Trope Talk: Conservation of Ninjutsu

Rival Ninja: "We are perfectly matched, old friend..." MC: "Is that so?" *Points behind him* *Ninja turns to see his own reinforcements* Rival Ninja: "NOOO! NOT LIKE THIS! Stay BACK!"

I think all Jackie Chan films avoid the problem spectacularly by utilising the environment. We reasonably believe that had this fight been anywhere else, he would've lost. But the unique layout of the environment and threats individual objects can pose of utilised correctly allows the protagonist to win due to their wits. They've "earned" the win through their wits and superior combat skill rather than because they have to.

The exception to this rule: zombies. A single zombie is can be easily dispatched, but a horde means death and defeat

Another Watsonian reason is "If they were powerful, they wouldn't have needed to send a huge group of them."

The 2012 TMNT had a great episode where they commented, "It feels like these fights are getting easier" And then it turns out the Foot Clan has been fast tracking dudes out of their McDojos to make up for the massive losses they've been taking.

"America's ass is FAR too powerful to be spanked THAT easily." Outstanding line.

"The 'Power of Teamwork' has no reason to make a handgun work better" is an absolutely banger line by red

I really need to incorporate a 'minions accidentally did their job' scene in my next story, where they successfully capture the protagonist fairly easily due to sheer numbers, but now they have to wait for their boss to get there, so they awkwardly make conversation with protagonist and we get to see both of their perspectives. In the end, while they're still enemies, everyone gains a better appreciation for what the other side is thinking.

"Good God, why are we only using weapons from Japan's Edo period?" "Hey! The Edo period was badass, and you know it!" "Damn it, you're right."

I think my favorite Watsonian justification was from "The Princess Bride", where Fezzik explains that the reason he's having so much trouble fighting The Man In Black is because he's a lot more accustomed to fighting big groups of enemies, which uses a different skillset than one-on-one.

Now I want to write a world where conservation of ninjitsu is a real force, and you have to be careful when fighting a group because taking out one of the group will give all the rest a power boost. If your friend is struggling with the enemies they've engaged with, killing a different enemy could endanger them.

The sad part is that so often the solution that is good enough would be a single line explaining it. Imagine for example if in Age of Ultron, when he speaks to Black Widow, that he made an off hand remark about how he envies Starks access to quality materials, and/or how he had higher goals for his army, but the Avenger's irritating resistance forced him to cut corners. Is it a perfect solution? No, but it provides a believable reason. But most audiences don't need a perfect solution for issues like this. As long as there is an obvious good enough solution to keep the suspension of disbelief under control, that enough.

As someone who does medieval-style reenactment fighting, this is actually a hilariously real issue IRL. Despite efforts to avert it, the Conservation of Ninjitsu still plays out on my fighting field, mostly because about the max number of fighters that's practical is a 6-on-1. Any more attackers than 6, and you start getting issues. If the lone defender is fast on their feet, the attackers on the far ends of the group can't move fast enough to get behind the lone defender and dogpile them properly (they have to run farther, because they're running not only forward but also inward), and they get left behind by the middle of the group formation pressing in on the lone defender, so the defender is fighting a fewer-than-all-on-1 instead. Ninjitsu conserved: the fighters on the ends are just running to try and keep up. Hitting your buddies is also an issue if there are too many of you attacking a lone defender. As are even more basic concerns, like not having the room to move, not being able to strike because your buddy's equipment or body is in the way, and getting confused yourself about what's going on because there's so much motion around you. Ninjitsu still conserved: the fighters outside that inner ring of about 6 are just gonna stand there, or look like they're shadow-boxing as they try to find an opening. In addition to all that, it's shockingly hard to be coordinated as a team. The group I fight with practices weekly, has been doing so for a while, and we're still nowhere near as coordinated as we should be. Our swordmaster still wins 6-on-ones, and makes us, each a competent fighter in our own right, look like mooks. To our shame, Ninjitsu again still conserved. There's even a bizarre but very real version of the bystander effect, where less confident fighters will hang back or attack weakly even if they're in a really strong position, because they feel like Someone Else (the more confident, more assertive and aggressive fighters) should be handling the problem that the lone defender poses. TL; DR: Unbelievably, this is a real thing. And even a moderate skill disparity makes it totally feasible for one guy to beat a crowd of mooks.

"Would be like taking the hero out with the flu" Reminder that ATLA actually did that to Sokka and Katara for one of the shows most memorable episodes and it WORKED.

A similar but unrelated one I’ve noticed; Character A: throws something that doesn’t land where we expected it to Audience: gasp of dismay Character B: “you missed” Audience: sigh of relief

I think the Mandalorian season 2 did this really well. Din goes up against the first Dark trooper and they are SCARY it takes so much effort just to kill one and then when it’s all over we learn a whole team of dark troopers are coming to capture Grogu. But when Luke shows up and kills all of them it doesn’t feel like the Dark troopers got weaker it just makes it feel like Luke is on a whole other level.

The trope equivalent of: "Brute ships staggered line, Shipmaster, they outnumber us 3 to 1" "Then it is an even fight."

The cap elevator fight has another element. The “mook gang” clearly know they are overmatched even in numbers - unless they can get the special power handcuffs on him. So the whole fight is actually them trying to use their “special weapon” while he tries to avoid it. Also the space is confined so the audience can see why they only attack him one or two at a time.

Moments that made me actually laugh: "Let's go make a tragic backstory!" with such a genuine and pleasant grin. "Decisions, decisions" with fallout pip-boy targeting. ""You'll be displeased to learn that my minions are no longer water soluble!" "America's Ass is far too powerful to be spanked that easily."

I love how they handle this in Arcane. In episode 3, Vi has to fight a dozen goons, if it was 12 on 1 she could never win. But because they’re on a bridge, the environment forces them to fight 1 on 2, or at most 2 on 1, and it feels completely natural.