Yeah, and that doesn't make any more sense (often less) when it shows up in manga/anime. The trope would make (marginally) more sense if they used rivals who have some emotional reason for wanting to be the one to face the big bad and so want to stop the hero from doing so. "No, he killed my father, I must be the one to slay him!" Or if the point really was for the hero to lose. "I told you you weren't ready, imagine what Big Boss would have done to you."
But that's not even what happens in the anime and manga (usually, anyway).
The whole premise seems archaic to me- "Neanderthalistic," was the first thing that came to mind, but I'm not entirely sure that's a real word. :P
In fact, now that I've stopped to osmose the idea, it seems contradictory to a fantasy setting even moreso than "real life." After all, if this fictional universe had the capability to extend beyond the realm of what we as humans are aware and capable of (instant healing or otherwise highly functional brain type-stuff :P ); why in the world would they hold on to such barbaric folkways and mores?
Well, at that point the fight with Big Bad would be about equally silly, wouldn't it? A lot of fantasy stories are more medieval-esque, or with video games it's just a practical matter no matter how advanced the setting is, so the extreme example would be potion-chugging barbarians and whatnot.
(Reminds me, on a "worst games ever" thing somewhere I ran into one called Sword of Sodan, I think on the Genesis, and it looked like a cross between Golden Axe and Pit Fighter, with birds chirping where background music should have been. Its only possibly-redeeming feature was the potion system---enemies dropped lots of potions that you could drink in different combinations for short periods of different powers. ...But the barbarian hero going through his quest swilling a bottle every 20 seconds was a disastrous image in its own way...)
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But that's not even what happens in the anime and manga (usually, anyway).
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In fact, now that I've stopped to osmose the idea, it seems contradictory to a fantasy setting even moreso than "real life." After all, if this fictional universe had the capability to extend beyond the realm of what we as humans are aware and capable of (instant healing or otherwise highly functional brain type-stuff :P ); why in the world would they hold on to such barbaric folkways and mores?
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(Reminds me, on a "worst games ever" thing somewhere I ran into one called Sword of Sodan, I think on the Genesis, and it looked like a cross between Golden Axe and Pit Fighter, with birds chirping where background music should have been. Its only possibly-redeeming feature was the potion system---enemies dropped lots of potions that you could drink in different combinations for short periods of different powers. ...But the barbarian hero going through his quest swilling a bottle every 20 seconds was a disastrous image in its own way...)
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