History Main / ToBeAMaster

* ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' is sort of an UnbuiltTrope when it comes to this, in that the ultimate goal of the main antagonist is to be the best martial artist ever, and become powerful enough to conquer even the heavens. This leads to him becoming an evil, power-hungry tyrant, on top of being a TragicHero.

* The King of Games or Duel Champion in ''Anime/YuGiOh''. Note that in the original series and in ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', it wasn't the protagonist who sought the title of the best player as his primary goal (though they got it anyway, and pretty early on). ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' and ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'', however, follow the more traditional format with a hero whose explicit goal is to become the next King of Games/Duel Champion. Also averted in '''Anime/YuGiOhArcV''', where Yuya's goal is to entertain others with his Action Dueling.

* The King of Games or Duel Champion in ''Anime/YuGiOh''. Note that in the original series and in ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', it wasn't the protagonist who sought the title of the best player as his primary goal (though they got it anyway, and pretty early on). ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' and ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'', however, follow the more traditional format with a hero whose explicit goal is to become the next King of Games/Duel Champion.

* ''[[SixSixSixSatan 666 Satan]]'' (released in the U.S. as "O-Parts Hunter") has an unusual one for the main character Jio Freed. He wants to gain respect...by [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]]!

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

** Even then no one recognizes your achievement,and the last champion still has to fight you. Though this is subverted slightly in [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo Red/Blue]] and their remakes ([=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]), where you ''are'' proven to be the Champion, but you still fight your rival.

* The underlying goal of almost every wrestler ever. As [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} Triple H]] once put it, "If you're not here to be champion, you're in the wrong place." That said, there are [[{{Jobber}} more than a few]] wrestlers who don't seem to be in the right place, by Trips' standards.

** ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'' is basically a typical MerchandiseDriven toy-series with this premise. Only the toys are Gundam models.

Named after the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' song used in the ''Pikachu's Jukebox'' segments of the dubbed versions of the Pokemon anime, called "2.B. A. Master". Also the name of the album that the English theme song itself was released on.

* Omega Zell from ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'' may be in his early twenties, but he still qualifies as everyone in the work is playing the same [[FictionalVideoGame fictional]] {{MMORPG}} and he wants to become its top player.

* Laharl's quest to become an Overlord in the first half of ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}''.

** Subverted as of Chapter 63 when [[spoiler: Soul Eater finally eats a witch's soul and becomes a death scythe.]]
*** And then has several characters point out that [[spoiler: attaining the rank actually leads to more responsibility and more challenges, rather leaving the impression that in the wider scheme of things not much has changed. A curious take on something that was presented as the series' goal, to see Soul appear to be one of many in the same position (there are, after all, Weapon students around the world).]]

** This character arc is mirrored somewhat by Anakin Skywalker's arc in the prequel trilogy. He leaves his homeworld to train to be a Jedi in the first film, and by the end of the third film, he has become [[spoiler: [[ItWasHisSled a Dark Lord of the Sith.]]]]

* Basically the whole motivation behind professional fighting sports. To be a champion is the ultimate sign of ability. With the belt comes [[OnlyInItForTheMoney the money]] and [[GlorySeeker fame]] that gives even more incentive to be the champ.

* Millie in ''LostUniverse'' wants to be the best in the universe - at ''everything''. She is allegedly already the best shot and best cook ([[LethalChef Despite the fact that she somehow manages to destroy the kitchen every time she cooks]]). She has no particular reason for wanting to be the best other than to boost her already excessive ego. Fortunately, the anime is about Kain and Canal, not Millie.

* Subverted in ''KenichiTheMightiestDisciple''. Kenichi is training to be a master of.. well ALL the martial arts, but instead of training for the purpose of becoming a master, he trains in order to prevent people picking on him and to be able to protect his loved ones.

To Be a Master is the SeriesGoal behind about 70% of all [[ShonenDemographic shonen]] {{manga}} and {{anime}}. Sure, MechaShow, HaremShow, {{Sentai}} and the odd detective story are all okay, but if you ''really'' want to strike a winning story formula for audiences, ToBeAMaster is the winning way to go. In fact, this is so prevalent that sometimes the demographic term "shonen" is used to refer to this genre, due in part to the success of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' and ''Anime/Pokemon''.

Apart from sports manga, where the ultimate goal is to win some sort of ''trophy'', the usual reward in 'To Be a Master' consists of a title, something along the lines of "The World-Theme King" or "The World-Theme Master," that is acknowledged by literally ''everyone'' in that world- and brings a set of privileges with it, hopefully the power to MakeYourDreamsComeTrue. If there is a title, important plot points will be ''who held the title before'' and the fact that it can only be gained under ''special'' circumstances, such as being a designated candidate to take part in a ''worldwide tournament''. Otherwise, the main character will likely just want to make their dreams come true, even there isn't any kind of title.

ToBeAMaster is the SeriesGoal behind about 70% of all [[ShonenDemographic shonen]] {{manga}} and {{anime}}. Sure, MechaShow, HaremShow, {{Sentai}} and the odd detective story are all okay, but if you ''really'' want to strike a winning story formula for audiences, ToBeAMaster is the winning way to go. In fact, this is so prevalent that sometimes the demographic term "shonen" is used to refer to this genre, due in part to the success of Manga/{{Naruto}} and Pokemon.

The setup is deceptively simple: InAWorld where [[SeriousBusiness everything else revolves around]] ''one'' thing -- [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries Children's]] CardGames, {{pirate}}s, {{ninja}}s, anything -- a young lad (or lass in some cases) in his/her teens (or younger), usually an IdealHero, will set out on a quest to, well, ToBeAMaster of ''whatever'' their world deems important, be it Monsters, CardGames, guardians, [[YumeiroPatissiere sweets]], or even ''fashion''...

* This is the basic goal of the ''PunchOut'' games. The new Wii game takes it to the next level-after Little Mac wins the championships, he's then forced to defend his newly won titles against disgruntled opponents looking for a rematch.

* The dolls in ''RozenMaiden'' all wish to become the new Alice.

* In ''KingdomHearts'', this is played with due to Nomura [[IndyPloy Still working out the plot at the time]]. At first, Sora is claimed to be the chosen Keyblade master, as it turns out, it's Riku. Then in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', it is then expanded upon that they are, just chosen to wield one and are not masters. Then it is blatantly done in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' as Aqua, Terra, and Ven all share a dream to become Keyblade Masters, while Terra's story is to redeem himself by finding Master Xehanort.

* ''{{Vagabond}}'', which tells the tale of Miyamoto Musashi's journey to become Unrivaled Under Heaven. He quickly earns the title [[AllThatGlitters only to realize it means NOTHING.]]

* ''{{Vagabond}}'', which tells the tale of Miyamoto Musashi's journey to become Unrivaled Under Heaven. He quickly earns the title only to realize it means NOTHING.