I cannot describe the visceral level of aversion I have to mainstream shit. It doesn’t matter if the show is the best thing on earth, if the general public knows about it (And I don’t mean the internet I mean the general public) then I refuse to watch or partake in it. I have no idea why and it genuinely kills me to be like this and I have no idea why.
It prevents me from joining most fandoms nowadays unless the fandom is super niche. Things like Hotel Hazbin, Star Wars, The Office, K-pop (in general), Kpop Demon Hunters, most popular anime… WHY. WHY AM I LIKE THIS?? Is anyone else like this? Even people just mentioning “Oh yeah I love One Piece, you should watch it sometimes” makes me go “Oh fuck nah I’m good” as if the damn show was a personal insult. I feel like a stuck-up prick when I do this but I genuinely can’t control it, why???
If someone suggests something I’ve already heard of, it’s unlikely I’ll even bother checking it out. But if Ive never heard of it, I’ll do at least a cursory search on what it’s about, what it’s like.
Like, oh really? Another person suggests breaking bad? Wowww it must be so good! No. I saw the first two episodes and moved on years before you trying to get me to push through it. But if I’ve never heard of it, I’ll listen to their pitch and maybe I’ll check it out, maybe I won’t. But at my age I know what I like, and don’t.
My buddy is a big cinephile and loves every movie it seems. I don’t trust his suggestions at all anymore. He also pushes every new anime in existence, despite know I absolutely despise anime of all sorts. It’s all the same. Substitute aliens or super powered fighters for demons, it doesn’t matter. It’s exactly the same. It’s all formulaic.