This is such a weird hill to die on but honestly, people that spoil ongoing manga or anime storylines are simply the worst. The absolute scum of the Earth, as Kakashi Hatake would say. And, yeah, I agree. Because for some reason, while the weeb community is generally very respectful, some don’t have an understanding of how to behave when it comes to spoilers. And it’s time these manga readers learn to be better!

Call it lack of impulse control or call it being a jerk, some manga readers try their hardest to be insensitive to other readers and actively spoil their reading experience. And it never makes sense to me why. Because in the end, aren’t we all here because we enjoy this one thing that brings us together? So why do some ‘fans’ go out of their way to ruin it for others?

Spoilers are defined as revealing an unknown part of a story, like in a manga, that a person wanted to learn about through reading the content for themselves rather than through unknown sources, inevitably ‘spoiling’ their organic experience. Those readers can be spoiled by others through a tweet or accidentally glimpse a headline on a related forum. Though some are accidental spoilers, a lot of people also intentionally put spoilers out just to ‘troll’ around.

So, what is the psychology behind people like this? I mean, if you’re a fan of something, wouldn’t you want more people to enjoy your community rather than be exasperated by it? There are so many reasons why spoilers are a menace and yet, many manga readers treat it like some cute prank. Well, I’m here to break those assumptions down!

Accidental Spoilers: Over-Enthusiastic Fans With Loose Lips

Look, of course not all fans are scum. Not everyone is out on Twitter right now, just waiting to put out spoilers for a show that just came out last night. That’s not how things work.

But there are plenty of unassuming newbies that don’t know how spoiler-free commentary works and they accidentally reveal pivotal plot points without meaning too. That’s an honest mistake and everyone has been guilty of committing it once. We’ve all been there before. You get so excited when you see a character returning, or distraught when one dies that you can’t help yourself from talking about it.

And that’s honestly okay. Sometimes, spoilers are a mistake, and they should be treated as such. Just be mindful of yourself next time and keep your excitement to yourself until a significant time has passed. Respectfully, that time is at least a week after a manga chapter is released.

Trolls: When Edgy Fans Think They Are Pranksters

Now, I have no sympathy for these kinds of fans. They are the enthusiasts that end up ruining chapters for the hell of it.

And, like, it’s so dumb. Because being unkind to fellow readers isn’t a personality trait, but trolls love pretending they’re so cool for pulling stuff like this. These are the kinds of fans that go out of their way to intentionally spoil huge moments right when the newest chapter gets a release. And they aren’t considerate about how that could affect another fan that was saving the next chapter up for when they have time. Yes, there are a lot of fans that have busy lives and just want to save their indulges for when they can spare a moment to enjoy them.

Trolls are just immature and that’s the truth.

How To Avoid Spoilers (And Be Kinder As Manga Readers)

Sadly, there is no way you can expunge out every nasty person in fandom, that’s just not how things work. And it’s highly improbable that everyone can just avoid all spoilers for every new manga that comes out for the rest of eternity. Sure, miracles might happen but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

In that case, what is a manga reader anticipating a new chapter supposed to do when they don’t want to be spoiled? Well, the first thing is remembering that there is a grace period. As I said, 1 week of no spoiler posting is considered traditional but, of course, not everyone would follow that rule.

In that case, the best thing would be to go social media-free until you get the chance to catch up. Unsubscribe from the Reddit forums, delete the Twitter app for a bit, and go ghost until you can find the time to read.

And hey. If you do manage to get in on the action, keep it to yourself! Making one or two tweets about how good the chapter was is ok, but revealing the entire plot isn’t. Spoiler-free commentary is possible, try practicing it.

Spoilers are never fun, especially if you’ve been waiting for a while after a cliffhanger in a manga chapter. But I hope this helps improve your reading experience! Remember people: Spoiler Alerts are your friend!