History RefusalOfTheCall / AnimeAndManga

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Ryuuken Ishida is a [[ArcherArchetype quincy]]. Not just any quincy, but one powerful enough to [[CurbstompBattle curbstomp]] his very gifted son, Uryuu. However, he utterly refuses to use his power and the only time he was ever asked why, his response consisted of BlatantLies that left Uryuu angry with him for years. Uryuu's grandfather did once say Ryuuken's refusal to be a quincy resides with some kind of DeclarationOfProtection but the exact details weren't explained for a long time [[spoiler:and they involved the death of Ryuuken's wife/Uryuu's mother, Kanae.]] With the quincies and shinigami currently at war and Ryuuken apparently wanting nothing to do with either side, the story has made him a clear case of HeroicNeutral and a very strong contender for a NeutralNoLonger fate, [[spoiler:up until the ''very'' end]].

* In ''LightNovel/MyTeenRomanticComedySNAFU'', [[FriendlessBackground Hachiman]] [[TheCynic Hikigaya]] is adverse to joining the service club and leaving his self-imposed solitude. Good or bad, the call can make sure he doesn't graduate in only 3 years.

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Madoka, the title character of the show, is understandably resistant in accepting a contract to become a MagicalGirl. [[spoiler:Which is kind of the point of the series, as it becomes increasingly clear as the series goes on that being a MagicalGirl is ''not a good thing''.]]

** Fugo in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' refuses to go along with Giorno and Bucciarati's crusade against [[BigBad their boss]], calling it a SuicideMission. [[spoiler: He's sadly proven right, as every member of the gang aside from Jojo and Mista ends up dying by Diavolo's hands. In ''LightNovel/PurpleHazeFeedback'' he rejoins what's left of the team but its canonicity is ambiguous.]]

* After Shirogane was reelected as StudentCouncilPresident in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', he offered the positions of Auditor and General Affairs Officer to Iino and Osaragi (the positions having previously been filled by two unseen third-years). Iino accepted, but Osaragi stated she had no interest in actually being on the council, so the position of General Affairs Officer remained unfilled for the entire term. [[spoiler:And when Iino becomes the new President the following year near the end of the series, Osaragi once again turns down the offer.]]

* One side hero in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', name of Jyuza, adhered to his trope. Jyuza is part of the Nanto Five Chariot Stars who defend the Last Nanto General. When Jyuza is sent a note telling him that he must jump into action to stop Raoh from getting to the Last Nanto General....he slices up the note saying "how stupid!", claiming that he'd rather be as free as a cloud. Course, since this is the series where AnyoneCanDie, he's gotta answer the call sooner or later. You know what that means...

* After Shirogane was reelected as StudentCouncilPresident in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', he offered the positions of Auditor and General Affairs Officer to Iino and Osaragi (the positions having previously been filled by two unseen third-years). Iino accepted, but Osaragi stated she had no interest in actually being on the council, so the position of General Affairs Officer has remained unfilled ever since.

* The ''Anime/PrettyCure'' series is well acquainted with this little trope.
** In the second episode of ''Anime/YesPrecure5'', when Rin is asked to become the second Pretty Cure, her response is "No thanks, I'll pass." Eventually, she is forced into it when Nozomi is in danger and Rin is the only one around who could save her. Karen, too, refuses to try again when her pinky catch breaks apart.
** It happens in ''Anime/HeartCatchPrettyCure'' in the same exact way, except Erika didn't want to because of other responsibilities. She changes her mind when she sees how awesome it is (and when she sees Tsubomi get herself into trouble.)
*** Itsuki's the same way - Potpourri chose her to be a Precure, but she didn't feel she was worthy. It isn't until her brother is turned into a monster that she takes it up.
*** Then, there's Yuri, the former Cure Moonlight. The first time, Tsubomi's grandma has to remind Tsubomi and Erika that she can't transform. The second time, Potpourri tries to recruit her, but she turns it down. It isn't until the Precure Trials that she's dragged back, kicking and screaming.
** [[spoiler:Ellen]] of ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'' tries to run away from the call [[spoiler:due to the guilt of her actions while with Mephisto. Hummy and the Fairy Tones are very insistent and very forgiving.]]
** Alice of ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'' refuses to become Cure Rosetta initially due to the fact that she kinda has rage control problems, stemming from the fact that she beat down a few bullies when she was younger.
** Kirara of ''Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure'' refuses to ''stay'' Cure Twinkle at first due to her busy lifestyle.
** Homare of ''Anime/HugttoPrettyCure'' gets hit with this after she has a panic attack trying to get her Mirai Crystal and fails.
* Kouji Kabuto JumpedAtTheCall in the original ''Anime/MazingerZ''. In the first timeline seen in ''Manga/ShinMazingerZero'', he refused the call and we got to see the outcome. It was not pretty (unless your definition of pretty includes the planet scorched away and humanity wiped out [[spoiler:by Mazinger-Z]]).

* Zakuro in ''Manga/TokyoMewMew''. She was already a [[MagicalGirl Mew Mew]] by this point -- her "refusal" concerned joining the team.
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' just loves this trope:
** In [[Manga/CodenameSailorV her solo series]], Minako (Sailor Venus) initially thought it was a prank (admittedly she initially had the call when a talking white tomcat came on her in the shower), and first transformed because she was being actively attacked by the youma she had just stumbled on, and [[IJustWantToBeNormal toyed with the idea of retiring for most of the series]] (and [[TenMinuteRetirement actually did it once-for all of five minutes before a group of youma showed up and she decided to take them down]]). Considering she's ultimately revealed to be [[MarriedToTheJob the kind of person who would always choose her duty over happiness, with her duty being Sailor Venus]], the {{Irony}} is rather amazing.
** Usagi (Sailor Moon) [[IJustWantToBeNormal just wanted to be normal]], only agreed to get powers in order to save her friend Naru, and even got out of having them once when she died at the end of the [[Anime/SailorMoon original anime]]'s first series. She never got out of it in the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]], though she killed herself after being forced to kill her lover; they were ''both'' reborn and she had to fight again immediately afterward.
** Haruka (Sailor Uranus) in the first anime refuses until a daimon is about to kill Michiru (Sailor Neptune), who is wounded trying to protect her. She is warned by Michiru not to say yes just to save them because she can't take it back once she does. She says yes finally anyway.
** Ami (Sailor Mercury) in ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'' refuses because she believes Usagi only befriended her so that she'd join up. As usual, a battle forces her to make the choice - although afterward, she claims to Usagi that she really does want to fight with her, probably still hoping it will let them become friends.
* Nakajima Youko in ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'' spends an unusually long portion of the entire first StoryArc of the series refusing the call in various ways.
* This is Jomy's initial reaction in ''Manga/TowardTheTerra''. Mixed with a great dose of [[IJustwantToBeNormal reluctance in accepting his role as a Mu]].
* Ginrai in ''Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'' initially refuses to get involved in the Autobot/Decepticon war, and only changes his tune when Hydra and Buster kill some of his friends while trying to get to him.
* Asuna of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' seems to fit this. When she first finds out about magic, she wants nothing to do with it, and seems downright offended by how it's going against her nice and orderly world (the fact that it seems to be losing her crush isn't helping.) [[spoiler: She actually falls into the "did this before, but forgot about it" category, having erased her memory [[OlderThanTheyLook ten years prior]]]]. Needless to say, given that the principal put Negi (The Call personified as a cute boy) in her room and he won't hang up, she gives in eventually.
** [[MetaGuy Chisame]] puts up even more of a fight, and sort of succeeds in getting away from the weirdness...only to realize that now her life is incredibly boring, so she heads back in.
* ''Manga/TheLuciferAndBiscuitHammer'': Yuuhi gets picked to be the Lizard Knight, protect the princess, save the world, and so forth but flat out refuses to have anything to do with the whole affair and throws his [[MentorMascot spiritual advisor]] out the window ([[ClingyMacGuffin several times]]). That doesn't stop golems from trying to kill him, though, and the Princess's oath to destroy the world herself finally convinces him to participate wholeheartedly.
* Kamina Ayato from ''Anime/RahXephon'' waffles between this and being willing to fight throughout the show.
* In ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'', Himeno at first doesn't even ''believe'' the Leafe Knights when they tell her she's the titular MagicalGirl, thinking they're pulling a prank. When a monster actually shows up, she's rebuffed by the TallDarkAndSnarky leader of the knights and runs off--but then returns when she decides she actually ''does'' want to help.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** Josuke in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'' was [[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter much more relaxed and down-to-earth than]] [[LegacyCharacter his predecessors]], and after meeting Jotaro he decides that he doesn't want to get involved with the Joestar family drama or the hunt for [[StarterVillain Angelo]]. Then [[BerserkButton Angelo insulted his hair]] and the rest is history. It happens again in the second half of the story when they get word that a SerialKiller might be in town. Josuke, fairly reasonably from a realistic perspective, feels that a mundane serial killer is a police problem, not his. Then the serial killer [[spoiler:kills one of his friends ([[BigBad and turns out to be superpowered after all]])]].
** Fugo in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' refuses to go along with Giorno and Bucciarati's crusade against [[BigBad their boss]], calling it a SuicideMission. [[spoiler: He's sadly proven right, as every member of the gang aside from Jojo and Mista ends up dying by Diavolo's hands. In ''LightNovel/PurpleHazeFeedback'' he rejoins what's left of the team but its canonicity is ambiguous.]]

** Chiriko intially ignores the mark on his foot designating him as a Suzaku warrior because he's terrified of what duties will be placed on him. Quite a natural reaction, considering he's 13 years old; in fact, this is his default state whenever the mark ''isn't'' glowing. [[spoiler:Which makes it all the more horrific when he's forced to kill himself as a TakingYouWithMe sacrifice later in the series.]]

* In the first arc of ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys'', Kenji tries to [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether put the band back to together]], with partial results. A few join out of curiosity or loyalty, but at least one initially back out out of duty for family and jobs. [[spoiler: Of course, they all join him later on after the timeskips]]
* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Shinji at first refuses to pilot Unit 01, out of a mixture of fear, confusion, and anger over the circumstances that got him to that point, only to have [[ManipulativeBastard his father]] essentially guilt him into the task by forcing a very badly injured Rei to try to crawl out of her gurney to take his place. He ultimately agrees to pilot.
** He also quits later after his father crosses the MoralEventHorizon during the Bardiel incident only to return as Zeruel [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomps]] the rest of NERV.

* In ''Manga/SgtFrog'', while Fuyuki is [[JumpedAtTheCall wildly enthusiastic]] about [[AlienAmongUs finding a live alien in his house]], Natsumi wants to ignore the whole thing. Even long after this proves impossible, she occasionally wishes Keroro and his squad would go away [[IJustWantToBeNormal and let her live a normal life.]]
* ''Manga/Reborn2004'' is basically an endless cycle of Tsuna refusing the call, his friends being put in danger, and him thus being forced to accept the call for just long enough to deal with this new threat. Each arc starts off this way, and several ''individual battles'' are sparked by near-identical internal struggles.

* Kyouya in ''Literature/DemonCityShinjuku'' is initially uninterested when OldMaster Agni Lai asks him to face his father's RivalTurnedEvil and save the world from being overrun by demons. Master Lai doesn't exactly help his case by predicting that there's no way Kyouya can win at his current level of skill, which irks Kyouya enough that he refuses the call a second time when it's delivered by [[TheOjou Sayaka Rama]], whose father was attacked by the BigBad. Only when Sayaka ventures into danger herself does Kyouya relent and go after her to take up the mission.
* ''Anime/TheIdolMaster'' - Ritsuko really doesn't want to replace Azusa on the Ryuugu Komachi unit when she gets the mumps. Thing is, she doesn't [[ButThouMust have a choice.]]

* In ''LightNovel/MyTeenRomanticComedySNAFU'', [[FriendlessBackground Hachiman]] [[TheCynic Hikigaya]] is adverse to joining the service club and leaving his self-imposed solitude. Good or bad, the call can make sure he doesn't graduate in only 3 years.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Ryuuken Ishida is a [[ArcherArchetype quincy]]. Not just any quincy, but one powerful enough to [[CurbstompBattle curbstomp]] his very gifted son, Uryuu. However, he utterly refuses to use his power and the only time he was ever asked why, his response consisted of BlatantLies that left Uryuu angry with him for years. Uryuu's grandfather did once say Ryuuken's refusal to be a quincy resides with some kind of DeclarationOfProtection but the exact details weren't explained for a long time [[spoiler: and they involved the death of Ryuuken's wife/Uryuu's mother, Kanae.]] With the quincies and shinigami currently at war and Ryuuken apparently wanting nothing to do with either side, the story has made him a clear case of HeroicNeutral and a very strong contender for a NeutralNoLonger fate, [[spoiler: up until the ''very'' end.]]
* ''Anime/GearFighterDendoh'' has one of the most amusing examples ever: Hokuto and Ginga, two grade schoolers, receive the call by [[FallingIntoTheCockpit being kidnapped by the titular mecha and getting shoved in the cockpit]] as they tried to escape a {{Robeast}} and having Vega (one of the two who had actually trained to pilot Dendoh) explaining them how to move it... At which point they use Dendoh to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere walk away as fast as they can while they try and figure how to run]]. They only fight when Vega tricks them in punching the robeast as it flew over Dendoh to report about the encounter.
* Makoto of ''Anime/GreatPretender'' claimed to be the greatest ConMan in Japan, and gets scouted by Laurent, the greatest ConMan in the ''world''. After Laurent brings him along for a high-stakes job and he almost dies in the process, he's offered a chance to officially join the team. The first arc concludes with him chickening out and turning himself in to the police in an attempt [[ReformedCriminal to go straight]], only for the next to start with Laurent tricking him into coming along for what he promises to be OneLastJob the second he gets out of jail.

* Sei Iori of ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'' is shown to be an awesome Gunpla Battler, but he's so scared of getting a Gunpla he worked on damaged, he relegates the fighting to Reiji. It isn't until he finally gets over it near the end that he finally shows his true potential.
* In ''Anime/CuteHighEarthDefenseClubLove'', Atsushi and En's initial response to being tasked with saving the earth by a talking pink marsupial is to, very wisely, run away.
* In ''Anime/GirlsBeyondTheWasteland'', Uguisu tries this at first. But she is eventually convinced to do the artwork after the others praise the drawings she's posted online.
* A rare ''villainous'' example from the manga adaptation of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' -- the Council of Disney Villains offered a position to [[spoiler: [[WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland the Cheshire Cat]]]]. [[SpannerInTheWorks He then immediately started helping Sora]].
* An inversion occurs in ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'' as part of [[CrystalDragonJesus Sank Kaiser Olivie's]] backstory. As the wars between the kingdoms of Ancient Belka escalate to the point that some armies have resorted to chemical and biological warfare, the Sank Kaiser alliance, one of the most powerful factions, decide it will step up and end the wars [[GodzillaThreshold by deploying the Saint's Cradle, which is a battleship capable of razing countries to the ground.]] However, only a person compatible with the battleship can activate it, and despite the number of potential candidates, none were deemed worthy[[note]]whoever is compatible with the Cradle is immediately crowned Saint King[[/note]]. Olivie was technically the last in line for this and did not need to participate in the selection, but she felt that she may have a chance to end the war, so she decided to return to her home country[[note]]she was exiled to a rival nation for political purposes[[/note]] and offer herself as a candidate. However, her closest friends and retainers ''did not'' want her to go back and thus did their best to dissuade her. Their pleas fell on deaf ears as Olivie went back anyway, and was found to be compatible with the Cradle. After her coronation, Prince Claus Ingvalt of Shutra,[[note]]the country where Olivie was exiled[[/note]] attempted one final time to keep Olivie from going to the Cradle by fighting her in a duel. However, [[WorldsStrongestMan Olivie]] proved to be a better warrior and went on to become the master of the Cradle, eventually ending the Belkan Wars.
* In ''Manga/{{Jagaaaaaan}}'', Jagasaki's freaked-out response to Doku-chan explaining his mission to hunt fractured humans is to shoot the bird in mid-sentence and run home. Unfortunately, [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive The Call Knows Where He Lives]].
* ''Manga/ReincarnatedAsTheStrongestWand'' has Reiji's soul shoved into a wand. As the witch who did it was gushing about how "lucky" he is to be TheChosenOne, he pointedly refuses her, twice. She retorts that as a wand, he CantRefuseTheCallAnymore, and then puts him on a shelf, leaving the cabin, never to return.
* On the night Yuko gained her horns and tail in the beginning of ''Manga/TheDemonGirlNextDoor'', the demon Lilith asked her to "wake up" but Yuko refuses. She still received "the Call", nonetheless.
* After Shirogane was reelected as StudentCouncilPresident in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', he offered the positions of Auditor and General Affairs Officer to Iino and Osaragi (the positions having previously been filled by two unseen third-years). Iino accepted, but Osaragi stated she had no interest in actually being on the council, so the position of General Affairs Officer has remained unfilled ever since.