Ah, but there's also plenty of Shonen tropes that aren't mentioned in that article. Defeat is friendship - If an antagonist is defeated by the protagonist, it is highly likely that the defeated character will join forces with the protagonist in a later arc. First girl wins - In a love triangle, the first girl introduced is the one that will win out in the end. "Stages" and "Modes" - new levels of power are reached not simply by getting stronger, but by taking on new forms. This goes hand-in-hand with transformation sequences and hidden techniques, which are often transformations of some kind. Flashback Armor - a villain will not be defeated unless his past has been elaborated on or explained, at least in part. Flashback De-armor - Once a character's past has been fully explained or resolved, he will fall to relative unimportance. Philosophy Motif - Characters will be deeply ingrained in a philosophy that fits with the theme of their combat strategy. And, if a girl is sitting/standing on a elevated platform of some kind, at night, singing, then she is in some way inhuman.