This post is so overdue! Earlier this year, I wrote about five tropes, or common elements, or regularly occurring things in general within the fantasy genre that I didn't like. I always meant to follow it up with a companion post about the ones I do like, but it turns out this post was harder to write than the first.

I think it's because I just love fantasy as a whole, and it's a lot easier for me to pinpoint the things that irk me, than it is for me to isolate the little things that I like about fantasy. Also, many of the tropes that I adore aren't exactly fantasy-specific. For example, tropes like found-family or secret identities can exist in almost any other fictional genre. And what I really love about fantasy is just the very act of slipping into an unknown, unexplored world and figuring how things work inside there. For me, it's all about the discovery. But that's too general for a post like this, so I really had to find particular things to write about.

Just a heads up: this post will contain spoilers for various books and shows. I avoided giving real examples about the elements I don't like, but I think it's fine to celebrate works that we feel really exemplify the things we love.

Non-magic Beats Magic

I know it might appear ironic as someone who loves reading about magic, but one of the things I really go wild for is when non-magical elements beat magic. Yes, it's amazing and awe-inspiring when I see someone display the full strength of their magic, but in the end, I prefer when it's human ingenuity that ultimately beats the villain. It doesn't have to be the killing blow, but it does have to be the catalyst that gives the heroes the chance or the method for winning.

Although not from a novel, one of the best examples I can think of for this is the ending to Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa. Edward managed to beat Father, not because he was more powerful, but because he'd befriended Greed, who realized that the toughest material in the world was also made of the same compound as one of the weakest. Greed merging with Father and then turning himself into carbon allowed Edward to deal the finishing blow against Father.

You could say that Greed's ability to transform into carbon was what really turned the tides, and yes, that's one of Greed's magical components. But Greed never actually transformed into carbon before. Always, it had been diamond. And I love this subtle insight that came just at the right moment but had been foreshadowed long before. The thing is, you don't need to be magical to have thought of this. It's the logic behind it that made it a wonderful twist. And of course, Greed wouldn't have sacrificed himself if the Elric brothers hadn't befriended him throughout their journey.

It also doesn't have to be a twist in logic or a loophole in some magical rule. I've seen magic be beaten by qualities like kindness, compassion, love, and other things we typically associate with being human. That's what I find most fascinating. I think it's really easy within fantasy to spurn the things that make us human, but time and time again, this genre has shown us impactful stories that value our humanity above even the most powerful of magics.

Hard Magic Systems

Brandon Sanderson has a wonderful post about his theories on different kinds of magic systems. I'm pretty sure those of you who are well-read in the genre have comes across these theories before, so I'm going to keep my explanation short. Basically "hard" magic systems are the ones made up of many rules and limits. Magic cannot be used to conjure simply anything, just to make the characters' lives easier. Because of this, Sanderson states that "hard" magic systems are usually ones that allow characters to use magic as a tool for their own needs, whereas "soft" magic systems usually work against the characters because they don't understand it and can't control it.

I'm pretty sure my constant exposure to 90s anime while growing up really influenced my partiality to hard magic systems. C'mon, let's face it, Pokemon has a hard magic system! All joking aside, I think hard magic systems appeal so much to me because of the discovery aspect that I talked about in the introduction of this post. It's really interesting to learn about how things work and how people manage the various rules around a powerful resource such as magic. It's even more interesting to see characters find loopholes in these rules to wield magic in a way not conventionally done in their world or even to uncover a new way of performing magic altogether; and the best part is that, if written well, it all still makes sense in the end.

Don't get me wrong, I also love soft magic systems, and in the past few years I've been growing more and more fond of them. But I credit hard magic systems as one of the reasons I was so attracted to the fantasy genre even as a child. It felt like a game I could participate in. And I'm aware that that's actually one of the criticisms people have about hard magic systems -- they want to feel a mystical sense of magic, not learn the points system for a video game. It's a valid criticism, and it all boils down to how you want to experience magic. Me? I love the feeling of participation, and I can't really do that unless I understand the rules.

Magical Ensemble

This is sort of a continuation of the previous section, although magical ensembles can happen even with soft magic systems. One of the things I love to see in fantasy books is when people with different magical abilities come together to form a team to achieve a single goal.

Heists are a great example of this, and it's a plot device that I absolutely love even outside of the fantasy genre. Some of my favourite books with magical heists are Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows duology and Cate Glass's Chimera trilogy. It's just so wonderful seeing how different specialties of magic can interact and enhance each others' powers.

I think this actually goes hand in hand with my point in the first section, because magical ensembles are rarely about the strength of the magic, and more about how different people can find a way to make their magic complement one another's. At the end of the day, it's the characters' wits and trust that make the ensemble work.

I know elemental magic is a super common type of magic system, but I, for one, never tire of it, because it's a really accessible type of magic system that can effectively support a magical ensemble. So if you're a writer and you're worried that elemental magic is overused? Stop worrying! So long as your characters are interesting and their teamwork is compelling, there are readers like me who will always sign up for it!

Magic with Personal Cost

One of the fastest ways for me to be intrigued by the use of magic is for it to exact a price from its wielder. This setup engenders a natural tension to using magic, especially when the protagonist themselves is the one wielding it.

I don't really have a lot more to say about this, because I think the concept pretty much speaks for itself, but here are a few examples of books that did this concept justice.

In the world of Janice Hardy's The Healing Wars trilogy, "magic" comes in the form of healing abilities, where a Taker can absorb another person's pain or injury and push it in a special metal called pynvium. However, the protagonist, Nya, doesn't have the ability to push out the pain she's taken into pynvium, and can only either endure it herself or shift it to another person. This leads Nya to face a whole host of ethical issues, like whether it's okay to bear another person's pain if they pay you for it, and push pain into another person if they are all right with it.

Similarly, in Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy, people with magic slowly crystallize over time, because their magic leaves behind crystal residues in their bodies. This means every time they use their magic, they are one step closer to death. It's interesting that the ethical issues in this book closely mirror the ones from The Healing Wars. The story explores how, when you live in a world where a coveted resource resides among those who don't actually wield societal power, these people often end up trapped in an exploitative system.

What I find really exciting about reading books with this type of magic is trying to figure out how the protagonist can find a cure for their limitation or a way out of their predicament.

Close Friend Groups

There's something really cozy about intimate friend groups in fantasy that you just don't get in a story set in the real world. I mean, of course it's entirely possible to live with and go adventuring with close friends, but we just don't have the type of society that supports randomly going on fun quests and foregoing your regular responsibilities for years on end. And especially not so when you're under 20. Honestly, the closest equivalent we have in the real world is probably being an idol in a K-pop group.

And yet. In fantasy, this is the norm. And I love that. I'm pretty resigned that I shall never go on a quest of my own; and you know, my life is comfortable enough that it's not a tragedy or anything. But boy, am I really glad that I can live vicariously through my favourite characters.

I'm also a really big fan of close friend groups in domestic settings, not just the ones that go on adventures. For example, in Lockwood and Co. by Jonathan Stroud, the teenaged employees of Lockwood and Co. all live in the same house that serves as their base of operations for fighting rogue spirits. In the anime, Soul Eater, the protagonists all live in a dorm-like environment as they attend the Death Weapon Meister Academy.

As someone who had a really hard time making friends growing up, I really value deep friendship. The kind where you can know another person's best and worst, and still trust them to save your life. I feel like we don't really have many opportunities in the real world to develop that kind of depth in our relationships, or it's somehow reserved only for romantic relationships (although to me, romantic relationships are merely a subset of friendships). I just find it so endearing to read about people whose loyalties have been forged and tested by difficult situations, and it's so entertaining to see their everyday interactions.

---

All right! Those are five of my favourite themes/tropes/concepts in fantasy! Do you agree with these? Or are some of these not your cup of tea? I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts and what other common elements in fantasy you really like.

Coming up next in this series of things I like or dislike is a post on romance. And ooh, boy, do I have lots to say about it. (Why is it so much easier to talk about the things you're so nitpicky about?)