Prelude to the Sports Festival

Tournament arcs are one of the most iconic staples when it comes to Shonen anime and manga.

Being such a common trend however, it may be possible for an outsider looking at the excitement I feel whenever one is announced for series that I am engaged and ask: What's so exciting for an tournament arc?

Exemples that come to my mind are HxH, Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, Dragon Ball and even Yu-Gi-Oh!

They contain some of the most hyped and well-loved instances to come out of anime and as a story arc is a very simple and effective way to setup exciting moments.

But while it's easy to set it up, it's not always as easy to pull it off and there are many things that can go wrong.

My hero academia has taken Shonen battle anime back to its roots, doing nothing revolutionary besides playing off the appeal and strength of its genre, but refining everything.

But my question is: What makes a good tournament arc?

Before getting into how to do it correctly, in my opinion, I would like to first break down why the concept of Tournament Arc works so well in the first place.

To clear things up, a tournament is a competition. Competition following the molds of sports like the Super Bowl, the World Cup and even the Olympics.

The people watching sports events after multiple years don't suddenly goes: You know what, I'm actually bored of the setup of these competitions!

At the core level, competition and tournaments are exiting for spectators because you can find countless amounts of narratives into the structure in a very short time span.

The good guys, the bad guys, team work, friendship, rivalries, lineage and of course the concepts of underdogs and overdogs.

Something that was basically built for the Shonen Battle genre, which is also why every sports anime is essentially just one massive tournament arc.

So keep in mind that at its core, the highs and hopes of any tournament is something that many people experience and practically anything can be turned into a competition if you are invested enough into the activity.

So even if you don't give a fuck about sports, build up your investment in an activity and you will give a fuck about its competition.

So for the purpose of not repeating myself anymore than I'm already doing, understand that that when I say tournament, I'm referring to a series of structured one-on-one matches.

These could be a fighting match, cooking match, team sports match and even a match about drawing manga.

But let's agree to exclude any free for all and battle royale given that I see them as something entirely different.

Pre tournament competition is the contest that happens just before the actual main event. Think of the first chunin exams or the earlier hunter exams.

Here, it will be the first two games of the Sports Festival.

While they are not exactly part of the tournament and not present in its every appearance through the medias, it is a very useful tool for setting up the pieces needed to make the main event shine.

The advantage it gives is that it can helps to setup the stakes for the main event, introduce a bunch of new characters while setting their power levels and build up hype and anticipation.

When you start this kind of arc, it's more likely than not that the pre-established cast is not diverse enough to make for an interesting event completely by themselves.

So as I mentioned, new characters are either introduced to compete for first place or throw a few curveballs here and there.

By properly doing so, you can avoid the necessity of adding useless fodder to serve as foil to the main cast.

By allowing different characters to have many victories and defeats here and there, gives to the audience root to speculate who's more powerful, who are the favorites, who are the underdogs and dark horses.

It help establish a rough tier list in our minds before the tournament starts, and that's the exact setup one need as with any real sporting event to allow for exciting showdowns to come.

Speaking of which, at the end of the day a tournament is just a format, but as a format it allows many things to happen in a short period of time.

Like lots of consecutive battles, opportunity to display interesting match-ups and weaving in many individual narratives in one place.

Why do you think that the online series like "Death Battle" are so popular? Why are versus debates the bread-and-butter of any internet discussion?

People like to speculate over hypothetical fights because it's fun as hell.

But where most tournament arcs fail to stand out is by only acknowledging the quantity of matches. Having many consecutive battles in the short time, thinking that would be enough to keep the audience engaged.

However, action without meaning gets boring really fast and much like fight scenes, tournaments are about the psychology.

To tell a story through combat, the individual ideals, reasons for fighting and general mindsets are all good things writers will flesh out and make instantly recognizable once the tournament gets rolling.

And this is the opportunity to bring something unique with every fight. A clash of style, a clash of personalities or perhaps a clash of ideals.

What's important, in my opinion, is that more freedom with match outcomes translate that the stakes aren't life or death and one can always throw a few curveballs and upsets here and there.

Because it's not the outcome of a match that's important, it's how the match plays out.

What it represents.

In my opinion, that's what make a fight so god damn epic.

That why Rock lee vs Gaara stunned me as a kid, why Gon vs Hisoka became a modern classic to me and why Yūsuke vs toguro set precedent to all tournament arcs to come.

This leads me to the real reason My Hero Academia tournament arc resonated so well with me.

The series uses this format to build its core themes rather than distract from them.

The series has always been about the different points of view regarding heroes and villains with each character on their own unique journey to become the hero they want to be.

It's their hero journey at stake and nothing else.

Which is way I found it amazing that its stakes can feel so intense to me despite it being nothing more than your typical high school competition with super powers.

The world isn't on the line, yet, and the winners don't find the one piece, nor the losers get relegated to the Shadow Realm.

Everything is entirely personal as we get to see everyone's individual narratives their drives, their desires, their ambition all clash in one place.

The worst examples will put characters against each other in hope that the action will distract attention from the mediocre writing, and even some of the best are littered with constant interruptions or chicken out and decided to not have a proper winner.

Like almost every tournament arc suddenly get a huge bout of anxiety, trying to keep everyone's attention and prematurely just ejaculates the next story arc.

Taking everything I just went through, I'm confident that I pointed out what makes a good tournament arc for me.

And also what doesn't.

Hopefully my work can live up to this fancy introduction.

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Morning of the festival.

As I had my breakfast, my parents joined me.

They were a little surprised when they saw multiple copies of me all around the house, but nothing that a simple explanation and pointing out from who I copied this quirk wouldn't resolve.

Father asked if I wanted a ride but I declined telling him that the matinal exercise was my warm up to the event.

Mother praised my skill with cooking after eating what I made for them.

I let Toga enjoy their praises and cuddles, poor girl deserved to be loved just like everyone, I didn't cared if she was a murderer.

I will work on her form of showcasing affection without making her completely ignore her dark passenger.

Just better control over it.

"Do your best son, we will be there cheering for you." Said Anna Monoma to Toga while she was disguised as me.

"No matter what comes to pass, know that we are still proud of you." Reiji Monoma patted her in the back.

Man, perhaps I should introduce her to La Brava. Come to think of it, they had similar experience while growing up.

"Hey boss, can we go now?" I said to Toga, waking her out of her daydreaming.

"Yes. Bye mom and dad, I'm off." She said trying to mimic my way of speaking and posture while leaving through the front door.

I might had forgot to mention, but my house was more resembling of a manor, with its large front yard and luxurious front gate.

I had been living practically alone for some years now. Last person that I brought with me here was All Might during our training before the entrance exam.

It feels like it was ages ago.

How weird.

Anyways, on my way towards U.A, I continued chatting with Toga. We've been sharing some stories about each other the whole night, but she still desired to talk more.

Guess it makes sense.

Still, her shock was noticeable when we passed to pick up Izuku.

I knew he reminded her of her childhood crush. The one she stabbed and drank his blood with a straw.

But I needed her to get over her ghosts.

As for Midoriya, he initially made fun of me for talking to myself through the other clones, but still fanboyed at me about how great Ectoplasm's quirk was.

For the past two weeks, we've been working out together. Nothing close to my classmates' training that I gave them, but I was beginning to notice improvements.

The meekly and slim boy had now a more athletic build and also stood straight due to his improved confidence.

Gotta say, going out with him and the boys from time to time was really nice, especially for Midoriya.

I noticed that Himiko began to lost interest in him, given the fact that she began to talk to one of my other clones while I spoke with him.

Is it a success already?

Hope so.

Even though it took a little more time than expected, we eventually made our way around town after picking up some of my classmates and reached U.A.

The sound of fireworks could be heard from very far away. And the press crowded on the front gate, trying to access through the security line or even gain an interview with someone famous.

Desiring to avoid the trouble, I just warped my group of friends inside the campus, though I left behind some invisible clones as a precaution measure.

I can't be sure if things will go as smoothly as it did in the canon, my clones might be much weaker than the original me, but they will serve as my eyes and ears out here.

Come to think of it, there is that reporter determined to gain some kind of scoop.

Perhaps if...

Back to the campus, we made our way through the crowd as the sound from shops were heard everywhere.

Thankfully security hadn't noticed us. I got really skilled with using Kurogiri's quirk, by lessening its black mist my warp gates had become incredibly hard to notice for those not paying close attention.

Here the group got separated, we still had some time before entering the main building.

Inasa and Kirishima were hungry while Mezu and Fumikage decided to enter the waiting room earlier.

"So, see you later in the tournament Midoriya." I said to him friendly.

"Okay, see you then." He replied to me before leaving.

Guess that his girlfriend from the business course is already waiting for him.

"Hey Toga, wanna eat something? I'll treat you." I said casually to her, not really caring for the crowd around us.

"Sure! I'll eat whatever you eat." She said gleefully while dropping her act a little.

As we walked, people began to notice who I was, so my clones were very helpful to distract them.

I was after all, basically around a pro hero's level in regards to popularity.

Nothing that some masks that were being sold around wouldn't fix.

I took the one showing All Might's face, while Toga asked for Vlad's.

My other clones took the remaining ones.

Something that had caught my attention recently was the lack of second and third year's event scheduled for today.

From what I learned, they would happen later so that we not compete for the public's attention.

Weird change if you ask me, but again, it just makes more sense.

We approached a shop where I could eat Takoyaki and found who I was looking for.

"I will take one Takoyaki, please." Said a voluptuous young woman who had purple eyes with white pupils.

Her long, voluminous, creamy blonde hair reached her waist, with two shorter strands curled to frame her face, parted slightly to her left.

Two men were with her.

The first one was relatively short but rather muscular, with his face hid due to his Quirk.

And other was very tall and muscular with slightly-tanned skin, and short white hair.

"Wow! Mt. Lady, is that really you?" Asked a very excited vendedor.

"And hold the salt, will you?" Asked the heroine ignoring the man question.

"Of course, that's gonna be ten bucks." The vendedor said to her while preparing her order.

"Huh?" Mt. Lady exclaimed acting shy and seductive at the same time. "Oh no, my money is in the other costume."

Before the vendedor fell for her act, I took the bait and hand over the money she needed to him. "Here sir, I will be paying for her."

The man immediately noticed the chance he lost but said nothing besides sighing.

I turned to Kamui Woods and Death Arms. "Would you like something as well? Please, it will be a pleasure to support great heroes like you!"

"Aren't you a dear?" Mt. Lady said to me, obviously taking me for a sucker.

As the other two heroes declined my offer, I also requested the same to Toga and me.

"You boys are here for the festival? I see you all are fans of basically ever hero their is." Mt. Lady said as she began to eat my treat to her.

"Yes Miss Mt. Lady, I'm here to compete." I said while giving one Takoyaki to Toga.

"And the others?" She asked not really caring that much.

"Others?" I faked confusion. "Oh, you mean them?" I pointed to my clones and Toga. "Guys, show to her."

My clones followed my order and took off their masks, as did Toga, but she kept eating my treat with great care and was blushing.

Gotta ask her to keep acting while wearing my face. Regardless...

"My name is Neito Monoma! It's a pleasure to meet you. These are just my clones." I presented myself and laughed at their shocked expressions. "But I believe we've already met mister Death Arms." I bowed politely to him.

"You are..." Began Kamui Woods.

"That student from the viral video! You are The Neito Monoma!" Mt. Lady almost choked on her food.

"Good to know that my reputation precedes me." I said to them before my clone wearing Endeavor's mask touched my shoulder and said something as well. "Boss, it's almost time. We should get going." Giving me the perfect excuse, I said my goodbyes and left with Toga and my clones right behind me.

"That kid.... it's something else." Muttered Death Arms and the others nodded immediately.

"Oh no! I completely forgot to invite him to internship for my agency." Said Mt. Lady almost shouting out loud in frustration. "Wait... do you think he copied my quirk?"

"How does he even do that?" Asked Kamui Woods.

———————————————————

After getting what I wanted with Mt. Lady, I ordered my clones to guide Toga to the grandstands and made my way towards the waiting room for class 1A.

"It's a shame I'm not allowed to use the gift you gave me." Said Yui, using more words than she ever usually did. "Sorry."

"Heh. Why are you asking for forgiveness? I'm the one to blame, I didn't expected this would be a condition to the tournament." I told her. "But at least everyone else will also be in an uniform."

She smiled to me after considering my point.

"I look forward to see what they've prepared for us!" Said Inasa.

"No matter what they prepared, we must persevere." Replied Tokoyami with crossed arms and laying on his chair.

"Right." Nodded Chouji.

Enlarging my communication device and noticing it was almost time, I warned everyone. "Guys, get ready, will be entering the arena soon!"

My classmates began to stretch and warm up at my words.

"Monoma." Someone called for me.

As I turned to look, I noticed it was Todoroki. 'Guess you will officially challenge me now, huh?'

The atmosphere in the room got tense as everyone began to look at us.

"How can I help you Todoroki?" I asked him with a friendly tone.

"From an objective standpoint, I think it's fairly clear to everyone that you are the strongest among us." He told me with his cold expression.

"So what's your point?" I asked casually, making most of my classmates a little unease.

"My point is, regardless of that, you better know that I will beat you." He declared in an annoyed tone.

"Finally some emotion is coming from you Todoroki!" Said Inasa excited. "But even if you beat Monoma, I will still be the one to win!"

"Hey guys, what's the big deal? Why are you all picking fights all of the sudden? And right before we got started." Said Kirishima as me moved to calm Todoroki.

"We are not here to be each other's friends." Remarked Todoroki getting more annoyed. "You all should not forget this isn't a team effort!"

"Agreed." I said, shocking most of my classmates. "I can't possibly know what's going through everyone's head, or why do you feel the need to openly challenge me. But I know that all the other courses will come for us with everything they got. We all gonna have to give our best to have a chance to stand out." I made a brief pause to allow everyone the time to digest my words. "But if you don't mind my honesty, you are the only one handicapping yourself here, so your words of war are a little too naive and hollow." I raised and opened my left hand, allowing a small flame to manifest in my palm. "If you wish to honor your words, you better come at me with all you got." I extinguished the flames by clenching my fist.

"Tch." Todoroki turned his back to me in annoyance, fully aware that I noticed his self imposed handicap.

"That goes to you too, Bakugou." I said before turning to him. "I've heard time and again that you would defeat me. So..." I opened my arms and puffed my chest. "I'm still waiting."

"Grrr." Bakugou wanted to shout something, but decided to focus himself for the coming trials.

Good to see you are learning.

"And to everyone else, I witnessed your dedication in the past two weeks. Don't let all that dedication go to waste." I raised my arm. "Let's all go PLUS ULTRA!"

My pep talk seemed to have worked, noticing that the others managed to calm down a little.

When our time to go arrived, I was the first to leave the room.

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(22/10/2020)

*Hope this chapter is of your liking. Anything you wish to ask, feel free to do so.

Thanks as always for your attention and please be safe.

Any problems with my writing, just point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.

Really recommend Gigguk's channel on YouTube, especially his video about tournament arcs (My hero academia- how to do a tournament arc). The beginning of this chapter was basically a retelling of his argument, but I think you will enjoy even more his charisma and masterful editing.