History Main / SocialCircleFiller

** Naru/Molly is Usagi's best friend until she meets Ami and Rei, then diminishes in relevancy to the point of showing up in all of one episode in the third and fourth seasons each, after more and more Senshi are introduced. Her manga incarnation fares even worse, as she doesn't even get the dignity of acknowledging the wedge between them and lacks a personal arc.

* Exaggerated in ''Anime/SSSSGridman''. Aside from Hass and Namiko, Rikka was friends with Toiko and Tonkawa among other members of the girls volleyball team. Akane's first Kaiju rampage pretty much kills everyone in her circle but the first two girls off, meaning everyone aside the Gridman Alliance essentially treats them like this in-universe and forgets about them the next day. Rikka herself Subverts this, as she continually keeps in touch with everyone who's still alive while keeping her forgotten friends' deaths in her memory.

** An even better example are Yumiko and Kuri, two token female classmates who talk with Usagi for a few episodes until the actual main Supporting Cast is introduced -- at least Naru ''showed up'' again. Not to mention the poor girl who never got a name -- and due to being chubby is only known as 'Usagi's fat friend' by fans.

* In ''Series/{{Flash Gordon|2007}}'', Flash's BlackBestFriend Nick appears in only 4 out of 21 episodes, one of them being the pilot.

* ''ComicBook/Nova'': Since Nova was initially modelled on Spider-Man, he had a supporting cast with friends such as "Caps" Cooper and Ginger Jaye, who appeared fairly frequently when he had his own title. Once he moved to the New Warriors, and later outer space, they disappeared, and Nova's close friends nowadays are generally shown to be fellow members of the New Warriors, or other cosmic heroes.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'': Josuke is introduced with a trio of female classmates who are crushing on him. They are never seen or mentionned again and Josuke is never portrayed a ChickMagnet again. He only hangs out with fellow Stand users Okuyasu and Koichi. The example notable since, unlike the previous parts, ''Diamond Is Unbreakable'' is more slice of life and the school is a regular setting.

** Naru/Molly is Usagi's best friend until she meets Ami and Rei, then diminishes in relevancy to the point of showing up in all of one episode in the third and fourth seasons each, after more and more Senshi are introduced.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Later writers seemed to forget that ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie had friends outside of the superhero community, most notably her best friend, SecretKepper and fellow androgynous tomboy [[TomboyishName George]] Redmond. First her last name was forgotten and then she never appeared or was spoken about again in any book despite Cassie appearing all over the DCU. Like Kevin mentioned above she was a BlackAndNerdy teen friend of a teen hero from the '90s who disappeared without a trace, though in her case it likely happened because Cassie's personality was given a swift and shallow makeover in ''ComicBook/TeenTitans''.

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': While some of Tim's school friends manage to avoid this (mostly just Ives and Zo, the rest disappear over time to never be seen or spoken of again) Kevin Hudman was hit hard as later writers forgot about him so thoroughly that he was unknowingly merged with Hudson.

* In the early chapters of ''Manga/Deathnote'', Light Yagami hangs out with two unnamed friends who all but vanish afteward. Tellingly, the anime didn't include them.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'': Josuke is introduced with a trio of female classmates who are crushing on him. They are never seen or mentionned again and Josuke is never portrayed a ChickMagnet again. They are notable since, unlike the previous parts, ''Diamond Is Unbreakable'' is more slice of life and the school is a regular setting.

* Justified in Brandon Mulls novel ''Literature/TheBeyonders : A World Without Heroes", which starts off with a lot of interaction between main character Jason and his friends, the girl he likes, etc. They all become pretty irrelevant once he falls through into another world and discovers he has no way back, or even to send a message. His friends and families reaction to his disappearance is unknown, although Jason does think about it. [[spoiler: Since Jason ends up back on Earth at the end, we'll have to see if the trope ends up being averted in the sequel.]]

A couple training montages and plot twists later, the hero finds himself fighting against all odds and wanting for allies. Now would be a great time to call upon those friends that trust and like him enough to believe that the Statue of Liberty is actually a giant evil robot. Too bad those friends have ceased to exist within the plot. They are Social Circle Filler.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Marco's friends Alonzo and Ferguson were written [[EnforcedTrope because the executives wanted Marco to have friends besides Star]]. They were seen in the pilot as well as earlier episodes in the series, but by the second season they're only mentioned once (in a joke [[LampshadeHanging pointing out their absence]]), and [[IntergenerationalFriendship Marco's martial arts instructor]] basically takes over their role as "Marco's other friend(s)". [[spoiler: They and most of the show's Earth characters are given a proper sendoff when Marco leaves for Mewni early in Season 3]].

* Exaggerated in ''Anime/SSSSGridman''. Aside from Hass and Namiko, Rikka was friends with Tokiko and Tonkawa among other members of the girls volleyball team. Akane's first Kaiju rampage pretty much kills everyone in her circle but the first two girls off, meaning everyone aside the Gridman Alliance essentially treats them like this in-universe and forgets about them the next day. Rikka herself Subverts this, as she continually keeps in touch with everyone who's still alive while keeping her forgotten friends' deaths in her memory.

* Both Exaggerated and Subverted in ''Anime/SSSSGridman''. Aside from Hass and Namiko, Rikka was friends with Tokiko and Tonkawa among other members of the girls volleyball team. Akane's first Kaiju rampage pretty much kills everyone in her circle but the first two girls off, meaning everyone aside the Gridman Alliance essentially treats them like this in-universe and forgets about them the next day.

* Averted in ''Manga/BlueFlag''. Though childhood friends Taichi and Touma reconnect in their final year of highschool while also befriending Futaba, the three still frequently hang out with their other circles of friends.

* Stalkers often have a psychological filter of this nature with regards to the objects of their interest. They tend to forget or edit out the fact that those they are obsessed with have people close to them as this interrupts or ruins their fantasies.

* This is a common issue with the biographies of historical figures and famous people- the world at large is mostly interested in impressive things they have done or roles they have played in important or notable events, so superfluous details like friends or family are often downplayed or left out of the narratives, which in turn can give a skewed picture of what the person was actually like and who or what they were interested in.
* Stalkers often have a psychological filter of this nature with regards to the objects of their interest- they tend to forget or edit out the fact that those they are obsessed with have people close to them as this interrupts or ruins their fantasies.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Early on, Apple Bloom was shown to be friends with a filly named Twist. Once the Cutie Mark Crusaders were formed, Twist was stuck as a background character, and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle seem to be Apple Bloom's only friends. [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]] by [[RealLifeWritesThePlot real-life events]]: the character's voice actress, Alexandra Carter, left Vancouver for Philadelphia and is now unavailable to record any further dialogue.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Marco's friends Alonzo and Ferguson were written [[EnforcedTrope because the executives wanted Marco to have friends besides Star]]. They were seen in the pilot as well as earlier episodes in the series, but by the second season they're only mentioned once (in a joke [[LampshadeHanging pointing out their absence]]), and [[IntergenerationalFriendship Marco's martial arts instructor]] basically takes over their role as "Marco's other friend(s)". They at the very least are given a proper sendoff before [[spoiler:Marco leaves for Mewni]] in Season 3.

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': While Tim's school friends mostly manage to avoid this Kevin Hudman was hit hard as later writers forgot about him so thoroughly that he was unknowingly merged with Hudson.

* ''ComicBooks/RobinSeries'': While Tim's school friends mostly manage to avoid this Kevin Hudman was hit hard as later writers forgot about him so thoroughly that he was unknowingly merged with Hudson.