History BreakoutCharacter / AnimeAndManga

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan''[='=]s Levi is beloved by the fanbase, even more so than the main characters. Thanks to his incredible fighting prowess and ability to curbstomp some of the strongest Titans, along with his monotonic insulting voice, Levi started appearing on just about every piece of [=AoT=] merchandise, got his own light novel spinoff, and most likely will stick around as one of the franchise's most popular characters.

** Hinata's popularity was so great that she got a ton of focus in the anime, both canon and filler, and became increasingly important as the manga neared its end. She's also Naruto's [[FanPreferredCouple preferred love interest]], her popularity exceeding Sakura's and making her the most popular female character in the ''entire franchise''. All of it culminated in her getting promoted to main character and Naruto's main love interest in ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', the GrandFinale to the original Naruto manga.

* Lum in ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' was supposed to be an OneShotCharacter, but fans (and Takahashi's editor) loved her so she returned in the third chapter and became a {{Deuteragonist}}, love interest, and poster girl for the series. She is often believed to be the protagonist of the series due to her iconic status ([[LampshadeHanging even she thinks she's the protagonist in Ataru's place]]). In the RealLife she is become one of the most beloved and representative characters in the manga world.

** For a character example, Kaiba, who was made to be a one use enemy for the Duel Monsters chapter and got to come back as [[BigBad a larger villain]] due to popularity, then as one of the most important characters after that, tied to the Pharaoh's backstory itself.

** Vivio, a MysteriousWaif who was introduced half-way into ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers''. Many of the mostly GirlsLove loving fandom {{Squee}}d at the prospect of Nanoha and Fate having a daughter, while others {{Squee}}d at the possibility of Nanoha having a MagicalGirl successor. Her popularity and the producers taking advantage of it becomes apparent when you realize that she's the only civilian to get a figure and that she joins the three Aces [[FourthWallMailSlot fielding questions in the third Megami Sound Stage]]. One and a half years later, one of the two fourth seasons of ''Nanoha'' was announced: ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'', [[SpinOffspring a manga starring Vivio]].

** Speaking of ''Battle of Gods'', the movie's antagonist, Beerus, has become a recurring character, with him having an important role in the story of ''VideoGame/DragonballXenoverse'': the first ''Dragon Ball Z'' game to feature an original story in a while. He also plays a role in the next movie ''Resurrection [='F'=]''. He also plays a role in ''Super'' as pretty much the main character.

** Despite the [[Manga/PhantomBlood first]] [[Manga/BattleTendency two]] Parts of the series not being all that well-known to the general public, Robert E. O. Speedwagon still remains not only the most iconic character of the Parts, but also one of the most iconic characters in the ''entire series''. This popularity eventually led to him returning as one of the main characters of ''[[VideoGame/JojosBizarreAdventureEyesOfHeaven Eyes of Heaven]]''.
** While Dio Brando may already be the series' quintessential BreakoutVillain, his [[FightingSpirit Stand]], The World, may actually be ''even more'' iconic than he is, largely thanks to the MemeticMutation surrounding the Stand. This eventually led to it [[spoiler:[[TheBusCameBack making a return]] in ''Manga/SteelBallRun'']], as well as getting a new form as The World Over Heaven in ''[[VideoGame/JojosBizarreAdventureEyesOfHeaven Eyes of Heaven]]''.
** Rohan Kishibe from ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'' is possibly the only supporting character to be ''more popular'' than the Part's protagonist, eventually leading to him getting his own [[Manga/ThusSpokeKishibeRohan spin-off manga]].
** Hol Horse started out as a standard VillainOfTheWeek in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' (one that underwent severe VillainDecay at that), but became popular enough with fans to costar in [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureCrazyDiamondsDemonicHeartbreak his own spin-off story]] ''thirty years'' since his last appearance in the main manga.

%%Needs more context about her popularity.* In ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'', Triela. Originally a secondary character, she replaces Henrietta as the central character in season 2 of the {{anime}}. [[spoiler: She even outlives Henrietta in the manga.]]

** Yamato ranked as the 11-th most popular character in the entire series (as of the One Piece World Top-100 poll that collected votes globally), and this was before she had even fought with Kaido to any significant degree. Toei Animation took note of this and made a special announcement when revealing her voice actress, and has drawn out her scenes in the anime to draw her expressions more extensively and with greater focus. It was even suggested at a point she would end up invited to join the Straw Hats.

** Shuichi Akai was introduced as a RedHerring for the Vermouth Arc but quickly orvershadowed the other two more prominent suspects of the same arc in therms of popularity for being a FriendlySniper with ImprobableAimingSkills and a [[BadassDriver Badass]] [[TheStrategist Strategist]]. The following arcs expanded much more on his backstory and turned him into a central character of the manga, to the point of a recap movie being made focused on his family backstory. He's also a central character in at least 3 of the movies.
** Subverted with Natsuki Koshimizu, which quickly became an EnsembleDarkHorse after her debut case which almost lead to her becoming this, enough for talks about her starring a videogame to be proposed. However, given [[spoiler: she was the criminal of that particular case]], Aoyama refuses and never brought back the character again.........that didn't stop him from adding later on the manga the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Masumi Sera and turning her into a recurring character.