5 Most Annoying Anime Tropes Nobody Enjoys, Ranked

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In various forms of entertainment you engage with, you’ll often find recurring themes linking diverse franchises, as every tale essentially builds upon existing ones to some extent. Within specific genres such as fantasy, horror, science fiction, and romance, common tropes emerge that avid fans could quickly recognize. Although these tropes might seem repetitive, when skillfully used, they can propel a story forward and create engaging narratives that captivate audiences.

In the realm of anime fandom, it’s important to acknowledge that while many popular series utilize familiar tropes effectively, it’s a stretch to claim they all are beneficial additions to the story. Indeed, some series skillfully employ the “chosen one” or create captivating love triangles; however, it’s not uncommon for these tropes to grow stale, overused, and aggravating when they recur innumerable times without providing meaningful narrative depth. This article aims to shed light on several tiresome anime tropes that I hope vanish completely from our screens forever.

5) Pervy Comic Relief Character

In many anime productions, there’s a recurring stereotype of a character who seems overly fixated on women, often displaying inappropriate behavior such as uncontrollable reactions (like nosebleeds) or making unwanted advances. These characters are usually portrayed negatively and are often used for comedic effect, despite their actions crossing boundaries and humiliating themselves instead of winning over the female character they’re interested in. This trope, however, is not generally appreciated by viewers as it lacks respect for personal space and dignity.

Characters like Sanji from “One Piece”, Mineta from “My Hero Academia”, and Meliodas from “The Seven Deadly Sins” are ubiquitous across all genres. The problem with this type of personality arises from its casual treatment of an everyday life concern that is often uncomfortable – unwanted advances, especially those that are inappropriate or overly aggressive. It’s hard to see why such behavior would be entertaining in an anime setting when it’s unpleasant in real life. This trope doesn’t contribute to the plot, not even for comedy purposes, so it might be wiser to avoid this trope altogether and introduce more natural, respectful flirting that wouldn’t lead to characters being labeled as unwanted admirers.

4) Main Character Features

This trope, to be honest, is a minor annoyance I find amusing due to its frequent appearance in anime (and other media striving to emphasize a character’s extraordinary nature). Characters considered significant, whether they’re the protagonist or antagonist, often exhibit distinctive traits deliberately designed to set them apart. These traits can include unnatural hair colors, improbable eye shades that would require contact lenses in reality, and costumes reminiscent of discarded items from a bargain bin.

Does adding another white-haired, red-eyed protagonist or a pink-haired character in a schoolgirl uniform with a gun proficiently wielded, as is often seen in anime series, detract from the overall plot or story? Absolutely not. However, it might be refreshing to encounter anime characters that don’t immediately prompt cosplayers to purchase affordable blue wigs due to their unique designs. For instance, the stand users in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure appear to be caricatures of real people. In essence, I’m suggesting a desire for more diverse character designs in anime.

3) Random Unearned Power-Ups

If you ask about a controversial topic often found in anime communities, it’s hard to overlook the issue of power escalation in a storyline. Power escalation, put simply, is when a character gains an unexpected surge of power, frequently during a fight triggered by intense feelings. It’s like the plot device known as deus ex machina in shonen anime- if our hero seems to be losing fair and square against the villain, there’s usually a scene where the main character suddenly discovers a hidden, incredibly powerful ability.

The examples for this trope can be found scattered throughout almost any anime with lengthy fight scenes, such as: Bleach, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and Sword Art Online. This trope transforms balanced characters into one-person armies and provides plot armor to prevent the consequences and stakes from becoming too severe. While it’s enjoyable to witness impressive battles that elevate the hero, the end result doesn’t always feel justifiably earned. Furthermore, this trope lessens the actual importance of the anime by preventing the main character from experiencing loss and subsequently growing through that experience.

2) Neglected Female Characters

In simpler terms, it’s evident that many anime series tend to disregard or underdevelop their female characters’ growth compared to their male counterparts, particularly in action, fantasy, and sci-fi genres. This pattern is so common it feels like a recurring problem within the medium rather than just a trope. It’s time we question this trend, given the frequent occurrence of underdeveloped female characters like Sakura or Misa. The most frustrating aspect is that creating complex, multidimensional female characters who can stand on their own isn’t difficult and would greatly improve these series.

Many female characters in various stories are often criticized for being underdeveloped and poorly written, yet this isn’t necessarily because they lack power or skill. For instance, consider Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen; despite possessing a valuable cursed technique, she is swiftly eliminated early on and absent from the story until the final chapters, completely bypassing any potential growth. This issue is not exclusive to her, as there are other characters who were given potential only to be reduced to being the main character’s love interest with no goals beyond that (Ochaco being a prime example). It isn’t necessary for every female character in anime to be the strongest or the best, but it is important that they aren’t consistently portrayed as weak and unimportant background characters.

1) Tragic Backstories

One way to rephrase the given text in a more natural and easy-to-read manner could be:

The downside of adding tragic backstories to this list is that it’s hard to tell who actually has them in anime, as almost every character seems to have one. It seems inevitable that we’ll get flashbacks from significant side characters, our main protagonist during intense battles, and even the antagonists as they’re losing, all displaying this specific trope. Anime often provides its characters with extreme trauma, which is rarely delved into or mentioned beyond serving as a motivation for power-ups or continuing a fight.

In many anime series, characters often face hardships such as poverty, abuse, or other traumatic experiences in their past that shape them into who they are in the present storyline. While this can add depth and emotion to the character development for some characters (like Levi), it seems excessive to always subject our protagonists to such intense suffering before their brain has fully developed. In my view, there might be more creative ways to evoke empathy without relying on a history of unrelenting hardships.

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2025-09-05 01:40