Ensemble Darkhorse/Anime and Manga

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Hello, I'm Jeremiah Gottwald. I'm so awesome fan uproar brought me back from the dead. I'm made from 100% fresh-squeezed LOYALTY. You can call me Orange.

Many anime are well-known for their Loads and Loads of Characters, especially when they are Long Runners. Sometimes those characters weren't meant to be all that special, and sometimes, they can't even be considered part of the main cast. Whatever the case, they ended up fan favorites.

Examples of Ensemble Darkhorse/Anime and Manga include:
  • Matt from Death Note has a huge amount of fans despite only appearing for a few panels. Also Naomi Misora, who got a spin-off prequel novel focusing on her. Beyond Birthday, the villain of that novel, is also an Ensemble Darkhorse.
  • In Digimon Xros Wars, Blastmon is essentially a fan-favorite. His child-like behavior, his nonchalant approach to his duties, and his Big Ham way of speaking made him an instant favorite.
    • Nene Amano is also very well-loved by many. And from the sequel series, we have Airu, the cute and often hilarious Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who is sole lead female.
    • Speaking of Digimon, Wizardmon in the original was one of two intriguing antiheroes in a show where only incompetent comedic characters had previously been allowed to straddle the line between good and evil. The other, Gatomon, was hit with the Redemption Promotion pretty hard, but Wizardmon died too quickly to lose his awesome. (It helped that he was very well-voiced by Robert Axelrod in the English dub.)
  • Battle Royale has Takako Chigusa. Her Crowning Moment of Awesome was when she stopped Kazuhi Niida from raping her by stomping his nuts. In the live action movie, it was taken up a level when she stabbed him in his junk. Probably why Quentin Tarantino chose Chiaki Kuriyama to play Go Go Yubari.
  • Jeremiah "Orange" Gottwald from Code Geass (pictured above) is one of the poster boys for the Ensemble Darkhorse. Initially little more than a racist minor villain, the soul-crushingly humiliating way in which Lelouch bests him turned him into both The Woobie (or the Chew Toy) and an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain - with a fan-following big enough that the producers rewrote his entire storyline, preemptively sparing him from an ignoble early death and having him eventually turn into an major antagonist for Lelouch who ties into the Geass mystery plotline, then goes on to level grind in badass, pulls a Heel Face Turn and eventually gets one of the happiest endings. His first full appearance in the second season even seems to include a tip of the hat to the fans, as his last line of dialog seems to be directed more at the viewers than the person to whom he is speaking. The dub picked up on this and had him be voiced by fan favorite Crispin Freeman, who delivered that Reality Subtext line perfectly.
  • We have several from GaoGaiGar; Mic Sounders the 13th (to the point where he was the only survivor of his Redshirt Army brothers), HyoRyu, EnRyu, and Volfogg too.
  • Invoked in Red Line. After two contestants for the title race drop out, for fear of being shot at, JP is immediately voted in. Firstly, because of his epic and Improbable Hairstyle. Secondly, as the only modifications he adds to his Cool Car are an escape pod (well, that only appears in the 2nd part of the movie) and a booster system that makes most speed powerups in video games look like baby aspirin, the odds of him just surviving in a race full of cars mounted with every weapon under several suns are 25000 to 1. A mafia type group exploits this little fact through race fixing by having him stay in last place until the final quarter of the race, then rocket up to pole (by which more people will bet on him) and then have him lose.
  • Sesshoumaru from Inuyasha has a much larger fangirl following than his heroic half-brother.
    • It's not just fangirls.
    • Despite being a one-shot antagonist early on in the series, sultry Yura of the Hair managed to remain a fan favorite for several fans of the series, and even near the end of the series' run wish that she'd received a larger role.
  • Creepy Stalker Conway of Pokémon who was introduced in the Tag Battle arc as a simply smart guy with a habit of shining his glasses in an over-the-top fashion was brought back due to fan popularity in another unrelated arc and played up to be Dawn's stalker.
    • Harley somewhat counts, ascending from a one-shot rival coordinator to a second rival for May. Mostly due to his over-the-top acting.
    • As far as Gym Leaders go, Byron seems to top the list.
    • And now for the Pokémon. Misty's Psyduck, Brock's Croagunk, and Ash's Charizard, Sceptile, MukuBIRD (Staravia, now Staraptor), Buizel, and Gliscor, have all reached this status at one point or another.
      • Lucario can also be one. In every episode it's a really good fighter, it had a MOVIE with the plot centered around it, is a playable character in Super Smash Bros Brawl, and the developers of the games responded to this by allowing the player to get their own on Iron Island.
    • While he doesn't get any screen time in the series, the fans really warmed to Mewtwo from his two movie appearances. Also, in the second Mewtwo appearance, a teenage girl Team Rocket agent named Domino became really popular due to how cool and sexy she was.
    • Ash's newest human companion, Cilan, has garnered a ton of fan appreciation since his debut. Award-winning seiyuu? Check. FABULOUS expressions? Check. Entertaining focus episodes? Check. Though he has become something of a Base Breaker as of late, so maybe it's a "too much of a good thing" situation.
  • Her repeated highest ranking in popularity polls worldwide got Sailor Moon's Ami the only character-specific TV special in the series.
    • Somehow or another, Hotaru is almost as popular as her, getting good results even when being the non-villain sailor to get the least screen time. Could be due to tropes The Woobie, Moe (for which she is possibly the trope namer) or being a loli.
    • Thetis, a Monster of the Week from just the twelth episode, proven to be rather surpisingly successful in the fanbase, mainly because she's actually attractive in both human and monster forms, and she has an implied relationship with Starter Villain Jadeite.
    • The Remules Pooko/Puko/Fuko the balloon woman from episode 132, mainly due to having more personality than other monsters of the week and was rather attractive when deflated.
    • Sailor Iron Mouse is one of the most popular Sailor Moon characters on Japanese fanart sites, despite being just another member of the Quirky Miniboss Squad from the final season.
  • Likewise, Simoun's "ore-onna" Yun instantly became very popular with fans, much to the surprise of the producers, which may have taken a Red Shirt off of her. She later became very important, picking up a Story Arc meant for another character.
    • Yun's best buds Rodoreamon and Mamiina are also fan-favourites and their subplot had many fans even more invested in it than in the main plot.
  • In Mahou Sensei Negima, Zazie Rainyday did nothing of note for over three hundred chapters or in either anime production and just as little background information. That seems to be part of her charm as the extreme lack of infomation has the fanbase clamoring for any info they can get. Word of God even stated that she wouldn't be getting her story revealed until closer to the end of the SERIES...
  • Schoolgirl Lesbian Shizuru Fujino from My-HiME was popular enough amongst fans that it likely contributed to her upgrade into a major recurring ally and part of one of Mai-Otome's Official Couples.
  • Judeau from Berserk has only a limited role yet he is one of the most popular characters of the series due to his "average joe" stance and his genuine kindness that stands out in comparison to the often assholish main characters.
    • Other examples include Slan, the female Godhand that often elicits fetish, and Luca, the Hooker with a Heart of Gold of the Convictions Arc with Plucky Girl undertones, one of the few genuinely good characters of the series .
  • Among Mai-Otome characters (at least those original to the series), Erstin Ho was merely a secondary recurring character who died a tragic death halfway through the anime, but her status as The Woobie has made her almost as popular as main characters Arika, Nina and Mashiro. To the point where, in the manga, not only does she not die, but she even Took a Level in Badass, got a Deadly Upgrade and was vital in defeating the Big Bad. And she was even kept quite in-character, to boot!
    • The Republic of America Aries has quite a few of these, including the boisterous general Haruka Armitage, flirty upperclassman Chie Hallard, and outlandishly-clothed #1 Otome Pillar Sara Gallagher (the last of whom only appeared in the final three episodes of the main series before being given time to shine in the OVA).
  • Wholesome Crossdresser Watarase Jun in Happiness!! was so unexpectedly popular that he not only was he given a path in the game, he was the star of the first OAV for the show. In fact, the game was rather bland and forgettable and wouldn't have had much publicity were it not for Jun. The other characters combined don't get as much fanwork as he does.
  • Tsuruya from Haruhi Suzumiya practically embodies this trope, especially the megas internet meme point, nyoro~n!
    • To a lesser extent, Taniguchi (one of Those Two Guys) also applies, especially after his voice actor's success as an Ensemble Darkhorse on Lucky Star. In fact, Taniguchi and Minoru Shiraishi could be said to be one single, transcendental cross-series Ensemble Darkhorse. One word: "Wawawawasuremono."
      • Now he has a Character CD coming out for the second season (as well Tsuruya).
  • Dragonball Z: Appule. A weak minion of Freezer who killed by Vegeta without a fight has nevertheless gained some popularity in the English-speaking fandom.
    • Bardock should also count since the movie about his conflict with his race's predestined end at Freeza's hands (or rather finger), earned him Canon Immigrant status, and was even said to have almost single-handedly continued the series.
    • In Dragon Ball Abridged, Nappa takes this role. Too bad he only lasts several episodes before Vegeta kills him.
    • The Ginyu Force, what with their Super Sentai parodying, has also become this.
  • Minoru Shiraishi in Lucky Star is one of the most popular characters, at least in-show, despite being one of the few male characters. In Lucky Channel, he explains this as a odd tendency of fans to attach to characters who barely appear in a show.
    • Misao Kusakabe, who started as one of Those Two Guys and whose screentime in the anime amounts to around a total of 15 minutes, has gotten so popular that she had her own figure made, and was given her own Image Song CD! Helped in no small part to her non-animated, more developed roles in the 4-panel comic. Like being the other tomboy of the series.
  • From K-On!, there's Nodoka, whose popularity is helped by her being the most mature and normal of the series' very quirky cast.
  • Hoshino Ruri of Martian Successor Nadesico, who was eventually made the star of the series' movie.
  • Toshiro Hitsugaya of Bleach and Kenpachi Zaraki stand out from the numerous characters introduced in Bleach's Soul Society arc. Hitsugaya was named the series' most popular character in the 2008 poll and is extremely popular in Japan, while Kenpachi is popular elsewhere and has had quite a few Crowning Moments of Awesome. Of course, in both cases popularity has produced a backlash and a variety of Flame Wars. Hitsugaya even got a movie focusing on him.
    • Bleach seems to be one of the shows with so many characters that everyone, somewhere, is bound to have at least some fans, no matter how frequently they show up or how little is known about them.
  • One of the main reasons people know of Rozen Maiden is because of eccentric trickster Suiseiseki and her addition of the "desu" copula to everything she says.
  • Hinagiku Katsura from Hayate the Combat Butler. She is so big an Ensemble Darkhorse, the last popularity poll landed her with a few dozen votes short... Of having as many votes as the ones ranked #2, #3 and #4 combined, those three being the main characters. In the second season of the anime, the entire first ED is entirely devoted to her, and the Relax-O-Vision shots are all Fan Service shots of her as well. This from the female support character with the least screen time in the first season.
    • Athena has been placed here by fans as well, even non-fans agree that she could put contention on Hinagiku for top-spot in the next character polls. And she didn't decide to even show up for 50+ chapters and didn't get serious character development for 150+ .
      • In the 3rd popularity poll (the first one she was eligible for), Athena came out 2nd with 2168 votes, while Hinagiku won in a landslide (again) at 4089 votes. The other placements haven't been published yet.
    • Izumi is an interesting case of responding to the popularity. After she ranked so much higher than Miki and Risa, she started getting appearances independent of them as well as an implied crush on Hayate as well as meeting him when they were both kids.
  • Iruka Umino of Naruto appears rather infrequently, and in fact went without an appearance in the manga (save for appearing on a couple covers) for over four years. Yet he has consistently placed within the top five characters in popularity polls. Iruka hardly gets any screentime, but he arguably makes one of the most important contributions to the plot in that he's the first person to genuinely and openly accept Naruto. Also, the girls like him. Lots. Especially when he shows up with a certain jounin—it doesn't take much work to uncover the phenomenon of kakairu.
    • Another example in Naruto is Shikamaru. He placed as high as fourth and fifth overall in popularity polls despite appearing no more than any other side character. Perhaps due to this popularity, he is one of the few non main characters to get significant Character Development and regularly appear post timeskip.
    • Naruto also features a character that may well be the ultimate Ensemble Darkhorse: Hayate Gekko, the Ill Boy Jonin with the Incurable Cough of Death. He placed eighth overall in a popularity poll despite his only actions being overseeing the third round of the Chuunin exams, stumbling onto the Sand and Sound villages' plan to invade, being found out, and dying instantly.
    • Anko is also really popular, despite only appearing in the Chuunin Exam arc before she disappeared from the manga for like seven years before finally showing up again. This is probably why she had several brief appearances and a filler arc in the anime. This probably has something to do with her Stripperiffic outfit.
    • Killer Bee is becoming fairly popular with the fanbase, possibly because of how he was able to easily beat up and trick Sasuke and his teammates.
      • His elder brother, the Raikage, has quickly gained a similar status for similar reasons.
    • Haku and Zabuza fit this trope, as well. They're killed off before the twentieth episode and yet they remain incredibly popular among the fandom, probably at least in part due to Haku's kind nature and tragic past, and Zabuza's epic send-off. They even get four chapters worth of screentime when Kabuto resurrects them for his zombie army.
    • The Yondaime Hokage is a Posthumous Character who has only appeared in a few photos and flashbacks, yet he has a following of whoa, probably for being the manga's epitome of a Badass Bishonen.
    • Aburame Shino is a really popular character, despite mainly being in the background. This probably has something to do with the fact that he is basically Naruto's version of Batman.
    • Hinata has limited screen-time in the manga, but is still the most popular female character. Then there was the massive freak-out over both her confession and Disney Death. The animation studio are all fans of her and noticed her popularity enough to increase her screentime in the fillers, but this unfortunately made her a Base Breaker due to claims of Creator's Pet at work.
  • Atobe Keigo and his Hyoutei Gakuen team from The Prince of Tennis. Atobe attracts a ridiculously high quantity of fangirls both in story and outside of it, thanks to his over-the-top Magnificent Bastard behavior and his Jerk with a Heart of Gold White Prince background.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Seto Kaiba gets this to such a degree that one could argue liking Yugi, the main character, is rarer.

Kaiba (to Yugi): Can it, you loser! Do you have any idea how sick I am of your posing?! You're pathetic! Nobody cares about you! I'm the only reason people watch Yu-Gi-Oh! Me, Seto Kaiba! I have all the cool gadgets, I have the all best outfits, and I have all the most powerful monsters! Nobody would be watching this movie right now if it weren't for me, so just this once, I deserve to win!

    • The easiest way to tell how popular Kaiba was at any point in the manga is how much taller he is than his original appearance. Where he was only tall compared to Yuugi initially, he gradually became taller, darker, and more handsome as time went by.
    • On a related note, the character Tetsu Ushio, who before was known only as the first person to lose to Yami Yugi in a Dark Game, got a shot in the arm as a villain-ish character in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
      • To top that off, Ushio has now started running around with the main characters as part of the group.
      • And in the dub, he's voiced by none other than Yami Yugi himself, Dan Green!
    • The card game itself arguably fits this. Originally it was only going to appear once, but the fan demand for it to return was so high that the series ended up being about it.
  • Arguably, Lum in Urusei Yatsura, to the point where Rumiko Takahashi was forced to retool the Official Couple from Ataru and Shinobu to Ataru and Lum. This is probably the reason for Takahashi's backlash against unintended fanon pairings in later series, as a safeguard against this kind of situation happening again.
  • Considering how popular they are in Ranma ½ fanfiction, you'd think Tsubasa, Konatsu and Pantyhose Taro were part of the regular cast. However, Tsubasa appeared only once in the manga (and in just one other episode, plus a couple of cameos in the anime), Konatsu twice (never in the anime), and Taro was in just three stories.
  • Takasugi Shinsuke in Gintama. He's only appeared in a few manga chapters and episodes, he's the only one in the series not to have some sort of hilarious appeal—and he still managed to place high in the popularity polls.
    • Similarly, Shinsengumi member and badminton fanatic Yamazaki Sagaru ranked high among fans, but creator Sorachi Hideaki has stated he will never be featured on the cover of any of the manga volumes. One can only hope he'll change his mind. There's even A WHOLE STORY ARC ABOUT IT!
    • And now, Kamui who only has been in one arc has been in the top ten polls ranking at 7th.
  • Tomoyo Sakagami from Clannad. She is one of the main heroines (including Kyou, another cast darkhorse) that doesn't have a dedicated arc for her in the anime (unlike Fuko and Kotomi). And the result? A special episode set in an alternate universe where Tomoya ends up with her instead of Nagisa. And then there's the sequel to her Visual Novel route, Tomoyo After...
    • A second Tomoyo-centric manga named Clannad - Tomoyo Dearest just got released, and said to be taking around After Story, not some Tomoyo After re-interpretation...
    • The same could be said for Kyou. She's backed by her army of rabid fanboys.
      • Especially after that gym locker scene....
      • Note that Kyou also got her own AU special where she ends up getting with Tomoya.
    • The reasons why Tomoyo and Kyou don't have an arc in the anime is because their arc is romantic and completely conflicts with Nagisa's. It just wouldn't work even if you have Tomoya cheating on everyone since it would ruin everything, especially "After Story."
    • Besides, we all know what happens when a guy decides to boink all the girls...
  • For reasons that can't really be explained to outsiders (in part because we don't even quite know), the Akira fandom has a good-sized faction of obsessive Kai fans. Despite the fact that he gets about five lines in the film, never becomes more than a minor character in the manga, and most of the more casual fans don't even seem to notice him at all.
  • Creepy Stalker Mizore Shirayuki is the overwhelming favorite for most Westerners in Rosario + Vampire.The anti-social yet earnest and sincere girl struck close to home for many of the more... socially awkward anime fans. The manga seems to be latching onto this, as an arc in the second season has focused on Mizore, giving her significant character development and a serious storyline.
    • The driver of the bus between the human world and yokai world has gained much popularity with fans even though he has only appeared a few times. Although he does have an important role, as revealed later in the manga.
    • Kokoa has also been quite well-received since her introduction, and there's a lot of fan art of her.
  • In Ikki Tousen, Kan'u Unchou (Guan Yu) has a lot of fan support despite not being the main character, being admitted as the sexiest of the bunch (for a series with that much Fan Service, that's saying a lot), her very sympathetic backstory (especially her Bodyguard Crush on her childhood friend, Ryuubi) and, of course, her status as one of the strongest Action Girls in the series. Even though her character was this close to be completely destroyed through Flanderization in Great Guardians (the third season), her fandom still remained as strong as ever. Being the Generation Xerox of one of the Ensemble Darkhorses of Romance of the Three Kingdoms does help a lot...
  • Fist of the North Star has a good example in the form of Mr. Heart, the Giant Mook who works for Shin. Despite many of the other colorful martial artists in the series, he got to be a playable character in the PlayStation 2 fighter and has been featured as a boss in other games as well. The series as a whole has tons of these, such as the Mad Colonel (who was a design inspiration for Rolento of Final Fight), Rei (who got his own Spin-Off series), and Raoh (who is getting his own series as well and was the focus of an OVA series). Raoh even got the rare distinction of being one of the few fictional characters to have a real-life funeral held for him, in recognition of his incredibly manly death in the series.
  • Nene Andou, the cheerfully bisexual Class Representative from Hyakko, is being latched onto by a large group of fans, due to her ability to out-quirk the already very quirky lead characters of the show.
  • Do you see that... special-looking fish-shaped Gundam on the corner? Fine, take a LOL at it. But look now at its pilot... He's handsome, genuinely skilled, and a rather nice guy all along. This is Hans Holgar of Neo Denmark, the Ensemble Darkhorse of the series, who is appreciated not only by starry-eyed fangirls but by some fanboys who are impressed by how he gives an excellent use to such a special mecha both in his episode and the Grand Finale.
    • To a lesser extent, there's Fuunsaiki, Master Asia's Cool Horse and gloating platform, who boasts being the only horse in existence to have his own Gundam.
  • Gundam 00 fans seem to latch on the resident Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain Patrick Colasour, for his non-forced hilarity and amusing misfortunes he suffered, this coming from the 'loser guy' on the enemy side, who won't give much impact to the show. And from the good guys' side, we have Emotionless Girl Feldt Grace, so well loved she generated so many fanarts around her and had a sidestory revolving about HER PARENTS. Oh, and in the interim between the first and second season, she became so popular that fans were hoping she'd inherit a Gundam, here we speak about the deceased Lockon Stratos' Dynames, but this is later jossed when his Backup Twin inherits its successor. Maybe she's not named the most popular female of the show, but when you suddenly have her naked in the newest opening while all she did was just being a part of the Bridge Bunnies... you KNOW she has the dark horse feel on her.
    • Episode 22 finally shows how their Darkhorse-ness pay off. Feldt starts opening up a relation with Setsuna by giving him flower. Meanwhile, Patrick made a serious comeback, and while still bombastic, seems to have taken several levels of badass as he starts to actually kick ass instead of being shot down when he deploys.
      • And Patrick not only survives, he marries the woman he's loved throughout the series! Also, Feldt manages to be named the most popular female of the show!
    • Nena Trinity, especially in Japan, where she was the most popular female character until she fell Out of Focus in the second season and (as mentioned above) Feldt took that position. In America, however, Nena's just as often The Scrappy as she is the darkhorse.
    • Graham Aker, to the point where he was voted most popular alongside Sestuna himself for the male cast. His various over the top antics, combined with the fact that he was the first in the series to take on a Gundam AND severely damage it while using a much weaker mecha helped accomplish this. In the second season he became Mr. Bushido, which turned him into a weeaboo with a lust for revenge. The fandom wasn't very amused. His screentime was also very reduced. He redeemed himself in the movie, in the eyes of all the fans, and even got a status upgrade to the 6th Ranger before his noble death.
  • From Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, there's Norris Packard, the Zeon ace who commits acts of awesome whenever he appears in a mobile suit. The other times, he commits acts of heartwarming as Aina's surrogate father, as a mentor to his men and as one of the few sympathetic characters with high rank in the series.
    • To understand just how AWESOME he is one must understand that he, in a setting well known for the fact that the title machines are virtually invincible, takes on three Gundams, all piloted by main characters, and three Guntanks. At the same time. And wins. But dies in the process.
  • The first episode of Gundam Unicorn yielded an unexpected darkhorse in an unnamed Stark Jegan pilot, thus far one of the only red shirts to be able to put up a decent fight against the Kshatriya (damn near beating it) and probably one of the few faceless, nameless goons of the franchise to ever stand up strong against a major named character.
    • Further, the HGUC manual implies that he was also present during the Second Neo Zeon War and was one of the guys who tried to push back Axis. Man's a hero.
    • Maybe the writers noticed, because they stuck another awesome nameless goon into the fourth episode, this one piloting a customized Byalant and tearing the attacking Sleeves to ribbons almost single-handedly. This guy has also become quite popular with the fans.
  • Gundam AGE fans didn't waste any time in latching on to Yurin L'Ciel, a cute, possibly-psychic Tiffa Expy who appeared in the second episode and then vanished. Although the fact that she shows up all the time in the opening is kind of a giveaway that she'll be returning at some point.
    • And that's just during the first arc. In the second arc, we get Arisa Gunhale, daughter of Flit's childhood friend Dique and another pilot aboard the Diva. Her tendency to make people smile whenever she's on-screen, as well as her hilarious method of getting Asemu out of a funk, secured her spot as a fan favorite.
  • Some of Gundam sidestories are surprisely popular but three stand out most.
  • All of this Gundam, but no mention of the Ensemble Darkhorse that started a trend in the series. I speak, of course, about Char Aznable. He may have been a major character to begin with, and was certainly expected to have his own share of fans, but he is now the most easily-recognizable and Iconic Characters from the franchise.
  • Excalibur in Soul Eater has become a meme on that imageboard. His legend began in the 12th century.
    • Stein is also very popular in fandom. The professor is a secondary character
  • Mad Pierrot of the twentieth episode of Cowboy Bebop has no relevance to the over-all Myth Arc, appeared in all of one episode, and was never spoken of or mentioned again. Yet, outside of the main cast, he is easily one of the most popular characters in the series.
  • Chikaru from Strawberry Panic, with her cosplay outfits, Quirky Miniboss Squad, and casual indifference to the girl-on-girl action taken to ridiculous extremes, Wangst, and overall insanity quickly won her a spot in the fans' hearts.
  • The female characters from Axis Powers Hetalia, despite having quite sporadic apparitions in an almost all-male cast (some having considerably more screen time than others), have gained quite the following, such as Hungary (Otaku Surrogate and Ninja Maid), Belarus (whose over-the-top Yandere traits have been embraced by a fandom that would normally bash her for them), Ukraine (Belarus's older sister, a mix of Shrinking Violet and Bokukko whose boyish beauty makes some female fans wet, hot and bothered) and lately the Anime Chinese Girls Vietnam and Taiwan. And that's not yet even getting to the Nyotalia versions of the characters...
    • O, Canada. (No, he really doesn't appear with the Allies as much as fanfic might make you think.)
    • In the LJ based fandom, Bulgaria (who briefly appared in two panels and a very recent anime episode, as a brunet boy who looks a bit like a shorthaired China) and Thailand (recently introduced East Asian male Meganekko) are starting to get this fame as well. Hot-Blooded Prussia is already there, tho.
      • Prussia, especially War of Austrian Succession Prussia, shows up at incredibly high levels of representation at any event involving Hetalia cosplay.
    • Scotland. He's appeared once as a reference to England's miserable childhood (not even in person mind you) but is still extremely popular with the western fandom.
    • Let's not even go into the huge amounts of love towards the mochi with America's face that appeared once or twice in Himaruya's blog, known as "Mochimerica" or "Ameri Blob". It's so popular that the Japanese fanartists often use it as a Censor Box in their porny fanarts involving America.
    • The Nordics are gaining more and more popularity lately, specially Denmark and Norway.
    • The Baltic Trio ended up with some element of this, particularly after the strips of Lithuania's scars, Latvia's Yandere potential and Estonia in Bloodbath 2010.
    • And did you guys forget about Holland? Ever since he finally stopped being The Faceless, the fandom has fallen all over him.
    • "Herr Stick" and the Flying Mint Bunny, thanks to the dub.
      • Flying Mint Bunny became popular enough to get a plushified form.
    • From epic 2010 Christmas Bloodbath, England's secretary Workbitch Bartholomew, who's really quite good looking.
      • Also thanks to the Bloodbath, Iceland's started getting quite a lot of attention from fans for his unique combination of suaveness, awkward Moe cuteness, and Bishounen appearance.
    • It's a safe bet that as of 2012, a good chunk of the massive cast have become this. And it's pretty clear that Himaruya is also aware of this as well.
  • In Fullmetal Alchemist, there's Maes Hughes, the friendly competent Badass Normal whose death becomes an important part of Roy Mustang, still consistently scores very high in popularity polls, even 20 volumes later. Another is Jean Havoc, The Woobie who can never get a girlfriend who isn't a homunculus, and gets paralyzed before helping out the coup with supplies.
    • The one-shot background Stock Character Sheska was brought back into the first anime several times before being fully incorporated into the cast, becoming Affirmative Action Girl and Lovely Angels with Winry and finally writing the Epilogue Letter at the end.
    • The first anime!Sloth is also very popular, probably for being the homunculus version of Trisha Elric; the manga/Brotherhood!Sloth still has a long way to go to reach first anime!Sloth's popularity.
    • More recent developments in the manga as well as the Brotherhood anime have brought darkhorse status to Ran Fan and Kimbley's former chimera henchmen, the latter being especially popular with furries.
  • Why is the almighty Bruce Ironstaunch from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann so awesome? Because of his BICEP. POLISHING. GESTURE, that's why.
    • Also there's Beam Spam Mc Muppet, also occasionally known as Attenborough. He's mainly known for being the king of the Worf Barrage.
    • Of course, they both pale in comparison to Guame; The Dragon of the first half.
  • Joe Asakura in Science Ninja Team Gatchaman was initially not planned to be a major character, and instead would have taken a backseat to Ken, Jun, and Jinpei (who were to be the main characters). The original production art of him even shows that he was to be the third in rank, with Jun being second-in-command, but their numbers got switched last-minute in production. His popularity with fans caused Tatsunoko to make him more of a feature character as the show went on, and extended to the sequel series where the previously "dead" Joe returns with cybernetic enhancements and gets even more screentime.
    • It seems this popularity may have gotten him into the American port (And soon to be Japanese Expansion) of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure--
    • One of the earliest examples: Robert Edward O. Speedwagon (you can stop laughing now) from Part 1. Despite the fact that he can't use the Ripple and doesn't fight (Zeppelli even notes that he's more or less useless despite his friendship with Johnathan), he's popular with Western and Eastern fans alike. Must be his Nice Hat (a bowler).
    • Muhammad Avdol in Part 3 was killed by Hol Horse but his popularity caused a fan backlash so big that Araki figured a way to reintroduce him, Back from the Dead by saying the "fatal" shot only grazed him
    • The internet meme generation has also redeveloped a love for villain Dio Brando, mostly for his signature special attacks.
  • Shizuku from Candy Boy managed to nearly completely overshadow her lovey-dovey older sisters, even though she had only been around for about three episodes.
  • Askeladd of Vinland Saga is much more popular then the main character. Thorkell as well, though not to the same extent as Askeladd.
  • Kyoya Hibari from Katekyo Hitman Reborn has been voted numerous times as the number one popular character in the series. Not to mention being voted and ranked the third most popular anime character in '08 from Animedia. He's one of Tsuna's guardians that initially had a very small role, only appearing once in a blue moon. However, it appears the mangaka has decided to give him a larger role in recent chapters to please the fans.
    • On the subject, Nietzsche Wannabe Rokudo Mukuro had become very popular and had been voted many times as the most popular villain (and in a rather recent poll, the third favorite character in the series). The author seemed pretty surprised how popular he had become, and it's very likely that due to this, she decided to give him more screentime by making him Tsuna's very unlikely guardian.
    • The only female Vongola boss Daniela is also insanely popular sixth in the latest polls and being the only female character in the top 10 ) considering that she's only been in ONE panel of the manga and LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS of the anime.
    • The Acrobaleno Fon's adult form which has only ever appeared on a poster in the manga and the Filler Arc of the anime but still managed to rank in the top 20 in the latest poll. Looking identical to a fellow Ensemble Darkhorse probably helps.
    • Enma Kozato almost immediately had a huge fanbase after his first appearance, even though all he did was get bullied, called a loser and had his pants stolen. Despite this, everyone fell in love with him. He was even assigned the standard Reborn fandom number within just a couple of days.
    • Squalo ranked number 6 in the sixth popularity poll, rising above Xanxus, who had always overshadowed him in all the previous polls.
    • Hell, the entire Varia remained surprisingly popular after their stint as the bad guys in the Ring Battles Arc. So much that they were brought back in the TYL arc, with chapters completely dedicated to their battle against the Millefiore in Italy.
    • Fran has made it to this position, being ranked 4th most popular in the latest poll.
  • The reason that Portgas D. Ace from One Piece got more screentime in the anime than in the manga (in the manga he never traveled with the Straw Hats) was that he became so popular with the fans, even he only appeared in a grand total of about two-three chapters.
    • Pandaman started out as an Easter Egg-type character that would just show up in the background, and was so popular with the fans that he ended up with his own pirate crew and bounty.
    • The most recent polls have shown that Kaku has reached this status, being the most popular character outside of the crew and Ace (9th overall). It is difficult to explain why without ruining some very wonderful surprises in the Enies Lobby arc, so let's just say he's a particularly good example of The Comically Serious and leave it at that.
    • The popularity polls have also placed Dracule Mihawk as high as eighth when he hasn't done a whole lot since the Baratie arc.
      • And he just showed up to fight Luffy. And it was awesome.
    • Cool Old Guy Silver Rayleigh, who appeared for a grand total of three chapters and had a fight which lasted about twenty seconds, yet is overly popular.
    • Trafalgar Law, who appeared in the same arc as the aforementioned Rayleigh and got even less screentime until recently, ranked above Usopp, Franky, and Brook in terms of popularity in Japan, and is quite popular in the West as well.
    • Crocodile is quite possibly the most popular villain in the series, which may or may not have had something to do with his recent return to the main story. As an ally of all things.
    • There's also Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, or Bentham, whose hilarious mannerisms and gigantic heart have earned him the admiration of more or less the entire fanbase.
    • Crazy Awesome Emporio Ivankov is also quite popular among some fans.
    • Vice Admiral Johnathan might count to some degree. He only appeared in a rather good filler side story (the G8 arc) but can be seen assembling at Marineford in preparation for the Whitebeard Pirates war along with his two subordinates.
  • Badou in DOGS, in the original graphic novel before the manga was picked up for serialization, was a one-off character in a gag side-story who became so popular that by the time the manga was serialized, he was added to the main cast and even given a Day In the Spotlight issue. To a lesser extent, Enfants Terribles twins Luki and Noki were also like this, again introduced in a one-off side-story but eventually added to the regular story as semi-recurring villains due to their popularity.
  • Fushigi Yuugi character popularity polls usually result in Nuriko, Tasuki and Chichiri taking the top three spots (in varying order), often winning handily over Miaka and/or Tamahome.
  • Undertaker from Black Butler was probably never supposed to be as popular as he is. His voice in the anime might have something to do with it. Then the manga revealed his face...
    • Also: Grell Sutcliff in his shinigami form, hoo boy. (s)He Grell is Male-to-female Transgender according to Word of God had maybe a chapter in the manga, and (s)he got so popular that (s)he is now a recurring character in the anime.
    • There's an in-universe example in one of the OVA. Some children are bored when they watch the play Hamlet but they all love a character in particular, a seaweed played by Ran Mao.
    • Vincent Phantomhive, Ciel's deceased father, has become very popular despite having been dead throughout the entire story and and having appeared only in some flashbacks. His great popularity started the first time his face was shown properly in a flashback, a flashback that wasn't even about him.
  • Cinque of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, she was taken out one episode after her introduction, giving her one of the least screentime amongst the Numbers. She's also an older than she looks white-haired Little Miss Badass wearing an eyepatch and trenchcoat and wielding a set of throwing knives that she could make explode and she speaks in an old-fashioned tone and greatly cares for her younger sisters. She quickly became the most popular of the Numbers amongst the fandom and Seven Arcs noticed this. Not only did they let her be the only one amongst the older Numbers to pull a Heel Face Turn, but she was also adopted by Subaru's family and was appointed the squad leader of the N2R Nakajima Sisters, the Sibling Team made up of former Numbers.
  • Roberta from Black Lagoon easily qualifies. It's not hard to see why as the moment she shows up in Roanapur the body count skyrockets. This in a town where murder is only a crime if you haven't paid off the police chief or are interrupting his golf game.
    • Sawyer The Cleaner is a goth body disposal expert with a throat scar, voice synthesizer and a huge freaking chainsaw. She only appears in one arc in the anime but it's pretty obvious why she's become so popular with the fans.
  • Desler/Desslok from Space Battleship Yamato was an Ensemble Darkhorse because he was so good at being bad. And because he was quite a Woobie when his planet was destroyed by the Star Force.
  • Slayers: Among the less-major characters, Sylphiel's replacement in the third season of the anime, Filia, has become extremely popular because of her status as an adorable, headstrong, and mighty Golden Dragon with a lovely human form. Her being paired with Xellos is more or less one of the most popular pairings of the franchise.
    • Xellos himself is also well-loved: an allmighty demon who loves to tease and is probably the biggest mastermind of any character, even moreso than some of the gods and demons that are stronger than he is.
  • Bobobo-Bo Bo-bobo: Pickles, a designated Butt Monkey one-off character, won a "which character would you like to see again" popularity poll in Japan, and was thus given an integral role in the final arc of the series.
    • Torpedo Girl herself was also on that list; she and her Evil Counterpart OVER are among the many darkhorses of the franchise.
    • Jelly Jiggler was originally going to be a one-off character (similar to Pickles), but fans clamored for him to appear more during the early days of the manga. Yoshio Sawai then made him a part of the main cast.
    • Rice is extremely popular in the western fandom, despite only fighting two major battles in the entire series.
  • Higurashi's Ryuuguu Rena is featured in all promotional art, crossovers, side-games and is practically synonimous with the entire When They Cry franchise. She's only really, truly important for two arcs out of eight.
    • Also Big Bird, Kuwabara Biker, Hitler Stache, and Swastika Biker all became ensemble darkhorses in some circles after their appearances.
  • Angel Sanctuary has in a cast of dozens (or even hundreds) at the very least one character who didn't live to the end (damn,he didn't love hrough the first arc) but when he was finally killed got a whole chapter depicted towards him and his awesomeness (even the side bar was all about how Kaori felt for him to die and the fans were worried about wht would become of him afterwrds so it was included in the last chapters epilogue). Meh, talking of Katou Yue here, of course.
  • As soon as Kate appeared in [[Sketchbook Full Colors|Sketchbook full color'S]], she immediately pushed the other characters off stage—including Sora, the original protagonist. In the manga her role soon got relegated to word jokes, but her introduction halfway through the anime made sure that she is likely the most-recognized character from that series.
  • Token Loli Yuki from Saki managed to gather quite a fanbase, even though she acts primarily as a comic sidekick.
    • Momoko also has got her share of followers later in the series, perhaps due to her interaction with Yumi. Heck, she's popular enough to become the cover girl for Vol. 5, even though she only appears briefly there and has had very limited screentime beforehand. She only started appearing during the second half of the second to last match of the finals, literally.
    • Hisa is also quite popular because of her competency and generally cool demeanor.
  • Anime Quirky Miniboss Squads tend to have this, especially if they are mostly female. Look no further than the Numbers (mentioned above) or Wolkenritter from Lyrical Nanoha, The Seven Stakes from Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Knight of Rounds from Code Geass (who barely got any lines even), Bishoujo Butai from NEEDLESS, and any handful of the thousands that appear in Negima. Most of the time it's due to Fetish Fuel, and since Defeat Means Friendship they sometimes get upgraded to main character status.
  • Goran, a Russian (well, the name itsef is Serbian, but it's at least somewhat plausible) contractor from the second season of Darker than Black, who apparently got himself killed with less than half-episode of screentime, managed to acquire a hugely active Instant Fandom seemingly just by eating hamburgers cutely.
  • To LOVE-Ru: Yui is far and away the most popular girl in the cast. Momo also has a rather large fanbase in proportion to her screentime (which isn't that much), but nowhere near as much as Yui. Not surprising, since Tsundere characters are usually always popular and Yui is pretty much a textbook example of a Type A tsundere.
  • In Sasameki Koto, Kiyori's dry humor garnered her a significant fanbase, which got propelled by the way she is presented in the anime. This is an impressive feat for a straight female character in a yuri series, although her cute, laconic laugh ("ha-ha-HAAA") may have a lot do do with this.
  • Kanda of D.Gray-man is so insanely popular that he's even managed to beat out Allen (a gorgeous, adorable Memetic Sex God) in popularity polls on occasion. Once it was when the anime had him briefly Put on a Bus, even.
    • Despite receiving less attention as time goes on, Miranda's popularity has increased with each successive popularity poll, and by the fourth one she reached fifth, surpassing the consistently popular Krory.
  • Kaworu Nagisa from Neon Genesis Evangelion. He only appeared in one episode, with about fifteen minutes of screen time - counting all the freeze frames -, but being his optimistic, charming self, he managed to become one of the show's most popular characters - As it would seem, even the Creators (who originaly had intended him to be unsettling) got to like him, as the various adaptations and remakes of the anime have elevated him to one of the central characters, though his alliegiances vary.
    • Mari, from Rebuild, seems to be on her way here as well, though she still has many haters to overcome.
    • While not as popular as the above two, Maya Ibuki has a dedicated following which her small role would not attest to - her two fellow technicians, Makoto Hyuga and Shigeru Aoba, aren't nearly as well-liked. The fact that she's not nearly as screwed up as some the main characters probably helps.
  • An old fan favorite from A Certain Magical Index is Kaori Kanzaki. She even got her own spin off novel.
    • Also, thanks to the Railgun anime, Saten and Harumi are very popular too. Saten has even taken over Mikoto herself on sites like Nico Nico Douga.
    • Due to her recent many appearances in the light novels and the anime Itsuwa is rather popular also.
    • Accelerator's got a pretty big fanbase due to how Ax Crazy Awesome he is.
  • Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu has Hideyoshi Kinoshita himself. There's a reason why he's popular. Heck, on one of the polls, he's ranked THE MOST popular Light Novel character, beating out Araragi, Touma, and Ken. Proof right here. Warning: Link is NOT SAFE FOR WORK!
    • Just like Taniguchi and Misao, Hideyoshi also got his own solo Image Song after the series. All three series were produced under Lantis, so this may be the case for any future Ensemble Darkhorses from a series they sponsor.
  • Eri and Yakumo's love triangle with Harima have caused them to eclipse Tenma as School Rumble's most popular female characters.
  • Kinnikuman has done this more than once, with characters introduced by the creators as one-off villains taken from fan submissions who end up becoming popular enough that they gain expanded roles later on. Examples include Ramenman, who ultimately got his own spin-off anime, and Buffaloman, who got himself promoted to leader of the Seven Devil Choujin over Black Hole because the creators recognized this trope in action.
  • TK from Angel Beats!. A one-dimensional side-character with almost no dialog at all so far, but in a popularity poll shortly after the start of the series he was one of the only two characters (the other being the main antagonist) who got hundreds of thousands of votes while the main viewpoint characters got just a few hundred. As you can see, this character has loyal fans with lots of proxies at this character's disposal.
    • Though not so much as TK, Shiina seems very popular as well. Her Tall, Dark and Bishoujo qualities along with her obsession with cute things seemed to have earned her a lot of points with the fans.
  • Aoki from Hajime no Ippo. He's a massive buttmonkey, but that doesn't stop him from continually ranking high on popularity polls.
  • Nurarihyon no Mago had a few surprises in the first popularity poll, namely when side character Tsurara Oikawa the Yuki-Onna wound up only eight votes behind second place, leaving the designated love interest far behind her Bodyguard Crush.
  • Casshern Sins has Sophita, a one shot character who shows up on a surprising percentage of fanart.
  • Amagami SS has Miya Tachibana, the sister of the protagonist himself. Fans on both sides of the continent love her more than the other characters themselves. There are more squicky reasons as well.
  • Detective Conan is full of these! Which isn't surprising, considering how long the show's been running.
    • First ones that come to mind are Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha, the series' Beta Couple.
    • Most of the cast of Magic Kaito are dark horses when they appear in Detective Conan, most notably the Kaitou Kid himself, who some fans like even more than the main character, Shinichi.
      • The Kaitou Kid's rival, Hakuba Saguru, despite being something of an ensemble Dark Horse within Magic Kaito itself, still has a rather large fan following among Detective Conan fans, despite having only appeared in two DC story arcs and sort-of one movie.
    • The officers Satou and Takagi are also big fan-favorites.
    • Matsuda Jinpei, Satou's ex-half-boyfriend, appeared only in flashbacks for about three episodes, having died years before the events of the manga began, yet he got his own keyhole appearance on the back cover and is sometimes considered one of the (admittedly numerous) main characters.
  • In Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, Panza only appears in Volume 6 and dies at the end of the volume, but ranks sixth in the popularity poll.
  • In Bakuman｡, Hiramaru, a side character who does not interact with or impact the main characters much, reached third in the popularity polls, past Takagi and Azuki, while Eiji Nizuma took first place, also surpassing Mashiro.
  • The Kirby anime brings us Sirica, the daughter of the legendary Galaxy Soldier Garlude, who appeared in Episode 60. Many fans came to love her so much that a lot of fan art of her can be found all over the internet. Sirica herself was so popular that she even later appeared in the final two episodes alongside Knuckle Joe, Sir Arthur and his three knights (Sir Falspar, Sir Nonsurat, and Sir Dragato).
    • Plus, her mechanical five-in-one weapon that turns into a flamethrower, a bazooka, a grappling hook, a machine gun, and a sword also makes her badass.
    • Garlude and Knuckle Joe's Father also got the same treatment as Sirica herself. And even the rest of the Star Warriors and Galaxy Soldiers, and even the traitor Yamikage.
    • Chilidog/Wolfwrath is also quite popular, as a lot of fan art for it can be found across the internet as well. Some people would even draw a scarier version or a cuter version, or even a baby Wolfwrath puppy.
  • Eyeshield 21 has Rui Habashira of the Zokugaku Chameleons, a slimy delinquent who proved ridiculously popular with the show's fandom despite being at best a minor supporting character. Fans' prayers were answered when he was revealed to be the mystery player on the World Cup team. In an even more baffling example, Gokuu of the Shinryuuji Nagas is an extremely minor character who has a decent-sized fanbase (well, in Japan).
  • Love Goddess Peorth of Oh My Goddess! has quite a following.
    • All of its antagonists are Ensemble Darkhorses, to a degree, because of how badass and/or sympathetic they are: Sayoko, Mara, and Hild. Unfortunately, Hild has more or less displaced the other two as of late.
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Mami is only seen for three episodes before getting Killed Off for Real (she does make appearances after that in two episodes), but due to her sheer badassery and really awesome theme, she is well liked by the fans.
    • The witch Charlotte is seen for all of two minutes and is also quite popular. Probably because she's adorable. And there's not really anyone else to ship Mami with.
      • It's probably no coincidence that when the official Madoka Magica video game was announced, Charlotte was the first witch to appear in the preview images.
    • Kyubey's face shows up in the strangest of places in Japan - namely arcades and price tags for stuff in specialty stores -, not quite rivaling Tony Tony Chopper's popularity in that respect but getting there. A curious case considering he is the closest thing to the series' main villain.
    • A nameless, faceless girl in the desk (AKA Poorfag, Poor-chan or Poorfag-chan) is seen only in one episode, but she quickly gained popularity to the point where it became a meme ("Poorfags gonna poor"), she appears in many fanarts and mini-comics and she is shipped with almost everyone, specifically Mami and Kyoko. And her popularity soared when the second Blu-Ray was released.
  • Crayon Shin-chan has Happiness Bunny and Action Bastard.
  • Bleed Kaga from Future GPX Cyber Formula is so popular with Japanese fans that he has number of CDs about him and he eventually got an OVA focusing on him.
    • Gudelhian and Heinel, as well as Osamu/Schumacher are also fan favorites and they got CD dramas of their own. Gudelhian and Heinel even shows up in a mountain of yaoi Doujinshi.
  • Jonathan Wolff in the Robotech series. He made one memorable appearance in the New Generation (Mospeada) segment where a big deal was made of him being a legendary hero. Then he was spun off into the aborted prequel Sentinels and a large number of comics and stories, all despite the fact that (in that Robotech episode, he is shown to have sold out to the enemy and almost gets Scott Bernard killed)
  • The North Maiden from Star Driver became very popular with parts of the fandom, even though she only appeared for 8 episodes. So much that it surprised the creators.
  • Keith Goodman a.k.a. Sky High from Tiger and Bunny. Biglobe ISP conducted a character popularity survey of most of the shows from the spring 2011 anime season. Behind the title duo (Kotetsu T. Kaburagi and Barnaby Brooks Jr.), Sky High was the most popular character in the series...And the entire season.
  • Polly from Samurai Pizza Cats.
  • Witchblade: In a series full of scantily-clad women duking it out, it might surprise some that the fan favorite is typically Rihoko, the main character's adorable 6 year-old daughter.
  • Yukikaze Panettone from Dog Days fits the bill. Notice how she becomes more prominent as the series progresses. If fan art is any indication, then her popularity is second only to the female lead.
  • Yami no Matsuei's highly enthusiastic scientist, Watari. In spite of only being a secondary character, he has a ton of fangirls.
  • In GoLion, the black-shirted, original Blue Lion pilot, Takahashi Shirogane, was intended to be nothing more than a Sacrificial Lamb, Killed Off for Real in the 6th episode. But he proved to be enough of an Ensemble Darkhorse in Japan, that Toei studio tried to bring him back more or less, through the awkward method of creating a Backup Twin who showed up later to avenge his brother. When World Events Productions adapted GoLion into Voltron, in an inspired stroke of Woolseyism, the 2 bothers were combined into one character, Sven, who was severely injured in that 6th episode, but later recovered. As Volton's popularity skyrocketed around the world, so did Sven's, a Badass Normal with more impressive credentials than either of of GoLion's 2 brothers could've had individually.
  • Luciola. Being Yokoshima's first real love--as in, not the primarily-lust he held towards Mikami--helps a lot, it seems.
    • For that matter, Yokoshima himself.
  • How popular is Kumogawa Misogi from Shounen Jump's Medaka Box? In the most recent popularity poll he received more votes than second place (Medaka, the Main Character), third place, fourth place and fifth place combined. Don't believe it? See for yourself. Slightly NSFW on account of all the Hadaka Apron.
  • In Gakuen Alice, Kokoroyomi, with the Alice of Telepathy, definitely qualifies.
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