The Shonen Formula Part 4: Mortal Wounds are Totally Survivable

How many times have you heard the phrase "Its just a scratch"? In anime, that phrase's meaning can range from a few insignificant bruises to a giant hole in someone's chest. As long as the head is still attached to the body, more often than not, the heavily wounded character will not die and at worse case scenario, they are out of commission for a few weeks.

Being host to a high level of action, shonen series can get a little out of hand with the damage and destruction. The amount of people that can survive an attack that decimates buildings is a bit ridiculous. Serving both as a device to keep the fight from ending too soon and a shield to prevent a major character from dying, the fighters' penchant for pain is unmatched.

From Rangiku's run-in with Allon to Gon's bomb-resistant body, death can be avoided pretty easily as long as someone's around to heal the wounded. Mangaka might get away with it by making the characters more than human as is the case with the Sayians and the nine-tailed fox in Naruto's body, but that is merely a short term solution before the "human" characters end up just as persistent in their escape of death as the main character itself.

The biggest offender of the death-proof characters is Roronoa Zoro from One Piece. Even after watching and reading several series, no one has even come close to the level of wounds Zoro has suffered and still lived.


Even after taking a buzzsaw to the chest, Zoro just won't go down. And that's not even the worst of it. At Thriller Bark, on top of his own wounds, he is forced to take all of Luffy's pain, losing a ton of blood in the process.


While surviving such strong attacks is incredibly unrealistic, it is entertaining and gives you a warm feeling seeing your favorite character stand up to deliver the final blow. Even if they have lost limbs, even if they are dragging a trail of blood behind them, even if their intestines are inches away from leaking out, the main character will prevail. That is what shonen is all about.