Limited Social Circle: Difference between revisions

Most shows that have this make it an integral part of the show, or at least do a [[Lampshade Hanging]] about it.

Compare with [[Cool Loser]]. Possibly the result of an [[Economy Cast]] or [[Friendless Background]].

 

* In ''[[Magical Project S]]'', both Misao and Sasami (despite the second being supposedly more social) only hang out with each other and their parents.

* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' did this too. One early subtext for the television show alludes to each character's situation making it hard for them to make friends, despite later seasons having them meet new people every few episodes; most of the new people they met were [[Victim of the Week|Victims Of The Week]] who never showed up in more than one episode. The only normal friends any of them have are Naru and Umino.

** Usagi seemed to have a broader social circle in the first season, especially if you count her family and teacher. Almost all of these characters were reduced to one token appearance per season (if they showed up at all) from season 2 onward, with the senshi hanging out with each other pretty much exclusively. This is reinforced by the fact that almost every episode has them becoming good friends with the [[Victim of the Week]] but after the episode ends, said person is never seen or heard from again.

** Then again, most of those characters aren't the type to ''have'' wide social circles. Sakaki tends to scare people away by accident, Osaka lives in her own little world, and Tomo is lucky she doesn't get punched out more often.

* In [[Mahou Sensei Negima]], friends that are not directly related to Ala Alba fade in importance until they're barely there at all. It's also noted in story by some of the other classmates feeling somewhat alienated. Ala Alba ''is'' actually an exclusive club, though.

* Hinagiku, Miki, Risa and Izumi of ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' are all friends, and are almost always seen interacting with each other exclusively. As the story continues, the social circle expands a little to include Hayate and Nagi and eventually several others, but still rather limited.

** Isumi, Nagi, Wataru and Sakuya share the same dynamic, being childhood friends, they are hinted to have grown up together, mostly because their parents were all friends/family as well, and have limited interaction with anyone else. Isumi is a [[Cloudcuckoolander]], Wataru spends all his time not at school trying to keep his business running, and Sakuya goes to another school supposedly. Nagi started off being a [[Hikikomori]] but has begun to start expanding her social circle because of Hayate's influence.

* ''[[The Idolmaster (anime)|THE iDOLM@STER]]'' - The girls aren't shown to have any friends aside from the 765Pro ones. The only one who has a named friend is Azusa, but even then, Tomomi isn't seen or voiced during the entire show.

 

* Averted by ''[[Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane]]'' - although the story focuses mainly on Mary Jane and her 'inner circle' of close friends, it's often established that Mary Jane herself is a popular and well-liked girl, so we will often see panels of her chatting to her other friends, some of whom (including a goth girl called Jessica) recurringly pop up every so often.

** Played straighter with Mary Jane in the main comics. While some writers will remember to have her hang out with someone whom isn't Peter or someone she knows through Peter like a fellow actress or model, a lot forget. The [[Fridge Logic]] sets in when you begin to wonder why someone as outgoing as she is knows so few people.

* [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in ''[[W.I.T.C.H.|WITCH]]'', as they have little time for socialization that adds to other problems: Will suffers from severe trust issues since being betrayed by her previous social circle from her hometown when her parents divorced (she ''still'' has a childhood friend, but they now live in different towns), and is somewhat of an outcast due being a tomboy, her [[Running Gag|insane love for frogs]] and her tendence to react violently to perceived dangers or offences (her first encounter with Matt consisted in him offering to help with a wounded doormouse and [[Meet Cute|Will punching his foot because she thought he was one of the bullies she had just chased away]]); Irma abrasive sarcasm tend to drive people away unless they're more perceptive (she found a friend in Martin about a year before the series, and Hay Lin was shown to be already her best friend. Both of them could see what was hidden under her sarcasm) or have a similar sense of humour (Cornelia); Taranee is quite shy and has trust issues almost as severe as Will (who coincidentally is her best friend) and opens up only if forced (the other Guardians), you go to her same dance school (Luke Pradd and Sheila Jensen) or have similar problems to the ones she had when she moved to Heatherfield (Will); Cornelia ''used'' to have a wider social circle, but her undeclared war with the [[Alpha Bitch|Grumper sisters]] and the hurt from being separated from Elyon and her love story with Caleb ended up isolating her; Hay Lin, being the local [[Cloudcuckoolander]], is avoided by most people unless they need her considerable skills in sewing and creating new outfits; finally, the girls have [[Bully Hunter|continuously humiliated the school bullies]], and the other students may be scared of their revenge if they are friendly with the ones who keep them at bay.

 

* [[Tamora Pierce]]'s set of four foster siblings refer to themselves as [[Circle of Magic|a circle]], get annoyed if one of them tries to make a [[Love Interest]] as a part of "the circle," and defensively mention that it's okay to have friends outside of "us."

* The ''[[Babysitters Club]]'' became like this in later books but the early ones had them having friends outside the club.

* Most of the main cast of ''[[Kill Time or Die Trying]]'' have few, if any, friends outside of the WARP club, and most spend more time with one another than with their own families.

 

* ''[[Friends]]'' is probably the most obvious example; the six friends barely seem to know anybody other than their families and each other. And their [[Girl of the Week]], of course.

** This was [[Lampshaded]] in one episode. The main characters are all hanging out at Monica's apartment when someone knocks at the door. Everyone is stunned for a moment, and Phoebe actually counts to make sure that, yes, they're all already there. No one says anything out loud, but you can tell they're all thinking, "If we're all here, who the hell is at the door!?"

* Played ridiculously straight on [[Saved by the Bell]]. Not only do we rarely see the six main characters interact with other Bayside High students, but they also appear to be the only students in the school that actually do anything. In other words, pretty much every other student on the show is just a [[Living Prop]].

* [[Freaks and Geeks]] is a rare example of this trope being played in a [[Truth in Television|realistic manner]]. Both the Freaks and the Geeks are very close-knit but also regularly interact and have casual friendships with other McKinley High students (the most prominent examples being Harris Trinsky and, in the later episodes, Gordon Crisp).

 

* In ''[[Misfile]]'' Ash and Emily's social circle is basically each other and one drunken angel. It's expanded slightly since it was [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] in [http://www.misfile.com/index.php?page=513 this comic] but not by much.

** Justified. They're both so disoriented from the misfile that they basically lose track of their other friends. Ash can't stand facing people she used to know now that she's a girl, and Emily is pretty devastated by losing two years, so hanging out with her friends (who are getting accepted to college) is too painful.

** Ironically, this trope still applies even though the webcomic has an astonishing [[Geodesic Cast]].

 

* ''[[Kim Possible]]'' and her [[Sidekick]] Ron are close friends since pre-school, but outside of each other they only have one close friend each (Monique for Kim, Felix for Ron) both of whom they meet during the series. Ron is established to be something at the bottom of the school "food chain", but Kim is established as quite friendly with everybody. However, despite being a [[All Guys Want Cheerleaders|cheerleader]] and A grade student, most of her interactions with the rest of the school are very much in the tone of an isolated leader (as captain of the cheer squad, and a thousand other commitments), as her [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World|continuously saving the world]] leaves her little time for the rest.

* The [[Magical Girl]]s in ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'' are close friends—scarily close. There's only one other girl who they so much as talk to in the average episode, and she turns out to have powers too. They did some good [[Lampshade Hanging]] about it; in the second episode, Taranee notes that being a new girl in their circle is very uncomfortable, and they get into serious trouble because they never invite anybody else to join them for fun (except the [[Twenty-Four-Hour Party People]]).

** Same with ''Life with Loopy''. While we have seen Larry's friends in one episode (the last episode aired, actually), we never see Loopy's school friends. ''However'', we ''were'', gonna meet them, [[Screwed by the Network|if season five, you know, aired.]]

* ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' Candace is only seen hanging out with three other teens: Jeremy, Stacy, and Jenny. So pretty much one can say she doesn't have that big of a circle. It's even lampshaded in an episode when Candace is looking over her contacts list for friends and the only people there are the three listed above, and her mom. Also Buford, whose presence in her list is something she cannot understand, but she soon deleted him.

 

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[[Category:Ensembles]]