jajafar

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anime

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Are Reoccurring Plot Devices or Character Tropes a Turn-Off?

If a show contains traits or plot devices often seen across anime (eg. The Training Arc, The Overpowered Protagonist, Love Triangles) does that impact your enjoyment of it?

I think this Topic can be expanded to include any medium. In particular to anime though, I'm going to chime in and say that it's not the device/trope itself that's the issue. Everything needs to start somewhere, and it's impossible to create an entirely original character, plot, or setting, especially in a medium such as anime where almost everything is centralized and components are distributed like Lego pieces. The annoying part is refusing to deviate from a subset of characteristics that creates a boring element of a story. It's not how you start, but how you end. – Austin 9 years ago
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I feel like the tropes themselves aren't actually the main issue; it's the reliance upon them. Many times when a story is character driven, you can't depend on a trope alone to carry it; at that point you need to properly flesh out a character. I agree with Austin in that this can be extended to any form of media, with the new film "Inside Out" by Pixar being a prime example, in which the tropes are literally provided through the character's names, yet nothing is actually done to flesh said characters out. In returning to anime however, it is possible to rely upon tropes if the plan isn't to have the character's drive the story by themselves, but rather to drop said trope in a fantastic or awkward circumstance to flesh out it's performance in that situation, thereby lending more personality to the character. – JAYUCKSON 9 years ago
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I don't think tropes are bad - it's really how you use it. If you overuse it too much, of course it can get annoying, especially when the 'power of friendship' defeats some of the most fearsome villains. But in regards to creating a story, you do need to rely on tropes to populate the world, i.e having the rival, the best friend, the animal sidekick, etc. – YsabelGo 9 years ago
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I second jayuckson's assertions. The troops themselves are not an issue as they are part of human advancement and advancement of skill. The issue is that while there are tropes there aren't enough deconstruction of then to tell better stores for instance Madoka Magicka as a deconstruction of the magical girl genre and its many tropes. – fchery 9 years ago
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Looking at the website TV Tropes.org is a good example of tv tropves and where they are used. It might prove to be an enormous help for whoever decides to take this on. – SpectreWriter 9 years ago
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Probably the biggest thing to note with this is that tropes are useful only to a certain extent. Tropes exist for a reason - they keep coming back again and again because we, as a species, are interested in them. But tropes can only be interesting and dynamic and complicated when there's more than just the trope itself; when the character exists outside of the trope, or when the cliche is played around with. Community might be an interesting show to investigate with this in mind - it takes on a lot of tropes and genre parodies and tries (sometimes succeeding, sometimes not) to turn them on their head or do more with them. – kcecka 8 years ago
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Latest Comments

Jun 15, 2015 jajafar An interesting article. Unlike the author I haven’t read the autobiography so this was very educational. Although, it read more like a biography than a comparison or review.	The Wind Rises (2013): Separating Fact from Fiction
Jun 15, 2015 jajafar I have to agree with everything the author says. Mushi-shi is one of my all-time favourite anime. It’s calm aesthetic and great music track always put me in a good mood, so it’s my go-to show whenever I need some stress relief! Moreover, I never get bored watching it again and again. The second season was as great as the first one, and even had some of the minor characters from the first season come back. Can’t wait to see the movie!	Mushishi (2005) Review: Short Story-telling at its Finest
Jun 15, 2015 jajafar Have to agree with this list. Psycho-Pass S2 in particular was one I was sure couldn’t fail since the first season was so excellent. Unfortunately it was so good it could only go downhill…	5 Most Disappointing Anime of 2014