Newsletter / News 2021-02

Where do you go to read the latest about new tropes?
What about old tropes with new names?
How can you find the best but least linked tropes out there?
Worry no more: Trope Report is here.

Welcome to the second issue of the Trope Report revival!

In case you missed last month's issue, Trope Report is a monthly newsletter that intends to showcase works and tropes from all corners of this website. It also aims to keep the troper hivemind updated with pertinent trope changes and discussions.

In honor of Valentine's Day on the 14th, we've elected to do something cheesy and tried to theme this issue around love. Unsurprisingly, it affects fiction and tropes just as much as it does real life. We hope that you take some time to reflect on the various types of love in your life (and yes, Shipping counts!).

As always, happy troping!

~Synchronicity, Chief Trope Report Officer

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Tropes and Works

Trope Spotlight

Obscure Tropes

This section highlights older tropes that need a boost.

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• Got a special someone in your life? Looking for a unique way to tell her she's the one? Try Puddle-Covering Chivalry. No better way to show you're a true gentleman than by laying your jacket in the gutter, protecting her precious shoes from mud, slush, and grime. Some say this is a Dead Horse Trope, but true romantics know love never dies. Puddle-Covering Chivalry has been on the wiki since 2014, but many trace the trope's origins to an urban legend about Sir Walter Raleigh.

New Tropes

This section brings attention to recently-launched tropes that could use a little help to really get rolling.

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• Everyone knows that schools can be a pain in Real Life, so what happens when schools are converted into video game levels? Enter School Setting Simulation, where education is designed to be your worst enemy... or best friend sometimes. Schools being video game levels is an ironic twist that turns the concept of education on its head, so you wouldn't think it would work from the onset, but surprisingly, it does. Whether they're there purely as backdrops for climactic battles, to simulate school social life with students, or to implement minigames based on learning stuff, schools have a surprisingly long history with video games in more ways than one.

Work Spotlight

New Work Page Spotlight

This section covers newer work pages that could use a little help.

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• Greenland is a Disaster Movie that was released in Belgium in July 2020 and in the United States in December 2020. It stars Gerard Butler as John Garrity, who rushes to get his family to a safety bunker in Greenland before a series of comet fragments eradicates life on Earth. The page was made on January 11; it has a fairly short trope list, and the tropes that are listed could use more context and explanation. If you've seen the film, maybe check out some of the Disaster Tropes to see if they'd fit this film.
• Hate was created on December 31, making it one of the last new work pages of 2020. The comic, following a New Jersey teen slacker named Buddy as he ages and starts a family, lasted from 1990 to 2011. It was one of the most popular Alternative Comics of its time, reflecting many cultural themes of The '90s, such as grunge. The page has a good trope list and a sizable character sheet, but may warrant more attention, such as more tropes and a YMMV subpage to capture the audience reaction.
• Star Beam is a Netflix series about a little girl named Zoey whose family has superpowers. It premiered on September 8, 2020, with the work page made on December 31. It's received barely any edits since the page was created, the description needs to be rewritten as it's plagiarized from Wikipedia, and the page only has five tropes listed so far. It also lacks subpages. There are sixteen episodes and a Halloween special up on Netflix, so if anybody's seen them, feel free to fix up the page.

Older/Obscure Work Spotlight

This section is intended to highlight works that may no longer be in the zeitgeist — but that doesn't mean they're any less tropable.

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• Rod Land is an Arcade Game that is Port Overdosed, with an Arcade Archives release on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in January 2021. Two kids, Rit and Tam, must rescue their kidnapped mother. There's also a second campaign where the two kids go to a pyramid their dad went to five years ago. The gameplay is your standard arcade fare — you beat up all enemies to move on to the next screen — but there are bosses every few stages and the method of combatting enemies is more direct than most arcade games, as the playable characters use their rods to lift and smack them. It's enjoyable, even if the translation's hilariously bad.
• What's with Andy? Practical jokes, that's what! What's with Andy? is a Canadian cartoon based on an Australian children's book series. It's about Andy Larkin, a boy from East Gackle who wants to become the world's greatest prankster. In most episodes, he plans an elaborate scheme which he tries to use on his friends, family, classmates, or other townspeople, with mixed results. Andy also has a crush on a girl named Lori, who doesn't like his pranks and sometimes tells him not to do them (like on her birthday, which is coincidentally on April Fool's), but he ends up causing some funny business anyway. It's very humor-oriented and has an early 2000s feel that can be considered cool and nostalgic. The page for the show has had some expansions over the course of January, based on some episodes from season 1, though considering that there were three seasons, it can always be expanded further.
• Blue Force is an Adventure Game made by Jim Walls, the creator of the Police Quest series. In 1992, he quit Sierra, who then gave development of Police Quest IV: Open Season and early S.W.A.T. games to Daryl Gates, but Walls went on to make this Spiritual Successor for Tsunami Media. Like the PQ series, the game has a lot of following police procedure. It features a new playable character named Jake Ryan, who has a somewhat fleshed-out backstory. The setting is the small city of Jackson Beach, but there are still criminals even in a place like this. The game has a relatively polished Digitised Sprites graphical style and a point-and-click interface based on a police badge, as well as a soundtrack by Ken Allen. It's overall a solid offering for those who still wanted more after the original PQ ended.

Works That Need a Page

This section takes a page from the List of Shows That Need Summary. It is intended to spotlight works that people have been talking about enough to link around the site, but don't have a page yet. If the work page link turns blue after this, then we know we've done our job!

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• Lupin III is one of our Trope Overdosed Franchises, which makes it surprising how we don't have a page for the man who started it all, Kazuhiko Kato, a.k.a. Monkey Punch. Besides Lupin, he's designed characters for the anime Intrigue In The Bakumatsu, and has 21 redlinks throughout this wiki. Now's the time to create a page for this influential manga creator.
• Chance the Rapper is a very popular rapper from The New '10s, known for mixtapes and albums such as 10 Day, Acid Rap, Coloring Book, and The Big Day. He also does not have a page on this wiki, despite having 13 wicks. Considering how well-known and popular he is, any tropers willing to create a page and add some tropes should go right ahead!

Non-English Work Spotlight

The wiki may be in English, but that doesn't mean non-English media are any less important! This section focuses on works that may have a language barrier to deal with — but are worth it if you do.

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• Idol Hakkenden is a Visual Novel with Adventure Game elements that was only released in Japan. Erika Saionji, a girl who lacks talent other than being a good singer, is told by her nanny that she can use this talent to become a Super Idol. Master Ichiro Shinjitsu reaffirms this and tells her she'll need to find seven comrades, and the quest where Erika discovers the true extent of her talents and finds those seven friends begins. The most noteworthy feature of the game is its rich soundtrack, which includes six songs with lyrics available so the player can follow along. The plot is also very lighthearted and humorous, and while there are some occasional dark moments that didn't let the game come to America, it's otherwise perfect if you're looking for something to feel happier.
• O-Zone is a Europop band. They originated from Moldova before moving to Romania and were active from 1999–2005. They're best known for the song "Dragostea Din Tei", which is commonly referred to as "Numa Numa" thanks to the other words being hard to understand for many, as well as this viral video by Gary Brolsma of himself dancing along to the song, posted on Newgrounds in 2005. If you were living in the cell-phone-with-buttons generation, chances are this song was one of your acquaintances' ringtones, but a lot of their other music is also catchy and their costume designs are quite stylish.
• Musaic Box is a Puzzle Game by the Russian developers at KranX Productions. The game has you explore five rooms and find pieces of music sheets in them. Some are always visible, while others may require altering the environment by clicking on other things. Once you complete a sheet, you have to arrange pieces in a way that fits the board and corresponds to how the music sounds. There's lots of remixed classical music and the gameplay loop is satisfying, even if the overall length is quite short.

Creator Page Spotlight

Works would be nothing without the people who make them. This section highlights authors, artists, actors, and everyone else responsible for trope creation and proliferation.

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• Depictions of love and friendship in Hollywood would be amiss without mentioning writer/director/producer Garry Marshall. He got his start working on many comedies in The '60s and The '70s, including Happy Days, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Laverne & Shirley. However, he is probably best known for his contributions to the Romantic Comedy, being responsible for hits like Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride, sleepover classics like The Princess Diaries, and a string of events-themed ensemble romcoms in The New '10s ^note Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve, Mother's Day. We can only hope that any rumored Princess Diaries 3 does him justice.
• If you're a fan of sweeping, romantic, historical epics, you'll want to get to know Kaoru Mori, the Japanese mangaka behind Victorian Romance Emma and A Bride's Story. Not only do they put strong-willed young women at the center of romantic dramas, both these works are incredibly well-researched and feature beautiful, intricate art.
• The lyrics of American indie-folk pop duo The Weepies have been described as saccharine, and with good reason. Their tunes and gentle instrumentations try to capture the intricacies of our everyday relationships — for example, "Somebody Loved" contemplates a loving relationship, "World Spins Madly On" deals with losing someone, and "Be My Thrill" feels like curling under a comfortable blanket with someone you care deeply about. They get featured a lot on American television, too.
• You might recognize Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec as a supporting Historical Domain Character from media like Moulin Rouge! or Midnight in Paris, but he was an interesting character by himself. A Post-Impressionist painter known for focusing on the bohemian Parisian nightlife and its characters, he is featured in this issue for his series of portraits of prostitutes, notably "In Bed" and "In Bed, The Kiss". The paintings intimately depict two people of indeterminate gender^note speculated to be two lesbians laying next to each other under piles of bedcovers. A warm and rosy color scheme and deliberate brushstrokes make you think you've stumbled upon an incredibly tender encounter.

Image/Image Caption of the Month

This section brings you the best of the recent selections from Image Pickin.

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This issue's featured image comes from Image Suggestions crowner 135, with it illustrating the video game trope Lazy Backup very well.

Normally, illustrating a trope of something not happening is naturally tougher than illustrating a normal trope. However, this one manages to do it in quite an interesting way, and it doesn't involve using a video game, but instead a lampshade from a webcomic. In addition, said webcomic, Clueless Hero, doesn't even have a page on this wiki. This is most definitely a surprising find, but just as much a good one.

Projects and Discussions

Forumwatch

Hey guys! Welcome back to Forumwatch! In this section, we'll be telling you about what's going on in the forums — interesting discussions that may be going on in Wiki Talk, some fun forum games, or lively debates going on in On-Topic conversations, you name it!

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• It's February, and love is in the air. As Tropers, we're all total nerds for our favorite forms of media, and lots of times that includes talking about the relationships that we've gotten ourselves invested in. What better way of showing your excitement than coming to Ah criminy, the SHIPPING thread...? Come here and gush about all your favorite characters and just how cute they would be with each other!
• Many tropers here are American, and right now, we're living through unprecedented times. (You've heard that phrase a million times before, I'm sorry.) But with all that's going on, a new president, a second impeachment, etc., you might want to talk about it! And if you do, come to the General US Politics Thread. Express your thoughts on just what the hell is going on in this country right now.
• We here at Trope Report believe that Love Is Love. In Making up for lost LGBT tropes, people are discussing just how to trope all these forms of love. While a gay character and/or relationship existing in media should ideally be considered a normal thing, this thread exists to figure out a way to trope the times when these relationships are important to the story, especially when they are depicted positively.
• If you frequent Yack Fest and/or Forum Games, you'll want to get involved in the discussion taking place at the On Yack Fest and Recent Events thread. Folks there are discussing the fate of some threads and how to best improve the subfora's moderation; if you have interest in discussing the future of Yack Fest, feel free to stop by.

Trope/Article Changelog

This section covers renames, removals, hard-splits, merges, and wick cleaning. We'll try to keep you alerted of any major changes to the site, including perpetual projects and Wiki Talk decisions that you may have missed, but if you want to be a part of the process that affects so much of our wiki, then head over to the Trope Repair Shop on the left-hand side of the forum.

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• Big Name Fan has been renamed to Fandom VIP and was moved to YMMV. It was renamed due to being misused as "a famous person who is a fan" as opposed to "fan who is popular within the fandom," which is the actual definition. Check out the TRS thread here.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar now has stricter criteria and is undergoing extensive cleanup due to heavy misuse. Demographically Inappropriate Humour was also created to catch some of the misused examples. Check out the TRS thread here.
• Reverse Mole has been merged with The Mole due to "the mole but for the good guys" not being a meaningful distinction from the latter (which is morality neutral). Check out the TRS thread here.
• Zettai Ryouiki had its on-page examples purged and is now definition-only.

Pages Needing Help

This section highlights articles indexed on the Pages Needing Wiki Magic policy page and subpages. Such articles are, at best, underperforming and below wiki standards. At worst, these pages are in violation of the wiki's rules against stubs. If you're an editor, try checking out some of these underperforming trope and work articles to see what improvements you can make to the page.

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• February's birthday is Bryan Lee O'Malley. Most famous for his work Scott Pilgrim, he has a few others indexed on his page as well. All well and good, but we're lacking details on his work as a whole. We're missing tropes from his music. We're missing info on his Lost at Sea short comics, like "Smiling Is Something That Other People Do". We have no Trivia about him at all. There's definitely interest in the creator; he's pulled over 700 inbound links over the years. Is The Power of Love enough to fill out this article so it isn't a stub? If not, where are we going to find Understanding?
• Perfect Couples is a rather short sitcom featuring three different couples. The indexes are pretty good, but the description is a little short, the examples don't have enough context, and because the on-page examples are so bereft of information, there's hardly any wicks. We're not suggesting you make a recap page for each episode, but you can probably knock out the whole series by watching one episode a day until St Valentine's Day.
• Hanahaki Disease is a dangerous illness that often strikes in the spring. This illness was first identified in Japan, but has since spread to many countries. The article has a good description, a good image, and plenty of indexes, but the examples and wicks are as anemic as a victim of the disease. Out of the eleven on-page examples, only one can be crosswicked. It isn't even the Trope Codifier! Perhaps this isn't about finding works so much as making sure that you're aware of the illness in the first place so that an accurate diagnosis can take place, and the (fictional) characters can be treated before their deaths.

Project Spotlight

Looking for a project to dedicate some time to, but not comfortable jumping into large threads? Here are some smaller projects, or more recent discussions, in need of a few more hands.

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• Have you ever been interested in Shipping, and would enjoy discussing these ships while also partaking in a cleanup? Check out the Fan-Preferred Couple Cleanup. Currently a frequent target of misuse, the thread is looking to verify, rewrite, or cut examples, all while diving into both canon relationships and fandom opinion. More voices are always needed, especially where less-popular works are concerned, so don't be shy about joining the discussion!
• The Nostalgia Critic has been a famous reviewer for over a decade, and this status is reflected in the show having a wealth of examples all over the site. Unfortunately, these examples are rife with an equally large range of misuse, from Speculative Troping to bashing, and everything in-between. If you would like to help clean up the mess, swing by at the The Nostalgia Critic cleanup thread and join the effort.
• BoJack Horseman has the distinction of being the first animated series produced for Netflix. Unfortunately, the trope pages have been prone to gushing, Word Cruft and trope misuse. If you would like to participate in the cleanup effort, check the dedicated cleanup thread.
• Undertale is an incredibly popular game, with a lot of fun characters and a dramatic plot. Unfortunately, the pages for the game are a source of massive trope misuse, disorganization, and generally bad examples. If you're a fan of the game and want to help clean it up, check out the thread here.

Know the Contributors

• Synchronicity writes Creator Page Spotlight and oversees this whole shebang. Likes tropes and works about comedy, slice of life, and sci-fi/fantasy. For some reason, also enjoys keeping the wiki tidy.
• Piterpicher is the head honcho of Older/Obscure Work Spotlight and Non-English Work Spotlight. Those are the kinds of works he's interested in, but he's primarily a gamer. When it comes to wiki philosophy, the priorities are making it fun for readers, encompassing, and well-performing in terms of SEO. (Editor's note: he also made our snazzy new logo!)
• crazysamaritan writes for the Pages Needing Help section, keeping an eye out for stubs and crosswicking.
• Kappaclystica writes for the Image of the Month. Hates unillustrative images.
• MadameButterflyKnife is the writer for Forumwatch. They spend most of their time talking in the forums, especially the Just For Fun section, and fixing up any syntax errors that they stumble upon in the wiki.
• Mighty Mewtron writes for the New Work Page spotlight. She probably hasn't seen these works before coming across their pages, but she likes to be involved in the growth of the wiki. Beyond the Trope Report, she's most active in forums, TLP, and the pages for whatever work she's obsessed with this month.
• MacronNotes writes for the Changelog section. She spends most of her time on TRS, Long/Short term projects, and TLP. She is also the herald of the Wiki Talk section on the forums.
• War Jay 77 writes for the Project Spotlight section. She is also the Herald of Projects: Long Term/Perpetual, and spends much of her time refreshing on the forums, ATT and TLP for new things to respond to.
• gjjones writes for the Project Spotlight section. He also frequently spends his time working on projects whenever they are necessary, cleaning up wiki entries and participating in the ATT and Trope Repair Shop threads.
• Divine Flame 100 writes the New Tropes Spotlight section. Just a generic editor who lurks on TLP and the forums on occasion, but mostly focuses on making edits to very niche work pages.
• naturalironist writes for the Obscure Trope Spotlight, and spends a lot of time on the wiki, adding examples and serving as an Entry Pimp.
• ccorb writes for Works That Need a Page, and spends a lot of their time on Image Pickin', Trope Repair Shop, Trope Launch Pad, and the Projects forums, and also Wiki Walks, searching for works and tropes they find interesting. They credit this very wiki for introducing them to anime and manga they had never heard of before but would like to watch/read, such as My Hero Academia, A Silent Voice and Hunter × Hunter.
• Twiddler makes sure our grammar is in order.

This edition of Trope Report has been sponsored by The Fairy Godmother's Potion Factory, where you can force people to fall in love! Trope Report is not responsible for any incidents involving its elvish employees. They don't even have dental.

Interested in becoming a contributor, or have suggestions for works or tropes to feature? Pop by the the thread and let us know! We don't bite. (Much.)