Why do you like or Dislike Certain Genres?

[joannekwan]

Yep! Like Kura said, it's mostly the dislike of certain tropes that will put me off genres that are crawling with them.

Romance for example. Do I hate every romance story? No. What I do hate is conventional "oh no, he's cute" fluff. Are a lot of romance stories filled to the brim with it? Yes. So I end up disliking a lot of stories.
I try and meagerly attempt to tip the genre in the other direction by writing my own romance stories haha.

[racarter]

I don't care for romance since I find that it often interrupts the flow of a story for something that ultimately isn't going to go anywhere until like the final moments - but up until that point the relationship has been stagnant and hasn't progressed at all.

It can be done well sometimes, and other times I'm willing to put up with it if the story is good enough. Like ZOO, the TV show, it had romantic subplots but not at the expense of what was actually important. Yeah, sometimes it was pointless like that whole thing with Mitch's ex-girlfriend / ex-stepmother (his dad straight up stole his girl, thus stepmother) and how they got it on while Mitch's other love interest had some PTSD going on, survived the wilderness, killed a man, killed a woman, lost a toe, etc. Ultimately the thing with Mitch's ex went nowhere because by the end of the second season she was all "welp, we failed, gotta get back to my farm to make sure humanity doesn't starve in the wake of the apocalypse". And we never saw her again. Incidentally the thing with the other love interest went nowhere in the end for convoluted reasons and the series being cancelled after S3.

Meanwhile there was a subplot between Jackson (the main guy) and Chloe. TBH it felt like we missed some progression in between the first and second seasons, but either way their relationship didn't slow things down so it was fine. Chloe knew when to be all-business, but at the same time she let her feelings for Jackson influence her decisions... but she wasn't above using him, and others, as bait either. Nor did she tell him everything. She wasn't suddenly incompetent because of her relationship with Jackson, she still did her job and prioritized things properly, but she was still human so her actions were way more believable as someone competent but wanting to protect the man she loved.

It's really just romance I dislike generally. But I suppose I also don't care for Realistic / Slice-of-Life / Drama type things, you know? Except Secretariat - which was just a damn good movie.

Anyway, as a general rule YA Paranormal Romance blows. I can tolerate it if done well or at least different, or if the story is worth it (like Monument 14, which at least in the first book doesn't go how I expected it to).

[Rhonder]

Hmm for genres that I typically avoid, Romance is about all I can think of. I guess maybe because I haven't been in many romantic relationships, I don't find it that interesting/exciting to read about others? Dunno xD I totally don't mind romantic elements but I don't go out of my way to read stories that are pure or mostly romance.

On the opposite side of the spectrum my favorite genre is typically fantasy/adventure. I grew up on and still enjoy the heck out of those shonen anime/manga series, as well as novels like the Harry Potter series, Eragon, Percy Jackson, etc.

I will say though that I started reading my first romance-y series lately though, Heir's Game over on webtoons. Got recommended on my death game thread and now I'm along for the ride xD so like with most people there are exceptions to the rule. (But like this is romance with an old time-y fantasy action backdrop so. ..? Lol)

[gh0stcr33p]

I hope I don't get attacked for this, but I personally don't like anything in the romance genre. I find it really cliche, and I just don't have any interest in other people's relationships, or relationships in general. plus I just don't enjoy reading something where the plot revolves around 2 people's interest in eachother and nothing else, and sometimes when it's inserted into other genres it just feels forced, especially when it involves the main character, otherwise I don't really care as long as it doesn't take up too much of the story

[ForLackOfStars]

I don't dislike any genre specifically, because keeping an open mind is really important to me.

I'm trepidatious every time I pick up high fantasy, though.

I loved high fantasy as a kid. I loved Sword of Shannara and read pretty much everything that was available to me. When it's good, high fantasy can be really good. The problem is that the genre is saturated with a lot of really bad writing. For every Lord of the Rings there are ten thinly-veiled book adaptions of Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. There is so much very generic, poorly written high fantasy that it can be difficult to actually pick out the stuff that is actually good.

I want to emphasize that I really do like high fantasy. It's an awesome genre, and was a huge part of my formative experience as a reader. I just find it difficult to find high fantasy that I actually enjoy.

[DiegoPalacios]

I completely understand this. Sometimes some movies/shows/any media just add a romance like someone adds salt to food, without thinking how it helps the story.

Is not that i dislike romance, but most of the time i think it fails on the execution. The rare exceptions when i like the couple, then i love it, but i am kinda picky about it.

Both leads need to be likable enough and to have a strong chemistry to get people to genuinely ship them. Also, the conflict needs to be interesting and/or entertaining.

[Aetoras]

I'm with you on romance. There's nothing wrong with it and there are some romance stories that I really enjoy, it's just the idea of an entire story based around a relationship just doesn't excite me. Even when it's a subplot it's often the least interesting part of the story for me.

Another genre I lean away from are stories set in the real world about everyday life. Again, there are lots of amazing stories about real life but I'm far more attracted to stories with at least some fantastical element. I do enjoy slice-of-life anime partly because it's usually over-the-top and just a touch divorced from reality.

[qwerty]

Romance:

• I don't like stories that basically boil down to someone being dumb / angsty because they can't get a grip on their unhealthy obsession with another person.
• I don't usually mind romance as an element within other genres
• Although, I tend to find it more charming and meaningful to just see characters develop a deep friendship rather than becoming "lovers"

Horror:

• I don't like dark, edgy, or scary things that seem like they are dark/edgy/scary just for the sake of being dark/edgy/scary. It seems rather pointless and emotionally draining.
• I also like horror better as an element within other genres, especially if it's balanced by more light-hearted elements to keep it from getting too depressing

Action:

• I am not usually into stories that center around characters amassing power and solving all their problems by fighting over and over again. ATLA was awesome though.
• I also usually like action as an element within other genres, it just tends to seem too shallow by itself.

Comedy:

• I don't like excessive low-brow / dirty humor, "cringe" humor, or humor that relies on characters being jerks or morons. Or the slice-of-life humor that @KoreanTacos mentioned that always just goes, "'Something sucks / I suck'" ba-dum-tss hashtag relatable".

• I really like good comedy though and consider it an almost necessary ingredient in good stories.

Fantasy:

• As long as it's not too generic I usually like it. It's just that a lot of it is really generic.

Sci-Fi:

• I tend to like sci-fi that gets philosophical and forces you to confront difficult questions about nature, humanity, etc., even if it can be emotionally draining to read.
• In general I dislike the aesthetics of sci-fis that are set in a futuristic world with buildings and machines everywhere and no trees, though. It's too depressing if there's no nature anywhere X'D

At the end of the day it's really just about the quality of the story, and I think most good stories draw elements from multiple genres rather than sticking to just one.

[unknown_user]

I'm trying to keep open mind, but some genres have disappointed me just because they are too inclined to some really annoying tropes which I've seen 1000 times and now am sick from them. So the point of view of @Kura is pretty close to mine.
For example, I'm really disappointed in superhero and romance, as the probably most cliched ones. They both are full of extremely primitive plots, copy-pasted each one for 1000 times. Many of those plots boils down just to: soulless dull girl have found the rich and handsome sugar daddy who gives her everything she needs; and: yet another regular teen have gained superpower and saved the world from yet another insane villain.
Since I've already understood that most of romance and superhero creative works are like this, I give those genres a chance either if the description shows some unusual features very distinctly, or if the author is clearly not professional and their works are performed in authentic style. ( Creative works of not professional authors often seems less predictable to me in general ) And sometimes I still find something which is contains something more original than just repeating listed tropes. Or, at least, in which those tropes plays not the main role in plot formation and are outweighed by something really new and fresh. To not being unsubstantiated, here are some examples.

Quick example of a superhero comics which I consider as fun and less cliched than usual:

Villains | Tapas

Quick example of a romance comics which I consider as fun and less cliched than usual:

The Summoning | Tapas

[wekanian]

I feel like it comes back to personal taste and interest. Like why do you like certain food and why you don’t like another.

There is no genres I dislike but I don’t read gore because I can’t stand flesh ripping here and there. If the story is good I may read it but I am gonna skip the gorey part. However, I like to read paranormal horror. Something about the unknown appeals me so much.

My prefered genre for novels is paranormal horror, but not so for comics. I like action for comics.

[charliesackett]

I look for a good narrative voice over genre, but I definitely gravitate toward certain genres more than others.

I think it's because each genre has its own built in tropes and cliche narratives that constitute most of the 'bad' or not terribly remarkable content of the genre. I'm thinking specifically of fantasy. I was right into fantasy as a kid, but after a few hundred books I noticed that most of them followed the monomyth and all had the same types of creatures (dragons, satyrs, wizards, whatever) so it felt kind of like the authors just bought a kit and built something that someone else designed and laid out for them.

I've noticed other genres have their own sort of framework that they follow if done lazily too, I read so much 'classic literature' from the 1800s that if I hear one more thing about a dashing well to do fop with sights on a lovely lady of humble means I'm going to scream.

So I think genre preference comes down to what tropes you're willing to tolerate versus how much you enjoy elements of the genre done right. Like, if you kind of like a well thought out magic system but you haaaaaaaate the monomyth, you probably won't bother with fantasy because it's a higher risk than yield for your investment of time.

[kimketli]

Ahm...
I mostly don't like scifi. I don't like robot, space topics. And I don't know why... In real life I love technology and inventions. I also plan short comics where I tell interesting facts about our world and new inventions. So it is really weird I don't like scifi genre... I can not say I don't like it because most of it uses bullshit science because fantasy also use bullshit all the time and I love it. :DD
I also not interested in western, maybe because its environments what are usually dry lands.
In movies I also hate horror but in comics or books I don't have problem with it. I think the sound what can really scares me and I hate when I'm scared. I do't understand how people can enjoy it. In Black Mirror they said people are happy they survived a dangerous situations but imho it is not enough for me

[MariMontoya]

I dislike watching horror because i don't like scary and it's off putting. But I have read really good webcomics in the horror/thriller genre. I just don't watch anything in that genre.
Realistic Fiction. Especially YA Realistic Fiction or Romance. Realistic Fiction isn't actually realistic at all and kind of boring. And YA consists of the same things (first crush, parties, and rebellion) nothing wrong with that. I just don't relate because it's so overblown and I end up getting upset with the MC, so it never interested me.
I don't usually read purely romance books. If it's drama or has some of the elements below then I would give it a try.
I enjoy stories that are fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, historical, because I guess it's called escapism, and I really like to see how the author creates the world, characters, scenarios. Also, autobiographies or biographies like In Cold Blood or Glass Castle I like reading.

[ratscout]

Man I was worried about you for a second there until you clarified that you didn't actually hate any of the genres. I thought I was gonna have to call a doctor and tell them that your enjoyment meter was broken. XD This certainly does help clarify for me why certain people are put off by genres, though haha.

[ratscout]

Romance is a really difficult genre to write, so I understand why people fail at it so often. XD Like, writing romantic dialogue without sounding stupid or cheesy is one of the hardest things ever. That being said, when a romance plot is well done, it can often end up being my favorite part of a story.

[ratscout]

It actually depends on the horror for me. I used to hate watching horror a lot, but since I've only been watching it with my siblings lately, I get to tell them, 'you're not allowed to laugh if I jump', which makes it more fun for me and easy to get through. I also really like Gerald's Game and the Haunting of Hill House since they had more clever scares in them. I dunno if The Thing counts as horror but it does happen to be one of my favorite movies

I agree so much on YA. I think if there's a genre harder for me to get into than romance, it might actually be YA. The characters are. So. Dull. In those books. Especially the poor female characters--I feel like the author often forgets to give them human flaws! XD

[ratscout]

Haha, it's cool. Sometimes it's hard to put a finger on why you don't like something XD

[SleepingPoppy]

I don't think there's any genre I outright dislike, so much as I am uninterested. However the medium can also pay a big part in that for me. Like watching an action movie is fun, but I have no interest in the action genre otherwise (though action as a part of another genre is just fine~). Likewise I'll read a slice of life romance if it's a one shot comic or a short story, but I wouldn't normally read something longer or watch a movie unless a particular story caught my attention. I read way more romance when it comes to comics than in other mediums. I generally don't like straight out romance much otherwise, but I do like romance + other genre across the board.

I definitely prefer fantasy, and genres that are a mix of fantasy and other things, but I'm not closed off to other stuff if individual stories look interesting enough.

I think the only genre I am strict about is horror. I do like aspects of the horror genre, but I'm really picky about actually watching or reading anything because I'm sensitive to the images that can be put in my head. I don't enjoy the way certain things can make me feel in that genre, body horror especially, but I also have a bad gag reflex. My bestie can attest that while I love Hannibal, I will outright start choking during certain episodes. =/

[Maps]

I really enjoy romantic aspects to stories (mainly BL). Sometimes I get bummed out if all the relationships are completely platonic (don't get me wrong, I've ready plenty of manga/webtoons/stories that don't have romantic relationships between characters). But I'm just a sucker for romance so I generally find myself hovering toward those. I do enjoy a good story that doesn't only focus on the relationship but has outside aspects.
I'm not huge on science-fiction/superhero stuff, but I also haven't given them a huge chance. I'm sure if I started reading one that peaked my interest I'd get invested. There are genres I'm not hugely into, but sometimes you can find that one that grips ya.

[vfinnigan]

I don't outright hate any entire genre. However, there are some subgenres I tend to avoid.

Romantic comedy. It seems that most of the conflict in rom-coms comes from the main characters being idiots, and idiots annoy me.

Smutty romance. Smut doesn't make up for poor character development and lack of story.

I like slice of life, but only on condition that the characters are likable. If I don't like any of the characters, I might want to see them in the next hated genre...

Torture porn. Actually, never mind. I don't even want to see unlikable characters in that. Skip the torture and just nuke them. I experience far too much pain in real life for me to enjoy seeing even the most unlikable fictional characters gratuitously suffer.