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???
When people overhype stuff, I know watching it with high expectations will ruin it for me. I prefer for the hype to go away, me to forget everything and go in with a clean mental slate and no expectations. I enjoy what I’m watching much more.
Folks overhyped films before and I didn’t enjoy it. I waited 10 years to watch Titanic and was pleasantly surprised. Weird? Sure, but it works for me.