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Many Japanese comics, stories, etc. showcase and celebrate the hero's trip from 0 to 1 on a scale of 100. I believe this is an Asian cultural thing, were struggle _matters_ and even little steps - sometimes invisible to others - are celebrated. Most US based comics, movies, books, short-stories celebrate the hero's accomplishment _after_ the training period. The hero is already the _the best one around_ in whatever art/skill/etc. Sometimes it's a random event (spiderman, captain america, ironman) or the backstory is quickly brushed off (e.g. jack reacher, even Hiro Protagonist in Cryptonomicon to mention something more involved) in the past. I believe this approach, gives instant gratification but creates that narrative that _things come for free_ and/or by _design_ (God, nature, randomness, whatever you wanna call it). Not saying one is necessarily better than the other, but IMO there's beauty in widely considered small wins as well, especially when they become consistent. ps. A counter-example western Hero I can think is Harry Potter. There's too much shine there as well, but Harry ultimately acquires his skillset through struggle. Harry is not as proficient as others, but dealing with dangerous situations through the series grows into a formidable dueller. |
Does he? It’s been a while since I’ve read the books but my recollection is that he never actually develops a ton of deep skill, or at least it’s never seen. His biggest accomplishment in magical terms seems to be his ability to do the patronus charm at an earlier age than most. Otherwise most of his success comes from 1) bravery, 2) friends, or 3) luck. At the end he chooses to be an auror, which I thought was odd because it seems like he’s poorly equipped to do that job.
It’s true that the books do not paint his journey as instantaneous (except his proficiency flying the broom). But they also don’t really paint his journey as ending in a place of impressive skill.