Let's talk about trends

DiegoPalacios 2021-06-19 17:26:10 UTC #1

Many times i've noticed topics about trends in comics, either to complain about them or confused about their existance......but today, thought it could be more interesting and practical to study and analize them, because something was done right if they click with many readers.........

Those are the variable i've noticed when it comes to trends....there may be more that i haven't noticed......

1-Connection with an audience: Most trends in storytelling begin because they resonated with an
audience in some way.....relatable humor is self explanatory, BL appealed to an often ignored in mainstream media niche, isekais connected with gamers and the latest seek for escapism and so on......

2-A trend-starter: One or more works that were extremely successful of a certain genre or a certain storytelling format. Sarah's Scribbles was a pioneer of modern relatable humor, One punch man reanimated the interest of overpowered protagonists by playing it for laughs and deconstructing it and so on......there is often a big hit that woke up an interest in readers and creators alike to explore and enjoy.....

3-Supply and Demand: when enough people express interest in consuming a certain type of product, people with the required skills and resources may be willing to produce it, and there's nothing wrong with people being willing to take this approach. Being unique is not the only way to stand out, sometimes an amazing excecution is all it takes to shine......

4-Inspiration: sometimes the motivation to follow a trend or further exploring it is the influence of a work that resonated with a creator. We all have influences from other works, some affect more than others and some are more visible, either in art style, genre, themes or other aspects......

Now let's go with questions.....

-what do you think is an unconsidered variable of trends?

-what do you think makes trends click with people?

-do you like/dislike trends?, why?

-do you follow trends?, avoid them?, ignore them?, why?

-any tips for succesfully following/creating trends?

-anything else related you wanna talk about?

MovieNut14 2021-06-19 17:32:57 UTC #2

I like it when certain elements found in specific genres are subverted/inverted, i.e., the first page of this comic:

Tailzkip 2021-06-19 17:35:40 UTC #3

"Let’s talk about trends"
I just make what I want to make I have never even followed them lol #notlikeothergirls...Okay no lol but seriously I have no idea what's popular because then there's the temptation to follow it for clicks. Plus It gives me less to be annoyed at, people are going to like what they like at the end of the day lol

PapaDom 2021-06-19 17:57:28 UTC #4

-what do you think is an unconsidered variable of trends?
(Sorry if I interpret the question wrong. My brain has reached the time where it decided not to work properly.)
If I had to guess, it would be reverse Isekai. We got so much isekai (with game mechanics) that it's gotten dried out, in my opinion, and it would be fun to see it flipped upside down more. For example, take Digimon. The first season was kids getting isekai'ed to the digital world. And in season 3, Digimon came to the real world, which was fun seeing beings from other worlds trying to live along with humans.

-what do you think makes trends click with people?
Oof. That's hard to say, really. It can be a lot of factors like relatability, interesting plot or concepts, or something about the art style, scenery, or choices in music.

-do you like/dislike trends?, why?
Depends. If the trend didn't get beaten to death, then I still can enjoy it. (Or if the fanbase makes a cringe-fest out of it, then I'm out... )

-do you follow trends?, avoid them?, ignore them?, why?
The same answer above, but I add that I completely avoid the superhero genre. After Endgame finished, I got post-exhaustion from it. But I still follow BNHA and Onepunch-man solely cause I want to see the plot continue. But it doesn't mean I won't try watching something if it's interesting enough. Invincible, for example.

-any tips for succesfully following/creating trends?
Try to see what others do. If the same concept was already used multiple times, try to spice things up like twisting the already known premise or do something completely new what others didn't do. And don't force any trends. They'll become something with given time.

bluejamtoast 2021-06-19 19:42:44 UTC #5

Nice to see a non complainy thread about trends

For your variables maybe i'm misunderstanding but I think number. 1 is kind of vague and not necessarily true. There have been hits that had a wide audience that did not produce a trend whilst there are trends that don't have a specific audience. Unless you meant trends generated by reflecting cultural/social sentiments? Like a trend in anti war media after a disastrous conflict irl? Also I don't think OPM reanimated the overpowered mc trend or even created a trend. It's success didn't usher many imitations or similar stuff imo

Everything else I agree with and would add the death of a trend to either trend starter or supply & demand. The oversaturation of a specific trend leads to audience fatigue, creating demand for the trend's death which ends up being a trend starter. Too much of the friendship is magic, here comes the lone wolf, sick of the righteous hero, here comes the anti hero boom, sick of the serious edgy stories here comes the comedy parody deconstructions etc

Plot/genre wise, the existence of trends has no effect on my enjoyment purely cos there is soooooo freaking many stories out there that aren't following whatever is the trend, I just read what I'm in the mood for. I can't be sick of stuff i'm not reading haha

However trope trend wise its harder. Say I'm not in the mood for isekai despite it being the trend I can easily find non isekai stories, but say tsundere female leads are the trend and i'm not in the mood for that, that's harder to filter out since it can exist in any story demographic or genre. This is where I dislike trends. Obviously if a trend I enjoy is popular I love it

Regarding if I do end up following, its via variable 4 which bleeds into variable 3 where I enjoyed a trend/trope so much I, want more & inspires me to write my own version

Same answer as everyone else, I say don't intentionally follow/avoid trends, just walk your own path and create what you are passionate about, if it so happens to be on/off trend then cool. Creating a trend is mainly luck imo and can't be formulated, even if you see a gap in the market it or a unique idea that doesn't guarantee success/new trend

Do yall agree or disagree? The popularity of a trend has no impact on the popularity of another trope
E.g the popularity of videogame-esque level up webtoons has no effect on the popularity of cowboy webtoons. If videogame level up webtoons ceased to exist I don't believe that would cause cowboy webtoons to become popular, demand dictates supply and I view the demands of each genre to be completely independent of each other. Hence I personally don't understand complaining about what is popular. Thoughts?

GesuGesu 2021-06-19 22:10:09 UTC #6

-what do you think is an unconsidered variable of trends?
Uhhh, the cycle I guess? I'm sort of braindead on this part.

-what do you think makes trends click with people?
Familiarity. Isekai is popular because most of the isekai worlds are based off current popular JRPG fantasy worlds with dungeons, demon kings, medieval European style nations, slimes, and so on.

Traditional fantasy is also popular because we love hoping to encounter the familiar dragons, elves, fictional political intrique, magic, and so on that Tolkien popularized.

Series like My Hero Academia and One Punch Man are familiar comforts to us in the superhero genre, while also playing up their own unique twists. School life, power systems, all these things are familiar and we just enjoy that.

For romance, everyone has their own favourite tropes in romance story-telling, so it's all up to what combination of tropes are in the story. Dark, with kidnapping, cheating, and other unhealthy bits? We got that. A love triangle drama between a childhood friend and a hot new guy? People love that too. Fated lovers, protagonist x antagonist, ABO, school drama, office romance, etc - if you mix up a certain number of tropes, for sure you'll match a trend one way or another.

-do you like/dislike trends?, why?
I do like trends, since I'm a consumer of media just as much as I am a creator. I'm always up to experience the new current popular genre and all the different ways people can make it unique. I have read enough trashy isekais, traditional fantasies, and school battle series that I know "things are popular because it's a formula that works when executed well" so I have no complaints about popular series at all, because they played their cards right with the audience.

-do you follow trends?, avoid them?, ignore them?, why?
I pick and choose the stuff I consume within trends. I do like isekai, but I don't go out of my way to consume every single new isekai anime that gets released. Yes, I'll watch/read the I'm a Spider, So What, but I won't read/watch Mushoku Tensei because I know the protagonist is a piece of shit basement dweller reborn as a child and gets all the girls in another world.

-any tips for succesfully following/creating trends?
Why create trends when you can join them? In order to succeed in any trend or genre, you gotta consume enough of the medium to know what's already out there, and which ones are popular, and how they got popular. Creators who tunnel-vision into creating their own works without being aware of their surroundings tend to see the most disappointment when they get readers comparing their characters or storyline to some pre-existing series out there.

-anything else related you wanna talk about?
The current Korean trend for webnovels/webtoons is Dungeon/Hunters, Constellation fantasy, or Reincarnation
The current Chinese trend for webnovels/webtoons is still Wuxia/Xianxia/Transmigration/Video Games
The current Japanese trend for webnovels is JRPG-Fantasy Reincarnation, Video Games, and Villainess transmigration

In general, for all 3 E-Asian countries, in the romance category, Reincarnation, Turning Back Time/Revenge plot, "My husband is a (insert job/status)!", etc. etc.

In BL, dark BL seems to be popular right now, as well as ABO (Alpha Beta Omega) Omegaverse. The usual school life or office romance still works, but I see less of it around my usual BL websites these days.

darthmongoose 2021-06-20 09:08:25 UTC #7

-what do you think is an unconsidered variable of trends?
Trends are often reactions to whatever the trend before them was. So blockbusters had become more and more realistic and gritty with dark, grungy colours and very serious characters before the MCU exploded with colourful superheroes cracking funny one-liners. A saturation of very cishet male focused gamer webcomics with functional, cartoonish art about dudes on the sofa making jokes about how Dante cries and has long hair so he must be gay lead to a wave of emotional, narrative comics with delicate, pretty eye candy art about romance. It sounds obvious, but people often forget and just extrapolate that any trend happening now will just go on exponentially forever and so in 5 years time all webcomics will be about villainesses and have titles that are entire paragraphs.

-what do you think makes trends click with people?
There are a few factors:

Everyone knows what it's like to finish something and then go "I want more like that, please!" and possibly as a creator to go "I want to make something like that!"
It usually captures something of the feeling at the time. Why is isekai popular? Perhaps because Millennials and Gen Z feel very trapped with a lack of social mobility, and so the idea of escaping to a world where anyone who is smart and puts in effort can thrive and become powerful and influential is appealing.
Publishers don't like to take risks. They are much more likely to invest in works similar to things that already succeeded, so they take on and throw more marketing behind things that are already popular, feeding the trend. People see more of that, so they read more of that. Most people don't want to put tons of effort into finding new stuff to read.

-do you like/dislike trends?, why?

It's complicated? At times they can be annoying, like I'm pretty tired of isekai dominating fantasy now because so much of it is so unimaginative, but there are other trends that directly help me. If there wasn't a trend for depictions of LGBTQ+ characters in Fantasy works, life would be a lot harder for me as an LGBTQ+ creator wanting to represent people like me in my work. There are assholes who would say I'm "pandering" (because apparently it's NOT pandering when cishet people make works about cishet people, only when queer people do it), but it's really more like... I've wanted to do this for some time, but it didn't used to be acceptable, and the trend is helping to push boundaries for more inclusive narratives overall, which is pretty great!

-do you follow trends?, avoid them?, ignore them?, why?
Somewhat, yes. Being a creator over thirty and having been making webcomics since... ooh, around 1999? My work would be hugely unfashionable if I hadn't changed with the times. Like when manga art was unfashionable in the 2010s "height of Tumblr" period, I leaned more into a more cartoon dot-eyed style and did more digital painting because there was such little demand for manga-influenced work. Now that there's a trend for LGBTQ+ themed works, my works are much more "out" about that side of my identity rather than reining it in. The style of my humour has definitely changed with trends from the very sarcastic style of jokes I did in the 00s to the more character-driven style I have now.
I wouldn't call my work "trendy" because I'm not exactly making a long-scroll manhwa looking pastel-coloured Fantasy isekai villainess Romance here, but I'm not one of those people who deliberately goes against trends to make a point.

-any tips for succesfully following/creating trends?
There is no hard and fast way to create a trend other than "try to make a quality product that resonates with you" and then maybe you'll get lucky and hit the zeitgeist and maybe you won't. For following trends, my advice as a 36 year old is you gotta pay attention to what younger people are into and not dismiss it as "stupid teen crap". I have friends whose work has aged kinda poorly because it hasn't changed, resulting in a dwindling audience, and they're usually the ones who are like "murr murr modern music sucks, I only listen to proper rock music." "Urgh all these modern comics suck, they're all floaty pastel coloured crap about pretty gay people having feelings", if you become that person, you'll only be able to sell your work to people your own age who are nostalgic for the past. Read widely, be open-minded and embrace new ideas, styles and themes. Try to find points of commonality between your generation and theirs, and be chill with the idea that yeah, you won't always be young and cool, but you can still appreciate craft and effort.

Eiranyx 2021-06-20 10:48:34 UTC #8

What do you think is an unconsidered variable of trends?
- hmmm this is a tricky one, but aside from trends tend to move on from their specific time but I noticed that even if they're a trend, it isn't exactly 'new' because they still play it safe by adding elements and a little twist from the original successful tropes that were existing since before(which may or may not be popular back then) that just happened to still click today.

What do you think makes trends click with people?
- I guess it's mostly things that are relatable with the reality and possible what ifs scenarios that everybody has thought of but it just so happens that a person was brave enough to put that out there along with his/her idea and it clicks with the masses.

Do you like/dislike trends? why?
Personally, it depends on the trend. if it aligns to my personal taste of course I like it and I follow through it but if it isn't, then I don't interact with it --- I'm a type of person who isn't afraid of being seen as different and I tend to bend the 'rule' to fit my personal preference (most of the time) and mostly its because I think It won't be enjoyable if I'm creating something I don't like after all...BUT it doesn't mean that I won't do it at all(except of course the totally cringey ones)
Trends help me grasp ideas that I can work on to satisfy both my personal tastes and what the masses want, its a challenge of my creativity to come up with something and it gives me unique ideas and it often comes out more than what I expect So you could say it's a mix of both ^^

Do you Follow trends? avoid them? ignore them? why?
Like my answer above it depends on the trend itself. I pick the trends that are relatable to me or those I find interesting. As a creator however, I divide it into two:
-Trends which I am into and use it to personally admire the works , like fandom related trends, I create works because I like that fandom but that's it
-Trends that I look up to - these trends are the things I like, but enough for me to strive and create something like: "I want my creation to be like that but put my own personal twist in it" these trends are like where I get my inspirations for my ideas and blend it with mine ^^
But on the other side of the spectrum I avoid and ignore trends that are problematic -- no I'm not talking about the stories or creation, what I mean are those trends that promote things I think are really harmful for me and my mental health and the things that I think is pretty cringey lol.

Any tips for successfully following /creating trends?
Maybe always remember that no one is really 'original' because if they are then it isn't a trend. But don't be afraid to be your own 'designer' you can still join the trend, get some ideas and still be unique in your own way. If you join the trends you can see a lot of factors that you haven't considered before that can help you expand on your ability to create plus you can also have fun by meeting people who shares the same interest as you and who knows? maybe because of this, you can create your own trend after all, trends can come from anywhere.

Jenny-Toons 2021-06-20 14:47:12 UTC #9

I definitely agree with this. Just because something popular is no longer popular doesn't mean the tropes and stories you're working on will take its place. It might have a chance, but that's it -- a chance.

Because, as noted by other people, it's kinda hard to track this stuff. We can get clues for what may be popular next, and then mainstream audiences and niche audiences will turn those predictions on their heads.

At the end of the day, trends and tropes are about familiarity.

Things that get popular tend to massively appeal through nostalgia, similarity to other things, wish-fulfillment, and other broad ideals. I know this because that's how some popular things get me to consume them. Hell, sometimes, it's all about the untapped potential that gets me hooked (even if they don't deliver).

So I guess...really, if anyone's trying to gain a following, they can think about how "familiar" their work is. Even if it's niche, there's gotta be some type of emotional attachment potential in there.

NickRowler 2021-06-20 16:18:29 UTC #10

-what do you think is an unconsidered variable of trends?
I think trends in media can help expand a genre or even create a genre. I think superheroes are a good example of this, what was originally something for kids (mostly boys), has expanded to be very diverse in style and audience.

-what do you think makes trends click with people?
It's had the say. There is a saying "The audience doesn't know what it wants". It's had to say what will be the next trend and sometimes people have tried to manufacture trends and failed. But sometimes you will see something and know it's going to be the next big thing. I remember when I first saw a Hatchimal before it hit the market, I was like "This is going to be the toy of the year".

-do you like/dislike trends?, why?
If it is something I like, than I am happy to get more content of it. If it is something I don't care for, it can be tiring or annoying.

-do you follow trends?, avoid them?, ignore them?, why?
Similar to the previous question. I am usually not as bitter as some people. I try to always be curious and openminded. Even if it is not for me, I don't really hate people who enjoy it.

-any tips for successfully following/creating trends?
I think it might be mixing something old with something new. A Hatchimal is not that much different than a Furby. Star Wars took inspiration from Westerns and old serials like Buck Rogers.

When it comes to following trends, I think you should only do it if you care about the genre. If not, people can tell and you are going to end up with something people dislike.

-anything else related you wanna talk about?
I think people need to be less bitter about trends that kids/teens are into. It is sort of messed up that adults are calling kids "cringe" for like things. Let them like what they like, it's really none of an adult's business.

DiegoPalacios 2021-06-20 16:23:34 UTC #11

Is kinda childish calling kids cringe ......and that attitude is really cringe.....

Llyrel 2021-06-20 16:41:46 UTC #12

-What do you think is an unconsidered variable of trends?
Uuuuh, this is a kinda hard one, but... I'm under the impression that it might be a good idea to keep in mind that what's trendy in a specific bubble isn't necessarily trendy everywhere else? °° Seriously, there's a lot of talk here about the whole isekai/villainess trend in webcomics and literature (to which I contributed with my own posts recently, no lies here), buuut... tbh, Tapas aside, I can't really say that I've seen it as much of a trend anywhere else, be it in printed comics, literature, movies, tv series or even other webcomic platforms? °°

Dunno, might have to do with the fact that I'm not from the US/an English speaking country, so a lot of the popular media from overseas usually take a while to get here, but... it's been more than a few months since I joined Tapas and I have yet to see a rise in popularity of this whole isekai thing. Truth to be told, I didn't even know it was a thing before I joined these forums :'D The few articles in my native language that mention the genre (I searched for them just to be sure) only talk about manga/anime series that are 20+ years old. And even on other webcomic platforms I'm in, the genre as a whole doesn't seem to be as prominent as it is here. Which is probably why the amount of attention given to the whole thing weirds me out so much: I see a lot of talk about whether or not it you should follow it as a trend to "increase your webcomic's popularity"... but from my personal point of view, we're talking about something that's only really popular on a very specific platform and not anywhere else, making it really hard for me to see what the fuss is all about (for context: the most popular trend in my country right now is historical thriller/thriller in general featuring detectives with a "shady past they can't remember" as protagonists. There -has- been a rise in popularity of romance stories, buuuuut... little to no fantasy. That's what I mean when I say "trends can be wildly different depending on your surroundings" ).

tl;dr: studying the platform you're on and seeing the trends that are popular on it is all nice and good, but branching out and keeping an eye on trends outside of your bubble is also good if you don't want to end up with something that is only really popular within a very specific community.

-What do you think makes trends click with people?
Familiarity, being in the right place at the right time. It's no surprise that Twilight exploded in popularity when the whole emo subculture was a thing: both shared a love for broody "vampire type" characters, dark atmospheres and """impossible""" relationships. Likewise, now that people are stuck in their houses, unable to get out and meet their friends/loved ones and forced to use social media to keep in contact (with all the toxicity that comes from them), it's no surprise that escapism/romance has become more popular. People dream of running away from reality and having a happy ending with someone who loves them and cares about them, so they seek refuge in fiction for that.

-Do you like/dislike trends?, why?
There are trends I like, others I dislike. It depends on the trend itself, really, so it's hard to give a single answer what I'm definitely not a fan of is repetitiveness. As much as may love a certain trend, the moment I start finding multiple stories that all follow the same exact plot is the moment I stop caring.

-Do you follow trends?, avoid them?, ignore them?, why?
I... uh... don't actively do any of these? :'D As I mentioned, it all depends on whether I like or not a certain thing. I never made a mystery out of the fact that works like W.i.t.c.h., Supernatural and The Sandman were a pretty big influence of me. Supernatural especially was incredibly popular when I started to write The Emergency Coven. However, as the years went on and the series faded in popularity, I kept doing my thing. I'm perfectly aware that my genre now ain't exactly what's most popular (urban fantasy is pretty much dead in my country, and while fantasy does retain popularity overseas, trends have definitely shifted towards different sub-genres), but I don't care: it's a story I enjoy writing, in a style I like working with. I don't care about making it "trendy": what I truly want is making it good.

-Any tips for succesfully following/creating trends?
-Following trends: make sure you find out what makes something popular, but, like... give it your own twist and don't turn it into an exact copy of what's already around? °° That' the only suggestion I can give you.
-Creating trends: man, I honestly have no idea XD the only thing I can think about is "find your niche and start working your way up from there". If things go well and you're lucky enough to find yourself in the right place at the right time, your experience in that specific niche might get you the recognition you deserve... no guarantees, though XD

NinaWrites 2021-06-21 15:30:06 UTC #13

I don't really understand the first question, lol.
For me, trends click with me when I read one really interesting story, and suddenly I want to read more of that same genre - to see other people's take on that genre/trend
I love trends. I admit that there are many people who would ride the wave and produce poor quality work and depend on the popularity of the trend (like where people would produce knock off brands of something) despite that, I love trends because someone will always take it and create something more unique and interesting and subvert my expectation which is what I enjoy the most
I follow trends to a certain extent. If I see that in the top 10 stories, 6 stories are isekai, then I would be like, ah that's the trend.
There is no set formula in creating trends. There will never be an "original idea, but if you execute it well, it will become an "original" idea - and may be set up as a precedent for future similar stories. I only follow trends if I like it - for example, if the next trend is anthromorphizing trains, I probably won't follow it and write a story about it.
For me, I think escapism is huge in alot of trendy stories. As we get more disconnected to the world, and have more time for self reflection, it's easier to notice our discontent - and the escapism becomes something we cling on to.

I also think that when a certain trope is done enough, it's fun to flip it on it head lol