A few years ago, I accidentally discovered the world of YouTube reactors. I totally did not know this was A Thing! At first, it was just an amusing way to spend 10 – 15 minutes watching other people discover old songs, etc. Honestly, I can’t remember exactly which reactor(s) I found out about first, but I think it was the twins reacting to something or another, back in the day Twitter was actually relevant.
Then I fell into the fandom rabbit hole of The Untamed and, as with any of my hyperfixations, I sought out Other Things, and found Noah, who was reacting to the entire series. She was fun & ridiculous and I enjoyed her takes.
Nowadays, since I’ve expanded my interests to other C-dramas, I’ve completely imbibed all the Kool-Aid and not only follow, but am a patron of quite a few reactors & even C-drama info channels.
My favorites (in no particular order):
* Marcus Here! (posts 3 times a week and gives us C-drama news and reviews)
* Gaywatch (I dived right in to Brittany’s reactions, am a patron & on her Discord. She’s amazing…and also, reminds me a LOT of myself back in the day!)
* Topher Reacts (covers music, dramas, etc. He’s loads of fun!)
* JustaLowly (covers all sorts of shows)
* Jeanet Henning (a recent add to my list)
What I love about reactors
It’s like being in the room with a friend, sharing a show/music/etc. Although I don’t live alone, I’m the only one in my house with these interests, so it’s kind of difficult to find the fannish glee I was used to sharing when I lived elsewhere & could attend fan cons. One of the brilliant parts about Gaywatch, in particular, as a patron, I can join in the Discord livestreams and watch along with Brittany and other fans. Sharing our own thoughts & reactions in the chat is a blast. Asynchronous discussions on social media are fine, but there’s really nothing like the immediate thoughts/feedback/squee of a bunch of fans together, sharing something at the same time – no matter that we’re all in different countries/time zones. I really missed this aspect of fandom.
Some days, when my brain is in weird weasels mode*, I can spend hours just watching my favorite reactors and immersing myself in fandom meta. Somehow, that feeds the part of me that needs to connect & be entertained all at once. I’m glad I’ve got that option.
Who are your favorite reactors?
*brain weasels = inability to focus, lack of executive function