10 worst Shonen anime tropes and the anime that saved them

While there are many tropes in the medium that are still relatively fresh and enjoyable, some of the worst Shonen anime tropes are those that have been around for decades now. While every anime and manga demographic has its own cliches or patterns, Shonen often repeats these same trends from series to series.

Although none of the tropes are inherently bad, this almost forced repetition of them transforms them into some of the worst Shonen anime tropes of all time. Thankfully, some of these have been saved by some recent series in the demographic, either by subversion of these tropes or a complete, outright reinvention of them.

Disclaimer: The following list represents the author's opinions and their opinions only. The list also contains manga spoilers for some of the series discussed.

Jujutsu Kaisen and more contemporary manga save the worst Shonen anime tropes from themselves

1) Jujutsu Kaisen’s possessed protagonist doesn’t get a helping hand

Sukuna (left) literally and metaphorically fights Yuji (right) every step of the way (Image via MAPPA Studios)

One of the worst Shonen anime tropes by the nature of excessive repetition is the idea of a protagonist being possessed by some sort of spirit or creature. In most series, the protagonist and this entity start antagonistic, begrudgingly working together out of a shared desire for self-preservation. This process of building rapport typically blossoms into full-blown friendship, with the protagonist usually getting full access to the entity’s powers.

However, Jujutsu Kaisen completely subverts this by maintaining Sukuna (who possesses protagonist Yuji Itadori) as a completely antagonistic presence with no interest in helping Yuji. He’s even shown to sacrifice his self-preservation to see Yuji suffer or to avoid helping him unintentionally in the process of helping himself. It’s a fresh twist that, among many other things, helps to distinguish the series from modern offerings in the demographic.

2) My Hero Academia’s overpowered MC wasn’t born with the power

Izuku "Deku" Midoriya as seen in the My Hero Academia anime series (Image via BONES)

One of the most frustrating and worst Shonen anime tropes in the demographic is seeing a main character be overpowered simply by the nature of their lineage or origins.

For example, Dragon Ball’s Goku inherently had advantages over his Earthly enemies due to his origins as a Saiyan. His base power was much higher than that of most humans, and he also received significant power-ups when coming close to dying but living via the Saiyans’ Zenkai power.

My Hero Academia’s Izuku “Deku” Midoriya does reach a similar overpowered status, but not by nature of being born with it. In fact, he was born powerless and only earned his overpowered status as a result of his impressive character and dedication to training. It’s a welcome subversion of the trope that sees someone work to reach such heights rather than being born halfway up the mountain.

3) Black Clover’s protagonist is special because he’s not special

Asta's weakness in Black Clover becomes his greatest strength in a brilliant reinvention of one of the worst Shonen anime tropes (Image via Pierrot)

The first true reinvention of one of the worst Shonen anime tropes on this list, Yuki Tabata’s Black Clover provides an exciting twist on the overpowered protagonist trope. While many anime protagonists are born special and almighty, Asta is special because he’s not special, as one of his enemies throughout the series so perfectly puts it.

In the series, Asta uses an ability called Anti-Magic, which flows into him via a five-leaf Grimoire he discovered early on. However, it’s eventually revealed that Anti-Magic is only compatible with him because he was born without magic; thus, he’s special because he’s not special. It’s a masterful reinvention of the “chosen one” or “fated protagonist” worst Shonen anime tropes, which offers a new and enthralling twist.

4) Kaiju No. 8 manga’s main cast has almost no children in sight

Kaiju No. 8's adult protagonist Kafka Hibino as seen in the anime (Image via Production I.G)

One of the most popular Shonen tropes is for a series’ cast to be mainly teenage children. This is unsurprising, as the term “Shonen” literally translates to “young boy” and the demographic’s target age is 9 to 18 years old, depending on who you ask.

However, this understandable choice has slowly become one of the worst Shonen anime tropes by nature of creators pigeonholing themselves into this central characters' age range.

Naoya Matsumoto’s Kaiju No. 8 manga does a great job of adding some variety to the trope by having its protagonist be a 32-year-old man. While some of the other central cast members are teenagers, a majority of them are full-grown adults based on what fans currently know. While it’s a subtle change, it’s nevertheless impactful in subverting this one of many worst Shonen tropes.

5) Chainsaw Man brings character-driven action to Shonen instead of action-driven characterization

Chainsaw Man's main focus being Denji's growth as a person helps it subvert one of the worst Shonen anime tropes (Image via MAPPA Studios)

In battle Shonen anime and manga specifically, character development and action are often intertwined, with the latter often giving way to the former. This can be achieved via a myriad of ways but is often done by having a character fight for something they lost or lose something mid-fight, which helps inspire some change in them.

However, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man manga reinvents this member of the worst Shonen anime tropes club by using character-driven action instead of action-driven characterization.

In other words, Fujimoto has his characters fight because of their development or growth, not to set up a character’s growth. There are plenty of great examples of this, but one of the best is Denji’s final fight of the 'Gun Devil' arc from the series’ first part.

6) Jujutsu Kaisen eliminates power creep via a versatile power system

Yuji Itadori seen utilizing the Cursed Energy power system (Image via MAPPA Studios)

One of the most heavily praised aspects of Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga series is how versatile the Cursed Energy power system is. With a very basic set of rules, there’s plenty of room for creativity in each character’s unique powers and abilities, inherently eliminating one of the worst Shonen anime tropes in power creep.

Nearly every facet of the series’ power system allows for such matchup advantages and disadvantages, with only a few almighty exceptions in the series’ world. Likewise, these are specifically emphasized as being unique, helping to drive home that while there are some powers inherently stronger than others, this doesn’t apply to the power system at large.

7) Wind Breaker’s delinquent protagonist is anything but hard-boiled

Haruka Sakura seen blushing in the anime (Image via CloverWorks)

One of the most popular anime series of the Spring 2024 season, Wind Breaker reinvents one of the worst Shonen anime tropes for the delinquent genre specifically. In most delinquent series, the protagonist is shown to be a classic street tough, unfazed by anything with a rough early life, helping to create an unbreakable exterior facade.

Meanwhile, Haruka Sakura is a total softie on the inside, chiefly evidenced by his falling into the “tsundere” character trope category. Likewise, he blushes upon hearing compliments, clearly has trouble accepting gratitude and forming relationships, and so on. It’s a great subversion of a classic trope within the delinquent genre, and it works expertly in practice.

8) Jujutsu Kaisen turns enemies into allies without Naruto’s theatrics

Choso switching sides highlights how Jujutsu Kaisen reinvents one of the worst Shonen anime tropes (Image via MAPPA Studios)

Unsurprisingly, Jujutsu Kaisen’s reinventions and subversions of the worst Shonen anime tropes don’t stop at its power system. One of the most well-known and worst Shonen anime tropes of all time is a main character converting enemies into friends.

The Naruto series serves as a perfect example, seeing the eponymous protagonist use his “Talk no Jutsu” to deliver lengthy speeches about why the villain should abandon their ways and pursue redemption.

Akutami’s manga reinvents this by seeing protagonists Yuji Itadori and Yuta Okkotsu convert others but without virtually any input on behalf of the main character. In Yuta’s case, these changes are made based on how he acts and views his situation with Rika. In Yuji’s case, these changes are typically spurred on by involuntary actions on his behalf, such as Choso recognizing Yuji as his brother and subsequently becoming his ally.

9) Jujutsu Kaisen kills off characters who’ve served their purpose rather than send them away

Yuki Tsukumo's death highlights how Jujutsu Kaisen reinvents one of the worst Shonen anime tropes (Image via MAPPA Studios)

One of the most universally frustrating of the worst Shonen anime tropes of all time is seeing anime and manga side characters essentially being thrown away when the focus on them ends. Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter x Hunter anime and manga is a repeat offender here, with even Gon Freecss, the series’ protagonist, being sidelined in the contemporary manga.

While Togashi says goodbye and forgets them, Akutami has a much more violent means of eliminating these side characters by “simply” killing them off. Even though it does provide a definitive conclusion to these side characters’ stories, it’s unsurprisingly a much more bitter pill to swallow than how Togashi does it. Nevertheless, it’s yet another trope reinvention on Akutami’s part which they and their series deserve to be commended for.

10) Dr. Stone’s Senku features an indomitable willpower but never blusters about it

Senku Ishigami as seen in the Dr. Stone anime (Image via TMS Entertainment)

Lastly, one of the worst Shonen anime tropes by the nature of constant repetition is indomitable willpower. In series such as Fairy Tail, protagonists are often given the ability to overcome anything either by the sheer nature of their desire to do so, to protect their friends and loved ones, or for some other goal. Yet, this often comes with the constant blustering of their will, desire, or friendship, and how it’ll be the key to their victory.

Dr. Stone completely reinvents this trope via its protagonist Senku Ishigami, who possesses an indomitable willpower via his faith in science and his friends but doesn’t bluster about it.

Instead, he focuses on the issue primarily and how to solve it, which perfectly meshes with his logical and rational characterization as a true scientist. It makes his constant victories much more palatable as the lack of speeches helps to maintain suspension of disbelief for fans.

In summation

While there are several other of the worst Shonen anime tropes that weren’t mentioned here, the above are some of the most frequently used and some of the best reinvented or subverted. Although history may repeat itself and see these above spins on the current worst Shonen anime tropes become the very thing they swore to destroy in the future, they currently stand as fresh takes on aged classics.