what is y'all's opinion on the first 2 acts of homestuck in comparison to the rest

[Cherry_Bugs_]

I've heard a lot of people say they're pretty boring comparatively, but as someone who hasn't finished act 2 because I have a -90 attention span stat, I have no idea lol

[Mandy]

I've never thought the first two acts were boring. There's less happening, maybe, but I found all the sylladex fuckery hilarious.

I'm guilty of this myself, but I really wish people wouldn't tell new readers the first two acts are boring. It's not really fair to the early writing, and it sets up expectations you're better off without. Yeah, there's a world of difference between Act 1 and Act 5. It gets less granular, the plot picks up. But it's not as sudden as that makes it sound, and it's better to watch it happen naturally than to be looking forward to the end of Act 2 specifically. But on the other hand, I have heard people say the end of Act 2 is what really drew them in, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[RoyalFiddle]

The first two acts are pretty much entirely different from the rest of the comic, but that's intentional, and is more of a gradual shift than anything else. The first two acts are wacky and pretty much forum adventure type fuckery, which is also used to introduce us to some of the main characters and really get to know them before we get into the drama filled narratives of the Trolls and Alphas. It's like a shift from what we assume to be the most important part of the narrative, the weird shit, to a more character driven and subversive piece about the nature of Coming of Age stories and Heroes Journeys as a whole

[Khiara]

I actually enjoyed the first 2 acts, as much as I enjoyed Hussie's other mspa works like Problem Sleuth, Jailbreak, and Bard's Quest. It's just unique. The unique storytelling styles are the key for those stories. As for Homestuck, I like retro video games and simulation games in general, so enjoying a narrative work with that kind of interactive and meta features was a new, mesmerizing experience for me. Bizzare, yet fun and interesting.

Yeah I also found reading those long-winded pesterlogs is tedious sometimes, but it shows up the characters in detail. Don't forget about the musics which kept me hooked to find out what would happen next.

So yep. Love Act 1-2 for the cute and funny introduction, and act 4-5 for the epic lores and twists.

[SbIUsedToKnow]

I enjoy them a lot! They have this sort of simple charm to them. Other than occasional bizarreness, it's a normal simple world with normal simple characters. There is a hint of "there is something bigger" looming in the background. I have a hard time saying "act x is better than y" because, well, every act has something in it that I like a lot, even if it's different.

[Generalrabogolfo]

the characters felt so real and like a believable group of friends. the sylladexs were funny (dave naming things was funny as fuck (wait was that act 2 or 3). all in all pretty good acts.

[eddie_morton]

they're my faves. got a lovely lighthearted whimsical feel

[Bahinchut]

They ROCK. I'm pretty sure Act 3 had some lame emotional shit in it so I quit around then. I hope the rest of the comic is as good as I remember!!!!

[rookie1978]

It's a dramatic tonal difference from the rest of the comic, especially acts 5 and 6. A lot of silly humor and wackiness, and game mechanics that ended up being way more interesting but still sidelined in effort to develop and introduce new characters nobody asked for time after time.

[overThinker]

it's difficult to impartially evaluate them, as i've been familiar with homestuck for so long now and i can't imagine what the experience of reading them would be like if i had no other knowledge of the story, but i feel that they're very sound as an introduction. john and rose's early interactions are witty and establish their personalities very well, specifically with the juxtaposition of john's zany dork shit and rose's smugness and micromanagement of the game as his server player. i personally love them, along with acts three and four.