History YMMV / Sinfest

* BrokenBase: Starting around 2011 with the introduction of Xanthe and the sisterhood arc, the fanbase became '''sharply''' divided throughout the 2010s, between those who hated the Sisterhood and the new direction of the comic and those who loved or indifferent towards them. With many in the former category dropping the comic altogether or sticking around out of BileFascination. The only thing that these two polar-opposite groups really have in common is their mutual disdain for the comic's current right-wing/TERF-focused direction. A direction which has alienated what little has remained

** The alien theme would later be extended to caricatures of Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben Shapiro, and Laura Loomer (the latter two quite possibly being vilified more for their religion than for their far-right views, since Tatsuya has clearly expressed approval of most of those views...and quite possibly they were chosen because they're the only American Jews whose faces Tatsuya is familiar enough with to draw) conquering the US government and demanding that Republicans and Democrats "Kneel to ZOG", explicitly referencing an antisemitic conspiracy theory. Their coercion would then be illustrated as blackmail via Mossad recorded footage of the Republican and Democrat mascots frolicking with the Pedobear while eating pizza and hot dogs on Jeffrey Epstein's island. The Jewish aliens go on to repel heroic red hat-wearing protestors storming the Capitol alongside Pepe the Frog (while not actually wounding them in any way), subsequently melting a statue of Uncle Sam in an apparent nod to the removal of monuments to confederate figures like Robert E. Lee. Netanyahu is then contacted by the demon Moloch concerning all the people being sent to Hell by him, seemingly establishing the author's endorsement of the "blood libel" myth. At this point it is all but impossible to argue that Tatsuya is not a dedicated anti-Semite, and it has completely overtaken whatever legitimate points he might've wanted to make about the war in Gaza.

%% * BrokenBase: The fandom got along relatively peacefully, but that changed starting around 2011 with the introduction of Xanthe and the sisterhood arc. Throughout the 2010s, the base became '''sharply''' divided between those who hated the Sisterhood and the new direction of the comic and those who loved or indifferent towards them. The only thing that these two polar-opposite groups really have in common is their mutual disdain for the comic's current right-wing/TERF-focused direction.
* CondemnedByHistory: ''Sinfest'' was originally considered one of the most influential webcomics on the internet, with its BlackComedy and likable cast of characters providing what many considered a fresh experience compared to other webcomics at the TurnOfTheMillennium. However, most of its audience started feeling alienated at the start of TheNewTens when it took a FilibusterFreefall and dedicated most of its time to a serialized narrative that mostly covered radical feminist topics, seemingly losing sight of what made the comic work to many. The last straw would be when, in 2019, it was transformed into an AuthorTract for far-right conservative topics, with most of the characters fans liked from the early days being heavily OutOfFocus, and any and all fans from the comic's start having given up due to the undesired shift in tone. This alienation ended up having the unintended consequence of the early comics being put under more scrutiny, with many coming to the conclusion that they were [[NostalgiaFilter nowhere near as good as remembered]], as most of what made ''Sinfest'' stand out became [[OnceOriginalNowCommon standard practice]] in the webcomic scene throughout the rest of the 2000s, and knowing how the fan-favorite characters would become sidelined down the line, it makes seeing their early ventures come across as AllForNothing. As a result, while these early strips are still [[SoOkayItsAverage generally seen as alright]], ''Sinfest'' as a whole usually isn't seen as a work that was as good as was originally believed, and only got worse as time went on.

%% BrokenBase: The fandom got along relatively peacefully, but that changed starting around 2011 with the introduction of Xanthe and the sisterhood arc. Throughout the 2010s, the base became '''sharply''' divided between those who hated the Sisterhood and the new direction of the comic and those who loved or indifferent towards them. The only thing that these two polar-opposite groups really have in common is their mutual disdain for the comic's current right-wing/TERF-focused direction.
* CondemnedByHistory: ''Sinfest'' was originally considered one of the most influential webcomics on the internet, with its BlackComedy and likable cast of characters providing what many considered a fresh experience compared to other webcomics at the TurnOfTheMillennium. However, most of its audience started feeling alienated at the start of TheNewTens when it took a FilibusterFreefall and dedicated most of its time to a serialized narrative that mostly covered radical feminist topics, seemingly losing sight of what made the comic work to many. The last straw would be when, in 2019, it was transformed into an AuthorTract for far-right conservative topics, with most of the characters fans liked from the early days being heavily OutOfFocus, and any and all fans from the comic's start having given up due to the undesired shift in tone. This alienating of the audience ended up having the caveat of the early comics being put under scrutiny, with many coming to the conclusion that they were [[NostalgiaFilter nowhere near as good as remembered]], as most of what made ''Sinfest'' stand out became [[OnceOriginalNowCommon standard practice]] in the webcomic scene throughout the rest of the 2000s, and knowing how the fan-favorite characters would become sidelined down the line, it makes seeing their early ventures come across as AllForNothing. As a result, ''Sinfest'' is seen nowadays as a work that wasn't anywhere near as influential as was originally believed, and only got worse as time went on.

** ''Sinfest'' is infamous for its trans-exclusionary radical feminism and reactionary politics now, but it actually had strips attacking commercialism as early as 2004. In 2008, Sinfest made a series of strips heavily endorsing Obama and attacking his political rivals. These did not receive as strong a reaction as the post-Sisterhood strips do now, because they did not totally derail characters or use lots of confusing mixed metaphors, and the focus overall tended to be on overarching, universal themes, character-based storytelling, and jokes rather than contemporary politics strip-to-strip in which most of the old cast are glorified cameos and/or mouthpieces for the creator's views.
** Even the Sisterhood represents a less radical departure from what came after them; for better or worse they ''were'' still recognizable characters having recognizable storylines, the thematic elements were still about universal ideas rather than momentary fascinations, and there was the odd strip that was just about jokes. But the post-Sisterhood era is defined ''entirely'' by confusing metaphors that often change and shift week to week which are almost entirely incomprehensible without a terminally-online level of paying attention to weekly news, politics, and/or fringe conspiracy theories, with the only jokes boiling down to how much people the creator hates suck.

** The post-2011 Sisterhood story focus turned away many readers who weren't already on the same page as the creator when it came to sex-work exclusionary radical feminism, and the post-2019 turned away all of ''those'' that weren't trans-exclusionary radical feminists so opposed to trans rights that they were willing to embrace "woke" hysteria and swing out hard against political correctness. The target audience of sex-negative radical feminists who hate trans people so much that they're willing to join forces with anti-medicine conspiracy theorists, religious fundamentalists, and other groups who would otherwise hate them on principle, but are also super into cute manga-influenced art and the years of BlackComedy and religion-themed humor that preceded it, definitely seems like a niche demographic.
** Part of the problem at least stems from the creator's very bizarre mash-up of political beliefs that have evolved very quickly while his comic's extensive archive remains set in stone. Ishida is a radical male feminist who opposes "gender ideology" while looking down his nose at people who took COVID seriously and he seems to support Donald Trump while opposing Israel. While holding any one of those beliefs isn't unusual, they are all very polarizing and any audience member regardless of their politics will more than likely be offended by at least one of them. The fact that Ishida is very vocal about his politics will turn off people who just want to enjoy a good story especially since politics has gotten way harder to avoid since the days of Occupy Wall Street, and the fact that the strip itself has slowly-but-surely transitioned into pretty much a straight political cartoon.

** Even more bizarre, the comic seemed to promote violence done by leftwing radical feminist terrorists during the Sisterhood Arc. While violence has come from both sides (regardless of which side you think is worse), ''Sinfest'' is being written in one of the most politically polarizing times in American history, which hasn't helped calm down the fan base.

** Part of the problem at least stems from the creator's very bizarre mash-up of political beliefs. Ishida is a radical male feminist who opposes "gender ideology" while looking down his nose at people who took COVID seriously and he seems to support Donald Trump. While holding any one of those beliefs isn't unusual, they are all very polarizing and any audience member regardless of their politics will more than likely be offended by at least one of them. The fact that Ishida is very vocal about his politics will turn off people who just want to enjoy a good story especially since politics has gotten way harder to avoid since the days of Occupy Wall Street, and the fact that the strip itself has slowly-but-surely transitioned into pretty much a straight political cartoon.

* CondemnedByHistory: ''Sinfest'' was originally considered one of the most influential webcomics on the internet, with its BlackComedy and likable cast of characters providing what many considered a fresh experience compared to other webcomics at the TurnOfTheMillennium. However, most of its audience started feeling alienated at the start of TheNewTens when it took a FilibusterFreefall and dedicated most of its time to a serialized narrative that mostly covered radical feminist topics, seemingly losing sight of what made the comic work to many. The last straw would be when, in 2019, it was transformed into an AuthorTract for far-right conservative topics, with most of the characters fans liked from the early days being heavily OutOfFocus, and any and all fans from the comic's start having [[FanDisillusionment given up]] due to the undesired shift in tone. This alienating of the audience ended up having the caveat of the early comics being put under scrutiny, with many coming to the conclusion that they were [[NostalgiaFilter nowhere near as good as remembered]], as most of what made ''Sinfest'' stand out became [[OnceOriginalNowCommon standard practice]] in the webcomic scene throughout the rest of the 2000s, and knowing how the fan-favorite characters would become sidelined down the line, it makes seeing their early ventures come across as AllForNothing. As a result, ''Sinfest'' is seen nowadays as a work that wasn't anywhere near as influential as was originally believed, and only got worse as time went on.

* HarsherInHindsight: The climax of the MAGA vs Woke storyline came out on January 6th, 2021. The same day right-wing rioters stormed the US Capitol.

** [[https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19acc702a273d4af712fd8f44a06464a848f2f03598ea9ea6f24f113d853e2cd.png?w=800&h This strip]] (February 4, 2013) seems eerily prescient of Tats' FilibusterFreefall and full turn towards anti-Semitism and right-wing conspiracy theories.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Since late 2011, ''Sinfest'' has been decidedly less subtle in how it platforms Tats' views, especially regarding the author's "Trans & Sex Worker Exclusionary Radical Feminist" views, but also regarding his animus towards "political correctness". In May 2018, the author used [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombies]] as an allegory for prostitution and sex work. Shortly afterward, the story evolved into a wider attack on "political correctness," [[https://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2019-07-29 with a particularly nasty and aggressive focus on LGBTQ people.]] In 2021, the author [[https://sinfest.xyz/view.php?date=2021-10-10 negatively compared vaccination to organized religion]]. He would later compare undocumented immigrants to [[https://sinfest.xyz/view.php?date=2023-09-17 fictional aliens]] that want to conquer Earth while using (exclusively white) women to breed more of themselves, and after the 2023 Gaza conflict repeatedly espouse barely-concealed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, many of which don't even have confusing metaphors attached.

** Nearly a decade after the Sisterhood arc began, the strip essentially jettisoned the feminist angle entirely and shifted instead to the sort of "culture war" subjects endemic to right-wing pundits. Its new "Anti-Woke" message has been widely compared to the works of far-right political cartoonists and masters of TheWarOnStraw like Ben Garrison and now includes content like fundamentalist Christians like Seymour being portrayed ''positively'', the "Woke" (which seems to be defined as anyone with progressive views) being portrayed as subhuman and more akin to zombies than people, and [[https://sinfest.xyz/btphp/comics/2021-07-25.jpg explicit endorsements]] of ''vehicular manslaughter'' against them.[[note]]While it wasn't the first time the subject came up, the idea of running over left-wing protesters with a vehicle became a hot-button topic in American politics (and popular call for violence by right-wing extremists) years earlier, after right-wing protesters drove a vehicle into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one, then continued to do so throughout the mass protests in 2020, and is widely considered to be an act of terrorism. Basically, if somebody is aware enough of these tensions and protests to be writing a comic about them, it's ''extremely'' unlikely for them to not also be aware of the implications of this being portrayed heroically.[[/note]] Although it started to some extent during the Sisterhood era, it's not really an exaggeration to say that the premise of the "Anti-Woke" era is basically that "We live in a WorldGoneMad where the devils control everything and there's nobody that can really do anything about it. All we can do is watch the same people fight the same meaningless battles over and over again."

** The Sisterhood makes frequent references to ''Film/TheMatrix'', how their fight against the Patriarchy is just like that, and Xanthe even gives Monique the two pills. Considering the Wachowski's behind ''The Matrix'' are transgender, something the Sisterhood is actively against to the point where Xanthe went to jail for gatekeeping trans women, this makes their constant Matrix homaging downright hilarious. Assuming you were even able to take a little girl playing Morpheus seriously even without knowing all that.