From Mortal Kombat to World Martial Arts Tournaments in Dragon Ball, Tournament arcs in shonen anime and other media tend to be incredibly popular. This particular trope doesn’t seem to bother anime fans as much as it does others, which may seem surprising at first glance..
But regardless, there are plenty of reasons, ranging from new characters to storylines and rivalries being resolved, why the tournament arc persists in shonen anime. This article will discuss the same.
Note: This article is the author’s opinion and will contain spoilers for the popular anime.
Why is the tournament arc popular in Shonen anime?
new characters
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<p>New characters are usually introduced in a tournament arc. These characters are often background characters in the future, sometimes unique. This usually means that they only have one bow to make a statement. This can be done in many ways in Shonen anime:</p>
<ul>
<li>Having an ultra-powerful opponent (Younger Toguro from <em>Yuyu Hakusho</em>)</li>
<li>Someone with a grudge against a main hero (Inasa Yoarashi/Gale Force<strong> </strong>against Shoto Todoroki in <em>my hero academia</em>)</li>
<li>Introducing a villain or a new hero (Team SSSN, NDGO, CVFY for heroes and Cinder join <em>RWBY</em>)</li>
</ul>
<p>Sometimes new characters will have a new design, awesome power/skill sets, or their own stories to tell that fans will eat up with enthusiasm. It helps a lot when these characters become part of the cast instead of disappearing into the background.</p>
<p>Tien and Piccolo became part of<em> Dragon Ball’</em>s following the Tournaments in which they debuted, <em>naruto</em>‘s cast was greatly expanded after the original Chunin Exams, and the <em>Mortal Kombat</em> Game series always have new characters to stick with in each new tournament.</p>
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<h3>the fights</h3>
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The main reasons tournament arcs tend to be so highly acclaimed in Shonen anime are the matchups/fights themselves. They are similar to wrestling matches that people will gladly pay to see live or on PPV, only animated! They tend to feature conflict without much character drama for people to pick up on.
It’s fun to watch the heroes fight against other featured heroes or villains who challenge the heroes.
Whether it’s a fun fight like Team SSSN vs. Team NDGO’s rwby, a titanic fight like Goku vs. jiren of dragon ball super tournament arc, the Tournament of Power, or an emotional fight like Deku vs. Todoroki from Shonen anime my hero academiaUA High Sports Festival.
The point is that fights generally tend to draw crowds. Goku fighting Jiren certainly did it in dragon ball superapparently inspiring the composer of Dragon Ball Super: Broly music to compose the soundtrack as a wrestling match based on the live event he attended where people were commenting on it as such.
The stories that surround them!
Stories around tournament arcs often interrupt them. Examples include the Vytal Festival of RWBY leading to Beacon’s Fall, by Yu Yu Hakusho The Dark Tournament is an excuse for bloodshed, and the original Chunin Exams lead to a massive battle between the Sand and Leaf peoples in naruto.
Sometimes stories happen within arcs, with heroes entering for whatever reason they want, such as money, fame, or adoration. The Chunin Exams naruto they had several dozen stories interspersed between them, such as Naruto vs. Neji after Neji almost killed Hinata or Sakura vs. Ino to settle their rivalry.
As a final statement about stories, they can have lasting effects on the characters who conquer them.
Examples are the deaths of notable characters like Penny during RWBY‘s VYTAL festival, MHA’s Todoroki’s bad blood with Endeavor started at the UA Sports Festival, and Sasuke’s betrayal of the Hidden Leaf of naruto started in the chunin exams.