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Hindsight Cleanup

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The Hindsight tropes, Hilarious in Hindsight, Harsher in Hindsight, and Heartwarming in Hindsight, are among the most misused Audience Reaction tropes on this site. Many people don't understand that the tropes require more than just "This happened, so that happened", and end up adding examples which either lack connection or the substance that makes them funny/serious/not-so-funny/heartwarming. Some of them may be suited better for other tropes (ex: Life Imitates Art), while some may not belong on TV Tropes at all (such as ones involving politicians, due to Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment).

Please report any Hindsight example that you feel are questionable, and we'll analyze them to see if they are actually examples or not.

Remember that the Hindsight tropes are Audience Reactions. That means if an example under review discusses significant fan response pointing out the hindsight, the example can't be cut solely for being too tenuous for this thread.

    Common NOT in Hindsight examples 
  • Creator's character/portrayal dies in work and then creator dies in real life, unless their fictional death is closely similar to their real one (such as Billy Bob Joe portraying a character who dies from pancreatic cancer, then Billy Bob dies from pancreatic cancer himself)
  • Mundane word related to something terrible (such as "corona" or "Epstein") unless there's more to the connection (such as someone named "Corona" having the flu)
  • Creator appears in work then becomes more controversial later on.
  • A common event (such as a typical natural disaster) happens in work, then happens in real life (unless they are closely similar, such as the event happening to the same area in both reality and fiction around the same time) For once, not everything related to disease has to do with COVID-19, not everything related to racism and Police Brutality has to do with George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, and not everything related to sexual abuse has to do with #MeToo.
  • A common/generic concept was used in this work and then later reused in that work (too loose for a connection, unless the concept is so unique it's identified with the work)
  • Two actors appear together then do so in another work
  • Hindsight examples involving recent events, due to them often being shoehorns. Specifically:
    • COVID-19 examples, before 75% of the population has returned to normal
    • George Floyd/2020 Black Lives Matter examples, before protests have declined
  • Examples which fall guilty of Older Than They Think, such as "Make X Great Again" slogans. Aside from violating the ROCEJ, this slogan has been in use since the 1940s.
  • Characters using slurs which are treated as annoying at worst in the work, but is now harsher due to how severe the slur is made now. Discrimination has always existed with that slur. (May qualify for Values Dissonance if work is at least 20 years old.)

Note: As of January 2022, "Funny Aneurysm" Moment is no longer separate from Harsher in Hindsight.
  • The former redirects to the latter and all wicks to the former (with the exception of ones on archive pages and the YMMV Redirects index) must either be moved to the latter (if they're valid) or removed (if they're invalid).
  • The subpages for the former are still accessible from this page. After a subpage for "Funny Aneurysm" Moment has been completely cleaned up, turn it into a redirect to the Harsher in Hindsight subpage for the same medium to preserve inbounds.

Edited by Tabs on Jun 21st 2023 at 11:51:25 AM

RobertTYL Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
#6501: Mar 29th 2023 at 1:12:38 AM

So, uh, Jiro Dan (the hero from Ultraman Jack) died last week (it's especially depressing for 90s Ultra-fans who grew up on reruns of the old series, myself included sad). And we're already seeing misuses:

YMMV.Return Of Ultraman

  • Goh died for real in "Destroy All Monsters" and Jack himself died several times in the Showa era. Goh's actor Jiro Dan passed away in March 2023 at the age of 73, making the myth arc of both this Ultraman and his host look a lot darker in retrospect.

Actor Mortality misuse? Jiro Dan was in a bunch of Kamen Rider shows and other toku stuff as well, there might be other shoehorns here and there


On the same page, there's this one:

  • Aki almost died in a shopping center collapse in Episode 5. Cue Episode 40 of Ultraman Leo. — The latter case is a series of unrelated Character Death(s) on two other characters. Note that Leo episode 40 runs on Anyone Can Die, it's not exclusive to the shopping mall incident.

Edited by RobertTYL on Mar 29th 2023 at 4:14:20 PM

TroperNo9001 Dragon in Waiting from the Dollhouse (Wise, aged troper) Relationship Status: I turn to stone when you are gone
Dragon in Waiting
#6502: Mar 29th 2023 at 2:54:26 AM

Reposting my question from the last page.

Still waiting for someone to break him free...
sudrictoon Any pronouns from Sodor/Crystal Tokyo Since: Feb, 2021 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
Any pronouns
#6503: Mar 30th 2023 at 4:11:09 AM

Keep an eye out for Harsher in Hindsight related entries to any Total Drama pages. There are allegations that Christian Potenza did sexual misconduct, and that is likely why he was replaced in the new TD show. These are just allegations for now, but people might jump the gun.

Sinners are TRASH / And they are A**HOLES
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#6504: Mar 30th 2023 at 7:30:23 PM

[up][up]I believe that's Fan Myopia and that it therefore can be cut.

SoyValdo7 I mainly fix indentation issues from La tierra de lagos y volcanes Since: Sep, 2022 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
I mainly fix indentation issues
#6505: Mar 30th 2023 at 11:37:24 PM

Repost from other thread.

From The Abandoned Empress:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Early on in the webcomic's run lot of people, knowing the end pairing, openly stated they'd much rather see Aristia end up with Allendis. Allendis, who was later revealed to be a violently obsessive yandere who almost gets Aristia killed before he realises his obsession with her is only going to hurt her, and has to remove himself from the situation entirely to keep her safe.

First, a little background, this work started as a webnovel and then was adapted as a webcomic. My question is:

Can Harsher in Hindsight be applied to a new adaptation of a completed work?

It feel that it doesn't

Valdo
UFOYeah Since: Mar, 2022
#6506: Apr 1st 2023 at 4:25:47 AM

[up] I'm not sure.

This page has only three examples. Before I merge them back to the YMMV page, I'm just checking how many of them are actually examples:

  • After the 2016 US presidential election, the storyline where Nate runs for class president can be this, if you imagine Nate in the role of Donald Trump. Much like Trump, Nate didn't seem like a likely candidate, but ended up winning. Likely Trump shoehorn
  • Chad Applewhite is an adorable but short and physically unfit kid. He couldn't be more different from the strong and charming but mean Chad who all the girls allegedly prefer to the "nice guys". Became even more amusing in a 2019 arc in which Nate hypnotized Chad into having a persona more like the stereotypical Chad. I feel that this goes against ROCEJ
  • In "Big Nate: In a Class by Himself", Nate builds a replica of the Roman Colosseum out of LEGO. Guess what was released in November of 2020. Most likely to stay

Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
Calabash.
#6507: Apr 1st 2023 at 10:05:07 PM

Planning to add a Harsher in Hindsight entry (no pun intended, btw) to YMMV.Kamen Rider Geats:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Everything involving Irumi Kurama's actions from refusing to let Neon Kurama meet with her fans to treating her like a doll becomes this once the revelations of Episode 29 come to light: specifically, it reveals that she used to have another daughter called Akari, but she was kidnapped and later killed during her birthday, and Kousei Kurama made a wish to the Goddess of Creation to create Neon as a replacement for their daughter. Essentially, this means that all of Irumi's actions come from being an overprotective mother fearing that she will lose another daughter to strangers.

Eh, good enough.
Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#6508: Apr 3rd 2023 at 8:08:19 PM

A while back I asked whether the examples on YMMV.Touken Ranbu are valid or not and the only response was by nanakiro in regards to the Thunderbolts entry. So I decided to ask again here:

  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • KanColle has been accused of historical revisionism, especially in the anime. Here, the enemies are historical revisionists. However, the accusations became Harsher in Hindsight since Touken Ranbu had a similar accusation. unsure
    • On Nitroplus' website, they had a New Year's celebratory image of Tonbokiri depicted alongside Shang Bu Huan of Thunderbolt Fantasy, since Kenzou Ishitsu worked on the designs for both characters. It turns out to be more than prophetic after the announcement and implementation of Sengo Muramasa (a person Tonbokiri knows very well and is voiced by Jun'ichi Suwabe, just like Shang). What really drives it home is that the official April Fools prank ended up having Munechika cross swords with Lin Xue Ya, Shang's partner as of Season 1's end, and then Shang himself fights Muramasa the following year. nanakiro did mention that it's possibly Production Foreshadowing but I'm unsure myself
    • Kosuke Toriumi would go on to voice Onigiri from Onmyōji, which is the personification of the sword that severed Ibaraki-dōji's arm, otherwise known as Higekiri. Many an "Anija voiced by Jiji" jokes have cropped up as a result. seems like Fan Myopia
    • Daisuke Hirakawa has voiced a personified sword – Dōjigiri, in an adult otome CD under a pseudonym – and a heavily snake-like character – Shiki Janome in Dankira!!! -Boys, be DANCING!- – before he voices Kokin, who is both. seems like Fan Myopia

Edited by Ayumi-chan on Apr 3rd 2023 at 11:08:38 PM

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#6509: Apr 5th 2023 at 5:55:52 PM

bumping [up]

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#6510: Apr 6th 2023 at 4:41:43 AM

From God of War II:

  • The first opponent, a giant, gets the sword-wielding protagonist crushed upon defeat, leading to the rest of the plot. Sounds like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

The entry is comparing this to this. Cutting it unless someone objects.

RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#6511: Apr 6th 2023 at 11:22:32 AM

[up](x3) I agree the last two seem like Fan Myopia. The first one sounds more like Harsher in Hindsight to me, though I'm unsure about the second one.

[up]I'd cut it because it sounds like Fan Myopia in my opinion.

Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
Calabash.
#6512: Apr 6th 2023 at 3:43:42 PM

Ooh boy. Coming out of the complaining removal thread, just noticed this was added to YMMV.Kamen Rider Zero One:

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • Gai's vendetta against AI and preaching about how Humagears will replace humans in the workforce, as well as Choichiro using Humagear artists to do the job for him, while not an unfound fear in past works, ends up being eerily similar to concerns over AI generated art, made even more eerie given the controversy surrounding them began over a competition, something that was a part of Gai's plan to take over and destroy the Humagears. It stings even more if you are against AI generated art, due to how the show frames them and Aruto as the heroes.
    • Related to this is how one of the competitions involve two lawyers, one being a human and the other a Humagear, the latter that is becoming all the likelier with the advent of ChatGPT. Then there's how it ends with a politician accusing his Humagear opponent of creating a fake video to make him look bad, something that is becoming increasingly common with deepfakes having more advanced AI-driven text-to-speech capabilities.

Edited by Siegfried1337 on Apr 6th 2023 at 3:43:50 AM

Eh, good enough.
WhirlRX Since: Jan, 2015
#6513: Apr 6th 2023 at 5:10:09 PM

[up]I think they can still count. Just rewrite to be less complaining.

Edited by WhirlRX on Apr 6th 2023 at 8:41:47 AM

RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#6514: Apr 6th 2023 at 5:40:50 PM

[up][up]I agree with[up] that they still count and need tweaking due to the complaining. For the record, the first thing that comes to mind is cutting the endmost sentence in the first entry.

fragglelover Since: Jun, 2012
#6515: Apr 6th 2023 at 6:02:07 PM

These are on Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation:

Harsher in Hindsight:

  • Plucky predicts that they will reach Happy World Land on April 6, 2021. Joe Alaskey (Plucky), Don Messick (Hamton J. Pig), and Jonathan Winters (Wade Pig) did not live to see that date, so it's fortunate Wade turned down Plucky's theory and got them to the Park much, much sooner.
  • Hamton feeling the need to clean a public toilet whilst wearing a hazmat suit has a whole new meaning when COVID-19 is taken into consideration.

bwburke94 I am mad scientist! It's so cool! from 1.048596% (Y2: Electric Boogaloo) Relationship Status: She does the things you do, but she is an IBM
I am mad scientist! It's so cool!
#6516: Apr 6th 2023 at 6:07:52 PM

[up] First is generic actor mortality, second is generic covid shoehorn. Both are easy cuts.

2025: the year it all ends?
Siegfried1337 Calabash. from The Eastern Luminant Since: Sep, 2018 Relationship Status: Will you go out with me to the End?
costanton11 Since: Mar, 2016
#6518: Apr 7th 2023 at 6:22:45 PM

From YMMV.Outlaw King:

Another case of "two actors were in the same thing together."

SoyValdo7 I mainly fix indentation issues from La tierra de lagos y volcanes Since: Sep, 2022 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
I mainly fix indentation issues
#6519: Apr 7th 2023 at 8:49:47 PM

it not even funny, cut it.

Valdo
Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#6520: Apr 8th 2023 at 3:09:49 AM

Bumping this

Also found this on YMMV.Sakura Wars So Long My Love:

  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Just try and play the part in So Long, My Love where the Star Division members are confronted by their dark selves without thinking of Persona 4. just plain ol' Fan Myopia but I could be wrong

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#6521: Apr 8th 2023 at 6:06:10 AM

[up] Yeah, it's Fan Myopia. "Characters fight evil clones of themselves" is not something exclusive to those two games.

Ayumi-chan 3rd happiest man in Connecticut from Iacon City (Experienced Trainee) Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
3rd happiest man in Connecticut
#6522: Apr 8th 2023 at 7:10:05 AM

[up] What about the message I bumped?

She/Her | Currently cleaning: N/A
Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#6523: Apr 10th 2023 at 3:35:04 AM

Is this Harsher in Hindsight misuse? Isn't "Statement made at beginning of episode comes true later in the same episode" just plot set-up or Five-Second Foreshadowing at most?

Edited to add: This is from the latest episode of WebAnimation.RWBY

    trigger warning: suicide 

  • During the beginning of "Tea Amidst Terrible Trouble", Ruby angrily tells Little not to follow her or else they will be killed. Later in the same episode, Little ignored Ruby and still followed them while saving her from the Curious Cat, only to be killed when Neopolitan violently smashes her heel on them. This ends up being the last thing to send Ruby into complete despair and Driven to Suicide as she decides to drink the tea made with an Ever After leaf and "ascends" as a result .

Edited by Wyldchyld on Apr 11th 2023 at 12:11:36 PM

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
BKelly95 Tame Racing Driver (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Tame Racing Driver
#6524: Apr 10th 2023 at 6:13:35 AM

[up] What's the work?

UFOYeah Since: Mar, 2022

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