Question What makes you drop a novel?

If its:
1.MTL'd
2. Badly written
3. Bad plot
4. Too much angst and drama that doesn't make sense
5. MC is too OP that it doesn't really make sense or fit in the story
6. Plot moves too quickly
7. Too much face-slapping
8. Too many plot-holes
9. MC or ML fall in love too fast
10. MC gets r*p*d but forgives the ML and falls in love.

 

Recently, if a story gets so depressing I think to myself "damn, if I was in their shoes I'd just go off myself" I just stop reading now. I can't even wait for the emotional payoff since I've read so many shitty stories that have NO payoff.

I don't even know what to call it. Emotional fatigue? These days this seems to be the big one. Does anyone else get this?

 

That kinda reminds me of Re: Zero, the story can be so bleak for Subaru it makes you want to just drop it.

There's a trope for what your describing https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarknessInducedAudienceApathy

 

For any language, the harem genre
For Chinese novels, constantly escalating but repetitive fights that stem from “I attacked you, but since I clearly underestimated your power and you let me escape, I need my daddy to show you the errors of your ways!”, and so on until somehow that one kid from that one clan in some remote country was so influential that they can cause the second strongest being in the universe to order a hit on the MC
For Japanese novels, the word “nonbiri” or its equivalents (slice of life, laid back, etc)
For Korean novels, the writing style just feels off for the most part, like someone writing their streams of thought with no clear direction/flow (e.g EER, which while a good story, imo has one of the most unnatural writing styles ever)
And for translations, when there are three chapters released three years ago for a series with like five hundred untranslated chapters because I can’t read Chinese Japanese or Korean

 

Bit sad when any novels are like are far ahead only in MTL

 

1. I drop novels out of frustration when the author adds a plot development that is unpleasant such as the main character committing immoral actions..
(ex. the MC from Martial god asura which he made someone suffer an uncomfortable humiliation. Or if the author makes the novel have racist conflicts and the main character becomes twisted such as the MC 'Shura's Wrath' - Big disappointment, MC went to a different country server and acts like a messed up dude, or if other countries are depicted in a bad light ex. "god and devil world" or I'm really a super star. )
2. And other things are what other say about stale cliches or repetitive arcs and conflicts(the author just recycles conflicts in a different form). It just makes it to binge read and be interested when I have already read similar and even better versions.
(ex. The trash of the count's family - I don't understand why it is popular, it's probably because I was looking for that type of cliche and genre and found like 4 similar stories)
3. Also Bad uses of gimmicks, ex smartphone reincarnation . Gimmick is uncreative and pointless
(jp isekai about smartphones)(why did it become an anime... smh)
Summary: really bad developments that are caused by the author's illogical and hateful opinions. Boring developments and bad writing.
What I look for.
Now, I'm more critical and picky about what I read and look at reviews(although alot of the reviews/ratings are bad and I disagree with). I'm always looking for a certain genre or already have a collection of really good novels that keep me coming back over the years. (one novel updates once a year, but I still find it more memorable than most). Consistent Comedy, good development or memorable moments created by the author keep me from forgetting or from gradually dropping it.

Sorry for the unpleasantly block of text, but half of it is just references and specific examples
Also I see alot of comments about Chinese novels having the consistent trope of face slapping, Could someone tell me what or direct me to a thread about specific novels or scenarios have this face slapping trope?

 

Lack of solid setting and a sickening dark fantasy portrayed to the novel

 

I got a pretty high tolerance for crap so the only time I ever really drop novels is if there is a long hiatus and I actually forgot about the novel. The only exception to this is if the site owner is an utter heel and treats people like dirt, then I boycott the SOB as a form of protest and to not give him any more fame to slap people with. And it's only that one person so it's a rare case.

So no Asian Hobbyist for me. Which is a pity, the stories and translations are nice but if my support comes at the price of him putting someone else down, it's not worth it. I aim to make the world a better place, not make it worse.

 

• Bad translation from original language to English.
• Wrong grammar
• Inordinate amount of typos
• Unbelievable Plot lines
• Ridiculous Main Characters with Card Board Side Characters
• Novels that are 1000+ chapters in (except Wandering Inn, please continue lol)

 

Most CN/JP/KN cliches on novels kinda grew on me already so I built up a bit of tolerance on almost every reason mentioned. However, I do have a bottomline as long as the author didn't go overboard on the stupidity of the characters, harem, fluff and etc. then I'll still bear with it.

The most common reason for me though is if the novel released a week's worth of boring chapters, that I won't have any reason to pick it up, then that's how I know that it's their time of death.

 

@Dandot , here is a cursory list: Series Finder --> Language=Chinese & Include Tags=Ancient China. Currently there are 13 pages listing titles for you viewing pleasure.
There are others but I am just too sleepy to bother.

 

harem, anything harem
dog blood
first kiss not with the right person...yea...i'm hopeless romantic
cliche story (?)
Mpreg until several chapters (i don't mind if it was in the end or already have a bun at the beginning of the story)
airhead / idiot MC....without the comedy!!!

 

Oh my, probably too many for anyone to bother reading. But let's start with isekais, be they of the reincarnation, transmigration or summoning variety:

1. The vast majority of isekais that revolve around the protagonist using their Wikipedia-brain to slowly introduce technology to this new world. More often than not it's in the form of food, and I haaaate that sub-plot in any isekai. Miso ain't that fucking good, my man! It also has some darker implications, in terms of how the culture of the other world is viewed as inferior, but I'll get back to that later. It can also revolve around other knowledge. Technology is a big one, and I think the only one that I have ever read that did it right was Release that Witch. And even that one gets to be a bit crazy with how much random stuff Roland can recall. The idea of using knowledge from a modern world is in itself not bad, it just is rarely handled well.

2. Slavery is totally okay when the MC does it. It's odd how these "culturally sophisticated" Nihonjin Messiahs don't mind slavery once they pop up in another world. I mean suuuure you won't mistreat your slaves, so I am sure they won't mind. At least they get to experience the utter SHOCK of getting to eat at the same table as their MASTER. Death March, despite me not really liking it, at least give a reason for the continued slavery and actually does resolve down the line if I am remembering correctly.

3. A leveling system of some kind where the numbers are not important. This could be a wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan problem too, where I am fairly certain all of the ones I've read the MC has some ability that allows them to fight people way above their own strength where others would be crushed underneath the baddy's boots instantaneously, however at the very least there is some backstory reasoning for the "numbers" not meaning anything in those. It's perhaps more apparent in other tales where there are statuses and skills and all sorts of things. I don't mind LitRPGs, but if you do have a stat sheet it shouldn't be pointless. An even worse offense is when the stats are there to tell you how much the character has improved, rather than showing you.

4. This one definitely applies to other genres, as well. A conveyor-belt of cannon fodder baddies with no personality other than 1) Arrogant Young Master #323, 2) White Lotus #4112, or something along those lines. I do love me some face slapping, but it seems like all novels that rely on them will eventually devolve into a very repetitive story structure where you can just replace the name of the face slapping target(s), the reason for jealousy or ridicule and there you go, another 20 to 30 chapters that quite literally write themselves with a word replacement function.

5. All the women are "jade beauties", and they all seem to be having the worst day of their life (which usually means they are about to get raped) when the MC comes across them. But thankfully, the author allows the MC to thus display his power right in front of them and instantly make them fall for him despite more often than not being the coldest of cold jade beauty in the entire world whom no man has touched since they were born.

6. Gold to Yen conversion. It gives me all the info I need to know about what's to come in this novel and the quality to expect. It is an action that makes no economical sense. How on earth can you convert between currencies in a world that has magic and usually lags vastly behind technologically, has entirely different supplies and demands and our modern world?! And since money will never ever be a problem for the MC going forward, it's a meaningless paragraph that I still have no clue why any author would include other than to check off another point on the Isekai Trope list.

More generally, isekais just seem to revolve around the cultural superiority of whichever country the writer is from. It's not about exploring a new, vast world, but rather about "enlightening" these uncivil savages who do not even know about the glory of miso soup, soap or have thought far enough ahead to go dip themselves into the hot spring around the fucking corner from where the MC pops into existence That's why they tend to take place in fantasy/medieval settings, where the MC actually has inherent advantages, rather than in the future or in a sci-fi setting where they wouldn't.

For the more general novels:

1. The vast majority of male leads in CN "Romance" (if you equate Stockholm Syndrome to romance I suppose it applies). They are often selfish, cold-hearted, possessive and cruel womanizers. I get that part of the appeal is to then mold him into someone who loves only the female lead, but it's just very hard to get past the physical and mental abuse.

2. Somewhat connected to the last point, but applicable to all genres with a romantic subplot. Female leads who rely on the male lead. They're not independent, they don't have agency, they are just a glorified pet for the ML to raise. Even in stories where we are told that these women are the most powerful cultivator their age, or some knight that is an absolute badass, eventually they need saving and that's where the MC comes into the picture. All of their badassery is then wiped away and the only trait that remains is that they love the ML.

3. A lack of failure. I can look past a lot of plot armor that prevents the MC from literally dying, sure, that'd kinda give the story a rather abrupt ending after all. But when the MC is perfect, and that perfection extends to any companions (and let's face it, they're all usually women who are gaga for him) as well then I have no reason to continue reading as there is no risk of any harm ever befalling the MC, even if the harm is emotional from it affecting someone close to them. On the other hand of course are the novels where the MC lives a utterly tragic life with no joy, but depending on the writing and severity of the tragedy that is much more preferable than no failure at all.

4. An MC that does no harm.

5. An MC that does lots of harm. Unless it's some jade beauty of course, in which case the only "harm" will be in the form of the horizontal mambo

As far as the translations are concerned there are the more obvious problems like MTL'd content that fries my brain, badly edited translations if edited at all, etc. But the biggest one for me is adding translation notes all over the place. I don't mind a quick note when using a term that doesn't really have an English equivalent for the first time. But when the TLNs constantly comment on the story and try to get themselves over, at least have the common courtesy of using a footnote system and gather up all the jabbering that way.

I'm sure I could add even more to the list, but I've already rambled for far too long about this stuff. So let's just leave it at that for now.

 

I absolutely detest 'fluffy' novels without real plot and the whole story is the MC being 'adorable' or secretly OP and the ML being badass and there's no conflict, it's just all sugar and sweet and lovey dovey. Extra points if they fall in love within like 10 chapters.