Any example of a strange story concept that turned out really popular?

[MrOwl]

The story premise itself wasn't THAT weird, but the worldbuilding and characters in Undertale were pretty out there.

Also, in relation, Homestuck was a wild ride from start to finish and was wildly popular for quite a few years.

Their fanbase tho, cringe overdrive... xD thank you~

[Hazumirein]

Oh god yes, the fandoms were nuts haha. Gotta give them some credit for the sheer amount of fanworks produced though.

[MrOwl]

Gotta give them some credit for the sheer amount of fanworks produced though.

You're right, and I do respect them as a whole, like I respect any other fandom, but their bad apples do stand out lmao.

[allenT]

One thing i like about japanese creativity is they accepts bold ideas and not afraid to show them. I personally think no matter how weird your story is, if your execution is good enough, it will turn people into acceptance.

Also there's a thing called bandwagon effect. (social psychology)

[SpavVy]

For me it would be Star Wars because it's basically samurais in space.

[azzy-m]

I always get a sense of euphoria whenever someone mentions Homestuck outside of Homestuck fans' circles, lmao. I was never aware of it during its active years (I was familiar with Homestuck but somehow I managed to avoid its rabid fanbase during 2015/16), so, haha.

Anyway, yea, I gotta agree with Homestuck for this thread. I still struggle how to tell people what the plot of it actually is. The best I could ever come up with is "four kids start the end of the world after playing a game together and they have to make a new universe" lmao.

[NickRowler]

Star Wars was originally going to be a Buck Rodgers film but they couldn't get the rights. It pulls from Westerns flicks more than Samurai flicks. So it is sort of cowboys in space, or at least that is how I see it.

[kirayuin]

A bunch of strangely dressed characters, occasionally posing like they're either on a runway or their back was twisted at a 180 degree angle, with the ability to manifest strange powers into muscle-y, shiny humanoids that fights for them. Third season also includes lots of hAnDs yum

(yes I'm talking about Jojo)

[Darth_Biomech]

Most animated shows?
Like, there's a town of people, but these people are made out of sweets! But it's actually a post-apocalyptic far future! And there's a boy that lives completely alone in a tree, thinks that the world is a DnD campaign, and have a dog, but that dog is yellow, and is a shape-shifter, and is voiced by Bender.

[Random_Guy]

I mean, I could cite any of the Dragon Ball shows?
The original Dragon Ball:
Here's this boy, he has a monkey tail and turns into a giant ape cause he's based on Sun Wukong! But that's less important than martial arts. Oh, and martial arts give you the power to shoot lasers.

But then Z:
Hey, you remember that monkey boy? Well, he's actually an alien and now it's the same thing but in space! And he becomes a super legendary form that makes him blonde!

And then Super:
You remember that alien boy? Well, now he's fighting to save the world, and now he's fighting to save another timeline, and now he's fighting to save the universe!

[Freemints30]

I got into and its fanfiction after RPG monger made a vid on it, so I got in late. Im glad since that just allows me to sort through the best aspects of 2011-2014 fandom(where the the greatest fanfics and art are) and....ignore all the bad stuff. But yeah I can never explain it to my bro without him going...What?.

I'm not as into it as most(stop at act 5) and I dislike epilogues and stopped right there. But damn was it a wild ride

[azzy-m]

Yea, I just got into it this year, so I'm SERIOUSLY LATE, lmao. Sometimes I hear about stories of the fanbase from when it was at it's peak (for example, Homestucks crashing Newgrounds upon the release of Cascade).

Same, I kind of stopped around Act 6 Act 5. I also hear a bunch of people saying the epilogues and Homestuck^2 sucks ass (though I hear more hate for Homestuck^2 than the epilogues), I'm kind of wondering why, but I guess I'll find it out for myself when I get around to reading them, haha.

[ButterflyEmpress]

I think nowadays a lot of anime is starting to fit the same mold. I was watching this series called Anime Abandon about old anime from 80s and 90s and they had some pretty out there stories.
Today many animation studios don't have the funds to risk being unique which is why we get a lot of generic guy with harem, isekai, and magical high school shows.