There's a few reasons for the "tropey" elements: First, Arcane is primarily a story about its characters, of which it has many, and its themes. Familiar tropes are (like you said) a useful storytelling shorthand for setting viewer expectations, then subsequently subverting and/or layering in complexity. It's all about being economical. There are almost no wasted frames or wasted lines in the entire show. Second, Arcane is based on a videogame property that is decidedly NOT a narrative genre. League of Legends is a competitive arena game with fast-paced real-time combat. For this reason, most of its characters began as simple archetypes with a strong central core playstyle (ie, "personality") and matching visual design that players can quickly identify. Over time, these characters have been implied to have a rich interconnected backstory through written story snippets, in-game sound bites, and character trailers. Third, Arcane's aesthetic is decidedly operatic. It's baroque. Greek tragedy. "More is more." Powder doesn't just let her family down, she kills most of her family in a massive explosion. She isn't just abandoned, she is physically struck and her most painful insecurities are validated by the person she most loves and trusts, while fire rages in the background and rain pours from above. When they want to emphasize that Jinx is mentally ill, she's shown in fisheye lens, with discordant backing music and scribbled drawings on the frame. The showrunners poured the entire filmmaker bag of tricks into moments like these in order to create a sense of an epic, wildly emotional, larger than life story. Last, tropes are only the most superficial layer of what is going on. Something that you almost certainly won't notice until later is that Arcane is secretly throwing an enormous density of storytelling at you. For example, the amount of parallelism in this story, both visual and thematic, is astounding. The use of color and composition is as sophisticated as in film. The soundtrack is rich with leitmotif, foreshadowing, callbacks, and more. Arcane hits on all cylinders. It's not perfect, but it's shockingly good.
Are you confusing the word "trope" with "cliche"? All stories have tropes or themes. The big evil dark one like Sauron in Lord of the Rings. Estranged siblings like in this story, or the privileged society vs the poor one. Tropes aren't good or bad they are simply a framework for telling the story.
I think (but might be wrong ofc) that he has a very critical mind who's seen a lot of things and can thus recognize some techniques of storytelling. Problem is that he focuses a bit too much on the fact that he can spot these tropes, instead of appreciating HOW the tropes are being used and how they are being performed. In a type of storytelling he'd be less familiar with, he wouldn't recognize the tropes and thus that wouldn't bother him. When you think like this, it can be good to realize that the most tropey piece of storytelling can be an astounding work of art, but it's hard to do when your technical knowledge and critical thinking puts a distance between you and the art. Let's also remember that, as Brandon Sanderson says, a trope is cliché only when done poorly.
I also think that he doesn't connect very deeply with the characters and/or the plot of Arcane. When you're fully invested emotionnaly, you don't really care about tropes, even when you're good at analysing stories. It seems to me that he connects more on an intellectual level (which isn't bad, he can appreciate the technical aspects of Arcane potentially more than the average viewer). Or maybe I'm very wrong, and he connects deeply with the characters, but since he's being filmed he tries to say interesting things to the camera. Who knows? ^^
Can you really still criticize the show for being tropey and predictable if it subverts the tropes and your own predictions multiple times in this episode alone?
What is funny is that every great story is often inspired by something else. With similar universal themes. Because we have many similar experiences. But that doesn't make them bad.
@@supermonstars if you play league it’s even more obvious what’s going on. he has absolutely no idea about league of legends. but he’s pretty much following along just about as you’d expect from anyone who has seen enough television. the rich and powerful vs lower class. children losing parents in a war . bargains with higher ups to keep the peace until it falls apart. the evils of both sides collaborating against both sides to cause chaos. one villains rise to power over the brother figure who was trying to keep peace. it’s all common storylines you can find in many different television and movies. but he is still applauding the unique aspects that Arcane brings with beautiful animation and good script writing. shit even Jinx and Silco’s personality being a direct copy paste from an unstable Harley and Joker relationship.
I'm sure people have already said it but once you're done with season one I highly recommend watching the making of series call Bridging the Rift. It makes this show even more wildly impressive than it already is
8:00 "We have to trope it up for it to make sense." What's really cool is that, AS they trope it up in terms of plot, the animation and camerawork are all just so expertly done to convey the theme of the scene. Like the way the "Hex Claw" shoots the laser seemingly through Heimerdinger's skull (7:13) until the camera rotates and we see that it's actually cutting the steel plate behind him.
This is the GOT of animated series. Each episode gets better and they connect to previous ones. Each character has their own story that's worth paying attention to. It took 6 years to make , has won many awards and the critics score has not dipped since release.
I have always looked at Arcane as a perfect exectution of good ideas. Yes, it can be tropey sometimes, it doesn't have revolutionary new concepts or storytelling techniques, but it's all put together SOO well, that it still makes for incredible TV
I mean, in my opinion at least, it IS very tropey, but that's not a bad thing, and it's not restricting, the show is so much more. Jynx is the almost child like psycho killer ----is the hardened edgy punk rebel leader Hamster in a suit is the old grumpy parental figure type struggling to accept change and the new ways etc. Etc. I see ot as a bold show with bold characters and bold storytelling, but if you pick it apart down to bare bones, I agree it is also "tropey" just my take tho
@@KrazeeHouse But when you look at it that way, everything is tropey, like everything Jon has watched on the channel for example. I have almost never seen a main character like Jinx. Having so many characters to focus on and all of them being as important as each other isn't something that hasn't been done before, but also something that is very rare
its so tropey yet he couldnt even figure out that was obviously not vi ? vi was taller than powder years ago why would powder be bigger than her now ? stop mentioning how tropey it is if ur still gonna miss key details 💀
I really hope we get a story with no tropes at all. I don’t like it when anything is predictable. I prefer it not to make sense, so long as I’m surprised.
There's a few reasons for the "tropey" elements:
First, Arcane is primarily a story about its characters, of which it has many, and its themes. Familiar tropes are (like you said) a useful storytelling shorthand for setting viewer expectations, then subsequently subverting and/or layering in complexity. It's all about being economical. There are almost no wasted frames or wasted lines in the entire show.
Second, Arcane is based on a videogame property that is decidedly NOT a narrative genre. League of Legends is a competitive arena game with fast-paced real-time combat. For this reason, most of its characters began as simple archetypes with a strong central core playstyle (ie, "personality") and matching visual design that players can quickly identify. Over time, these characters have been implied to have a rich interconnected backstory through written story snippets, in-game sound bites, and character trailers.
Third, Arcane's aesthetic is decidedly operatic. It's baroque. Greek tragedy. "More is more." Powder doesn't just let her family down, she kills most of her family in a massive explosion. She isn't just abandoned, she is physically struck and her most painful insecurities are validated by the person she most loves and trusts, while fire rages in the background and rain pours from above. When they want to emphasize that Jinx is mentally ill, she's shown in fisheye lens, with discordant backing music and scribbled drawings on the frame. The showrunners poured the entire filmmaker bag of tricks into moments like these in order to create a sense of an epic, wildly emotional, larger than life story.
Last, tropes are only the most superficial layer of what is going on. Something that you almost certainly won't notice until later is that Arcane is secretly throwing an enormous density of storytelling at you. For example, the amount of parallelism in this story, both visual and thematic, is astounding. The use of color and composition is as sophisticated as in film. The soundtrack is rich with leitmotif, foreshadowing, callbacks, and more. Arcane hits on all cylinders. It's not perfect, but it's shockingly good.
"This show is so trop- omg did you see that? Woah, didn't expect that, anyway, as I was saying, so tropey and predictable"
that first girl was just a random girl w pink hair not actually vi
Are you confusing the word "trope" with "cliche"? All stories have tropes or themes. The big evil dark one like Sauron in Lord of the Rings. Estranged siblings like in this story, or the privileged society vs the poor one. Tropes aren't good or bad they are simply a framework for telling the story.
Cliché doesn't really fit either.
@@itsgonnabeokay9341 I agree. I don't really understand his issue with it. But I think that's what he means.
I think (but might be wrong ofc) that he has a very critical mind who's seen a lot of things and can thus recognize some techniques of storytelling. Problem is that he focuses a bit too much on the fact that he can spot these tropes, instead of appreciating HOW the tropes are being used and how they are being performed. In a type of storytelling he'd be less familiar with, he wouldn't recognize the tropes and thus that wouldn't bother him.
When you think like this, it can be good to realize that the most tropey piece of storytelling can be an astounding work of art, but it's hard to do when your technical knowledge and critical thinking puts a distance between you and the art.
Let's also remember that, as Brandon Sanderson says, a trope is cliché only when done poorly.
I also think that he doesn't connect very deeply with the characters and/or the plot of Arcane. When you're fully invested emotionnaly, you don't really care about tropes, even when you're good at analysing stories. It seems to me that he connects more on an intellectual level (which isn't bad, he can appreciate the technical aspects of Arcane potentially more than the average viewer).
Or maybe I'm very wrong, and he connects deeply with the characters, but since he's being filmed he tries to say interesting things to the camera. Who knows? ^^
Can you really still criticize the show for being tropey and predictable if it subverts the tropes and your own predictions multiple times in this episode alone?
What is funny is that every great story is often inspired by something else. With similar universal themes. Because we have many similar experiences. But that doesn't make them bad.
it’s a fair statement. the story does have tropes .
@@999dawnfm ...every story has tropes. The point is that he calls it predictable while in the same breath making every wrong prediction.
@@supermonstars if you play league it’s even more obvious what’s going on. he has absolutely no idea about league of legends. but he’s pretty much following along just about as you’d expect from anyone who has seen enough television. the rich and powerful vs lower class. children losing parents in a war . bargains with higher ups to keep the peace until it falls apart. the evils of both sides collaborating against both sides to cause chaos. one villains rise to power over the brother figure who was trying to keep peace. it’s all common storylines you can find in many different television and movies.
but he is still applauding the unique aspects that Arcane brings with beautiful animation and good script writing. shit even Jinx and Silco’s personality being a direct copy paste from an unstable Harley and Joker relationship.
@@999dawnfm Okay? You're cleary ignoring my point.
I'm sure people have already said it but once you're done with season one I highly recommend watching the making of series call Bridging the Rift. It makes this show even more wildly impressive than it already is
8:00 "We have to trope it up for it to make sense." What's really cool is that, AS they trope it up in terms of plot, the animation and camerawork are all just so expertly done to convey the theme of the scene. Like the way the "Hex Claw" shoots the laser seemingly through Heimerdinger's skull (7:13) until the camera rotates and we see that it's actually cutting the steel plate behind him.
"trope it up" is something someone who has no idea what a trope is would say.
This is the GOT of animated series. Each episode gets better and they connect to previous ones. Each character has their own story that's worth paying attention to. It took 6 years to make , has won many awards and the critics score has not dipped since release.
I have always looked at Arcane as a perfect exectution of good ideas. Yes, it can be tropey sometimes, it doesn't have revolutionary new concepts or storytelling techniques, but it's all put together SOO well, that it still makes for incredible TV
This is legit one of the least “tropey” shows I’ve ever seen, like do you see the main character??? lol
I mean, in my opinion at least, it IS very tropey, but that's not a bad thing, and it's not restricting, the show is so much more.
Jynx is the almost child like psycho killer
----is the hardened edgy punk rebel leader
Hamster in a suit is the old grumpy parental figure type struggling to accept change and the new ways etc. Etc.
I see ot as a bold show with bold characters and bold storytelling, but if you pick it apart down to bare bones, I agree it is also "tropey" just my take tho
@@KrazeeHouse But when you look at it that way, everything is tropey, like everything Jon has watched on the channel for example. I have almost never seen a main character like Jinx. Having so many characters to focus on and all of them being as important as each other isn't something that hasn't been done before, but also something that is very rare
I'm so excited for the new season later this year!
its so tropey yet he couldnt even figure out that was obviously not vi ? vi was taller than powder years ago why would powder be bigger than her now ? stop mentioning how tropey it is if ur still gonna miss key details 💀
Vinland ?
I don't think you know what a trope is
Please upload Vinland Saga episode reaction
I really hope we get a story with no tropes at all. I don’t like it when anything is predictable. I prefer it not to make sense, so long as I’m surprised.
There's no such thing as a story without tropes though. As long as there's a setting and characters, there's going to be tropes.
@@Pheonixess hater.