History Main / BoringButPractical

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Out of all the aberrations who try to kill Raven at the mall, the one that comes closest doesn't make use of an impressive monstrous form or magical attacks but rather a completely mundane [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2018-01-05 handgun]].

** In "Scrooge [=McDuck=] the Outlaw!", when an adventure results in a western town experiencing a gold rush, Scrooge [[KnowWhenToFoldEm decides to stop focusing on getting the gold himself]], and instead sets up a business supplying the other prospectors with equipment, thus securing a tidy profit.

* Similarly in ''FanFic/UchibiSasuke'', Orochimaru decides to go after Naruto instead of Sasuke when he finds out that Naruto is a skilled accountant. Sure, having the the Sharingan would be nice and all, but Orochimaru's experience with running a village has showed him that he needs someone who can expertly handle money, paperwork, etc.

* ''Fanfic/Ben10Unlimited'': Played with. While none of Ben's alien forms are exactly boring, there are some (Clockwork, Gray Matter, [[OriginalCharacter Porkuspine]], etc) who aren't as strong/powerful/flashy as some of his other forms (Diamondhead, Four Arms, Heatblast, etc). However, even the sillier/weaker-looking alien forms have powers that can get the job done easier than other, more impressive-looking forms. Shown when, while facing Shifter, Ben ends up turning into Brainstorm (instead of Rath). She laughs at him, seeing the large-headed crab as an easy target...only for the alien's superior brain power to figure out her weakness in two seconds flat and leave her unconscious on the floor.

* ''Fanfic/Ben10Unlimited'': Played with. While none of Ben's alien forms are exactly boring, there are some (Clockwork, Gray Matter, [[OriginalCharacter Sporkupine]], etc) who aren't as strong/powerful/flashy as some of his other forms (Diamondhead, Four Arms, Heatblast, etc). However, even the sillier/weaker-looking alien forms have powers that can get the job done easier than other, more impressive-looking forms. Shown when, while facing Shifter, Ben ends up turning into Brainstorm (instead of Rath). She laughs at him, seeing the large-headed crab as an easy target...only for the alien's superior brain power to figure out her weakness in two seconds flat and leave her unconscious on the floor.

* ''WebOriginal/HamstersParadise'': The badgebears are an unspecialized group of carnohams that resemble badgers, as the name suggest, which doesn't make them stand out when compared to some of the other, more unusual fauna of the Temperocene but this flexibility combined with their omnivorous diet has allowed them to become one of the more successful animals on, the western hemisphere of the era, with the more carnivorous members of this genus becoming the top predators of the continent of Gestaltia.

* In ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'', half the reason Megumi and her 80cc Kawasaki [=KSR80=] manage to defeat the Queen of the Ridge and her much more powerful Yamaha [=TDM850=] twice and on a mountain road is that Megumi performs careful maintenance on her bike, while Queen [[BrilliantButLazy does the bare minimum]] (at least until Megumi calls her out on it right after the poor maintenance almost gets Queen in a crash). The other half is that Megumi is a ''much better'' biker... But all the maintenance she gives her bike allows it to resist Megumi's aggressive style, while the poor maintenance of Queen's bike nearly got her ''killed'' when she skidded during a race and couldn't recover.

* ''WebOriginal/{{Serina}}'': While some of the creatures of the titular terraformed moon have developed bizarre bodies and behaviors many of the more abundant species have stuck to more basic lifestyles.

* In ''Fanfic/VoyagesOfTheWildSeaHorse'', our protagonists the [[MeaningfulName Kamikaze Pirates]] were forced into a life of piracy by the corrupt navy, and have [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything no interest in pillaging or terrorizing innocent civilians]], and aren't particularly interested in wealth. As a result, they largely confine their attacks to raiding the navy and rival pirates, and whilst they do take whatever treasure they can scrape up, they focus their thievery on their enemies' ''supplies''. It's not flashy or conventionally valuable, but it allows the Kamikaze Pirates to operate for extended periods of time without the use of a home base.

*** The [[spoiler:second murder]] (technically a manslaughter, but Monokuma doesn't care) boils down to "smack victim over head with blunt object, dispose of evidence, run away" (the culprit also moves the crime scene, but this wasn't done to get away with the crime; the killer was attempting to fulfill a promise to the victim [[spoiler: to keep his [[WholesomeCrossdresser true gender]] a secret, which necessitated moving the corpse from the boys' locker room to the girls'.]]), and is only solved because the killer [[INeverSaidItWasPoison said something they should not have known]]. Most of the complications of the case come when [[spoiler:an unrelated third party discovers the crime scene early and tampers with it [[ItAmusedMe for their own amusement]]]].

* In the final chapter of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'': Apollo has to fight Phoenix himself in a civil case. Unlike most courtroom opponents, Phoenix won't insult you, physically attack you, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking or]] [[VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney air guitar]]. Instead, he'll just press ''hard'' on any openings in Apollo's arguments or screwups the player makes; give Phoenix an inch and he'll probably take the entire case. [[spoiler: Apollo is able to win because Phoenix only took the case after his client took Maya hostage and held her safety as a bargaining chip; once Apollo can prove that Maya is safe, Phoenix happily concedes.]]
** In the DLC case of the same game, the true culprit, upon realizing that Phoenix suspects him, doesn't respond with elaborate lies, evidence tampering, or scapegoating someone else -- he invokes [[MirandaRights his right to remain silent]] and just shuts up, depriving you of the chance to catch him in a lie.

** Hank Hill embodies this trope. One specific moment is in the episode "Naked Ambition," when his friends end up in an asylum after a series of misunderstandings. Dale's attempt to get Boomhauer out by swapping clothes with a patient gets him mistaken for one instead, and Boomhauer's later escape plan fails because Bill ratted it out. They rely on Hank, who simply ''talks'' to the staff and sorts things out.

* ''WebAnimation/DorklyOriginals'' had a character named Giuseppe, Mario and Luigi's brother, who this trope personified. In his first--and only--appearance [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMC9PcqHeNU Regular Guiseppe, The Third Mario Brother]] he doesn't rescue princesses or go on adventures like his brothers Mario or Luigi. Giuseppe keeps house, runs the plumbing business, and is the only one who visits their mother in the nursing home.

Fits into the Technician side of TechnicianVersusPerformer, by nature. May border on GameBreaker. Compare SimpleYetAwesome. Contrast AwesomeButImpractical; CoolButInefficient. If mass-produced, it's likely to become TheWorkhorse. Sometimes overlaps with VanillaUnit.

--->'''Aku:''' The simplest solution is the usually best one."

* ''Fanfic/ASongOfIceAndFiresThatWerentAllMyFault: Harry Dresden can overpower a whole squad of assassins with a word and a wave of his staff. Nothing short of a dragon could really take him in direct combat. But what is it that really draws attention to him, setting him up for fame and fortune? He starts manufacturing compasses for more reliable navigation at sea. As soon as he demonstrates a needle that consistently points at the linked cube at any distance, he has a backlog of orders from wealthy and influential clients who realize that this will revolutionize shipping.

* ''Animal Control'': After Patel tries to duel with a [[ItMakesSenseInContext knife-wielding crab]] and gets stabbed in the leg for his troubles, Victoria successfully captures it with a cutting board and a bucket.

* Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn is about as bog standard simple as content creation websites come and its userbase love it for this. To make an account, a person needs two things: a working email address and a name. That’s it. Any other window dressing like icons and profiles are purely optional. The site is easy to navigate with everything a person needs plainly linked on the main page. There’s no algorithm deciding what content users should see, and instead stories are presented in chronological order. An omnipresent include/exclude tag list means a reader can find the type of story they want without searching through multiple pages of the more popular pieces of media. Even the way the site looks - black easily readable font on white background - is this.

* Pretty much half the party's accomplishments in ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' rely on the RuleOfCool, but the other half come down to good old efficient stabbing. Vax, Vex, and Grog have done the majority of the damage as of Episode 56, and they mostly rely on straightforward attacks with daggers, bows, and two-handed weapons respectively (Vex has a little bit of magic, but it's nowhere near as flashy as Keyleth or Scanlan's). Even Percy -- the runner-up damage dealer to those three -- prefers to use his handgun rather than his flashier gadgets because it can fire more shots before reloading and has a much lower chance of breaking or exploding. Of course, these tactics are only boring on paper: Matt's narration makes even simple stabbing seem [[WorldOfBadass insanely cool]].

* ''WebAnimation/DorklyOriginals'' has a character named Giuseppe, Mario and Luigi's brother, who's this trope personified. In his first--and only--appearance [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMC9PcqHeNU Regular Guiseppe, The Third Mario Brother]] he doesn't rescue princesses or go on adventures like his brothers Mario or Luigi. Giuseppe keeps house, runs the plumbing business, and is the only one who visits their mother in the nursing home.