Even the most well-written anime can suffer from several problematic tropes that do more damage to the story than if they had been excluded in the first place. Tropes exist for writers to utilize to help tell their story while also being an easy way for audiences to identify certain plot or character choices. In short, tropes are kind of like blueprints or note cards for authors to use and viewers to easily understand.
However, not all tropes are created equal. Some tropes become so popular that they now oversaturate anime series while other tropes haven’t aged particularly well as audiences have refined their tastes and standards over time. Anime specifically uses a wide range of tropes that have become iconic in the medium, but not all of them deserve such use. Even including just a few problematic tropes can otherwise damage or ruin a 10/10 anime.
10
Anime Fan Service Consistently Turns Away Fans
Fan Service in Anime Rarely Justified & Too Often Overused
Over-the-top fan service that feels forced is all too common across the anime medium, particularly in the shonen and harem genres. While not every well-written anime will include outrageous instances of fan service, quite a few include such scenes from time to time. Although fan service comes in many varieties, female characters are most often the focus. For example, the Fire Force anime began centered around a unique setting and power system but ultimately suffered from the overuse of fan service.
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Forcing fan service for views also runs the risk of undercutting a character’s importance if their presence is reduced to a cheap gag repeatedly exploited by the narrative. It’s hard to take a particular character seriously if they are constantly used for the sake of comedy and fan service. Not only does fan service often reduce the scope of the character, but it also weakens the audience’s view of them, even indirectly.
9
Too Much Humor Minimizes a Story’s Emotional Impact
Poorly Timed Comic Relief Undercuts Dramatic Scenes
Comedy and tragedy are two sides of the same coin in storytelling. That much has always been true, but it’s up to the author to find a balance between the two. A comedy can have tragic elements and vice versa. However, when particularly important moments are interrupted for the sake of comedy, it does more harm than good to the plot.
Striking a balance is important, but choosing to include comedic elements always runs the risk of minimizing dramatic scenes. Shonen anime is a notable culprit as a genre known to weave comedy into the often serious nature of the narrative to create moments of respite. In certain circumstances, it succeeds, but comedy isn’t always the best choice if it downplays serious moments or weakens the overall narrative.
8
Undeserving Anime Characters Who Redeem Themselves
Horrible Villains Are Let Off the Hook Too Often
The redemption trope is common across the board in fiction, but it is incredibly prominent in shonen anime. This trope usually appears in anime in the form of irredeemable villains who find the good in themselves with the help of the hero. Shonen anime often employs this trope to redeem villains right before they die to tie a nice bow on their character arc and allow the hero to come across as understanding and likable. Still, not all villains deserve redemption, and those that do almost never achieve it without dying.
It’s much easier to redeem a character through death than actually having to write a realistic and slow redemption that feels natural. Take, for example, Obito Uchiha from Naruto. Obito quite literally ruins Naruto Uzumaki’s life and commits unspeakable violence in the name of world peace. In any other anime, Obito’s actions would be completely unforgivable, but Naruto does forgive Obito in the end after the former villain chooses to redeem himself with a sacrifice. Such a transformation is nice in theory but a very lazy practice.
7
Love Triangles Are a Tired Anime Trope
Love Triangles Trap Characters in an Repetitive Loop
Love triangles became extremely popular in Young Adult fiction and quickly spread into the anime medium. The love triangle trope has always been present in anime, but has grown increasingly popular. Now, the trope mostly exists to assert the conflict of choosing a romantic partner onto the main character. In most circumstances, love triangles do little more than tease a relationship that has zero chance of actually happening.
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Such characters are literal third wheels that only take away from the primary love interest for the sake of artificial drama and conflict. The trope is particularly aggravating when the secondary love interest is as interesting or more so than the lead. Overall, the love triangle trope is a cheap way for authors to create perceived moments of jealousy or fake stakes that only act as filler to the main romance.
6
The Protagonist’s Childhood Friend Never Seems to Win
Childhood Friend Characters Can’t Catch a Break
Like love triangles, the childhood friend is almost always a third wheel in a trio of characters. Obviously, depending on the anime, the childhood friend may actually be the main love interest. More often than not, though, they serve as a minor rival to the lead love interest who will pine over the main character and ultimately be shot down. While such instances can be realistic and have depth, anime overuses the trope so much that it’s practically a cliche.
The childhood friend is either the lead love interest or they are destined to lose — there is no in-between. These characters fuel love triangle fiascos and do little more than bloat the real romance between the leads. For this reason, the childhood friend usually gets second place or moves on to another supporting character to get paired up for the sake of artificial romance. It’s not always the case as there are exceptions to every trope, but any romance anime that uses this trope must tread carefully.
5
Some Overpowered Characters Win Too Easily
Powerful Characters Still Need Conflict
Overpowered anime characters are all the rage in shonen and isekai. From a power fantasy perspective, the appeal is obvious, but there’s a reason why Superman is now considered a boring hero. It doesn’t matter if a character is the strongest in the multiverse, if they lack weaknesses or flaws, they are boring — full stop. Anime likes to skirt around this issue by forever increasing the power scaling to allow villains to reach the same level as the protagonist. However, all this does is exacerbate the problem.
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An overpowered character doesn’t necessarily need world-ending stakes to create emotionally compelling conflict. The best overpowered character in any anime is one who has clearly defined weaknesses, or better yet, strengths that can be played up for the sake of the plot. The main character is a literal god? Great, hit them where it hurts and target the mortal they’re in love with. Or worse, make them the strongest character who’s still helpless when it matters most. After all, unless it’s part of their power, no one can be everywhere all at once.
4
Deus Ex Machina Resolves Major Conflict
Conflict That is Easily Resolved is Boring
The trope of Deus Ex Machina has been around since the days of Ancient Greek theatre. Literally translating to “Machine God,” Deus Ex Machina originally involved a god descending from the heavens to settle a conflict. In anime, the Deus Ex Machina trope is primarily used to wrap up a conflict out of nowhere at a story’s climax. Imagine it as a plot device that benefits the hero and emerges abruptly from nowhere at all.
For instance, it’s like receiving a massive boost in power for seemingly no reason during a final battle. Deus Ex Machina is present in some shape or form in practically every major anime. In Sword Art Online, Kirito gets a strength boost and beats a major villain even after his health level reaches zero. In Dragon Ball Z, Goku unlocks his Super Saiyan powers at a pivotal moment during his battle against Frieza. The use of Deus Ex Machina to suddenly solve a conflict is perhaps the laziest form of writing in anime.
3
Anime Plot Armor Takes Away From the Story
Plot Armor Only Works in Small Doses
Plot armor is notorious in shonen anime. Obviously, the main character can’t die or else the story will end. Still, the illusion of danger and consequence must exist for stakes to work and audiences to be captured by the conflict. It’s one thing when the main character barely escapes death, but when they remain unscathed after something dramatic happens to them, the logic of the anime series comes into question.
Anime gets away with overusing plot armor by making the protagonist extremely lucky as an actual plot point. Take Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece for example. During his adventure in Loguetown, Buggy the Clown captures Luffy for execution. However, lighting strikes just as Buggy swings his sword. The result? The platform is destroyed, but Luffy survives with no injuries. An act of divine intervention was the canon explanation, but fans know it was 100% plot armor.
2
Fake-Out Character Deaths Are Completely Unnecessary
Fake Character Deaths Ruin the Stakes & Break Fans’ Trust
Killing off a character is one of the hardest things an author can do. By forever eliminating a character from the narrative and taking them off the table, authors lose the infinite number of character interactions and narrative impact they could’ve had if they were still alive. Once a character dies, all those what-ifs are gone forever, which is why so many characters will seemingly be killed off for an emotional reaction from the audience, only to reappear later in the story.
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Writers want to have their cake and eat it too, but fake-out deaths only result in undercut stakes and broken trust. If a character supposedly dies only to come back later, audiences will become less invested and won’t believe in future deaths, which is a huge storytelling problem. Sure, a fake-out death may manage to emotionally resonate with fans in the moment, but the moment that character returns will undoubtedly be incredibly polarizing.
1
The Power of Friendship Is Too Powerful
Powering Up to Save a Friend in Danger Bores Fans
The power of friendship is a staple of anime, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing for the medium. In theory, the power of friendship is an emotionally resonant trope with a good lesson at its core since friends are extremely important to have, and groups will always be more powerful than an individual. Still, anime takes this lesson to the extreme by giving main characters an unearned power boost when their friends are in danger.
Fairy Tail is the worst offender of this trope. Natsu Dragneel becomes the most overpowered character in the anime for the sake of his friends. It doesn’t matter how tired or beaten he is; if Natsu’s friends are in danger, he will rise to the occasion and defeat anyone who stands in his way. This makes for a powerful moment to be sure, but it’s wholly boring once it becomes a pattern. Overall, anime can have the most nuanced and well-written stories imaginable but will ultimately suffer by including such problematic tropes.
