Don't Like, Don't Look

“Don't Like, Don't Look” (嫌なら見るな, Iyanara Miruna), also translated as “If you don't like it, don't look!”,¹⁾ is an argument that was meant to counter criticism, but it has since been used to satirize both the fans and the haters, despite the implications and nuance.

Summary

The statement asserts that criticism wouldn't exist if the hater did not see it, even though it can be out of their control, but it can also be used to point out the presence of haters, long-term haters,²⁾ or trolls in the thread. Regardless of intent, the statement will invite hostility as it does nothing to deescalate a situation, and the user may be called arrogant for it since 'don't look' can easily be misconstrued as 'don't criticize'.

Arguments against

Despite the popularity of bandwagon hatred, it's considered bad form to criticize something without looking at it, thus why people who give baseless critique are told to actually look at it. However, when you give valid critique after looking at it, being told that you shouldn't look if you didn't like it would feel bewildering, especially if you looked at it first-hand instead or partake in hate-watching.

「Don't like, don't look!」　→　　　 Criticize w/o looking
　　　　　　　↑　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　↓
Criticize after looking　　←　「Don't criticize w/o looking!」

Arguments for

On the other hand, the statement does carry some validity. If the work has divisive or sensitive elements and it sufficiently warns you about it beforehand,³⁾ you'd look like a complete idiot for complaining. In addition, the concept of 'hate-watching' doesn't make any logical sense, and a better question to ask would be “why are you finding things to be angry about?” or “why are you *making up* things to be angry about?”

Text artwork

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ヽ人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人ノ
　　　　　　　　 ／￣(Ｓ）~＼　　＜　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＞
　　　　　　　／ ／ ∧ ∧＼ ＼＜　 DON'T LIKE？　DON'T LOOK！ 　＞
　　　　　　　＼ ＼( ﾟД,ﾟ ) /　/＜　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　＞
　　　　　　　　 ＼⌒　　⌒　/　　ノ Y´｀Y´｀Y´｀Y´｀Y´｀Y´｀Y´｀Y´｀Y´｀Yヽ
　　　　　　　　　　）_人＿ ノ
　　　　　　　　　 /　　　　/
　　　　　 ∧＿∧ ■□ （　　　　）)
　　　　　（　　　； ）■□ ￣￣ヽ
　　　γ⌒　　　⌒ヽ ￣￣ﾉ　 ﾉ
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣|

　　　　　　　　　　　 ∧＿∧　　　　<　　 DON'T LIKE？
　　　　　　　　　 , -（´Д｀# ）- ､ ､ <　　DON'T LOOK！
　　　　　　　 　 /　　　　 　　　　 ）　 YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
　　　　　　　　./　λ　 　　　/　/
　　　　　　　 .〈　 〈　〉　　　/　/ "
　　　　　　　.゛ ヽ　ヽ∧∧/　/〃　　　　　　　　＿＿＿＿＿＿
X⌒X⌒X⌒　.／＼ つと　ノ ＼　X⌒X⌒X⌒ll 二二 l 二二 lll
i二二i二二i／　 ／ し　J　 ＼　＼二i二二i ／＿＿／＿＿／ll
　　　　　　〈　　〈（（ .～　l　））　〉 　〉　　　　ll,＝＝ ll, ＝＝ll,"ll
　　　　　　　＼　＼　し^J　 ／　／
　　　　　　　ヾ ＼　＼　　／　／
　　　　　　　　　(⌒　 ） （　⌒)

　　　（　 Don't like, don't look... 　）
　　　　`～～～○～～～～～～'
　　　∧＿∧　Ｏ
　　 （ ； ﾟДﾟ）o
　　 /　　　　ヽ
　　 |　　　　　/⌒ヽ ⌒ヽ　　　　　 　＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
　　 |　|　 　 / v 　|　∧＿∧　 　／I took the trouble to see you today, ＼
　　 |　| 　　/　|　　|（ 　　　 ）　＜　but your body, is seriously disgusting！|
　　/　|l.　　 　 |　　|⊂ 　　　）､＿＼I don't understand who'd like this！ ／
⊂とノヽ ＿＿人　 l、（＿_つつ_＿） ￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣
　　　　　　　　　（__＿）

Notes

For curiosity reasons, the Chinese translation is 'Don't Like, Don't Enter' (不喜勿入, Bùxǐ Wùrù).
Compare it to similar work-related statements like 'Don't Like It? Quit' (嫌なら辞めろ, Iyanara Yamero) or 'Unmotivated? Go Home' (やる気がないなら帰れ, Yaruki ga nainara kaere).

External links

Don't Like, Don't Look on the 2ch AA Illustration Project
Don't Like, Don't Look on Pixiv Encyclopedia
Don't Like, Don't Look on Niconico Encyclopedia

ascii

¹⁾

The phrase may be rendered as “If you don't like it, then don't look at it”, “If you don't like it, don't look at it”, “If you don't like it, then don't look”, “If you don't like it, don't look”, etc.

²⁾

In the Japanese internet, the term, 'nenchaku' (粘着, lit. “adhesive” or “sticky”), describes a 'long-term hater' that will haunt a specific subject to hate on it, often reigniting past arguments and controversies. It is distinct from trolling as they harbor a vendetta, relieving stress or leaving their footprint by making others around them uncomfortable, which means that ignoring them will not work and moderators would have to step in.

³⁾

With the internet, there are community-driven resources like Does The Dog Die where people report if certain media potentially contains discomforting, problematic elements.

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