What Draws you in?

[LaEspoir]

Recently I have been wondering, "what aspect of a show/anime draws me in?". For me it is raw emotion, or a simulation of raw emotion. It feels like the best way to see this however is through great struggles, the overcoming of great struggles that brings hope and inspires me. But also to see despair where the story feels hopeless but not too drawn out. I recently discovered I enjoyed this when listening to an audiobook of Osamu Dazais' "No longer human" where the main character Yo'Chan is genuinely a hate-able person. But I can see the human-ness in his actions. His pure hedonism displaying the true emotion of desire and gluttony for pleasure. That is what draws me in. after that I looked into the Junji Ito Manga for No longer human which incorporates body horror with the original work to give a sick twist on the already treacherous read!

So it made me wonder, what draws YOU guys in to continue a show or a book or even a movie? 
 

[hikarinosisya]

for me i tend to really like stories with strong characterisations! even if the story doesn't immediately hook me, if the characters are well-written it makes me wayyyy more inclined to continue

a good example of a series that's done this for me recently is kimi to idol precure, where the plot didn't really bring me in as much as other seasons, but the characterisation of meroron and kokoro kept me going^^

[LaEspoir]

1 hour ago, hikarinosisya said:

for me i tend to really like stories with strong characterisations! even if the story doesn't immediately hook me, if the characters are well-written it makes me wayyyy more inclined to continue

a good example of a series that's done this for me recently is kimi to idol precure, where the plot didn't really bring me in as much as other seasons, but the characterisation of meroron and kokoro kept me going^^

This is a great point ngl. I feel like having characters that aren't well written overall affect the level of interest I have for a series. I often catch myself watching through a show simply because a character is super entertaining and complex and or simple in a way that is intriguing. 

[Moxie]

Struggle, despair, and messy desire make stories feel real, and that honesty is what sticks with you.