Destiny

Tropes are too prevalent within anime, regardless of how different one show may be from the other. Some things, be it personality traits, backstories, or coincidences, I see way too many times for it to be more enjoyable the 100th time than it was the 99th. Nearly all anime are predestined to follow the same beaten path to GENERICISM that I hate so much.

Understanding this genericism, this predetermined fate that all anime characters are at the mercy of, this..."Destiny", is my purpose today.

Destiny is a tangible force in the entire Elementalist Series. Something that a very unlucky few are born with. Something that the ones around them must suffer through as well.

Being Destined
Yeah if you're born with Destiny you're doomed to become a generic anime character. I'm talking stuff like:


 * 1) Stupid ass coincidences working in their favour for no reason at all.
 * 2) Being unnaturally strong for no rhyme or reason. This is usually paired with having 100% True Power despite family genetics.
 * 3) One of four unbearable personalities, often a mixture of all four:
 * 4) * Intoxicatingly, uncannily perfect for no apparent reason.
 * 5) * Cares about literally every single person they've made eye contact with and believe in others too much. They could be a dead by daylight killer and they'd still "give them a second chance"
 * 6) * The protector type, who stands up for everyone around them and "does the right thing" on impulse, even if it's the worst decision they could make that have more cons than pros.
 * 7) * The type of person who  never gives up . I don't even have to say more than that
 * 8) * Having any of these personalities makes them insanely predictable. Everything they say/do could fit on a flowchart. I've seen 20Q pocket games with more variety in their dialogue.
 * 9) Any sort of antagonising force in their life being unnaturally obessed with them, for some reason or another. Varies from show to show.) Breaks 100 year old records on a daily basis. The first person to X since Y. The most X, Y, since Z.
 * 10) Won't die. Could be shot in the head 10 times and buried 30 feet underground and still survive.
 * 11) A Swarm of people who seem infatuated with them for little reason. (Leads me into my next point).

Knowing someone who is Destined
If you have ANY RELATION to someone born with Destiny AT ALL you're doomed to become a Side Character in life. Everything you do will be in their shadow. Even living in the same city as them is enough to doom you a life of pain. The closer of a connection you have to somebody with Destiny, the more affected you are.

Friends
If you're at the point where you can call one your "friend", you're already in hell. They'll be better than you at pretty much everything, to the point where you're either the opening act or waiting for them to show up. If you're better at them at anything, then not for long.

God forbid you're the opposite sex than them, then you're gonna be hopelessly in love with them for the REST of your life.

You end up becoming helplessly obsessed and dependant on them and place an unnatural amount of trust and belief in them, even if you barely know them; shit, even if you knew them your entire life the level of camaraderie just isn't right

Rivals
It's not really much of a rivalry when you were never a challenge to them. Never will be, for that matter since you were doomed to be their lesser from the start. If you're the type of person who's not ok with that, your entire life will end up revolving around trying to "surpass" them (I've heard that word too many times).

Most who've met this terrible fate subconsciously realise this, and try to change it by trying even harder to become their better, which is exactly how you Speedrun becoming a "Generic Rival"

You'll lose every single fight you have with them.. Nobody around you understands why you cant "just be friends with them"; It's most likely their "Friends" saying this. Don't listen.

Your rivalry will end with you succumbing to your predetermined fate and being content with being somebody else's inferior. You'll mistake the feelings of insecurity, defeat, and hopelessness for a newfound respect for the Destined, leading you to become his greatest friend, like a tamed animal.

Mentor figures (Teachers, Mentors, Parents and Guardians)
It's especially sad when a teacher with other students to nurture is doomed to this fate, because they end up picking a favorite (them) and leave the rest to rot in their intoxicating radiance.

Even if it's a blatant lie, you'll end up "seeing the most potential" within them, even if they're a lost cause and the others around them that have more going for them. Oh, and god forbid you have access to some sort of valuable power or information, because you'll end up letting them get their hands on something they shouldn't be able to touch in 20 years. If your child is cursed with Destiny, you won't need to be in their life past the age of 15. They'll have everything handed to them on a silver platter from then on, and they won't die.

If you're involved in something that only a select few should EVER know about, you're going to have them discover it, and you'll be forced to bring them in. You Probably end up dying for them too. If not, then you've been dead from the start.

Destiny manifests in different ways.
But, of course, none of this 100% how Destiny works. It's just what you tend to see. Destiny will take whatever form it needs to for the one affected to become "Main Character" of their life.

I weep for those around them, who are doomed to a life of inferiority and obedience.