History Main / DecoyProtagonist

** Likewise in ''BirthBySleep'', although all three main characters have a playable storyline, the main protagonist is neither Ven nor Terra like everyone thought, despite the former's connection to Sora and Roxas and the latter's connection to [[spoiler:the series' main villain, Xehanort]]. It's actually Aqua who gets most of the focus.

** This could atcually be a double example - ''Lenina'' looks like she could be the protagonist at first, before Bernard is introduced.

* ''TheWire'' features an extended example: in the first season, D'Angelo Barksdale is the POV character for the criminal side of Baltimore, as McNulty is for the cop side. However, [[spoiler: he's killed off early in the second season]], while McNulty lasts through the entire show and other criminal figures step into the spotlight. This seems natural, [[spoiler: as Baltimore drug dealers tend to live short lives]].
** McNulty does fall very much into the background in season 4 though, with Prez, if anyone, serving as the main character for the cop side, [[spoiler: and he's not even a cop anymore.]]

* ''InglouriousBasterds'', despite being named after Aldo Raine's squad of sociopaths really centers around Shoshanna Dreyfus. After all, [[spoiler:in the end she's the one that manages to bring down the Nazi high command.]]

->''Listen to my story, for I may not get another chance to tell it.''
-->-- Tidus, '''FinalFantasyX'''

* ''Steambot Chronicles'' does a variant of this trope. In the optional tutorial stage, you play as [[spoiler:Mallow, the hero's childhood friend.]]

* The majorly BrokenBase of GundamSEEDDestiny always seems to be fighting over the problem of who exactly the main character ''was''. While [[{{Determinator}} Shinn Asuka]] gets all the best combat scenes, pilots a [[HumongousMecha Gundam]] painted in the traditional white/blue/red/yellow color scheme usually used to signify a main character, and is front and center in most promotional material for the show; the OlderAndWiser [[TheMessiah Kira Yamato]] takes Shinn's place as the front-and-center character halfway through the show and is portrayed as having the [[OmniscientMoralityLicense moral high ground]] over Shinn, who is supporting a character whose stated goal is the elimination of TheEvilsOfFreeWill. A fairly famous FlipFlopOfGod has named Athrun Zala, a character who goes from being Shinn's [[TheObiWan mentor]] to Kira's [[TheLancer Lancer]] around the point that the change in perspective happens as ''the'' main character of the story. While there has been much FanWank over this idea, citing it as an AssPull, it does [[MakesSenseInContext make some sense in context]]; as A) a large amount of the story is dedicated to Athrun's crisis of faith over having to side with his former [[TheEmpire ZAFT]] comrades against TheKingdom he defected to in the previous series (due to said kingdom deciding to give in to the corrupt [[TheFederation Federation]]), B) The change in series' perspective from pro-ZAFT to pro-Three Ships Alliance comes around the time when Athrun had learned of the [[BigBad Big Bad's]] master plan and jumped ship to rejoin Kira in hopes of stopping him, and C) Athrun is the one who engages and defeats Shinn (who by this point had become a ''very'' dangerous [[TheDragon Dragon]]) in very emotional single combat right before the end of the war (Kira meanwhile, is busy [[CurbStompBattle curbstomping]] the local EvilGenius).

* The sequel to Kuroshitsuji sets up Alois Trancey and Claude Faustus as the new Master and Butler duo, [[spoiler:until Sebastian comes back, and Ciel is brought back to life. All in the first episode. After all of the marketing A-1 Pictures has done for Alois and Claude, it turns out that it was done to hide the fact that Sebastian and Ciel would be returning. Bravo.]]

* ''TheWire'' features an extended example: in the first season, D'Angelo Barksdale is the POV character for the criminal side of Baltimore, as McNulty is for the cop side. However, he's killed off early in the second season, while McNulty lasts through the entire show and other criminal figures step into the spotlight. This seems natural, as Baltimore drug dealers tend to live short lives.

* Not quite played straight, but {{Inglourious Basterds}} had Lt. Aldo Raine, who appeared to be the protagonist from trailers, posters and general publicity. The film turned out to be an ensemble piece.
** Pretty common in QuentinTarantino films. For instance, ''PulpFiction'' has you believe that the main protagonists are Jules and Vincent. However, there's a big part in the middle of the film that focuses solely on Butch.
** Tarantino takes this to the point of having an entire decoy CAST in the ''GrindHouse'' film Death Proof. Half of the movie focuses on a bunch of characters where they very distinctly focus on one character who just SCREAMS FinalGirl only for her and all of the characters introduced to be [[spoiler:killed off all at once.]] After that the rest of the movie focuses on a completely different bunch of characters in a completely different area, and filmed in a completely different style. It was like watching a sequel to the movie in the middle of the first one!

* More like an entire decoy CAST in the ''GrindHouse'' film Death Proof. Half of the movie focuses on a bunch of characters where they very distinctly focus on one character who just SCREAMS FinalGirl only for her and all of the characters introduced to be [[spoiler:killed off all at once.]] After that the rest of the movie focuses on a completely different bunch of characters in a completely different area, and filmed in a completely different style. It was like watching a sequel to the movie in the middle of the first one!