>antagonist gets assblasted and the area is clouded in smoke/dust/etc. >the dust clears >antagonist is still standing, despite being clearly messed up >"you gotta be fucking kidding me"
>character starts crying but doesn't start sobbing like a retarded walrus, thus preserving the emotional value of the scene
>bad guy commits 23 atrocities per day and does this with an unashamedly positive demeanor
>butt monkey finally gets his crowning moment of badassery
>antagonist has valid reasons for doing what they do
>generic mooks are portrayed as actual individuals with glimpses into their day-to-day activities, conversations with others, hobbies, etc.
>its a bodyswap episode >characters keep their voices in their bodies >but switch accents
Lucas Rodriguez
>theme song is parodied mid-episode
Levi Jackson
>Stylized end credits
Lincoln Taylor
>Buttmonkey calls out the character that's been giving him shit and makes him/her cry
Forget that there's 98% chance they'll admit they were "wrong" or some stupid shit to preserve the status quo. They were completely justified to chew them out for it and I wish a lot of characters that play the victim in that would learn and grow rather than go back to a place that makes the audience feel comfortable and keep their clowns.
Lincoln Ross
>antagonist gets assblasted and the area is clouded in smoke/dust/etc. >the dust clears >antagonist is still standing, despite being clearly messed up >"you gotta be fucking kidding me"
I personally love the variation of this one. >antagonist is still standing after getting messed up >slowly staggers forward, muttering and grunting >finally succumbs to their injuries and collapses just mere feet from the protagonist
Gavin Cox
>The hero has the villain cornered and at his mercy >The villain says "If you kill me, you'll be just like me" >The hero kills the villain >Hero's friend says "wow, you are just like him"
Nathan Perez
>Character gets their ass handed to them despite trying their hardest >Every encounter against said character seems futile >Character finally starts kicking ass >Their once insurmountable wall is surprised or even scared >This DOESN'T span the same episode or arc
It's called "payoff" and very few Western writers respect it.
Dylan Gray
>its a clones episode >clones are actually bro-tier and keep track of the real person >they don't go full blade runner
Jason Sanders
>main character loses their mind
Christopher Richardson
>antagonist is goofy but threatening
Henry Thomas
This exists?
Best I've come across is the two voices layers in a possession episode.
Jacob Brooks
Adding onto this
>Character is a villain because they fucking want to be a villain, not 'muh morals' or 'muh tragic backstory' or even worse 'muh money'
Luis Anderson
>The villain says "If you kill me, you'll be just like me" >The hero kills the villain
I don't know if it counts, but I love subversions of this. Things like "no, I'll be alive" that make the villain realize they shouldn't have staked their life on a cliche.
Jack Thomas
>character gets cloned >each clone is a different part of the character's personality
Owen Jones
>character A says "look behind you!" >character B says "yeah right, you really think I'd fall for that?" >there actually is something behind character B >character B gets the shit kicked out of them
Isaac White
>character gets back into the past >accidentally rapes themselves as a child
Liam Moore
>an adult character has a flashback to their childhood >as a kid they looked exactly how they look as an adult except they're shorter
Jason Rivera
>>butt monkey finally gets his crowning moment of badassery
David Gonzalez
Something I realized I always find funny and I don't understand why >Character calls an average/skinny character "Fatass"
William Baker
It's weird that I can immediately think of a show that did that.
Mason Martinez
>main villain can turn from lovable goofball to genuinely scary motherfucker on a dime
>gentle giant will wreck your shit if you do something they find morally reprehensible
>villains who are obvious references to Peter Lorre and/or Sydney Greenstreet I've never even seen The Maltese Falcon, but I love it when this happens anyway.
Austin Wilson
which?
Camden Hill
Justice League with Flash and Luthor is probably the best example of it.
Eli Perry
Frankenhole.
Colton Hall
>"Listen here, I don't like you and you don't like me >"I do like you"
Wyatt Thompson
Better yet: >child body with exactly the same adult face and voice
Luke Reyes
>Hero and villain have a pretty big foe grudge to death >Outside job they're really good bros
Gabriel Evans
>Hero takes a day off >Villains realize their lives are empty without them >Deliberately try to get the hero to get back to work so they can have something to do
Carter Roberts
One of more underappreciated moments of Super Troopers.
Ayden Ramirez
>"There's no way we can do X" >"Not with that attitude"
Asher Ward
>it's a game for kids, surely the villains must be huge losers, right?
Isaac Ramirez
This is good, but >evil clones >plausible outcomes in timelines where the hero failed Is my favorite.
Adam Rodriguez
like this?
Ian Bailey
not for everyone but...
>The butt monkey's badass moment is because their own butt monkeyness protects them from the convetional methods of attack (too used to greater pain, they trip and stagger in weird ways, badguys get caught in the wake of the butt monkey's bad luck, etc)
Easton Cox
>it's an "introduce new character" episode >the character actually stays around afterwards and changes the status quo
I love it when the hero fucks with the villain in every way they can.
Zachary Carter
Anything involving time travel or alternate dimensions. Seriously, I can't think of a single bad episode that had one of those two.
...Oh, with the exception of when time travel is just used to erase a bad future. Those ones, on the other hand, tend to suck ass.
Brody Sanders
>Hero views a minor rarely used villain as their chief nemesis and views the more dangerous villain as a minor inconvenience to the point of almost forgetting their name.
Adrian Mitchell
>remembers how well it works because actor plays both Flash and Luthor in two different continuities
Brandon Hernandez
...
Luke Sullivan
>Character A points somewhere with confidence. >Character B turns around. >There’s something mediocre there. (A bug, a plant, a lamp, etc.) >Character B turns back and notices that Character A is gone. >Character B turns around again.
Tyler Sanchez
>>character starts crying but doesn't start sobbing like a retarded walrus, thus preserving the emotional value of the scene Maybe not sobbing like a retarded walrus, but seeing a character sobbing and losing their composure, cutting their sentences because they can't even finish them will always be more powerful to me that just having them shedding tears in complete silence.
Carter Turner
>character realizes they'll never be the best at what they do >they accept their place as second best and proceed to do their best with what they've got
That's the sort of positivism that really resonates with me.
Caleb Green
>main character is not the strongest member of their group
>weak character has to rely on their smarts to come on top of very bad situations
>kid protagonist must outsmart or defeat a powerful and terrifying foe
Ian Butler
>the episode about school shootings where the sidekick takes a bullet but turns out to be fine later
Jaxson Cook
Watch Maltese Falcon. It's great.
Charles Anderson
>Character A survives a Tragedy/Massacre/Whatever >Think's it's Character B's doing >It's actually Character C's doing, they just framed Character B >Character A and B make their peace with eachother >Character A and C confront eachother in the most tense moment of the Series/Film
I Love/Hate this trope, it's annoying when the viewers know's who actually did and A's on a wild goose chase, but fuck is it satisfying when A finally realizes the truth and they finally fight
Jeremiah Taylor
This can also go wrong though.
Nathaniel Scott
>the one character who spends every episode trying to figure out a way to turn the situation into quick cash
Carter Murphy
>Characters begin singing (In a non-musical movie/show)
This one can go either way, but more often than not, it works.
Owen Lewis
OP here; I like this too, but it's so goddamn uncommon to hear VAs do a sobbing voice properly that I'd rather just have them suffer in near-silence, with trembling and shit. Bad crying is bar none the cringiest shit to watch in cartoons ever, save bad rapping.
Liam Baker
>character A is forced to work together with their rival, character B in order to take down a bigger threat or achieve something they typically can’t on their own >they slowly begin to understand each other >the dynamic changes the status quo
>secondary characters are given their time in the limelight >are shown to be as, if not more capable than the main character
>a love triangle that ends with all parties getting what they want in the end
Angel Nelson
Villain: Killing me won't bring her back, John!
John: And isn't that a shame! *bang*
OR
Villain: How are you going to live with yourself if you let me fall, John!
John: I've learned to live with a lot of things lately. *lets the villain fall*
OR
Villain: You can't kill me, John! How the hell will that make you feel!?
John: That's a very good question, let's find out. *kills villain thoroughly and violently*
Luis Lee
Oh!
Character A has a rival Said Rival is absolutely, 100% better then Character A at everything.
Rival isn't a jerk about it, plays it off in a gee schucks, I'm only a beginner.
Character A spends the whole time trying to defeat their rival. They take no fight more seriously then one with said Rival.
Eventually... Rival reveals how terribly lonely he is and thanks Character A for being his best friend.
Joseph Johnson
They did it pretty well in steven universe, actually. Steven takes over Lars' body and Lars' voice actor does a great job. His acting was the main thing that made the episode enjoyable.
Jaxon Reed
>no, I'll be alive >heh nothin personnel
Ryder Miller
Filler Episode of Fairy Tail does it.
In both sub and dub formats, with the voice actors doing imitating each other's characters.
IE, Lucy swapped with Gray, so Lucy's VA is doing the tough guy grumble and Gray's VA is acting like a lost girl...
>hero and villain about to square off, pre battle remarks >explosion or something happens >one is knocked into peril >other one goes to great lengths to save them >"Thanks for that." >"Anytime." >"Where were we?" >"About to kill each other, I think." >"Oh, right. Let's get on that, then." >battle stances, fight ensues Bonus points if this happens during the fight. Also >two characters are swordfighting >after a clash, they come away with the wrong sword >look at each other >wordlessly toss the swords to the right owners >continue dueling Really, most tropes about "fight courtesy," where the combatants are not so secretly trying to figure out which of them is more skilled at peak performance, rather than just trying to win at all costs.
John Wright
>shit background character says "fuck this" and goes full power against bad guy and works
