Anime and Manga Stack Exchange
Anime and Manga Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [tropes]

A recurring element across anime, manga or works in other media. Tropes cover clichés, genre conventions and other recurring plot points, character types, narration styles, …

A trope, in the general sense used here, is a feature that is found in many creative works (anime, manga, or any other media), for example a plot point, a character type, a setting, a narration style, etc. It is expected that at least some readers or viewers will recognize the trope. Some tropes have a well-identified source that other works have imitated, departed from or alluded to; others are so old that their origin has long been lost.

The website TV Tropes collects tropes (in all media, including anime and manga, despite the name). If you're looking for a list of works using a certain trope, TV Tropes is the place to look. You'll also find lists of tropes seen in a particular work.

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Is there a name for this manga-anime mouth expression? (`3`)

Is there a name for this expression? They do it a lot in YuruYuri, too.
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Why do some characters have their weight measured in apples?

For example, in Hello Kitty, the "Love Apples" section has: She is five apples tall and weighs three apples. In Kagerou Project, where Marry's weight is: 130 apples. Japanese Vocaloid Kaai Yuki has her height measured in apples. Height: "As…
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Why do most anime have field trips to Kyoto?

Most of the anime and manga I have read/watched have featured a field trip to Kyoto. (As a related example, Beelzebub's field trip destination was Okinawa.) I don't know much about class level or the education system of Japan. Is Kyoto a field trip…
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What's with this up-tilted head posture?

In Bakemonogatari, we see Araragi (and possibly some other characters) at quite a number of times in the series with his head tilted upwards, in what would in real life be a somewhat uncomfortable angle. While this in a number of cases could just be…
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Why do people sneeze when someone talks about them?

Where did this trope originate from and why sneezing? It must be something only in Asian culture because I have never seen this in any US television shows. And yet sneezing when being talked about occurs in both anime and dramas.
krikara
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What philosophical concepts and/or authors are referenced in the series Ergo Proxy?

As the series develops, it seems that Ergo Proxy has a growing number of philosophical references: The concept of Anamnesis in episode 11. The Council/Collective figures. All the events in episode 20. Every discussion Vincent has with Ergo about…
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What is the first transforming/morphing mobile suit/robot in anime?

I have watched all the Mobile Suit Gundam series and many other transforming robot genre series, but I want to know which is the first series that started the transforming/morphing mobile suit/robot genre in anime. Here, transforming/morphing is…
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Is there a superstition about good anime series having character(s) that run in the ED?

At the end of the Carnival Phantasm: HibiChika Special, Kohaku (Koha-Ace ver.) mentions that there is a superstition where good anime all have people running in the ending animation. Does this superstition actually exist? If so, how true is this…
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What do people mean when they say "Notice me, senpai"?

I'm new to anime and my friends really like it. They really like to say to me "notice me, senpai!" and I don't get the reference. I could be walking to class and one of my friends would say "Can you go to the canteen?" and I would say no I can't and…
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What is the technical term for the "consecutive, discrete zoom-in shots" and what is its origin?

Let me illustrate what I mean with a GIF: Usually, the scenes between the three or four consecutive shots don't differ much except the zoom-ins (or whatever shots are used). A variation of this technique was termed the "threepeat tilt up" by a…
Gao
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Is there a tradition behind giving people names from English words?

There are a number of shows/manga where characters have names that are English words. In Vampire Knight, a character is named Zero. Tokyo Mew Mew has characters with names like Lettuce, Mint, and Berry. Is there a tradition behind this?
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Why do so many anime and manga have timeskips?

In Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Reborn, and possibly many others, there are timeskips. Why are these so prevalent?
kuwaly
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What is intended by a spiral on a character's finger and what is the origin of this trope?

I am sure many of you have come across this trope in some anime/manga, where a character gives a thumbs up with an imprinted spiral. The spiral is probably a simplified hanamaru: which basically has the same meaning as a thumbs up, or "good…
Gao
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Why does Super Sonico always wear headphones?

Just as the title asks, why does Super Sonico always wear those headphones? Is there a reason behind it, or is this just the design Nitroplus came up with?
FatalSleep
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Why does school bullying keep showing up in manga?

School bullying has always been an element in manga, but why? Is it because school bullying is common in Japan, or some other reason? If it indeed has something to do with the common bullying in real life, who is more likely to be bullied in school?…
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