Five-Man Band has been receiving a lot of misuse. As was concluded in this TRS thread
, it needs a massive cleanup. There are over 30 subpages and almost 3500 wicks to be gone through. This thread is for organizing the cleanup effort and discussing any and all examples to be added and cut.
What is correct use of the trope?
- The characters must be part of a team, that is, a team dynamic must exist between members of the band.
- There must be exactly 5 team members
Format for examples
In an effort to cut down on misuse as well as get rid of all the Zero Context Examples, we are trying to shift all examples to the following format. If you are familiar with a current work and can do a writeup for it, please do so and post it here.
The sandbox for sorting examples is here.
Completed
Subpages:
- Other (Moved and redirected to a Just for Fun page, as that is what is was acting as.)
Still needs work
Wicks (Related To page):
- B-V
I will keep this post updated with the progress made, and any other needed information.
Edited by MacronNotes on May 19th 2022 at 8:59:40 AM
@49 (Septimus): We all agree on cutting the unambiguously bad examples. I was asking what to do with the ambiguous examples.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Cut them as well. If they lie around, they will just attract more misuse.
What are other people's opinions on this? I agree.
Also, I looked over Anime E-H, cut a few things that were clearly wrong, and have questions about the following:
- Excel♡Saga (anime): The note attached is a little weird. Wouldn't the person fitting the role also be the parody? Is this shoehorning?
- Fang Of The Sun Dougram: There's a lot of people. We probably need someone familiar with the show to determine whether it's shoehorning or whether it's simply an evolving Five-Man Band.
- Flame Of Recca: Team Hokage: Team Mom is not a mentor role; it seems likely this is a seven person team being shoehorned in.
In uffish thought
I'd rather cut a real example than leave a non-example.
I'm not sure about Flame Of Recca. It was ages since I saw it, and I never read the manga, so I don't remember much, but it kind of feels shoehorned. However, the shoehorned part is more likely that she's not in the main team, in which case there are actually six true members. That rings truer to what I remember. The positions are decently solid, though. Fuuko is the one with the least clear position, but all others are accounted for.
Also, what was wrong with the High School Of The Dead example? I thought they fit rather well.
edited 23rd Jun '12 4:52:12 PM by Feather7603
The Internet misuses, abuses, and overuses everything.
World's Toughest Milkman
High School Of The Dead had two characters listed as The Smart Guy (and having seen the work, I would agree that it has to be both if one wants to make the trope fit).
eta: Never mind, I forgot that we were still allowing (limited) shared roles. Given that, I am forced to agree that it does fit, and should be restored.
edited 23rd Jun '12 7:55:48 PM by Xtifr
Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.
Gentleman Troper!
Yes, I agree with cutting the ambiguous examples too. Let's try for a clean and clear list.
edited 23rd Jun '12 7:48:47 PM by Spark9
Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
I fixed Digimon Adventure 02. Still can't speak for Tamers, never managed to finish it. Now, Frontier....it doesn't actually have a Smart Guy. All the others are there, but no Smart Guy. In or out?
"If you aren't him, then you apparently got your brain from the same discount retailer, so..." - FighteerWith no Smart Guy, it's out. If one role is lacking, or the person is shoehorned to it, the example doesn't fit.
Readded High School Of The Dead. All roles are pretty solid. Hirano is a clear Smart Guy, but also sometimes covers up for The Chick when appropriate.
The Internet misuses, abuses, and overuses everything.
Gentleman Troper!
I just looked at the subpage for Tabletop Games and there's a lot of nonsense on there, with people trying to fit armies, character classes, magic colors, and chess pieces into the band roles.
I've nuked most of the page now.
Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
Gentleman Troper!
And now the subpage for toys, which is mercifully rather short.
Dropped one bionicle team for having too many members; I'm iffy about the inika and metru (whatever that means) because of the lengthy justifications used for each role.
Bratz: doesn't fit, with "the chick: all of them" and "6th ranger: all of them".
Disney princess: too many people. GI Joe: likewise. MASK: likewise, and the bad guys fall under Five Bad Band if anything, not here.
Hero factory strikes me as wrong, since it lists a different role layout for each plot arc. Breakout arc is definitely wrong.
He Man: the lineup is definitely wrong; compared to its character sheets, these roles are just shoehorned. This is even more obvious in the Princess Of Power listing.
Moxie Teenz: only four people. Polly Pocket: seven people.
So again, nuked about half the page.
Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
I'm sorry but I have to bring this up.
Why are we still using The Chick trope in Five-Man Band? It's a subtrope of The Face which is more gender neutral and overall versatile.
Heck, The Face trope says it's part of the Five-Man Band.
edited 2nd Jul '12 6:52:40 AM by JustaUsername
Some people say I'm lazy. It's hard to disagree.
Gentleman Troper!
You should probably open a new TRS thread for that. This thread here is just about implementing the decision made in the previous TRS thread.
Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
Okay. But first, should I write this TRS for The Chick or the Five-Man Band?
Sorry, this will be my first Trope Repair Shop I created, so I'm a bit inexperienced.
Some people say I'm lazy. It's hard to disagree.
Gentleman Troper!
Well, you're suggesting a change to the Five-Man Band, so that's the most fitting.
The Chick is in the Five-Man Band by word of Eddie.
"If you aren't him, then you apparently got your brain from the same discount retailer, so..." - Fighteer
But the Five-Man Band is really supposed to be based on role, not on gender. That's where The Face comes in. Yes, many bands do have just one female, but she's not always The Chick. Besides, the rules of the trope are now strict enough recently without saying that the Token Girl must be The Heart or the Team Mom.
Gentleman Troper!
Once again, you should probably open a new TRS thread for that. This thread here is just about implementing the decision made in the previous TRS thread.
Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
Gentleman Troper!
Okay, looking at video games A-C.
Ace Attorney: I'm dubious about having roles that only work in one episode (or case), but the first one is definitely wrong as it has the wrong roles.
Agarest Senki: too many people. Age Of Mythology, too. And Albion, Anachronox, Angry Birds (is that a joke or what?), Ape Escape.
Arcana Heart: too much speculation and justification needed.
Baldurs Gate: the game doesn't work that way; you can pick your own party members, and there are more than four options for those.
Baten Kaitos: two characters have a double role.
Batallion Wars Infantry: those aren't characters. City Of Heroes too.
Blood II: four members. Border Lands, too.
Bully: "last mission only" doesn't qualify.
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare: wrong roles. Command And Conquer Renegade, too.
Clive Barkers Jericho: too many people.
Rhetorical, eh? ... Eight!
What's wrong with examples that only involve a single mission?)
Okay, created the trope repair shop about how The Chick applies to the Five Man Band.
I felt this topic could have been started in better hands...I feel I did a sloppy opening post...
EDIT: And Eddie morgues the topic because he said so...urgh...
edited 9th Jul '12 9:26:27 AM by JustaUsername
Some people say I'm lazy. It's hard to disagree.
Gentleman Troper!
That it's coincidental rather than a pattern. If character X never acts like The Smart Guy except during episode fifteen, then he's not The Smart Guy.
Okay, that sounds like it should be cut (again), then.
The Internet misuses, abuses, and overuses everything.