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{{trope}}
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This may seem similar to [[The Ishmael]], but it's not quite the same. [[The Ishmael]] isn't the most key player, but can still be useful, often as the [[Sidekick]]. A character falling under this trope might really be the center of attention but is simply incapable of doing anything useful.
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* Sakai Yuuji of ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]''. The [[MacGuffin|Reiji Maigo]] is the only reason he even gets to remain in the world, and he tends to hide behind his semi-protective [[Hot Chick with a Sword|flaming swordswoman]] when push comes to shove. {{spoiler|Except in the last two arcs of the second season. And VERY MUCH not so for the third season.}}
* Hiro Hiyorimi of ''[[Princess Resurrection]]'' - much more so in the anime version, where he's generally completely incapacitated while Hime and the others take down the [[Monster of the Week]].
* Yukiteru of ''[[Mirai Nikki]]'' frequently slipped into this, often sitting back and letting [[Yandere
* [[Defied Trope|Defied]] in ''[[Fate/stay night]]'', where Shirou constantly tries to be important to combat even though [[King Arthur|Saber]] is clearly far stronger. {{spoiler|He eventually succeeds, and in one timeline becomes [[Future Badass|Archer]].}}
* The kids in ''[[Final Fantasy Unlimited]]''.
* The main character in the anime adaption of [[Agatha Christie]]'s works is somewhat of a Mary Sue, who rarely has any important roles beyond finding [[Red Herring]] clues. She does get [[A Day in the Limelight]] when she substitutes a one-shot character who plays a crucial role in the novel that arc was based on.
* Minato of ''[[Sekirei]]'' starts out this way, but later on begins to be a bit of a [[The Strategist|planner]]. It can't really be helped considering he is [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|the heart]] in a series of super powered [[Action Girl
** Plus, as an Ashkabi, {{spoiler|if he dies, so do all 6 of his Sekirei.}}
* Nina from ''[[Mamotte Lollipop]]''.
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** [[Lampshaded]]. The title Hetalia comes from the Japanese words for 'useless' and 'Italy'.
* Played with in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. Shinji isn't a Useless Protagonist but ''Shinji'' himself and a number of other characters view him as this. It's a major part of the crippling inferiority complex Shinji has.
* Pick a [[Hentai]] anime or manga. 1): Does it revolve primarily around rape? 2): Is the focus character a rape victim rather than a rapist? If the answer to both questions is yes, he or she will probably be this. (Exceptions tend to be [[Pinball Protagonist
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* {{smallcaps|[[Puma Man]]}}! To the extent than [[Hypercompetent Sidekick|Vadinho the Aztec priest]] has to do anything more difficult that jumping around like an idiot or wrestling Donald Pleasance.
* Also from the realm of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''; Mark English, the protagonist of ''[[Devil Doll]]''. After spending the entire movie investigating the proceedings, the situation resolves itself without his help.
* Jason from ''[[The Forbidden Kingdom]]''. He's the protagonist of a Kung Fu
* [[Indiana Jones]], at least in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]].'' While he does plenty of heroic stuff, his actions have ''absolutely no effect'' on the plot of the movie or its resolution. Remove him from the story and pretty much exactly the same things would have happened.
** Well, Marian would have been slowly and painfully tortured to death by Nazis without his intervention, so he's got that going for him.
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== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[Jonny Quest]]'', evil foreign governments, multi-national corporations, and billionaire supervillains send henchmen in droves to steal from Benton Quest... there's not much that protagonist Jonny, a young child, can actually do about any of this. He's pretty worthless in most episodes, sometimes making things worse; but one way or another, it's either Benton Quest or Race Bannon who saves the day.
** Played with, and averted, in the movie ''[[Jonny Quest
*** Also averted in [[The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]] as the creators of the show aged up Jonny, Jessie and Hadji and made them the main protagonists with Race and Benton backing them up more often than not.
**** Averted in the 1986 comico series, where Jonny took out an enemy plane ''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|with a handgun and saved Race Bannon's life when their plane crashed.]]''
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** Also Gadget did occasionally come in rather useful ''[[The Fool|completely by accident]]''.
** About five instances out the 86 episode long original series, Gadget uses genuine (and deliberate) competance to help thwart MAD or save someone ([[Papa Wolf|usually Penny]]). They are rare, but often quite a sight to behold.
* ''[[The Dreamstone]]'' tended to swerve between Rufus and Amberley as [[Hero Protagonist
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:This Index Is Useless]]
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