In the hands of an experienced studio, an anime fight scene can be one of the best elements of a series. Beautiful effects and choreography can really make a high stakes fight come alive. But there’s always that risk…the risk that the characters will…announce their attacks.
I didn’t realize how much of a trope this would be when I first started watching anime. It was a more innocent time. After all, growing up I was only exposed to anime like Pokémon and Yu-gi-oh (I’m sorry, I meant YUGIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH). Of course they had to announce their attacks; they were commanding others on the field. But characters announcing their own attacks? That just feels like poor technique.

Listen, I know these authors feel like they really need to sell the idea that their hero characters have these ultimate fancy moves with flashy names. And truly, how could the reader ever know how amazing and useful these moves are if the characters don’t declare them every time they use them?
And this goes way beyond just announcing attacks. The Isekai genre has attached itself closely to the RPG format in general. So beyond these attacks, the characters also probably have things like Stats and Experience pools, magic meters, you name it. They’re often quickly discussed and used as a measure to…you guessed it…unlock more powerful attacks they can shout later.

I will allow for one single exception. Megumin can shout her Explosion attacks as many times as she needs to until she gets it right.
Unfortunately, this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. I’m afraid it’s here to stay for the foreseeable future. Eventually, some other trend will come along that will replace this. Knowing my luck, it’ll be something much worse.
Oh no…I can feel my left arm…the power. I can barely contain it. You can run, but you can’t hide.
Blog….POST
What’s your least favorite trope in anime?
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