A GenreRefugee is a StockCharacter from some [[{{Genres}} genre]] who appears in a story that is in no other way part of that genre. The character is probably WrongGenreSavvy, or may be the cause of [[WrongGenreSavvy wrong genre savviness]] in others. Since genres often have different tones, the character may be a KnightOfCerebus or the inverse.

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!!Examples:

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[[folder:Anime]]
* Rossiu from GurrenLagann is a RealRobot character stuck in a SuperRobot universe.
* Gai Daigoji from MartianSuccessorNadesico is the inverse: A HotBlooded [[SuperRobot Super Robot]] hero stuck in a [[RealRobot Real Robot]] setting.
* ''KimiNiTodoke'' has three such characters, [[OneOfTheBoys Chi]][[ActionGirl zuru]], [[TheStoic Ryu]], and [[SmallNameBigEgo Kazuichi]] "Pin" [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Arai]]. Who seem to have got transplanted from a fiery shounen sport series to a lighthearted shoujo romance.
* Likewise, half the cast of ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' are stranded from typical shoujo reverse harem, but it's an AffectionateParody GagSeries [[MoodWhiplash most of the time]].
* ''Manga/YandereKanojo'' has a few characters who would not be out of place in the ShoujoGenre. Shiratori, [[UnknownRival who tries so hard to be Manabu's rival]], is explicitly [[CaptainErsatz based on]] the rival character in ''TokimekiMemorial 3'' and retains some of his genre tropes. Given that the general tone of the series is AffectionateParody of shounen romance stories, these contrasting genre elements are [[HilarityEnsues milked for all their comedic worth]].
* Illya and Berserker in FateStayNight look like they just stepped out of a SlasherMovie.
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[[folder:Comicbooks]]
* The superhero genre is an eclectic mix of various genres like science-fiction, detective fiction, mythology etc., but there are some characters that stick out. In the Marvel Universe for instance, heroes may encounter
** PatsyWalker, the heroine of a girl comedy series from the 1950s and 1960s, who eventually became the superheroine Hellcat;
** NickFury, a superspy in the mold of JamesBond and ''Man from U.N.C.L.E.'', who is also one of the few surviving characters from Marvel's long-defunct war comics;
** Characters from Marvel's take on classic horror stories like [[Comicbook/TheTombOfDracula Dracula]] and the related cast (ComicBook/{{Blade}}, Lilith, the Harkers);
** ThePunisher, expy of Mack Bolan, the main character from a series of thrillers, who at the outset was so out of tune with the rest of the Marvel Universe that he appeared primarily as an antagonist to people like Spider-Man;
** Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu, a character created to cash in on the success of the martial arts films of the 1970s who also happens to be related to old YellowPeril villain Fu Manchu; and
** [[ComicBook/HowardTheDuck Howard]], a walking, talking anthropomorphic duck "Trapped in a World He Never Made".
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[[folder:Film]]
* The cowboy in ''TheBigLebowski''. You could also make the argument that the Dude is a StonerFlick side character who wandered into a FilmNoir plot.
* Tommy Frigo in ''Film/{{Adventureland}}'' has wandered in from a raunchy teen movie.
* Steve the Pirate in ''Film/DodgeballATrueUnderdogStory''.
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[[folder:Literature]]
* Quincey P. Morris from ''Literature/{{Dracula}}''. Nothing like the presence of an American cowboy in a GothicHorror story set in ''Britain'' to make you go "Say again?"
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[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* The trio of mad scientist supervillains in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. After they disable the museum guards with an ice ray and steal a precious diamond, our heroes start searching the ancient tomes for a "frost monster that eats diamonds."
* Gwen [[MeaningfulName Raiden]] in ''Series/{{Angel}}''.
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[[folder:VideoGames]]
* In any other game [[HotBlooded Bang]] [[HighlyVisibleNinja Shishigami]] might have been TheHero (and DoggedNiceGuy to Lichi). In ''VideoGame/{{BlazBlue}}'' he's [[ButtMonkey treated with no respect]], with his only canon "victory" to date being [[spoiler: using his ''SuperMode'' to flee from [[BigBad Terumi]]]] [[note]]Admittedly, he was escaping with [[CatGirl Taokaka]] and [[KidHero Carl Clover]] after they'd both been beaten to near death rather than showing any cowardice.[[/note]].
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[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' involving all sorts of Halloween creatures also has a random gnome (of the lawn variety) mingling with them.
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