Demoted to Extra: Difference between revisions
→Literature: Replaced redirects
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (TVT->generic) |
(→Literature: Replaced redirects) |
||
| (12 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
Line 7:
We have a member of the supporting cast. They're important to the plot. Although, like any other minor character, they fall [[Out of Focus]] at times. Then comes the sequel, or the adaptation, or [[The Movie]], and... hey, where'd they go? They weren't completely written out, but they just weren't good enough to keep what importance they had in the original. The character's fanbase will complain, and everyone else may just accept it as the status quo. It's sad.
This always, always,
Opposite of the [[Ascended Extra]]; instead of a background or one-off character becoming a key member of the supporting cast, a key member of the supporting cast becomes a background or one-off character. Also contrast [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad]]; there may not be anyone in particular that takes these characters' screentime, and the presence of a Spotlight Stealing Squad doesn't mean no one else is plot-important anymore. In works when [[Anyone Can Die]], characters fated to die frequently end up demoted to extra before their deaths.
Line 19:
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* In ''[[Berserk]]'', The Count and Rosine, in Manga they both have their own story arcs while in the first Anime they only show up in one episode.
* Caren, Coco and Noel in ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]''. The second arc of the manga shuffles them [[Out of Focus]], but they still maintain some importance and form a [[West Coast Team]] of [[Lovely Angels]]. The anime, though, shafts every single one of them. Noel doesn't even get [[A Day in the Limelight]] in the mountain of filler; Caren, a key figure in the first season, becomes completely useless in the second; and everything to do with Coco is cut from the plot. One episode actually reveals that Coco, Noel and Caren can't even fight off a member of the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] and are now comic relief.
* All of the original main characters from the ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'' manga were demoted to extras in the short-lived sequel, ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]] a la mode'', when [[Replacement Scrappy|manga-original]] [[Black Hole Sue|Shirayuki]] [[Creator's Pet|Berii]] was made the new main character. Although it is said this was due to [[Executive Meddling]], and the other Mew Mews were supposed to play a more important role, but Mia Ikumi was told not to include them very much, as she was restricted to two volumes.
Line 34:
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's]]''
** Jack Atlas was the main antagonist in the first season, once best friend and then arch rival of the protagonist, object of all his thoughts, a formidable opponent. Long story short: he was pretty badass. Neither did their conflict ever get solved, nor did he stay this important to the plot for long. He was taken off the beaten track via his new love interest Carly Nagisa, who occupied his sole attention throughout the whole second season. And in the third season, his only purpose seems to be used as a [[Plucky Comic Relief]] every now and then, together with and practically glued to the side of the main characters ''other'' BFF Crow, if he appears at all, holding no special importance to the plot whatsoever anymore, not to mention his former badassness.
** Aki in the first season was a formidable, destructive, and ominous [[
** Depending on how you look at it, most of the cast except Yusei could fall under this trope in the 3rd season.
* There's a character in ''[[Jubei-chan]]'' who not only gets this treatment in J2 but lampshades it. Everybody from ''[[Jubei-chan]]'' get this except the main character's father.
Line 107:
** Ah, but our prayers have been answered! Poland practically gets his own episode later, removing him from the abandonment list. [[Valley Girl|Like, that's so hot!]]
** Unfortunately, Korea gets Demoted to Extra as well as been hinted to be erased from the manga altogether. It doesn't make his fans happy.
* In the ''[[To LOVE-Ru]]'' anime, [[The Ojou|Saki]] and [[Gender Bender|Ren&Run]] gain plenty of screentime, and [[Hello, Nurse!|Miss Mikado]] goes from being the regular with less appearances to [[Ascended Extra|have a lot of 'em]]... yet it seems they managed this by stealing off all of [[Token
** Mikan even lampshades this ''[[To Love Ru Darkness]]'', stating that she feels that she is becoming less important because Momo is taking away most of the things she used to do. However, she does get fairly good screentime so it's not a "true" example. A better example would be ''Lala'', the main heroine of the series, that has yet to get an episode truly about herself in ''Darkness'', the closest being one she shared with her sisters, but her sisters already get far more screentime anyway!
* All the main characters from ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'', except Takeru and Hikari, were demoted in ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]''. Taichi's giving his signature googles to Daisuke was almost symbolic of that transition. From there, the older kids became the younger ones' mentors and had occasional supporting roles. But their influence on the story was limited; in fact, they were hardly able to travel to the Digital World without the new Chosen Kids' help.
Line 184:
* ''[[The Last Airbender]]'' naturally has this by virtue of trying to condense twenty episodes into two hours. However, it's especially noticeable with Momo, who, while admittedly a comic relief lemur, shows up just long enough to be introduced then does absolutely nothing but appear in the background of scenes for the rest of the movie. You seriously will forget he was in it at all. There's also Avatar Roku, who was a major player in the Avatar's quest in the show. In the movie, with the exception of a brief mention, he's completely removed and his mentor role to Aang is handled by a dragon...for some reason.
* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' live action trilogy, perhaps the biggest casualty of this was Éomer, who was built up to be almost a [[Sixth Ranger]] to the trio of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in the book of ''The Two Towers''. He was offscreen for much of ''The Two Towers'' movie as his role was merged with a minor commander who leads [[The Cavalry]] rescue at the fortress of Helm's Deep. Conversely, his sister Éowyn takes the almost-Sixth Ranger role since she also goes to Helm's Deep instead of leading civilians to another fortress. Their uncle King Théoden also takes his memorable lines and moments in ''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''.
* In the Rankin/Bass animated version of ''[[The Lord of the Rings|The Return of the King]]'', Legolas and Gimli are reduced to background characters who have a few non speaking cameos, while Saruman doesn't appear at all.
* ''[[Harry Potter]]''
** Percy Weasley. He wasn't all that big a player in the books, usually being involved in the side-plots, but his estrangement from his family was a poignant reminder of what Dumbledore always said about Voldemort's gift for dividing loyalties.
Line 198:
== Literature ==
* ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'':
** In the books and movies, Ginny Weasley in ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (novel)|Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' and ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (novel)|Goblet of Fire]]''. Gradually reverted in the later books, though.
** Colin Creevey had a moderate supporting role in the fourth and fifth books and then vanished entirely until ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (novel)|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'', when in only one or two lines it is explained that he {{spoiler|was killed by Death Eaters when Hogwarts was attacked. As a muggle-born (much less a sixth year), he wasn't even supposed to be there, but the author [[Hand Wave|Handwaved]] this by saying that he broke into the school to fight.}}
* Happened to most of the characters from the first series of ''[[Warrior Cats]]''. Characters like Sandstorm, Mistyfoot, Cloudtail and Graystripe (who was also [[Put on a Bus]] for ''three books'') don't make many appearances from the second series onward. Firestar still has a noteworthy presence as Clan leader, but he still isn't as important as the main characters. The second series characters were a bit better about this (except for Tawnypelt, whose purpose in the plot seems to be one of the few cats in ShadowClan who isn't a jerk, and to give birth to relatively important characters, and Stormfur, who has been [[Put on a Bus]] ''twice''), especially with Leafpool, who is still an important character after the end of the second series.
* In ''[[Avalon: Web of Magic]]'', [[The One Guy]] Zach appeared as a major character in the third book, at the end of which he seemed to be an important addition to the team. In books four to eleven, he's lucky if he gets a scene or two, or even a few lines of dialogue. However, the author says that he'll have a bigger role in the sequel trilogy, ''Shadow Warrior'', so he may just be [[Out of Focus]].
Line 251:
** Poor Potsie is the ultimate. Initially one of the major characters as Richie's pal, he stuck around when Richie & Ralph left the series. Some weak storylines had him as a "pledge" to Howard's Men's Club, but he ultimately vanished by the last season. He's one of the only cast members not to be there for the finale!
** Also poor Lori-Beth, who is a minor recurring character who later becomes Richie's steady girl. When Richie left, she stuck around, getting married to him over the phone, and giving birth to Richie's son when he was away. Eventually, she just stopped appearing entirely unless it was a special occasion, having little way to play off the others.
* Leoben, in the last half season of ''[[Battlestar Galactica
** He does get a larger role in ''The Plan,'' the feature length episode produced after the main series had finished. It was, however, set before the end of season 2, so quite what happened to Leoben (and the other Twos) is never addressed.
* Once Yutaka Ishinabe, Roksaburo Michiba, and Koumei Nakamura retired from their positions as [[Iron Chef]]s, they were demoted to extras, only appearing for specials.
Line 317:
== Puppet Shows ==
* After the untimely deaths of [[Jim Henson]] and Richard Hunt, most of the [[Muppets]] they once played were handed down to new performers, starting with ''[[A Muppet Christmas Carol]]''. However, Henson's Rowlf and Dr. Teeth and Hunt's Janice and Scooter, all formerly major characters with sizable roles in previous Muppet productions, would be reduced to non-speaking background appearances or [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|not appear at all]].
== Theatre ==
Line 418:
== Visual Novels ==
* Satsuki Yumizuka a.k.a. "Sacchin" from ''[[Tsukihime]]''. She quickly disappears on each route of the game despite being set up as another possible heroine, and in some branches {{spoiler|she is quickly and cruelly dispatched by Shiki Tohno after becoming a vampire and declaring her admiration for him in a truly [[Tear Jerker]] moment}}. The anime lets her {{spoiler|survive unvampirized in the [[Muggle]] sidelines}}, but other than that it didn't treat her much better; the manga, more of the same. In ''[[Melty Blood]]'' she re-appears, but {{spoiler|as an enemy, in her vampire form. She is quite real (and dangerous) in the game, but in its manga adaptation she is the form that Tatari took after discovering Shiki's guilt for having had to kill her, and then he has to dispatches her ''again''}}. In truth, she is more famous for how she ''doesn't'' appear that much on the other semi-official media, and the unreleased "Satsuki route" (which was supposedly planned and partially written but cut out, and is allegedly the one where the events of ''[[Melty Blood]]'' happen) is one of the running jokes of the franchise and the fandom, a thing not helped by the fact that the remake of the game, which allegedly would contain her route, has been stuck in [[Vaporware]] for over a decade. Within some fandoms (including
* Assassin, Shinji and Zouken in ''[[Fate/hollow ataraxia]]'' get much smaller roles than they did in ''[[Fate/stay night]].'' Well, Assassin had a small role anyway. The latter two probably get smaller roles because the game as a whole is lighter in tone and they were two of the darkest characters.
**In the long term, they have been this for the ''Fate/'' franchise. At least Assasin got it better when he became an unlockable playable character in ''Fate/Grand Order'', but by then he has but fallen off the road (and his ''F/GO'' incarnation is basically cannon fodder). Shinji, on the other side, has been promoted to the franchise [[Butt Monkey]], as seen by his role in ''[[Fate Extra|Fate/Extra]]''.
Line 487:
** Chef was showing up less and less (after being more or less the fourth most important character on the show) before he was killed off.
** Pip, one of the most vocal and visible of the kids at South Park Elementary at the show's start, and got a whole episode to himself, got pushed away into the background as the show progressed, and has now vanished completely. Then he [[Back for the Dead|returned]] to [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|have a mecha's foot dropped on him.]]
** Cartman's mom was the parent that was seen the most often. Due to her serving Eric's every whim and being a total whore, [[
** Kyle's parents have gradually dropped out of sight, as well. Sheila was a major antagonist/WellIntentionedExtremist in the early years, including the movie, and she's all but disappeared in the later seasons.
** Stan's sister Shelley was extablished to be a sociopath who beat up her brother in often over-the-top ways, but now she's become a generic sister character, with her original personality showing once in a blue moon (see "Over Logging"). Later in "Broadway Bro Down", Shelley was given a subplot that attempted to show a softer side to her.
Line 501:
** A lot of recurring characters from the show seem to have been abandoned most of the time due to the unhealthy amount of focus with [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|Mr. Krabs and Plankton]]. Such as Sandy, Gary, Mrs. Puff, Pearl, Larry, The Flying Dutchman, Karen, and Patchy the Pirate.
* In ''[[Hey Arnold!]]''s [[The Movie|movie]], Phoebe Hyerdahl only gets one line, and the only memorable thing she does in it is run into some newsguy's camera. (For that matter, none of the minor recurring characters, except [[Stalker with a Crush|Brainy]], get any credit.) The movie that Craig ''didn't'' get to make supposedly would have re-dressed the balance. According to [https://web.archive.org/web/20130620190040/http://heyarnold.wikia.com/wiki/The_Jungle_Movie this Wikia article], the [[Out of Focus|much-ignored]] Nadine would have finally gotten some screentime in it.
* Pongo and Perdita, the main characters of the ''[[One Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'' movie, are secondary characters in the TV series. The episode "The Making Of..." [[
* Lots of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' characters, especially those from the show's first two seasons. For instance, in Season 1, Lewis was regularly seen with Bart and Milhouse, and was explicitly said to be Bart's 2nd best friend. He was quickly demoted to background character, and even those appearances are getting rarer.
** [[Lampshade Hanging]] in the episode "Das Bus":
Line 560:
== Real Life ==
* After the [[Virtual Boy]] flopped, Gunpei Yokoi (though it wasn't actually his fault; the suits at Nintendo rushed it out a year before production was to be completed) was given what amounted to a desk job and had no real power. He would later leave Nintendo entirely.
* After a company merger with AOL, Ted Turner was [[Kicked Upstairs|given a figurehead desk job]] with no real power in the company's decision making.
Line 569 ⟶ 568:
*** [[The Roman Empire]], not so much. [[The Holy Roman Empire]] still wields a disproportionate amount of power, however.
** Iran is regarded as the first world empire. Throughout the history, it conquered most of the known world. It kept its power even after the Arab conquest, and up until the 18th century, it played an important role in world affairs. But now? Just a third-world theocratic despot.
** Ottoman Empire, it
* Most of the world's remaining monarchies are now constitutional monarchies within a parliamentary system. In such cases, the real power resides in the Parliament (and in the person of the Prime Minister.) The monarch's position becomes largely, and often entirely, ceremonial. Even in cases where the constitutional monarch has considerable residual or theoretical power (e.g., [[The House of Windsor|Great Britain]]), the power is seldom ''exercised''.
* Happened to dinosaurs: for a hundred millions years, they were the dominant animals on land. Now that mammals and humans in particular have taken over, what remains of them? Birds...
Line 576 ⟶ 575:
** Although to a certain extent, this might just be cultural. There are many cultures where even after the child grows up and gets married, his or her parents remain very much a big part of their lives (and are culturally expected to remain so), ''especially'' when they live close by.
* The 25 models on ''[[Deal or No Deal]]'' were the main attraction of the game show, but when the show became syndicated and the prize money was reduced, all but 2 of the models were replaced with contestants hoping their number would be picked so they can play the game, and if not, the contestants would open the cases during the game. The two models used in this version were for only spinning the wheel to see who can play and removing cases that were picked.
== Meta ==
* When a character-named trope has its name changed here or on [[TV Tropes]], it can end up demoting that character from star to being just another example. For instance, Spike<ref>No, not [[Cowboy Bebop|that Spike]]. Or [[
* Satsuki from [[Tsukihime]] is the center of [[Memetic Mutation|the meme]] "Isn't it Sad, Sacchin". What makes Satsuki's lucklessness worth a section here, is that it even extends to troping wikis. This trope was originally named "Isn't It Sad" on [[TV Tropes]], [http://www.lurkmore.com/wiki/Tsukihime after the meme in question.] With that wiki's shift to less esoteric titles, Sacchin was—you guessed it—demoted in importance once again. She was demoted ''again''; for a while, she was still the page's image, but she was later replaced. Really, the only reason this page isn't a [[Self-Demonstrating Article]] is because [[Irony|putting it on the appropriate index would make it]] an [[Ascended Extra]].
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Real Life Writes the Plot]]
[[Category:Cast Filler Tropes]]
[[Category:Characters and Casting]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
| |||