Trope Talk: Five Man Band

So! Fun fact, this is actually one of my favorite tropes, because I'm a big ol' dork and I pretty much consume media exclusively for good character dynamics. Five-man bands are one way to make that happen, but any sufficiently large pile of characters can be written to interact in a suitably entertaining/heartwarming/squee-inducing way as to appeal to my Very Refined Tastes In Media (hurriedly shoves Thundercats 2011 under the carpet). Today we break down the structure of a five-man band, examine a few of its more convenient story uses, and overall have a grand ol' time, no Comment Kaiju required!

On a related note, I have to hijack my own video description to recommend My Hero Academia to all of you, as it manages to create the kind of beautifully realistic banter and interwoven character dynamics I typically expect from five-man bands, but on the scale of a class of twenty people plus all their teachers plus some students from the other classes too. It's beyond impressive. If you've already seen or read it, tell me who your favorite characters are! Mine are Tsuyu and Kirishima but I'm open to suggestions!

(Also, tell Blue to start watching it too.)

UNNAMED EXAMPLES USED, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER: Legion of Superheroes, Guardians of the Galaxy, Storm Hawks, Teen Titans, Yu Yu Hakusho, Sailor Moon, W.I.T.C.H, Gargoyles, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Wars, Thundercats (2011), Voltron: Legendary Defender, Fairy Tail, Yugioh, Justice League, Firefly, Inuyasha, Order Of The Stick, Wolverine And The X-Men, Ghostbusters, TMNT, Young Justice, Fullmetal Alchemist, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Cowboy Bebop, Legend of Korra, Rurouni Kenshin, Golion

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[mothbaroldsen]

My dnd group has 8 people, no healers, and THREE BARDS. T H R E E.

[ericsilva]

We all know the REAL fifth element: boomerang!

[OxyWorgon]

Leader: Index
Lancer: Middle
Heart: Ring
Smart: Pinky
BigGuy: Thumb

[ashielilystar]

“The role of smart guy is conspicuously absent to the surprise of precisely no-one”
best line of the whole thing lol

[dsblocks]

Phineas: the leader
Ferb: the lancer
Isabella: the heart
Buford: the big one
Baljeet: the smart one

[alecchristiaen]

I love how in TLA, the five man band evolves as it expands.
at first, there's this weird power trio of Aang as the heart (most compassionate), katara (the clever one) as the smart gall, and sokka as the big guy (the brute of the bunch).
As their bending gets better and Toph joins, Aang comes closer to the leader role, Katara becomes more of a heart, and Sokka becomes a bit of a lancer, with Toph becoming the big gall (and an absolute badass). eventually, Sokka becomes more and more of an idea guy, compensating for his muggleness with his quick thinking, his knack for inventions, and his crazy plans. eventually, Zuko joins up, and we have a proper lancer to completely fill out a conventional band. aaaand, there's only 5 episodes left until the finale starts.

[inky]

The leader: Your starter
The lancer: That one bird mon from route 1
The smart guy: Your HM slave
The heart: That one cute shiny you found
The big guy: That gen's legendary

[Art-ujjv]

Leader: Singer
Lancer: Guitarist
Big guy: Drums
Smart guy: Keyboard
Heart: Bass

[dw]

How to get the 5 man band together: The Tavern
Works every time

[DeFaulty]

Leader: Nausea
Heart: Heartburn
Lancer: Indigestion
Smart guy: Upset Stomach
Big guy: Diarrhea

[jobisTheWorst]

Ah yes my favorite archetype:”the heart: woman.”

[jelliefishr]

Umm you guys...

Phineas - Leader
Ferb - Lancer
Isabella - Heart
Baljeet - Smart Guy
Buford - Big Guy

[ctopus]

“Lance is a lancers lancer”
Try saying that five times fast.

[skylerstemper]

Every time I watch these it’s just: God avatar is so good.

[thejohnhopkinscompany]

Trevor: The Lancer
Sypha: The Lancer
Alucard: The Lancer

[svtvres]

Save me.
The penguins of Madagascar
The leader: skipper
The lancer: kowalski
The smart guy: also kowalski
The heart: private
Big guy: rico

I need help

And yes I did look up the names

[DarkestElemental]

To quote Sailor Moon Abridged when Venus finally showed up: "Were we WAITING for a fifth member this whole time?!"

[HyperGnome]

"Water corresponds to mercury"

Famous last words.

[unmusicallyinclined]

destiny,
necessity,
*a spaceship, *
has the same energy as:
something brought you here flynn rider, call it what you will!
fate,
destiny,
*a horse*

[johnp.]

You forgot to cover the lazy way many DMs use to get a party together:

"You're all at the inn, and you know each other."