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5 Anime Tropes That Break the Rules of Fantasy Fiction


Anime has always provided us with unique, often weird stories that emerge from one simple question – what if? A lot of Japanese animation has supernatural or fantasy elements, and methods of conflict that couldn't be pulled off in other mediums. That said, there are lots of tropes in anime that defy the conventions of typical fantasy fiction writing, and lots of shows would fail for this reason if they were turned into novels. Even fantasy and sci-fi stories have to make sense and be believable for the reader or viewer to buy in to them, and in anime this simply isn't always the case.

There are definitely anime series out there that follow the rules of fantasy fiction, and would make excellent novels, such as Death Note and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. But other shows have epic battles or bizarre situations that are purely for entertainment purposes, and don't care to be limited by the accepted standards of fantasy storytelling. And there's nothing wrong with that. After all, those are often the shows that are successful. Still, I think it's really interesting to examine some of the tropes we've all seen in anime, and how they break the rules of fiction. So we thought we would present a list of 5 anime tropes that break the rules of fantasy fiction. Take a look!

  1. Kids Have All the Power and Freedom

    If you're a regular watcher of anime, you've no doubt seen this trope. A young kid, often in high school or even middle school, goes off on his own, without parental guidance, in order to spend months or even years traveling, fighting demons, or battling other malevolent entities. These stories may be entertaining, but with fantasy fiction, the protagonist has to actually have the freedom and means to go out into the world and change things. Fantasy novelist Brandon Sanderson says in his writing workshops that protagonists need to have the ability to “protag,” so to speak. So why are there so many kids in anime that can leave school indefinitely with no consequences? And where do their resources come from? Is Ash Ketchum from Pokémon getting paid to drop out of school to travel and collect the creatures? And if so, how can I get that gig? It's also alarming that Ash's mom would let a 12-year old boy wander the country with no supervision.

    These questions poke holes in the story and break the rules of fiction, but they don't even scratch the surface of the questions that people don't think about when they watch. For example, how does Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist have the intelligence and skills to become an elite member of the military at 15 years old? At the same time, FMA explains Edward's resource acquisition and travels better than most anime, and has some of the best storytelling I've seen in any show, period.

    Even though kids having ridiculous power and freedom doesn't make sense, we watch these shows because they are incredibly entertaining. Also, there's just something inspiring about seeing a young kid leading the charge to fix the world's problems. 

  2. Arbitrary Magic System That Makes No Sense

    If I had a dollar for every time I heard an anime character refer to his or her internal well of power as “magical energy,” or “spirit energy,” or simply “energy,” I'd be a wealthy man. These terms are often used to describe arbitrary magic systems in anime that attempt to give justification to a character's supernatural abilities. Take a look at any number of battle-oriented anime (Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fairy Tail, Bleach, etc.) and you'll see what I mean. Where does this internal magical energy stuff come from? I'm glad that Goku can shatter an entire mountain with an energy blast in Dragon Ball Z , but what is the price for such power? And how is the world not in an apocalyptic state of rubble? It just doesn't make sense.

    In fantasy fiction, the rules for magic systems or supernatural abilities need to be spelled out very clearly, so that the audience can understand the limitations and buy-in to the story. There has to be a price for magical power, otherwise the system just isn't believable. Brandon Sanderson is a great example, as he has some of the most well-crafted magic systems in fantasy right now. In his Mistborn trilogy, certain forces can be manipulated by ingesting flakes of metal. If you have no metal in your stomach, you're out of luck and can't use those abilities.

    Shows like Naruto seem to have random “recharge” times too for this energy. It seems like one day, Naruto will use up nearly all his chakra and get the crap beat out of him, but the next day he'll be totally back to normal. However, his chakra will also mysteriously deplete right before he's about to finish off an enemy. Seems legit, right? As unbelievable and rule-breaking as these magic systems are, the shows themselves are still great, and most viewers can just overlook these issues for the sake of entertainment. 

  3. Main Characters Are Nearly Invincible and Can't Die

    This trope is true of many forms of entertainment, not just anime. However, anime has more large-scale battles than other mediums, and characters generally get hurt more. In many anime series, main or major characters can't die, even if they've been punched straight through a mountain or pummeled into oblivion (I'm looking at you, Dragon Ball Z). It really seems like even the mortal, human characters in anime – like Natsu from Fairy Tail – are all basically Superman. This breaks the typical rules of fantasy fiction, because when a character has no weaknesses or is immune to death, the audience has no reason to care about what happens to that character.

    Not all anime shows are locked in to this trope, and even big shows like Naruto Shippuden sometimes kill off beloved characters. But from my personal experience with anime, I've found that main characters are almost never in real danger of being killed. Still, a lot of anime stories revolve around fighting, so it's understandable that they can't have the main hero killed in the first 5 minutes. I also think the other story elements outweigh this rule-breaking a lot of the time, especially in lighthearted shows like Fairy Tail

  4. The “Second Wind”

    I'm certain that if you've seen a popular anime show centered around epic battles, you've seen the “second wind” trope, which makes no sense from a writing standpoint. Often, when a character is beaten to a bloody pulp by an enemy, they have lost all their strength and reserves of magical power. However, after a few minutes of character monologues claiming “You can't win” and “I'll never give up,” the character magically regains all of his or her strength and energy, ostensibly by pure will alone. In fact, the character's power usually multiples a hundredfold during this second wind, and sometimes they inexplicably gain the ability to fly, breath fire, or something else of that nature. This happens all the time in shows like Naruto and Bleach, and is a trope that definitely breaks the rules of fantasy fiction.

    If Natsu in Fairy Tail had the capacity for twice the strength and intelligence that he was using to fight that dark wizard, why didn't he start out by using his full power? And how did he manage to find his second wind after being slammed into the side of a building at mach 5? Even though these are valid questions, it's important to keep in mind that the tone of the show doesn't require answers. Because even though it breaks fiction conventions, seeing someone launched into an exploding pile of rubble at the speed of sound (and surviving) is entertaining every time. 

  5. “Filler” Episodes That Have Nothing To Do With the Story

    Many longer anime shows are notorious for “filler” episodes, which are essentially episodes that are intended to fill space instead of progressing the story. Animation studios often do this when they have contractual obligations for episode counts but have either run out of story or want to just drag the show on for longer. Naruto is a staggering 40% filler, with about 100 episodes of unimportant fluff, including two lengthy arcs after the main conflict had ended. This wouldn't fly in any respectable fantasy novel, because the plot has to always be progressing towards the story's end. Imagine if George R.R. Martin wrote 5 chapters in the middle of Game of Thrones about how Jon Snow rescued a lost kitten that got stuck in a tree. It just wouldn't be acceptable. And yet, this sort of thing happens all the time in anime.

    Sometimes anime shows have random side-quests for filler episodes, and other times they have fourth wall-breaking recaps, but regardless, it's usually annoying. After watching episode 150 or so of Naruto, I stuck around incase there would be any significant plot progress, but it turned out to be 70 disappointing episodes in a row of boring filler.

    Sometimes it's actually fun to have a break from the main story every once in a while, especially in-between lengthy story arcs. And sometimes, filler actually lets you get to know the characters a little bit better, and can show you what they like to do in their down time when they aren't fighting epic battles or trying to save the planet.

    So there you have it: 5 anime tropes that break the rules of fantasy fiction. One of the great things about anime shows is that they often push the boundaries of the imagination and what types of stories can be told on TV. Sometimes this means they have to break the rules to create a compelling and entertaining show, but usually, viewers aren't put off by tropes that defy conventions. After all, these tropes are part of why people enjoy anime in the first place. Do you know another trope that clearly breaks the normal rules of fantasy fiction? Let us know in the comments below!

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