything as long as it hooks me in at the beginning and manages to keep me engaged, doesn't contain elements I can't stand or abruptly veers off in directions I detest, and has a decent pacing without too much info-dump. If nothing much happens in the first 30 or so chs., off to the dustbin it goes.

 

at the moment I look for horror in my horror/ infinite flow stories which is harder to find than you might think because of the censors.
and no idiot MC. I don't find stupid MC to be fun or cute, I find them frustrating and usually end up dropping the story.

 

Ah yes!! You want a protagonist who is a functioning sociopathic with no meaningful relationships. I get you


Seriously though, I think the issue is that the author never made you connect with the girl he is helping in Tutorial is Too Hard and just dumps her on you.
If you were given a chance to connect with her then you won't have mind

 

To sum it up: Enjoyable experience.

As long as I enjoyed it, nothing else matter.
As for what kind of story is enjoyable, it depends on the genre. Generally, they must contain 3 minimum points in the story to be enjoyable:
1. At least 7/10 Consistency. What is A in the earlier arc, can't be B in the next arc.
2. At least 6/10 Writings. Just make it understandable and natural to read. Bad writings = break immersion.
3. Non-repetitive plot. Self-explanatory. I'm fine with once or twice, but thrice is already crossing the line.

 

Where MC is, from the core, different to normal people. A lot of people seem to like a story of some random getting a cheat then blazing his way to godhood or supremacy. But I like it when MC is created out to be strong for a reason, that something is innately different about the MC that allows him to transcend normalcy of common people and get to where he is in the end. If anyone random person can become supreme with a cheat, that's saying the cheat is more important than the host MC and even if he died, he can be replaced by another and wouldn't make a difference.

Another thing I like is things that break away from what is currently mainstream- put it simply, something subversive.

In terms of characters, setting, and plot.

I would prefer slowly developed characters that stay relevant but not just slaves to show the MC's "greatness".

Although I do read world-hopping novels, quite many I enjoyed greatly, I rather prefer a single well fleshed out and intricate world rather than scarcely developed world that's forgotten in a hundred or two chapters later.

Plot that's well thought out rather than created on the spot, even if it means slow build up, plot that makes sense but also subverts readers, plot that isn't simply face-slapping or sucking off the MC's "greatness" for the sake of it, plot that isn't just for readers to self-insert into but something beautiful.

If there's romance I like a non-drama filled simple romance. I definitely hate harem though, dropped and avoided many novels because of its harem elements(not saying it was good in the first place either).

 

I want to see in this wonderous stage crafted by author, how the character move from each arc/trial/waypoint/crossroads etc. Like This Guy Can Do SO MANY THINGS WITH ALL THE STUFF THIS WORLD HAVE and that I like callbacks of chekov's gun and its usage in smart manner, heck even in not smart manner just to observe and analyze (if needed) what malarkey the cast of the story can do with knowledge and even PLOT power in their reserve.

 

I'm misanthrope to the bone, so human suffering is something I always appreciate in the stories I read (I don't hate nonhumans though, so donchu dare touchingah cat girl waifu u degenerates!)
I hate romance so seeing protagonist agree with this view gives bonus points
I like seeing developed fantasy civilizations (because I'm sick of all isekai'd mc's cakewalking the story with 5th grade knowledge, as if even a useless nobody from Japan would be a not useless nobody in isekai), so always bonus points for that
A good mystery will definitely keep me hooked
Lack of morality in a protagonist is a big plus (because they either end up being huge hypocrits or nuisances if they do have a strong moral base)
Good moral problems and contradictions though, make me swoon

 

To be honest I try my best to try all types of stories hehe. As much as possible when I read I put myself in the shoes of all the character to understand why are they doing it. But Im more into romance with matured mindset or a peomising character developement

 

I have different demands for different media. For WN, I am not expecting literary mastery. Rather, I am looking for fresh and outrageous concepts which get implemented with consistency. I am fine with cliches, really. The more important aspect is whether or not the author is in command of their craft. I can realize within a couple of chapters if the author is simply pumping out aimless chapters.

In movies, I need fun. I enjoy cinematic experience where I can rewatch the fun movie and notice the smaller details on the how's and the where's.