View source for Ordinary High School Student

{{trope}}
[[File:OrdinaryStudent 8672.jpg|link=Suzumiya Haruhi|frame|[[Tempting Fate|"Just an ordinary day in my ordinary life."]]]]

{{quote|'''Arcueid:''' Wow, [[Sincerity Mode|ordinary high school students sure are something!]]|''[[Tsukihime]]''}}

The most common protagonist of a show targeted at teenagers. It's usually discovered they are anything but ordinary—they're reincarnated princesses, or alien princes, or the only ones who can pilot the [[Humongous Mecha]]. Or they've been training in an [[Charles Atlas Superpower|obscure martial art]] since they could walk. Or [[I Am Who?|they're God]]. Or they've got ''something'' that makes the [[Dude Magnet|opposite sex flock to them]], and possibly the [[Even the Girls Want Her|odd member of their own]], whether they [[Unwanted Harem|want the attention or not.]] ([[Parental Abandonment]] optional)

Then again, there are the true average joes who have something unusual happen to them, and then nothing in their lives is ever the same again.

Look for [[Hollywood Dress Code|the kid in the fully open button shirt over a T-shirt, jeans and Converse sneakers]]—think [[Ferris Bueller's Day Off|Ferris Bueller]] or [[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide|Ned Bigby]].

See [[Farm Boy]] for their rural counterpart.

{{examples}}

== Anime & Manga ==
* Takashi Komura, the main character of the anime/manga ''[[Highschool of the Dead]]'', is a pretty ordinary average high school student, prone to skipping classes and accused by his childhood sweetheart of being lazy...that is, until  {{spoiler|the school's professors, then students, start being turned into zombies, and the aforementioned childhood sweetheart's current boyfriend starts turning into one. Takashi bashes his head in with a baseball bat}}.
* Shibuya Yuuri, in the manga ''[[Kyou Kara Maou]]'' is a totally average high schooler, while he's suddenly {{spoiler|summoned through a toilet seat to another world}} where he {{spoiler|is the ruler of the whole thing.}} I say again, totally average.
* Kouji Kabuto from ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' was an ordinary student sometimes skipped classes, drove bikes and [[Parental Substitute|took care of his little brother]]. Then he found out his grandfather had built a [[Humongous Mecha]] and wanted him piloting it to save the world of a [[Mad Scientist]]. His friend Boss also counts: before Kouji moved to his school, his life was completely normal.
** If we check the sequels, Tetsuya and Jun from ''[[Great Mazinger]]'' averted this trope, but Hikaru Makiba from ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'' did not. She was a pretty normal high-school student lived in a ranch and loved riding horse... until she found out the cute boy worked at the ranch run by his father was an alien prince in disguise and a [[Humongous Mecha]] pilot. {{spoiler|Maria Fleed}} believed she was an ordinary high-school student, raised by her grandfather... until her ''grandafather'' revealed to her that {{spoiler|she was the last survivor -as far as he knew- of the royal family from planet Fleed.}}
* Tenchi Masaki in any of the incarnations of ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]''. Turns out he's an alien prince, and his family never bothered to tell him.
** Notable among these incarnations is Kazuki Yotsuga from ''[[Parallel Trouble Adventure Dual]]'', who is also the [[Humongous Mecha]] Zinv.
** And then there's Sasami, who tries to ''become'' one of these in the manga volumes. Being that she is an alien princess (and unlike Tenchi, knew all along), it doesn't quite work out. She should just be glad that the goddess she's symbiotically fused with didn't decide to show up.
* Momiji Fujimiya in ''[[Blue Seed]]''.
* Ayato Kamina in ''[[RahXephon]]''.
* Tsukino Usagi in ''[[Sailor Moon]]''.
* A good quarter of the cast in ''[[El-Hazard: The Magnificent World]]'' (the ordinary Earthlings who develop extraordinary abilities).
* Kei Kurono and Masaru Katou (and in fact all high school-aged characters) in ''[[Gantz]]'' are bona-fide Ordinary High School Students until they get hit by a train and resurrected to play the Gantz Game. They're ''still'' technically Ordinary High School Students after that, they just have superpowered combat suits and deadly weapons—and Kei is ''extremely good'' at using them.
* Miaka Yuuki, Yui Hongou, Suzuno Oosugi, Takiko Okuda and {{spoiler|Mayo Sakaki}} of ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' all started out as examples of this trope.
* Aya Mikage in ''[[Ayashi no Ceres]]''.
* Kaname Chidori in ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]''.
** And Sousuke, being a militaristic nut. At least that's what she thought until it turned out that he's actually a mercenary working for an anti-terrorist organisation. [[Hilarity Ensues|His age made him a perfect candidate for being a bodyguard, even though he had no idea how an ordinary student behaves at all.]]
* Tohno Shiki in ''[[Tsukihime|Shingetsutan Tsukihime]]'', who even went so far to claim he was an ordinary high school student, when, naturally, he was anything but.
** Arcueid even comments on it as in the quote above. The best thing about Arcueid; she's being completely earnest without a trace of irony.
* Kurusugawa Himeko in ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]''.
* Azuma Hazuki in ''[[Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito]]''.
* Keiichi in ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'' (although he's more an ordinary college freshman).
* Tomokazu Mikuri in ''[[Yumeria]]''.
* Shikimori Kazuki in ''[[Maburaho]]''.
* Kagome Higurashi in ''[[Inuyasha]]''.
** In fact, this trend was specifically mentioned in the Anime. "It's been a while now since this ''every day average school girl'' has been crossing back and forth between the warring states era and modern times!"
* Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]''
{{quote|'''Yusuke:''' Guy saves the world, still has to do algebra. Makes sense.}}
* Not exactly a high school student, but Urashima Keitaro from ''[[Love Hina]]'' falls under this trope.
* Kyon from ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' is actually ''certified'' as totally ordinary, as reported by Itsuki. If it weren't for Haruhi's liking him, he wouldn't be worth looking at twice. [[Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu/WMG|Some fans have different theories, however]], and there is some support for them in the novels.
** Ordinary or not, he has leashes on two of the most powerful beings in the area and can {{spoiler|destroy the universe at will}}—or rather, {{spoiler|holds the keys to the molly guard over the nuke button, as it were}}.  {{spoiler|And the third girl also trusts him to keep her secret from herself.}}
* Nanami Lucia in ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', although she already had a [[Secret Identity]]—she just didn't know half her own secret.
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' has Negi thinking that he'll need to hide his being a ''[[Wizards and Witches|Magister Magi]]'' from his class of ordinary middle school students.....who so happen to include an [[Anti-Magic]] capable [[Everything's Better with Princesses|princess]] ({{spoiler|Asuna}}), two ''Magistra Magi'' (Evangeline, {{spoiler|Chao}}), a [[Magic Knight]] {{spoiler|[[Half-Human Hybrid|Half-Bird Tribe]]}} (Setsuna), [[Give Him a Normal Life|two children]] of ''Magi'' ({{spoiler|Konoka & Yuna}}), a ''Ministra Magi'' ({{spoiler|Misora}}), a [[Cold Sniper|mercenary]], former ''Ministra Magi'', {{spoiler|[[Our Demons Are Different|and half-demon]]}} (Mana), {{spoiler|[[Our Demons Are Different|a full demon]]}} (Zazie), a [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampire]] (Evangeline again), a [[Time Travel|time traveler]] ({{spoiler|Chao again}}), a ghost (Sayo), a [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|magic puppet/robot]] (Chachamaru), and a [[Ninja]] (Kaede); meaning that roughly a third his 31 students are [[The Not-Secret|already in on his secret or have one of their own]]. One can just imagine [[Haruhi Suzumiya]] kicking herself for not enrolling in Mahora Academy.
** The animes didn't wait as long, being only one season each (compared to the [[Long Runner]] manga), and made all the [[Muggles]] abnormal in the season finale.
** If you stop and think of it, there were only ''four'' Ordinary High School Students (Nodoka, Haruna, Misa, and Madoka) to start with, although exactly how involved they were varied greatly. Yue, for example, didn't know anything about magic but knew that Mana, Kaede and Ku Fei were some type of mercenaries who would be able to help fight monsters.
** As of 34 volumes in, only  {{spoiler|two}} characters in his class are not supernatural, either due to the above list, training from another, or a pactio.
* Amu Hinamori from ''[[Shugo Chara]]'', though in elementary school, is a good example. After she obtains her guardian characters, she ends up with a couple of friends and a somewhat reluctant membership of the Seiyo Elementary Guardians.
* Michishita Masaki from ''[[Kuso Miso Technique]]''.
* Koyomi Mizuhara (Yomi) from ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'' is a subversion, in the ironic sense that not only is she really and truly ''normal'' (even—or rather, ''especially''—compared to her friends), she actually gets to ''stay'' that way.
* The main characters of both ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' and ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'', although in the latter case the high school is actually a training school for professional Duel Monsters players, changing the standard of "ordinary".
* Subverted in ''[[Bleach]]''. Main character Ichigo Kurosaki protests frequently in the beginning of the series that he's an Ordinary High School Student... who just happens to [[I See Dead People|be able to see ghosts]]. This, of course, proves to be a crucial distinction.
** Ichigo's more-ordinary friends do have an unusual tendency to turn out to be not so ordinary after all, including a girl whose hairpins can raise the dead, a huge foreigner with a demonic arm, the [[Last of His Kind|last remaining member]] of an ancient order of magical warriors, and the secret concealed by Ichigo's father's [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]  {{spoiler|he's a [[Shinigami]]}}.
*** Also, in recent episodes, a random classmate seems to have developed the ability to sense the spirit world, after showing no such ability before.
**** There is a reason for this. Other than the mystical warrior, Ichigo's classmates actually gained power from proximity to him. {{spoiler|[[Lamarck Was Right|He gained it from his father.]]}}
**** Not according to the big bad, {{spoiler|Aizen. He says that everyone got their powers from the [[Applied Phlebotinum|Hougyoku]], from their want to be able to help their friends.}}
***** And later it's revealed that  {{spoiler|they got their powers from their pregnant mother being attacked by a hollows}}
***** Not that either actually conflict. {{spoiler|Aizen said the Hougyoku simply allows you to access your latent talent far easier than normal. You can't do anything you wouldn't be able to without its interference, it jsut makes it happen way faster. Chad had the abilities for Fullbring all along, it just wasn't known until a combination of Hougyoku and Flight/Fight instinct made him manifest his powers (The source of Orihime's powers are still unclear.) That's also why they could skip the Training From Hell Ichigo later goes through. They had the talent, and the Hougyoku supplied the activation.}}
* Takumi from ''[[Initial D]]'' delivers tofu in an old beater; and in the process, has learned drifting techniques that racers take years to master.
* Sakai Yuuji of ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]''. All extraordinary traits he has he owe to an [[MacGuffin|artifact]] he received out of luck. Unusually, we never learn how long he's had it.
* Saito Hiraga of ''[[Zero no Tsukaima]]'' was one of these until he was summoned by [[Tsundere|Louise]] to [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|her world]].
* Emiya Shirou from ''[[Fate/stay night]]''. Or so he likes to think.
** He knows about his powers, that his adopted father is a magus, and that there are other magus. He just didn't know that he has a Reality Marble or expect that he could get that strong.
* Mikan Sakura from ''[[Gakuen Alice]]'' who suddenly discovers she has a special ability called an [[Applied Phlebotinum|alice]] and is admitted to the Alice Academy. Though she is younger than a high-school student at the time.
* Shinji Ikari from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is an ordinary student.
** [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Of course he is.]] [[Collective Groan|Just like everyone else in that series.]]
* Light Yagami from ''[[Death Note]]'' is a perfect example of this trope, until it's [[Playing with a Trope|derailed]] by the fact that he's both incredibly smart and [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|megomaniacally insane.]]
* Yasuhara of ''[[Ghost Hunt]]'' puts an unusual twist on this trope. He was a relatively normal high-school student until the rest of the main characters showed up and kind-of absorbed him into their group. Out of the eight main characters, Yasuhara is one of only two characters who has no powers at all.  {{spoiler|though the other 'normal' character is actually just hiding his identity and amazing powers, though we don't find that out until the last episode.}} The twist? The series does not focus on him. In fact, he doesn't even show up until halfway through the series. He's there more to do the off-screen research for the group, which means that the [[Troubled but Cute|assholish-yet-somehow-charming]] character who had been doing the research previously now gets more screentime.
** Mai being a more typical example - she's the 'normal' girl interested in ghost stories who gets involved with the ghost-hunting group and early on wonders what it would be like to have psychic/spiritual/etc powers. Turns out she has quite a few.
* ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]'': 
** Touma repeatedly emphasizes that he's this trope, never seeing himself as anyone special. This is despite being born with a unique [[Anti-Magic|power]] in his right hand and pulling off feats like punching out the strongest esper. 
** Kakeru is another self-proclaimed ordinary high school student with a [[Lotus Eater Machine|special right hand]]. {{spoiler|Unlike Touma, he wasn't born with this power, and really was normal for most of his life.}} 
** Of course, if you're looking for the ''truly'' normal students, there are Saten Ruiko, Hamazura Shiage and Wataru Kurozuma, who do not have the benefit of anti-magic or anything of the like, they really have no abilities. Just special abilities, mind you, since even normals can outdo espers and mages where it counts.
* The title character of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' was an ordinary elementary school student, which shocked her students [[Time Skip|in the third season]] when they visited her [[Insignificant Little Blue Planet|home planet]] [[All There in the Manual|during the first Sound Stage]] and discovered that the legendary mage Nanoha had a completely unlegendary past and civilian life.
* Almost all of the HiME from ''[[My-HiME]]'' start out at this stage (although a few of them are [[I Just Want to Be Normal|dead set on staying that way]]). Those that aren't ({{spoiler|Midori and Sister Yukariko}}) were Ordinary High School Teachers.
* Saya from ''[[Blood Plus|Blood+]]'' is an ordinary high school girl on the surface, but thanks to almost a lifetime's worth of [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|amnesia]], she has no idea of her vampiric abilities... until a Chiropteran shows up at her school and starts messing things up, and she's forced to kill it.
* Rin Tsuchimi from ''[[SHUFFLE!]]'', who just [[Contrived Coincidence|happens]] to be [[Unwanted Harem|liked by five beautiful girls all at the same time]].
** Two of which are princesses of ''worlds''. Another two aren't exactly normal either.
* Kanzaki Hitomi from ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]''.
* Kaede of ''[[Ninin ga Shinobuden]]'' was one of these. Until a [[Highly-Visible Ninja]] attempted to sneak into her room to steal her panties.
* Kira of ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' averts this trope—he's actually a genetically-enhanced superhuman who [[I Just Want to Be Normal|wants to be a normal high school/college student.]]
* Tsukune from ''[[Rosario+Vampire]]'' is a normal high school student, at a distinctly [[Extranormal Institute|not normal]] high school, with [[Cute Monster Girl|not normal]] high school friends. He eventually becomes not normal himself.
* Rito from ''[[To LOVE-Ru]]'' wishes he was still an unremarkable Ordinary High School Student instead of the center of a complicated [[Love Triangle]] with at least half a dozen points on it, including three or possibly four [[Magical Girlfriend|Alien Princesses]] -- {{spoiler|Lala, Run, Lala's little sister Momo, and maybe Momo's twin Nana}}.
* Toki from ''[[Amatsuki]]'' wouldn't even have ''become'' the hero if his school hadn't sent him to the museum for [[Book Dumb|failing history class]]. And just when he finally gets a fresh new start in life after being [[Time Travel|dragged into the past]] against his will, he's given [[I Am Who?|phenomenal cosmic powers]] that [[Blessed with Suck|ruin his life]]! His friend and fellow victim Kon could also qualify, however there is evidence to suggest he's [[Obfuscating Stupidity|not all he seems]].
* Taken to extremes in ''[[Code Geass]]''. Lelouch is an ordinary high school student...who is an outcast [[The Prince|prince]], genius military strategist [[The Chessmaster|chessmaster]], and all around [[Magnificent Bastard]] (with [[Compelling Voice|freaky mind-control powers]]) biding his time to jump at a chance to destroy [[The Empire|Britannia]]. Kallon and Suzaku are inversions, being ace mecha pilots for their respective sides who in the first few episodes come back to high school.
** This can also be said of fellow student Nina, who starts the series as an above-intelligent but otherwise normal student and ends up a [[Psycho Lesbian]] [[Gadgeteer Genius]]. Shirley and Milly are also fairly normal, but start to really get wrapped up in events later in the series... really, the only character in their group of friends who stays absolutely normal throughout the show's run is [[Satellite Character|Rivalz]].
* ''[[The Tower of Druaga (anime)|The Tower of Druaga]]''. As Kai said about her hero king husband who slew a god and united two warring nations under one rule: "Even Gil was just a ordinary boy in love."
* Nagasumi of ''[[Seto no Hanayome]]''. Then he was rescued and engaged to a mermaid [[Mafia Princess|Yakuza princess]], whose family promptly takes over his school. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* Kouichi Hayase in ''[[Kurogane no Linebarrel]]''.
* Karin and Kenta in ''[[Karin]]''.
* Tomoki Sakurai (and others) from ''[[Sora no Otoshimono]]''.
* Most of the cast of ''[[Fruits Basket]]''.
* Keita Ibuki in ''[[Kurokami]]''.
* Shuji in ''[[Saikano]]''. (One of the few examples on this page that doesn't have powers, and ultimately, is powerless to change ''anything.'')
* Oori in ''[[Shikabane Hime]]''.
* Lain in ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]''. She gets progressively less ordinary (along with the show.)
* Mikado, Masaomi, and Anri in ''[[Durarara!!]]''. {{spoiler|[[Image Board|Well]], [[Gang of Hats|not]] [[Hive Mind|really]].}}
* Kenichi Shirahama in ''[[Historys Strongest Disciple Kenichi]]'' is even stated in the manga/anime to be completely ordinary and without talent for martial arts. His only talent is being a hard worker. Eventually they're able to beat skill into him.
* Taken to its logical conclusion in ''[[Star Driver]]'', where evidently ''every'' student of the [[Elaborate University High]] is an Ordinary High School Student that's anything but ordinary. The new guy? He's [[The Chosen One]]. That girl he befriended on the first day? The [[MacGuffin Girl]]. The resident adviser for the dorms? She's one of the villains. Same goes for the [[Really Gets Around|school bicycle]] , the head of the boxing club, and the [[Class Representative]]. As for the Drama Club, it turns out they're all in [[La Résistance]]...
* Tomoya Okazaki from ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]''
* Tachibana Shingo from ''[[Musashi Number Nine]]''. Ultimate Blue agents often appear as such, but are anything but.
* Subverted with Ayumu from ''[[Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?]]'' for he's already a zombie.
* Hayate and Ayumu started off as this in ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'', the rest of the cast being between [[Child Prodigy]] and [[Teen Genius]], and a few [[Ojou]] just to top off the cake.
** Hayate falls off being normal once his past is revealed, and Ayumu has been given a younger brother, but she's still really the only one who fits.
* Mato and Yomi in the [[Black★Rock Shooter (band)|Black★Rock Shooter]] OVA. {{spoiler|They're still ordinary, though their counterparts in the other world interact with them. It's also implied that other people have similar counterparts.}}
* Tsutomu Senkawa is an Ordinary High School Student—until [[Fair Cop|Birdy]] [[Space Police|Cephon]] [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Altirra/Altera]] accidentally fatally injures him, [[Gender Bender|starting]] [[Biological Mashup|off]] [[Sharing a Body|the]] [[Fusion Dance|premise]] [[They Fight Crime|of]] ''[[Birdy the Mighty]]''.
* Ayase Yuuto, the male protagonist of ''[[Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu]]'', found out the [[The Ojou|female protagonist's]] [[Closet Otaku|secret]] and the two of them became friends because of this since he didn't look down on her for this. Her fans can't understand what she sees on him.
* The heroes of ''[[Dreamland]]'' are all this in real life and have special powers in their dreams. Especially Terrence. [[This Loser Is You|You can't be more ordinary than that]].
* Mahiro Yasaka from ''[[Nyarko San]]'' is one of these who just happens to be in a [[Love Dodecahedron]], and lives with, a group of [[Lovecraft Lite|literal]] [[Eldritch Abomination|lovecraftian]] [[Moe Anthropomorphism|horrors]], [[Unfazed Everyman|without somehow going permanently insane]]. It is theorized [[In-Universe]] that he's actually the descendant of a diety hunter, but {{spoiler|even though this turns out to be true, said hunter is his [[Badass Normal]] [[Action Mom]] so it doesn't make him anything special.}}

== Comics ==
* [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Peter Parker]], which was revolutionary at the time. A ''sidekick-aged'' protagonist?!
** Inverted in ''[[Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane]]'', however, in which Mary Jane—the protagonist—actually ''is'' an ordinary high school student.
* Doug Ramsey was a kid from suburban New York who was good at languages, and didn't know any different until he was informed by an acquaintance from the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|odd boarding school nearby]] that he was in fact a mutant with powers of... [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|comprehending languages]]... and dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to come establish communications with a potentially hostile alien.
* The ''[[Runaways]]'' were all normal teenagers... who in the course of a night watched their parents kill a young woman, discovered superpowers/super gadgets/a telepathic dinosaur, fought off their parents, and ended up becoming runaways living in an underground mansion.
* Jaime Reyes, the current [[Blue Beetle]] in [[The DCU]]. One day he's just hanging out with his friends, the next he gets bonded to an alien symbiote, helps [[Batman]] save infinite universes, and goes missing for a year, yet he ''still'' manages to come off as more of a normal kid than 90% of other teenage superheroes in comics.
** Give it time, they'll kill his parents off too.
*** They decided to [[Too Good to Last|kill off his comic]], instead.
* Mineko from ''[[Helios Eclipse]]''.
* For a while [[Batman|Tim Drake]] was this being just a regular, although brilliant, kid who through diligent detective work uncovered the secret identity of the first Robin and through him Batman and the second Robin. Even after taking up the mantle and becoming the third Robin he still fit the mold for a good portion of his career; his change didn't come until ''[[Identity Crisis]]'' led to his father's death.
* Putri from an Indonesian comic ''Satu Atap'' is an ordinary human [https://web.archive.org/web/20140830192055/http://oase.kompas.com/read/2009/08/05/21125038/Satu.Atap.dengan.Setan.Penggoda..Elf..Peri.Hutan..dan.Putra.Duyung who lived with a demon, elf, forest fairy, a were-tiger, and a merman].


== Fan Fiction ==
* Justin is one in ''[[Kira Is Justice]]'' besides for the fact he is a [[Shrinking Violet]] and a little smarter than normal...until he receives the Death Note.
* [[Ultimate SpiderWoman|Mary Jane Watson]] was an Ordinary College Student when she began to develop her bizarre superhuman abilities, and continues to be one even as she tries to juggle a superhero career along with it.
* Jorge from ''[[The Secret Life of the Backyard Kids]].'' Except he's not in high school, he's in middle school.


== Films ==
* The film and book of Stephen King's ''[[Carrie]]'', and the film sequel, ''[[The Rage: Carrie 2]]''.
* Sam Witwicky was just an Ordinary High School Student until he bought his first car. [[Transformers Film Series|Turns out it was an alien robot.]] [[We Knew It|Who knew?]] His special quality is just being the great-grandkid of the man who found Megatron. Sari Sumdac from ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' actually ''asks'' the Allspark why it chose her. It had an answer too, albeit a vague and ambiguous one.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''—not the show, the movie which preceded it.
* ''[[Clockstoppers]]'' features an Ordinary High School Student who stumbles upon a device that allows him to functionally stop time.
* [[Brother-Sister Team|Carmen and Juni Cortez]] in ''[[Spy Kids]]''.
* If you think about it, the eponymous ''[[Mystery Team]]'' isn't that much different from a group of outcasts with an unusual hobby at any high school.


== Literature ==
* Arguably inverted in ''[[Harry Potter]]'', as everyone knows that he's special from the start -- ''except him''.
* ''[[Battle Royale]]''
* Subverted in Garth Nix's ''[[Keys to the Kingdom]]'' series, in which the protagonist essentially becomes the heir to the House (the "epicentre of creation", the denizens of which give our universe about the same casual interest as a rather exciting zoo) simply because he almost died on the right day.
** That's right kids. {{spoiler|This kid essentially becomes ''God'' by nearly dying}}.
* Bella Swan in ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]''. Until she falls in love with a vampire—or more to the point, the vampire falls for ''her.''
* In the lovely juvenile novel ''Wings'' by Bill Britain, the main character is an Ordinary High School Student who inexplicably develops a huge pair of fully functional bat-like wings.
* Mia from ''[[The Princess Diaries]]'' is an Ordinary High School Student who turns out to be a Princess of a minor European Principality. Unfortunately, it is not the case that [[Everything's Better with Princesses]].
* Jerry Renault, unexpected instigator of ''[[The Chocolate War]]''.
* The [[Animorphs]]. Ordinary middle/high school kids whose lives are changed forever when they decide to take a shortcut through a construction site.
* [[Ciem Webcomic Series|Candi]] is a not-so-ordinary high school ''graduate''. Subverted in that she always knew ''that'' she was special; she just never knew ''why''.
** Averted in the book, where she knows all about everything that made her what she is.
* In the ''[[Alex Rider]]'' series, British teen spy Alex Rider gets a lot of flak from his teachers after spending too much time "off sick"—though the obliviousness of everyone else does stretch credulity after Alex, having used a school trip to investigate a GM facility, {{spoiler|escapes by jumping onto the roof of the coach as it leaves the now-badly damaged building. When he uses a toilet break as a way of getting on board properly, the teachers barely say a word.}}
* The DHIs in ''[[Kingdom Keepers]]''
* [[Percy Jackson and The Olympians|The Percy Jackson series]] does this. Although, to be fair, he is an Ordinary MIDDLE SCHOOL student.
** In fact, almost all the demi-gods fit into this trope. Why? Because most of them don't survive longer than that. ''[[Blessed with Suck|Ouch]]''.
* Neal Shusterman's ''[[Scorpion Shards]]'' trilogy features a group of ordinary teenagers who turn out to be {{spoiler|shards of a far-off star born as humans to eventually save the world}}.
* ''[[The Eyes of Kid Midas]]'' (also by Neal Shusterman) stars an Ordinary Middle School Student. Close enough.
* [[Stuck]]'s Tre Listman is also an Ordinary Middle School Student. [[Unfazed Everyman|At first, anyway.]]


== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Roswell]]'' had this as the main hook for the series (and helped pioneer the genre). Max in particular strives to as "average" as possible
* Claire Bennet of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. True of the Scoobies, but not so much Buffy herself; she knows at the start of the series that she's the Slayer.
* Nickelodeon's ''[[The Troop]]'' plays this straight and hard with Jake.
* ''[[Joan of Arcadia]].''
* The premise of every [[Disney Channel]] show, ever. "S/he's a just a normal high schooler; except that s/he's really ([[That's So Raven|a psychic]], [[Hannah Montana|a teen popstar]], [[Wizards of Waverly Place|a wizard]], an alien, [[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody|twins living in a hotel]], a man/woman, etc)!"
** ''<nowiki>[[Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior]]</nowiki>''
* ''[[iCarly]]'' on [[Nickelodeon]] has ordinary high school students hosting an internationally popular hit webshow.
* ''[[Veronica Mars]]'' - a normal high school student...and a private eye.
* The titular character from [[The Secret World of Alex Mack]]. She even says "I was just another average kid until an accident changed my life" in the opening credits. It's also worth noting that she wore a similar outfit to the one described above on the day she was soaked with the chemicals that gave her superpowers.
* ''[[Spellbinder]]'' - the main character, Paul, gets trapped in a parallel world during a school field trip, and his arrival is a catalyst that causes political upheaval in the otherwordly society. His friends Alex and Katrina have to juggle school as they work to bring him back.
* Pete, Linda and Bronson in ''[[Round the Twist]]'' turn out to be [[Weirdness Magnet]]s - a lot of the supernatural shenanigans they attract happen at their local school.


== Tabletop Games ==
* This is one of the [[Class and Level System|character classes]] in d20 ''[[Big Eyes, Small Mouth]]''.


== Video Games ==
* Kyo Kusanagi in ''[[The King of Fighters]]'', although as the series went on his high school student image was dropped entirely (it's also been implied that he never attends high school at all due to his constant fighting).
** And according to the ''Maximum Impact'' series, he's spent so much time fighting and training that he still hasn't graduated from high school.
* Soma Cruz from ''[[Castlevania]]: Aria of Sorrow''. The game specifically says he is a high school student on a foreign exchange trip to Japan. {{spoiler|The reincarnation of Dracula}}.
* Kazama Jin from ''[[Tekken]]'' started out somewhat ordinary, but things haven't been exactly going well since. Ling Xiaoyu is a milder example. The ''Tekken 5'' ending for Kazama Asuka suggests she might be more than just a brawler, too.
* [[Street Fighter|Kasugano Sakura]] seems like a typical schoolgirl enamored with a rough famous fighter. Aside from the fact that instead of trying to date him, she prefers mirroring his moves as best she can. Including martial-arts fireballs.
** Hell, pretty much ''everybody'' in ''[[Rival Schools]]''.
* Ethan Kairos in ''Time Hollow'' is completely ordinary. He just happens to be the latest in the line of his family to receive the power to adjust history via a special pen.
** Hell, the English manual quotes this trope exactly, describing him as an "ordinary high school student".
* Fei from ''[[Xenogears]]'' plays almost every part of this troupe. Yeah, he knew martial arts but he thought it was just "normal" martial arts. Besides  {{spoiler|knowing martial arts that can destroy God and giant robots}}, he's also the only one that can pilot a special [[Humongous Mecha|gears]], which turns out to be the super ultra special titular one.  {{spoiler|He is also secretly one of the most powerful beings in the game's universe, whom "God" gave his power to.}}
** And while he is utterly oblivious to all or this at the beginning,  {{spoiler|he also has several split personalities. One of which has shut himself off from the world, and another which is an utter sociopath who makes full use of his godly power.}}
* Many (though not all) recent ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' games feature Ordinary High School Students as protagonists. Of course, something usually happens to make them considerably less ordinary, [[Devil Survivor|such as finding a computer that can summon demons]], [[Persona|learning to call forth entities from the inside of their mind]], [[Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner|being forced to share their body with a Devil Summoner]], [[Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne|or being turned into a demon after witnessing the end of the world]].
* [[Mega Man Battle Network|Lan Hikari]] and [[Mega Man Star Force|Geo Stelar]], but the latter fits better the description. None of them are high-schoolers, but close enough.
* Even [[Disgaea]] can't stay away from this one. ''[[Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten]]'' introduces Fuka Kazamatsuri, a human girl who thinks that her adventures in the Netherworld are [[All Just a Dream|just an elaborate dream]], including the part where she's actually dead and supposed to be a Prinny.
* Darren Michaels is this in the second ''[[The Black Mirror|Black Mirror]]'' game.
* Link and Zelda start out as students at a knight academy in ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]: [[Skyward Sword]]''.


== Visual Novels ==
* Hiroyuki in ''[[To Heart]]''.
** And so is Takaaki in ''[[To Heart 2]]'', also an [[Unlucky Everydude]] with an [[Unwanted Harem]] consisting of [[Hot Librarian|Manaka]] [[Class Representative|Komaki]], [[Bottle Fairy|Yuma]] [[Tsundere|Tonami]], [[Cool Big Sis|Tamaki Kousaka]], [[Student Council President|Sasara Kusugawa]], [[Agent Mulder|Karin Sasamori]], [[Time Travel|Yuuki Kusakabe]], [[Human Aliens|Ruuko Kireinasora]], [[Like Brother and Sister|Konomi Yuzuhara]], and [[Teen Genius|Sango Himeyuri]].
* Played with in the [[Nasuverse]], where [[Tsukihime|Shiki]] and [[Fate/stay night|Shirou]] know they are not ordinary, yet fail to realize the full extent of how extraordinary they are.
* Takeru in ''[[Muv-Luv]]' is a typical harem protagonist {{spoiler|who is dragged into an alternate crapsack universe}}
* Battler, from ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]''. All his powers to "fight" witches were granted by the witch herself, {{spoiler|at last at first}}. The 'student' part of him has not much focus, though, as the story take place in his off day  {{spoiler|and he getting killed and all}}.


== Web Comics ==
* ''[[Darkbolt]]'': The lead three characters (Naoko, Mariko, and Yun) start out as this before being force-bonded to demons trapped in small little orbs.
* ''[[Megatokyo]]'': Sonoda Yuki is actually a [[Magical Girl]].
* Mike Cosley from ''[[Bardsworth]].''
* Kanzaki Kei from ''[http://www.revenant-braves.schala.net Circumstances of the Revenant Braves],'' more so than any other character.
* Sarah from ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' is the only member of her group of friends who isn't a shapeshifter, witch, mad scientist, or martial artist of some kind.
** Sarah has magic envy: [http://egscomics.com/?date=2010-04-30\] [http://egscomics.com/?date=2010-07-19\]
** Give her time. At some point the demonic duck will be the most ordinary character in the strip.
*** Elliot probably fits the trope better, though. For most of the first story arc, he does indeed seem to be an ordinary student with a [[Weirdness Magnet|weird friend]], but it's progressively revealed that he's far more unusual than that.
*** Catalina appears to be pretty normal too, though she's not shown up much past her introduction.
* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension|Ash and Emily]] from ''[[Misfile]]'' until [[Our Angels Are Different|Rumisiel]] got stoned while in charge of the [[Rewriting Reality|Celestial Files]]. [[Hilarity Ensues|Wackyness Ensued]].
* ''[[Divided Sky]]'', like so many other tropes, lampshades it.
* Uma from ''[[Everyday Heroes]]''. To everyone else, she's perfectly [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=107230 normal].
* Iris Kolrick and Jacob Freeman from ''[[Shadownova]]''. Iris is later revealed to be an [[Psychic Powers|Esper]] with [[Kill It with Fire|pyrokinesis]] but Jacob is truly ordinary.
* [[Girl Genius|Agatha Clay]] is an ordinary (if exceptionally clumsy) student at Transylvania U., raised by completely ordinary parents. Until it turns out her father is a famous hero, her mother is some kind of evil goddess, the most powerful man in Europa wants to imprison her (while his son would like to "form a mutual alliance" with her), and she might cause an apocalyptic disaster just by existing. She stops being "ordinary" pretty fast.
* Hatsune Rondo of ''[[Mayonaka Densha]]'', until her transportation back to [[Victorian London]].


== Web Original ==
* Yuri Mikagami in the round-robin story ''[http://www.improfanfic.com/dhh/ Dark Heart High]''. A bit of a subversion as its revealed in the very first scene that her father is a retired [[Evil Overlord]]. (A non human one at that!)
* As far as ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'' goes, it would be easier to list ''exceptions'', since just about everyone in the entire cast is an Ordinary High School Student. For example, Johnathan Michaels of V2 was a world champion boxer and Renee Valenti of V3 a burgeoning movie star.
* Nick Reilly, Bill Wilson, Tony Chandler... A lot of the kids who become mutants and then go to [[Super-Hero School]] Whateley Academy in the ''[[Whateley Universe]]''.
* The main character in ''[[The Finite Life of a Dating Sim Heroine]]'' is one of these.


== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Danny Phantom]]''
* ''[[Ben 10]]'': Ben was an Ordinary Elementary School Student, but was the star of the (apparently hugely popular for high school JV) soccer team at the end of the [[Time Skip]].
** Well, he was the goalie anyway.
* ''[[Code Lyoko]]'': Every member of the group is an Ordinary Student, though Jeremie is the only one who can use the Supercomputer, Aelita is the only member who can deactivate towers, and the other three are her protectors.
** Aelita's status is a lot more complicated; she didn't start out ordinary in any sense.
** Oddly enough, William is an actual Ordinary Student until Season 3. Debate has been going on for quite some time on several fan forums as to whether he's still a Warrior or an Ordinary Student in the series finale.
* ''[[Kim Possible]]''...sort of. Right from the start she's insanely overachieving, even besides the [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World]] stuff, though her [[Sidekick]] Ron fits the trope a bit better.
* Terry McGinnis in ''[[Batman Beyond]]''.
* [[Doug|Doug Funnie]]

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Harem Genre]]
[[Category:Visual Novel Tropes]]
[[Category:School Tropes]]
[[Category:Normal People]]
[[Category:Ordinary High School Student]]