Honeslty, any of them...
Everything about vampires where they’re not even vampires. If you want to make an erotic romance novel, fine, but don’t make the love interest a “vampire” as an afterthought.
Back in the day that was the most popular pitch I would get from 'aspiring manga writers looking for artists' every time one of those manga contests popped up like for Shonen Jump.
"It's a dark retelling of Alice in Wonderland"
Look man... I've already turned down 12 other writers with this 'unique' pitch. Please stop.
Oh hey, that's another one, the dark and edgy retelling of things. Like Archie, Sabrina, Winx.
Fairytails is def another, though it it's defence, usually the actual the source the material is a lot more darker than the modern versions.
Yeah, but they’re usually dark retellings of the wholesome versions instead of retellings of the originals
The thing for me with the "dark" fairytales is that they seem to throw worldbuilding out the window. They were written/translated hundreds of years ago so we don't know the standards or the cultural attachments. I have a problem when writers write about their characters being abused and stuff like that but it's "okay" since they are going to get together in the end. (This is an entirely different rant.)
I actually hate the dark retellings of things like Archie or Sabrina. Depending on the story, they are often family friendly. But unless you are doing something like the Hemsworths "dark" retelling of the famous "Charlie bit Me" video, they aren't that well written.
I'm kinda tired of red riding hood adaptations honestly.
There's a ton of fairy tales (even by the brothers Grimm still) that haven't been adapted into anything major, so I don't get why people insist upon covering the same ones over and over again.
This is true and I wanted to add this point, but my English wasn't working so I didn't know how to say it xD
Yeah that's why I hate them too, they're not very well written at all and lot of the edgy and dark themes aren't woven into the story very well at all, and I kinda of just thrown in for the sake of being dark and edgy.
Also, not every story needs to have a dark retelling x.x or even works for a dark retelling, and the stories that are usually targeted are series that are the furthest away from benefiting from having a darker version.
totally agree with this and, as a Greek friend of mine once said: "Who says it's a myth? Those are Gods and Goddesses that some people still worship. Maybe we should retell Jesus?" I stopped calling them "myths" after that.
Ditto, ditto and double ditto. "Dark" retelling of anything gets me.
A lot of "fairy tales" actually are dark, extremely so. A friend of mine refused to read the Brothers Grimm stories to her children. In Cinderella one of the step sisters cuts off a big toe and the other her heel to try and fit in the slippers. (and yes, I see other's have chimed in on this)
I don't mind stories being "inspired" by another story, but I have to admit, when I see someone describing their story as "a retelling of......." I'm outta there.
Definitely. And for the most part, I'm not against retellings I just want the stories to be good, like there is a comic series about Hades and Persephone where they are treated like a perfectly normal, healthy couple. And I adore it. There is a modern adaptation of Cinderalla that focuses in the fashion world, where the MC is trying to keep her job at her father's fashion house and bond with him. Her relationship with the "Prince" is just a side note.
yeah retellings are pretty ....popular i guess? While some can be good there isn't much you can do with already formated story 
I've never felt so personally attacked by a thread before in my entire life 
. Fine! I keep my edgy retelling of little red riding hood to myself 
(I kid, I kid 
)
In all seriousness, I do think there's a degree of fatigue when it comes to fairytale retellings. Mainly due to all the Disney reboots and also because of games like the wolf among us and the graphic novels it was based on. Though i mostly blame Disney. It's just easy (and fun) to return to a pool of characters with already established backgrounds that you can manipulate to your will cuz no one technically owns them anymore.
150% agree.
And in regard to Disney and their newer work, I think their aim is more for let's make $$ instead of a good story. Don't get me wrong, they have made some good movies in the last 20 years but a TV show allowing Aladinn and Jasmine to date and have adventures together gave child me a better developed version of Princess Jasmine than the live action Aladinn did, and I loved the live action Aladinn movie.
Right! I really love the live action Cinderella by Disney. One of the few that did the original justice. But it also reminds me of all the live action "Cinderella story" adaptations. They come out with a new one every few years and ooh... it's a bit too much.
Words right out of my mouth. I will watch the countless Cinderella Christmas retellings because I am a sucker for a crappy Christmas romcom, but Cinderella is overdone. If your story does have Cinderella influences, why not twist the story on its ear? Every Cinderella adaptation does not need to be either fashion-centered or music/pop star centered.