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.
- 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
She / Her
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I agree that it doesn't count and I don't think they're connected enough, so ![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thumbs_up_emote.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
to cutting it.
On the subject of Total Drama, I think the following examples are also misuse:
- The scene where the contestants fall into the lake and drown in "Not-So-Happy Campers Part One" becomes a lot harder to watch after watching "The Final Wreck-ening" which shows Camp Wawanakwa getting sunk for good (at least until the 2023 reboot).
These are different things. One is a diving challenge; the other is an actual flood.
- Lindsay forgetting Tyler's name at the end of "Phobia Factor" becomes this after watching World Tour, which has a Running Gag of Lindsay forgetting Tyler's name.
It's not harsh, just a joke being repeated and exaggerated.
- DJ getting mauled by animals in the Island intro becomes cringe-worthy to watch after his animal curse sub-plot in World Tour.
Same.
- A lot of Cody's attempts at impressing Gwen become this after one of the creators confirmed that Cody no longer has feelings for Gwen following the end of World Tour.
Not seeing what's harsh here either. Dude likes a girl. Girl doesn't like him. Dude moves on in a healthy manner.
- Owen singing about beans in "Paintball Deer Hunter" becomes this when considers the fact that the last eleven contestants in All-Stars would get stuck in balloons filled with Owen's gas (after he ate too many beans).
Too much of a stretch. Owen farting is a Running Gag, and the balloon thing is played for laughs.
- Courtney puking out of the nostrils of her dragon mask in "Chinese Fake-Out" is this after watching the infamous Sundae Muddy Sundae, which shows her unable to eat her sundae, resulting in not only her elimination but also her failed friendship with Gwen and failed romance with Scott.
There is literally no connection between any of these scenes.
- Alejandro being put in a robot suit at the end of World Tour is already hard to watch but it becomes even harder after watching the Revenge of the Island finale which shows Big Bad Scott getting a similar fate.
Not really harsh? Looks more like a recycled plot.
She / Her
Maybe the last one might count, though I agree with your reasoning on cutting all the others.
a.k.a. Artemy Musha
The secondary bullet for this example on Zero Punctuation seems rather shoehorned:
- During his Minecraft review, he talks about how it's better than games like Garry's Mod because it forces the player to gather the materials rather than just giving you them outright. His review was released on January 26, 2011, when the game was in Beta 1.2_02. Fast-forward to September 15 of that year: Minecraft updates with Beta 1.8 and the addition of "Creative Mode"... which does exactly that.
- Also, Yahtzee now has his own GMod playermodel.
- Also, Yahtzee now has his own GMod playermodel
The main bullet is at least justifiable in that it talks about a degree of freedom similar to Gmod that Minecraft wouldn't add until after his review, but with the secondary bullet, I'm not sure what the relevance to Hilarious in Hindsight is other than a tenuous reference to Garry's Mod.
Edited by Akriloth2160 on Apr 29th 2023 at 10:09:21 AM
There's no place that you can hide/Something that's special
In the last example, what happened to the characters are references to Star Wars and Star Trek, respectively, so in both cases it’s making a pop culture reference for the villains getting their Laser-Guided Karma.
She / Her
I agree that the second bullet is irrelevant, so I believe it should be cut.
I'm actually aware they're both villains, those scenes played as Laser-Guided Karma, and they're Shout-Outs. I was just suggesting that that entry might count because they're considered Karmic Overkill (though I think that more commonly applies to Al than Scott). EDIT: I could be wrong, though.
Edited by RandomTroper123 on Apr 30th 2023 at 2:46:34 AM
Bye
From Balan Wonderworld:
- Harsher in Hindsight:
- One of the fake positive reviews of the game on websites like Metacritic listed that Balan has suffered a tragic fate. While this review was most likely a troll at work, that bit about a tragic fate was true. The negative reception of the game would result in Yuji Naka leaving Square Enix, taking down Balan Company along the way, making it highly unlikely Balan will ever make an appearance again.
- Even harsher was that Yuji Naka didn't quit. He was dismissed from his position after he criticized Square Enix for using a cover version of the theme music for promotions and Arzest for planning to release a version with the tutorial not implemented yet and various very known bugs. The only bug that Arzest fixed was the seizure-inducing moment. For all we know, all they did when they fired him was send it to be approved for release, working just enough to pass certification.
- Even more harsh? One of the game's selling points was that it was the reunion of two of Sonic's creators, being Naka himself and Naoto Oshima. Everything Yuji Naka has said indicates that things really soured between the two during development, with Naka claiming Oshima was among those who wanted him off the project, and even attempting to Un-person him in an old photo from when NiGHTS into Dreams… was made, meaning they're very unlikely to ever work together ever again.
- Some disgruntled Sonic fans saw Yuji Naka's involvement in this game as an opportunity to mock Sonic Team's missteps with the franchise as being because of Naka no longer working for them on that franchise. After Balan Wonderworld was met with harsh scores that often placed it even lower than several Sonic games at the time (including the controversial Sonic Forces) and has since largely been tossed aside in general discussion, most of these same fans begun to question if Naka actually needed Sonic Team to make a quality product more than they thought Sonic Team needed him.
I don't think any of them fit, except maybe the third. Should we cut them?
Angry babby
I don't think the Alejandro and Scott thing is Harsher in Hindsight so much as the show reusing the joke twice and the fandom not really finding it funny both times. Alejandro's karma was controversial on arrival.
Everything else is just a weak excuse to complain about plot points the audience doesn't like, all of which are treated as jokes. Lindsay forgetting Tyler's name and DJ being attacked by animals are just simply examples of the traits before they became flanderized.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
I have an idea for an example, but i want to check to make sure it fits first, and maybe see if it needs to bake for a couple more months. This relates to the voice synthesizer Synth V, the voicebanks that have released for it, and the characters associated with those voicebanks.
- A fandom in-joke involved taking Genbu's voicebank and changing his parameters to make him sound like the UTAU voicebank Kasane Teto. On April 2nd, 2023, Kasane Teto's Youtube channel released videos announcing a real Synthesizer V voicebank for Teto. Fans noticed and made videos comparing and pairing Genbu's Teto impression and Teto's genuine Synthesizer V bank.
Here is some examples of what Genbu normally sounds like.
Examples from Chrono Trigger:
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- The often-repeated joke about gear from as far back as prehistoric times being better/stronger than items made in the future takes on a new level when you think of planned obsolescence. It's entirely possible that civilization up to Lavos' attack subscribed to this theory.
The Wikipedia article lists the earliest instance of this phenomenon to have taken place in 1924, making it much older than the work.- Algetty, the village of non-magical humans in 12000 BC is referred to as "the village of the Earthbound ones" in the English translation. Even though it was a coincidence, another RPG under this title was released at the same time.
Flimsy connection.- Akira Toriyama's Only Six Faces art style means that Crono looks like Son Goku with red hair. Cue Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and the introduction of the Super Saiyan God form, wherein Goku's hair turns red.
Fine, I guess? They◊ do◊ look rather similar.
- This game also wouldn't be the last time Akira Toriyama would be involved which features time traveling as a major plot element.
This, on the other hand, is a stretch. Dragon Ball had time travel as a major plot element before this game was released.- A headgear item that protects the user from the Stop and Slow statuses is called the Time Hat. In 2017, A Hat in Time was released.
- The often-repeated joke about gear from as far back as prehistoric times being better/stronger than items made in the future takes on a new level when you think of planned obsolescence
Cut all but the third example?
Edited by TantaMonty on May 4th 2023 at 9:11:25 AM
Unofficial co-Wiki Curator for Magnificent Bastard
Not sure if this counts, but a fake image showing a KR Shinobi X KR Tycoon crossover was made.
Well, fast forward to today, and it became an actual thing. Does it count for Hilarious in Hindsight?
I think so.
Insert title here
Would this entry I want to put on YMMV.Moring Mark TOH Comics be misuse? Spoilers for The Owl House.
- This strip where it's revealed that Luz has been Dead All Along, which becomes more awkward when Luz in canon does actually die in the series finale, though it doesn't stick.
- This strip
Not really.
I do believe it is misuse. The only thing in common is that Luz dies. But besides that, circumstances are completely different.
She / Her
I feel it's a stretch because I don't feel they're related enough.
Quick question: The World Health Organization has just declared that the Covid global health emergency is over. Does this mean that Covid-related examples are now allowed?
the Retromancer
These were never banned, they are just very commonly actually unrelated.
Yeah, the issue is that COVID examples tend to be just "this character got sick!" or acting as though pandemics weren't a thing prior to COVID-19. They aren't banned, just held to greater scrutiny.
Angry babby
COVID examples were treated as effectively banned in 2020 (cuz I remember even creator-acknowledged examples like The Stand were controversial), we just got looser as the restrictions loosened up. Now we're more easily able to judge if a work counts as Hindsight, especially if it's specific to the events of 2020.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Bye
If no one has an objection, I'll just cut everything except for the third entry.
Examples from Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue:
- Hilarious in Hindsight: Could the Lightspeed Rangers be secretly funded and operated by the Umbrella Corporation? Considering their ultimate Zord literally functions by sucking away their life force, it's more possible than you might think... Fan Myopia and also not hindsight since the first RE came out 4 years before Lightspeed Rescue
- A major villain from a previous series is revived for a crossover and teams up with a villain exclusively created for that crossover, and when they come back, they are wearing a mask. Am I talking about Trakeena in Trakeena's Revenge teaming up with Triskull, or Ryoma Sengoku in Movie War Full Throttle teaming up with Megahex? Fan Myopia
- If you've watched the source material, any episode that suggests Carter and Dana are interested in one another, since their sentai counterparts are siblingsnote . Isn't hindsight since Kyūkyū Sentai GoGoV came out before Lightspeed Rescue
- Neil Kaplan voiced Diabolico here, and frequently had to deal with giant robots. The next year, he became one, and in 2015 went right back to being a villain who hates giant robots (although Zarkon is more like Bansheera compared to Diabolico). Actor Garbage
- Chad had a mermaid for a love interest. Power Rangers was later owned by a company well known for making a movie about a mermaid falling in love with a human. Disney owns PR shoehorn, Disney hasn't even owned PR for over a decade
I think all of these are cut-worthy.
Agreed. Cut them all.
They've been cut
Examples from Ojamajo Doremi
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Episode 7 contains a scene where Pop has to go to the bathroom after riding the train to her Grandma's house. Doesn't that scenario sound familiar? Fan Myopia, also Doremi didn't invent going to the bathroom after a train ride
- One episode of Sharp had the Ojamajos temporarily turn their flower shop into a sweet shop, complete with dressing up as maids. In the following season, Motto, this is the normal state of the MAHO Dou. Seems valid
- The Cursed Forest certainly gives the impression of a barrier... Fan Myopia, also kind of a ZCE since it doesn't explain why they are similar
- During a later episode of Dokkan, Marina is hit by the Big Bad's curse and she gives up on tending to the flowers, muttering how pointless it all was in a depressed voice. Fast forward to Smile Pretty Cure!, and we have similar quotes from people affected by the Bad End Spaces. Fan Myopia, villains causing people to become depressed has appeared in other works than just these 2
- One line of the lyrics of the insert song Lupinus no Komoriuta goes "Erika no Tsubomi" ("A no B" in Japanese means "A's B"), foreshadowing the names of two main characters of another Toei magical girl anime who also make a popular fandom ship. Fan Myopia, both of those names are existing names
- In the 4Kids dub, Conya/Dela's recurring lyric "Whippoorwills and daffodils / are sweet, but they don't pay the bills." If only they dubbed the next season, where flowers do pay the bills. Seems like not hindsight since Sharp came out before the 4kids dub, the dubbers were most likely just not paying attention to later seasons
I think all except the sweet shop example can be cut.
