Line #70 Main/PointlessBandAid


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3	%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
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6	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1345779955087486500
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9	[[quoteright:286:[[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Band-AidBeardCloseUp_9506.jpg]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:286:Be sure you wet that thing before you remove it.]]
11
12	->''"Why does my beard have a bandage? Does that even make sense? Why has no one pointed that out?"''
13	-->-- '''Fiddleford [=McGucket=]''' (pictured), ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E7SocietyOfTheBlindEye Society of the Blind Eye]]"
14
15	For some reason, Bob wears an [[StuckOnBandAidBrand adhesive bandage strip]] on his face, all the time. It's not because he [[ThereWillBeToiletPaper cut himself shaving]], or because [[InstantBandages he's just suffered]] some AmusingInjuries -- in fact, he doesn't seem to be hurt at all. Apparently, the Band-Aid's only purpose is as an accessory to make his character design more visually interesting, or to make him easier to identify, or to make him [[RuleOfCool look cool]]. Often shows up in animation, and is rarely commented on by the characters. In black and white comics, an easy way to avoid ColorContrast confusion is to have that character wear a bandage on say, their leg.
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17	Compare {{Sarashi}}; contrast BandagedFace. A subtrope of UselessAccessory.
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19	----
20	!!Examples:
21
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Animation]]
25	* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': Wolffy's humanized form in ''Mr.Wolffy, Mr.Right!'' wears an aesthetic bandage on his right cheek, replacing the RuggedScar he has in the main series.
26	[[/folder]]
27
28	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
29	* ''Literature/{{Anpanman}}'': Frankenrobo has a crosspatch bandage on his head. Keep in mind though that Frankenrobo is a robot...
30	* ''Anime/ArmoredTrooperVOTOMS'': Mellowlink from ''Armor Hunter Mellowlink'' has a Band-Aid on his cheek just below the eye.
31	* ''Manga/CaseClosed'': Makoto Kyogoku has a bandage on his left temple.
32	* ''Anime/DinosaurKing'': {{Averted}}. Max Taylor has a band-aid on his nose in the very first episode after Chomp bites it.
33	* ''Manga/Eyeshield21'': Monta always wears a bandage on his nose. When a fan asked about this, it was confirmed he wears it just for decoration. Although this isn't the case for Monta, real football players will occasionally wear ''nasal strips'', especially receivers.
34	* ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'': {{Subverted}}. Recca's friends think the bandage on his face is just to look cool, but [[spoiler:it actually hides a katana scar he received as a baby]]. Double Subverted in that when the reveal hits in, he just put the Band-Aid back and treats it like nothing happened, and that scar was never brought up again.
35	* ''Anime/{{Hamatora}}'': Nice has three on his face.
36	* ''Anime/{{Hellsing}}'': Pip Vernedead one on his nose. He's always seen with one on, even during a flashback sequence of his childhood.
37	* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
38	** Australia has one across his nose, Wy has one on her forehead, and recently Hutt Rier was shown to have one on his left cheek.
39	** Some of the male Japanese Prefectures have those too: Saga (nose bridge), Kagoshima (left temple), Kumamoto (left cheek) and Tokyo (middle of the forehead).
40	* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'': The main character uses one for no good reason (although he does get beat up a lot). He's actually nicknamed "Band-Aid" by one of the other characters. He does have a small scar under the Band-Aid. In the anime he doesn't have it until Miu puts it on a training wound. After that, it's virtually permanent.
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42	%% Admin note: kissXsis was cut by P5 decision for violating the wiki's content policy. Do not restore the pothole.
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44	* ''Anime/LeviathanTheLastDefense'': Jörmungandr has one on her nose.
45	* ''Manga/{{Loveless}}'': {{Subverted}}. At first, it looks like Ritsuka is playing this trope straight, especially since he initially gives off an {{delinquent}} impression, but we find out later that he has [[DomesticAbuse a very]] [[AbusiveParents real]] reason for it.
46	* ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'': Els Tasmin's first appearances shows her with band-aids all over her arms. During her match with Harry, the ones on her arms have disappeared, but she still has one on her knee. When she starts appearing again as a more regular character, she no longer has any band-aids on her.
47	* ''Anime/MetalFightBeyblade'': Gingka has a band-aid on his nose.
48	* ''Manga/{{Moyashimon}}'': Aoi Mutou is introduced wearing one of these, though according to [[AllThereInTheManual the author's notes]] it's because she got sunburned on her journey back to Japan, and she eventually stops wearing it.
49	* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'':
50	** In one episode, Renge gives [[TokenMiniMoe Shiro]] a few of these (both on his face and his knee) when she's trying to turn him into a scrappy [[BrattyHalfPint "naughty type"]].
51	** Also, a later episode has the Host Club putting a bright pink one right on Kasanoda/Casanova/Bossa Nova's face (along with a few other things,) in an attempt to help change his image.
52	* ''Manga/PocketMonstersBWTheHeroesOfFireAndThunder'': Shin wears a bandage on his nose for no particular reason.
53	* ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'':
54	** Ryo Shishido always wears a Band-Aid near his left eye.
55	** Eiji Kikumaru used to have one on his nose, then started wearing it on his left cheek.
56	* ''[[Manga/Reborn2004 Reborn!]]'': Ryohei and his First Generation Counterpart always have bandages on their noses.
57	* ''Manga/SpiritCircle'': TheProtagonist always wears a bandage over his cheek. It turns out he's wearing it to cover a rather bizarre birthmark he has on said cheek. [[spoiler:Said birthmark came from a past life where he had the mark burned onto his cheek by a witch he was ordered to kill, and that mark has persisted through multiple future lives, representing her hatred of him even through reincarnation (though that was not the life where her hatred for him began.]]
58	* ''Anime/TenchiMuyoGXP'': The main character Seina Yamada wears a Band-Aid on his forehead (that somehow goes ''under'' his hair) most of the show. Initially, it could be due to him being a CosmicPlaything, but after being enhanced he's almost invulnerable and still keeps it, so it fits.
59	* ''Manga/WastefulDaysOfHighSchoolGirls'': Yamai has one on her right cheek, which is part of her {{Chuunibyou}} package, but she often uses them to hide pimples.
60	* ''Anime/YokaiWatch'': Bear has a permanent bandage on his face to signify he is the BruiserWithASoftCenter of his group.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Comic Books]]
64	* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': In early comics, Deadpool's rival T-Ray wore a bandage across the bridge of his nose all the time. According to a letter column, it wasn't originally pointless, having been put there to hold his nose to his face after it ''fell off''; eventually his HealingFactor took care of the problem, but he kept wearing it for no real reason.
65	* ''ComicBook/{{DMZ}}'': [[TheProtagonist Matty Roth]] inexplicably starts wearing a bandage over the bridge of his nose in issue 3 and has it for the remainder of the story, spanning several years. It disappears briefly during a [[DependingOnTheArtist temporary artist change]] and then quickly returns.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
69	* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': Tyler has a bandage on his cheekbone to emulate Nelly as described in the RealLife section.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
73	* ''Film/NightOnEarth'': The Parisian taxi driver has a bandage on his forehead. The director admitted in the DVD extras it was there for visual interest.
74	* ''Film/PulpFiction'': Marcellus Wallace has a bandage on the back of his neck that is never explained or commented on, but is highly visible during a scene in the movie where he is interviewing another character. This led to the EpilepticTree that the briefcase contained Marcellus' soul, and it was removed from the back of his neck, hence the Band-Aid. In reality, it was just there to cover a scar on Ving Rhames' neck.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Literature]]
78	* One of Creator/BillCosby's published anecdotes "Was Tarzan a Three-Bandage Man?" is about the neighborhood kids wearing band-aids over no injuries whatsoever in trying to make themselves look tough.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
82	* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica\|2003}}'': In earlier seasons, Starbuck had a largish dressing on her back whenever she was seen with her shoulders bare. This was never remarked upon, although she'd usually been involved in sufficient rough-housing that you could infer she'd grazed herself. (The real purpose was to cover Katee Sackhoff's tattoo of a cross, which was inappropriate in BSG's pantheistic society. In later series, it was covered with a fake tattoo of a stepped pyramid. Or sometimes they didn't bother.)
83	* ''Series/CelebrityJuice'': Keith Lemon, a character played by British comedian and actor Leigh Francis, always wears a bandage around his right hand and wrist. In the past, it was explained as covering up a risqué tattoo but now the reason seems to be it's a form of artistic expression. A previous character portrayed by Francis, [[Series/BoSelecta Avid Merrion]], always wore a neck brace.
84	* ''Series/CodeLyokoEvolution'': It's partial a LiveActionAdaptation of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' (it's only so for the InUniverse real-life parts) and Jim Moralès' actor faithfully sports the band-aid.
85	* ''Series/LesFillesDaCote'': CampGay gym manager Gérard [[VanityIsFeminine is distraught]] about a pimple that has erupted on his right cheek and considers this blemish has ruined his looks. After trying to conceal it from gym customers, he rummages in the first aid box and puts a very big stickling plaster over it, announcing "this will fix it!" Which of course only draws attention to what people might otherwise have not even noticed. A lot of concerned people either blink in astonishment or anxiously ask what happened.
86	* ''Series/RabCNesbitt'': The title Glasgow anti-hero always has a dirty cloth bandage around his forehead, sweatband-style. Eventually, he meets his Spanish counterpart, who also wears one and addresses him as "Bandage!"
87	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': John Belushi inadvertently cut Buck Henry with his sword during a Samurai sketch. For the rest of the show, the other cast members sported Band-Aids in tribute to Henry.
88	* ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'': Newscaster Les Nessman always has at least one Band-Aid visible. It was eventually explained that Les owned a large dog that [[TheUnseen we never see]]. In RealLife, however, the actor playing Les suffered an injury prior to the taping of the first episode and wound up wearing a bandage during filming. He decided to make it a trademark of the character and tried to avoid wearing a Band-Aid in the same place twice.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Video Games]]
92	* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'': SIE wears a band-aid on her left arm. The player never sees her get injured there, but she is a mercenary.
93	* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'': Bandages (one on the cheek, one across the bridge of the nose) are just cosmetic accessories. Occasionally, villagers will ask if your character has hurt themself.
94	* ''VideoGame/ApeEscape 2'': Jimmy, the protagonist, wears a bandage on his nose. It is never explained why.
95	* ''VideoGame/BloonsTowerDefense'': In the sixth game, Gwendolin wears two adhesive bandages in a cross on her left cheek. Part of it actually looks like it's sticking to her ''eye''.
96	* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'':
97	** Crazy Earl in [[VideoGame/Borderlands1 the first one]]. Granted, in the first game he lives in a dangerous scrapyard infested with bandits, but the second game takes place much later (when he's safely in the base of operations for LaResistance) and he still has a band-aid on the exact same spot on his nose.
98	** ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'': Salvador wears one over his nose. Given his [[AxCrazy personality]], it's likely that it might actually be broken.
99	** The first DLC character for the second game, Gaige the Mecromancer, has one on her cheek. Given she's a {{tomboy}} who identifies as a punk, and medical technology allows much more serious injuries to be heal with a simple injection, it's most likely purely cosmetic InUniverse.
100	** Tiny Tina likewise wears one across the bridge of her nose. Of course, she spends much of her day surrounded by explosions.
101	%%* ''VideoGame/CaveStory'': Kazuma Sakomoto from.
102	* ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls'': Masaru Daimon sports one on his cheek.
103	* ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'': Adell's younger brother, Taro, sports one of these on his left chin/cheek.
104	* ''VideoGame/GodHand'': Gene has a square blue one on his left cheekbone. Sure, he's a rough-and-tumble drifter, but it's really unnecessary. It's still cool, of course.
105	* ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonTreeOfTranquility'': Luke wears a bandage on the bridge of his nose.
106	%%* ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'': Kurimatsu.
107	* ''VideoGame/Persona3'': Akihiko Sanada has a bandage permanently ''over'' his left eye, just to remind you he's a boxer. In middle school, he wore one over his nose.
108	* ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'': Destructible rock blocks in the Oregano Desert are marked with bandages. Pillar John also wears bandages despite being made of stone.
109	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
110	** ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'': Maylene has bandages on her nose and bicep. Given the fact that she's a martial artist and trains fighting Pokémon, she may have injured her nose at least once. However, it appears to be mostly to make a point.
111	** ''VideoGame/PokemonOmegaRubyAndAlphaSapphire'': Youngsters have a bandage across their nose.
112	** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': A bandage on the cheek is available as a character customization option. Only when you're shooting in-game promotional videos for yourself, however.
113	* ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker5'': Athletic girl Michiru has one above her left eyebrow and on her right cheek.
114	* ''VideoGame/RivalSchools'': Shoma Sawamura is a baseball player who is always shown with one on his nose. One can only assume it is from a stray pitch or sliding head-first to a base. Or because it's a fighting game, but then no one else has one...
115	* ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'': Ryo Hazuki always has a white adhesive strip on his upper left cheek. In some early production images, it's an ordinary Band-Aid instead.
116	* ''VideoGame/SnowboardKids'': Jam and Tommy both have one on their noses.
117	* ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'': Wolf sports one on his face after the player unlocks a secret fight against him. Apparently being a crook with injuries can only afford you those.
118	* [[{{Tomboy}} Wendel]] of ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' and ''VideoGame/SuikodenTactics'' has a white strip on her left cheek, just under the corner of her eye.
119	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''
120	** ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'': Kooper. It's just his character artwork, though.
121	** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': Koops appears to have one. Given his shy, clumsy nature, however, it's probably there for a reason. Maybe because you keep kicking him into things.
122	* ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu'': Sayo Samonji has little white bandages on his face and knee. If he is heavily injured, the cheek bandage is replaced by a large bleeding cut. Aizen Kunitoshi has a more traditional and less period-appropriate bandaid across his nose, which is a permanent part of his character design.
123	* ''VideoGame/WildArms1'': Rudy wears one on his left cheek. Why he does this is never explained.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
127	* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'':
128	** Detective Gumshoe has been wearing a bandage in the same spot on his left cheek for at least seven years. It's almost-but-not-quite {{lampshaded}} in ''[[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations Investigations]]'' when he asks, "Do I have something on my face or something?" to which the response is, "Well, actually..." The whole dialogue seems to be drawing attention to his Pointless Band-Aid, and then the punchline ends up being "Ha ha, it's your face" or something equally ignoring it.
129	** ''Dual Destinies'': Clay Terran seems to wear one across the bridge of his nose. Either it's pointless or he's had a broken nose since he was a kid.
130	* ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorialGirlsSide'': Kazuma Suzuka always wears a band-aid under his left eye, perhaps as a shorthand to indicate that he's into sports.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Web Animation]]
134	* ''WebAnimation/GirlchanInParadise'': Kenstar wears one across the bridge of his nose, as does Maytag, his DistaffCounterpart.
135	* ''WebAnimation/LetsGoTamagotchi'': In the ninth episode, Mametchi has a bandage on his right cheek that is never explained while Memetchi and Makiko argue over who has better curls.
136	* ''WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated'': Lewis's little sister Belle has a band-aid on the bridge of her nose, in combination with a number of other band-aids which implies she's a pretty active kid that ends up getting scrapes often, but the one on her nose seems to just be shorthand for her active personality.
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Webcomics]]
140	* ''Webcomic/{{Frivolesque}}'': Saki always has such a band-aid on her left cheek. There's also a less noticeable one on her left knee as well. There is no in-universe reason for either of them.
141	* ''Webcomic/HannaIsNotABoysName'': Doc Worth has a crossed pair of bandages on the right side of his forehead; they're not always present in the strip, but they were in his first appearance and generally show up when Tessa draws him outside continuity. Worth probably needs the bandages, though, since he apparently gets into scrapes a lot. And it's not on his ''face'', but Hanna is also often seen with what looks like a similar crossed-over pair of bandages... on the knee of his pants.
142	* ''Webcomic/OffWhite'': Seven has a band-aid across her nose.
143	* ''Webcomic/{{Serix}}'': Rees has a "protective nose brace" that seems to be part of her actual body, considering her [[BodyBackupDrive backup bodies]] have them despite [[NakedOnRevival wearing no other clothing.]]
144	* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': In her [[https://www.sleeplessdomain.com/comic/chapter-2-page-2 first appearance]], Heartful Punch has a bandage on the bridge of her nose. It's never explained, and it's [[EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference absent the next time we see her]], but as a MagicalGirl who fights [[GirlyBruiser more physically than most]], being injured in a fight is quite plausible.
145	[[/folder]]
146
147	[[folder:Websites]]
148	* ''Website/{{Killerbunnies}}'': Despite not being blind, Hesperia has been observed to wear bandages over her [[http://akaichounokoe.deviantart.com/art/Hesparia-s-Eyes-484675155 eyes]] and only reveals said eyes when she is telling the future or something in relation to that.
149	* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'': The Kikos are an entire species that has these.
150	* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'': Orn "Dutchy" Ayers is mentioned as wearing a band-aid over the bridge of his nose. His profile confirms that this is more of a personality quirk/casual accessory than the result of an injury.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder:Western Animation]]
154	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': In the [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSuperDeformedShorts "Super Deformed Shorts"]], Mai has a band-aid on her nose.
155	* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'': Jim Moralès always wears a band-aid on the left cheek. He's seen once putting on a fresh one, but we're never shown what's underneath.
156	* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
157	** Self-proclaimed "local kook" Fiddleford "Old Man" [=McGucket=] has a pointless band-aid on his beard. {{Lampshaded\|Trope}} by the man himself in "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E7SocietyOfTheBlindEye Society of the Blind Eye]]".
158	--->'''[=McGucket=]:''' Why does my beard have a bandage? Does that even make sense? Why has no one pointed that out?
159	** We find out it has a reason to be there, even if it is currently pointless: It was originally applied to his chin after a car crash he suffered 30 years earlier. [[spoiler:The SanitySlippage he was undergoing at the time caused him to forget it was there]], meaning his beard grew out from under it. A FreezeFrameBonus in "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E4SockOpera Sock Opera]]" hinted at the revelation: [[spoiler:the laptop, which later turns out to be [=McGucket=]'s, has its own band-aid]].
160	** His cast is also [[spoiler:from the same accident]] meaning that it's this trope as well, only turned up to eleven.
161	* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': Ratso wears one. Somewhere it was said that this was for a fashion statement.
162	* ''WesternAnimation/RainbowBrite'': Patty O'Green wears a band-aid on each of her knees.
163	[[/folder]]
164
165	[[folder:Real Life]]
166	* Hip Hop recording artist Nelly used to wear a small bandage on his cheekbone as a tribute to one of his "homies" who was in prison.
167	* Pianist Alfred Brendel wears bandages on his fingertips when he plays, supposedly to absorb sweat from his hands so his fingers don't get slippery.
168	* Some people use them to cover scars or other facial imperfections that they can't or won't disguise with cosmetics. This is also a way to cover tattoos (say, on the knuckles) if company policy prohibits visible ink.
169	* One robber wore a small colored bandaid on his face, knowing that witnesses would [[SuspectIsHatless focus on this point to the exclusion of more useful details.]] Police found the bandaid torn off in a nearby street.
170	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PointlessBandAid