Like most people, I have pet peeves. For example, I dislike tailgaters, chewing gum-spitters, and drivers who text behind the wheel. On the internet, I have a few pet peeves as well. Some of which are flamers, trolls, and my biggest pet peeve ever, spoilers! I hate spoilers. They can be anywhere, in any review of any media: books, games, movies and anime. I don’t mind if they exist, to each their own, yadda yadda, but put a frick’n sign up as a warning. It’s only polite.
Some people have no idea they’re spoiling an anime or manga, it just doesn’t register adding key instances or the ending to their article might ruin the series for other people. Or perhaps they think they’re doing folks a favor by filling them in the most thorough manner possible so fans know what they’ll be investing time and money in. Thanks but no thanks.
Then there are the people who just don’t give a crap about spoiler etiquette. People like this usually know they’re spoiling something but have this mindset of, “I already read/ watched X, screw your anime needs; I got mine.” It’s tough to write a summary without spilling the beans, I should know. But Spoiler Reviewers are too damn lazy to put actual thought into what they’re writing. These are the same jackasses who printed the ending to Harry Potter in the local St. Louis culture zine.
I’ve read many a review and plot summary of series I’ve already watched and am dumbfounded as to why anyone would put crucial plot points up for all to see without a heads up. Be it ignorance or maliciousness, reviews or summaries without a friendly advance warning are rude. If I see a review or summary with “!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!”, it becomes my choice whether or not I choose to read it and potentially ruin an anime. Give me the power to choose by putting up that one word, and in my mind, any writer who tells the whole story is absolved of any damages incurred.
Have you been the victim of drive-by-spoilers? Was an anime or manga ruined by random, hidden spoilers? Are spoilers OK, as long as they’re marked? Do you like spoilers and don’t mind that some pieces have no warning? Are you guilty of poor spoiler etiquette? Should spoilers even exist on a reviews site? What’re your thoughts on spoilers?
Tell us your thoughts on spoilers and spoiler etiquette in the comments below!
As someone who runs a review-heavy blog, I’m usually try my best to not post spoilers-though I know sometimes that I do them.
Since I’ve gotten into doing reviews of single anime-episodes, I’ve taken the point that I try to keep spoilers out of the section where I talk about what I think about the show, but leave them in in the episode summary.
Personally, I don’t mind spoilers, and for Star Wars books, I find that I’ll often go out of my way to find them. *Shrugs* I’m impatient to know.
There is no such thing as “spoilers” because everything is taken out of context, I have no reference to what is revealed, I’ve never seen it, so what the hell do I care if a character dies or spills the beans on some secret. What matters is the “journey” not the end result.
Spoilers don’t bother me that much, especially if I read the manga before the anime. Actually, I do get annoyed at people who get worked up about spoilers. For example there were some people who got mad at a TV critic for spoiling a season of the Sopranos that was airing on A&E of all places. If watching a show with maiden eyes is that important, then do what I do: avoid all media that will spoil a show. Avoid reviewers that spoil shows, avoid blogposts that might spoil the episode. I’d like to think it’d be as easy as turning off the teevee if you see something FCC indecent on the air.
I think it would be hard to run a spoiler-free review site. Even if you don’t name exact instances, the allusions to are enough for some. Can’t please everyone and you can’t be too vague or people won’t have an idea what you’re talking about.
Personally, I don’t mind spoilers. If it’s a series I really like, I simply avoid it on the internet. For anime, that means selectively clicking on titles/blurbs and I never go into forums. I’ve found that to work for me but I’m not heavily involved in the community. In the end though, if things get spoiled, I’m only slightly annoyed – I would have found out sooner or later.
@Kidan, It’s almost a given that episode summaries will have spoilers; tis the nature of what they are. I know when I read episode summaries, I’m going to be reading a blow by blow account of the anime.
I personally don’t like opening a newspaper or reading something on Ain’t It Cool and have a movie or book ruined. Our local culture zine is mucho guilty of that. Every review of theirs I’ve ever read is chock full of spoilyness. I was totally PO’ed when they casually let slip the ending of the last Harry Potter book. Dude, not cool.
@robin, I have to disagree with you. Even if something is taken out of context on paper, the minutes leading up to the spoiled instance in the anime, the mind puts the pieces together and says “Oh, so that’s what they meant.” I’m a big fan of surprises in my anime/manga/books/etc. Spoilers are like a big sister who tells you what you’re getting for Christmas ( I wanted the My Little Pony Castle to be a surprise!)
@Caitlin, it really is a superfine line in crafting mostly spoiler free summaries and reviews. What’s a spoiler to one person is gravy for the next. I was told by someone a game review I posted had a picture which was a spoiler. I was a bit shocked, but everyone really does have personal spoiler thresholds. I do believe, though, that some points really are spoilers, such as endings and key points.
I hate spoilers! I won’t read reviews of movies or books until after I’ve seen/read them to avoid spoilers. That said, sometimes it’s hard to write a review without including small spoilers. If I’m going to include a major spoiler, I’ll indicate that at the beginning of the review. That way the reader can proceed at their own risk.
@ItAintEasy, that’s a good point in avoiding known spoiler heavy sites or reviewers.
Spoilers are okay as long as they are marked. My greatest frustration is spoilers being written in the first few lines of a blog. Because my RSS transfers not only the subject line but the first paragraph or so. So if every review could start off with a general synopsis or random banter about how awesome the episode is before really getting into the meat of the plot, then I’d be happier. I could decide to bookmark the blog for later once I catch up watching .. rather than be incidentally spoiled right off just for browsing the blog headers. I’d sooner block the blog from my feed if that were the case all the time, and that blogger wouldn’t want that.
While it doesn’t happen all the time, even once every few months is too many.
Wow, seems I’m the only person who actually loves spoilers. I prefer to be spoiled, it sometimes even makes me crave to see the ep/series/movie even more.
I guess that would be because I don’t care that ‘XYZ was killed by ABC, who lost his mind during the battle.’ I care about how and why all this came about.
Besides spoilers usually make it easier for me to find out if something fits my likes or not. I still however take into account if other people like being spoiled or not. I know no other person, who likes to be spoiled as much as I do. All my friends are constantly baffled by this perk of mine.
Well, I guess, that I’ll be the one voice in favour of being spoiled. Still, I despise people who deliberately spoil others, just for the fun, or those who blatantly disregard the simple netiquette of marking spoilers.
My thoughts on spoilers: ********** CENSORED FOR LANGUAGE **********
Also, I like to select my entertainment in terms if I will be able to enjoy it again the second/third time around rather than by the shock effect of a revelation.
I really dislike spoilers. Sometimes I hear of a great anime/manga and before I can get my hands on it I hear a spoiler. For example, I had no idea whose Naruto’s father was, and then so many people made it clear. It ruined the suprise. Also, I’ve heard many important deaths in DeathNote that now make it less enjoyable. And than even one time I picked up an anime magazine and it told the ending to DN Angel, which I really wanted to see. It didn’t give an warning as I recall.. In a nutshell, I don’t like spoilers at all! So, I totally agree with you.
Spoilers for a episode or chapter to come for me are always quite enticing. Same with if I’ve not read or watched something but I read an intersting spoiler…I might suddenly decide I want to read or watch.
)
(basically, agree with alexis
I ado agree that for the most part you should be warned about spoilers, though I think to some extent you can expect a spoiler in a review.
If I’m reading something about say Final Fantasy VII, I expect some spoilers and usually avoid reading anything about it if I haven’t gotten through it. What irritates me are someone makes a spoiler about a completely different show, like giving away the deal behind The Sixth Sense in a review of Final Fantasy VII just to make some off-hand point.
The reason I hate spoilers is because I can’t resist reading them….
I don’t hugely mind them, but avoid them for things I know I will watch. But it does depend.
—SPOILER (well not really)—
It reminds me of when I watched full metal alchemist, and at the end of the first episode Ed gets attacked by the chimera. The scene had a great pace and setup, but I think it’s thunder would have really been stuffed if you knew what the deal with Ed was… Although on the flipside, any promo-artwork will pretty much give it away, and it would also be hard for any review site not to mention about his situation either.
—End Spoiler—
I guess because of that I actually avoid review sites when it comes to stuff I’m planning on giving a chance (games not included).
However after I’ve watched it I like to read reviews to see if other people thought the same thing I did about it, or noticed things I might have missed.
On a side note, spoilers which require you to highlight them to see them are Tops!
@Julie, I think book spoilers are the worst. Especially since so much time is devoted to reading in comparison to watching anime.
@Crisu, I’ve never come across a blog whose first lines spoiled something, thanks be, but I’ve been lucky so far.
@Alexis, I respect your spoiler love, though I can’t understand it ^^;.
@bakaneko, my thoughts exactly.
@Emi-chan, I look at spoilers as being the Cliff Notes of the entertainment world. The whole point of Cliff Notes is to help people understand books or text books without having to read them (they’re advertised as a study aid to be used in tandem with reading the book- whatever). I never, and I mean, never used Cliff Notes in school. Maybe that says something about why I hate spoilers….
@Saya, I disagree with having to expect spoilers in a review. National Public Radio (NPR) reviews books and films almost daily, and do so without spilling the beans (at least the reviews I hear). Major newspapers also run reviews which are spoiler-free. I think a review can indeed be spoiler free with a little effort.
@super rats, David and I were discussing this the other day. He was on Ain’t It Cool.com and was reading some talkbacks when some jerk wad randomly commented on Jango Fett. In the title. With NO warning. It ruined part of Episode One for him. (To be honest, though, Lucas had a hand in that too)
@Marie Turner, Is it something like the train-wreck phenomena, where you just can’t look away?
@Alternator, that’s the thing though, review sites shouldn’t be looked at as dens of spoilers. There’s no reason to pepper a review with spoilers. The episode/ plot summary maybe, and that should be clearly marked as such.
I freakin’ hate spoilers, especially if it’s a series that has yet to come out yet. For example, (no spoilers here, don’t worry) the first season of Gundam 00 just ended, and the next season won’t start up until the fall. I just watched a random Youtube video and some jack*ss posted “Upcoming Plot” stuff that contained some really juicy secrets. I couldn’t keep my eyes from wandering downward, but it pissed me off extremely after I casually read the first line.
Okay, so I don’t really mind people posting summaries after the series has been released (at which point if you want to know what happens you should just WATCH the series) so long as they are marked, but I CANNOT STAND when people post stuff about content that has yet to be released. Arrrrrrrghhhhh!!!
@Dave, I feel your hatey like pain towards spoilers as well. How hard is it for people to frick’n mark these things? It’s just one word: SPOILER. Maybe they can’t hit the caps lock and type at the same time….