I agree but some stories have really good side couples!! I just think it’d be better to have a spin off since not everyone is bound to like them.. in most cases they don’t give enough foundation to get the audience interested in the side couples
I actually always skip side couple content
I don't know why but I always get too interested in the first couple to give any attention to side couple I don't mind so much if they're like given a spin off but if they show up mid main plot or even on sides I get disappointed
I've said this before but I think the art of the side couple has been lost. And manhwa especially does it poorly. Basically every side couple from all the manga I read in primary+high school were my favourite couples.
But now in newer manga it's rare for me to feel that way. And I don't think I've ever given a fuck about a side couple in manhwa besides in liveta. I think it's mostly down to the pacing though. You get 30 chapters of sex with 0 plot progression, so when you finally get some plot progression and you're suddenly switched over to a side couple instead of giving the main couple a satisfactory ending, it's super annoying.
I do, I admit after reading and watching the entire cherry magic series I really don’t like stories with side couples and if I can avoid them I will as best I can
I mean, cherry magic’s side couple was fucking.. oof sorry not sorry but the 10 year age gap and them in the thai and japanese live action adapation’s alongside the movie looking even creepier like dad and child then the original anime did was even worse
never understand’s side couples were all just as bad as the main couple itself and seemed to gloss over major issues like bullying and discrimination over things like appearances, and don’t even me started on the many obvious plot holes in that story, jesus
Yeah... especially when you like the main couple and everybody in the comments going "wah wah i wanna see more of the side couple. Side couple is more interesting" i am petty as hell so i start imploding the side couple in my head. And it also bothers me when side couples take over the main couples story like in Prison Breakfast...
I FOUND MY PEOPLE!!!
I actually get a bit annoyed when the entire comment section goes crazy at the slightest hint of a side couple, because I DON'T want a side couple that takes chapters away from the main couple but I know that that's for sure the direction that the author is gonna take to make the majority happy.
I don't just randomly start reading a story: if I read something it's because I'm interested in the plot displayed, that is the plot of the MAIN couple. I start reading a dynamic I genuinely like only to be forced to read about a completely different couple (which most times I find either not interesting or toxic in comparison to the main couple). It's the same as watching a Yout*be video only to be bombarded with non-skippable ads just before they get to the best part.
I don't care if the side couple is better than the main couple, JUST MAKE A SPIN-OFF! I like it so much better when authors focus on the main couple and then, AFTER the conclusion eventually make another separate manhwa that focuses on a side couple (like for example with Red Candy and Bad Apple). This way, readers who want more can go read the sequel, while readers who don't care can just stop. Isn't that the most logical solution? It makes me so mad when the main couple is left on a cliff-hanger, I wait a week (or worse, 10 days) for the next chapter just to find out that it's about other characters idgaf about. Even if I DO like the side couple, I just can't get into it until I see the conclusion to the main couple, it's just my preference.
But the thing I hate THE MOST is when said side couple has a main character's toxic/abusive/cheating ex in it. Why do you have to force his 'redemption' arc on me and give him a romantic love story as well? Some are not THAT terrible to be undeserving of a lover after regretting what they did, but still: even if they also find happiness I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT! Are there seriously people that enjoy those side couples?! JUST WHY
That's exactly why I dropped Prison Breakfast! I didn't care about any of the side couples (why are there even so many??), but they literally took as much space EACH as the main one. There was almost zero progression of the main plot when I dropped it, no idea if it got better now.
Another example was Here U Are, one of my all-time favorite BLs that I followed since the earlier chapters were coming out: I LOVED the main couple, but there were SO many chapters that I found to be wasted on other couples. I remember that at one point the main couple was separated and I was terribly excited to read about them finally communicating and getting together, but the author left us on a cliffhanger for quite a lot of time and focused on a side couple :/
Y’all get me. Thank you.
I genuinely wouldn’t mind (and would actually enjoy) if they were side stories. Or even if it’s part of the main story, but AFTER the main couple’s story is over with. I just hate it because they almost always pause the main couple’s story to focus on the side couple and it’s so annoying. There’s been a few stories where the main couple basically disappears for multiple chapters in a row and it’s like??? Genuinely makes me want to drop it.
I think side couples could really improve a story if they parallel the really good (or bad) characterstics of the main character tbh, cus then it can shine a new light on the way you see them. But most of the time they're just like, there, as comedy relief or some other bs
A lot of people seem to love side couples, and I’ve even seen many prefer them to the main couple.
Is there anyone else that just hates side couples though?
It’s extremely rare for me to enjoy a side couple. I get more annoyed than anything that the main couple’s story gets paused just to show the side couple half the time (if not more) and I don’t even really like them or find them interesting. I’ve dropped a few stories at this point because I’m just bored of seeing the side couple.