Designated Protagonist Syndrome: Difference between revisions

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Another cause of this can be [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] - each individual member of the ensemble may not have lots of fans, but taken together a significant part of the fanbase prefers other people to the lead, even if they can't agree on who exactly it is that should have more time in focus.

It sometimes happens as a result of making the protagonist an [[Audience Surrogate]] or [[Every Man]]. They're generic to help the audience identify with them, but this means that there isn't anything particularly special about them. A [[Pinball Protagonist]] may also result in this ~~trope--the~~ poor guy/gal is simply dragged around the plot by stronger characters that s/he encounters.

It sometimes happens as a result of making the protagonist an [[Audience Surrogate]] or [[Every Man]]. They're generic to help the audience identify with them, but this means that there isn't anything particularly special about them. A [[Pinball Protagonist]] may also result in this trope—the poor guy/gal is simply dragged around the plot by stronger characters that s/he encounters.

Note this can sometimes be the view of the [[Vocal Minority]] of viewers, and giving the character less screen time because of that is often more [[Pandering to the Base]] than actually pleasing the majority of viewers. Just a warning.

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* ''[[Naruto]]'' has been accused of this as well. [[The Messiah|Naruto]], [[Rival Turned Evil|Sasuke]], and [[The Chick|Sakura]] all have much larger hatedoms than the ensemble cast supporting them, especially since Sasuke is considered the [[Creator's Pet]], Sakura has varying shades of being [[The Scrappy]], and Naruto himself is a massive [[Base Breaker]].

** In recent times and thanks to the magic of [[Character Development]], Naruto has been able to pull himself mostly out of this abyss. However, the main source of all the flak he still gets is due to his penchant for throwing reason to the wind and careening ''head-first'' into [[Stupid Good]] territory when it comes to his promise to save Sasuke. Overblown, nearly comical reactions like going into an miniature [[Angst Coma]] after he finds out the rest of the Konoha 11 plan to kill Sasuke to prevent him from dragging the country into another war and Naruto realizes the hopelessness of his attempts to redeem his friend haven't helped much either. In short, it's not necessarily Naruto's fault himself, but it's almost certainly [[Base Breaker|base-breaking]] by association.

* ''[[Bleach]]'' has this on both sides. The [[Five-Man Band]] are regularly overshadowed in popularity and screentime by the [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|Gotei 13]], leading to [[The Big Guy|Chad]] and [[The Smart Guy|Ishida]] being referred to as main characters ''sarcastically''. However, the inverse is also true; [[Big Bad|Sosuke Aizen]] has become the [[Creator's Pet]] for a massive portion of the fanbase, primarily due to over-reliance on [[Gambit Roulette~~|Gambit Roulettes~~]], [[Complexity Addiction]] and his [[Villain Decay|descent]] into an insufferable [[Smug Snake]].

* ''[[Bleach]]'' has this on both sides. The [[Five-Man Band]] are regularly overshadowed in popularity and screentime by the [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|Gotei 13]], leading to [[The Big Guy|Chad]] and [[The Smart Guy|Ishida]] being referred to as main characters ''sarcastically''. However, the inverse is also true; [[Big Bad|Sosuke Aizen]] has become the [[Creator's Pet]] for a massive portion of the fanbase, primarily due to over-reliance on [[Gambit Roulette]]s, [[Complexity Addiction]] and his [[Villain Decay|descent]] into an insufferable [[Smug Snake]].

** To elaborate on the protagonists' side, [[Gentle Giant|Yasutora "Chad" Sado]] is often disliked for his [[The Worf Effect|ridiculous tendency to lose battles]], his [[~~Narm|narmy~~]] speeches regarding [[The Power of Friendship]], his severe case of [[Demoted to Extra]], and his cessesion in his [[Character Development]], to the point where it's [[Satellite Character|affected and influenced almost entirely by another, more prominent character]].

** To elaborate on the protagonists' side, [[Gentle Giant|Yasutora "Chad" Sado]] is often disliked for his [[The Worf Effect|ridiculous tendency to lose battles]], his [[narm]]y speeches regarding [[The Power of Friendship]], his severe case of [[Demoted to Extra]], and his cessesion in his [[Character Development]], to the point where it's [[Satellite Character|affected and influenced almost entirely by another, more prominent character]].

** [[Genki Girl|Orihime Inoue]] is '''hounded''' for refusing to be an [[Action Girl]], for being [[The Messiah|a goodie-goodie even to her enemies]], and for focusing almost entirely on Ichigo, enough that her [[Character Development]] suffers each time Ichigo is involved. Some fans go as low as attacking for ''anything'' related to her role in the Arrancar Arcs, but mostly getting kidnapped<ref>(Then again, her guard/jailer was the fourth strongest soul-eating monster. What could you do?)</ref>. And, with her being an [[Actual Pacifist]], many people hit her for not fighting.

** [[Genki Girl|Orihime Inoue]] is '''hounded''' for refusing to be an [[Action Girl]], for being [[The Messiah|a goodie-goodie even to her enemies]], and for focusing almost entirely on Ichigo, enough that her [[Character Development]] suffers each time Ichigo is involved. Some fans go as low as attacking for ''anything'' related to her role in the Arrancar Arcs, but mostly getting kidnapped.<ref>(Then again, her guard/jailer was the fourth strongest soul-eating monster. What could you do?)</ref> And, with her being an [[Actual Pacifist]], many people hit her for not fighting.

** [[Aloof Ally|Uryu Ishida]] is often cited as the best-liked member of the [[Five-Man Band]] on the human side, namely for lasting the longest in a fight, being thoroughly independent as a character and a fighter, [[Friendly Enemy|regularly]] [[Sugar and Ice Personality|antagonizing]] Ichigo, and having a strained relationship with his father (everyone else's parents are dead, missing or goofy). The problem? He still gets [[The Worf Effect|mopped around the floor]], he minimally contributes to the overall plot (e.g. primarily just fights, or gets handicapped for an extended time) and he often gets shafted once he finishes up his role in the arc.

** [[Sixth Ranger|Renji Abarai]] has an endearing backstory, but his [[Character Development]] was essentially resolved by the end of the Soul Society arc, so he mostly just tags along in a particular event or fight, which he usually loses in order to make the villains look [[Badass]]. In a sense, he's basically been [[Demoted to Extra]] because there really isn't much else left to tell from him, besides getting new abilities and trying to surpass his captain.

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** Even [[The Hero|Ichigo himself]] gets these accusations. His toughest criticisms include [[Ass Pull|sudden and controversial power-ups]], [[Badass Decay|constantly fluctuating levels]] between badassery and wimpness, a decrease in ''[[Idiot Ball|sense]]'', and an ''in''crease of his chronic hero syndrome, even when his friends flat-out don't want it. However, things are made in the series to make sure that the [[Five-Man Band]] [[Can't Catch Up]] as a group anymore, so his hero complex might actually be justified. This is also because his default emotion is [[The Everyman]], [[Audience Surrogate]] and a [[Pinball Protagonist]] whose purpose in the series so far is to do battle with the [[Big Bad]], even if he has no real reason to fight them, with the exception of Byakuya and Grand Fisher.

** In fact, it seems that whenever Bleach is declining in popularity to the Japanese fandom (i.e. the fourth movie and the current manga arc), that's because the shinigami captains and lieutenants aren't getting as much focus.

* A variation of this is common in shows with [[Harem Genre|harems]] or [[Love Triangle~~|Love Triangles~~]]. Often, the first girl or obvious winner is much more down-to-earth than the competition.

* A variation of this is common in shows with [[Harem Genre|harems]] or [[Love Triangle]]s. Often, the first girl or obvious winner is much more down-to-earth than the competition.

** Any female [[Tsundere]] character who is also supposed to be the "[[Official Couple]]" with the main male lead is also often accused of this, which often leads to causing various types of [[Fan-Preferred Couple]]. It doesn't help that they're [[Betty and Veronica|the most common harem winners]].

** Not to mention the [[The Everyman|harem leads]] themselves tend to be less well regarded than their female co-stars, ''[[Tenchi Muyo!|Tenchi Muyo]]'' and its spinoffs being prime examples. Heck, look at the games that many harem series are spun off from. The [[Dating Sim]] as a genre has existed since the dawn of gaming, beginning with [[Porn Without Plot]] games; though 1992 brought the first games that really developed the haremettes, there wasn't a truly fleshed-out male lead until Yuuichi from ''[[Kanon]]'', and that game came out in ''1999''.

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** According to [[Word of God|former head writer Takeshi Shudo]], Team Rocket were deliberately created to be more interesting characters than the protagonists to encourage [[Multiple Demographic Appeal]] with the older fans, and (much to Shudo's displeasure), they were saddled with a repetitive formulaic role once he lost his position on the show. The result is that the fanbase enjoys their spotlight episodes while bemoaning their repetitiveness the rest of the time.

** Not very hard to believe considering how many fans believe Ash is a one dimensional character who's most redeeming traits are the very generic traits of other shonen heroes.

* ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'': Many readers find little to distinguish [[I Just Want to Be Normal|Setsuna]] and Sara Mudo from other Shojo manga protagonists. (Aside from...[[Brother-Sister Incest|well, y'know...]]) By contrast, the rest of the cast comes off as by far more complex, original and likable, seeing as most of them have more pressing (not to mention sympathetic) concerns than [[~~Wangst|wangsting~~]] over incestuous love. Then there's the fact that both Mudos stop the plot at various times to develop their romance ''[[What the Hell, Hero?|when they both know]] [[The End of the World as We Know It|the apocalypse is hanging over everyone's heads]]''.

* ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'': Many readers find little to distinguish [[I Just Want to Be Normal|Setsuna]] and Sara Mudo from other Shojo manga protagonists. (Aside from...[[Brother-Sister Incest|well, y'know...]]) By contrast, the rest of the cast comes off as by far more complex, original and likable, seeing as most of them have more pressing (not to mention sympathetic) concerns than [[wangst]]ing over incestuous love. Then there's the fact that both Mudos stop the plot at various times to develop their romance ''[[What the Hell, Hero?|when they both know]] [[The End of the World as We Know It|the apocalypse is hanging over everyone's heads]]''.

* Sena from ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' is a pretty likable kid, but can never hope to be as popular as his anti-hero captain, Hiruma, whose placed first in nearly every character poll by a landslide.

* The ''[[Fate/stay night|Fate Stay Night]]'' anime series presented a Scrappy Shirou to viewers unfamiliar with the visual novels. Not until halfway through the show did he become as watchable as the rest of the ensemble. 'Unlimited Blade Works' improved his standing by spreading more screen time to other characters, and giving him more crowning appearances when he did appear.

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* [[Terry Pratchett]] says that when he wrote ''[[Discworld/Guards Guards|Guards Guards]]'', he thought Carrot was the main character. He compares it to [[Marx Brothers]] movies starring Zeppo - technically some of them do, but no one goes to see a [[Marx Brothers]] film because Zeppo's in it.

* In any novel by [[Simon R. Green]], there's a good chance of the hero being this. This is less a fault of the characters, as, for example, John Taylor is an interesting character in his own right, it's just that Dead Boy, Razor Eddie, Suzie Shooter, and Julian Advent are far more interesting.

* The protagonists of ''[[Hothouse Flower and The Nine Plants of Desire]]'' are, for the most part, either [[Static Character|static characters]], [[~~Jerkass|jerkasses~~]], or [[Flat Character|otherwise devoid of any sort of personality]]. The secondary characters (however [[Archetypal Character]] they may be) somehow manage to display more personality in they few chapters they appear in than the protagonists do in the entire book.

* The protagonists of ''[[Hothouse Flower and The Nine Plants of Desire]]'' are, for the most part, either [[Static Character|static characters]], [[jerkass]]es, or [[Flat Character|otherwise devoid of any sort of personality]]. The secondary characters (however [[Archetypal Character]] they may be) somehow manage to display more personality in they few chapters they appear in than the protagonists do in the entire book.

* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: It seems that as the series goes on, the characters who are not the main characters become more interesting. This could be due to the fact that the main characters remain pretty much the same as the series goes on, while everyone else gets affected by their actions and react to them in different ways.

* September, the protagonist of ''[[The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making]]'', is a clear [[Audience Surrogate]], to the point where she's outshone by ''every single other character in the book''.

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* Many fans of ''[[Lost]]'' have an intense dislike for Jack, the presumed "hero" of the show. This is related, at least in part, to his being a much less interesting character than other characters like Locke, Sayid, or Ben. Then again, he was supposed to die in the first episode, and the general consensus is that Jack [[Rescued From the Scrappy Heap|got a lot better]] toward the end.

** Kate gets it pretty bad too. She's the main female character, but unfortunately the majority of the cast - female ''and'' male - is seen as more compelling, sympathetic and likable. Unlike Jack, she ''doesn't'' become that interesting later on.

* The eponymous character of ''[[Doogie Howser, M.D.]]'' was the clear main character for the entire course of the show, but he became less and less prominent as time went on. As he matured, he was able to sidestep most problems; the writers realized that sitcoms were reliant on crazy situations, but Doogie [[Only Sane Man|was too smart to ever get stuck in them in the first place]]. By the fourth season, he was still the title character, but none of the plots were about ''him'' ~~anymore -- they~~ were about the troubles of people around him, particularly his best friend Vinnie.

* The eponymous character of ''[[Doogie Howser, M.D.]]'' was the clear main character for the entire course of the show, but he became less and less prominent as time went on. As he matured, he was able to sidestep most problems; the writers realized that sitcoms were reliant on crazy situations, but Doogie [[Only Sane Man|was too smart to ever get stuck in them in the first place]]. By the fourth season, he was still the title character, but none of the plots were about ''him'' anymore—they were about the troubles of people around him, particularly his best friend Vinnie.

* ''[[Oz]]'' avoids this trope by making the narrator, Augustus Hill, a minor character and perhaps the most sympathetic in the series, and by otherwise having [[Loads and Loads of Characters]].

* A noticeable problem in ''[[Dollhouse]]'', where a major point of the series (season one especially) is that Echo slowly develops a personality after having been repeatedly mind-wiped. This makes it hard for her to compete with the side characters who already ''had'' fascinating personalities, or even her fellow Dolls Sierra and Victor, who managed to have character development early on via their romance. By the end of season one she became more interesting, especially since Victor and Sierra repeatedly had the ''same'' character development while she moved on, but season two managed to go in the precise ''opposite'' direction by making her so super-special-awesome (while [[Creator's Pet|constantly waxing lyrical]] about her) that it bordered on [[Canon Sue]].

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** Alex is a peculiar case in that his stint as the protagonist is widely overlooked despite him having ties to the [[Big Bad]] (most would probably tell you that Ryu is still [[The Hero]], which isn't too farfetched considering that Ryu's been integral to the plots of the first game, ''Alpha'', and ''IV''), but he's still widely regarded to be a popular character in the grand scheme of the series. For example, his surprise appearance on the roster of ''[[Tatsunoko vs. Capcom]]'' was warmly received.

** Subverted with [[Street Fighter IV|Abel]]. While more or less touted as the face of ''IV'' (like Alex, he also possessed a link to the main villain of the subseries), he was overshadowed by Crimson Viper and (come ''Super'') Juri. However, he still has a fairly sizable fanbase and is regarded more favorably than the remainder of the newcomers, who have either received mixed reactions or are outright detested.

* You can't have this trope without mentioning ''[[Mortal Kombat]]''; [[In a World]] with energy-wielding ninjas, [[Physical God~~|Physical Gods~~]], fantastic creatures, [[Hollywood Cyborg~~|Hollywood Cyborgs~~]], et all, the most anyone seems to remember about Liu Kang, the actual protagonist of the series, is that he's [[Fan Nickname|the Turkey Boy]]. Shuujinko is also an example.

* You can't have this trope without mentioning ''[[Mortal Kombat]]''; [[In a World]] with energy-wielding ninjas, [[Physical God]]s, fantastic creatures, [[Hollywood Cyborg]]s, et all, the most anyone seems to remember about Liu Kang, the actual protagonist of the series, is that he's [[Fan Nickname|the Turkey Boy]]. Shuujinko is also an example.

* [[Mega Man X]] himself. This is partially justified, since Zero's design was orignally meant for the new Mega Man, but [[Executive Meddling]] forced Inafune to create a more familiar protagonist. Nevertheless, Zero became an [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] and the one with the more important storylines.

* Welkin of ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'' sometimes falls into this. He's the main character and instantly becomes the leader of Squad 7 despite all of his major subordinates being veterans, while this is his first tour in real combat. He's had officer training, but he's mostly in charge because he's the guy who owns the tank. The rest of Squad 7 is ''notoriously'' colourful, with three DLC stories centering around secondary characters and one centering on Selvaria. Unlike many video game heroes, Welkin does have a personality of his own, but it makes him less a generic game hero and more a generic romance-story hero, and he pales in comparison to the more interesting, quirky Squad 7 soldiers.

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* This is a common affliction in the [[Disney Animated Canon]], particularly during the early years, where the main characters are easily overshadowed by the villains with [[Villain Song|better songs]] and supporting cast. Part of this is inherited from the source material - most fairy tale heroes and heroines do little but wander around and react to the events around them, or wait around to be rescued - but it was also due to the fact that the heroes were treated in a more realistic fashion, and thus were harder to draw, and so the more flamboyant supporting characters carried most of the storytelling weight. After the [[The Renaissance Age of Animation|Renaissance of the 1980s]], the main characters became more complex and pro-active.

** [[Mickey Mouse]] ran headfirst into this for a long time, where he made few appearances compared to the rest of the Disney cast because [[The Everyman|he couldn't do anything extraordinary]]. [[House of Mouse|Disney seems to be]] [[Epic Mickey|correcting this problem now]].

* In a sense, ''[[Captain Planet and the Planeteers]]''. He would probably be considered the Designated Protagonist just because his name is in the title, but he was never characterized beyond being an [[Invincible Hero]] who spoke almost entirely in [[Incredibly Lame Pun~~|Incredibly Lame Puns~~]]. The Planeteers were obviously meant to carry the show.

* In a sense, ''[[Captain Planet and the Planeteers]]''. He would probably be considered the Designated Protagonist just because his name is in the title, but he was never characterized beyond being an [[Invincible Hero]] who spoke almost entirely in [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]s. The Planeteers were obviously meant to carry the show.

** However, the Planeteers themselves usually aren't considered much better, given the fact most seem to have little characterization and flaws; Wheeler is probably actually one of the more interesting ones, because he's probably the only Planeteer that has ''actual'' flaws, jackassery be damned.

* Josie on ''[[Josie and the Pussy Cats]]''. Despite being the title character, she has the smallest role and the least personality of any of the six main characters.

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* Peter Pan in ''[[Peter Pan and The Pirates]]'' is an asshole. He's cocky, wants everything to be about him, sometimes interrupts the other kids' attempts to tell stories or talk about things to brag about himself ("No one cares about your dream, Michael!"), and stupidly gets the gang in danger. While he is a frequent plot enabler due to his actions often setting things in motion, he's rather unlikable compared to Wendy and the Lost Boys, and even Hook and the pirate crew. Interestingly, this is actually much closer to how he was in [[Peter Pan|the original book]] than most adaptations get.

* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'' [[Anti-Villain|humanised]] many [[Ascended Extra|previously one-note villains]], leading to Batman's [[Rogues Gallery]] to be seen as being richer in character than Batman himself in some corners. Batman, himself, [[Foil|contrasted their eccentricities]] by playing [[The Comically Serious]], even [[Justice League (animation)|among other superheroes]].

* ''[[The Dreamstone]]'' [[Depending on the Writer|goes in and out]] with this for Rufus and Amberley, who were arguably [[Master of None|the least effective]] of the hero ensemble, [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|often causing more problems than they solved]] and being reliant on the other heroes ([[The Fool|or pure luck]]) to save the day. Not to mention a lot of episodes give more [[Sympathetic POV]] on the Urpneys, with the actual hero alliance [[Good Is Boring|somewhat one dimensional]] in comparison and [[The Villain Makes the Plot|less capable of setting up plot devices on their own]]. The fact it was [[Minion with an F In Evil|so hard]] [[Designated Villain|to root]] [[Iron Butt Monkey|against]] [[Jerkass Woobie|the Urpneys]] only worsened this. A large amount of times, Rufus and Amberley bordered on being cardboard [[Hero Antagonist~~|Hero Antagonists~~]].

* ''[[The Dreamstone]]'' [[Depending on the Writer|goes in and out]] with this for Rufus and Amberley, who were arguably [[Master of None|the least effective]] of the hero ensemble, [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|often causing more problems than they solved]] and being reliant on the other heroes ([[The Fool|or pure luck]]) to save the day. Not to mention a lot of episodes give more [[Sympathetic POV]] on the Urpneys, with the actual hero alliance [[Good Is Boring|somewhat one dimensional]] in comparison and [[The Villain Makes the Plot|less capable of setting up plot devices on their own]]. The fact it was [[Minion with an F In Evil|so hard]] [[Designated Villain|to root]] [[Iron Butt Monkey|against]] [[Jerkass Woobie|the Urpneys]] only worsened this. A large amount of times, Rufus and Amberley bordered on being cardboard [[Hero Antagonist]]s.

* ''[[Johnny Test]]''. Johnny is the main character, but he comes across to most viewers as annoying and unpleasant and a bit of a [[Creator's Pet]]. Dukey, his sidekick, is ''far'' more popular with fans.