History Main / NoSocialSkills

* Rei Kiriyama from ''Manga/SangatsuNoLion'' isn't particularly good at socializing with people, especially at school. He opts out of class events, and every lunch, he eats alone at either the roof or the stairwell leading to it. If it wasn't for his teacher dropping by every now and then, he wouldn't be talking to anyone.

* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia:''

In RealLife, people with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyssemia dyssemia]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonverbal_Learning_Disorder nonverbal learning disorders]] fit this trope. It's a symptom of certain forms of [[UsefulNotes/HighFunctioningAutism autism]], including UsefulNotes/AspergerSyndrome; a differently wired mind can make it hard to grasp social cues. Media is aware of this but tends to exaggerate its prevalence and intensity. A mild form also is common people involved in academia. That said, '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease'''

* Luna Lovegood from ''Literature/HarryPotter''. She's brutally honest, dropping some uncomfortable truths, and is either completely uninterested or completely clueless about social interactions. She also in the fifth book abruptly comes up to Harry and says she believes him "without so much as a preliminary hello".

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheSorcerersStone'' Hermione is a bossy, abrasive know-it-all who shows off in class and polices her classmates' adherence to school rules. By the time Halloween rolls around, she has not succeeded in making any friends. After Harry and Ron befriend her, her social skills get much better, though she is still known to occasionally make insensitive remarks.

** And then you've got Princess Luna, though that can be excused for being [[FishOutOfTemporalWater sealed in the moon for a thousand years.]] She's bombastic, dramatic and a bit over the top, but she comes off as {{Adorkable}} when she begins settling in. The comic books also add to this and we also see she was not as good with her subjects as Celestia was. Her lack of social skills, especially compared to Celestia's, when it came to interacting with their subjects and viewing them, may have been part of why Celestia was preferred to Luna.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1578696378086957200
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** Gaara, thanks to having a similar childhood, is not much better than Naruto--in fact, he might be even worse. ''[[LightNovel/NarutoHiden Gaara Hiden]]'' reveals he was completely unaware of [[EveryoneCanSeeIt Shikamaru and Temari's sexual tension]] (something that even [[ObliviousToLove Naruto]] noticed), and thus was the only one surprised when they got together. Further interactions with his [[spoiler:fiancée]] reveal that as great leader as he is, Gaara has little-to-no idea how to interact with other people on a more familiar level (besides his family).

** To a lesser degree, Anna, who stumbles over her first conversation with a boy ([[{{Adorkable}} adorably]]) and believes it is perfectly acceptable to marry said boy, even though she's only known him for a day. This too is {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d several times.

** In ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'', one frequently gets the feeling that Egon Spengler is more comfortable with the machinery he invents and the "spores, moulds and fungus" that he apparently collects than with human interaction. Ray Stanz isn't as bad, but his {{Adorkable}} ManChild enthusiasm can at times override his social skills.

** [[{{Adorkable}} Kozuka]] is a straight example when he was younger; he had a hard time communicating with his peers, especially girls; although he seems to have improved at PresentDay.

* Gary Bell from ''Series/{{Alphas}}'', [[JustifiedTrope justified]] as he is outright stated to be autistic. He can be very [[{{Adorkable}} sweet]], but tends towards BrutalHonesty, [[LiteralMinded literal-mindedness]], and he CannotTellALie... though he's working on the latter.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda:'' Alec Ryder is one of Earth's first [=N7s=], a OneManArmy with the skills to homebrew his own AI... and the social skills of a particularly dead rock. Even those closest to him admit he's a "prickly bastard", making it all the more astounding he managed to marry and have kids. According to [[HowDadMetMom the story his wife told their daughter]], she thought Alec's fumbling was [[{{Adorkable}} adorable]].

** Ironically, in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' both [[TheBeastmaster Gundham]] [[TroubledButCute Tanaka]] and [[TheEngineer Kazuichi]] [[{{Adorkable}} Soda]] are both like this, but choose to handle it entirely differently, with Gundham being a hammy {{Chuunibyou}} who talks in an extremely melodramatic fashion and dresses like a goth, while Kazuichi dresses like a delinquent and tries to act cool to cover up his dorky, [[NervousWreck easily-startled]] personality. The fact both of them have a DarkAndTroubledPast and were bullied in their youth is a large contributing factor.

* Abby in ''Film/LetMeIn'' due to being a vampire who has lived a nomadic life for centures. She's cold and standoffish to people. Despite needing to keep a low profile, she doesn't make much attempt to hide her undead nature ,i.e., walking in the snow barefoot. She doesn't seem to understand why people see her behaviour as odd. When she sneaks into the main character's room at night through the 2nd story window, strips naked and crawls into bed to cuddle with him before outright telling him she flew, she doesn't seem to understand why the boy is understandably confused.

* In ''Film/{{Soldier}}'', Sergeant Todd was raised from birth to be a completely obedient, emotionless soldier. When he is left for dead by his superiors he tries to reintegrate into a small community, but ultimately can't due to his underdeveloped social skills. He barely talks and except for some fleeting moments is a paragon of stoicism and actually dangerous to be around.

* Abby in ''Film/LetMeIn'' due to being a vampire who has lived a nomadic life for centures. Shes cold and standoffish to people.Despite needing to keep a low profile she doesnt make much attempt to hide her undead nature ie walking in the snow barefoot. She doesnt seem to understand why people see her behaviour as odd. When she sneaks into the main characters room at night through the 2nd story window,strips naked and crawls into bed to cuddle with him before outright tells him she flew, she doent seem to understand why the boy is understandabily confused.

One background that can lead to this trope is to be RaisedByWolves -- vgrowing up with animal parents. Alternatively, they may have had an isolated or abusive childhood or SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining. Or all three. They may be bamboozled by the opposite sex and ask WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove. Alternately, they may have had social skills in the past, but after being away on TheQuest or some other mission for an extended time, may find themselves unable to reintegrate due to being a ShellShockedVeteran or a StrangerInAFamiliarLand.

''Music/EvelynEvelyn'': The [[ConjoinedTwins titular sisters]] are awkward and painfully shy, and have a tendency to speak in [[CreepyMonotone monotone]]. This is the result of their limited human contact and frankly ''abysmal'' childhood. Luckily, they are able to express themselves quite well through their music.

* ''VisualNovel/GrisaiaNoKajitsu'': Despite his many (semi) reasonable sounding monologues about how to deal with people (especially women), it is made clear numerous times, that Yuuji is not exactly at the top of his game, when it comes to social interactions. This usually comes out as [[InnocentlyInsensitive Innocently Insensitive]], thanks to his extremely blunt personality. At one time he meets Michiru, acting somewhat out of character, he immediately jumps to the logical conclusion of "must be that time of the month", and to put his question as delicately as he can, he whispers this into her ears:

** Penny Polendina is a RobotGirl who does a terrible job of hiding it, often uses words that sound sexual out of context (such as using the word "intercourse" for conversation), and fully expects she can make friends just by walking up to random people and asking them. And even ''she'' can tell that her father, Doctor Polendina, has no social skills whatsoever. When General Ironwood asked Doctor Polendina to provide Penny with material on how people her age interact, he gave her porn. She did watch it, but wisely deleted it after.

In RealLife, people with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyssemia dyssemia]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonverbal_Learning_Disorder nonverbal learning disorders]] fit this trope. It's a symptom of certain forms of [[UsefulNotes/HighFunctioningAutism autism]], including UsefulNotes/AspergerSyndrome; a differently wired mind can make it hard to grasp social cues. Media is aware of this but tends to exaggerate its prevalence. A mild form also is common in academia. That said, '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease'''

%% Note: while a character with a bad childhood may have No Social Skills as a result, this trope is not bad childhoods, it is No Social Skills.

** On the whole, characters whose Personas are aligned with [[TarotMotifs the Emperor Arcana]] tend to be socially lacking. This is pretty ironic since the major traits of the Emperor tarot card are excelling as a leader, wisdom, and fatherly/brotherly behavior. The sole exception thus far is the protagonist of the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'', who was a HeroicMime in his game and was socially competent in his spinoff appearances.

* ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]'':

* ''Anime/YuGiOhVrains'':

Someone with no social skills is not necessarily ''stupid''--just unfamiliar with how human beings act around each other. Consequently, they will tend to be blunt, straightforward, and BrutallyHonest. They will expect everyone else to be totally honest, too. From a writing point of view they are an asset: they say things that everyone is thinking but no one would dare say out loud.

One background that can lead to this trope is to be RaisedByWolves--growing up with animal parents. Alternatively, they may have had an isolated or abusive childhood or SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining. Or all three. They may be bamboozled by the opposite sex and ask WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove. Alternately, they may have had social skills in the past, but after being away on TheQuest or some other mission for an extended time, may find themselves unable to reintegrate due to being a ShellShockedVeteran or a StrangerInAFamiliarLand.