Twilight clones and how they work

[@mimimurlough]

It's still a bit touching to hear people discuss Twilight without judging people for liking it. The analysis was spot on too. Thank you!

[@TacticusPrime]

There's nothing wrong with liking the premise of Twilight (normal girl is the subject of intense obsession of hot guy with supernatural powers) but the books themselves have serious ethical problems.

[@Dreigonix]

Remember that you can like something and still acknowledge that it technically sucks. Like, I will stick up for Sonic Forces because I genuinely like it, but I am nowhere near about to paint over its flaws when they come up.

[@mimimurlough]

@@TacticusPrime They really do, but the criticism we see nowadays is nothing compared to the wave of vitriol that fans for back in the day. I'm happy that we have a more nuanced view now.

[@tannerhuman]

saaame

[@Texas-girll]

Yes. Like that cheesey romance is what younger me looooved and it was a big part of my life at the time. It's very nostalgic for me.

[@ciriknockoff5738]

I want a paranormal romance novel with a biblically accurate angel 👁👄👁

[@Dooms-Daisy]

Like the scary Angel's, seraphim cherubim or thrones!

[@Idunno-b8g]

My thoughts immediately went to a romance where Christopher Walken hooks up with a high school girl and much destruction and death ensues. Edit: Props to the two people who actually got that.

[@unreliablegachatuber1147]

More like 👀👁👀👀👁👁👄👅👄👅👄👁👁👀👀👁👀

[@georgethompson1460]

I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going.

[@djinnglebells241]

Talk about nightmare fuel

[@samyychannomnom9536]

The Vampire Diaries was before Twilight. The books came out in the early 90s. The show is what was following the trend.

[@JamesTullos]

That's true for the original Vampire Diaries series, but the author also came back in 2009 to write a sequel trilogy.

[@samyychannomnom9536]

@@JamesTullos super cool :) I didn't know that.

[@tsf3987]

I’ve been saying that for years, finally someone else knows it too.

[@susufray3601]

@@JamesTullos what do you mean by sequel trilogy?

[@JamesM1994]

@@JamesTullos I'm not sure the same author wrote the sequel trilogy. I read she had a conflict with the people who paid her to write it and that they were the actual owners, and so she refused to write more and they used a ghostwriter instead.

[@AdrianArmbruster]

I feel like we missed out on a Twilight Clone X Hunger Games clone fusions. SHE is an ordinary teenage girl from district vaguely-Appalachian-slum-sylvania who is also the last hope of the resistance. HE is a time traveling Leprechaun who has lived for centuries in the shadow realm. Only their shotgun marriage can unite the resistance and the fey together in an alliance to destroy the evil overlords from the Strawman District. Then when it inevitably needs two and a half sequels, they both get a rival who is an Isekai protagonist.

[@HaiiiWazzuppp]

you had me at time traveling leprechaun

[@alaysiadennis9420]

I would? Read this???

[@Annickasen]

@@alaysiadennis9420 same?

[@neitherlink6612]

Holy shit, an Isekai Protagonist as a rival!? Sorry, I’m not into media where the MC dies instantly.

[@Etzelsschizo]

Man, Terrible Writing Advice is proud of ya

[@BrandonPilcher]

Ah, the good old days when bookstores had entire shelves for “paranormal romance”...I feel nostalgic already. By the way, my family and I recently drove through Forks, WA on a road trip down the US West Coast. They certainly seemed to remember when their little town was the center of attention all of a sudden.

[@tedarcher9120]

Are bdsm millionaires paranormal?

[@baumdf9134]

We demand answers

[@fairycat23]

They're not paranormal in the traditional sense, but they're definitely surreal.

[@np8139]

The fact that this ever became popular can only be explained by magic.

[@sentuisbattlepants1810]

On Amazon there are paranormal bsdm billionaire romance

[@heywhat6676]

Well they come straight from hell, so

[@isabellasevillaaguilera9679]

Robert Pattinson is a whole mood

[@etheriusmoon1809]

Agreed

[@morganwaas4868]

He seems to have spent his post-twilight years becoming an agent of pure chaos and you know what I love that for him

[@bellac6311]

Honestly anna kendrick is a mood too, she literally forgot she was in twilight because it was so bad in her opinion

[@briankaslewicz6130]

His whole performance reminded me of Squidward in that one episode of Spongebob where he wore that giant "I really wish I weren't here right now" pin, and is doing this role out of protest so someone else doesn't come along and play Edward with the dignity & nuance that the character never deserved. I still cant believe Henry Cavill was at one point considered.

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

“Some people enjoyed consuming the same story over and over again” - me, with my five thousand different high school AU Fanfiction. 😫

[@Neolithika]

I used to love fanfiction. Now everyone copies everyone else's ideas.

[@Neolithika]

@sunlight I think that might be it exactly. I kept looking for new ideas and ran into a wall. It's like the same 10 stories over and over again.

[@elevenaffirmations5821]

@@Neolithika where do you read your fanfics?

[@Neolithika]

@@elevenaffirmations5821 The last place I was reading them was on AO3, I moved there from fanfiction.net.

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

@@Neolithika I mean, the coffee shop au and the f!ck or die trope literally came from the 90s/early 2000s. So all the tropes have literally been around god knows how long.

[@123till321]

"The same way you'll never see a shonen anime with a girl in the lead" *shows picture that includes Soul Eater*

[@gradientmapabuser9875]

For real I was like... death the kid isn't even the main character it's mostly maka and soul😭

[@Dooms-Daisy]

@@gradientmapabuser9875 I wouldn't be mad if it was a picture of soul but death the kid? Really?

[@kirby84]

Stone ocean

[@alexfrost400]

@haseeb ali Rip Act age I loved that manga

[@avivagodfrey]

Cutie Honey should also count. Also, Inuyasha. =v=

[@jennypeng3738]

*I just love that Robert Patterson just hates twilight and isn’t scared to say it*

[@coldstuff9784]

Twilight but with reversed genders and targeted towards boys/men is really common in manga/anime.

[@24mb34]

yeah the whole harem of girls in love with cardboard protagonist is ridiculously common and popular

[@briankaslewicz6130]

Rosario + Vampire?

[@savihavoc3153]

Chibi vampire. And the author other project with mermaid.

[@user-wq8iy4lu7e]

@@briankaslewicz6130 read the manga and say that again

[@falchi0n2.08]

Yofukashi no uta?

[@bleachpasta]

Alternate title: 50 Shades isn't a Twilight Clone, I swear.

[@stuffz4040]

50 shades is more of the slightly unwanted step child

[@fightingmedialounge519]

It's more of a fanfiction.

[@Unreachableparadise]

@@fightingmedialounge519 a weird one at that

[@NapaCat]

@@fightingmedialounge519 It literally was fanfic. It was 'what if Edward not vampire but rich'. Before it was published, 50 Shades was named Masters of the Universe and had the character names be literally the same as Twilight's. Then she rewrote it, changing the names from Bella to Anastasia and Edward to Christian.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

@@NapaCat yeah, that's what I was trying to get across.

[@dannyh8133]

Honestly, I don't think that Hiden magic world setting needs to be sign of lazy writing. You can still be creative with developing this kind of seting. You still must think about rules and also you need to create history with humans and make a good explanations for them (vampires, werewolfs etc.) hiding. Also sorry if I have some grammar mistakes here. English isn't my first language. Thanks for understanding.

[@thezipcreator]

you have better english than most actual native english speakers

[@Beto_Serrano]

THANK YOU! As someone who's currently writing a novel with those topics, I feel really discouraged when ppl just discard my novel as "one of those boring hidden world thingies". Like, you can actually make good stuff with those!

[@Engineersdayoff]

Harry potter was a hidden world so is Percy Jackson well both of those series of flaws their overall enjoyable

[@dannyh8133]

@@Beto_Serrano You welcome. Don't let them discourage you from building one of the greatest hiden world!

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

I used Shaman King to shape my own hidden magic world setting. The best way to hide the magic world is making sure it is not physically there, and there's always a way to hide it.

[@patrickkelmer6290]

Bella Swan would be the Queen of Mary Sues, if it wasnt for Ebony Dark´ness Dementia Raven Way.

[@eleonorepb4565]

Have you ever heard about Tara Duncan

[@patrickkelmer6290]

@@eleonorepb4565 who dat

[@eleonorepb4565]

@@patrickkelmer6290 probebly the worst Mary Sue ever made wich is disapoting because the first books were good

[@doglover7805]

To be fair, The Vampire Diaries original series was written in the 1990's. Obviously the television and expanded series was brought on by Twilight's popularity.

[@EriksBlue]

Strange that in japan there is a abundance of romance manga about guys falling in love, targeted towards men/boys.

[@maadtee6281]

They tend to be harem with the mc being the only one good enough in those stories with other guys being toxic and easily hated that's if we don't count shoujo

[@Beto_Serrano]

It all depends of who's the biggest consumer. In japan, the light novels and manga are mostly consumed by young boys, so the escapist plots are made thinking on them. It's all about making profit with the biggest market possible.

[@maadtee6281]

@@Beto_Serrano true and it sucks we dont get quality escapist

[@Beto_Serrano]

@@maadtee6281 Well, I was thinking on making sort of a wattpad Isekai, but I'm still working on it since I want it to actually be somewhat good

[@maadtee6281]

@@Beto_Serrano try putting it on royal road also

[@chrishandy9172]

"And no one will hate it more than Robert Pattison." Kristen Stewart might beg to differ.

[@magatetus]

The woman has no emotion so it's difficult to tell.

[@exandah383]

Old joke, she is actually a good actress when she have a good director

[@Rivenlore99]

Kristen Stewart is actually a really good actor. All of these actors are pretty good but twilight just made them all seem bad

[@fightingmedialounge519]

She's a serviceable actress. She'll give what she gets.

[@RachelAnnPotter]

@@fightingmedialounge519 it is hit or miss with Kristen Stewart. In the movie Equals she is perfectly casted (imo) but she was the wrong choice in Snow White.

[@MayorofHopeville]

Can money be included as magic to include 50 Shades. Since it's a twilight fanfiction, shouldn't it count.

[@hunterfox6176]

I'm just glad that Robert Pattinson is doing what he enjoys now. That is the main silver lining about this whole thing

[@xanderlee51]

I am sad to admit that I have read most of the clones you have listed, though ironically I have never read Twilight, nor will I ever.

[@Lyendith]

"Fallen − now a major motion picture" …I’ve never even heard of it. >.>

[@trishashley5018]

The book was bad. Its about a girl who is soul mates with an Angel named Daniel who is an asshole and Lucy the main character is basically Bella Swan in terms of personality. Unlike Bella Lucy apparently killed her ex boyfriend Trevor(that actually from what i recall never went farther than explaining why she was put in a school for the mentally unstable.) Lucy also reincarnated every 17 years. And it was all executed horribly. It also doesn't help that Daniel is a horrible guy and boyfriend who doesn't care about Lucy because of her constant reincarnation apparently keeping him distant and cold but they are meant to be together by fate so Lucy can't be with a man who actually loves her

[@patrickkelmer6290]

@@trishashley5018 That sounds so horribly forced

[@Neolithika]

I caught my father watching it. I sat down to view it with him, but it was just too cringe.

[@Rivenlore99]

I thought the wings would be interesting to look at at least. Lol nope

[@audreyelizabeths]

yeah it had a limited release afaik

[@WandererEris]

"The same way you'll almost never find a shounen anime with a girl in the lead..." Shows picture of shounen protagonist, including secondary main character Death the Kid from Soul Eater instead of the female actual main character Maka....

[@moirad3504]

like, Beastly isn't good, but its a shitty Beauty and the Beast retelling not a Twilight clone. Every paranormal/preternatural/fantasy teen love story isn't a twilight clone. and like I know other people are going to bring it up but LJ Smith's Vampire Diaries well predate Twilight (and Night World was better anyway)

[@hystericalAnarchy]

Oh my god! Another person who knows about Night World?!?! I haven’t heard that name in years!

[@moirad3504]

@@hystericalAnarchy I recently found a omnibus edition of the first 3 books in my favorite used bookstore and I'm looking forward to a nostalgic reread sometime in the near future.

[@vgb777]

this is so helpful! i'm gonna go write my own twilight clone now!

[@nonotthatwon2897]

There is nothing that I want more now, than a book in which the love interests is a multidimensional K-Pop star... That sounds like the best time ever

[@platinumbubbles6152]

I’d like to argue that Darkest Powers doesn’t really fit as a clone? The author had been writing in that world since 2001 (first book in the series was Bitten and was a werewolf mystery novel, really fun) but in the adult genre and while she might have jumped on the YA trend because of Twilight, but it was definitely a pre-Twilight space (I actually read the adult series before the YA as a teen). Also all main characters (bar a single one in the adult series) are supernatural beings. Granted the YA series have the characters discovering what they are so kind of half a point there. Also, the romance is very very slow burn and doesn’t actually introduce until the second or third book. Really I think you could easily remove the romance in Darkest Powers and it wouldn’t really suffer. The main plot was about kids escaping evil scientists, so maybe a tad more in the Maximum Ride vein. I think it was more just an urban fantasy that hit at the right time.

[@alexanders8638]

I agree

[@urhsusnikvrecic1478]

Nobody: Absolutely Nobodoy: ... James: "Multidimensional K-Pop stars"

[@uncertainsubscriber4815]

Would have made more sense to show a clip of Oneus in the video instead of Blackpink. Oneus have a vampire storyline in their music videos.

[@marquistf1996]

Havent watched the entire video yet btw but I have my own answer to the question at 1:33. As a young kid who didn’t have much going for them the idea of having a thrilling, enticing, and mysterious adventure with an attractive mysterious guy who was all about me was an addicting fantasy. It helped that the main protagonists were generic okayish looking females without much of a character arc. I could insert myself right in. It spoke to someone who was lonely and overlooked. I think if you didn’t fit the target demo it’s flaws were unbearably obvious but if you did it fulfilled you emotionally. I think it’s popularity says something kinda sad about being a young teenager honestly lol.

[@Rivenlore99]

That’s a really good explanation. And yeah, it’s really sad

[@EditorialJoe]

Teen romance pointed at guys: Ever read "September GIrls" by Bennett Madison? I'd love to know what you think of it. When I was still at Harper I ended up tripping over a reprint sample and rifled through it. Ended up reading it and really enjoyed it. Kind of different, but some common tropes as outlined above. As you mention: it didn't sell exceptionally well. It sold well enough to reprint a couple of times, but not to become the next 'it' thing.

[@calemr]

The whole Twilight Clone claim even reached Backwards through time, and probably not for the best. There was a series I read in my teens, "The Last Vampire". I thought it was good then, dunno if it really was, but it was about a female vampire who hunted other vampires, wanting to be the last because... If I remember correctly... Some deal she made with one of the Hindu gods. There was Some romance aspect, between her and a guy she blooded after she'd had to shoot through him to get the vampire holding him (Wonder if the author saw Hellsing?) But it mostly focused on the whole "Hunting and killing vampires" thing, and a lot about her backstory with the First vampire, and his desire to straight up murder the gods themselves. And yet, because "It has a vampire in it." I found a rereleased version in a charity shop recently with a different cover, and claims that it would, somehow, appeal to the twilight crowd. And I mean... Did tween girls wanna read a book where a major character gets kidnapped, mutilated, and tortured by a rapey serial killer, so that the guy could keep him, limbless, as a continuous source of vampiric blood?

[@derealization_]

Wait, what's that about the limbless hostage that functions as a vampiric water cooler?

[@calemr]

@@derealization_ Main villain of the first book turns out to have survived, barely, the ending of book one (Main character convinces him to accept a murder/suicide where she fills her own house with explosives. But she had an secret escape plan.), only to be captured by the main villain of book two. Villain 2 rammed spikes into the bases of where Villain 1's legs should have been, so he couldn't regenerate. IIRC, main character mercy kills him when she finds him. And kills Main Villain 2 by seducing him using magic music learnt from a Hindu god, luring him into the back of the icecream van he was using to transport his victims, and hacking him to pieces with a fire axe.

[@wiseguy01]

Oh wow, I read these books when I was in middle school, found them in my school's library, lol... in its defense, it's way better than Twilight, like by a country mile.

[@calemr]

@@wiseguy01 I don't think I ever read past book 2 or maybe 3? But some googling makes it look like it ended at book 6, then 3 more books came out that retconned the ending and went fucking crazy?

[@wiseguy01]

@@calemr I didn't know there were more past six, I read them when I was like 12. So no idea what happened in any new books, sorry.

[@ptlemon1101]

You talked abour shounen not having female main characters but you showed a shounen anime where the main character IS female but you chose to put a pic of a me side character. (Soul Eater) Also, JoJo part 6 has a female protagonist

[@phillipmotbey765]

The vampire diary books are actually older than twilight, so I’ve been towels

[@alisa9040]

"So I've been told." I really like your typo for some reason, though. Being towels sounds really interesting.

[@phillipmotbey765]

Thank you I do my best 😜

[@Dooms-Daisy]

I CANNOT believe this man just said death the kid was the main character of soul eater. The show is NAMED after Soul. It starts with soul and maka and ends with maka defeating the main antagonist. I am FUMING.

[@kaleeshsynth9994]

Maka is the protagonist

[@trparnell87]

Like how people mistaken Zelda for being the protag instead of Link.

[@Rotem_S]

7:14 isn't Maka the protagonist or at least a very main character in soul eater? Your point still kinda stands just I don't feel like who you chose isn't really "the" protagonist compared to her or Soul

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

[ Do you think Twilight was inspired by Inuyasha in some way? ]

[@kennedyhogan9484]

we love not judging teen girls for liking popular things

[@TheKeyser94]

Sookie Starkhouse Southern Vampires Mysteries is nothing like Twilight, vampires are in there are morally ambiguous almost alien, they can say that they love you in one minute and kill you in the next, and I cant say that they were fighting "bad guys", because like Games of Thrones, every vampire in Southern Vampire Mysteries are ruthless cutthroat vampire.

[@Murasakiii]

I agree 100%

[@blackeveryseason]

Jfc one of my favorite Twilight ripoffs is the series Wings by Aprilynn Pike solely for this reason: Main character is newly discovered fairy of a royal lineage with dual love interest vying for her... Because duh So, LoveInterest is wearing gloves and MC is like, "why you wearing gloves?" And goes to touch his hands and he yanks back and is like, "Because when it's time to pollenate (aka mating season), male faeries release pollen from our hands..." So this dude is sitting in human high school with gloves because he has FAIRY PRE-NUT on his hands and I just scream everytime I think about it

[@JamesTullos]

Holy shit, that one's going on the "to-read" list.

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

The sound I made to stop my laughter while reading this in a public bathroom was awful. 😂

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

Also, I think I own that book. Lmao never read it after all these years.

[@blackeveryseason]

@@TheSlipperyNUwUdle I applaud the world building of faeries sharing related anatomy of flowers because "faeries are nature", but the execution was hilarious even to high school me with poorer literary taste 😂😂😂

[@annieboookhall]

I'm real happy to have a male presence on "booktube" (tbh, you come across as more a video essayist, but it's about books, so I'll count it). You're also thoughtful, so great!

[@jigglypuff9628]

"Mel hides copyright strikes" 🤣🤣 🤣

[@MicahRion]

This era of vampire novels got me into urban fantasy which I’m grateful for because it’s still my favorite genre. I love to see how authors build a world where humans know about and live amongst the supernaturals.

[@Neolithika]

There was one I was trying to find, it was about a female vampire in high school that had a crush on a human guy there. I read an excerpt and she was swimming in the ocean when a shark approached her, but then left being afraid of her. I have been trying to find that book ever since I read that. I had forgotten the title of it and never saw it advertised again. I think there was a picture of an eye on the cover of it. Does anyone know what book I am talking about?

[@RachelMWinship]

Shonen literally means "boy". If it was a female-targeted anime with a female lead, then it's a shoujo (lit. "girl") anime.

[@yoongitrash2699]

I mean yeah if your audiences is young boys it’s probably easier to relate to young boys at the same age.

[@frostyenderman13]

Nobody: Mel: hides copyright strikes

[@A_Hey]

I hope you’re talking about Beastly the movie and not Beastly the book, ‘cause the book definitely more of a twisted fairy tale than a Twilight clone lol.

[@AsdfghjkL-lv6kb]

The "best" copy I have read was the Lux-series. Same plot, but Alien.

[@ravi0lisa]

really didn't like that one :/ the guy (forgot his name) was really douchy and playing in that "bad boy" persona. boring

[@blabla-wv2gg]

Omg I haven't thought about this series for so long . Loved it sooo much

[@Gloomdrake]

I made a horrible mistake

[@DrGregoryHouseIT]

So a Roswell ripoff, which Twilight was too.

[@incognitoburrito6020]

God, I remember reading Lux. I knew it would be bad and I still hated it. My copy came with a couple extra chapters at the end that were a few key scenes from the love interest's perspective. They managed to not only give no new information, but made the story retroactively worse and creepier by revealing that he was super attracted to her all along.

[@darkvioletcloud]

I find the graphic at 7:15 funny about how you say you'll never see a shounen with a girl in the lead, yet there's Death the Kid there, replacing Maka's place as the female lead of a shounen anime. Soul Eater may be named after Soul, but Maka is the heart and soul of the show (pun intended)

[@calemr]

"You'll almost never see a shonen anime with a girl in the lead role" and the guy on the right of the image shown? Not the main character. The main character of Soul Eater is, arguably, Maka. A girl. (It's more an ensemble cast really, of which 4/7 are female, but hey.) I mean it is true that a genre that literally translates to "Boy comics" is aimed at and thus tends to star males, but I thought I'd point out that Death The Kid really isn't The main character there. Maybe A main character.

[@CourtOfWinter]

My first thought when he said that was Yashahime. (And, arguably, Inuyasha. His name is in the title though, so...)

[@corenlavolpe6143]

I immediately thought of The Promised Neverland, which was published in the same magazine as One Piece and Naruto, etc., whom the protagonist is arguably Emma, a girl. The 2 other main characters, Norman and Ray, are boys but the author definitely put more focus on Emma and her arc. It's a great manga, I love it.

[@ultraprincesskenny6790]

The mortal instruments has more in common with Buffy the vampire slayer and Harry Potter

[@eleonorepb4565]

Wasn't it originally a Harry Potter fanfiction?

[@ultraprincesskenny6790]

@@eleonorepb4565 yeah, though the books and the fanfic really only share a title.

[@shiranuiprestonsaga8867]

There actually are a few Shonen with female leads like Maki from soul eater and Emma from Promised neverland and Clare from Claymore as some examples

[@daneymcpane]

This is the earliest I've been to a video, 1 minute after upload!

[@kathrynb.kavanagh2621]

4 minutes - I feel like a stalker.

[@herddragon9215]

i'm tempted to make a bad twilight clone and then force you to read and review it

[@woohoo3786]

make a good one sneakly good. like a vail of bad

[@herddragon9215]

@@woohoo3786 yes, I think I might, I've started doing some mild plotting.

[@kroneous]

Since you mentioned them a hunger games clone video would be dope. Nice video my guy.

[@WoodenRailwayEdward]

Simple answer: They don't work.

[@thelasthandbook6704]

I quite enjoyed the Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series. And you'd think I'd be far too old and far too male to have done so. I couldn't make it fifty pages into Twilight, but them I liked. Well, the first ten books. Those last two Bloodlines novels, though, oh, boy. In any event, interesting world building, characters with some depth and on balance some pretty robust plots...except for those last two books, again. As an aside, the author, Richelle Mead seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. She had a series cancelled for poor sales (Age of X) and another that I believe got on the wrong side of Twitter. Last I checked she'd been radio silent on all social media for well over a year. Probably longer. And the Vampire Academy movie was the worst movie I have ever seen to which I paid full admission. It must be seen to be believed. Fortunately very few have. Proudly released by the Weinstein Group, even. 😐

[@the_Melpomenea]

I know this is probably a silly thing to ask, but what's that movie in the background during 10:10 ? Looks kinda interesting, more so than Twilight at least

[@triforceofevil]

Melpomenea i’m pretty sure it’s beautiful creatures

[@the_Melpomenea]

@@triforceofevil Thank you!

[@bellamartel7523]

hey i really liked the video, but you may not want to use Mel Gibson as the copyright strike protector. He has made some very anti-semitic remarks. He apologized but I wouldn’t want you cancelled in the future over something he did. Loved the video though keep it up!

[@andresacosta4832]

Pretty sure that's the joke? I don't know.

[@qine6559]

I read most of Ann Rice before Twillight. So I couldnt really understand the worldbuilding of Meyers at the time.

[@user-ok4xb1rd9f]

Pretty sure Mortal Instruments are based on Harry Potter and not Twilight.

[@trishtrash9339]

The twilight hate thing was such a strange thing. I'm glad my country wasn't that "public shamy" at the time, so i evaded most of the bs. Twilight was just a normal book for teenagers~ But suddenly ppl that never touched a book, where critics. That was so strange.

[@justabitofamug6989]

This is really patronising tbh. Not every YA fantasy romance is a twilight clone, YA fantasy existed before twilight and it exists after twilight. Also, just because you don't like romance doesn't mean its the 'worst thing to ever exist'

[@aaronexists4308]

I like the approach of this type of video; a more logical view than other channels would show.

[@thorshammer7883]

Can you videos about fantasy and sci fi stories good world building that are set up realistically to both their and our world? As well as stories that have incredible world building but the way it happened is probably questionable like Star Wars the Expanded Universe during the Old Republic era or Frank Herbert's Dune? I kinda find the Imperium of Dune banning robotic technology for more then 10,000 years to be a little questionable because by time of the first Dune book 10,000 years would pass and everyone from the times of the Thinking Machine would be long dead and the events back then would be not as well cared for by the Imperium's population. It would make for a interesting topic.

[@krazykookie23]

00:33 Ah yes, Monster high, the biggest Twilight Clone. XD /j

[@Terrafissa]

Hey, so, you mentioned shounen anime rarely having main characters who aren't male, but when you do it you show a group of shounen characters that includes, on the far right, Death the Kid, who is from Soul Eater. The main character of Soul Eater, though, is Maaka Albarn, who is a teenage girl. Might need to note/fix/edit that.

[@maadtee6281]

Its tends to be difficult to find female shounen main character in series some tend to be side characters or there as a "waifu" bait

[@Beto_Serrano]

Indeed, it can happen, but it's a rare happening.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

I'd say it is 70% make leads and 30% female leads.

[@westvirginiaglutenfreepepp7006]

This is the most well ackshually comment I've read in a while. What a nitpick

[@Terrafissa]

@@westvirginiaglutenfreepepp7006 Tell you what, come up with a better way to point out that he's got a mis-example here and I'll write that down and use that instead in the future. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. I didn't point this out because I think he's wrong about the point he's making or something like that.

[@furtado704]

Mel Gibson, copyright strike blocker, not the hero we wanted, but the hero YT deserves.

[@hocuspocus111]

BELLA IS PRO LIFE??? LMAO

[@alisa9040]

She had the option to get an abortion to survive. She nixed that option. Hence she is likely prolife.

[@elizabethviolet8448]

Mel isn't just James' guardian angel. He will protect you from copyright strikes as well, but only if you reply with "Save me, daddy Mel"

[@hannahbun]

rail me, daddy mel

[@hannahbun]

sorry autocorrect i mean save🙏🙏

[@MissAnglewolf]

The Vampire Diaries came out in the 90's, the vampire dairies did it first.

[@Littllebabydoll]

Vampire diaries came out before twilight. Fight me.

[@ptheorist4670]

Thank you for noting that there should be more romances targeted at boys, to help them understand and process their romantic feelings!

[@fullmetaltheorist]

Now I can say that I was here before this video blew up.

[@Hannah-xj5gs]

1:55 Oh no, Harry Potter is a Twilight clone.

[@timfrank7461]

I liked hush hush cant wait for your review on it

[@JamesTullos]

Then you should be happy sometime in December or January :)

[@samuelbarber6177]

Yeah, I don’t think men are typically jumping at the chance to read a specific romance, even ones aimed at them. The reason I say that, is many stories have romance, whereas Twilight is basically a romance with a twist. So, media mostly aimed at men does feature romance, it’s just not the main focus, see the James Bond films for instance.

[@spiderlily723]

Vapire Diaries came before Twilight. By a lot. ;0

[@slytheringingerwitch]

It's a bit like after Fifty Shades of Grey (another Twilight copy) the shelves were filled with so called BDSM novels. I prefer diversity.

[@trapadvisor]

I was pretty young when twilight came out and I loved watching the movies with my older sister then I’d talk shit about it with my little 4th grade friends at school

[@rottencandy2675]

7:16 smh, everybody is pointing out how Maka is the protagonist in Soul Eater, but is forgetting about Lucy from Fairytail.

[@yoongitrash2699]

She’s such a bad character tho, natsu grey erza and pretty much everyone else is a more meaningful character.

[@tompatterson1548]

Think of a Romance aimed at men or boys, alright: "Gawain and the Dame Ragnelle", "Amadis", Gawain and the Green Knight, a lot of chivalric tales about knights going out and killing monsters and rescuing madens.

[@millennial_fairy]

I wouldn’t exactly call TMI or tns shadow chronicles a twilight clone since the first book was released in 2006 or 2007 Before twilight became super popular . Another thing to note is how The concept , ideas and story lines in Cassandra Clares TMI Originated from a Harry Potter Au Fanfic that she wrote and published on FF back In the early 2000s. What’s odd was she was unfairly accused of plagiarize her own work which made no sense ? How can a writer Plagiarize her own creative work? plus , it’s fan fiction though I’m by no means bashing the genre lol. The shelter Chronicles cannot be classified as an urban and period supernatural fantasy since all books are set in the 21st-century or the past. (I. E infernal Devices which takes place in the late Victorian era and has steam punk elements ). It’s been a little while since I’ve read the series but it has place in my heart and I want to try and get back into reading the newer books

[@qine6559]

Buffy though. . . I loved it when I was a kid!

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

Same here. In fact in my teens I detested teenage drama. I found the characters stupid.

[@TabbyeLynne]

I still love it

[@AzharaSophie]

Cheers Mel

[@jasonutty52]

I will say that the Vampire Diaries series, not the book as that came first, resembles Twilight but only the pilot episode. The rest of the show is significantly different and far superior in my opinion. But still, not a great comparison. The only thing similar is it has vampires and romance, that's where the similarities end.

[@Enrobdoolb]

I remember I bandwagoned off of people hating twilight because it was a chick flick (without actually watching anything) Then I decided to watch them all on Amazon (prime) TV this year (June 2020) and guess who fell in love with the series 🥴 Brought all the books on August, finished reading all the books (incliding Midnight Sun) 2 months ago, and I feel bad I made fun of twilight back when it was at its most hype Point of story: be open minded before talking shit (I apologize for hating twilight back then, shit's dope af)

[@MIAsuxdonkey]

Twilight itself is a clone, taking something that’s already a hugely popular scenario in other cultures and introducing it to your own is still taking something that already exists and tweaking it to fit you

[@ladycarys3008]

I appreciate this. Thank you. It’s similar to why mgm musicals were so massive during the 1930s-1940s. Escapism from the depression and war

[@tathoiclassicalindianbollywood]

There is even a Twilight remake made for Indian TV (Pyaar ki yeh ek kahaani). It started with the same plot, but then went on to add a whole lot of different elements and plot twists, but it is still is the same premise of the points James mentioned. Even in 2020, some of the most famous and well-loved shows on Indian TV are Naagin (snake-woman and her shenanigans with human males), Yeh Jadu Hain Jinn Ka (Jinn magic with other elements), and before covid pushed it off-air, Nazar (similar to previous one mentioned but with Hindu mythology instead). Damn! This video really is gets to the heart of the "genre".

[@battleb0ng420]

mel gibson should be a vampire teen

[@Alias_Anybody]

Romance targeted at men? Either some version of harem or if wholesome and focussed on one partner usually only B-plot in an Action-Adventure, High/Low Fantasy, Space Opera or something like that. I can't deny that I personally also prefer option B, there's something wrong with you if you can do romance full-time.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

It doesn't have to be harem. But it rarely if ever, has a love triangle unless there's harem. And then there's a tacit settlement of all girls with one guy.

[@Alias_Anybody]

@@SergioLeonardoCornejo At this point "harem" is usually used the anime-way, specifically more for a love-dodecahedron, not actual polygamy.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

@@Alias_Anybody normally it isn't nearly as toxic. Let's be realistic. Most men won't be cool with a love triangle. We don't like reading that. You'll never see a man excited to see a romance story where the male lead is dealing with a love triangle in which he's one of the two guys. No male would want to read Twilight from the perspective of Edward or Jacob. The few who like that are filthy beings who like NTR.

[@Alias_Anybody]

@@SergioLeonardoCornejo Sure, but the love triangles, squares, pentagons, ... I'm talking about are usually very... polar, our MC and a bunch of girls. Occasionally there's some bi-action going on among the girls, but there's basically never another guy. Classic wish fulfillment.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

@@Alias_Anybody and yet still females do not have the same level of adverse response. It is biologically related.

[@DrGregoryHouseIT]

By these rules, the Roswell High book series has been ripped off by Twilight.

[@floevs7960]

What economic troubles did pre teen girls face back in 2008?

[@milesdavidson6920]

I think a big reason why teenage characters are so popular in general is that people in their early twenties can't really go on crazy adventures all the time. You can't spend the whole day hanging out with your friends if you still need to work to pay rent for your crappy studio apartment. That's why shows like Friends can seem unrealistic. Teenagers don't have to worry about work, money, food, or bills. They even have 2 months of the year where there aren't any responsibilities.

[@maggiedean5691]

One correction. Vampire diaries actually came out way earlier than twlight....

[@Cp-71]

This made me realise how close to this "genre" Neil Gaiman's Nevermore and Stardust are... this will anger a lot of people, won't it?

[@BlisaBLisa]

8:21 actual STAKES involved you say?

[@fr3nch246]

Vampire Diaries was published before Twilight, so tell me how it is a clone James

[@twistingdepths]

thank you Mel

[@тралльилитный-ь7я]

7:12 Funny you say that while showing a picture where the rightmost character is from an a shonen anime with a girl in the lead

[@calebthornblad1831]

Okay but beautiful creatures is awesome, like, the books