History Main / TheUnFavourite

* ''TheUnfavorite/AttackOnMika''

* ''WebAnimation/AttackOnMika'': [[TheUnfavorite/AttackOnMika Has it's own page here.]]

* ''WebAnimation/MoniRobo'':
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz6LKhb5L7c Nano]] was neglected by her uncle who only cared about her little brother Yuki. Unlike most examples, Yuki actually loves her and was sad to see her go.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le1q1cV1t5Q Yuki]] lost favor with his parents due to him losing his right eye to an accident that he saved his brother Ryugi from. Ryugi eventually grew up spoiled and ended up arrested when he tried to take advantage of a patient as a doctor.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZKMQlc6g2A Masae Ariki]] was not treated well by her mother in favor of her sister Tsumugi, because the latter is more attractive. Masae lost weight and got a job while Tsumugi got married to rich man who ended up leaving her due to her weight gain and bad attitude. Tsumugi and her mother tried to get money from Masae but she refused.

* TheUnFavourite/RealLife

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kyNZl8nDY0 Lucy]] was ignored by her mother in favor of her younger sister Sheila, because she was smart and her mother felt that smart children are disrespectful. They even asked Lucy not to bring her construction worker husband on account of his job.

* ''WebAnimation/RevengeFilms'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTw4KvrM9vI Ali]] was spoilt by her parents in contrast to the protagonist who they ignored despite her achievements. They even asked the protagonist to take the fall when Ali was caught shoplifting.

* ''WebAnimation/AttackOnMika'':
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwvFCU2UiCo Kaori]] was not treated well by her father and stepmother unlike her stepsister Misaki. She eventually left with Misaki and cut ties with her parents.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu2xTJy5FaU Kotomi]] ended up becoming this after refusing to give away Ron, her dog, after her younger sister Himeka was born. Needless to say, the tensions between Himeka and Ron escalated to the point [[spoiler:she killed the dog by feeding him an entire can of weed killer.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7fGeOHXru4 Chikage]] started off loved by her parents until her younger sister Chinami was born. From then on, she became this until she meets her longtime friend Kosuke. His history of going to a prestigious university and working for a big company warranted her greedy parents to dote on Chikage instead. [[spoiler:This drove Chinami to leave her home to marry someone better than Chikage's husband, only to find out her mark was already married, and she came back 7 months pregnant.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ0-OUb0TQg Aoi]] was mistreated by her parents in favor of her sister Nina. When she leaves home after they refuse to invite her to Nina's wedding, she stays at her friend Hibiki's house. Years later, her parents come back to beg Aoi to stay at Hibiki's place because [[spoiler:Nina's husband turned out to be a psychopath who made their lives (apparently except Nina's) hell.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UONL1BtRbto Akira]] is a rare male example. His parents hate him for being an otaku while they dote on his sister Nagi. Things escalate when they kick him out of the house, claiming that Nagi told them he touched her. The next day however, they drag him back home in his way to school [[spoiler:to cover for Nagi's modeling career, only for the girl to show up and tell them she quit, and then calls them out for their lying.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og9JjMn0YeY Rui]] became this after losing her right eye to malignant melanoma, with her sister Misa rubbing her disability on her face and stealing her boyfriend Kaname from her. However, he eventually [[spoiler:breaks up with Misa, driving her into a self-inflicted car accident that costed her her whole eyesight and left her paraplegic.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxk6n3iFrSA Saki]] aspires to be an artist despite being put down by her parents in favor of her spoiled younger sister Kirari. [[spoiler:After their parents accidentally ruin the latter's paintings to abuse the former, Kirari gets discouraged from art after teacher Goriyama Tekken reviews her crappy paintings.]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaNgmAtw67A Fuyuka]] is a case where she is this to ''one'' parent. Her lazy mother decided to divorce her father and take Natsumi with her while leaving Fuyuka with him. However, Natsumi becomes pregnant with a construction worker, which leads to the abusive hag kicking her out and coming back to swap her with Fuyuka.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfe5QOk1GmE Eiji]] is another male example. His dad always favored his sister Sayuki over him, even when she doesn't treat him that way. Things escalate when Sayuki defends Eiji from him, saying she is going to marry him in the future.
** Another one starring [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW3IGnP0TW8 Saki]] has her treated like a maid by her parents and made to do chores and make food for them and her younger sister Yuki. Things escalated when she talked back to her parents for leaving her home alone while taking Yuki into a week-long vacation, resulting in them locking her up in the veranda for the timeframe.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogIjS7RAlYI Ai Sonozaki]] was ignored by her parents in favor of her cuter, younger sister Maria. She appears to finally be allowed into a family trip, only to be ordered to go to the toilet at the last minute. When Ai stopped to help a tattooed young man find his mother's charm afterward, her family left her behind at the airport.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r60_7aUsVLQ Satoshi Nohara]] is another male example, only this time it's for being born with three fingers in one hand. His mother always favored his younger sister Kasumi, who also abuses him.

* In Creator/EugeneONeill's ''Theatre/BrightonBeachMemoirs'', the main subplot centers around a prolonged spat between the main protagonist's cousin Nora and Nora's mother, apparently about Nora wanting to audition for a Broadway play and her mother saying no. At the end of the play, Nora finally admits that the audition was just the final straw, and that the real root of her anger and frustration is that she feels like ever since her father died, she's been an afterthought to her mother, as her mother focuses a disproportionate amount of attention on Nora's sickly sister Laurie. (In fairness, it's suggested elsewhere in the script that Nora was likely her ''dad's'' favorite, so things probably balanced out to some extent when both parents were around -- but after their father died, their mother's continued favoritism of Laurie just left Nora as the odd one out.)

* In Creator/EugeneONeill's ''Theatre/BrightonBeachMemoirs'', the main subplot centers around a prolonged spat between the main protagonist's cousin Nora and Nora's mother, apparently about Nora wanting to audition for a Broadway play and her mother saying no. At the end of the play, Nora finally admits that the audition was just the final straw, and that the real root of her anger and frustration is that she feels like ever since her father died, she's been an afterthought to her mother, as her mother focuses a disproportionate amount of attention on Nora's sickly sister Laurie. (For that matter, she seems to suggest that her relationship with her mother wasn't great even ''before'' her father's death -- it's just that, given what she says about her strong relationship with her father elsewhere in the script, she likely started to feel the disparity much more acutely once she no longer had another parent to give her the attention she lacked from her mother.)

* In Creator/EugeneONeill's ''Theatre/BrightonBeachMemoirs'', the main subplot centers around a prolonged spat between the main protagonist's cousin Nora and Nora's mother, apparently about Nora wanting to audition for a Broadway play and her mother saying no. At the end of the play, Nora finally admits that the audition was just the final straw, and that the real root of her anger and frustration is that she feels like ever since her father died, she's been an afterthought to her mother, as her mother focuses a disproportionate amount of attention on Nora's sickly sister Laurie. [[note]]For that matter, she seems to suggest that her relationship with her mother wasn't great even ''before'' her father's death -- it just became more acute to her due to no longer having another parent around to make up some of the attention she wasn't getting from her mother.[[/note]]

* In Creator/EugeneONeill's ''Theatre/BrightonBeachMemoirs'', the main subplot centers around a prolonged spat between the main protagonist's cousin Nora and Nora's mother, apparently about Nora wanting to audition for a Broadway play and her mother saying no. At the end of the play, Nora finally admits that the audition was just the final straw, and that the real root of her anger and frustration is that she feels like ever since her father died, she's been an afterthought to her mother, as her mother focuses a disproportionate amount of attention on Nora's sickly sister Laurie.

* {{TheUnFavourite/Literature}}

* New York is even worse when it comes to their basketball teams. The Manhattan-based New York Knicks are the most valuable team in the NBA, get a ton of press, and regularly sell out all of their games no matter what their record is. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets are largely an afterthought in the media and they've often struggled to get fans in the seats. This dynamic has best best displayed during the 2020-21 season. The Nets became one of the favorites for the championship following their acquisitions of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden and NYC largely does not care because the Knicks experienced a resurgence under a core of young players the team drafted and just ''made'' the playoffs for the first time in a decade. When playoff tickets went on sale to the public, the Knicks sold theirs out in ten minutes while the Nets had to resort to offering discounts in order to fill their arena, even with limited capacity due to the effects of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic.

This is the child who's the big [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent let-down]] to their parents, the daughter that was supposed to be a son (or vice-versa), the child the parents had by accident when they'd already decided they didn't need another mouth to feed or they wanted to be done raising children, [[RedHeadedStepChild the adoptive, foster, or stepchild that came before the parents had a biological child]], the illegitimate child conceived by [[AffairBlameTheBastard infidelity on the part of one of the parents]] (if not [[ChildByRape even worse]]). But all in all, this is basically the kid who is always getting the short-end of the stick. In some extreme cases, this may cause RichSiblingPoorSibling, especially if one sibling is forced into service to the other.

A variant is where the Unfavorite is actually highly successful and [[TheDutifulSon dutiful]], but can never get the [[WellDoneSonGuy approval of his parents]], simply because their sibling will always do "better" in their parents' eyes. ("Hey look, Dad, I won the Nobel Prize for Physics!" "Only one? That's nothin' -- your brother won Employee of the Month at Shop 'n Go 3 times!"). The Unfavorite doesn't need to play second fiddle to an actual sibling, and can even be an only child. Unfavorites without a sibling are often unwanted or unexpected children and can even, in perhaps an extreme case, be passed over for the family pet.

A [[MiddleChildSyndrome middle child]] can feel like this. Can easily escalate into BlackSheep or CainAndAbel, or in particularly nasty cases, one or both of the parents having a go at [[OffingTheOffspring offing the Unfavorite offspring]]. May be rooted in a DeathByChildbirth. May cross over with WellDoneSonGuy if the Unfavorite wants some recognition. If the favorite of the parents isn't even a member of their family, it's a case of WhyAreYouNotMySon. When each parent has one favorite and one Unfavorite, it's JacobAndEsau. In a workplace situation, see BosssUnfavoriteEmployee. When the parent(s) die, can become the DisinheritedChild. When even the family pet is favored over the unwanted child, they are TreatedWorseThanThePet. If this causes bad blood between the parent and their child, see HatesTheirParent.

* The "[[https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/356561013/bear-sandwich A makes breakfast for B and C]]" meme, where Character B's breakfast is a teddy bear head-shaped sandwich with fruit and a smoothie, and Character C's breakfast is just the bear head-shaped bread crust left over.

* The "[[https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/356561013/bear-sandwich A makes breakfast for B and C]]" meme, where Character B's breakfast is a bear-head-shaped sandwich with fruit and a smoothie, and Character C's breakfast is just the bear-head-shaped crust left over.

* In Creator/EugeneONeill's ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'', the main subplot centers around a prolonged spat between the main protagonist's cousin Nora and Nora's mother, apparently about Nora wanting to audition for a Broadway play and her mother saying no. At the end of the play, Nora finally admits that the audition was just the final straw, and that the real root of her anger and frustration is that she feels like ever since her father died, she's been an afterthought to her mother, as her mother focuses a disproportionate amount of attention on Nora's sickly sister Laurie.

-->'''Nora:''' I can’t even talk to you. I don’t ''exist'' to you. I have tried so hard to get close to you, but there was never any room. Whatever you had to give went to Daddy, and when he died, whatever was left you gave to [Laurie]... I used to pray I’d get some terrible disease or get hit by a car so I’d have a leg all twisted and crippled and then once, maybe just once, ''I’d'' get to crawl into bed next to you on a cold rainy night and talk to you and hold you until I fell asleep in your arms.

* The title character of Creator/{{Sophocles}}' ''Theatre/{{Electra}}'' is neglected and abused by her mother and step-father. She loathes them both and isn't terribly hesistant about letting it be known. Orestes is also the unfavorite, but has been in exile since childhood so it's not as obvious.

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': [[spoiler:Shion Sonozaki]], though much of her ill treatment comes from Oryou, her cruel grandmother. It doesn't end well for her as she becomes Shion's first target in the Cotton Drifting and Eye Opening chapters.

* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'':
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-jTcKAne6w Tsutsuji]] was not praised for anything by her parents, though they spoil her little sister Yuzuriha. One time, Yuzuriha skipped field day so that she can play video games, Tsutsuji snapped and slapped her. Ironically their praise of her led Yuzuriha to be a deliquent and she eventually went to juvie. They did all this just so Tsutsuji could be a 'perfect child'.
** [[https://youtu.be/86Epy-UN8w4 Tokusa]] was the unfavorite. He was financially abused by his parents while his older brother gets everything. He cut off ties with his parents after being married to Yuri.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lr30PKBR-w Akane]] was abused by her mother Azami, simply because she didn't want a daughter. Meanwhile, Azami lavished all her love and attention onto her son Tokusa instead. Despite this, Akane didn't let this taint her love for her little brother and continued to act like a kind older sister to him. Tokusa was unaware of his mother's abuse of his sister, but he eventually found out after Akane became delinquent in high school in an attempt to rebel and he read her diary to figure out why his sister seemed to change so suddenly. Naturally, he was horrified and confronted their mother over it.

* In ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'', football player Michael Sandero gains a second head and supernaturally enhanced abilities and his mother announces that she likes the new head better and updates her billboard "Which Of My Children I Like Best" accordingly. Michael is The Unfavorite versus his other head. It becomes an ExaggeratedTrope when in a later episode, [[spoiler:his mother has the original head amputated.]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwvFCU2UiCo Kaori]] was not treated well by her father and step-mother unlike her stepsister Misaki. She eventually left with Misaki and cut ties with her parents.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7fGeOHXru4 Chikage]] started off loved by her parents until her younger sister Chinami was born. From then on, she became this until she meets her longtime friend Kosuke. His history of going to a prestigious university and working for a big company warranted her greedy parents to dote on Chikage instead. [[spoiler:This drove Chinami to leave her home to marry someone better than Chikage's husband, only to find out her mark was already married and she came back 7 months pregnant.]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8TBXu3xS7M Violet]] was not treated well in favor of her sister Lily, because the latter is prettier than her. Their parents forced Violet to do art for Lily and have her take all the credit. When Lily was exposed as a fraud and Violet became successful in the end, Lily and their parents tried to ask for a loan but Violet declined.

* ''WebAnimation/MangaRoom'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GJ4Q-m2ndU Hisashi]] is neglected by both of his parents in favor of his younger brother Akira, they often ask him to the chores in their house. Hisashi's parents and Akira eventually cross the line by leaving him alone in the middle of nowhere. They eventually track Hisashi down to beg him for his help after his father's company gets a bad reputation because of Akira's troubles, predictably, he refuses to help them and he will be the one who is going to abandon them.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK1_Hs_EfE4 Michiru]] was neglected by his parents in favor of his older brother. He tried working hard but it wasn't working and the parents decide to fully focus on Michiru's brother. He tried to buy his parent's love using money borrowed from Moroboshi, but he soon stopped and realized that his parents weren't going to change and decided to cut all ties with them.

* ''WebAnimation/ManiManiPeople'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK1_Hs_EfE4 Michiru]] was neglected by his parents in favor of his older brother. He tried working hard but it wasn't working and the parents decide to fully focus on Michiru's brother. He tried to buy his parent's love using money borrowed from Moroboshi, but he soon stopped and realized that his parents weren't going to change and decided to cut all ties with them.

The nasty end of ParentalFavoritism. Where there's an Alpha wolf, there's got to be a Beta. When there is a first banana, there is a second banana. This is the person in the family who can't get a break. For example, this is the child who's the big [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent let-down]] to their parents, the daughter that was supposed to be a son (or vice-versa), the child the parents had by accident when they'd already decided they didn't need another mouth to feed or they wanted to be done raising children, [[RedHeadedStepChild the adoptive, foster, or stepchild that came before the parents had a biological child]], the illegitimate child conceived by [[AffairBlameTheBastard infidelity on the part of one of the parents]] (if not [[ChildByRape even worse]]). But all in all, this is basically the kid who is always getting the short-end of the stick. In some extreme cases, this may cause RichSiblingPoorSibling, especially if one sibling is forced into service to the other.

The audience's attitude towards the Unfavorite is often based on [[AgeAppropriateAngst what age the character is]]. There's a common perception that an adult character should really have gotten over this by now and moved on, even if the viewers/readers empathize with them. A child character, on the other hand, is likely to get the audience's unreserved support.

Age notwithstanding, this is usually a character you sympathize with, because we're supposed to root for the disadvantaged; expect the favorite either to be rubbing their status in their sibling's face, be an AloofBigBrother, or completely unaware of the situation. It is, however, completely possible that the character is interpreting some behavior as favoritism -- and the other character also regards himself as the Unfavorite. (Cue SiblingRivalry.) Also, another possible situation is that the favorite is indeed aware of the situation, sympathize with the Unfavorite, and may even start the "talk with the parents" scene.

[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UONL1BtRbto Akira]] is a rare male example. His parents hate him for being an otaku while they dote on his sister Nagi. Things escalate when they kick him out of the house, claiming that Nagi told them he touched her. The next day however, they drag him back home in his way to school [[spoiler:to cover for Nagi's modeling career, only for the girl to show up and tell them she quit, and then calls them out for their lying.]]