Why Spoiling a Series’ Ending for Yourself Can Be a Good Thing

Why Spoiling a Series’ Ending for Yourself Can Be a Good Thing

Spoilers—they’re the bane of every fan’s existence. From muting hashtags on Twitter to unsubscribing from subreddits, or even taking a break from the internet itself, we’ve all got tricks to avoid spoilers.

But spoilers might not be as bad as you think. As the old saying goes, “it’s about the journey, not the destination”—so maybe knowing the ending might encourage you to start on, or persist through, a series.

Today on Honey’s Anime, we’re discussing Why Spoiling a Series’ Ending for Yourself Can Be a Good Thing!

Note: We’re not spoiling anything specific in this article (that would be mean), but we are mentioning vague spoilers for: Hataraku Maou-sama! (The Devil Is a Part-Timer!), Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (Re:Zero -Starting Life In Another World-), Chainsaw Man, and One-Punch Man.

A Journey of a Thousand Volumes Begins With a Single Page

Let’s be honest—reading manga and light novels is an expensive hobby. Even if you’re a digital reader, or somehow lucky enough to have a well-stocked library, making your way through an entire series can be an exhausting experience. And Anime watchers dedicate dozens of hours (maybe hundreds, if we’re talking about a big series) to watching a single show. Wouldn’t you prefer to save yourself time and money?

Take, for example, the classic harem or love triangle series. The trials of love can take many a volume (or season) to complete, but the outcome might not always be satisfying. Whether you’re hoping for a particular love rival to win, or just praying there’s a decent resolution to a harem, rom-com series (or just series with heavy romance elements) can be a gamble.

Earlier this year, we started on Hataraku Maou-sama! (The Devil Is a Part-Timer!)’s light novels. But with a very obvious love triangle forming, a bad feeling in our gut told us to scope things out. We learned that the 21-volume series ends with (according to fans) a highly unsatisfactory conclusion to the love triangle that doesn’t match up with the character growth.

Considering the time—and financial—investment, we decided that this spoiler was worth learning so we could read another series instead!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Conversely, spoiling yourself for the end of a series might help you push through a rough patch in the story. Throughout the manga serialization of Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), it was almost impossible to avoid spoilers thanks to the nature of the internet.

Although learning about some plot twists lessened their impact, many of the spoilers actually convinced us to keep pushing through the series. At the time we were sorely disappointed with Season 3 of the anime, but spoilers from the manga interested us, so we pushed on through. In the end, Attack on Titan has become one of our favorite shows—but we’d never know that if we’d bailed out early.

Similarly, we’ve started reading Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (Re:Zero -Starting Life In Another World-), and we’re loving the early volumes. That said, the fandom has already warned us that the fourth and fifth volumes are rough to push through—but the reward is going to be worth it. This way, we can temper our expectations and know not to give up if the series hits a speed bump.

Advance knowledge—big or small—can help you decide to continue with an amazing series that you might otherwise have put down!

Spoiler Alert: Goku Wins In The End

Not all spoilers are necessarily bad, even if they can be frustrating at times. We accidentally learned about a major character’s death in Chainsaw Man and we were certainly annoyed. But at the same time, the question “How does that happen?!” came to mind, and made us want to read the series even faster.

In the same manner, there have been plenty of One-Punch Man leaks recently, highlighting some of the spectacular artwork from mangaka Murata Yuusuke. Sure, it takes the surprise away, but at the same time, we can’t wait to finally read those volumes and see the artwork for ourselves!

Of course, we have to take the time to remind readers that spoiling others deliberately is wrong. Sometimes accidents happen, and you accidentally let something slip. But make sure, where you can, that you keep spoilers to yourself!


Final Thoughts

Spoilers come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re not always bad. If you learn about a character’s fate, maybe you can be watching out for the small hints that you would’ve missed; or maybe you can enjoy some romantic tension while knowing your preferred ship is going to win.

They can also be useful tools to help you decide if you want to read a series, or whether you’re better off saving your money. On the other hand, spoilers might be the very thing that pushes you to finish a series!

What do you think about deliberately spoiling a series’ ending for yourself? Let us know in the comments below, and as always, thank you for reading!

Hataraku-Maou-sama-Wallpaper-499x500 Why Spoiling a Series’ Ending for Yourself Can Be a Good Thing

Writer

Author: Brett Michael Orr

I'm a writer, gamer, and reviewer of manga & light novels, from Melbourne, Australia. When I'm not creating a new world, I'll be absorbed in a good JRPG, watching some anime, or reading up a storm!

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