Note: You guys really seem to have a lot to say about my editorial on bland main characters. A lot of you pointed out in the comments about parts of the cliché I did not even think of and talked about books you guys read on your own that had the issue. The comment that stood out the most to me though was from EiderForce , who pointed out to me about a cliché that can connect to a bland character; automatic mastery of a weapon. I knew from the moment I read it that this cliché needed to be talked about, especially since I had found it prevalent myself in fantasy. Thank you so much EiderForce for inspiring this part. It would not be possible without your insightful comment.
When mastering any type of skill, whether it be something simple like addition in math or harder like figuring out how to master the art of writing. Whatever the skill, it takes time to truly master. Even if you are great from the start, the skill needs to be nurtured like a newborn baby. You need to be inspired to keep going despite your initial downfalls. You could become frustrated, even get hurt from time to time. In the end if you stick to it though, you will achieve some type of mastery in the skill. The reward and satisfaction you feel from acquiring this skill is something to be celebrated.
Despite the relatable potential this path to mastery has, when applied to fantasy for some reason the process is skipped completely. Instead the writer will have the character unrealistically master the skill right away, usually magic, archery, swordsmanship, or any type of hidden ability. Like bland characters, this cliché takes away relatable aspects from the story, big or small. Sometimes it can even be an aspect of a bland character. The path to mastery is taken away in favor of possibly keeping the book length smaller, which should not matter at all.
A great example of a path to mastery working great in fantasy is surprisingly the dark comedy manga series Soul Eater. In the series, all of the main characters, whether the swordsman or the sword itself, go through a series long mastery of their weapons and abilities. Maka, a strong weapon master, in the beginning of the series even goes through this when despite being great at her craft still fails to collect the hundredth soul needed to upgrade her weapon Soul. Because of this, both of them are forced to start from scratch and collect another hundred souls to try again at what they failed at originally. This forces Maka to further find mastery in her craft, going through relatable struggles to get to the point she was at before. She even is threatened a few times with expulsion, something that hurts her due to the hard work she did previously before the huge failure. However, Maka keeps going and finds mastery as a result. The story becomes relatable to the audience through this journey that involves Maka and many others.
So if Soul Eater can do this, why can't others stories find a way to do the same? This extra element just brings more of an audience to your story. They relate to the paves characters have to take in order to master swordsmanship or archery. This sprinkle on the ice cream of the story can really do a lot to improve a character. Just mastering a skill right off the bat takes all that potential away.