Hard Work Hardly Works: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"It took me 50 years to complete the [[Kamehame Hadoken|Kamehameha]], and this boy simply just copied me in a few seconds!"''
|'''Master Roshi''', ''[[Dragon Ball]]''}}
Part of what makes fiction so entertaining is reading about how the protagonist is ''special'' and ''different'', how they are the [[Rags to Royalty|true heir]], the [[Chosen One]] who has [[The Gift]], wielder of the [[Cosmic Keystone]], or simply ''that'' [[Badass]]. They may train to get their skills and powers, but part of their hero package is a certain ''je ne sais quoi'' that grants them a better ability or talent at their [[Serious Business]] of choice. While it's true that genetics and heredity give us all different advantages when learning knowledge or skills, for the hero it goes far beyond that.
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A specific and cynical [[Broken Aesop]], occasionally due to [[Mega Manning]], or [[The Worf Effect]]. Results in [[Can't Catch Up]] and [[Instant Expert]], and the hard-working character becoming [[The Resenter]]. Quite an opposite of [[Charles Atlas Superpower]] and [[Weak but Skilled]]. See also [[Technician Versus Performer]], [[Incompletely Trained]]. Often accompanied by a [[Training Montage]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* To be entirely fair, Ichigo from ''[[Bleach]]'' has gone through [[Training from Hell]] lots of times, but that hasn't stopped him from conquering curriculum lasting approximately hundreds of years in the matter of weeks, days or ''hours''. Likewise, despite initial trouble controlling his [[Super-Powered Evil Side|inner Hollow]], he's {{spoiler|now stronger than Aizen, and most of the cast by extension.}}
** {{spoiler|This bears some elaboration. Aizen is hundreds of years old, but does not appear to be a hard worker; he's had [[Story-Breaker Power]] for over a century with no explanation forthcoming as to how he got so strong in the first place. However, through use of a [[Reality Warper]], Aizen exponentially increases his powers several times, evolving into an entirely new sort of being. Ichigo not only matches this process by meditating for three months, he is several orders of magnitude stronger than Aizen when they fight.}}
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** It's also implied that people have a specific limit to how powerful they can get which is determined long before they even start trying to get stronger. This trope [[Discussed Trope|was even discussed]] by Grimmjow's minions who, after eating thousands of hollows to try to advance to the highest hollow stage, noted that their growth just completely stopped at some point.
* Everyone in some ''[[Digimon]]'' seasons pretty much work their butts off just trying to catch up to the rest of the crew...although it's pretty much pointed out that if you can't go beyond a certain point..then you [[Can't Catch Up]], so sometimes...why even bother trying?
** It seemed almost like the crew of ''Tamers'' was well-aware of this trope and decided "Why bother? We [[Can't Catch Up]] because we're not one of the three main cast (and [[Canon Immigrant|Ryo
* Yamcha from the [[Dragon Ball]] series has an extreme case of this particularly in ''Z''. Even in the original series, he was often used for [[The Worf Effect]] despite training alot, particularly for Martial Arts tournaments. For the third tournament at the end of [[Dragon Ball]], he even does [[Training from Hell]] in alone the wild for three years, invented a new move from scratch, and still loses in his first match. In ''Z'' Yamcha never wins a single fight, and ultimately realizes he'll never be useful in protecting the Earth and gives up after dying a third time in hte Android [[SaGa]]. By [[Dragon Ball GT|GT]] he never achieved any of his goals in life(to get Married and win a World Martial Arts Tournament).
** Vegeta, he trains and trains and trains, but Goku is always stronger than he. Yes, Goku trains (though it's usually unclear just how much, or whether it's because he just gets better training), too, but at nowhere near the level of Vegeta . The funny thing is that Vegeta was supposed to be the super-talented prodigy.
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*** This seems to have become a trend for human-Saiyan hybrids, as the end of Dragonball GT shows one of Goku's descendants (like ''great-great-great-great-great'' grandkid) randomly awakening the Super Saiyan transformation in a tournament sparring match.
** It was his great-great grandson, and he becomes a Super Saiyan defending a bear against a pig-demon thing. Still applies though when compared to what it took for all the other Saiyans, not including Goten and Kid Trunks, to transform.
* In ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'', Unsui and Agon, twin brothers, couldn't be farther apart in ability. Unsui puts himself through [[Training from Hell]] (at one point shown doing one handed push-ups with another person laying on his back) and is only "a great player". Agon doesn't practice ever at all, and is "a once-on-a-century prodigy." He's also the only one of the Shinryuuji Nagas who has any luck with the ladies (being that they go to an all boys school). Sure, he's got [[The Gift]], but he's also stone cold ''evil''. Ever since his team's loss to Deimon, he ''has'' been working out with increasing fervor and desperation; He doesn't want to become the trash he sees everyone else as. Subverted twice, though, when Hiruma deliberately (and successfully) sets Yukimitsu (who is 0 percent talent and 100 percent hard work) against him, and when Hiruma himself (a physically average player) outruns Agon because he improved his 40-yard dash by 0.1 seconds through the training Agon disdains.
** Leonard Apollo learned this the hard way during his time in the NFL, as well.
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* In ''[[Hidamari Sketch]]'', While Yuno is known to be hardworking, her skills will probably never be as good as those of her [[Ditzy Genius]] neighbour Miyako.
* Likewise, Kisaragi in ''[[GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class]]'' is also hardworking and doesn't seem to be very skilled, unlike the more [[Cloudcuckoolander]]-ish Nodamiki. Unlike ''[[Hidamari Sketch]]'', though, whether she's that bad compared to Nodamiki has not been demonstrated.
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. Asuka is sent over the edge when Shinji's sync ratio got higher than hers even
* Averted and then played straight in the case of Kirino in ''[[
* Played with in the manga ''[[Aisaretaino]]'': Izaki bears a lingering grudge against Hakamada because Hakamada excels at everything he turns his hand to without even trying, while Izaki himself works hard for little apparent return. Eventually, however, he discovers that Hakamada feels inferior to ''him'' because his accomplishments, obtained without real effort, feel empty, and he admires Izaki's [[Determinator|stubborn drive to succeed]]. (On the other hand, Hakamada is a wealthy author who wrote a bestselling novel in three days, while Izaki is a salaryman, so we can't really call it a subversion of the trope.)
* ''[[Holyland]]'', [[Shown Their Work|which reads more or less like the author's love letter to martial arts and street fighting]], presents most fighters' skill as a mixture of training, fighting experience and inborn 'talent', and makes it clear that ultimately it's those with talent who rise to the top if they get the other two; training and experience can only compensate so much. Protagonist Yuu Kamishiro is noted to have talent and combines it with [[Training from Hell|working himself to the bone]] and hard-earned experience to win over people who have martial arts backgrounds, despite lacking formal training and experience until his mid-teens (which would be a death sentence to most people's ability to compete). Some people, like Masaki, are noted to have all three, and serve as mentors or major street bumps during the story.
* ''[[Medaka Box
* ''[[One Piece]]'': Played straight and averted in the case of Luffy. It's shown he gets stronger throughout his various battles plus in order to use his powers for fighting he had to train extensively. But later he learns Gear Second and Third, abilities which increase his strength and speed in different ways which only could be made possible due to his powers. Gear Second was even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] by Lucci who said if it weren't for Luffy's rubber fruit his heart would explode. It should also be noted that Gear Second was the only reason Luffy won against Lucci, the latter kicking his ass un-transformed before Luffy used it in their fight. Played straight again in Luffy's case later on when he fights opponents who are just [[Badass Normal]] like some of the vice admirals and Mihawk yet still gets his ass kicked in spite of his powers.
** [[Zig-Zagging Trope]] with some of the other characters like the higher ups in the marines like the admirals when it's never said whether some of their abilities are due to their powers or in that they have DF abilities yet use techniques that most people could use such as a:
*** Zoan DF Vice Admiral who knows Rokushiki
*** Aokiji who possesses great speed
*** Kizaru who was able to match [[Badass|Rayleigh]] in a swordfight
* Mostly discussed but still apparent in ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'': Kyubey explains to Sayaka that magical girls aren't created equal, some are simply more powerful than others and even training can't always make up for this discrepancy. {{spoiler|Considering she got beaten hard by Kyoko shortly before this conversation,}} she doesn't take it well.
== [[Fan Works]] ==
== Manhwa and Manhua ==▼
* ''[[Veritas]]'' subverts this big time. In the Reunion program, Gangryong faces other students far more powerful than he is. Their power comes through medical ki treatments, while his is earned through good old fashion hard work. Gangryong's training also gives him the added edge of an exceptionally strong grasp of fighting basics. His opponents can throw a fireball that can destroy a building, but many of them don't know how to defend against a cross hook, maintain a perfect stance, or out maneuver an opponent who fights dirty. As a result, Gangryong is able to win enough matches to move up through Reunion ranks.▼
== Fanfiction ==▼
* This is discussed in ''[[Oh God, Not Again|Oh God Not Again]]'' when [[Harry Potter|Draco]] points out that the Hufflepuff house never comes out ahead specifically ''because'' working hard is such an ingrained, defining trait of theirs. “What are they going to do? Do exactly what they're supposed to do MORE?"
* ''[[Clash of the Titans]]'' depicts several egregious uses of this trope, such as when Perseus has a pegasus show up for no apparent reason and ''literally finds a magic sword laying on the ground.'' The original ''Clash'' at least attempted a justification by showing the gods interfering in the course of events. While jarring to a modern audience, this kind of thing was actually very common in the original Greek myths. So common, in fact, that they served as the origin of the phrase, ''deus ex machinae.''
** It seemed pretty clear that everyone knew that they came from Zeus. Perseus just wanted nothing to do with him. More daddy issues.
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** That random American, played by [[Steve McQueen]], was actually one of the POWs' tunneling experts due the experience gained in his many, many prior escape attempts. His grabbing a motorbike and running for it was more a case of playing to his strengths and capitalizing on the chaos of the escape.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
▲== Literature ==
* This is the [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop]] of ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''. While Dagny Taggart seemingly effortlessly manages Taggart Transcontinental and many of the people that get accepted into Galt's Gulch have innate abilities, Eddie Willers, who works hard for Taggart Transcontinental, ends up breaking down in the middle of the desert trying and failing to fix the train.
* ''[[His Dark Materials]]'': Lyra learns how to use the alethiometer in less than a month. It's supposed to take decades. On the other hand, she's not the only one.
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* This is how D'Artagnan impressed the Three Musketeers in the Three Musketeers. Might also be the reason why {{spoiler|Aramis eventually became the [[Big Bad]] and the sole survivor of the musketeers}}. Also lampshaded by the women and several of the nobilities. At one point, a former friend remarks to the Queen (who had been suffering immensely at that point) that her ignorance of a worse suffering is the equivalent of Africans feeling cold in the mountains and not realizing that people below the mountains are dying from heat and hunger. It's also important to note that the events past the ones included in the kiddie version has D'Artagnan lamenting how after growing old, losing contact of many of his friends and saving everyone did not pay off. He ends up being more jaded as the novel goes along and despite the rewards he received, the other Three Musketeer in an aversion, gains more riches than him while doing less work. (Reversing the advantages, D'Artagnan had with his swordsmanship.)
▲== Live Action TV ==
* This was actually used as motivation for Amy the witch in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. At one point she was really powerful and not unfriendly to the main cast, what with them saving her from being trapped in her mom's body. Fast forward five seasons: Willow is now the resident [[Deus Ex Machina]], and Amy is royally pissed that Willow (who wasn't even aware magic existed until the age of sixteen) has more magic in her pinky than it took Amy, an already accomplished mage, years of training to get.
** She's also rather upset that Willow {{spoiler|''attempted to destroy the world''}} and didn't get more than a slap on the wrist and some friendly counseling.
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{{quote|'''Jeff:''' "The funny thing about being smart is that you can get through most of life without having to do any work."}}
▲== [[Manhwa]] and [[Manhua]] ==
▲* ''[[Veritas]]'' subverts this big time. In the Reunion program, Gangryong faces other students far more powerful than he is. Their power comes through medical ki treatments, while his is earned through good old fashion hard work. Gangryong's training also gives him the added edge of an exceptionally strong grasp of fighting basics. His opponents can throw a fireball that can destroy a building, but many of them don't know how to defend against a cross hook, maintain a perfect stance, or
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
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*** Wally is based on a real-life individual that Scott Adams knew. Wally was a brilliant worker who gamed the system so that he got the best outcome from minimal effort.
*** The real Wally was also apparently making a concerted attempt to subvert the company and it's goals entirely; that he remained employed in spite of this was probably the inspiration for the PHB.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* According to Kobold Creation stories in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', when Io gave the secret of creation to the first true dragons, the first dragon to use that secret was Caesinsjach, a green dragon. The first kobold was Kurtulmak. Because he was the first, he was much larger than any of his kin. Because of this Caesinsjach commanded her kobolds though Kurtulmak. Naturally he ascended to a position of leadership, when Caesinsjach told the kobolds to mine for precious metal, Kurtulmak invented the pickaxe. When she ordered them to tile her lair with gold, Kurtulmak minted the first draconic coin. And when she told them to mine precious stones, Kurtulmak taught himself sorcery to divine where minerals were located. When Caesinsjach's lair was finished and she had become the wealthiest dragon in creation she let the kobolds go free. In emulation of his former mistress, Kurtulmak immediately began mining a lair for himself. Every kobold came to his aid. Kurtulmak found a spot with a near limitless supply of metal ore and precious stones. With Kurtulmak commanding the operation, it quickly became the most structurally sound and resourcefully designed mine the world had ever seen. Garl Glittergold, the god of Gnomes, was not pleased. While his gnomes were playing useless games, the kobolds were busy working and were ready to emerge as a dominant race. And so with a wave of his hand, Garl collapsed Kurtulmak's mine, crushing all the kobolds inside. Then, Io resurrected several Kobolds at decreased strength and from those the modern ones are descended. And the gnomes are considered good in the game.
** Pish, much simpler D&D example: the best way to become the greatest sage or wisest wizard in the world is to accompany a bunch of heroic sociopaths as they kill green people and take their stuff. Who needs to study when chunks of XP are begging to be fireballed?
** Then there's the "relative ages" thing, which makes this trope apply to whole species. Elves live for centuries, humans for decades. You'll find just as many high level human wizards around as elves, possibly even more because humans are the [[Jack of All Trades]] and optimize easily. This makes some sense for certain stages in life; a human will grow to adulthood during the time an elf of the same age is still a child, so it makes sense that the human is more developmentally mature. But the elf will probably learn just as much when in their "prime" as a human does, even though the elf's prime years are many times the length of the human's. Apparently they are just much slower learners, despite magic being a major focus of study in their culture.
*** Heck, this can get even worse when you consider the benefits and penalties of aging. A hundred year old human is pretty much at the end of their life, and physically much weaker than a younger one. But his or her mental ability scores will have actually ''improved'' by a few points, since senility doesn't exist in D&D and you always get smarter/wiser/more charismatic with age. A hundred year old elf isn't even at the minimum starting age for adventurers yet, and will need to wait until age 350 to get the same stat bonuses.
* From the concluding notes of the original edition of ''[[Traveller]]'': "The typical methods used in life by 20th century Terrans (thrift, dedication, hard-work) do not work in ''Traveller''; instead travellers must boldly plan and execute daring schemes for the acquisition of wealth and power."
* Zig-zagged in ''
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[F.E.A.R.]]'' is a particularly jarring case, as it's suggested this is your character's first time working with the team, and fresh out of training. You promptly take out an entire army of clones, while your teammates are either turned into ash or helpful chatterboxes by the end of the first level. It ''is'' eventually justified, as the [[Big Bad]] that fried your teammates only wants to give you a hug {{spoiler|that would instant kill you}}. On the other hand, he has been a spec ops soldier for quite some while and has gone through some pretty intense training (That is, since he was born.).
* In ''[[Psychonauts]]'', Raz can pick up psychic abilities almost instantly and far outperforms children who have been coming to Whispering Rock for years. His mind is also so shielded that not even Oleander can read his thoughts, despite the fact that Raz has never had psychic training.
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* In [[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]], local [[Badass Grandpa]] Orca teaches Link the Hurricane Spin, a technique gained by gathering ten Knight's Crests (a feat in and of itself) - and lots of practice. Before performing the technique, he'll mention that it took him years to become so accomplished and that age caught up to him before he could fully realize his dream. He's moved to tears upon witnessing Link execute it flawlessly in a matter of seconds. This trope is also played with in [[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]] where the Hero's Shade teaches the new Link several techniques called the "Hidden Skills." Although he will patiently review them until Link (i.e. the player) gets them right, he makes it clear that Link's status as [[The Hero]] means this trope should be in full effect and only shows approval after Link masters them appropriately.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0126.html this] ''[[The
** Later inverted when Xykon talks about how he is more powerful than Vaarsavius due in part to hard work, but also due in part to who he is and the nature of power—power that can be taken away easily isn't power at all, whereas power that is made inherent and immutable to the self is the only real power.
*** However, it's played straight on another occasion: Vaarsuvius nearly works him/herself to death trying to break through the Cloister and find Haley, while Elan and Durkon mostly just sit around waiting for the problem to solve itself. At the end, all the hard work accomplished almost nothing in regards of finding Haley, because she had contacted them and Durkon was actually the first to know. This is a [[Justified Trope]] for three reasons: V was doing so much hard work and not resting at all, because he/she was still feeling guilty about something done recently and didn't want to have nightmares; no one short of an epic spellcaster could penetrate the Cloister, period; and an idea that ''should'' have worked didn't because of something that was not his fault (i.e., his friends were hungry).
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**** Similarly played straight with Crystal, Haley's rival, who gains levels whenever Haley does without having to do anything to gain them herself. Another character mentions wanting to pick a fight with a PC to gain this benefit themselves.
== [[Web Original]] ==▼
* ''[[
▲== Web Original ==
▲* ''[[Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'' makes fun of superheroes who don't need to work for their powers during the scene in the laundromat when [[Smug Super]] Captain Hammer is confronting Dr. Horrible in his street persona.
{{quote|'''Captain Hammer:''' You look ''[[Incredibly Lame Pun|horribly]]'' [[Clark Kenting|familiar]]. [...] Have I seen you at the gym? [...] Wait, I don't go to the gym; I'm just [[Jerk Jock|naturally]] [[Super Strength|like]] [[Nigh Invulnerability|this]]. Oh, well.}}
* Chaka from the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' is a Ki prodigy, able to pull off crazy stunts with a few seconds of planning. She can do things her teacher studied for years to learn, and nothing is a problem to her. There's a scene in Aquerna's story where she feels depressed and useless because her powers suck compared to nearly anyone's, and she can't do anything remotely resembling what Chaka does. The subsequent conversation with their sensei implies that he suffers from similar feelings because he worked for years to do what he does, while Chaka gets it naturally.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
* ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'': One of Mozenrath's main beefs with
▲== Western Animation ==
▲* One of Mozenrath's main beefs with [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]] was how easily Al had gotten his genie - Mozenrath had studied extensively for decades, even [[Deal with the Devil|given up his own right hand for power,]] and here comes this guy with an ''all-powerful genie'' at his side, and the kid doesn't even seem to realize that it's unusual!
** Hey! ''Semi''-phenomenal, ''nearly'' cosmic power!
* Played straight and then averted in an old episode of ''[[Arthur (animation)|Arthur]]'', dealing with a school-wide [[Spelling Bee]]. In the initial round, Arthur gets through by sheer luck in that the only word he studied was "Aardvark", whereas a few other classmates studied furiously. Deciding to win through skill the next time, Arthur studies rigorously and does succeed in the end.
* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' example ahoy: Katara feels this way when Aang masters Waterbending seemingly without trying, when she's been self-training for years. This is lampshaded partly in the numerous references to past Avatars—Roku notes to a hesitant teacher that the Avatar has ''already'' mastered the elements a thousand times, which means learning them might be more like remembering something you forgot a long time ago. In addition, Katara ''was'' self-teaching, but Aang immediately benefited from everything she learned. When they both get some supervised training from a true Master, she learns much faster because he doesn't take it very seriously: Katara makes enough progress in ''days'' for said master(a [[Straw Misogynist]] who only changed his tune after a near-defeat and some [[Epiphany Therapy]]) to ''declare her a Master in turn.'' Lesson: being a ''[[The Determinator|Determined]]'' [[The Gift|Prodigy]] is superior to being [[Brilliant but Lazy]]. Zuko also laments to himself about things come so easily for Aang, just like for his sister, while he has to [[Determinator|constantly struggle]] for anything he wants and loses so many times.
* Subverted in ''[[The Boondocks]]'' episode "Ballin'", where Riley constantly watches basketball videos and mimicks the players until he can break through any defense with ease... but it's all for naught because he can't actually shoot the ball to save his life, a fact that didn't come up until his first game because he refused to go to practice.
* Frank Grimes from ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', rather darkly [[Played for Laughs]].
* Thoroughly averted in the second ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon, where Leonardo is unquestionably the best fighter of the four almost solely due to his training and discipline, while Michelangelo, who is acknowledged to have the potential to be even better, isn't because he doesn't have the discipline or the will to train.
* ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' has been trying to obtain his boating license for years. Then Patrick, [[The Ditz]], gets it on his first try, and unintentionally rubs in Spongebob's face for the rest of the episode, though Patrick is hardly the world's greatest driver.
* Dr. Orpheus of ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' is, despite his [[Butt Monkey]] status in his personal life, one of the closest things to a [[Deus Ex Machina]] in the show. However it's shown this [[Power At a Price|power came at a price]]; his incredible dedication to his mystical profession and training lead to his wife divorcing him, and has been a cause of major strife in his life. So when one fourth season episode has him shown up by the Outrider, the guy his wife has now hooked up with—he's ''far'' more powerful, and hasn't made nearly as many sacrifices to get his skill—he has a crisis. This trope is then subverted by revealing the Outrider ''cheated'', he's "cyborged" a [[Amplifier Artifact|mystic artifact]] into his brain... which ends up [[Gone Horribly Wrong|going horribly wrong.]]
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
▲== Real Life ==
* This is the case with many professionals or aspiring pros, especially athletes and musicians, etc. In the case of athletes, overtraining can wreck your body and cause burnout. In most cases with music, overpractising can lead to voice fatigue in singers, tendonitis or muscle damage in keyboardists, string players and even conductors, and damaging muscles in the area of the mouth for wind instrumentalists, particularly those who play brass instruments. It's a bit of a balancing act—if you don't work hard enough, you won't reach the heights, but if you work too hard, you'll hurt yourself and your training will suffer while you're injured.
** Also, it should be worth mentioning that this trope can be invoked if one practices or trains, but doesn't use their time efficiently - i.e. a basketball player who is really good at free throws should still practice free throws, but probably not to the extent that the rest of their game suffers or doesn't get developed.
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