I've discovered that I have very little patience for stories that rely on a surface characterization to carry the plot along. That is, characters who have some humorous interaction with each other due to their conflicting personalities, or whose obnoxious but loveable personalities keep the plot interesting. The characters are often referred to as "comic reliefs," but I usually find that writers who include them stop at the caricature of what a "comic relief" is supposed to be: funny, but endlessly loveable.

It isn't an issue I have with chosen personalities, since all personalities can be written well by an effective writer. The issue is the author relies on the personality as a mere plot element and never cares to take it further, never bothering to understand the underlaying workings of said character. The same goes for relationships between characters. Relationships are usually set up as plot elements with the idea of tension in mind: either sexual or personal. I'd use Love Hina as a good example of this, wherein the plot is dragged on so that two characters who are hilariously and awkwardly thrust into sexually tense situations can finally admit their love for each other. Again, it isn't the relationship or even the conflicting personalities, the humor, or the awkward sexual tension I'm necessarily against. It's the reliance on these elements, and these elements alone, to carry the story that bothers me.

Writers who rely too heavily on surface humor without bothering to go deeper into the human condition, or at least their characters' inner workings, offer little in value to me.