You get reincarnated into... a completely normal tournament?

[Malonymous]

There is no secret organization with a nefarious agenda, no evil cults who show up at the last minute to crash the party, no hidden villains who try to ruin your day or steal your pokemans. Nope, it's literally just a plain ol' fighting tournament that you're signed up for in the world you get reincarnated into.
You can choose your magic powers and fighting skills, and you'll get lots of money or a wish if you win, but other than that, how do you make your story interesting?

Do you pursue love interest(s) on the side?
Is the tournament just a stepping stone to something even bigger?
Or... do you become the villain of the story and do whatever it takes to win?

It really is just a 'normal' fighting tournament with none of the usual tournament tropes and absolutely no twists! (At least, no twists of its own...)

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

There might be no twist but there is no way to make a story boring if you only lack creativity. One can make the MC whose not overpowered but relies on his wit and skills to the test, the MC could be OP but make the fights interesting as he would make his opponent cower in fear at the overwhelming force but make it so that the enemy would still have a fighting chance and defeat him in a climatic clash as you hold back. Or....

Wait a moment, I think the juice has run out of my system, brb. gonna snort some more.

 

[Jemini]

The concept of a tournament arc has become so wide-spread that there are literally hundreds like you just described out there. In fact, the "boring" tournament arcs literally out-number the twist tournament arcs, and most of the "trope-filled" tournament arcs exist in anime while the rest of the "boring" ones are in all the other media out there.

If you want an example of a "boring" tournament that made it's way to the anime level though, look no farther than Hunter X Hunter, the second series by the same guy who gave us the Dark Tournament arc in Yu Yu Hakusho (commonly accepted as the best tournament arc ever written.) The Hunter X Hunter tournament arcs make things more interesting by mixing them with training arcs, and also making it so winning the tournament was never the goal to start with. The goal with the Hunter X Hunter tournament arcs is always either 1. get stronger, or 2. have fun and pass some time. (Usually both.)

 

[BenJepheneT]

YOU ARE IN A TOURNAMENT WHERE NOTHING OUT OF LEFT FIELD WILL HAPPEN! LITERALLY NO TWISTS OR TURNS! IT WILL ALL GO AS PLANNED, AND THE STRONGEST WILL WIN! WHAT WILL YOU DO?????

i'll just fight, fuck else do you think i'm gonna do?

 

[K5Rakitan]

I'll spend all my time pursuing love interests, not just as a side thing.

 

[Malonymous]

The concept of a tournament arc has become so wide-spread that there are literally hundreds like you just described out there. In fact, the "boring" tournament arcs literally out-number the twist tournament arcs, and most of the "trope-filled" tournament arcs exist in anime while the rest of the "boring" ones are in all the other media out there.

If you want an example of a "boring" tournament that made it's way to the anime level though, look no farther than Hunter X Hunter, the second series by the same guy who gave us the Dark Tournament arc in Yu Yu Hakusho (commonly accepted as the best tournament arc ever written.) The Hunter X Hunter tournament arcs make things more interesting by mixing them with training arcs, and also making it so winning the tournament was never the goal to start with. The goal with the Hunter X Hunter tournament arcs is always either 1. get stronger, or 2. have fun and pass some time. (Usually both.)

Interesting, are the majority of those hundreds of examples you're referring to sports tournaments or do you mean fighting tournaments? And in what media do you mean? I would love to hear some other specific examples because I can't think of any 'trope-less' tournament arcs that went mainstream! (I haven't watched Hunter x Hunter)

There might be no twist but there is no way to make a story boring if you only lack creativity.

You're right, the title was just a little joke on how most anime tournaments have some kind of major plot twist at their core ^^

 

[BenJepheneT]

Interesting, are the majority of those hundreds of examples you're referring to sports tournaments or do you mean fighting tournaments? And in what media do you mean? I would love to hear some other specific examples because I can't think of any 'trope-less' tournament arcs that went mainstream! (I haven't watched Hunter x Hunter)

The Hunter X Hunter tournament arc is consider different because it wasn't written AS a tournament arc. The arc just had a tournament as a backdrop for the characters to test out a new system they've learned. It's more of a justification for how the characters got to their power level than an actual tournament arc.

 

[Jemini]

Interesting, are the majority of those hundreds of examples you're referring to sports tournaments or do you mean fighting tournaments? And in what media do you mean? I would love to hear some other specific examples because I can't think of any 'trope-less' tournament arcs that went mainstream! (I haven't watched Hunter x Hunter)

Ok, if you're going to limit it to main-stream, that's a little different. It's also a fairly relative term. What, exactly, qualifies as main-stream? We are a webnovel community, webnovels are not exactly main-stream, but I can think of quite a few web novels that have made the absolute top of the charts and might as well have a permanent spot on Royal Road's "popular this week" board

Of those series that are what could pass for "main stream" within the nieche of webnovels, there is a series called "The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound." This series, if I am remembering and counting accurately, features somewhere around 5 different tournament arcs. (It's also a ridiculously long series, so there is a lot going on between each of those tournament arcs.) Of those five, only the 2 that take place on Tellus (a different world) have any of the standard tropes. The 3 that take place on Earth are not exactly normal tournament arcs, but the also have zero of the standard tropes.

The 3rd of the 3 on Earth (also counting as the 5th of the 5 in the series) almost word-for-word fits the definition of what you laid out in the OP. About the only thing that's "off" about it is the fact that the MC is not participating in the tournament, he's the host of the tournament. He's the one who's putting it on, and he's also the one who put up the prize. Aside from that, the story chooses a secondary POV for us to follow through the arc and it plays out like a pretty standard fighting tournament arc. It's made interesting by the fact that the POV character we are given was only introduced to the reader at the beginning of this arc, by this point in the story we already know a lot of the ridiculously powerful players in the game from the story so far, and this guy is a literal nobody compared to all of them but he gets a lot farther than the reader expects. In other words, the arc puts the reader in the position of the audience member shocked at the upset of this underdog character coming in and beating the people you expected to win easily. It's a pretty standard tournament arc, but the POV shift really adds something magical to it.

 

[tyler89558]

I will have a bunch of quality of life spells and just use those to fanangle my way to victory.

 

[LinXueLian]

That tournament is just a stepping stone for me to sell my clothes! I'll wear fabulous clothing and POW WOW I'll be top designer in that Wuxia setting after a while! Every tournament I go to, I'll make and wear something different, maybe of mystical beast hide, maybe of bark of magic tree... omg... I might "invent" frills and lace there too and become famous, omg....

 

[atgongumerki]

make allies

analyse the fighting styles of the competition, and how they relate to each other (A is hard-counter to B; B wins against C as often as it loses; D easily beats A but has no chance against any other; ...)
BONUS: the author does not have to explain the magic system at the start of the book, because the reader sees how it works in action with all its facets

gather intel on those likely to win (maybe I may want to buy or steal the prices)

if I need to win, sabotage those I am likely to lose against

and if all that is not enough and I get bored, go get fucked

 

[Malonymous]

Ok, if you're going to limit it to main-stream, that's a little different. It's also a fairly relative term. What, exactly, qualifies as main-stream? We are a webnovel community, webnovels are not exactly main-stream, but I can think of quite a few web novels that have made the absolute top of the charts and might as well have a permanent spot on Royal Road's "popular this week" board

Of those series that are what could pass for "main stream" within the nieche of webnovels, there is a series called "The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound." This series, if I am remembering and counting accurately, features somewhere around 5 different tournament arcs. (It's also a ridiculously long series, so there is a lot going on between each of those tournament arcs.) Of those five, only the 2 that take place on Tellus (a different world) have any of the standard tropes. The 3 that take place on Earth are not exactly normal tournament arcs, but the also have zero of the standard tropes.

The 3rd of the 3 on Earth (also counting as the 5th of the 5 in the series) almost word-for-word fits the definition of what you laid out in the OP. About the only thing that's "off" about it is the fact that the MC is not participating in the tournament, he's the host of the tournament. He's the one who's putting it on, and he's also the one who put up the prize. Aside from that, the story chooses a secondary POV for us to follow through the arc and it plays out like a pretty standard fighting tournament arc. It's made interesting by the fact that the POV character we are given was only introduced to the reader at the beginning of this arc, by this point in the story we already know a lot of the ridiculously powerful players in the game from the story so far, and this guy is a literal nobody compared to all of them but he gets a lot farther than the reader expects. In other words, the arc puts the reader in the position of the audience member shocked at the upset of this underdog character coming in and beating the people you expected to win easily. It's a pretty standard tournament arc, but the POV shift really adds something magical to it.

That main stream limitation wasn't actually intended; in fact, I would be interested to hear about non-mainstream examples of trope-less tournaments I haven't seen in other media, and I'm guessing you were referring to such from something like manga, light novels, web novels, traditional novels, web comics, etc.? The point was more about how aside from sports anime that one could say tend to focus on slice of life interpersonal relationships and personal struggles, most fighting tournament arcs in anime do go the more cliche route with major plot twists/tropes at their climax, ostensibly because they're more exciting for TV or viewers expect that kind of storyline or such, and I was looking for examples to the contrary in any media really. Or literally in the case of the prompt, people coming up with their own.

That said, I like that idea of the MC being the one who hosts the tournament with the POV shift to a new character! That's a good one, thanks.

 

[SailusGebel]

There is no secret organization with a nefarious agenda, no evil cults who show up at the last minute to crash the party, no hidden villains who try to ruin your day or steal your pokemans. Nope, it's literally just a plain ol' fighting tournament that you're signed up for in the world you get reincarnated into.
You can choose your magic powers and fighting skills, and you'll get lots of money or a wish if you win, but other than that, how do you make your story interesting?

Do you pursue love interest(s) on the side?
Is the tournament just a stepping stone to something even bigger?
Or... do you become the villain of the story and do whatever it takes to win?

It really is just a normal tournament with none of the usual tournament tropes and absolutely no twists! (At least, no twists of its own... )

You can copy the structure of the "Baki the grappler" tournament arc. It was long ago that I read\wach it. That's why I may be wrong here. If I remember it correctly, there were no major twists. It was literally a tournament to decide who is the strongest. What made it interesting, at least for me, is the background\backstory of each character. We would get pov's of different characters, look at their personality, look into why they want to win a tournament, and so on.

Shaman king(old anime version) did a somewhat similar thing, but there was a twist in the end, again, if I remember it correctly.

Chuunin exam in Naruto was also somewhat similar, but the whole tournament was made for a major twist, an attack on Konoha.

So if you want to make an interesting tournament for the sake of a tournament without any twists, look into characters other than MC, flesh them out more. Give them distinct personalities, give them goals, make them charismatic. Those who go further into the tournament can even get character development. I mean, not in a 'good' way. An evil guy got defeated and finally see his wrongs. Not like this. But a more complex development, perhaps reconciliation with inner 'demons', getting frustrated at his loss, getting mental breakdown, and so on. Deciding to better himself even further, perhaps? Gaining a new friend? This development may come from the different pov AND mc looking at the fight from the side. The development may as well come from talking with other participants and so on.

Anyway, make characters distinct but don't make a mistake of doing ONLY likeable\unlikeable characters. They, first and foremost, must be interesting. The reader must be hooked. And later on, with the development of those characters, readers will find one they will cheer on. Make so that the winning of the tournament actually matters for most of them. Either it's the prize or the simple fact of winning\becoming strongest.

So, yeah, basically Baki tournament structure, in my opinion, is great.

 

[vzymmer]

A normal tournament? Check
Normal non-supernatural fights? Check
A normal over the top arrogant weak participant? Check
A normal edgy chunni inflicted participant? Check
A standard mob character with a tragic backstory? Check

Is this still a normal tournament? Yes
Where's the MC? At the audience stand eating hotdog

 

[Mephi]

Hm. Well, if we suddenly got dropped into a magic tournament... I'd end up as that semi-creepy girl who's obsessed with hexcraft and necromancy and uses tarot cards in place of scrolls.

The tournament is but a mere stepping stone for my true goal of.... getting a love life despite the crazy personality.

 

[Lord_Drakonus]

Choose a power, forfeit the tournament, and just live a fulfilling life I guess? Honestly, unless someone pisses me the fuck off, I'm too lazy to even pick a fight with someone. I'd rather just experiment with my powers just for shits and giggles. Also, if this world is a modern one, then I'll be even lazier.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

There is no secret organization with a nefarious agenda, no evil cults who show up at the last minute to crash the party, no hidden villains who try to ruin your day or steal your pokemans. Nope, it's literally just a plain ol' fighting tournament that you're signed up for in the world you get reincarnated into.
You can choose your magic powers and fighting skills, and you'll get lots of money or a wish if you win, but other than that, how do you make your story interesting?

Do you pursue love interest(s) on the side?
Is the tournament just a stepping stone to something even bigger?
Or... do you become the villain of the story and do whatever it takes to win?

It really is just a normal tournament with none of the usual tournament tropes and absolutely no twists! (At least, no twists of its own... )

So I would just beat up my oopponents and then publicly humiliate them.
"Why're you hitting yourself? Why're you hitting yourself?"
"Crawl under my legs and I wont beat you up."
"Catch my spit in your mouth if you want to live!"
Weird shit. I mean maybe no one else would enjoy it. But I would and that's all that matters.

And if my opponents are women?

Huehuehue....

 

[iamchangingthissoon]

if it is just a tournament, I'm grabbing a bucket and I'll throw throwing sand in people's eyes to win it.... if that joke doesn't work I'll choose whatever flashy thing i can get my hands on to entertain myself, especially the power to create any type of explosion. (For entertainment purposes)

 

[CupcakeNinja]

if it is just a tournament, I'm grabbing a bucket and I'll throw throwing sand in people's eyes to win it.... if that joke doesn't work I'll choose whatever flashy thing i can get my hands on to entertain myself, especially the power to create any type of explosion. (For entertainment purposes)

Megumin approves

 

[LoliGent]

When I read the title, I thought it was going to be a literal boring tournament, like a staring contest. But even then, I think you can make an intense staring contest of the likes never seen. It's all about perspective.

I think a boring fighting tournment would be an actual fighting tournament, like in real life. No super special powers, no overly steroid monstricity of athletes, just regular people with exceptional skill fighting based on rules. So yeah, I'd end up reincarnated into the real world apparently, which would be a better alternative to right now since, if I'm am going to join a fighting tournament, then I'd be reincarnated into a buff guy or something. Way better than me right now.