39,327
edits
Refusal of the Call: Difference between revisions
m
update links
m (update links) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 14:
If this is the second (or further) iteration of a Hero's cycle, it isn't uncommon for the Hero to have ''forgotten'' his adventures, given up his Hero powers, or some combination of the two, deliberately or otherwise: this variant of the refusal is [[Can't Stay Normal]].
The term comes from anthropologist Joseph Campbell's analysis of heroic sagas; it is a standard feature of such stories. (See [[
Of course some heroes [[Jumped At the Call|jump at the chance for adventure]]. (Others would have [[Missed the Call|if they'd only gotten it!]])
Line 33:
** Ami (Mercury) in ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' refuses because she believes Usagi only befriended her so that she'd join up. As usual, a battle forces her to make the choice - although afterward, she claims to Usagi that she really does want to fight with her, probably still hoping it will let them become friends.
* Nakajima Youko in ''[[The Twelve Kingdoms]]'' spends an unusually long portion of the entire first [[Story Arc]] of the series refusing the call in various ways.
* This is Jomy's initial reaction in ''[[Toward the Terra]]''. Mixed with a great dose of [[I Just Want to Be Normal|reluctance in accepting his role as a Mu]].
* Ginrai in ''[[Transformers Super God Masterforce]]'' initially refuses to get involved in the Autobot/Decepticon war, and only changes his tune when Hydra and Buster kill some of his friends while trying to get to him.
* Asuna of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' seems to fit this. When she first finds out about magic, she wants nothing to do with it, and seems downright offended by how it's going against her nice and orderly world (the fact that it seems to be losing her crush isn't helping.) {{spoiler|She actually falls into the "did this before, but forgot about it" category, having erased her memory [[Older Than They Look|ten years prior]]}}. Needless to say, given that the principal put Negi (The Call personified as a [[Cute Shotaro Boy]]) in her room and he won't hang up, she gives in eventually.
Line 50:
* In ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'', while Fuyuki is [[Jumped At the Call|wildly enthusiastic]] about [[Alien Among Us|finding a live alien in his house]], Natsumi wants to ignore the whole thing. Even long after this proves impossible, she occasionally wishes Keroro and his squad would go away [[I Just Want to Be Normal|and let her live a normal life.]]
* [[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]] is basically an endless cycle of Tsuna refusing the call, his friends being put in danger, and him thus being forced to accept the call for just long enough to deal with this new threat. Each arc starts off this way, and several ''individual battles'' are sparked by near-identical internal struggles.
* In ''[[Nabari no Ou]]'', [[I Just Want to Be Normal|Miharu]] completely ignores the call even after being confronted by Thobari-sensei and ''repeatedly getting attacked by ninjas''. When he finally does learn a ninja technique, [[Crowning Moment of Funny|he uses it to run away from Thobari-sensei]].
* In ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'', Madoka, the title character of the show, is understandably resistant in accepting a contract to become a [[Magical Girl]]. {{spoiler|Which is kind of the point of the series, as it becomes increasingly clear as the series goes on that being a [[Magical Girl]] is ''not a good thing.''}}
* In ''[[Silent Möbius]]'' (the TV series and films, not so much the Manga) Katsumi Liqueur not only refuses the call, but once she's been forced into answering the call, she makes a break for it with disturbing regularity.
Line 96:
* In [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]] and to a lesser extent [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]], Sam actively tries to avoid getting involved with the Cybertronian Wars; in the novelization of the former, he even cites chronic pains from the climax of the first movie. Unfortunately, [[The Call Knows Where You Live]] and he's got an overwhelming sense of duty.
* In ''[[Serenity]]'', Mal's first reaction to River's sudden bout of insanity and [[Waif Fu|ludicrous martial-arts skill]] is to ''hide''. Unfortunately, The Operative has already burned down his destination on Haven and killed everyone there, causing [[Papa Wolf|Mal]] to ''[[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|snap]]''. It goes poorly for all sides. (One of the themes of the movie is that if the Alliance knew to leave well enough alone, everything would go more smoothly.)
* In ''[[Jumper (novel)|Jumper]]'', David is watching the news while reporters detail severe flooding which has trapped multiple people on their roofs. The reporter even questions what will happen to them. Saved by a mysterious teleporter? Nope, he was busy banging some British chick.
Line 122:
** Not all. Moraine, for one, [[Jumped At the Call]].
* When [[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant|Thomas Covenant]] finds himself [[Trapped in Another World]], he's convinced it's [[All Just a Dream]] and refuses to do anything (well, anything except [[Wangst]]).
* Otah Machi in [[The Long Price Quartet]] {{spoiler|amazingly succeeds at ditching his poet masters and running off. He later becomes Emperor, of course.}}
* There was a ''[[Transformers]]'' [[Choose Your Own Adventure]] book where at the first choice, you ''could'' refuse the call. The adventure promptly ended, with the note that you occasionally wonder what might have happened.
** A ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Choose Your Own Adventure]] book allowed you to walk straight past the TARDIS, with the same result.
Line 135:
* In ''The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake'', {{spoiler|Rose's father avoids hospitals because he fears a power like his own father's will manifest there.}}
* Miras Vara in the [[Terok Nor]] books from the [[Star Trek Novel Verse]]. When Vara is exposed to an Orb artifact, the spirit lifeform Oralius, leader of the old gods, makes Herself known and insists Vara is the next Astraea (leader of the church and vessel for Oralius). Vara doesn't want to give up her career and her home to live on the run as leader of an outlawed faith. Knowing that Oralius will send her psychic dreams, Vara tries to avoid sleep. This is of course futile. Eventually she gives in and accepts her new destiny. She certainly makes a good effort at refusing the call, though.
* In ''[[Sunshine (novel)|Sunshine]]'', Rae really does not want to be a vampire-slaying magic-wielder. But she's really good at it, and the humans and [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire|Con]] need all the help they can get.
Line 141:
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Buffy at first refuses her call as [[The Chosen One]], but is forced into it. And [[Ten-Minute Retirement|frequently during the series]], Buffy expresses the desire to [[I Just Want to Be Normal|quit and turn her back on Slaying]].
* In the second season premiere of ''[[24]]'', Jack Bauer initially refuses to help CTU avert a nuclear bomb threat because he is still grief-stricken over the loss of his wife. A chance sighting of a mother and her child, as well as a few minutes spent in his home mulling, change his mind, and he finally decides to help the counter-terrorist unit.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' double episode feature "Human Nature" / "Family of Blood", the Doctor is turned human with his memories erased, and is set to live a happy, normal life as John Smith- if it weren't for the possessed scarecrows and the insane maid who thinks he's an alien. At first, Smith refuses the call, but eventually is forced to become the Doctor again- and boy, is he ''angry''.
** In the 1996 film, Grace ultimately chooses not to go with the Eighth Doctor.
*** And now with the finale of Series 6, answering the call for so long has made the Doctor become truly feared by many, to the point where whole religious orders have sprung up to kill him and many innocents along the way. It reached such a breaking point that the Doctor had to choose between dying to save the universe and {{spoiler|faking his own death so the universe will forget him}}. As a result, it seems he may now be refusing the call after a lifetime of answering it.
Line 174:
'''Cyrano:''' [[The Grotesque|Through my nose?]] [[Refusal of the Call|She might laugh at me;]] <br />
[[Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality|That is the one thing in this world I fear]]! }}
== Video Games ==
Line 184:
* In ''[[Betrayal at Krondor]]'', Owyn is the only one who isn't compelled by duty or has a truly personal stake in stopping the moredhel schemes. He tries to go his separate way again after helping an injured Locklear who stumbles into his camp with a chained Gorath in tow. When they realize afterwards that he could talk to the wrong person and get them all killed if they just let him go, Locklear says he's either coming along with them or getting his throat slit, which would be undesirable for both of them. Later, however, when that part of the mission is done and it's assumed he'll be going home, he [[Jumped At the Call|goes out of his way]] to stay with them.
* ''[[Lost Odyssey]]'''s Kaim doesn't actively refuse the call, but he recognizes that, as an immortal, he has all the time in the world, and so he takes his time. But when it comes to the call of adventure that his lost memories provide, he initially refuses due to the tremendous pain he knows they will bring if he can unlock them again.
* In ''[[Devil Survivor]]'', at a specific point in the game, instead of choosing to keep fighting, you can choose to abandon everything and just try to escape the [[Hell on Earth]] scenario you're in, {{spoiler|knowingly leaving thousands of innocent civilians to die and the city you're in to go insane and be completely destroyed}}. But making this choice will ''[[You Bastard|cost]] [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero/Video Games|you]] '''[[The Call Knows Where You Live|dearly]].''' '' {{spoiler|It leads to the single worst ending of the entire game. The vast majority of your friends, along with ''hundreds of thousands of innocent people'', die extraordinarily horrible deaths. You get delivered a staggering [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] by the ''top angel in Heaven'' for being a coward. And you cause an eternal [[Crapsack World]] where humanity is either completely stripped of its free will or trapped in a living hell where only the strong can survive and demons roam the world freely.}}
** And the worst part about all of this? ''You get told exactly what will happen if you make this choice before you make it''. [[You Bastard|It is entirely your fault.]] [[The Complainer Is Always Wrong|For listening to Yuzu.]]
* In ''[[Wario Land]] 2'', if you stay asleep long enough at the beginning, you get kicked out of your castle and get to play through an alternate storyline.
* Inverted in [[The Bard's Tale]] for the [[PlayStation 2]]. The Bard does answer the call, but he refuses to be called [[The Chosen One]], and threatens anyone who even thinks to call him that.
* '[[Earthbound]]'': When Buzz-Buzz is telling Ness of the prophecy and what he must do, Pokey thinks he's one of the three boys and backs out from helping. {{spoiler|He ends up being involved anyways, but on the wrong side}}.
* In ''[[Phantasy Star]] IV'', when presented with the genesis story of the Algo solar system, some time after Rune has chosen him as his champion, Chaz finds the Great Light to be an extremely hypocritical absent god figure and consciously rejects his "destiny". Once he's calmed down, he says that being thoughtlessly manipulated is the difference between the heroes and the villains. He eventually does come around, but does it for his own reasons.
* In the [[PlayStation 2]] version of ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'', it's very possible to refuse the call by carefully avoiding setting off any triggers. It leads to an arc in which {{spoiler|"Mion" appears to start going nuts}}, but Keiichi refuses to get involved, leading to {{spoiler|the death of everyone with the actual Mion's death being delayed by ten years while she's catatonic}}.
* Reid Hershel from ''[[Tales of Eternia]]'' initially refused to have anything to do with stopping the [[Earthshattering Kaboom|Grand Fall]], but was dragged along by his childhood friend Farah, who [[Jumped At the Call]]. He's content to let the military of his home world take care of things, but eventually he's [[The Call Knows Where You Live|forced to do it himself]] as [[The Chosen One]] when the ''other'' Chosen One [[Heroic Sacrifice|dies saving his life.]]
Line 221:
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Aang runs away after being informed (prematurely) that he is the new reincarnation of the Avatar. He is then [[Human Popsicle|frozen in a iceberg]] and reawakens to a world in a century-long war that needs the Avatar now more than ever.
* Takua tries to do this in ''[[Bionicle]]: The Mask of Light'' by tilting the mask so that it cast its light on Jaller, making everyone else believe that Jaller was [[The Chosen One]] and sending him on the quest instead. However, Jaller manages to drag Takua along anyway.
* ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' plays with this trope: despite his eagerness to watch the tournament in which the new Dragon Warrior is to be chosen, when Po is 'mistakenly' selected by Master Oogway, the panda protests that he can't be the one. Amusingly, but also distressingly, the Furious Five and Master Shifu refuse to accept he's their [[Designated Hero|predestined hero]] either, and do all in their power to convince, persuade, or downright browbeat him into quitting. (And [[Lampshade Hanging|this is lampshaded]] by Tigress, who insists he doesn't belong and needs to get out so the ''real'' hero can show up.) Yet he continues to keep trying to learn, mostly because he's always dreamed of learning kung fu.
** Once he finds out what he's expected to do, however (defeat [[Big Bad|Tai Lung]] all by himself), he literally runs away from the temple. (Perhaps it should be Fleeing from the Call?) Luckily for the [[Aesop|moral of the story]], Shifu stops him and convinces him he can be trained and finds a way to do it. Although Po's [[Doomed Hometown|hometown isn't doomed]], it is put in danger, and this as well as a pep talk from his Dad and a flash of insight into the Dragon Scroll convince him to accept after all.
* This trope is a [[Running Gag|running joke]] in the "Woodland Critters" episode of ''[[South Park]]''.
** Parodied in the "Pandemic" episodes, where Craig's attempts to refuse the call leads him to [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy|accidentally fulfilling the prophecy]] associated with him.
** There's also one episode where the four boys decide that they're just not going to get involved in this week's plot. [[Averted Trope|They succeed, and are rather glad about not being involved.]]
* In "[[Danny Phantom]]", the titular character often tries to Refuse the Call. This never works well, with the result being either just a mundane ghost attack to creating horrific alternate futures where the world is destroyed. One particular example is the episode 'Memory Blank' where a powerless Danny with no memories is forced to answer the call anyway.
* In ''[[World of Quest]]'', the titular Quest spends most of the first episode actively refusing the call. Actually, more like kicking the call in the butt. Eventually he's tricked into accepting.
* Ultra Magnus in ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]'' initially believes he is "not worthy" to keep the Matrix of Leadership and become Autobot leader, but Optimus Prime convinces him to do it. {{spoiler|At the end of the movie, Hot Rod gets it.}}
| |||