History TrainingFromHell / AnimeAndManga

* {{Subverted}} in ''Manga/{{TSUYOSHI}}'': given the title character's incredible fighting prowess, Ainosuke, a Karateka who went through a traditional one, ''thinks'' Tsuyoshi trains himself extremely hard... Only to be dismayed when his training turns out to consist of one hour of Tai Chi ''gymnastic'' three times per week and he became strong that way (and invincible by beating the crap out of all the people challenging him).
** PlayedForLaughs with Wan Yundao, whose teacher decided the best way to toughen him up was to [[GroinAttack punch him in the groin]], then hit him there with a hammer, and [[SerialEscalation escalate more and more until he used a siege ram]]. On one hand, [[KungFuProofMook he's now immune to Tsuyoshi's usual punch in the groin]] because the training [[BodyHorror already destroyed his balls]], and the lack of testicles and thus androgen hormones make it easier to maintain his muscle mass. On the other, all he obtained with Tsuyoshi was to push him past the RageBreakingPoint and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown being beaten unconscious the hard way]].

* At the start of ''Manga/AllRounderMeguru'', Meguru and Yudai decide to take the training for professional UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts fighters... And [[OhCrap are terrified by the warm-up exercises]], that they thought would be more appropriate for ''strength training''. {{Justified}} due professional MMA fighters needing to be much stronger and faster than amateurs to properly apply their techniques and have the stamina to fight in the longer pro matches.

** Naoto's training is at least as intense: involving weighted squats on what look like a hamster wheel, sparring with massive robots, and working to bodyslam 8 punching bags at once, while being fired and having the bags launched at him like pendulums. The peak of this is hanging upside down, waiting for animal to attack him so they can get dinner: to the point that he's sick of eating bear as ''he's already killed so many with his bare hands already!'' This is {{Justified}} by his trainer being a former Tiger's Den pupil and having later been trained by the original Tiger Mask (another Tiger's Den pupil) thus knowing pretty much only that, something that [[LampshadeHanging made a former Tiger's Den managed declare that]] ThisExplainsSoMuch upon finding out.

* Deconstructed in ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', where the schoolchildren's everyday SternTeacher "PE teacher" and assassination trainer is [[TyrantTakesTheHelm replaced]] by a FauxAffablyEvil DrillSergeantNasty who tries to get them to train for virtually all hours of the day and violently assaults them if they show any reluctance. [[spoiler:He's denounced in-universe as a dangerous psychopath, the children rapidly rebel against his approach, he gets humiliated in a duel with one of the physically weakest but mentally toughest pupils and sent packing by the DeanBitterman (who is okay with teachers making students fear them but won't have violent brutes on his staff) and when he returns looking for revenge a few arcs later it's as a pure villain so vile that his own associates sabotage his plan because they think it's [[EvenEvilHasStandards so abhorrent]][[note]]poison the students with a deadly virus, challenge them to fight him for the antidote and destroy the antidote if he loses[[/note]].]] The arc is used for an aesop that you can't get genuine respect or inspire people if all you do is terrorise them.

* Deconstructed in ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', where the schoolchildren's everyday SternTeacher "PE teacher" and assassination trainer is [[TyrantTakesTheHelm replaced]] by a FauxAffablyEvil DrillSergeantNasty who tries to get them to train for virtually all hours of the day and violently assaults them if they show any reluctance. [[spoiler:He's denounced in-universe as a dangerous psychopath, the children rapidly rebel against his approach, he gets humiliated in a duel with one of the physically weakest but mentally toughest pupils and sent packing; and when he returns looking for revenge a few arcs later it's as a pure villain so vile that his own associates sabotage his plan because they think it's [[EvenEvilHasStandards so abhorrent]].]] The arc is used for an aesop that you can't get genuine respect or inspire people if all you do is terrorise them.

* In ''Manhwa/WitchHunter'', Ryuhwan takes Tasha under his wing to help him complete the training he should have received from their master before she died. He promises Tasha that he will make Tasha as strong as him in one month. How does he do this? By transporting them and their partners into a sentient pocket dimension which can memorize the physical state of objects and reset them to the state they were when they entered it. Ryuhwan demonstrates this by ''shooting Tasha in the gut three times''. When Tasha is immediately healed, Ryuhwan explains that he is going to fight Tasha to the death over and over again until Tasha's combat skills reach his level.

** PlayedForLaughs with Wan Yundao, whose teacher decided the best way to toughen him up was to [[GroinAttack punch him in the groin]], then [[DropTheHammer hit him there with a hammer]], and [[SerialEscalation escalate more and more until he used a siege ram]]. On one hand, [[KungFuProofMook he's now immune to Tsuyoshi's usual punch in the groin]] because the training [[BodyHorror already destroyed his balls]], and the lack of testicles and thus androgen hormones make it easier to maintain his muscle mass. On the other, all he obtained with Tsuyoshi was to push him past the RageBreakingPoint and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown being beaten unconscious the hard way]].

** Even Ichigo needs 3 months of time getting kicked around by Getsuga to master the Final Getsuga Tenshou that he uses against Aizen in the climax of the Deicide Arc.
** Exaggerated when it's [[spoiler: Kenpachi Zaraki]]'s turn for training, under someone who is a master swordsman ''and'' a master healer. Step 1: Attack student with strongest, fastest, most lethal attack. Step 2: Heal the lethal wounds before death can set in. Step 3: Return to step 1. Repeat until student can dodge and counter. Step 4: Once student can counter the first attack, attack again until student messes up [[spoiler: or kills the teacher]], at which point you repeat steps 1-3. Justified in that the student in question's problem isn't a lack of strength ([[spoiler: Kenpachi once defeated Unohana in her prime as a child, but weakened himself to avoid killing her because she was his first WorthyOpponent]]), but that he subconsciously refuses to ''use'' his full potential unless he genuinely thinks he's in danger of dying, so ''actually'' putting him on the verge of death repeatedly is training him out of the habit of holding back.

* {{Subverted}} in ''TSUYOSHI'': given the title character's incredible fighting prowess, Ainosuke, a Karateka who went through a traditional one, ''thinks'' Tsuyoshi trains himself extremely hard... Only to be dismayed when his training turns out to consist of one hour of Tai Chi ''gymnastic'' three times per week and he became strong that way (and invincible by beating the crap out of all the people challenging him).
** PlayedForLaughs with Wan Yundao, whose teacher decided the best way to toughen him up was to [[GroinAttack punch him in the groin]], then [[DropTheHammer hit him there with a hammer]], and [[SerialEscalation escalate more and more until he used a siege ram]]. On one hand, [[KungFuProofMook he's now immune to Tsuyoshi's usual punch in the groin]] because the training already destroyed his balls]], and the lack of testicles and thus androgen hormones make it easier to maintain his muscle mass. On the other, all he obtained with Tsuyoshi was to push him past the RageBreakingPoint and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown being beaten unconscious the hard way]].

*** Zoro: Trained under [[spoiler:the Warlord of the Sea Dracule Mihawk]], after being able to defeat all of the war-loving gorillas already residing on that island. Not yet explained, but he ended up losing an eye during this training.

*** Sanji: Landed in an IronicHell full of transvestites ruled by [[spoiler:Emporio Ivankov]]. He learned "attack cooking" that will supply nutritional boosts to the crew, while having to fight all the okama fighters of the island to get the recipes, and just generally buffing his kicking power by running from them day and night.

* Inverted for laughs in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', where a recurring plotline is Chika Fujiwara helping Miyuki Shirogane master a specific skill, such as volleyball or singing. Unfortunately for Chika, [[BrokenAce Shirogane starts out absolutely incompetent in those skills]], and she's put through the wringer to make him presentable as the "perfect" Student Council President.

* Thymocyte growth is portrayed like this in ''Manga/CellsAtWork''. The hardest part is the timely differentiation between normal cells and infected ones, within a split second. One mistake and you're immediately out. We're also told that only 2 to 3 percent will actually manage to graduate. This is actually TruthInTelevision, where thymocytes are 'trained' with negative and positive reactions, and the percentages mentioned in the show are accurate. It's to prevent your body won't attack friendly cells.

** And just when poor Gohan gets out of training, [[EducationMama Chi-Chi makes him to study with the same mindset]].

** In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', high gravity training becomes common after Goku is killed by Raditz and goes to King Kai's world, which had 10x Earth's gravity.[[note]]Incidentally, this is the same gravity as the Saiyan homeworld, so Goku had been ''taking it easy'' up until that point![[/note]] Later on Yamcha, Piccolo, Tenshinhan, and Chiaotzu are killed and train there as well. Past this point, Gravity Chambers are introduced that can be cranked up to 100x Earth's gravity, which Goku does to prepare for the fight against Frieza. This would normally make your blood crystallize, which would be fatal (as Dr. Briefs warns Goku), but, well, [[RuleOfCool this is Dragon Ball]]; ''humans'' have survived worse, and Saiyans are incredibly tough on top of already being {{Heavyworlder}}s (and they get more powerful when brought close to death, which probably helped). Souls given form also seem to be inherently more durable than an actual living person, which might explain how the humans managed.
** Additionally, while training to fight the Saiyans, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Krillin, and Chiaotzu are trained in the Room of Time and Space similar to the ComicBook/XMen's "Danger Room", wherein they are forced to fight Saiyans who are vastly overpowered and utterly decimate them with energy blasts that shoot through their bodies and are actually painful.

** In contrast, Roshi's old enemy, the Crane Master, overdoes this trope, to the point that his training focuses on nothing but pain and fighting. As a result, his students are powerful, but not nearly as well-rounded as Goku and Krillin. The only reason Tenshinhan won his fight with Goku was dumb luck, and Chao-Tzu lost outright against Krillin because Krillin outwitted him with a simple math quiz.

* In ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', the UnskilledButStrong Denji & Power are put through this by WorldsBestWarrior Kishibe at the request of Makima. Kishibe's training regimen basically boiled down to being a SinkOrSwimMentor taken up to eleven, taking advantage of the duo's ResurrectiveImmortality and brutally killing them over and over until they learned to put up a decent fight. [[spoiler:This quickly pays off when Denji manages to use his lesson about [[CombatPragmatist misdirecting the enemy]] to defeat Katana Man.]]

** PlayedForLaughs with Wan Yundao, whose teacher decided the best way to toughen him up was to [[GroinAttack punch him in the groin]], then [[DropTheHammer hit him there with a hammer]], and [[SerialEscalation escalate more and more]] until [[UpToEleven he used a siege ram]]. On one hand, [[KungFuProofMook he's now immune to Tsuyoshi's usual punch in the groin]] because the training already destroyed his balls]], and the lack of testicles and thus androgen hormones make it easier to maintain his muscle mass. On the other, all he obtained with Tsuyoshi was to push him past the RageBreakingPoint and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown being beaten unconscious the hard way]].

** Garp practices what he preaches. During a flashback of Don Chinjao's in which the two fought, he states he trained for the fight by destroying mountains, by punching them.

* Pretty much the entire point of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'. And given the strength of his opponents and his lack of natural talent, [[JustifiedTrope he needs it]]. Highlights include:

** It's even worse in the manga; where it's humorously implied that he occasionally ''dies'' and has to be brought back with Kensei Ma's potions.

** Exaggerated with the training at Andromeda Island and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Death Queen Island]], considered the worst ordeals of them all. Andromeda Island is the one of the ocean and chain mentioned above and is a completely barren rock, while Death Queen Island may be more liveable... And the trainer there was so insane even the one sent to Andromeda Island balked in horror. Both were so bad that the two main Cloths kept there (Andromeda at Andromeda Island and Phoenix at Death Queen Island) were the only ones who had never been assigned a Saint until then, as all the candidates had died during the final task, assuming they survived the training.

* Played as straight as can be in ''Anime/RingingBell''. Chirin trains under the ''BigBad'' and goes from dainty little white cartoon sheep to black murderous hell ram after two years of training. The wolf even tells Chirin that his life will be hell from then on out. Interestingly enough, things don't end well for him either.

* Spoofed to the point of utter ridiculousness in ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', where during the House of Evolution Arc, Saitama reveals just how he became strong to defeat anything in one punch. His answer: "100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10 kilometer run every day, with no breaks or air conditioning!" While a bit tough for your average couch potato, this level of training is ''far'' more lenient than what most athletes go through on a daily basis. The idea that that regimen is what granted Saitama his strength so ridiculous in that Genos calls it "complete bullshit." [[ZigZaggingTrope However]], assuming the "no breaks" part is taken literally, then it actually wraps back around to this because ''proper'' workout routine involves making your body suffer and then ''letting it recover'' via hydration, sustenance, and rest; if Saitama truly took no breaks, he's basically ripping his body apart after only a few days of this. It still wouldn't give him that level of strength of course.

* The UrExample in anime is ''[[Creator/IkkiKajiwara Kyojin no Hoshi (Star of the Giants)]]'': protagonist Hyuuma Hoshi was put through hellish training as a baseball player since childhood by his father, a former player. The most iconic part of the training was a special spring-loaded harness Hyuuma wore beneath his , which made even daily tasks part of Training From Hell.

* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' [[PlayedForLaughs played it for laughs]] in the infamous rugby episode, where Sosuke takes Jindai High's tea-swilling, terrified-by-moths rugby team and puts them through harsh military drills while bellowing insults straight out of ''Film/FullMetalJacket''[[note]]He got the last part from his teammate Melissa Mao's "How to Verbally Abuse a Trainee" handbook and didn't even understand half the stuff he was saying[[/note]]. He ends up turning them into bloodthirsty psychopaths who absolutely destroy the OpposingSportsTeam, while a distressed Kaname watches and remarks that whatever's going on, it's not rugby anymore.

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':

* In ''Anime/IsekaiQuartet'', [[LightNovel/KonoSuba Kazuma]] states he's too lazy to actually want to make the effort to help his class win Field Day. [[LightNovel/SagaOfTanyaTheEvil Tanya]] immediately decides to put him through the kind of training her soldiers suffered when she was put in charge of them. It consists of Kazuma running while carrying a shovel as he is bombarded by [[LightNovel/ReZero Puck]]'s crystals -- and one of Megumin's Explosions.

* ''LightNovel/SagaOfTanyaTheEvil'': Tanya puts the recruits for her prospective rapid-response flight-mage wing through a grueling training course that combines '''several''' RealLife examples including the Navy SEAL's Hell Week. They are bombarded with spent/old artillery shells (though a few got mixed up and contain '''active''' explosive warheads) during the training as well. The twist is that Tanya '''wants''' them to fail because she wants to delay actually going out on the field as long as possible. Ideally, she wants the top brass to give up on the idea and give her a safe desk job. Unfortunately (for her) not a single one washes out of the training, leaving her with no excuse. She takes comfort in the fact that she's now got top-quality human shields and assistants to ensure her survival on the battlefield.

* In ''{{LightNovel/Slayers}}'', protagonist Lina Inverse puts Amelia through this kind of hellish training (including pulling a huge cart of groceries for Lina to eat up a very steep hill daily). Subverted in that Lina wasn't really trying to teach Amelia anything, she was just putting the other girl through the most brutal regimen she could think of in the hopes of making her give up and go away.

* ''LightNovel/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'': Lux Arcadia treats ''tournament fights'' as nothing more than training just for him to use Bahamut effectively. There's a reason why he's called the "Weakest Undefeated". He's subconsciously preparing for a rematch with Fugil, the world's strongest Drag-Knight who is even more skilled at piloting Bahamut.

'''Megumi:''' ''[Wearing a serious face]'' I see, Onimaru-san deliberately takes the more difficult path. It’s true, compared to an uneventful day to day life, this stressful lifestyle would make you grow a lot more. Onimaru-san, you...''[Megumi wears a SlasherSmile]''...[[WhatAnIdiot are such an idiot]].

** Exaggerated when it's [[spoiler: Kenpachi Zaraki]]'s turn for training, under someone who is a master swordsman ''and'' a master healer. Step 1: Attack student with strongest, fastest, most lethal attack. Step 2: Heal the lethal wounds before death can set in. Step 3: Return to step 1. Repeat until student can dodge and counter.

* A lot of teams in ''Manga/Eyeshield21'' follow this type of training with the [[TheHero Devilbats]] taking the cake. Since they are a rookie team and only have one shot at the Christmas Bowl they spend a whole summer running from Houston to Texas (2000 km) with the back training their pass route while the linemen push a truck the whole way. The coach even warn them that this is not a safe training at all, speaking from experience as he [[CareerEndingInjury ruined his legs pushing said truck]]. Afterward the practices are more or less regular but diligent training to keep the basics.