Characterization is a precious, rare resource that is difficult to set up, which means most characters are not going to get any. Keeping the job to one well trained and prepared ninja ensured minimal risk.Īs the number disparity grows larger, another factor comes into play-there's strength in numbers, but also anonymity, which in fiction is a crippling weakness. Such jobs were best done by highly trained individuals, since if one person was found, the whole group would be jeopardized. Ninja were predominantly spies in reality, focused on gathering intel without being seen. That said, there is some Truth in Television here. Why have the superhero team curb stomp the villain if you can make him powerful enough to force them into Teeth-Clenched Teamwork? Why have the dozens of Mooks club The Hero unconscious three seconds into an encounter if you can let him take down seven or eight of them before he collapses, to show how much of a badass he is? That would be letting some perfectly good dramatic tension go to waste. Drama thrives on conflict, and having the few put up a fight against the many is basically a free conflict coupon that's automatically viable during any few vs. As a result, one Ninja is a deadly threat, but an army of them are cannon fodder.Ī specific form of Plot Armor, this trope is very common due to the numerous storytelling considerations fueling it.

In any martial arts fight, there is only a finite amount of ninjutsuavailable to each side in a given encounter.

Veryninja