Acknowledging things I hated throughout the year is hard because I try to purge them from my memory. This makes sense because I hated them. However, it’s fun to look back and bash terrible things. It is like getting closure after talking about getting hit in the face with a mud pie.
Well, let’s have some fun!
Books
Vacancy (2021), 3/10
Ah, the one book on my list. This is the infamous book whose ending made me want to spit nails. Apparently, the girl narrating the story tricked her friends and classmates into being eaten alive by a hotel so she could get her mom back. That’s basically it.
This book made me livid. The ending was downright evil, the characters bland and nihilistic, and the payoff wasn’t worth listening to the full book. I must have ranted about this book for a week after finishing it because the ending bothered me so much!
Comics
Cry, Even better Beg, 2/10
Ugh, this is the first of many comics I read this year with TOXIC male leads and stories. For this gem, the main guy blackmails the female lead multiple times and eventually forces her, to save her uncle, to be his mistress. He is the worst kind of yandere and . . . I wanted him to drown in the pond.
Here is the second! The female lead escapes her awful fiance, who used her as an organ donor for his mother just to DROP her like a bag of bricks, only to get caught by another loser. This stupidly handsome loser does everything in his power to manipulate and “alpha male” his way through their relationship. He also forces their first night, even though she is CLEARLY uncomfortable with doing it. But it’s okay because he’s good-looking and rich. Supposedly.
My Lord Pay Attention to Your Reputation by Jing Yu He He (2019), 3/10
This is a horrible example of bland, poorly paced, storytelling that supports Lolicons who want to have sexual relationships with young girls. I tried to purge it from my memory.
My Lover’s Personality is a Little Strange (2024) 2/10
So many tropes and toxic relationships. Here, a yandere obsesses over a girl he meets, finds her when they’re older, and pushes her to be his mistress. Then he loses his memory and tries to kick her out of the palace when she’s pregnant with his child.
Yeo Woons Innocence (2020), 6/10
Initially, as you can see, my review wasn’t that low. However, I’ve looked back at this webtoon a lot over the last few months and. . . it disturbed me. I could have supported this romantic relationship as a teenager, but as an adult, it bothers me how blatantly it tortures its characters without any real release or healing. I don’t support their relationship and think they need a lot of therapy.
Movies
Happily Ever After (1993) 3/10
The only way I could finish this movie was to take breaks and watch good clips from other movies. The music was abysmal, and the animators took too much time animating useless scenes. The idea it came out at the same time as Disney Renaissance films boggles my mind.
Food Fight (2012) 1/10
The internet and YouTubers were right. This is one of the worst films I’ve ever had the misfortune to lay my eyes on. The one upside was I could show scenes from it to my students so they could understand what BAD animation looks like.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), 10/10-4/10
This movie is gorgeous and monumentally influential. I hate it. It is overrated. There, I said what most people are unable to say because they want to look smart and sophisticated. I do however ironically laugh at the monkey scene with the bones every time I see it now.
Spongebob Halloween Special (2024), 2/10
What have they done to this show? This is one of the worst spinoffs for a show I’ve ever had the misfortune to endure. I went back to the old Spongebob episodes to purge myself.
Wish (2023)
I couldn’t finish this movie. I’ve tried to be neutral about this film since I have friends and family who genuinely like it. But, I can’t do it anymore. The writing, characters, music, and themes had to be partially written by AI. The sad thing is there were so many talented people trying to make this movie great! I liked the original idea for this film more than. . . whatever came to theaters.
Shows
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies (2024), 4/10
Last, but not least, is the one anime that made my eye twitch. How did this get adapted from a manga into an anime? Its story is scattered, the characters are caricatures of other characters, and it says nothing new or interesting. What really got me though was how blatantly it skirted the line between being “funny” to obviously sexualizing its young middle school age girls.
Well, that’s it! Luckily, I didn’t have too many things I downright hated this year. Maybe I am more talented I thought at finding good entertainment without sacrificing my time.
From the Perspective of an Old Soul 