This poll was suggested by our member Afiaki. You prefer simple or more complicated plots?

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http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: What's your favorite type of live performing arts?
Choices:
Concert or music festival - votes: 599 (39.3%)
Dance - votes: 65 (4.3%)
Opera - votes: 51 (3.3%)
Plays, musicals, or theater - votes: 384 (25.2%)
Circus - votes: 33 (2.2%)
Magic shows - votes: 54 (3.5%)
Comedy shows - votes: 212 (13.9%)
Spoken word - votes: 15 (1%)
Puppetry - votes: 28 (1.8%)
Other - votes: 83 (5.4%)
There were 1524 total votes.
The poll ended: June 22nd, 2024 3:26pm PDT

Personally, I'm more of a Broadway person. I watched Beauty and the Beast last month.

A just ruler amongst tyrants

I voted for "Genius story..." since I love a good one of those and they're less common, but honestly I like a mix of all of them.

I think I'd get pretty bored if I exclusively read one type; it's nice to have a variety, and depending on my mood I may be really craving a deep story with lots of interwoven plot points and layers of complexity, or I might be head empty no thoughts just looking for something fun and satisfying to read. Sometimes you don't want to think, you just wanna unwind with some mindless power fantasy or wish fulfillment.

Most authors aren´t geniuses and "lore" has nothing to do with good writing, hello Star Wars with its multiple canons and canon levels, and genius foreshadowing is very hard in long-form storytelling. Especially if an editor is breaking down your neck.

Look at Vinland Saga. There is no lore whatsoever and what exactly was foreshadowed? It´s also one of the most acclaimed comics of its time. "Straightforward with maybe a smart twist or two" is already a very high bar to clear and most populist authors don´t dare to aim higher or even this high. Vinland Saga has exactly 2 twists I would say. Pivoting into Farmland Saga and its tragic ending but that one is due to how it went down in history. So let´s say 1,5 twists at best. 10/10 manga though.

Let´s look at Spy x Family next, a middle-of-the-road shounen but also crazy acclaimed and successful. That one clearly aims for easy and uncomplicated and its plot hasn´t advanced one step since the dog joined. Yet it also wins awards and prints money. There is a moral in there somewhere. "Genius story with incredible foreshadowing and lore" is what Code Geass wants to be when it grows up, I guess, but it even revised its own (laughable) ending to keep the IP going. Straightforward it is. I can name you tons of genius artists on my reading list rn but genius authors? Suddenly the room clears out. Mass-market comics simply aren´t supposed to be by and for "geniuses". I certainly ain´t one. Smart, maybe, but a genius, good lord.

I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

I like straightforward with a couple of twists... Foreshadowing and lore sounds nice, but execution usually is bad... I prefer instead of foreshadowing for story to just go into unexpected direction, but openly without weird secrets and foreshadowing...

I am envoy from nowhere in nowhere. Nobody and nothing have sent me. And though it is impossible I exist. © Trimutius

I'll decide not to vote because there's a massive set of "it depends". Sometimes I enjoy a simple story, sometimes I want something that's clever and intricately written. Some stories lend themselves better to simple writing, a few twists, and really complex. Sometimes I've had a rough day, and sometimes the day has been a breeze.

And this preference shifts often enough for me to not know which I prefer the most.

I'm a jack of all trades but master of none. Too many jars and not enough hands.

It depends, sometimes Straightforward with maybe a smart twist or two and sometimes Easy and uncomplicated. I usually see manga as escapism and easy and uncomplicated plots are fun reads. Simple stories are the sometimes the best, you can't really go wrong with them. Adding few smart and interesting twists is like cherry on top.

Why "ELI5" ?

What a poorly worded set of answers. What kind of responses are those. The scales are like "easy" "medium" "jaw droppingly beautiful, to summarize it in a single word would be a disservice"

a singular love triangle can be impossibly complicated

I can't vote this one, more because there's too much factors to actually pick one. Like I would love a straightforward plot if the story is some kind of slice of life. I would love a twisty turvy story if it's revolve around some kind of historical legend/ figure. I can also enjoy something in between, which is the common Shounen troupe I think. But definitely I want to say I would expect some kind of limit. Like too much of twists and turns can also put me off a series. Unfortunately I can't really give an example, but yeah. At some point if there's too much, I mean the lure of those twists and turns is to find out what it is truly behind them, but give too much, and at some time you stop caring.

I agree! It all depends on genre/setting. Sometimes too many twists make story too repetitive, like twist after twist just to shock the reader. There are stories that are just turn your brain off and enjoy the ride, there are no need for twists for story to be good.

I mean. My favorite story is One Piece. So I voted for the genius story. But sometimes authors try and fail to do that and Dragon Ball, which is definitely easy and uncomplicated, are a hell of a lot better than those failures.