Not Tropeworthy: Second Year Protagonist

The trope, as it stands, was created as a means to give a high-school protagonist situations without dealing with graduation dilemmas of seniors or newness of freshmen. However, oftentimes the trope is used for "sophomores exist".

Sounds like a quick and easy cut. Thoughts? We can probably salvage yard concepts for freshman issues and senior students' plights as well.

Edited by Berrenta on Oct 1st 2020 at 9:15:56 AM

Opening.

I would be up for sponsoring Freshman Fears and Senior Year Struggles.

Cut this one, anyway.

Edited by ccorb on Oct 23rd 2020 at 6:16:49 AM

Cut it, then Salvage Yard the three good examples.

Cut, and salvage yard the good examples if someone can find more.

Eh, even the examples listed as "correct" seem rather dubious as well. Mission: Yozakura Family don't spend that much time at school, and Tsukiuta has a very confusing write-up, which essentially boils down to "the second-year characters are more interesting than the first/third years).

Basically this is one of those "negative" troping where the essence of the trope is characterized by a lack of problems commonly faced by freshmen/new students and seniors.

Edited by Adept on Oct 23rd 2020 at 8:44:50 PM

Cut and Salvage Yard.

Salvage Yard for now.

This entry for Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun sums up what I think a good use of the concept would be (allowing for varying dynamics besides being settled in unlike freshmen and not about to leave like seniors):

• Technically Sakura is the protagonist, but he's still a main character (plus his name's in the title) and like her he's in his second year of high school. This allows him to both act as a mentor/big brother to first-year Wakamatsu and troublesome but close underclassman to third-year Hori.

Edited by Synchronicity on Oct 23rd 2020 at 2:03:10 PM

The example on Film.Bring It On seems good for Senior Year Struggles.

Senior Year Struggles sounds viable.

This trope is like one of the biggest anime tropes in existence. like 99% of any school animes its the second year, even a Transfer student they transfer in on the second year. The Absurdly Powerful Student Council, second year.

If anything it should be renamed 'Second Year Introduction' or 'Second Year Series' because the series start in the second year, usually right at the start of it, its not progressing. Its going to stay that 'Second Year' till the end of the series.

If the series starts in the first year, its likely planning on going the distance.

Senior Troubles would probably need to be culturally split. In Japan its extremely different, Cram School becomes a major factor and they arnt allowed into clubs or student council and a bunch of other stuff.

Edited by Memers on Oct 23rd 2020 at 10:59:06 AM

Does it even have to be high school? The same concept — placing the protagonist(s) in a middling year so as not to have to deal with the issue of them moving on — could work equally well with any stage of education. Jennings is one example that comes to mind (middle school, 1950s England).

Middle school too works the same way. Like the Precure series' first episode always start on the first day of second year middle school.

Senior Troubles in Middle School is hit or miss in Japan, some are just as bad if not FAR worse as High School... Cram school and all that. However Elevator Schools exist, which guarantee entry into High School via graduating Middle School.

Never seen a Senior Troubles for Elementary school students. And there is no stereotypical series grade.

Edited by Memers on Oct 23rd 2020 at 12:04:09 PM

I don’t know if it’s so much “sophomores exist”, it’s about their overrepresentation in media. Especially in Anime, it gives the story a generic school feel that can avoid certain issues and support Comic-Book Time. It seems similar to It's Always Spring, Conveniently an Orphan, and other tropes like that.

- Sorta like Experienced Protagonist, but for school?

I don't see anything about overrepresentation in the description, and considering how bad the examples are (both in the OP's wick check and the on-page examples), I don't see how this is anything other than "Character is a protagonist and a sophomore", which is Chairs on its own.

Hmm. I guess it's a trope about the absence of things. They're not the new kid, and they're not worried about higher education or whatever.

They're a Settled In School Protagonist, freer to focus on Saving the World with the friends they already have or something?

But, that only matters if moving up a school type is a big deal. If it's just a minor location shift, or in an Elaborate University High that incorporates all grades, it doesn't really matter?

Edited by Malady on Oct 23rd 2020 at 8:42:18 AM

No, it’s more about pre existing everything else. The protagonist themselves are often new, a transfer student, but everyone else is not.

It’s so there is no orientation period and have a reason for friendships to be pre-existing without additional exposition so they can hit the ground running. And without issues of additional expected pressure from life changing exams.

Second year is basically considered the only ‘Normal’ year.

I think this is less troping-in-the-negative about "just the absence of problems" and more . I do think it's a viable concept, but it's currently used as chairs.

Edited by Synchronicity on Oct 24th 2020 at 6:20:50 PM

Are there examples of the valid version?

Three correct examples in the wick check, which omitted character pages.

Ah. All 3 of them.

It's a start.

Any particular reason why the wick check omitted character sheets? Seems like a trope that would describe a character specifically.

In addition to the comment I left up there, here's another valid one from a show I know:

• Characters.The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K: and most of the other student characters are in their second year of high school. This allows the story to have both younger freshman and older senior characters without having to deal with things like college exams. And thanks to Comic-Book Time, they remain sophomores for quite a few in-universe "years" — Saiki deciding to put a stop to the loops and move on to senior year happens near the end.

And others from on-page examples that kinda seem to get the point (potential for being both sempai and kohai, graduation still a ways away, although some require some fleshing out):

• Amagami SS has second year Junichi, with the older Morishima and the younger Ai and Sae, both of whom are friends with his sister. The remaining three are in the same year.
• Ryuu Yamada of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches has just started his second year on Suzaku High when the story starts, and save for the last 50 chapters, he's a second year student for most of the story. Most other named characters are also in their second year, almost to the point of Competence Zone if it wasn't because two of the major villains have been/are a third year student and a first year student respectively.
• Liv and Maddie plays this straight, the title twins being sophomores, presumably so their brother Joey could be younger than them and still go to High School alongside them.
• Storm Lover: Protagonist Yuna transfers to her new school on her second year. Her [acquaintances] are also mostly from her same class, excepting three senpais and two kouhais.
• SHUFFLE!: Asa and Kareha are older, Primula is younger, no graduation in sight and everyone is comfortable.
• Kanon has Yuuichi transferring in during his second year, with the older Mai and the younger Shiori.
• Shirou and Tohsaka in Fate/stay night are both second years, while Sakura is a first year. No really important third years, but the fact they aren't graduating until the next year is an important detail in the UBW True End epilogue.
• Da Capo leaves Junichi's age somewhat vague, but the basic points of the trope stand; he has younger and older love interests, is used to the school and not about to graduate.

Also inviting ~callmeamuffin to join this discussion, as they've started a draft for freshman superhero protagonists.

I think part of the problem is that it's currently framed as a character trope, but it's really a setting trope about how having second year characters affects the types of plots available.