A real institution in the manga, the tournament represents a mandatory passage in the work. From Dragon Ball, Naruto, Fairy Tail or very recently Jujutsu Kaisen, we find them everywhere. Indeed, the tournament is a good way for the author to give rhythm to his work and allows readers to take full eyes because, often, tournaments offer epic and memorable fights. However, by dint of seeing too much, wouldn't tournaments be losing their value to the point of becoming… boring? 

The tournament: Perfect allegory of the Nekketsu spirit!

Coming in different forms, all more elaborate (or not) than the others, the tournament remains simple in its unfolding. To make tournaments more exciting, mangakas do not hesitate to crush the rules. The background remains the same, only the shape differs. The most common is the classic 1-on-1 confrontation tournament, with a sometimes deadly outcome, as in Dragon Ball for example. The Dragon Ball martial arts tournament has also strongly popularized the tournament system in shônen. In addition, the tournament is the best way to show the evolution of a character, his dedication and his will to achieve his dream. Using the lever of competition is therefore the most telling process because the main character will fight in the literal sense of the term for his ideals. This allows, on the one hand, to reinforce the affect that one has on the main character but also to show his determination.

The Tournament: Plot Driving Element

Second important point in tournaments is that we discover a multitude of characters in record time. In addition, being in the context of a competition, it is not necessary for the author to go into detail and develop all the new characters. For example, in the manga Naruto it is in the arc of the examination of the Chunin that we discover the character of Gaara. In addition to the news that can be discovered, tournaments generally offer very beautiful fights, which later became cult. We can mention in bulk, the fight Rock Lee against Gaara, Naruto against Neji, Gohan against Cell during the Cell Game or Izuku against Shoto.

A process that has its share of defects!

Nevertheless, despite all the qualities that tournaments present, one is entitled to wonder if this formula does not tend to wear and repetition. Indeed, we talked about the ability of the tournament to introduce several characters. This ability can also appear as a defect because the reader is faced with a slew of newcomers, this is the case for example of Fairy Tail and its guild tournament. Then, it is a rather repetitive gimmick that demonstrates a lack of originality in manga of the genre. Although there is not only one way to do a tournament, finding a tournament or a similar competition can seem somewhat redundant if you consume a lot of nekketsu. Especially if the latter is not well done… All in all, we can not ask each mangaka to reinvent the wheel with each work especially if the basic formula is effective! Ultimately, the tournament is a recurring process in shonen. Often epic and carrying a cult scene, these competitions highlight the will of the main character all sprinkled with intense fights. However, it is a process that is not very innovative and can quickly turn against the work!