Anime tropes you like

Sep 5, 2011 4:49 PM

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Aug 2010

8188

I've seen threads about annoying ones but not ones we like.

I'll start with opening songs getting played at the series climax.

fuck everything and rumble

Sep 5, 2011 4:56 PM

notsureifsrs

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Dec 2010

5711

EDs that begin before the episode ends.
Changing the OP animation occasionally to fit eps/last episode etc.

And haters gonna hate but I love harems. Mostly to satiate my pathetic wish fulfillment fantasies.

Sep 5, 2011 4:57 PM

removed-user

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Jul 2018

561790

People actually like anime?

I thought the whole point was to complain about it.

Sep 5, 2011 5:00 PM

Suzune-chan

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Jun 2009

15934

AnnoKano said:
People actually like anime?

I thought the whole point was to complain about it.

Watching something gives you the right to complain about it.

I have to admit to enjoying the trope Glasses come off. This is when a character who wears glasses takes them off and then they achieve at a higher level, an example is in Saki.

Where there is no imagination there is no horror. || Arthur Conan Doyle || Happy Halloween!

Sep 5, 2011 5:02 PM

Mika_Inamori

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Dec 2010

1300

The strong, smart, class/student council bishoujo president girl archetype. Even better if she has a fan girl following. The moe girls.

Sep 5, 2011 5:05 PM

IllegalCyrus

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Jun 2011

934

I'll be using a TV Tropes one.
Taking a Level in Badass- Simon is my all time favorite character for how dynamic his character is. He went from wimp to a fucking badass.

Sep 5, 2011 5:32 PM

z4yd

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Apr 2011

550

notsureifsrs said:
EDs that begin before the episode ends.
Changing the OP animation occasionally to fit eps/last episode etc.

And haters gonna hate but I love harems. Mostly to satiate my pathetic wish fulfillment fantasies.

This, I love when the anime ED plays right before the episode actually ends.

Sep 5, 2011 5:45 PM

Infinite

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Mar 2011

9988

I like moments of Awesome, not necessarily in shounen when some guy swipes his sword and the world explodes, but when a fairly bog standard character just does something incredible. This is usually made better when the character has been made out to be a bit of a butt monkey, only for them (usually at the end of the series) to do something amazing. That always brings a smile to my face.

Sep 5, 2011 5:45 PM

Jack_Rav

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Dec 2010

874

I like when a series actually ends, rather than go on for ever....

I also like the ED-before-the-end thing, but only for really powerful/climatic scenes. (I loved it in S;G)

Sep 5, 2011 10:15 PM

#10

itsthatguy

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Mar 2011

569

The timing on the music can make or break an awesome moment in anime history I feel, plus it always makes the last episode stand out and kind of reminds you of everything you'd been through up to that point in the series.

Also, side characters who unexpectedly do something badass or awesome that randomly makes you suddenly love them and opposing sides working together to fight the "Big Bad." I always think it's cool when enemies come together to fight along side each other.

KeiranShikari said:

I'll start with opening songs getting played at the series climax.

Instantly makes me think of Gurren Lagann, made the last episode 10x more exhilarating for me.

Harems don't exist in America. If one guy is constantly surrounded by beautiful girls, then he's probably the gay friend.

Sep 5, 2011 10:40 PM

#11

Pizzaholic

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Nov 2008

2524

I like it when, uh... let's see... Oh! When a character... meh, never mind. I don't have any ^_-

Sep 5, 2011 10:48 PM

#12

Rezurrekt

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Dec 2010

2712

I love it when the song for the ED plays near the end of the episode while suspense builds up and it cliffhangers off into the actual ED.

Sep 5, 2011 11:00 PM

#13

DateYutaka

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Mar 2011

25102

good old proper ani son style music [ if you wnat to talk music]
when a show makes t calre who going to be who's rivel

"If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine"

When the union's inspiration through the workers' blood shall run
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one
For the Union makes us strong

Sep 5, 2011 11:17 PM

#14

null_user

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Sep 2011

401

Gotta love the tropes.
Very probably the 'Cute Little Fangs'.

Needs more LOL-Fang-Tan

Sep 6, 2011 12:12 AM

#15

Nyuu3

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Nov 2008

1340

"Ara, ara".

Sep 6, 2011 12:50 AM

#16

thisiodfkln

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Jul 2010

384

Ambiguous endings

western stuff has a tendency toward providing closure everywhere. I guess it's not anime only, more an eastern philosophy thing. Good anime is fine ending with some potential left. Not all questions are answered, you know there'll be problems ahead, but they're still alive. Well, sometimes alive anyway

Sep 6, 2011 1:47 AM

#17

Ston3_FreeN7

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Jun 2009

15319

notsureifsrs said:
EDs that begin before the episode ends.
Changing the OP animation occasionally to fit eps/last episode etc.

This. Nana, for example, had scenes at the end of nearly episode that was so much more dramatic because of the music. And, City Hunter is another good example of how effective this can be.

I like Ambiguous ending, if done right, as well like End of Evangelion for example.

"Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job."

- Geralt of Rivia

Sep 6, 2011 1:48 AM

#18

DateYutaka

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Mar 2011

25102

Ambiguous endings = Read the mANGA

Sep 6, 2011 2:18 AM

#19

yunn

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Mar 2010

259

ED songs starting before the ED actually starts
Songs that are "coming back" (for example The World God only knows season 2 ending with the first season's OP)
Fang-tan
Red eyes (Suzutsuki Kanade, Miyanagi Saki), sometimes Heterochromia
From TV Tropes, What do you mean it's not awesome? and Crowning Music of Awesome

Sep 6, 2011 2:22 AM

#20

notsureifsrs

Offline

Dec 2010

5711

yunn said:
ED songs starting before the ED actually starts
Songs that are "coming back" (for example The World God only knows season 2 ending with the first season's OP)
Fang-tan
Red eyes (Suzutsuki Kanade, Miyanagi Saki), sometimes Heterochromia
From TV Tropes, What do you mean it's not awesome? and Crowning Music of Awesome

Oh yes. Bringing back a piece from the beginning after a lot has changed is amazing.

Sep 6, 2011 2:26 AM

#21

Zalis

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Jun 2007

4126

In no particular order. Some of these aren't exclusively anime tropes, but they do show up in a lot of them...

Moe, Tsundere, Luminescent Blush, Theme Music Powerup, What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome, Narm Charm, Unwanted Harem, Zettai Ryouiki, Humongous Mecha, Heroic Sacrifice, Verbal Tic, Panty Shot, Idiosyncratic Episode Titles, Magical Girl Warrior, Katanas Are Just Better, and surely more.

Everything that connects to MAL

Contains Ecchi, but not Tagged Ecchi: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Sep 6, 2011 2:54 AM

#22

removed-user

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Jul 2018

561790

I love those nonsensical catchphrases (Uguuu, Niippah, Gao, Da-Geso etc)

And yeh count me in for using OP/ED themes in important moments of a show aswell.

Wouldn't call this an anime trope, but I like there are a number of shows that begin light hearted then become darker and more dramatic as they go on (Welcome to the NHK, Great Teacher Onizuka, Kanon 2006, Clannad.)

Or shows that just have a tonal shift in them (Higurashi, Madoka, Trigun, Evangelion, Bebop)

Sep 6, 2011 3:46 AM

#23

Rosa_FOEtida

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Nov 2008

7012

Wait, nobody has said mind screw yet? Yup, that's probably one of the tropes I have liked most consistently among anime.

I also tend to like those ridiculous daydream sequences and imagine spots when they are used for comedy. You know, like the ones that Osaka and Ringo Oginome have.

Current FAL Ranking + Previous best::

[

Sep 6, 2011 8:13 AM

#24

ribbon045

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Aug 2011

116

When they play soundtrack version of OP or ED themes in middle of the anime. Actually, playing OP/ED theme itself is also nice during dramatic scenes or battle scenes.

Jun 10, 2012 12:07 AM

#25

OminousWrex

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May 2010

5840

Reviving thread.

Note: Tropes I dislike but still manage to support the tropes I like or are related to them will be underlined but not bolded.

Personal favorites are...

Deconstruction and Deconstruction Fleet
Probably my favorite trope of all. I love to be pleasantly surprised. Cliches are good, but new and fresh are better. Now that humanity seems to lost all its skills for bringing new ideas/genres to the table, all that's left is this fun little genre spawned from the desperation to be creative. This is often associated with my second favorite trope...

Wham Episode

"TVTropes" said:
"When a series is already successful, and the writers decide to do this, it's very risky. The writers are making a bold move and risking losing a lot of their fans. The writers have balls. You might even say they have canon balls."

Pretty much the reason why I love wham episodes. The writers dare to shock us with something potentially threatening to the marketing of the series (Madoka as a healing anime, for example). Not all wham episodes are good, I understand that, but like I wrote with the above trope, I love things new and fresh. Or rather, to correct myself, I love the adrenaline gained when something unexpected occurs in the most dramatic fashion ever conceivable by my imagination. That's why, my next favorite trope is...

Serial Escalation
How much wilder and crazier could Gurren Lagann get with each episode? How much more over-the-top action could the writer think of? WE WANT MOAR!

While on one hand, I really enjoy serious anime with deep controversial issues that make me question my logic and reality, and while I enjoy serious characters with realistic issues and gratifying character developments, there are times when I just want to let myself go and pump up my adrenaline level Up to Eleven (also another trope, albeit more constrained). In short, brainless fun is f-ing fun.

Currently, Mirai Nikki, with a wham episode happening at the end of every episode since episode 8, is a terrific example, so far. Haven't seen an anime as exhilerating since the first half of Death Note.

Now let's move on to the more serious tropes.

Despair Event Horizon
Basically, one of the reasons why I love Higurashi. Sometimes, some people just want to watch the world burn. Not the world that's already burned, not the world that's already turned to toasty crisp beyond repair, but the burning of the world itself. It's the suffering that's more exhilerating to this kind of people - and I am that kind of person. To have my mind thoroughly f-ed up by the wham fact that there's no happy ending waiting at the end of the tunnel, I just love that kind of feeling.

A trope that strongly supports this is It Gets Worse, but this trope is so generally used even in the most light-hearted anime that I can't honestly say I like the trope itself more than the impact it brings to tragic anime.

But there's another reason why I love this trope so much.

Earn Your Happy Ending
Note: This is not a trope I like. Rather, it's more of a foundational support for the above trope, DEH. It makes DEH feel better, when at the end of the tunnel, at the end of the despair, the characters you love finally have their suffering ended. That's why Higurashi Kai felt so gratifying. That's why DEH is so gratifying. Because when the pain is bigger, the eventual recovery is just as big and satisfying as well. Compare with and contradicts against Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy.

However, it requires yet another ingredient to make it feel good...

Rule of Empathy
I had a lot of trouble finding an appropriate trope for this one.

Character. The most important part of any good story. Forget the plot. Forget the setting. Forget the ten million dollar special effects and explosions. Character. That's all that's important.

You could have the saddest, most depressing characters in the world but still ended up with melodrama rather than empathetic characters (School Days). Higurashi achieves this beautifully with characters bearing Dysfunction Junction. Evangelion does this MUCH better, but its impact requires you to think more about it rather than just blatantly shove it in your face. Which is good, but it's also why I need a little more time to love Evangelion's characters than Higurashi's characters.

High Octane Nightmare Fuel
Light-hearted anime could have Nightmare Fuel as well. That's why I don't consider just Nightmare Fuel a trope I could like. I need HIGH OCTANE, the next level.

Of course, as with any trope, this depends on the actual content itself, or it would also result in being distasteful (Saya no Uta) or Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy. Just like Earn Your Happy Ending, I like the impact Nightmare Fuel brings, but not the trope itself, as HONF/NF are often known to present some really distasteful and awfully gory stuff that's beyond liking. Shock-gore is acceptable, but only if the shock is emphasized, not just the gore. Gory and disturbing images for the sake of showing the images are entertaining, nonetheless, but not enough to my liking.

Unlike the next trope...

Mind Screw
Twist my mind. Embrace it and throw my logic book out of the window. Please.

This is similar to the abovementioned Deconstruction Fleet and everything being wham tropes. The adrenaline of being disoriented by the fabric of your logic being torn into dimensional pieces is ever so satisfying. It's kinda like sex, and the people who enjoy them. But for me, I'm adrenaline junkie in this category.

And boy, do anime have to offer alright.

A similar trope I love is the Gainax Ending, but that one still require further exploration, as it has the potential to be distasteful as well when it just gets so darn ridiculous. Nevertheless, it really deserves to be one of my favorites, as the studio itself produced an anime that started my unsatisfiable fetish of finding mind-screwing anime. That's right. Three words. NEON. GENESIS. EVANGELION. The mother of all mind-screws.

Trolling Creator
From Madoka to Bokurano to Narutaru. As long as it's trolling, I just simply love it. It's like one of those experiences where you let the stand-up comedian laugh at and mock you, but in such a way that you could enjoy it and not in an insulting (your intelligence) kind of way. These kind of experiences are really enjoyable to me, and I want more of these everyday. But, as with anime that fit with my other favorite tropes written here, they are very, very difficult to track down. Nevertheless, once they are found, the result is Over 9000 of awesomeness.

Here's hoping Serial Experimental Lain will beat Eva in level of mind-screw.

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