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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
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* Happens sometimes in ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple]]'', usually when a challenge fight is being fought, or when somebody desperately wants a rematch. Also interesting is the dynamics of helping and refusing help between Kenichi and Miu: Kenichi is very chivalrous and wants to [[I Will Protect Her|become strong enough to protect Miu]], and sometimes even tries to interfere when she is about to start fighting, but Miu is more skillful fighter than Kenichi (''always'' beating him in sparring matches), and ''she'' is very willing to protect ''him'' when she thinks he is in danger. Kenichi, of course, often refuses such help from Miu, because "this is something a man must do himself".
* In an earlier episode of ''[[Detective Conan]]'', the murder happens at a reunion of Kogoro's old high school judo club, meaning both the victim and the murderer are friends of his. Conan pulls Kogoro aside and is about to tranquilize him as usual when he sees Kogoro's anger about the situation and his resolve to crack the case for his slain friend. Hearing this, Conan puts away his tranq gun and decides that Kogoro needs to solve this one himself, though he does still provide little hints.
* Appropriately, as ''[[Trigun]]'' is a [[Space Western|Stranded-On-A-Desert-Planet-For-Three-Generations Western]], Vash [[The Magnificent|the Stampede]] has been known to invoke this trope. For himself, he keeps trying to do things alone and keep everyone else out of the line of fire. More darkly, in the manga Vash ''is standing there watching'' for the horrible, gory, agonizing marathon battle that ends in Wolfwood {{spoiler|dying of overusing his [[Heroic Red Ring of Death|regeneration formula]].}} He does nothing. At all. Despite the incredibly high stakes and the fact that that's his best friend and the fight is clearly completely unfair as well as heartbreaking on several levels. This is apparently his rationale, although it's hard to be sure [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|why Vash]] [[Rule of Cool|does anything]].
** This also serves as a strong distinction between the anime and manga iterations of our hero. The anime is [[Lighter and Fluffier]] enough that its Vash ''could never do that''. '''Ever.''' (His neglect in the corresponding incident consists of being too busy beating himself up for not being able to stop a [[What Measure Is a Mook?|random enemy with no lines]] from [[Eating His Gun]] to notice the blood trail. Not that noticing would have helped. Probably.)
*** Caine the Longshot is, interestingly, apparently the replacement for Livio and Razlo, whose character development is what took those two dozen or so bloody chapters. They gave him a sniper rifle and a mask, and he kills himself when Vash breaks the former. That is it. His whole character. Either really dutiful or really in love with his weapon.
** A lesser example from the anime instead is the guys who take the card-playing rich girl hostage in the saloon in episode 3(?), when beard guy eventually gets his shot at his nemesis, Shinigami Bostalk, who murdered his parents and stole their life's work, and who his hostage knows only as Daddy. Vash respects the avenger's right to the showdown, although he cries with relief when he doesn't shoot to kill.
* In ''[[Berserk]]
* Perhaps one of the only rules of engagement ''[[One Piece]]'
== Card Games ==
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* This is an incredibly common trope in comic books. The comic's titular star will be facing an incredible threat, and it is only logical that other heroes would show up to help. However, that would remove the limelight from the star and make every comic into a "team" book. Therefore, writers are constantly having to invent reasons why a heroes' buddies are not available or cannot participate in the fight. The really lazy ones use this excuse. Notable incidents follow:
* Carried to a ludicrous extreme in ''[[Green Lantern|Green Lantern: Rebirth
* A ''[[Superman]]'' arc involved a battle with the magical powerhouse Atlas. When Superman is on the verge of defeat, Supergirl offers to help. Superman insists he must do battle alone, and asks Supergirl to avenge him if he fails. However, Superman has no problem when Krypto the Superdog shows up and saves the day just a few moments later.
* Done in the climax of ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]'' [[Story Arc]] ''Kang Dynasty'': Cap agrees to a one-on-one fight with Kang to conclude the war, with Thor preventing their teammates from interfering, citing this trope. The heroes protest vehemently, claiming that a monster like Kang deserves a group beatdown and not an honorable fight. Thor replies that its one-on-one not out of respect, but because Cap alone would be sufficient.
* [http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/79/3093_20060529105915_large.jpg This ''X-Men'' cover].
* In ''[[Scion (comics)|Scion]]'', Ethan and Bron have a big showdown on the Sanctuary island. The Heron royals and Ashleigh are about to help Ethan, but Skink insists Ethan must face Bron alone.
* During the Silver Age while battling an energy creature that could possess and animated matter the entire Justice League of America sits back in their cave lair while Superman watches and reports back to everyone what's going on, but otherwise they do nothing because 'well he hasn't used his signal device to call us in yet so we'll just sit and watch'.
* Subverted in ''[[
{{quote|'''Kyle:''' "We're the Green Lantern Corps, Mogo! ''[[True Companions|We face everything together]]'' - [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|even our own damn demons]]!}}
==
* Played straight in ''[[The Final Clash]]'' where Akuma demands a one-on-one fight with Ryu [[Duel to the Death|to the death]]. Snake and the others understand, but Alien Hominid goes after Akuma anyways. Yoda then Force Pulls him back to the party of heroes and says "This is something that he must do himself.".
* The second ''[[Naruto]]'' event is subverted in ''The Sealed Kunai''. Jiraiya states this regarding Naruto's fight with Kakuzu. Naruto wins, but promptly collapses afterward in utter exhaustion, causing Jiraiya to yell at him on ruining his "cool mentor" speech. Naruto makes a mental note to kill Jiraiya at some point in the future.
** Also subverted in that Jiraiya claimed Naruto needed to do this so he could prove to himself he could defeat Akatsuki. Considering he already had Hidan's still-screaming head sealed away, it wasn't as critical as he might have thought.
* In ''[[Christian Humber Reloaded]]'', Vash stands aside as his Toa allies fight the Visoraks until they start losing, at which point he steps in and helps them by adding his energy to their combined attack, helping to finish off the enemmy.
* In ''[[Buttlord GT]]'', the secondary characters [[Lampshade Hanging|mock their tendency]] to [[Affectionate Parody|never assist in main-character fights:]]
{{quote|"We must get to a nearby cliff to grunt and sweat but offer no help!"}}
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{{quote|'''Shockwave''': The secondary heroes stand around and watch, calling on their burning spirit and heart of justice to empower the main hero from afar.
'''Optimus Prime''': Mmmm...no, we won't be doing that. }}
* In the movie ''[[Dungeons & Dragons (film)|Dungeons & Dragons]]'', where Ridley enters a cave to search for the [[MacGuffin]] and the female Elf character prevents others from going too, because "he must do this himself". [[Hand Wave|An explanation is attempted]] with a magical force field that keeps the others from entering.
* Played sort-of straight and simultaneously spoofed in ''[[Hot Fuzz]]''. The hero is in a gas station, struggling with the decision of whether or not to return to try and save the village. After some inspiration thanks to seeing ''Point Break'' and ''Bad Boys 2'' on DVD, he stops at the counter to purchase some badass sunglasses. The extremely wired-looking attendant asks "Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?" The response, of course, in a deep, gravelly, action-hero voice is, "No... This is something I have to do myself."
* In ''[[Labyrinth]]'', Sarah reaches the goblin castle but tells her companions that she has to face Jareth herself, because "[[Genre Savvy|that's the way it's done]]".
* Subverted in ''[[Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull]]'', where Indy explains everybody he was told by the skull to return it to its kingdom, a task he's got to do alone. On the next scene, however, we get to see all four sidekicks following him into the cave.
* The final one-on-one fight {{spoiler|between Cloud and Sephiroth}} in ''[[Final Fantasy VII
** Although arguably they would have just gotten in the way. Especially when {{spoiler|Sephiroth}} turns up ("Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away.")
* This is the reason Picard gives when he goes alone to the ''Scimitar'' in ''[[Star Trek: Nemesis]]'' instead of, you know, sending the security chief or someone else more expendable and adept at combat.
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== Literature ==
* In ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' novel ''Azure Bonds'' Alias tells her party "Back away. He's mine!". Elminster not only refrained from intervention but prevented {{spoiler|Nameless Bard from shooting heavily enchanted bolt into Phalse's eye}}, and arguing that "She must finish this battle alone"... "So she can prove to herself, and to thee, that she is her own master."
** It's worth noting that in the hands of Grubb and Novak, Elminster is more often used to prevent a [[Deus Ex Machina]]. Less the case in Ed Greenwood's...
* In ''[[Dune]]'' Paul Atreides is dueling Feyd-Rautha and realizes that he could use a code word that was placed into Feyd-Rautha's subconscious to stun him for a second, thus saving his life. Paul {{spoiler|refuses to do so because This Is Something He's Got To Do Himself. Interestingly, when he says, "No, I won't do it" (meaning use the code word), that is enough to distract Feyd-Rautha so Paul can win}}.
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{{quote|'''Victor:''' There are some things a man must do by himself.
'''Ginger:''' What, like... go to the toilet? }}
* In Bernard Cornwell's ''Saxon'' stories, Ragnar the Younger has one of these against his old enemy Kjartan. This trope name is actually invoked by one of the characters when the main character wants to intervene, saying basically, "Its his fight, and he will never forgive you if you interfere."
* In ''[[
* Lampshaded in ''End Game'' by [[Peter David]] (the finale of the pilot of the ''[[Star Trek: New Frontier]]'' novel series), in which [[The Captain]] fights a desperate one-on-one battle on a planet which is blasting itself apart under him. He wins, only to find himself stranded [[Convection, Schmonvection|amidst lava flows]]. His second in command then arrives in [[Hover Board|anti-gravity boots]] and rescues him, explaining that she knew he would insist on fighting alone, but now it was time to do things the easy way.
* Throughout the ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' series, Ron and Hermione have a tendency to fall by the wayside before [[The Chosen One|Harry]] has a face-to-face confrontation with Voldemort. In the [[Harry Potter (film)|first film]], Ron gives a "[[It's Up to You|Not me, not Hermione, you]]!" speech essentially to this effect. Ron and Hermione do often tag along despite Harry's insistence that [[I Work Alone]], but the plot [[Contrived Coincidence|nearly always conspires]] to make sure they aren't around when Voldemort shows up.
** In fact, Ron and Hermione don't even see Voldemort in person until the last book. (In the [[Harry Potter (film)|fifth film]], they at least get a glimpse of him, but that part wasn't in the book.)
*** In [[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone|Book one]], Ron is incapacitated by a chess piece and Harry sends
*** [[Fridge Brilliance]]: This gives a good reason. Anyone ELSE being around Harry when Voldemort is around would be instant [[Red Shirt]].
** [[Deathly Hallows|The last book]] has the most overt invocation: Harry says to a crowd of people about to watch his final confrontation with Voldemort, "I don’t want anyone else to try to help."
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== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' features this in the musical episode "Once More With Feeling", when Giles insists that Buffy save Dawn on her own as she is becoming too dependent on his support. The gang eventually does show up to help her out.
** Later on, he does admit she needs backup.
** Also, killing Caleb, although in that case it was her idea.
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* ''[[Highlander the Series]]'' has an explicit rule that battles between Immortals must be one-on-one.
** Except this is more due to tradition than something they absolutely have to do. Kell in ''Endgame'' has become so powerful partly by assembling a team of immortals, which he uses to kill others. Then {{spoiler|he kills most of them at dinner. Hey, 'There can be only one'}}.
* In the finale to ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' Sisko rushes off to a final confrontation with Dukat, and actually says "This is something I have to do myself". Now while it is ripe with symbolism - Sisko is the Bajoran Emissary and Dukat their equivalent of the Anti-Christ - there isn't really any justifiable reason he doesn't take a heavily-armed security
** To be fair, maybe he was just [[Genre Savvy]] enough to realize that
* Abed from ''[[Community]]'' gets dangerously genre savvy about it (as though Abed is ever any other way):
{{quote|Abed: So, how does this play out? Is there going to be a moment in this fight when I finally step up and learn to stand up for myself?
Jeff: ... maybe you should just hang back.
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** There is also {{spoiler|Robo's fight against [[Brainwashed and Crazy|Atropos]] in Geno Dome.}}
* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'', during the first visit to the [[The Lion King|Pride Lands]], Sora tells Donald and Goofy to hang back from Simba's fight with Scar, asserting that it's something Simba has to do himself. But when Scar comes back from defeat as a Heartless, they're happy to join in.
* Used to [[Narm]]ful levels in ''[[Dead or Alive]] 4'', in Kasumi's ending. Right before the boss fight with [[SNK Boss Syndrome|Alpha 152]], Ryu is standing there, and comments that this is something she has to do herself. And presumably he's still standing there after the jiggly jello ''totally wipes the floor with you'', multiple times. Thanks, Ryu.
* Just before the [[Duel Boss]] with {{spoiler|Cecil'a dark side}} in ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'', Cecil tells the Twins and Tellah to "Stay back. This is a fight for me, and me alone."
* All over the place in ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'', the heroes always battle their villain alone. If they're accompanied by allies, like Terra and Bartz are, they will directly tell their allies "I'll handle this" and fight alone.
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== Web Animation ==
* Used in ''[[Pucca]]''.{{context}}
== Webcomics ==
* Parodied in [http://www.adventurers-comic.com/d/0069.html this] ''[[Adventurers!]] strip.''
* Subverted in ''[[The
* ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' uses the phrase in [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=441 its tribute] to ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4''.
* In ''[[Misfile]]'' Rumisiel is explicitly forbidden to interfere in one of Ash's races for this reason.
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== Web Original ==
* In the novel ''Exams'' of the ''[[Whateley Universe]],'' massively over-powered characters Tennyo and Fey insist on Jade fighting two (mediocre) supervillains herself, to prove something important about Jade to Jade: she's not really cut out to be a pacifist.
* ''[[Dragon Ball Abridged]]'' has a memorable subversion. When Tien's best friend/dojo mate is killed by Nappa, Tien attacks furiously to try to avenge him... and promptly starts getting his butt kicked by Nappa. Gohan, watching from the sidelines, asks his [[Mentor]] Piccolo if they should help, but Piccolo replies that this is something Tien has to do himself. We then cut back to Tien, who is getting a [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]] from Nappa and is frantically screaming for help.
* Lampshaded and subverted during a ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe|Global Guardians]]'' third year story. Achilles, leader of the titular hero team, discovers the bad guy who has been causing them so much havoc is his own brother. Cue Gunmetal asking "Is this going to end up one of those 'I have to face him alone' things with you?" To which Achilles responds, "Oh hell no. Take his ass down the moment you can get a clear shot."
* In ''[[
* This happens in ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjSfwbQ1xWQ&t=5m47s Pooh's Adventures
== Western Animation ==
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* In one episode of ''[[Care Bears|Care Bears: Adventures in Care-a-Lot]],'' Grizzle manages to steal Funshine's belly badge and uses it to try and take over Care-a-lot. Funshine tricks Grizzle and gets his badge back to prove the episode's [[An Aesop|aesop]], but the fact remains that there were myriads of still-badged Care Bears who didn't lift a finger to help him.
* In the [[Grand Finale]] of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Aang shows up [[Just in Time]] to fight [[Big Bad]] Ozai before he [[The End of the World as We Know It|ends the world as they know it]]. Several of his allies were present and about to have a crack at him, but decide that Ozai is Aang's fight, and proceed to ruin the rest of Ozai's [[Evil Plan]].
** While everyone did acknowledge that defeating Ozai was that Avatar's responsibility (simply because if anyone else killed him, it would be seen as an act of rebels/fighting for the throne, rather than divine intervention), no one (not even Sokka's group) was actually
** They were also severely outclassed by comet-empowered Ozai - Aang and Iroh were about the only ones who stood a chance in the first place.
** Still, it's not like the rest of the
* When a few members of the [[Justice League]] end up in the Old West, Jonah Hex prevents them from getting between the local town's hero and the main bad guy, because, in Hex's words: "A man's gotta settle his own accounts".
* In ''[[The Avengers: Earth's
{{quote|'''Cap''': You can face Man-Ape alone. Anyone else is fair game.}}
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