It's the Journey That Counts: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"We are not asking him where the treasure is hidden!!! We're not even asking him whether there is any treasure or not!! I'm not sure, but... everybody set out to sea, risking their lives to search for it!!! If you ask this old man anything about it here and now... then I'll quit being a pirate! I don't want to go on a boring adventure like that!!!!"''
|'''[[Idiot Hero|Monkey D.]] [[Obfuscating Stupidity|Luffy]]''', ''[[One Piece]]''}}
The heroes have traveled far and wide, braved many obstacles and even challenged the forces of darkness to find the legendary lost treasure. [[Shrouded in Myth|Maybe it's a fortune in gold and jewels left behind by a long-dead king, or perhaps it's a book of ancient wisdom, or a magic mirror that lets the bearer see the future;]] whatever the case, the protagonists (and any number of rivals) [[MacGuffin|have good cause to believe what they're after is very valuable and/or powerful,]] the sort of thing that could change their
So they find the ancient tomb. They open the sarcophagus. And what do they find inside?
Nothing. No pile of treasure or legendary artifact, [[Skies of Arcadia
And it's true. The legends may have been greatly exaggerated, but all of our heroes have become better people as a result of their experiences. What they found at the end of their journey may only have sentimental value, but its message is clear: these are lessons they would only have learned by setting out in search of it.
When
Compare [[Magic Feather]], where the protagonist discovers he's ''always'' had the abilities he ascribed to the [[MacGuffin]], and [[All That Glitters]], where the twist is merely that the treasure is worthless, not that the characters have benefited from the search for it. See [[Going to See
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* ''[[
* In ''[[Sakura Wars]]
* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', Negi and the "Baka Rangers" (the five worst students in his class) go looking for a magic book that will make them smarter in time for final exams. In order to get the book, a giant statue quizzes them on translating English words into Japanese. Then they get stuck in a lower level of the library, and pass the time by studying. Then the giant statue shows up again, and chases them up a stairway barred by review questions. Then they end up [["Friend or Idol?" Decision|throwing the book away to make the group light enough to take the only elevator to the surface]]. And in the end, {{spoiler|the whole thing turned out to be a [[Secret Test of Character]] designed by the headmaster.}}
* Looking at the themes and morals of ''[[One Piece]]'', it is highly likely that the series is going to end on this note.
** [[Saturday Night Live|"It's funny that pirates were always going around searching for treasure, and they never realized that the real treasure was the fond memories they were creating."]]
** Luffy himself believes strongly in this, to the point that he absolutely refuses to listen to any information about the titular treasure when the opportunity arises or else he will quit being a pirate - because he does not want to have a boring adventure.
* ''[[Popotan]]'': The protagonists never even discover the objective or even the purpose of their journey but when the burden gets to be too much and they're offered the chance to quit (at the price of losing each other) they realize that they can't do that either.
* ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'': The heroes discover a [[MacGuffin]] which could theoretically be used as a [[Reset Button]] to prevent the war but decide not to use it because the sacrifices they have made mean too much to discard.
== Fan Works ==
* In the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship
== Film ==
*
* ''Circle of Iron''. The protagonist Cord goes on a quest for the Book of All Knowledge. When he finally finds it, he opens it and discovers...a mirror.
** And then laughed at the monks who guarded the Book when they practically begged him to tell them what was in it - they were forbidden to look, after all.
* ''[[The Wizard of Oz (
** A more metaphorical read on the same concept: Dorothy uses the ruby slippers to get back to Earth; she's always had the power, but it took the events of the story to teach her the true value of her Kansas home.
* In ''[[The Neverending Story (
* ''The Last Dragon'' starts with Leroy Green's master telling him there is no more he can teach him. "Bruce Leroy" insists on learning more. His master gives him a dragon-shaped amulet and tells him to seek out a master of "The Final Level" in Chinatown. Throughout the film, Leroy protects his friends, family, girlfriend and neighbourhood from villains, and unlocks [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique|"the glow"]], but returns to his master in shame, never finding the hidden master of Chinatown. Whereupon his master informs him he learned everything he needed to in his struggles, and the amulet was merely a belt buckle.
* Subverted in ''[[National Treasure]]''. When they enter the {{spoiler|fake treasure room
== Literature ==
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
** In fact, [[Harry Potter (
* The former [[Trope Namer]] is the Mirror of Llunet from ''The [[Prydain Chronicles]]'', which (similar to the Time Magazine cover), was basically a mirror. After Taran's journey, it showed him exactly as he was: his faults, his strengths, and how much he's grown. It was a revelation that made him [[Take a Level In Badass]].
* ''Marauders of [[Gor]]'' had the tomb of a great hero, which turned out to contain nothing but an arrow. The protagonists realize that the arrow means they need to step up and become heroes themselves.
* Similar to ''Kung Fu Panda'', ''Little Vampire Learns Kung Fu'' has one of Little Vampire's human friends learning kung fu from a supernatural teacher so that they can reach the top of a temple and read a scroll that will tell them how to be a true master. The scroll ended up reading "If you were able to reach here, you already have learned all the kung fu you need to be a master."
* Geraldine Harris' ''[[Seven Citadels]]'' series plays this trope mostly straight; after an arduous quest by the main characters to acquire [[Plot Coupon|seven keys to unlock the prophesied savior]], the hero unlocks and enters the cave of the savior, only to see his own face reflected in the mirror that is the only thing there. Toyed with by the fact that he has been religiously forbidden to see his own face (until now), so it takes him a moment to realize who that face is... and then the wife of his god shows up to hammer the point home in case he couldn't figure it out himself.
* The ''[[Redwall]]'' book ''Loamhedge'' had a few of the main cast go on a journey to find a cure for another main character's paraplegia. After a long arduous journey (where one of them nearly dies from thirst and two others ''do die'' in battle), they discover that there's nothing there but a poem, and that the main character they did the quest for learned to walk on her own. On the bright side, all three of the younger members of the questing group were immature, rude, and spoiled, and they came back from the journey much more matured. Two of them grow up to be the Abbess and Recorder respectively.
* In ''[[
* In [[Robert Bloch]]'s story "The Hell-Bound Train," protagonist Martin makes a [[Deal
* ''Day of the Dissonance'' by Alan Dean Foster has the apprentice making a lonnnnng journey to find medicine for the very ill mentor. The apprentice is not amused by the lesson, but does understand it. Extra: The apprentice, Jon-Tom, is a UCLA law student pulled into the magical world, which are the setting for 8 books, called the ''[[Spellsinger]]''
== Live Action TV ==
* Subverted on ''[[Glee]]'' when Mr. Schuester tries to teach the Glee Club this. {{spoiler|
== Music ==
* "One Tin Soldier" by Coven:
{{quote|''Now the valley cried with anger,
''"Mount your horses, draw your swords!"
''And they killed the mountain people,
''So they won their just reward.
''Now they stood beside the treasure
''On the mountain dark and red.
''Turned the stone and looked beneath it:
''PEACE ON EARTH was all it said.}}
* From the rap remix of [[Linkin Park]]'s "In The End":
{{quote|''Because from the start to the end no matter what I pretend
''The journey is more important than the end or the start.}}
* "Prime Mover" by [[Rush]]:
{{quote|''From the point of ignition
''To the final drive
''The point of the journey
''Is not to arrive}}
== Newspaper Comics ==
* In ''[[Prickly City]]'', when Carmen speculates about what they are looking for, and whether they could recognize it or find it, Winslow offers this trope. Carmen assures him he's quite a find.
== Video Games ==
* In ''[[
* During Aqua's quest in ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep]]'', she ends up with [[Peter Pan]] and his Lost Boys on a quest for treasure. Eventually, it turns out that the treasure map simply led them all on a circle around Neverland to the same space they
* In the first ''[[
== Web Comics ==
* ''[[8-
* ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'' played with this trope [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/3/13/ here]
* ''[[Oglaf]]'' parodies this trope [https://web.archive.org/web/20130329064049/http://oglaf.com/delivery/1/ here]. '''Warning: NOT SAFE FOR WORK'''.
== Western Animation ==
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** In the episode "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes," the boys are told that in order to destroy Wall-Mart, they have to find and destroy its heart. Stan and Kyle make their way to the TV section (where the heart is said to reside) and encounter the [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] of Wall-Mart itself, who directs them to a small door. They open the door and find a mirror, which Wall-Mart says is "the heart" of Wall-Mart, i.e. the consumers. Stan and Kyle, however, take the instructions to "destroy the heart" literally, and smash the mirror, causing the building to implode.
* Parodied, like many things, in ''[[The Simpsons]]''. In an alternate future with Lisa as president, Homer decides to run around the grounds of the White House in search of Lincoln's gold. He eventually finds a chest, with a note saying that his gold is in the heart of every American. Homer isn't amused.
* The [[Continuity Reboot]] of ''[[He-Man and
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