Why is the super skilled old man trope so used and why do they always die?

Why is the super skilled old man trope so used and why do they always die?

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Roshi was weak as fuck.

Happosai never died


unfortunately

Beware of an old man in a profession where men usually die young.

Respektu your erderrs!

because japan is obsessed with the concept of sensei(s) and their legacy being passed to disciples.

>Why is the super skilled old man trope so used
Because IRL long time helps to gain the necessary experience.
>and why do they always die?
Because old age means declining health (and if it's a violent death, then it's because it makes more drama than just getting a heart attack)

He fucking destroyed the moon. And was just unlucky he missed the jar or else king piccolo would have been history right away

>super skilled old man trope so used and why do they always die?
the self-purpose and ultimate purpose of traditional martial arts was enlightenment, not just becoming a great warrior, thus the old man whose skill is supreme has overcome the physical and allowing his body to die, by self-sacrifice or something else, means nothing to him.

the "old man" is a sort of martial saint, like a Buddha.

>super skilled old man
Because it makes sense.
The anime showed a literal flashback of him training over 10 years where he just punches air non-stop
If he were a young man and just as powerful, you would be saying: "oh, look at the Gary Sue trope where the caracter has a natural hability, so young and so powerful"

Anyway, there is no scaping tropes. As long as they make sense, as in the case of Netero for example, I' m having fun

all shonen are influenced by dragonball which in turn was influenced by old kung fu flicks where the old master was a fairly common trope

This.

Thea idea of having this middle aged strong guy who is simply strong as fuck it's actually kinda compelling. I can't really remember a show where we do a timeskip and go from that to the old skilled man.
yeah that makes sense

why do they always die?
That's pretty obvious, they have no more development to undergo as characters, so their deaths are a low risk-high reward narrative resource.

Kubo fucked with us and OMG, that guy could have handed the entire story himself.
Kubo continiously contradicted himself to make sure OMG did not solo any boss himself.

>and why do they always die?
To symbolically pass the torch to the young hero and spur him onto undertaking his own quest for growth
It's Hero's Journey 101

The problem is they are a walking corpse story-wose. We're introduced to a skilled old man and we know where he's headed.

>Kubo continiously contradicted himself to make sure OMG did not solo any boss himself
No he didn't, retard

Old man have experience

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>This.jpg

based yama

I miss fapping to Azasuke Wind
Good times

>Sets up old man as pinnacle of skill having spent a life time practicing
>validates threat by having bad guy beat old man

Trope as old as time, the student avenges the master and surpasses them, etc etc.

In HxH it was used to show that while the height of individual power for humans was just short of that of the ant king, the collective power of human cruelty and ingenuity far surpasses that of any dumb ant guy who can punch really hard, and the ant was a naive child thinking he ever stood a chance against humanity

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But anyone could have killed the king tho. Netero was kinda useless. Send a chump with a bomb instead.

You wish Makarov died, everyone wished that about a thousand times. But he was denied a cool death like the other old geezers because Mashima.

Because they're old.

They didn't know if the King was stronger, the bomb was a fail safe. If they could have made the entire situation disappear by punching him to death in a canyon somewhere it was probably worth a try before setting off nukes in destabilized foreign nations.

Motherfucker is 300 years old and was the strongest man on earth for at least 270 years.

it's a pretty effective means of preserving knowledge and skill sets

physical strength building hits a peak in the 30 or so, old man strength is real.

And they risked losing the strongest man in the world? Any good hunter would have been able to assess his power. Actually netero recognizes even before he's born that he barely has any chance against the royal guards much less against the king.

> gigachad old man coming through

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The whole point being the strongest man in the world isn't really that important to the people with real power who gave the Hunter association its mission. They didn't give a shit if he died, or a few hunters died, they're just mercs, million more where they came from. If there is a serious threat to human, the nukes come out, or any number of other possible solutions. Paying for 3 hunters to show up and solve an entire nations problem is like the first and easier step to solving the issue, and no finger prints for any of the people with real power.

Elders are and have been revered for milleniums, this is hardly a Japan exclusive thing. The skill can be explained by simply having lived long, that means much time for them to get gud at just about anything they care about and also lots of experience over the young ones. While death can be explained away for lots of reasons, older generation passing on the torch, declining health, having fulfilled their life ambition etc.

Ok but why would Netero accept the mission knowing he would die? The thrill of it, going through a challenge again, etc, all seem incredibly trivial next to actually dying.
This is actually a great example of what i was looking for and completely forgot about which is silly 'cause he's one of my favorite characters.

>The idea of having this middle aged strong guy who is simply strong as fuck it's actually kinda compelling
The guy that's crazy strong for no reason is one of my favourites. Kenpachi, Jack Rakan, etc.

Roshi is still alive

Not him, but personally I don't think Netero was absolutely certain he would die in that mission. Yes Meruem had an awesome pool of nen but remember what Morel told Killua, nen pool isn't everything while laughing at his face. This was probably the best chance for Netero to get the fight of his life, and he was also the best chance of them being able to win without a sacrifice. Sadly for him this wasn't the case as Meruem tanked Zero Hand without any meaningful damage.

Well thats what happens when you drink water that gives you eternal life. Is his sister alive?

>Send a chump with a bomb instead
A chump wouldn't have even gotten through the Royal Guards, and Netero made sure to not kill innocent North Koreans

>Ok but why would Netero accept the mission knowing he would die?
The Hunters were notoriously hedonistic and irresponsable with their power. Netero at least was careful with the bomb.

well, now that I know that someone mentioned kung fu films, I can leave this thread in peace

While he's alive, the old master kinda guarantees that the status quo will be kept in place. That's hardly exclusive of shonen, it happened in Harry Potter, for example, and it's kinda guaranteed to happen in any series where a strong force of good keeps serious conflict in check.

Uranai Baba has to be immortal too. Considering that she casually brings people back from the afterlife, maybe she has a deal with someone there?

>has the best entrance in anime history
>Girls want him, Guys want to be him
>Literally the strongest character of his series
>Drinks sake, loves the seasons

how the FUCK does he do it

Do you mean his entrance in the OVAs?

Good post, never really thought of that

KA KA KA KA KACHI DAZE

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>I’m betting it all on the next generation

Kyoto entrance vs Fuji