The Shonen Formula Part 6: Train, Train, and Train Some More

The lamp aliens are on their way to destroy the Earth. Only our heroes, the G Warriors, can stop them. However, they are not strong enough to deal with the illuminated extraterrestrials. Fortunately, the aliens will not arrive for another a year. In that time, our heroes must train their bodies so they will be ready.

Does this situation look familiar to you? It should if you like Shonen series even a little. Sure, many characters get stronger in battle, but very rarely will they be able to grow enough to tackle the next main villain. As a result of this power discrepancy, training arcs are almost a necessity. Pretty much all the big series do them. DragonBall, Naruto, Bleach, JJBA, Reborn, Hunter x Hunter, etc. Some opt to not show the actual training like One Piece, but we know it's going on between islands.

While what is often seen as tedious cool down between major arcs, there are definitely some fun training arcs out there that serve as more than just a transition. The early Naruto training arcs come to mind. There was some nice interaction between team 8 and the training itself was pretty ammusing as well (walking up trees, walking on water, etc.).

It isn't often that we see the full pay off of the training during the actual training arc. Gotta have some surprises for the fight or things will get boring. I'm only talking about techniques of course. Strategic use of already known techniques can be pretty surprising even when extensively used during the training. A good example would be Goku's using his instant transmission against Cell with a fully charged Kamehameha. There's also Naruto legitimately using Rasengan for the first time against Kabuto. Even though we saw the full effects of the attack during the training, Naruto was able to make the scenario interesting by allowing Kabuto to pierce his hand with the kunai and hold it in place.

Some series tend to skip ahead after the training begins. The most recent training arc in Katekyo Hitman Reborn was like that as were most of the training arcs in Flame of Recca. Sometimes there will be flashbacks during the actual fight to signify what the fighter has learned during their training (usually displayed in emotional epiphanies).

While definitely a negative for some, the training arc is a necesary evil. When all is said and done, the main character must grow. He/she can't take out everyone from the beginning or else it would be boring. It seems some manga-ka are fine with only implying the training happened to move things along faster, but they're still prominent enough to mention. Love em or hate em, they're just another part of the genre we all love.