History Main / ToBeAMaster

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, To Be A Master is the winning way to go. In fact, this is so prevalent that sometimes (especially outside of Japan) the demographic term "shonen" is used to refer specifically to this genre, due in part to the success of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', ''Manga/OnePiece'' and ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''.

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

[[folder: Film]]

* The title of "Pokémon Master" in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries''. In practice, Ash's usual goal throughout the anime is to be the champion of the current region's Pokémon League. Succeeding in this ''might'' cause Ash to consider himself a Master, which is why he'd never won even once in the entire series until Alola. The fact that "Pokémon Master" [[CrypticBackgroundReference is a nebulous concept already]] doesn't really help, and even after becoming the Champion of Alola he claims it's only the ''first'' step. Even after officially becoming [[WorldsBestWarrior the strongest Trainer in the world]] at the end of ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'' he refuses to claim the title even though nobody would argue if he did. It also serves as the {{Trope Namer|s}} thanks to the American song "2.B.A Master". In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesAimToBeAPokemonMaster'' he finally decides that being a Master means [[ItsTheJourneyThatCounts seeing the world and meeting all the Pokémon in it]], with him deciding to continue WalkingTheEarth.

* The main leads of ''Manga/SmileDownTheRunway'' are, respectively, an aspiring FashionDesigner and a model. Both of them dream to be featured at the Paris runway, which is highly regarded as ''the'' most prestigious stage of the fashion world, and the apex of their respective career choices. Both have severe handicaps that prevents them from easily reaching their dreams (Ikuto lacks a Fashion Design degree, which is almost always a requirement to work in the industry, and is inexperienced in the High Fashion mode; Chiyuki stands at 158 cm, and is considered too short to be a successful model), but they will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

%%* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'''s modern chapter. Four words: -Strongest in the World-. (Three words- Zero Context Example. Please explain how the game fits the trope.)

* Omega Zell frrom ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'' may be in his 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.

* The main leads of ''Manga/SmileDownTheRunway'' are, respectively, an aspiring FashionDesigner and a FashionModel. Both of them dream to be featured at the Paris runway, which is highly regarded as ''the'' most prestigious stage of the fashion world, and the apex of their respective career choices. Both have severe handicaps that prevents them from easily reaching their dreams (Ikuto lacks a Fashion Design degree, which is almost always a requirement to work in the industry, and is inexperienced in the High Fashion mode; Chiyuki stands at 158 cm, and is considered too short to be a successful model), but they will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'''s modern chapter. Four words: -Strongest in the World-.

* The title of "Pokémon Master" in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries''. In practice, Ash's usual goal throughout the anime is to be the champion of the current region's Pokémon League. Succeeding in this ''might'' cause Ash to consider himself a Master, which is why he'd never won even once in the entire series until Alola. The fact that "Pokémon Master" [[CrypticBackgroundReference is a nebulous concept already]] doesn't really help, and even after becoming the Champion of Alola he claims it's only the ''first'' step. Even after officially becoming [[WorldsBestWarrior the strongest Trainer in the world]] at the end of ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'' he refuses to claim the title even though nobody would argue if he did. It also serves as the {{Trope Namer|s}} thanks to the American song "2.B.A Master".

-->-- '''First English OpeningTheme''', ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''

* The title of "Pokemon Master" in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. In practice, Ash's usual goal throughout the anime is to be the champion of the current region's Pokemon League. Succeeding in this ''might'' cause Ash to consider himself a Master, which is why he'd never won even once in the entire series until Alola. The fact that "Pokemon Master" [[CrypticBackgroundReference is a nebulous concept already]] doesn't really help, and even after becoming the Champion of Alola he claims it's only the ''first'' step. Even after officially becoming [[WorldsBestWarrior the strongest Trainer in the world]] at the end of ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'' he refuses to claim the title even though nobody would argue if he did.
** It also serves as the TropeNamer thanks to the American song "2.B.A Master".

* ''Manga/HikaruNoGo'' actually averts this; Hikaru gets into the game of Go just for the fun of it, and just happens to be in the running for the best player of his generation (the fact that he wants to be a worthy [[TheRival opponent]] for the prodigy Akira also helps). Hikaru himself acknowledges that he is part of the eternal search for "Kami no Itte" (literally, "Hand of God", but often translated as "Divine Move"; both refer to playing a perfect game) but this goal is more spiritual than something that can actually be achieved.

* Mai Kazuki from ''Anime/MagicalStarMagicalEmi'' dreams of becoming a great magician.

* The title of "Pokemon Master" in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. In practice, Ash's usual goal throughout the anime is to be the champion of the current region's Pokemon League. Succeeding in this ''might'' cause Ash to consider himself a Master, which is why he'd never won even once in the entire series until Alola. While he has grown into an Ace Trainer in his own right as the series has gone on -- he beat all the Frontier Brains, who are said to be at least as strong as the Elite Four -- he still sees himself as nowhere close to his real goal of being a Pokemon Master. The fact that "Pokemon Master" [[CrypticBackgroundReference is a nebulous concept already]] doesn't really help, and even after becoming the Champion of Alola he claims it's only the ''first'' step.

The setup is deceptively simple: InAWorld where [[SeriousBusiness everything else revolves around]] ''one'' thing -- 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, To Be a Master of ''whatever'' their world deems important, be it Monsters, CardGames, guardians, [[Manga/YumeiroPatissiere sweets]], or even ''fashion''...

* The Bees in ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', are trying to become Head Bee, the most skilled of the Bees who often works in the capital(living in the capital in and of itself is a great privilege). Gauche Suede in particular wants to become Head Bee in order to get money to heal his [[IllGirl younger]] [[BigBrotherInstinct sister]] Sylvette's legs. However, this is a subversion, as it ends up not being the main point of the story.

* The title of "Pokemon Master" in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. In practice, Ash's usual goal throughout the anime is to be the champion of the current region's Pokemon League. Succeeding in this ''might'' cause Ash to consider himself a Master, which is why he's never won even once in the entire series [[spoiler:until Alola, that is]]. While he has grown into an Ace Trainer in his own right as the series has gone on -- he beat all the Frontier Brains, who are said to be at least as strong as the Elite Four -- he still sees himself as nowhere close to his real goal of being a Pokemon Master. The fact that "Pokemon Master" is a nebulous concept already doesn't really help.

The only catch? [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption They'll be lucky if they achieve this goal in the next]] ''[[LongRunner fifteen years]]'' (although there are also cases where attaining mastery isn't that far off). To Be a Master is such a successful format that these weekly TV series sometimes tend to [[LongRunners drag on for years]] (especially if it's really, really popular) in an effort to [[MerchandiseDriven exploit as much as possible]] out of the show. We're all suckers for starry-eyed youths who fight to accomplish their dreams, so expect LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters and a strict SortingAlgorithmOfEvil to keep feeding new 'challenges' to our hero week after week (year after year). Throw in the ''inevitable'' TournamentArc and leveling [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours powerups]] and we're ready to go!

* This is the driving motivation for Eddie Felson throughout ''Film/TheHustler'' -- it's not enough that he's already a great pool player, he ''must'' defeat Minnesota Fats and [[SecondPlaceIsForLosers have Fats acknowledge him as the best.]]

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 (especially outside of Japan) the demographic term "shonen" is used to refer specifically to this genre, due in part to the success of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', ''Manga/OnePiece'' and ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''.

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}}'', ''Manga/OnePiece'' and ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''.

Depending on the series' setting, the hero's opponents may not necessarily be evil, and are simply after the ''same'' prize that TheProtagonist is... They may become a DesignatedAntagonist when they oppose the hero, but [[DefeatMeansFriendship nothing prevents them from becoming friends and allies if either beats the other.]] Prominent rivals may even get ADayInTheLimelight episodes that develop them 'beyond' simply the hero's latest opponent and may even get a BelatedBackStory.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1324327751053571100
%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest an image.

->''"I wanna be the very best,''\\
''Like no one ever was!''\\
''To catch them is my real test,''\\
''To train them is my cause!"''
-->-- '''First English OpeningTheme''', ''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 make your dreams come true. 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 if there isn't any kind of title.

* ''Manga/{{Kingdom}}'', which follows the story of Shin, a former servant boy striving to become the Greatest General Under Heaven. It's been 13 years, but he's getting there.

* ''Manga/{{Bartender}}'' is a subversion. The main character has already travelled the world and been apprenticed to the most famous and skilled masters of his craft in the world by the time the manga begins. When it begins, he has come to the conclusion that he has learned everything he can, and is ready to set out on his own.
* {{Discussed|trope}} in ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' skit ''High School Boys and Manga''. [[GenreSavvy Hidenori]] noticed how common this trope is in manga and the fact that [[SliceOfLife they are not]].

* In ''Anime/HungryHeartWildStriker'', Kyōsuke Kanou dreams of being a soccer player.
%%** ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa''
%%** ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula''
%%** ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis''
* ''Manga/OPartsHunter'' has an unusual one for the main character Jio Freed. He wants to gain respect...by [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]]!

* Millie in ''Anime/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.
* ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'', where the characters aim to be the Inter-Middle Champion and declared the strongest 10-19 year old across all dimensions.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'', famously, has Luffy striving to become the Pirate King. More than that - about half of his TrueCompanions have dreams running along similar lines, tailored to their own skillsets:

*** Among the exceptions - Sanji and Robin are each seeking a specific {{MacGuffin}} (though finding them would almost undoubtedly shoot them to the top of their respective fields), Usopp wants to be "just" a Brave Warrior of the Sea, and Brook wants to reunite with [[spoiler:a character introduced fairly early in the story]].

** Naturally, many other characters have similar aims, though the other main characters' goals aren't so simple. Taichi does want to become Master, but that's more due to his sense of rivalry with Arata and feelings for Chihaya than the sport itself. Nishida also aims high, but struggles with feelings of defeatism and sometimes feels like his desire to take easy wins over losing hard matches keeps him from getting as good as Chihaya. On the other hand, Kanade also wants to make Class A, but not to become Queen - she wants to become a top-level card reader, for which being Class A is a prerequisite.
** And then there are the minor characters - Yumin initially wanted to be queen, but now tries hard in tournaments mainly because of the incredible pressure piled up on her by her society than anything else (though she acknowledges that she's kind of grateful as it's better than just giving up as she would have done otherwise), while Megumu similarly tries hard to prove right her friends for being so supportive, and admits in a team match that she doesn't actually care about becoming Queen, though after losing it's implied that that might be changing.

* This is the driving motivation for Eddie Felson throughout ''Film/TheHustler'' -- it's not enough that he's already a great pool player, he ''must'' defeat Minnesota Fats and [[SecondPlaceIsForLosers have Fats acknowledge him as the best.]]
* ''Film/TheBigYear'' is essentially this mentality applied to birdwatching, of all things, with three birders competing to see the most different species of birds in a single year.

* In ''Literature/TheThirteenAndAHalfLivesOfCaptainBluebear'', there is competition between liar-gladiators who compete in big arena in storytelling of made-up stories. [[spoiler:The hero quickly becomes the champion and after some time on top is asked by competition owner to lose against next challenger because of a bet. The challenger just happens to be legendary champion considered to be best in history of the sport. The hero is prepared to be defeated and consider it to be an honor but after being insulted from the champion decides to best him out of anger. The hero manages to defeat the challenger,which of course angers the owner of the cometition.]]

* In ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'', all of the characters aspire to become successful and wonderful idols. Naturally, this is a rather vaguer goal than most on this page - the Main Story positions the SS as the ultimate idol competition where only the greatest can win, but it's not treated as the only path to success. Nevertheless, the drive to become better is important to a number of different storylines. For example, Akatsuki was initially founded solely to benefit ''fine'' - and in fact, Keito only joined Yumenosaki in order to aid his childhood friend Eichi, the leader of ''fine''. However, when Souma joined Akatsuki, his earnest and pure belief in being an idol slowly transformed the unit, and ultimately they became a truly powerful unit, and one that would not back down against anyone.
* ''VideoGame/FossilFighters'' toys with this. You are trying To Be A Master--and you become one! In fact, you become one only about halfway through the game. However, as it turns out, there is still a ''lot'' more going on despite your mastery, and you will have to actually ''use'' your master's skills.

* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}} 2'' has an ancient prophecy about the three Great Hyperspace Cores awakening Sajuuk, the god of destiny and creation (actually, a big-ass ancient starship hidden in a black hole cluster). Supposedly, the one who unites the Three will get to be the Sajuuk-khar, Manipulator of the Great Maker. When Karan Sjet first hears about it while running from the Vaygr, she deduces that Makaan must also know about it and seek to acquire both the Bentusi and the Hiigaran core. Naturally, the world is doomed if he succeeds so she decides to beat him to it. The thing is, by doing that she accidentally fulfilled the prophecy herself and became the Sajuuk-khar -- which proved really useful when Hiigara was attacked by Planet Killers whose armor was impenetrable to every weapon except Sajuuk's WaveMotionGun. With the ship also activating an ancient hypergate network spanning the galaxy and having the most powerful weapons & hyperdrives of the known universe, she was practically worshiped as a living goddess (her people never became atheists during their troubled history).

** Played with due to Nomura [[IndyPloy still working out the plot at the time]] and what "Master" actually means not being defined at first. At first, Sora looks to be the chosen Keyblade master - then it turns out it should have been Riku, but he went RivalTurnedEvil. Then ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' shows they can ''both'' wield Keyblades, and so can Kairi. Later games show there's a difference between being a Keyblade ''user'' and a Keyblade ''master'', the latter being more of a formally-recognized title.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Rastan}}'', Rastan narrates at the end of the arcade version: "This is only part of my long story--only a part to become a king."

* ''VideoGame/SummonNight: Swordcraft Story'' - The first Swordcraft Story game's overall focus is mostly about becoming a "Craftlord", which is basically a "Master" of weapon crafting/fighting. There's still a plot and antagonist, but the game doesn't end until you become Champion. The game's two successors still retain this trope to some degree, but it's downplayed quite a bit compared to the first.

* Katara's goal in the first book of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was to master [[MakingASplash Waterbending]]. She [[TookALevelInBadass succeeds]] at the end of said book.