Tainted by the Preview

Now, as with most arcade games of the time, a conversion to the home computer formats was almost inevitable. "Hurray!" we thought! "We can play Street Fighter at home!" Then we were told that it was going to be converted by Tiertex. There were no more hurrays.... —Stuart Ashen, the review of Human Killing Machine

Sometimes, hyping your project in advance is a double-edged sword. In the best-case scenario, you get people excited about the things that will be in your upcoming movie/show/game/media extravaganza, and early ads will build interest for when the work finally comes out.

And then there are the cases where the advance word results in a large amount of complaining. Tainted by the Preview covers all those instances where the would-be audience for something yet to come out immediately decides it detests something about it, based on a preview, and starts complaining about it. Vociferously.

Mind you, they have no idea whether or not yet it's actually worthy of complaint - the project in question might be over a year away. This doesn't matter to them; they need to proclaim immediately that the project in question is Ruined FOREVER.

While this can happen with brand-new projects, this most often happens with older series with established fanbases. A series with a Broken Base is nearly guaranteed to have some portion react this way; a previously-united fanbase might become one if this reaction isn't universal. Of course, it's always possible that this reaction will be universal whether or not the base is broken; the project can be in real trouble if that's the case.

Of course, there's always the possibility that the preview itself is poorly constructed.

This is a specific, pre-release version of They Changed It, Now It Sucks (although people Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch will sometimes carry this attitude if they manage to stay steadfast in their dislike of the project in question).

Fortunately, it's comparatively easy for anything falling under this trope to be Rescued From the Scrappy Heap - all it has to do is be better than people expected (and given how low the expectations are in many cases...). Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for the first impressions to be the right ones.

Contrast And the Fandom Rejoiced, although this trope can follow that one.

Examples of Tainted by the Preview include:

Anime & Manga

• Gundam:
  • Among the many Gunpla designs for Gundam Build Metaverse, the "Lah Gundam" (a Gunpla built by Rio Hojo) takes the cake for having the most uninspiring design for a customized kit. Even though it was meant to look like that, it's built and customized by a beginner like Rio; this Gunpla makes Kyoshiro's modelling skills and his Perfect Gundam from Plamo-Kyoshiro look good in comparison.
  • Since its reveal, Mobile Suit Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance has received multiple scorn from long-time (generally English-speaking) Mecha/Gundam fans for a variety of reasons, such as:
    • The mobile suit designs, which were created by Kimitoshi Yamane and included hand-drawn concept art, received little to no appreciation from fans due to their "Westernized" greebly designs, especially the Gundam EX. Some fans even suspected that the designer used AI to generate the units.
    • The reveal of one of the show's writers is Gavin Hignight, who is involved in (a single episode) of Gen:Lock, a show infamous for its stigmatization regarding its focus on the characters instead of the mechs.
    • The designs of the Zeon pilots, especially the female characters like Iria Solari, have received substantial criticism from fans. This is likely due to their generally unpopular undercut bob hairstyle, which is frequently used on female characters in various Western media.
• The initial announcement of Nio Nakatani's new manga, Kimi wa Shuumatsu (My Beloved Apocalypse), has drawn considerable negative reactions from (primarily overseas) Yuri fans of her previous work, Bloom into You, once it was labeled as a "Supernatural RomCom about a boy (Yutaka) meets girl (Aru)" story. While many acknowledge Nio's ability to write in various genres and noted that she has already done the Yuri genre as intended, some within the fanbase question the potential success of her new manga, as they feel Bloom into You is what initially established her popularity with them.
• "Bâan - The Boundary of Adulthood", an 18-minute anime short also written by Garnt Maneetapho, also known as Gigguk, which has sparked discouragement among his detractors, especially when they still remember his previous seven-year-old statement regarding the declining status of the Mecha genre. In addition, the short incorporates the often oversaturated Isekai genre, and the director of the anime short is none other than Yoshimitsu Oohashi, the director of Rozé of the Recapture, which is viewed as the worst entry for the Code Geass franchise.

Asian Animation

• Despite the unsurprisingly xenophobic reactions from the Western community, many English-speaking anime fans appear somewhat uninterested in Call Up Girls (呼唤少女), a TV anime produced in China. This lack of interest may stem from the show's adherence to the somewhat saturated slice-of-life genre commonly found in Japanese anime. Additionally, some viewers speculate that the series might contain mild-to-no yuri subtext involving the characters, particularly given the country's historically conservative stance.
• The English dub of The Super Cube (超能立方 超凡篇), an animated adaptation of the Chinese manhua of the same name, has faced significant backlash from viewers as iQIYI, the show's producers, used AI-generated voices for the dub track, which results in flat and unexpressive voice lines.

Comics

• The cover variant for the 13th issue of Transformers (2023) has faced widespread criticism from Transformers fans. This is due to the fact that the artwork is done by Francesco Mattina, an Italian comic book artist who has been accused of plagiarism. Additionally, Mattina recently used AI-generated imagery for DC Comics' Action Comics #1069.
• The Spider-Verse series is known for its confusing plot, and the recent reveal of Spider-Verse VS Venomverse has only added to readers' disappointment and frustration. Many fans are tired of the Multiverse storyline and were hoping for something different from the latest comic book entry, or just continue to recommend older Earth-616 based or the 2024 Ultimate Spider-Man comics instead.

Film

• The backlash to the title character's appearance in the trailer for the live action Sonic the Hedgehog film was so universally negative that the production company pushed back its release from 2019 to 2020 in order to completely redesign the character.
• The 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters had a first trailer so atrocious, it gave people with misgivings about its Gender Flipped franchise reboot nature even more reasons to preemptively dislike the film, opening the door to a public opinion controversy that degenerated into a full war-of-the-sexes and which eventually damaged the reception of the film when it was finally released.
• While the reveal of the untitled live-action Gundam movie produced by Legendary Pictures didn't make some fans doubt enough, the recent reveal of the movie being pushed to Netflix had already tainted some of the fans' cautious optimism given the production company's notorious track record with butchering their adaptations of Anime/Manga (actually distributing) the 2017 Death Note film adaptation.
  • This was later averted as Jordan Vogt-Roberts (of Kong: Skull Island fame) is directing/producing the movie. However, it doesn't stop some fans highly doubting whether Jordan and Legendary would pull a Michael Bay on the film's production.
  • The general negative reception of Netflix's other shows (The second season of Ultraman (2019) and Pacific Rim: The Black) only further raises EVEN MORE worries from the long-time fans.
• Chinese Doctors (2021): A film about front-liners who're fighting for their patients' lives is an interesting concept, but the fact that the film's release also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party does not bode well to the international audience, but let's leave it at that.
• Sony's Spider-Man Universe:
  • The reveal of the Kraven The Hunter film (2023), originally meant to be a Marvel Cinematic Universe character to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, has led fans to doubt whether the movie would succeed if it doesn't feature the titular web-head himself (who is one of his famous preys in the comic).
  • Of all the films based on obscure Marvel characters, the "El Muerto" movie starring the titular character, has also led to a lot of fans to question whether Sony is actually going to the right direction after the critically-negative Morbius. Fortunately, much to the joy of the fans, any possiblility of this movie has been permanently shelved since June 2023.
• The reveal of Tron: Ares may have heightened many of their fans' hopes, but the additional reveal of Jared Leto being part of the main cast has pretty much divided many people, given his infamy regarding his status behind the scenes and his critically panned roles such as the DC Extended Universe's Suicide Squad film and Morbius.
• The Disney movie Strange World made fans quickly groan with its first trailer, revealing a strained relationship between its hero Searcher and his father Jaeger, which led to fans thinking generational trauma would be a new trend for Disney movies in the 2020s, much like the "twist villains" of the 2010s.
• Godzilla fans (primarily the Japanese circles) were first divided by the reveal of Godzilla Minus One due to Takashi Yamazaki helming the director's chair, as he is once infamous for his involvement to the Dragon Quest anime film. This was ultimately subverted after the film's release had positive reactions from both critics and fans.
• The reveal of "Who Said Death Was Beautiful? (死が美しいなんて誰が言った)", a 2023 zombie anime film adaptation of the novel of the same name by the late Rika Hirotsu, is immediately lambasted by nearly all of the viewers for its choppy motion capture and usage of the not-so-refined 3D models for the characters. The biggest offender, however, is the fact that the film features multiple backgrounds created from AI-Generated imagery via Stable Diffusion.
• While many fans are eagerly anticipating the release of the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine movie, some have become discouraged after learning that Zeb Wells, known for his work on the 2022 The Amazing Spider-Man comics, is one of the co-writers. Additionally, the revelation that Vanessa is Deadpool/Wade's ex-girlfriend in the movie has led some to believe that Wells was responsible for this decision.
• Spellbound, a 2024 animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film, received backlash due to John Lasseter's involvement as the producer and the supposedly alleged use of AI generation for its production (due to the somewhat lack of emotion for the characters), discouraging many potential viewers.
• Fans who were hoping for a sequel to the 2012 film "Dredd" are disappointed to learn that Taika Waititi, the director famous for Thor: Ragnarok and, infamously, Thor: Love and Thunder, will be directing the new film. While it remains unclear whether this project will be a sequel or a new reboot, many fans are concerned that Waititi’s approach to Judge Dredd may replicate the tonal inconsistencies seen in his recent work, particularly following the mixed response to Love and Thunder.

Literature

• Many readers, particularly Tokusatsu fans who were former Power Rangers fans, were shocked by the release of Tidalwave Productions' 22-page comic book, "Fame: Haim Saban - The Visionary Behind Power Rangers." This book details Saban's career both before and after the franchise gained popularity, and it was published amid ongoing controversy surrounding Saban's Zionist views. To add more insult to injury, the book refers to him as a "Visionary" as mentioned on the title.

Live-Action TV

• Kamen Rider:
  • While Kamen Rider Zeztz initially generated excitement among international fans due to its simulcast in several countries, including the United States, the enthusiasm generally diminished when people began to notice the show's apparent use of generative AI for certain backgrounds, which were presumably intended to recreate the dream sequences.

Msic

• Though the reception for QUBIT's "Mr. Sonic" song was generally positive, its official music video was an entirely different matter. as many of its fans were appalled by the video's usage of AI-generated imagery. To further rub salt to the wound, the MV's like-to-dislike ratio is nearly imbalanced, which zig-zagged between 1,196 likes and 1,343 dislikes as of late December 2023.

Toys

• Gundam:
  • While some actually understood that this was meant for the younger audience, Bandai America's Gundam Infinity figures (released in 2021) has led a lot of fandom scorn due to (what the prototypes depict,) it's gashapon/candy toy-like (or alternatively: bootleg-ish/a McDonalds Happy Meal-like) build quality that is sold under the $12.99 pricepoint. While the lineup also reveals a Build-A-Figure marketing strategy, the most baffling part of the reveal is that they chose the MS-06F Zaku II, a mass-production unit of all things, as one of them. Ironically, the BAF would later get a fully-assembled repack for China's markets.
• The reveal of Armored Core collaborating with Bandai's 30 Minutes Missions kits had made some of the long-time plastic model builders to doubt whether the line will also change the complexity of the design aesthetics (while adding the signature 30MM hardpoints) from the original. On the other hand, the builders wished that they would materialize the units (in their original designs) as a High Grade model kit line instead.

Video Games

• The release of the Mobile Suit Gundam IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS Urdr-Hunt game, where it expands the story and Mobile Suits (akin to Mobile Suit Variations, aka "MSV") between the first and second seasons, had made a subset of the viewers (which include long-time fans) to unable to look forward to it's release, due to the TV Anime's controversial second season.
• The announcement of a new entry in the Lollipop Chainsaw game in 2025, along with its upcoming anime series, is exciting at first, but the further reveals of the new developers' attempts to position the game as anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and the absence of key figures like Goichi Suda (Suda51), filmmaker James Gunn, and the video game developer Grasshopper Manufacture as part of the development team have dampened any enthusiasm for it.

Web Original

• When the collaboration was first announced, many Tokusatsu fans were somewhat uninterested in Ninja Kidz working with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to create an original web series, which is largely because companies like Hasbro and Playmates had often oversaturated the market with merchandise from the first season of the original MMPR. While the viewers were likely to give the series a chance, especially since it features Jay Sullivan, also known as TokuJay, as the designer for the Rangers' suits, any of the fans' possible second chance on watching the web series immediately waned after the first teaser revealed that the show uses Generative AI for most of its effects, including the Rangers' Megazord. This prompted many fans to suggest that newcomers and long-time fans alike should check out Super Sentai (which includes the currently-running No.1 Sentai GoZyuger at the time of its release), the source material for Power Rangers, instead.

Western Animation

• The way Q-Force was executed did not sit well with LGBT crowd or its supporters, as the trailer heavily focused on the comedic stereotyping of LGBT people.
• Those who were excited with the upcoming 7th season of Totally Spies! had their hopes immediately went out the window after Jennifer Hale, aka Sam's voice actress, reveals that she (and the rest of the voice actors) has been replaced due to the company unwilling to pay union rates.
• An episode from the third season of Marvel Studios' "What If...?" titled "Go-Avengers: Heroes of the Gamma War" includes a sequence where eight heroes combine their mechs. However, the preview of this sequence received significant backlash from long-time mecha fans, who criticized it for being slow, bland and generic compared to the more engaging sequences from various Japanese media.