Current Events > what are cliches in stories/media you actually like?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Serial killers and detectives never get old.

When a bunch of people get powers "except" for one person, and you don't know if they have a power or not.

The obedient and submissive doormat gets a spine.

Crime mysteries where you eventually discover the protagonist is the killer. Especially some Korean thrillers explore that trope really well

The murderer is the one you least suspect.

Takes real skill to pull that off. Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle could do it. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Usual Suspects (as the title implies) do it really well on film.

Are locked room mysteries a clich? If so, those too.

Characters who keep their crazy well-hidden until its mask off time.

Kira from jojo and death note, tobi from naruto, aizen from bleach, etc.

I'm also a sucker for rivals team-up moments. Superman working with lex luthor, goku working with piccolo and then vegeta (and frieza way later), mega man working with bass, etc.

When the butt-monkey character finally steps up. Flash and his moment in justice league unlimited (you know the one), final season beast boy saving the day in the 2003 teen titans cartoon, sokka from avatar the last airbender doing something awesome, usopp fighting luffy for the going merry in one piece (yeah, he lost, but its still a "damn......guy put all he had into that" kind of fight), etc.

The guy who seems really rough around the edge but has a heart of gold.

It's so much of a trope that I sort of just expect it any time I see a punk type character in something, but I love it nine times out of ten.

"None of my skills work against this guy! Time to use the signature moves from friends and/or enemies over the last season!"

The thing is, though I feel like I've seen this enough times to call it a trope, I can't actually recall a scene encompassing this. Closest I can recall is in Baki's Maximum Tournament, where he fights Jack and uses a bunch of techniques he'd fought against or spectated. But it's not that his own skills were failing, in particular.

I'm a sucker for bootstrap paradoxes.

Evening_Dragon posted...

"None of my skills work against this guy! Time to use the signature moves from friends and/or enemies over the last season!"

The thing is, though I feel like I've seen this enough times to call it a trope, I can't actually recall a scene encompassing this. Closest I can recall is in Baki's Maximum Tournament, where he fights Jack and uses a bunch of techniques he'd fought against or spectated. But it's not that his own skills were failing, in particular.

This is basically half the plot of FFXVI.

Villains EARNED redemption arc.

Like Zuko in Avatar: TLA

When the villain has a good point but they're so crazy they have to die anyways

The "Prisoner/slave has too survive the koliseum to maybe earn thier freedom" scenario/arc.

I'm a sucker for romance cliches, love redeems and power of love, etc

"It's quiet. Too quiet."

OP Badass character shows up to save the day in style (e.g. Seijuro Hiko in Rurouni Kenshin, Izumi in FMA, Teresa in Claymore, etc.).

Bonus points if said OP Badass is the actual main character, ala Vampire Hunter D, Bastard!!, Gosu, One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100 etc.

It was all a dream...

when a character that is mentioned is portrayed as an evil piece of shit but when we get to actual meet the character and get a better feel of who they are, they're the complete opposite of that...

Start of a game, we get an intro to a motley crew of bosses that we'll fight later on. MGS1 and MGS3 did that.

The hero and villain teaming up temporarily

Hero and rival team up against bigger bad

The noble outcast.

Throughout the story, you hear bits and pieces about how a certain person/small group is cursed/evil/criminal, etc, only for said disparaged party to break that preconception by performing a heroic or otherwise very helpful deed to de-escalate/resolve a major conflict.

To Kill a Mockingbird and The Sandlot have pretty noteworthy examples.

I don't know how much of a cliche it is, but "during the final battle, the protagonist's companions stay behind/sacrifice themselves one by one to help create a chance for the protagonist to get to the final boss". An alternate version being "the final battle entails a set of challenges, each perfectly matched to the skills of a specific member of the hero party", with or without requiring them to split up. I'll write one or the other (or both!) into darn near any story I write~

I'm also a sucker for tournament arcs. I genuinely love getting to see characters show off or unusual matchups by pitting two characters who normally have no reason to fight against each other~

HighSeraph posted...

I'm a sucker for romance cliches, love redeems and power of love, etc

Another good one. G Gundam's ending, and Season 4 Ep. 7 of Stranger Things come to mind.

Good natured hero has an evil/bloodthirsty mode that kicks in during a crisis or emotional breakdown. Bonus points for anyone used to talking mad shit about them suddenly being horrified.

HighSeraph posted...

I'm a sucker for romance cliches, love redeems and power of love, etc

I like best-friends-to-lovers stories. Not always, but I hate it when people say, Theyre like siblings! Harry/Hermione would be an example of a missed opportunity.

I do enjoy a good "childhood friends" romance.

Cool and collected villain begs for their life after losing and tries to pull one last trick

refmon posted...

Cool and collected villain begs for their life after losing and tries to pull one last trick

Oh this reminds me of another one. The cool, arrogant villain gets increasingly unhinged as the heroes succeed to the point where he's almost insane by the end.

Villain redemption arcs.

Ivynn posted...

Oh this reminds me of another one. The cool, arrogant villain gets increasingly unhinged as the heroes succeed to the point where he's almost insane by the end.

Especially if their voice actor really put their all into their spiraling insanity.

Persona 5 akechi losing it up until the loki reveal was grade-A voice acting.

Characters who self-villify because they care too much while pretending not to care, and end up going out with a bang that brings everyone in their nation/city to a point of unity actually do legitimately have a spot in my heart.

I have never seen this particular cliche ever done HORRIBLY.

...And no, there is no particular reason that this one is sticking out to me, dammit....

Villain: "In spite of every dirty trick I've pulled up to this point, I demand a fair final fight!"
Hero: "lol nope." [proceeds to instantly wreck villain with either a vulgar display of power or a dirty trick of their own]

I've seen this in enough various media over the years for it to be a trope, but bonus props to the most recent example I've seen: (MCU spoilers) Captain Marvel not only did this in a fun way, but also brought it back around to being meaningful with the "I have nothing to prove to you" line, which was easily my favorite moment in an otherwise forgettable movie.

Ivynn posted...

I do enjoy a good "childhood friends" romance.

Not sure if your post was in response to mine (#26), but you said what I meant in a much better way.

Sariana21 posted...

Not sure if your post was in response to mine (#26), but you said what I meant in a much better way.

It was. :)

Guns being useless for no real reason.

"The mentor dies" just feels appropriate and almost always gets me emotional.

I'm also big fan of the 'supremely logical all-knowing villain gets thwarted by our heroes acting like complete nonsensical idiots' trope. Three instances of this are The Dark Tower series, The World's End, and the Ducktales reboot.

Rival/Enemy grows to respect the hero and they become friends - there is almost no example of this that I don't love.

Opposites attracting - I do not believe this actually works (often) in real life, but I am a sucker for it in fiction.

hmnut7 posted...

Rival/Enemy grows to respect the hero and they become friends - there is almost no example of this that I don't love.

Opposites attracting - I do not believe this actually works (often) in real life, but I am a sucker for it in fiction.

Opposites attract tend to be some of my favorite successful romances.

There is this msnga called onani Master kurosawa and its just cool there imo.

Ivynn posted...

Oh this reminds me of another one. The cool, arrogant villain gets increasingly unhinged as the heroes succeed to the point where he's almost insane by the end.

Great Mouse Detective's sky chase and clock tower scene is one of my all time favorite movie villain showdowns for this reason. >_>

Speaking of - the hero fighting the villain despite being completely physically outclassed

I have a soft spot for the power of friendship saving the day.

When you don't know just how powerful someone really is, until they are forced to really cut loose. (Mob Psycho)

When the villain loses, but also kinda wins. (Watchmen)

Villains that don't die at the end of the story. (No Country For Old Men)

The "There's someone... walking behind you..." scenario.

when the bully comes to the main characters aid because they encounter a worse bully.

I dont care how many JRPGs feature a group of teenage misfits teaming up to take down God, its pure kino every single time.

The recurring character you fight several times throughout a rpg.

Any time a Chekhovs gun gets set off feels great.

Characters with an appearance subversion, like a feminine-looking girl who is actually very physically strong or a buff guy who is actually a nerd.

Thompson posted...

The obedient and submissive doormat gets a spine.

Mad-Dogg posted...

I'm also a sucker for rivals team-up moments.

Mad-Dogg posted...

When the butt-monkey character finally steps up.

These too.