There are many tropes in anime. Some are genre-specific, such as clichés commonly found in shonen anime, or character traits that are widely used for shojo protagonists. Others, however, are anime-wide and include things like visual tropes (the famous sweat bead or bulging veins symbol), comedic strategies (having a kinky character), or character clichés (the worker who always gets things done). .
These tropes are not always bad. Some of them are effective ways for the anime to deal with its plot and characters. However, many of these tropes are tired, overdone, or just plain off-putting.
10 It’s time for fanservice to go
Fan service is one of the most hated things in 2000s anime and now that fans are into the next era of anime, it’s time for fan service to go. From flashes of underwear to ridiculous yet suggestive outfits, fan service has found its way into almost every genre of anime.
However, as fans begin to worry about the objectification of characters, fan service becomes less and less desired to the point of becoming completely unnecessary and gratuitous. While it hasn’t faded from the anime just yet, it should be one of the next things to come out.
9 Genki girls feel past
One of the most rampant tropes for female characters is the “Genki girl,” which encapsulates characters who are energetic and hard-working, sometimes to the point of feeling ridiculous or unreal. Many anime in most genres have some form of the “Genki girl”, who fans can usually pick out of the crowd thanks to her relentless energy, her surprising optimism, and her work ethic.
The characters that fall into this trope are Ochaco Uraraka from my hero academiaemma from The Promised Neverlandand Sakura Kinomoto from card captor sakura.
8 The Shonen Protagonist Overly Optimistic and Able to Do Anything
Shonen protagonists have reached the era where having an overconfident and hopelessly optimistic character who can do anything with simple hard work has become overblown to the point of eye-rolling. Characters like of naruto Naruto Uzumaki perfectly embodies this overused trope/cliche. In many ways, these characters are the alternative to “Genki girl”.
The anime has started to remove this trope of characters or at least add unexpected twists to them. Characters like Tanjiro Kamado from Murderer of demons and Yuji Itadori from jujutsu kaisen fall into this trope, but not as closely as characters like Naruto.
7 Having too meek of female leads
The time of meek and insecure female leads is long gone. It’s a frustrating trope that is common in shojo anime. These characters are often praised for their meekness, and while they constantly need someone to save them, someone is always there to do just that.
However, newer anime is starting to move away from that trope and is starting to feature heroines who can save themselves or at least stand up for themselves when they are being bullied or mistreated.
6 Each protagonist appears to have dead or missing parents.
It’s hard to conceive of an anime character, especially in shonen anime, that has two living parents and they’re not missing. This is because many anime rely on killing or hiding a character’s family to motivate them or make it easier to send them on years-long adventures.
Not only does this trope feel lazy, it dehumanizes characters who are killed simply to motivate another character. Often these characters are women or children. There is more than just trauma and death that can motivate a protagonist to want to help the world.
5 Kinky characters aren’t funny anymore
A lot of anime uses perverted characters and jokes of a sexual nature to make people laugh and provide comic relief. Not only has it become stale, but it also feels creepy. Characters who endlessly comment on women’s bodies, try to spy on women when they’re naked, or constantly flirt with other characters are more annoying than funny.
While some characters, like Master Jiraiya from naruto, they can still play other big roles in a show, most aren’t, like Minoru Mineta from My Hero Academy.
4 Characters that are centuries old and look like children
For the most part, having a character look like a centuries-old child just feels like a way to justify creepiness. Viewers today are starting to see this trope as a huge red flag in anime and it says a lot for the writers of the series.
While it may be socially acceptable these days, it’s strange why it’s such a pervasive trope and needs to be let go as anime writers, mangaka, and directors move on.
3 Useless Female Characters In Shonen Anime Are Sexist
Shonen anime is known for giving audiences female characters who never do anything but cry and get captured or hurt. Sakura Haruno from naruto he was notorious for this. There is also no excuse for it, especially if the anime can write a good male character.
This problem is also beginning to disappear. anime like Murderer of demons (Shinobu Kocho and Nezuko Kamado) and jujutsu kaisen (Maki Zenin and Kugisaki Nobara) do a great job of giving fans strong female characters who get the job done and don’t feel like token characters for diversity purposes.
two The obsessions with the bodies of the characters are disgusting
Too many characters are obsessed with other people’s bodies in anime. From perverts like Minoru Mineta from my hero academiaconstantly talking about girls’ bodies or trying to spy on them, to other female characters obsessed with their friends’ bra sizes, anime is riddled with characters who can’t leave women alone.
As what constitutes good humor and what is socially acceptable begins to change, these tropes also begin to change, but until these moments are completely gone, fans should continue to call it out for the weak humor that it is.
1 The power of friendship and love to save everyone is old
Outside of anime intended for younger children, the idea that the power of friendship or love is what saves everyone is a tired concept. Works for anime like sailor moonbut for most of the anime, fans are already past that.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the trope, especially in anime aimed at younger fans, but in darker anime, like Murderer of demons or jujutsu kaisen, feels out of place. This often goes hand in hand with the awakening of a special power just in time to save someone the main character loves.
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