Typing from work and it is boring as heck. I work for the communications/operations department of a local energy company (which makes me a pretty big guy here in Nigeria) and normally get to either work on network equipment (think Cisco Switches and Routers), or climb skyscrapers and radio mast. Today, my supervisor doesn’t have a job for me, so I get to lazy around and browse the net. With so much free time, I might as well make the best of it by doing something I have been meaning to do for days. I can’t remember the last time I did a top 5.

Top 5 shonen anime clichés

Shonen anime is any and all anime that is primarily aimed towards boys and young males. Because of the fact that action series always looks good animated (*cough* batman *cough*), it is no surprise that this is the most popular genre of anime. But like any genre in any media, there must always be certain features or motifs that stick out like a sore thumb. These are the clichés, you see them a million times and they just keep coming back. However, this doesn't mean that they are bad. Heck when I watch movies based on anime/manga (cough*Scott pilgrim*cough) I look out for them.

So, after much delay, it is time for the top 5 Shonen anime clichés.

5. Yelling the moves:

Also known as calling your attack (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CallingYourAttacks). In Asia, marshal artist are known to often make sharp yelling sounds while training or sparing. This is usually to maintain the rhythm and timing of their attacks, as well as intimidate the opponent. In magical shows, spells are "summoned" by calling forth their names. In shonen, there is no point! There is no need to yell out the name of a punch (I'm looking at you Luffy). This can get especially annoying if this move is spammed in video games (tiger, tiger, tiger?). Granted, this helps the characters establish their trademarks and signature abilities, but it can make for some good laughs. Heck Jackie Chan Adventures, parodied this with the character Hak Foo.

Move yelling, to help you remember in case you forget(*smack to the head*).

4. Overt fetishism

Back in the day, anime characters used to have somewhat more realistic character designs and accessories, which both fit the personality and the situation. Even older mangaka that came from this school-of-thought follow this philosophy (despite its ridiculusness, One piece does have mostly appropriate designed characters). Now (I think it was sometime around the mid 90s this started), characters are being designed to satisfy some sort of fetish (and if you don't believe me, just look at every Square Enix game made since 2000). This is especially true with female characters, who seem to be born with than average bust size of 36D( http://ubuntuforums.org/picture.php?albumid=629&pictureid=2101 ). Sometimes it descends into territory that is just plain creepy ( http://bleach.wikia.com/wiki/Lilynette_Gingerback ). Hopefully, this trend will go away, and the strangely sexual connotations with it.

That's some serious S&M

3. Gaugeable power levels

deidera, what does the souter say about his chakra level

Ki, chakra, spirtual presure, spiral energy, etc. These things have one thing in common. They are some sort of excuse for why everyone is so powerful. But this is especially ridiculous when this is measured, with the senses. I mean some series have characters that are designed for this very purpose. Granted having some sort of visual queue to tell the audience that an opponent has grown stronger is good in the panels of a comic, but on the screen, blatantly told to the viewer is just plain ridiculous. This gets quite jarring when the series reaches the point where characters become so strong that the author stops placing numbers on their strength. This make fans then start asking themselves dumb questions like “whats maijin buu’s power levelâ€? or “what’s Red Haired Shanks bountyâ€??(even though both characters are so ridiculously strong that asking such a question is redundant)

Power levels, because everyone knows its measured in watts.

My power needs additional pylons

2. Transformations

By his death, this guy had gone through 5 transformations

Oh no, I am not talking about adaptive transformations to match a situation. No, I am talking about “I am stronger in this formâ€? transformations. This is where a character changes his body dimensions(height, weight(really?), size, color, species even) to become more powerful in a fight. This is strange. Where does the additional matter come from? How come it can happen so fast(with insects this might take as long as a day)? Considering the above cliché mentioned, shouldn’t the power gained in this form be perceived by the power gauger (since it was stored in the user). This even happens with robots too, that were made on earth and held together by science. Heck in bleach even the swords transform[picture]. In some shows the reason for this is because the artist is tired of drawing the same character over and over again. So he opts to do something different. Just look at Akira Torimaya, the designs of his transformations are very dynamic.

Hair, hair and more hair

1. Abuse of swords:

In anime, swords are cool. Heck in any form of fiction swords are cool. Wither they be lazer swords, buster swords or vibro-swords, they are cool. But the one used the most in japan is, of course, the katana. They practically made the samurai. But granted because animation is an realm where you are only limited by your imagination, things will be abused. A lot. I have seen katanas slice through tanks, through giant robots, I have even seen them cut without even touching the object. How is that possible? Was it so sharp that it could scratch diamonds?

You can even put them on robots and they will look cool(even though that would be very impractical).

And that’s it. Now below you can list your own Shonen anime clichés.

I’m going back to work.