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| - To Be a Master is the Series Goal behind about 70% of all Shonen Manga and Anime. Sure, Mecha Show, Harem Show, Super Sentai and the odd detective story are all okay, but if you really want to strike a winning story formula for audiences, To Be a Master is the winning way to go. In fact, this is so prevalent that sometimes the demographic term "shonen" is used to refer to this genre, due in part to the success of Naruto and Pokemon. See also Gaming and Sports Anime And Manga, which often overlaps with this. Examples of To Be a Master include:
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| abstract
| - To Be a Master is the Series Goal behind about 70% of all Shonen Manga and Anime. Sure, Mecha Show, Harem Show, Super Sentai and the odd detective story are all okay, but if you really want to strike a winning story formula for audiences, To Be a Master is the winning way to go. In fact, this is so prevalent that sometimes the demographic term "shonen" is used to refer to this genre, due in part to the success of Naruto and Pokemon. The setup is deceptively simple: In a World where everything revolves around one thing -- Children's Card Games, pirates, ninjas, anything -- a young lad in his teens, usually an Ideal Hero, will set out on a quest to, well, To Be a Master of whatever his world deems important, be it Monsters, Card Games, guardians or even fashion... The Myth Arc will invariably involve The Chosen One meeting one or more True Companions along their way and snobby Rivals, defeating goofy Villains and Worthy Opponents, and having a go at 'getting' the girl. The only catch? He'll be lucky if he achieves this goal in the next fifteen years. To Be a Master is such a successful format that these weekly tv series tend to drag on for years in an effort to exploit as much as possible out of the show... We're all suckers for starry-eyed youths who fight to accomplish their dreams, so expect Loads and Loads of Characters and a strict Sorting Algorithm of Evil to keep feeding new 'challenges' to our hero week after week. Throw in the inevitable Tournament Arc and levelling powerups and we're ready to go! Apart from sports manga, where the ultimate goal is to win some sort of trophy, the usual reward in 'To Be a Master' consists of a title, something along the lines of "The World-Theme King" or "The World-Theme Master," that is acknowledged by literally everyone in that world- and brings a set of privileges with it, hopefully the power to Make Your Dream Come True. If there is a title, important plot points will be who held the title before and the fact that it can only be gained under special circumstances, such as being a designated candidate to take part in a worldwide tournament. Depending on the series' setting, the hero's opponents aren't necessarily evil, and are simply after the same prize that The Hero is... They may become a Designated Antagonist when they oppose the hero, but nothing prevents them from becoming friends and allies of the hero if he beats them, or they beat him. Prominent rivals may even get A Day in the Limelight episodes that develop them 'beyond' simply the hero's latest opponent and may even get a Belated Backstory. The story may not even end when the hero becomes a Master. Becoming the best is one thing, staying the best in this world is another. Masters can face any number of challengers out to take his title for themselves, or even just up-and-comers who want to test their skills or build a reputation by taking them on. Named after the Pokémon song used in the Pikachu's Jukebox segments of the dubbed versions of the Pokemon anime, called "2.B. A. Master". Also the name of the album that the English theme song itself was released on. See also Gaming and Sports Anime And Manga, which often overlaps with this. Examples of To Be a Master include:
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