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I'm getting a bit annoyed at the anime cliche of a male character who is only a somewhat good fighter, but when his girl is put in danger, then he becomes a super fighter (with his opponent invariably commenting on the increase in fighting ability). (I'm sure this happens outside anime, but I can't for the life of me think of an example.) Not only is it a cheap way of showing that the guy cares for the girl, but it's completely unrealistic (okay, so most of anime is unrealistic. This is a pet peeve for a reason...). When you are fighting to protect someone else, you are invariably weaker. It has nothing to do with your fighting prowess or spirit, it just has to do with the fact that you are forced to fight while spliting your attention between keeping at least one eye on the girl and/or actively protecting her.
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