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{{trope}}
[[File:june_mean_7507.jpg|link=Ka Blam! (Animation)|frame|She does this all the time.]]
 
{{quote| [[Community (TV)|Abed]]: ''I know the difference between TV and reality, Jeff. TV has structure, it makes sense, there are likable leading men. In real life, we have this. We have you.''}}▼
 
▲{{quote| [[Community (TV)|Abed]]: ''I know the difference between TV and reality, Jeff. TV has structure, it makes sense, there are likable leading men. In real life, we have this. We have you.''}}
 
A character (frequently the main one) in a comedy who is a huge [[Jerkass]] (or just a flat-out villain), yet is supposed to be rooted for, despite being pretty much everything a human being shouldn't be... or [[This Loser Is You|everything a human being essentially is]].
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Compare with [[Jaded Washout]], [[Nominal Hero]], [[Small Name, Big Ego]], and [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath]].
 
Extreme versions of this trope can be essentially [[Villain Protagonist|Villain Protagonists]]s that are [[Played for Laughs]], although some [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist|'''UCPs]]''' can easily [[Flanderization|drift into this area]].
 
{{examples}}
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* Richard Moore/Kogoro Mori on ''[[Detective Conan]]'' who regularly punches, kicks, and berates Conan. If Conan were a REAL child he would likely turn out to be some sort of severely messed up [[Omnicidal Maniac]] from the treatment Richard gives him.
** Or from, you know, viewing horrific murders on a daily basis.
* The eponymous ''[[Desert Punk (Mangamanga)|Desert Punk]]''.
* Oga from ''[[Beelzebub (Manga)|Beelzebub]]'' is a notoriously violent good-for-nothing [[Delinquent]] who has few redeeming qualities (if any), yet his character is just so over the top and his situation so hilariously weird and unfortunate you can't help but like him a little.
* Panty from ''[[Panty and& Stocking Withwith Garterbelt (Anime)|Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt]]'' is like this most of the time, and the other characters have their moments as well.
 
== Comic Books ==
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* Captain James B. Pirk of ''[[Star Wreck]]'' is intentionally the exact opposite of the character he's parodying, [[Star Trek|James T. Kirk]]. That is, he is a cowardly, loud-mouthed bully who gets incredibly lucky. The writers thought he was too nice in the fifth film of the series (where he actually seemed motivated to save the world besides his own skin) and made sure that he was his own nasty self in the feature film.
* The protagonist of both versions of ''The Heartbreak Kid''.
* [[WCW. C. Fields]], in most of his films.
* ''[[Bruno]]'', who is a narcissistic, attention-seeking [[Jerkass]] that embodies virtually every negative gay stereotype imaginable.
* Vinnie Antonelli aka Todd Wilkenson, played by [[Steve Martin]] in ''[[My Blue Heaven]]''.
* All of the ''[[The Hangover]]'' guys to a degree, but Phil ([[Mr. Fanservice|Bradley Cooper]]'s character) most particularly.
* Britt Reid ([[Seth Rogen]]) in the 2011 film version of ''[[The Green Hornet (Filmfilm)|The Green Hornet]]''. He's a thick dunce who cares for no one but himself and doesn't see anything wrong with that. In addition, all of his plans are utterly stupid, and his sidekick is the smarter one. The duo even gets into a fight over it and split up for a while.
* Ethan from ''[[Due Date]]''. To clarify he gets Peter kicked off the plane for putting marijuana on him, gets Peter high against his will, randomly accuses Peter's best friend of sleeping with his wife '''to his face''' and it's eventually revealed that {{spoiler|he stole Peter's wallet to force him to come with him across the country}} when Peter's wife is going into labor. The writers attempted to make him sympathetic by giving him dead Daddy issues but...nope still a douche.
* [[Wes Anderson]] must love these or something.
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* Mr Bagthorpe of Helen Cresswell's ''Bagthorpe Saga''. No other children's character comes near him for arrogance, misanthropy and sheer awfulness- but he's still hysterically funny.
* From ''[[The Wind in Thethe Willows]]'', we have Toad of Toad Hall, who frequently swings from jerk to noble idealist in the space of as little as two paragraphs. Toad tends to be the focus of most TV & movie adaptations, but Mole is really the protagonist of the original novel. This is at least partially because Toad is seen as a broader, funnier character, while Mole's character arc tends to concern subtler, more wistful things.
* Of similar vintage to the above, [[Billy Bunter]]. Originally a Unsympathetic Comedy Side-Character, Bunter, a [[Fat Bastard]] constantly on the scrounge for extra tuck, on the prowl for gossip, ready to giggle helplessly at anothers misfortune, bragging of his possibly mythical titled relations, and saying the wrong thing at the worst possible moment, actually became so popular that he took on [[Ensemble Darkhorse|title role]] for the series.
* Greg Heffley, the title character in the ''[[Diary of a Wimpy Kid]]'' novels. Though he feels victimized by the world and ''is'' suffering at the hands of his obnoxious older brother Rodrick, Greg brings ''a lot'' of his problems on himself; he's always trying to take the easy road out of any difficult situation and lies and cheats to get ahead (though he rarely gets far). As the books consist of his journal entries, it's clear from reading them that he is oblivious to his flaws - and a fair amount of the comedy comes from the reader recognizing that.
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* [[Adrian Mole]] has been providing a typical British example of this for years.
* Pretty much everyone in ''[[Dead Souls]]''.
* [[Don Quixote]]: The first part of the novel settles Don Quixote characterization as a [[Lord Error-Prone]]: he almost kills the Biscayan at chapter IX and maimed for life the Licentiate at chapter XIX. This makes easier to read the continuous [[Humiliation Conga]] in practically all the chapters for Don Quixote. [[Misaimed Fandom]] insisted in seeing him as the much more sympathetic [[Mad Dreamer]]. The second part deconstructs the [[Mad Dreamer]] into a [[Wide -Eyed Idealist]] that everyone else mocks mercilessly because [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters]].
 
 
== Live Action TV ==
* Roseanne of [[Roseanne]].
{{quote| "Hear that, Dan? All these years people thought I was being a bitch; [[Leaning Onon the Fourth Wall|but I was just showing an opinionated, blue collar outlook!]]"}}
* Pretty much all the main characters in ''[[Seinfeld]]'', with a special mention reserved for George Costanza. [[Jason Alexander (Creator)|Jason Alexander]] himself feels that Seinfeld is "a very dark show about very dark people".
** In a bit of [[Lampshade Hanging]], in the episode "The Fatigues", Jerry acknowledges that he's not the nicest guy in the world:
{{quote| '''Abby''': I need someone I can trust.<br />
'''Jerry''' ''(disappointedly)'': Oh. }}
** Also lampshaded, of course, in the final episode, when they're actually put on trial for their selfishness.
** [[Truth in Television]], since Alexander based his portrayal of George Costanza on [[Larry David]], ''Seinfeld's'' head writer at the time. Interestingly, he thought the character was based on Woody Allen until one day, after reading a certain episode's script, Alexander told David he didn't understand the situation detailed in it since "not only could this never happen, but no human being would react like this". David responded that it happened to ''him'' and ''this'' was the way he reacted. From that point on, Alexander understood just who Costanza was meant to be.
* After Seinfeld ended, Larry David made ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'', where he stars [[As Himself]], and is portrayed as <s>maybe</s> even a bigger jerk than George.
* GOB, Lucille, Lindsay, and others in ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]''.
** Near miss for Michael, since he is the [[Only Sane Man]] in a land of fools and tries to save his family from financial and legislative ruin. He is more of a [[Hypocritical Humor|hypocrite]] than a [[Jerkass]] though. He keeps trying to do the right thing, but usually ends up have to do something wrong because of the position the rest of his family puts him in.
* Larry Sanders and his sidekick, Hank Kingsley in ''The Larry Sanders Show''.
* [[Ricky Gervais]]' most recognized characters, David Brent in ''[[The Office]]'' and Andy Millman in ''[[Extras]]''.
** Series creators Gervais and Merchant claim that Brent is not a horrible person, despite the things he does in the show; he's just an idiot, a fallible human being who is star-struck by the [[Mockumentary]] film crew, which drives him to act the way he does to get attention. By the end of the second series his true colours are shown and he is much more sympathetic, {{spoiler|no more so than when he breaks down when he is about to be made redundant and practically begs for his job back}}. [[Word of God]] also says that the character of [[Jerkass|Chris Finch]] was introduced so Brent would appear less of a wanker by comparison.
*** Brent's 'Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist' status was also [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] and explored in ''[[The Office]]'' Christmas Specials as being at least partially a consequence of the [[Mockumentary]] format of the show; he bitterly notes how the documentary crew 'stitched him up' in order to make him look bad, arguing that they overlooked or downplayed his achievements and benevolent qualities and presented an uneven focus on his incompetence and stage-hungry nature in order to present him in the worst possible light for the sake of ratings. That same episode also ultimately showed Brent in a more positive light -- hintinglight—hinting that he was actually quite a talented salesman (if not actually management material), showing him manage to charm a woman and actually managing make the staff laugh in genuine good humour at one of his impressions -- almostimpressions—almost as if the fictional documentary makers were trying to make it up to him.
** It's also debatable whether 'to a lesser extent' applies to Millman, as that character is certainly not without his dickish and unlikeable qualities. In fact, Millman is in many ways arguably worse than Brent; Brent is often insulting or offensive entirely by accident or through poor communication, whereas Millman, as the creators have noted, is saddled with a self-awareness that at times turns otherwise-ignorant actions into intentional cruelty.
** Michael Scott from the [[Trans -Atlantic Equivalent]] of ''[[The Office]]''. However, unlike David who [[Character Development|eventually got better over time]], Michael continues to become a bigger [[Jerkass]] with each season, although Michael is portrayed as more of a genuine [[Adult Child]] who just wants to be liked and doesn't always fully understand the consequences of his actions despite his best intentions.
* Basil Fawlty on ''[[Fawlty Towers]]''. Interestingly, Basil is based on a real person, whom his wife said was nothing like what was portrayed on the show, until a bunch of previous guests wrote the media saying "Oh yes he was!"
** Donald Sinclair, the proto-Fawlty, was apparently aware of Fawlty and not at all happy about it. Try and imagine Fawlty's reaction to finding out a TV show had been made lampooning him. Try really, really hard not to laugh.
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* All the main characters from ''[[Frontline]]'' except for Emma.
* Bill Bittinger (Dabney Coleman) in ''Buffalo Bill.''
* Steve Coogan's ''[[I'm Alan Partridge (TV)|Alan Partridge]]'' persona. Egomaniacal (despite no observable talent), treats everyone around him with utter contempt whilst expecting complete loyalty in return, given to constant hideous faux pas, ignorant, clearly doesn't care about anyone but himself and anything but his career, and bigoted in every conceivable way. Not content with merely talking down to and humiliating his guests on [[Knowing Me, Knowing You... Withwith Alan Partridge]], he even kills one of them live on air.
** Later Partridge media plays with this in an interesting way. In his in-universe autobiography ''I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan'' he massively plays up tiny unpleasant incidents in his childhood such as his parents having a very mild argument about VAT receipts or being told to clear out the garage on a sunny day into severely traumatic experiences - and being Alan, he goes out of his way to specify that he's not exaggerating anything because his publishers thought his childhood might be boring - and later in his life recounts his "Toblerone addiction" as if it's heroin addiction. However, life events that are genuinely unpleasant like living in a Travel Tavern for six months after his wife left him and his children have no interest in him, and to a lesser extent the resultant nervous breakdown, are if anything played down and given a positive spin. Of course, still being Alan, he annihilates any potential sympathy it might create in the reader by remaining a generally loathsome human being throughout: for instance, recounting how his assistant Lynn helped him get back on his feet after his breakdown to the point of offering to help him shower, he marvels at how much time she dedicated to him and thought she must not be getting any actual work done, and thus knocked her temporarily down to a part-time wage when he already pays her a pittance.
** Made especially funny because the show will occasionally give us a reason to sympathize with him or at least feel sorry for him...and then he'll do something even more ridiculous and/or awful
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* ''[[Steptoe and Son]]'' and its American remake ''[[Sanford and Son]]''.
** Personally I think Albert Steptoe was the nasty one and Harold Steptoe was actually a good guy. All Harold wanted to do was move up from the grog heap of his life into something better. But his father did everything he could to prevent Harold, his son, improving himself—especially if it means him leaving home. Albert was also lazy, stubborn, narrow-minded, foul-mouthed, and had revolting personal habits.
* ''[[Peep Show]]'' -- between—between Jeremy eating a girl's dog in an attempt to have sex with her and Mark attempting to get out of his wedding by hiding in the church balcony both of these guys are about as unsympathetic as it gets.
** Its not just Them either. Pretty much every character on the show gets a moment that makes You wonder how no one has killed Them.
* Gareth Blackstock on ''Chef!''
* ''Every single character'' on ''[[ItsIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]''. All of them.
* Baber in ''[[Little Mosque On the Prairie (TV)|Little Mosque Onon the Prairie]]'' who may be a retired economics professor, but he's still unapologetically the Islamic version of Archie Bunker.
** Actually most-if not all-of the cast have pretty sketchy morals at times. Fortunately, the sketchy moments are divided more or less evenly between the Christian and Muslim characters.
* Peter Dragon in ''Action''.
* Eddie and Patsy in ''[[Absolutely Fabulous (TV)|Absolutely Fabulous]]''
* Howard Moon and Vince Noir of ''[[The Mighty Boosh]]''. Howard is a prickly, asocial, know-it-all; Vince is vain, shallow, and flighty.
* Most of the cast of ''[[Two and A Half Men]]''.
* This is the entire point of ''We Can Be Heroes'' and ''Summer Heights High''.
* The entire point of ''[[Strangers Withwith Candy]]''.
* All main characters in ''[[The Young Ones]]'' (except perhaps Neil, sometimes). According to DVD commentary for the pilot, when it was shown to American networks the writers were asked which of the characters was supposed to be the "hero" the audience sympathizes with, and had to explain that none of them really were and that that was sort of the point.
** Not to mention the Balowski family. But Vyvyan was a particularly good example of this, arguably one of the most likable ''"complete bastards"'' in the history of British comedy, precisely because he was a totally unpredictable ''bastard''.
** ''[[Bottom]]''
** For that matter, [[The Young Ones|every]] [[Filthy Rich and& Catflap|single]] [[The New Statesman|character]] ever played by Rik Mayall. Including ''himself'' in his not-entirely-serious ego-trip of an autobiography, ''Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ''.
** Allan [[Meaningful Name|B'stard]] of ''[[The New Statesman]]''
* Every character save for one and ''maybe'' two from ''Unhitched'' is a horrible, horrible excuse for a human being.
* Victor Meldrew from ''[[One Foot in Thethe Grave]]''. Though he does fall in the "at least pitiable" category sometimes, after all he does end up in [[Weirdness Magnet|the oddest predicaments]] which does go some way explain his eternal grumpiness.
* [[Sarah Silverman]] of ''[[The Sarah Silverman Program]]''.
* Grace from ''[[Will and Grace]]''. Just barely has enough morals to not be a [[Jerkass]], but still [[Minor Flaw, Major Breakup|broke up with someone for having an extra toe]], admitted that it was because she was shallow, then ''asked for sympathy''.
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** He also stole money meant for sick children which is how he wound up banished to Craggy Island. Although as he's always quick to claim the money was "Just resting in his account".
* Barney from ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' manages to be the most popular character on the show, despite being a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], misogynistic womanizer, and a borderline sociopath in general. For most viewers, he avoids becoming truly unlikable partly because he ''does'' have a sensitive, caring side (even if it only comes up once or twice a season), and partly because he uses and manipulates people with so much style that he enters [[Magnificent Bastard]] territory.
* Rimmer from ''[[Red Dwarf (TV)|Red Dwarf]]''. To a lesser extent, the rest of the cast.
** Lister, despite being a slob and not that bright is a pretty sympathetic character. And Rimmer for all his faults has [[Pet the Dog]] moments now and then. The best example is the Cat...shallow, self interested, vain and selfish. And we wouldn't want him any other way
** He's shallow, self interested, vain and selfish...with a great ass!!!
* Needless to say, the [[Adolf Hitler|main character]] of the [[One -Episode Wonder]] ''[[Heil Honey I'm Home (TV)!|Heil Honey I'm Home]]''.
* Jack Benny's eponymous character, on his [[The Jack Benny Program|TV and radio series]].
** Though every once in a while (such as the "It's Jack's birthday!" episodes) the rest of the cast would acknowledge that Jack was a particularly harmless, even endearing example of this type. Then things would go back to normal by the next show.
*** Jack was always pretty benign in his show, being portrayed as much more [[Ted Baxter|self-absorbed]] and [[The Scrooge|stingy]] as opposed to out-and-out malicious, and his character rarely strayed into [[Jerkass]] territory. In [[Real Life]], Jack Benny could not have been any farther from his on-air persona -- apparentlypersona—apparently he was very much a man who'd give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it.
* Jackie Thomas in ''The Jackie Thomas Show''.
* Rick Spleen in ''Lead Balloon'' is another case where the character arguably worsened over time, with him being slightly sympathetic in season one and then doing a massive [[Kick the Dog]] at the beginning of season two. However, in season two there was also an episode that focused on him doing a good deed by supporting a charity with no evident ulterior motive...and it still [[Kafka Komedy|blew up in his face]].
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* Lee and Tim in ''Not Going Out'' decay into this in some episodes of the third season.
* Rigsby in ''[[Rising Damp]]''.
* Samantha "Sam" Puckett in ''[[I Carly|iCarly]]'' is part of a [[Three Amigos]] group rather than being ''the'' main protagonist, but one wonders why the other two would still have anything to do with her. Freddie especially-it's a small miracle that nothing she's done to him has resulted in a permanently disabling injury.
* ''Everyone'' in [[The Thick of It]]. The most sympathetic character is a complete [[Magnificent Bastard|bastard]], which says a lot about the rest of them.
* Shawn in [[Psych]] often butts up against this with his self-centered man-child shtick.
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* Sgt. Bilko of ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]'' is an early example from American TV.
* Almost everyone in the main cast of [[Slings and Arrows]], especially in the first season. Richard Smith-Jones is probably the most egregious example.
* Al Bundy of ''[[Married... Withwith Children]]''. All of the Bundys could qualify, but none of them are as callous and uncaring as Al.
* Nearly every main character in [[The League of Gentlemen]] plays this trope [[Up to Eleven|up to eleven.]]
* ''[[Community]]'' has Jeff, who, while not a complete jerk, definitively leans towards the [[Jerkass]] side of [[Deadpan Snarker]].
** For total jerkitude, look to Pierce.
** While a fan favorite Abed may be an example since his acting as though life is a film or TV show causes a certain disconnect between him and some other characters and discussing life as though its Troperiffic may make the other characters see him this way.
* ''[[Everybody Loves Raymond]]'' has this in spades, with the entire cast being this way, but especially with Ray and Debra. Ray is portrayed as lazy, whiny, and a selfish [[Momma's Boy]]. Debra is portrayed as a shrieking harpy.
* Carrie Bradshaw (and, to a point, the other ladies) of [[Sex and Thethe City]]. Self-absorbed: check. Shallow: check. Materialistic: check. Immature: check. Was there anything redeemable?
* Despite being a drug dealer, Nancy from ''[[Weeds]]'' was for the most part still a fundamentally good person and quite sympathetic in the early seasons. This largely changed from Season 4 onward. And her accountant Doug was a horrible person from the start.
** It's easier to just say that this goes for nearly every hour-long dramedy on nearly every network. Considering that most of them boil down to successful, self-centered people boinking and backstabbing one another, it's sort of the default protagonist type.
* Roy from ''[[The IT Crowd (TV)|The IT Crowd]]''. He does so much to get out of his job unless the person who's asking him is a hot chick, has slapped a police officer for ruining a twist in a film, has told Moss all of his inventions are worthless, tried stealing 20 pounds from his knocked out boss (who was faking, but he didn't know that) and tried sabotaging Jen's speech for kicks.
** Then again, the people he works for are idiots who can't seem to work out the most simple functions of computers while still mostly treating him as a dogsbody because he can, the police officer was throwing the book at him and Moss for copyright violation but didn't seem interested in the fact that the person they were with was a ''cannibal'', the 20 pounds actually was ''his'' in the first place and he tried to sabotage Jen's speech because Jen had become utterly [[Drunk Withwith Power]] after being nominated for an award (largely on the backs of Roy and Moss) and was due for a bit of ego-puncturing. He's not the only jerk around.
** And tricking Jen into thinking that 'googling Google' would break the internet was pretty awesome.
* Pretty much all of the main characters of ''[[Glee]]''. Sure, the cast is (mostly) comprised of teenagers, but the characters spend an awful lot of time and effort being unforgivably awful to one another (which doesn't excuse the actions of their teachers and parents). This blurs since sometimes ''[[Glee]]'' is written as a comedy, and sometimes as a dark drama. Regardless, the longer you watch, the harder it is to find anybody on the show sympathetic.
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*** To be fair, at one point Quinn states that the only reason she "cheated" on said long-term boyfriend is because the boy she cheated with got her drunk on wine coolers. The rest of her behaviour is rather awful, but she can't be blamed for being date raped. (The fact that this happened to Quinn is, of course, [[Unfortunate Implications|never actually addressed in the show beyond the one line]].)
* Hyacinth from ''[[Keeping Up Appearances]]''. Big time. Although her relatives are supposed to be completely pathetic slobs, they come off as quite admirable when contrasted with Hyacinth. This isn't an accident.
* [[Anti-Villain]] Alex Russo from ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' is lazy, irresponsible, selfish, openly mocks authority, and treats her best friend like a servant. People that still think Disney heroines are all [[Wide -Eyed Idealist|sugar and spice and everything nice]] are way behind the times.
* [[Mr. Bean]] is so self-centred, he is usually unconcerned about the harm his off-the-wall methods of solving mundane problems do to others. A lot of the show's humour comes from his ability to [[Karma Houdini|slip out of situations where anyone would want to punch him]].
** He gets little better in the cartoon series, but still qualifies as this trope.
* Edmund [[Black AdderBlackadder]]. That is all.
{{quote| Blackadder, Blackadder – his life was almost done!<br />
Blackadder, Blackadder – who gives a toss? No one! }}
* Kim from ''[[Kath and Kim]]''. She's bratty, whiny, irresponsible, self-centered and treats everybody around her like crap. She's just a horrible, horrible person.
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* Pretty much the entire cast of the British puppet series ''[[Mongrels]]'' except (sometimes) for [[Camp Straight|Nelson]], though especially [[Complete Monster|Vince]].
* ''[[Mr. D]]'''s title character. In the anti-bullying episode he shows himself to be the worst bully in the school.
* In ''[[After Lately (TV)|After Lately]]'', it's almost everyone, but Chelsea in particular.
 
 
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== Radio ==
 
* Charles Prentiss in ''[[Absolute Power (Radioradio)|Absolute Power]]''. According to [[Stephen Fry]] "There's not much to say that's nice about him, except that there is some pleasure in watching a natural born killer at work and knowing whatever happens he will win."
 
== Theater ==
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** At least at first. He has a few redeeming qualities by the end of the game. A ''few''.
*** Even more by the end of ''Desperate Struggle'', {{spoiler|when he realizes how many lives the UAA has destroyed, and decides he has had enough with the assassination scene, instead vowing to destroy the UAA because of this}}. While he managed to be at both extremes at once on the [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]], he now instead manages to be only on the sympathetic end of the scale, "the loser", and I think we can all agree that at least that part will never change.
* Wario in both the ''[[Wario Land (Video Game)|Wario Land]]'' and ''[[Wario Ware (Video Game)|Wario Ware]]'' games.
* In ''[[Sengoku Rance]]'' Rance himself qualifies for this trope. Anything he does is out of amusement for us audiences. {{spoiler|Except for the part where Sill gets frozen.}}
* In ''[[Simon the Sorcerer (Video Game)|Simon the Sorcerer]]'' the player character is a little bland but generally sympathetic. This all changes by the second game when he acts like a sexist, mean-spirited, stubborn, self-loathing, whiny, sadistic jerk to everyone he meets. Many of the game's puzzles require Simon to screw over the game's other characters in order to get his own way. This continues in the third game where, when tasked with assembling four specific characters, he discovers that three of them are people that he has variously killed, crippled and turned into a frog in his adventures up to that point. The fourth he simply leered at whilst making near-constant remarks about her large chest and [[Chainmail Bikini|revealing outfit]]. It helps that Simon gets dumped on almost as often as he messes with everyone else, preventing him from becoming a [[Complete Monster|complete monster]] and generally leading to hillarity. Bonus points for the fact that he is voiced by Chris Barrie, who played the similar character Rimmer in the Red Dwarf example above.
 
== Web Animation ==
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* Many, many, '''''[[Seen It a Million Times|many]]''''' webcomic authors settle for making their main character an Unsympathetic [[Jerkass]] [[Deadpan Snarker]], to the point it's becoming one of the internet's [[Undead Horse Trope|most widespread and recognizable clichés]].
* ''[[Something *Positive]]'' averts this trope in regards to Davan. He has enough humanizing moments to keep him sympathetic, misanthropic bastard that he is. Aubrey and Pee-Jee invoke an awful lot [[Comedic Sociopathy]], beating up friend or even strangers for kicks in the early years, but both have plenty of moments in which they show themselves to be kind and sympathetic. Peejee in particular, ''gives Jhim $1,000'' so that he can move away from Boston and be happy, despite the fact that {{spoiler|she has a major crush on him and is shown crying after he leaves}}. She also friggin' ''moves to Texas'' just to help and support Davan {{spoiler|who must go home to take care of his father Fred, who has developed Alzheimer's}}, and her continual kindness is pretty much the sole reason for Mike's [[Heel Face Turn]], even though he insulted her repeatedly and never believed that she was just trying to help him before she finally got fed up gave him a [[The Reason You Suck]] speech, which caused said [[Character Development|Heel Face Turn]]. Aubrey is less prolific in her good deeds, but she still finds time to worry about Davan and specifically try to make him happy, to the point of sending Nerdrotica girls on a flight to Texas in order to make Davan look impressive at his high school reunion, since she knew full well he would be miserable at it. She is also {{spoiler|a loving wife to Jason, and chooses to adopt a baby, citing that she could give an orphaned child a home, rather than have a new child}}.
* Ethan from ''[[Ctrl +Alt +Del]]''. Seriously, could you stand being around such a [[Psychopathic Manchild]] for more than a few seconds?
** Lucas has his moments too, especially where relationships are involved.
* Polkster from [[Polk Out]]
* All four of the Light Warriors in ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]'' are very much this. Or at least they should be, as many fans ''do'' sympathize with the [[Omnicidal Maniac]] Black Mage.
** Well, he's just too [[Butt Monkey|pathetic and unlucky]] to dislike properly.
** Fighter I'd say is too much of a simpleton to qualify for this though, he's more of an [[Idiot Hero]]
* All four main characters of ''[[Exterminatus Now]]'' (a [[Jerkass|jerk]], an [[Too Dumb to Live|idiot]], a [[Ax Crazy|sociopath]], and a [[Ted Baxter|egotist]] respectively).
* The main character of ''[[Concerned]]''. He's well meaning, but he's such an [[Too Dumb to Live|idiot]] he causes pain to many people.
* Belkar Bitterleaf of ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]'' is an excellent example. He's outright ''evil'', a murderous sociopath with no redeeming qualities. He still remains hilarious to read, staying on just this side of the [[Complete Monster]] line for two main reasons. First, his teammates (who are actual heroes) have learned how to use him like a weapon; they point him in the direction of their good intentions and let him off the leash, because Belkar doesn't care who he's killing so long as he's killing ''somebody''. Secondly, because he's the guy who doesn't care about anyone or anything, he's in position to get a lot of the funniest jokes.
** It's even Lampshaded when Belkar under the influence of the [[Restraining Bolt|Mark of Justice]] and it's curse. Lord Shojo appears to him and basically tells him that if he keeps going like this he is heading into Scrappy territory and that the only cure is [[Character Development]] or at least to fake it.
* Peter from ''[[Fansadox (Franchise)/Birthday Gift (Webcomic)|Birthday Gift]]'', and similarly, Roy from ''[[Webcomic/Confiscated Twins|Confiscated Twins]]''.
* Rayne from ''[[Least I Could Do]]'', in spades. The character is incredibly rude, selfish and arrogant, yet is held up to be the object of admiration for men and a sex god for women. The typical storyline is 90% Rayne trying to bed hot girls, live out his [[Gary Stu]] fantasies, and/or insulting his friends, and 10% him "being awesome", which usually involves getting the cast out of sticky situations that he got them into in the first place. In fairness, he does have some redeeming traits (like unconditional love for his niece Ashley), but these only tend to crop up in [[Author's Saving Throw]] moments just when the audience is wondering why nobody's shot the asshole yet.
* Black Hat Guy in ''[[Xkcd (Webcomic)|Xkcd]]'' who is a complete sociopath fond of [[Disproportionate Retribution]].
* ''[[Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff]]'': Both of the eponymous characters establish themselves as this ''very'' quickly. Hell, pretty much every character present leans into this (except maybe [[Living Prop|Geromy]]).
* All three of the [[Comedic Sociopathy|slightly sociopathic]] main characters of [[Two Guys and Guy]].
* Hazel Tellington of ''[[Girls Withwith Slingshots]]'' varies from [[Deadpan Snarker]] to [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]] to [[Jerk Sue]] to this, depending on the story line. Although some of the setbacks she encounters, such as losing a great job, are not her fault, most of the problems in her life result from her immaturity, irresponsibility, and constant drunkenness. Occasionally lampshaded in the comic by different characters, mainly her friend/former boss Clarice, and boyfriend Zach.
* Graham, the 'hero' of ''[[Wizard School (Webcomic)|Wizard School]]'', is a misandrist [[Jerkass]] whose main occupations are sex, alcohol, and sarcasm. Justified, since he was deliberately chosen by the [[Big Bad]] to be as useless a [[The Chosen One|"chosen one"]] as possible.
 
 
== Web Original ==
* White Whine is this, in a meta sense, for its posters. [[F My Life]] is probably more [[Kafka Komedy]].
* Tom from ''[[Echo Chamber (Web Video)|Echo Chamber]]'' is a total ass to everyone, especially Zack.
* Donnie Hoyle in ''[[You Suck At Photoshop]]''. Occasionally goes into [[Kafka Komedy]] mode, but it's mostly Donnie's [[Freudian Excuse|mental issues]] and [[Jerkass|awful personality]] which lead to his bad luck.
* ''[[Pittsburgh Dad (Web Video)|Pittsburgh Dad]]'', a constant complainer and malcontent, is constantly giving his wife and kids a hard time for various annoyances. Even his favorite activity ([[Serious Business|watching the Steelers play]]) is rife with criticism.
 
 
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* Peter Griffin on ''[[Family Guy]]''.
** Possibly Quagmire too. Actually, there isn't a single member of the main cast who hasn't been [[Flanderization|Flanderized]] into being a Jerkass.
* Stan Smith from ''[[American Dad (Animation)|American Dad]]'', which is actually subtly [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructed]]. If you pay attention, Stan's recurring fear [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?|(other than seagulls)]] is if his friends and family still actually love him or not.
** [[The Scrappy|Roger]].
* The entire cast of ''[[Drawn Together]]''.
* Homer and Bart are always this on ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]''.
* Jay Sherman on ''[[The Critic]]''.
* Hank Hill from [[King of the Hill]] can wander into this territory. As can his wife, [[Ted Baxter|Peggy]].
* Stroker on ''[[Stroker and Hoop]]''.
* Master Shake on ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Animation)|Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]''.
** And Carl is an Unsympathetic [[Butt Monkey]].
* Everyone in ''[[Sealab 2021]]'' except [[Only Sane Man|Dr. Quinn]] (especially in episodes like [https://web.archive.org/web/20081122144605/http://www.jibjab.com/view/221029 "I, Robot"])
* Selfish, shallow Kuzco in ''[[The Emperor's New Groove (Disney)|The Emperors New Groove]]'', and, even though he'd supposedly learned his lesson by the end, the following TV series ''[[The Emperor's New School (Animation)|The Emperors New School]]''.
** In the direct-to-video sequel ''Kronk's New Groove'', Kuzco offers far more evidence that he's learned his lesson. This A) is practically unheard of, especially in light of the patently unnecessary TV show, and B) works surprisingly well, because Kuzco is mostly a [[No Fourth Wall|member of the audience]] like us, and appears to be emotionally connecting to Kronk's plight. Not any specific way that he's connecting, necessarily, so much as the fact that he's connecting at all.
* Bloo, from ''[[FostersFoster's Home for Imaginary Friends]]''
* [[Johnny Bravo]], a [[Too Dumb to Live]] [[Casanova Wannabe]], though he does have some decent points. His stupidity was [[Flanderization|more apparent]] in later seasons than in the first season.
* Eric the Cavalier from ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Animationanimation)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'', for a given value of Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist. Since [[Moral Guardians]] and [[Executive Meddling]] meant that nothing good could ever really happen to him until [[The Complainer Is Always Wrong|he relented and went along with the group,]] he was definitely ''meant'' to be unsympathetic, even though he was the most sympathetic character in the show because he was the only one reacting realistically to their situation, and many of the bad things that happen to him are distinctly slapstick, since he has to survive to agree to go along with the group's plans later.
* Many "classic" characters in animated shorts fit the bill: [[Donald Duck]], Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, [[Woody Woodpecker]], Tom, Jerry (from [[Tom and Jerry (Animation)|Tom and Jerry]]), [[Screwy Squirrel]], etc.
* The Warden in ''[[Superjail (Animation)|Superjail]]''. He goes from ultraviolent sadistic Cloudcuckoolander to ultraviolent sadistic nazi overlord in the space of ten episodes, and spends most of the rest of the first season drunk, sick, oblivious to everything around him, [[Nightmare Fuel|giving birth to grotesque manifestations of his inner child through his anus]], and following [[Church of Happyology|sex-crazed alien cult leaders]] around. Of course, the [[Mr. Fanservice]] don't mind at ''all''.
** Which definitely [[Nightmare Fetishist|says something]] about [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|the female viewers of Adult Swim]].
* [[The Flintstones|Fred Flintstone.]]
* The Captain of the Jupiter42 in ''[[Tripping the Rift]]'' is ugly, crude, disgusting, sarcastic, depraved, and his crew never misses a moment to [[Lampshade]] it. Not [[Lampshaded]] yet is that his name, Chode, sounds much like the stretch of flesh between the testicles and asshole, which is where his mentality seems to reside.
** And the rest of the crew aren't exactly sympathetic either. Apart from Six who, ironically as she's an android, is the only one who seems to actually have a heart
* King Julien from [[The Penguins of Madagascar]].
* [[The Jetsons|George Jetson]]
* Early Cuyler on ''[[Squidbillies]]''.
* The entire band Dethklok from ''[[Metalocalypse]]''.
* June from ''[[Ka BlamKaBlam!]]'', who is featured doing her thing in the page image. While she's quite likable and has a big heart underneath her [[Moe|cute]] but [[Badass Adorable|tough]], [[Deadpan Snarker|snarky]] exterior, it's not uncommon for her to give her best friend / implied crush [[Butt Monkey|Henry]] hell - whether he deserves it or not. And if you think what she's doing in the page image is bad, just [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNCVJW0youE check this out]. While her [[Jerkass]] qualities tend to [[Depending Onon the Writer|vary from writer to writer]] - and the cake scenes are from Season 3, in which she [[Took a Level Inin Jerkass]] (but was [[Defrosting Ice Queen|toned down]] for Season 4) - she more than qualifies for this trope.
* Eddy of [[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]] is [[Ambition Is Evil|always out for people's money]]
** How sympathetic he is depends on the episode. Some times he tries to scam the other kids out of their money, but as often as not, he [[Designated Villain|creates a good or service the other children want, and attempts to sell it to them for a fair price]]
* Wilshire Pig from ''Claymation Comedy of Horrors''.
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* ''[[Invader Zim]]'' is trying to conquer/destroy the Earth and everything on it, but because (in Gaz's words) "he's so ''[[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|bad]]'' at it", his machinations are more amusing than mortifying. Being a [[Large Ham]] doesn't hurt.
* Jason Alexander supplied the voice for another one in ''[[Duckman]]''.
* In ''[[The Venture Brothers (Animation)|The Venture Brothers]]'', Rusty Venture fits the trope perfectly. Greedy and selfish, the [[Brilliant but Lazy]] super scientist regularly neglects his sons as well as takes them around the world on dangerous adventures. {{spoiler|The bigger reason why he is so neglectful is because he knows that when they die (they have died a LOT) he can just clone new ones. He becomes much more protective once he loses his backup clones.}}
* Dan of ''[[Dan Vs.]]''.
* [[Beavis and Butthead]].
* Allen and his father, Richard in ''[[Allen Gregory]]''. Allen constantly hits on the principal (who an obese 60 year old woman), insults his teacher, and lashes out against his sister and his father's life partner. Richard is a complete attention seeker like Allen is and is even more so if any of that attention is on his life partner, Jeremy. Richard is also never wrong, despite what everyone else tells him.
* ''[[Mad Jack the Pirate]]''.
* Rodney J. Squirrel from ''[[Squirrel Boy]]'', a [[Butt Monkey]] / [[Idiot Hero]] hybrid.
* Tak from ''[[Tak and Thethe Power of Juju]]'' would fall into this category at times.
* Brain Newport from ''[[This Just In (Animationanimation)|This Just In]]''
* Yin and Yang from ''[[Yin Yang Yo (Animation)!|Yin Yang Yo]]''.
* Nestor from [[World of Quest]]
* Bessie Higgenbottom from [[The Mighty B!]], they even had an episode [[It Makes Sense in Context|where she accuse people for stealing a locket]]
* The show ''[[Archer]]'' has, well, just about everyone in the cast. The titular protagonist Sterling Archer is probably the most prominent example, but we also have [[Action Girl|Lana Kane]], [[Non-Action Guy|Cyril Figgis]] and [[My Beloved Smother|Sterling's mother Malory]]
* Helga Pataki of '''[[Hey Arnold!]]''. She's often abrasive, and gives others (especially Arnold, her secret crush) a hard time. However, many of her flaws stem from an unhappy childhood as the unfavorite. Often times, she still remains the [[Only Sane Man]] among classmates, lamenting their stupidity.
* Rainbow Dash of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' can often be quite abrasive and arrogant towards even her friends. But some episodes also reveal that she has insecurities and a desire for attention which fuel her attitude and personality.
** Almost all the ponies (and whoever is in the spotlight) have moments of this due to the show's heavy deconstructing of the character's shortcomings and insecurities, meaning at least once, they act like a [[Jerkass]] and cause enormous problems concerning their defining flaws. The usage of Aesops and redeeming moments tends to keep them in check overall however.
 
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[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:Villains]]
[[Category:Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist{{PAGENAME}}]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/590097...1890114"