->'''Arcueid:''' Wow, ordinary high school students sure are something!\\
-- ''{{Tsukihime}}''

The most common protagonist of a teenager targeted action show, and usually it's discovered they are anything but ordinary -- they're reincarnated princesses, or alien princes, or the only ones who can pilot the HumongousMecha. Or they've been training in an [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower obscure martial art]] since they could walk. Or [[IAmWho they're God]]. Or they've got ''something'' that makes the [[ChickMagnet opposite sex flock to them]], and possibly the [[EvenTheGuysWantHim odd member of their own]], whether they [[UnwantedHarem want the attention or not.]]

Then again, there are the true average joes who have something unusual happen to them, and then nothing in their lives is ever the same again.

Usually they start off as unremarkable or even outcasts, but by the time they come into their own, their SecretLegacy and gifts, whatever they are, have manifested and helped them make a place for themselves in the world (which often involves [[{{TookALevelInBadass}} taking a level in badass]]).

Look for [[HollywoodDressCode the kid in the fully open button shirt over a T-shirt, jeans and Converse sneakers]] -- think [[{{FerrisBuellersDayOff}} Ferris Bueller]] or [[{{NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide}} Ned Bigby]].

Usually, their powers are revealed as part of the central premise. Compare IAmWho, in which their hidden powers are so immense and important that their revelation is the biggest [[TheReveal twist]] in the story. Contrast ArthurDent, InnocentBystander, and TheEveryman, who are genuinely ordinary.

See FarmBoy for their rural counterpart.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Comics]]
* [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]], which was revolutionary at the time. A ''sidekick-aged'' protagonist?!
** Inverted in ''{{Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane}}'', however, in which Mary Jane -- the protagonist -- actually ''is'' an ordinary high school student.
* Doug Ramsey was a kid from suburban New York who was good at languages, and didn't know any different until he was informed by an acquaintance from the [[{{Comicbook/X-Men}} odd boarding school nearby]] that he was in fact a mutant with powers of... [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway comprehending languages]]... and dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to come establish communications with a potentially hostile alien.
* The ''{{Runaways}}'' were all normal teenagers... who in the course of a night watched their parents kill a young woman, discovered superpowers/super gadgets/a telepathic dinosaur, fought off their parents, and ended up becoming runaways living in an underground mansion.
* Jaime Reyes, the current BlueBeetle in TheDCU. One day he's just hanging out with his friends, the next he gets bonded to an alien symbiote, helps Comicbook/{{Batman}} save infinite universes, and goes missing for a year, yet he ''still'' manages to come off as more of a normal kid than 90% of other teenage superheroes in comics.
** Give it time, they'll kill his parents off too.
*** They decided to [[TooGoodToLast kill off his comic]], instead.
*Mineko from ''HeliosEclipse''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films]]
* The film and book of Stephen King's ''{{Carrie}}'', and the film sequel, ''The Rage: Carrie 2''.
* Sam Witwicky was just an Ordinary High School Student until he bought his first car. [[TransformersFilmSeries Turns out it was an alien robot.]] [[WeKnewIt Who knew?]] His special quality is just being the great-grandkid of the man who found Megatron. Sari Sumdac from ''TransformersAnimated'' actually ''asks'' the Allspark why it chose her. It had an answer too, albeit a vague and ambiguous one.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Arguably inverted in ''HarryPotter'', as everyone knows that he's special from the start -- ''except him''.
* ''BattleRoyale''
* Subverted in Garth Nix's ''{{Keys to the Kingdom}}'' series, in which the protagonist essentially becomes [[spoiler:the heir to the the House (the so-called "epicentre of creation" (the denizens of which give our universe about the same casual interest as a rather exciting zoo)]] simply because he almost died on the right day.
** That's right kids. [[spoiler:This kid essentially becomes GOD by nearly dying]].
* Bella Swan in ''Twilight''. Until she falls in love with a vampire.
*In the lovely juvenile novel Wings by Bill Britain, the main character is an Ordinary High School Student who inexplicably develops a huge pair of fully functional bat-like wings.
* Mia from ''ThePrincessDiaries'' is an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who turns out to be a Princess of a minor European Principality. Unfortunately, it is not the case that EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses.
* Jerry Renault, unexpected instigator of ''TheChocolateWar''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Claire Bennet of ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.
* The title character from ''{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}''. Most of her allies, too.
* Nickelodeon's TheTroop plays this straight and hard with Jake.
* JoanOfArcadia.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Manga & Anime]]
* Tenchi Masaki in any of the incarnations of ''TenchiMuyo!''
** Notable among these incarnations is Kazuki Yotsuga from ''ParallelTroubleAdventureDual'', who is also the HumongousMecha Zinv.
* Momiji Fujimiya in ''BlueSeed''.
* Ayato Kamina in ''{{RahXephon}}''.
* Tsukino Usagi in ''SailorMoon''.
* A good quarter of the cast in ''ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'' (the ordinary Earthlings who develop extraordinary abilities).
* Kei Kurono and Masaru Katou (and in fact all high school-aged characters) in ''{{Gantz}}'' are bona-fide Ordinary High School Students until they get hit by a train and resurrected to play the Gantz Game. They're ''still'' technically Ordinary High School Students after that, they just have superpowered combat suits and deadly weapons -- and Kei is ''extremely good'' at using them.
* Miaka Yuuki, Yui Hongou, Suzuno Oosugi, Takiko Okuda and [[spoiler:Mayo Sakaki]] of ''FushigiYuugi'' all started out as examples of this trope.
* Aya Mikage in ''AyashiNoCeres''.
* Kaname Chidori in ''FullMetalPanic''.
** And Sousuke, being a militaristic nut. At least that's what she thought until it turned out that he's actually a mercenary working for an anti-terrorist organisation. [[HilarityEnsues His age made him a perfect candidate for being a bodyguard, even though he had no idea how an ordinary student behaves at all.]]
* Tohno Shiki in ''ShingetsutanTsukihime'', who even went so far to claim he was an ordinary high school student, when, naturally, he was anything but.
** Arcueid even comments on it as in the quote above. The best thing about Arcueid; she's being completely earnest without a trace of irony.
* Kurusugawa Himeko in ''KannazukiNoMiko''.
* Azuma Hazuki in ''YamiToBoushiToHonNoTabibito''.
* Tomokazu Mikuri in ''{{Yumeria}}''.
* Shikimori Kazuki in ''{{Maburaho}}''.
* Kagome Higurashi in ''InuYasha''
** In fact, this trend was specifically mentioned in the Anime. "It's been a while now since this ''every day average school girl'' has been crossing back and forth between the warring states era and modern times!"
* Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara in ''YuYuHakusho''
-->'''Yusuke:''' Guy saves the world, still has to do algebra. Makes sense.
* Not exactly a high school student, but Urashima Keitaro from ''LoveHina'' falls under this trope.
* Kyon from ''SuzumiyaHaruhi'' is actually ''certified'' as totally ordinary, as reported by Itsuki. If it weren't for Haruhi's liking him, he wouldn't be worth looking at twice. [[WMG/SuzumiyaHaruhiNoYuutsu Some fans have different theories, however]], and there is some support for them in the novels.
** Ordinary or not, he has leashes on two of the most powerful beings in the area and can [[spoiler:destroy the universe at will]].
* Kyo Kusanagi in ''{{The King of Fighters}}'', although as the series went on his high school student image was dropped entirely (it's also been implied that he never attends high school at all due to his constant fighting).
* Nanami Lucia in ''MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'', although she already had a SecretIdentity -- she just didn't know half her own secret.
* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' seems to have 28 Ordinary Eighth Grade Students at the start (out of 31 -- Zazie and the robot need to practice their {{Masquerade}} a bit, and then there's the ghost, who does it all too well...) but, by the current point in the manga, there are only two left who fit the criteria, and they're set to go abnormal at any moment.
** The animes didn't wait as long, being only one season each (compared to the LongRunner manga), and made all the {{Muggles}} abnormal in the season finales.
* Amu Hinamori from ''ShugoChara'', though in elementary school, is a good example. After she obtains her guardian characters, she ends up with a couple of friends and a somewhat reluctant membership of the Seiyo Elementary Guardians.
* Koyomi Mizuhara (Yomi) from ''AzumangaDaioh'' is a subversion, in the ironic sense that not only is she really and truly ''normal'' (even -- or rather, ''especially'' -- compared to her friends), she actually gets to ''stay'' that way.
* The main characters of both ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}!'' and ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh GX}}'', although in the latter case the high school is actually a training school for professional Duel Monsters players, changing the standard of "ordinary".
* Subverted in ''{{Bleach}}''. Main character Ichigo Kurosaki protests frequently in the beginning of the series that he's an Ordinary High School Student... who just happens to [[ISeeDeadPeople be able to see ghosts]]. This, of course, proves to be a crucial distinction.
** Ichigo's more-ordinary friends do have an unusual tendency to turn out to be not so ordinary after all, including a girl whose hairpins can raise the dead, a huge foreigner with a demonic arm, the [[LastOfHisKind last remaining member]] of an ancient order of magical warriors, and the secret concealed by Ichigo's father's ObfuscatingStupidity [[spoiler: he's a {{Shinigami}}]].
*** Also, in recent episodes, a random classmate seems to have developed the ability to sense the spirit world, after showing no such ability before.
**** There is a reason for this. Other than the mystical warrior, Ichigo's classmates actually gained power from proximity to him. [[spoiler:He gained it from his father.]]
* Takumi from ''InitialD'' delivers tofu in an old beater; and in the process, has learned drifting techniques that racers take years to master.
* Sakai Yuuji of ''ShakuganNoShana''. All extraordinary traits he has he owe to an [[{{MacGuffin}} artifact]] he received out of luck. Unusually, we never learn how long he's had it.
*Saito Hiraga of ''ZeroNoTsukaima'' was one of these until he was summoned by [[{{Tsundere}} Louise]] to [[FantasyCounterpartCulture her world]].
* Emiya Shirou from ''FateStayNight''. Or so he likes to think.
** He knows about his powers, that his adopted father is a magus, and that there are other magus. He just didn't know that he has a Reality Marble or expect that he could get that strong.
* Shinji Ikari from ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is an ordinary student.
** [[IncrediblyLamePun Of course he is.]] [[CollectiveGroan Just like everyone else in that series.]]
* Shibuya Yuuri from ''KyouKaraMaou'' is completely ordinary student... who is chosen to be the next demon king. [[spoiler: The BigBad throws this in his face during their confrontation later on.]]
* Light Yagami from ''DeathNote'' is a perfect example of this trope, until it's [[PlayingWithATrope derailed]] by the fact that he's both incredibly smart and megomaniacally insane.
* Yasuhara of ''GhostHunt'' puts an unusual twist on this trope. He was a relatively normal high-school student until the rest of the main characters showed up and kind-of absorbed him into their group. Out of the eight main characters, Yasuhara is one of only two characters who has no powers at all. [[spoiler: though the other 'normal' character is actually just hiding his identity and amazing powers, though we don't find that out until the last episode.]] The twist? The series does not focus on him. In fact, he doesn't even show up until halfway through the series. He's there more to do the off-screen research for the group, which means that the [[TroubledButCute assholish-yet-somehow-charming]] character who had been doing the research previously now gets more screentime.
* ''ToAruMajutsuNoIndex'': Touma's [[AntiMagic passive negation power]] certainly makes him look like an ordinary student compared to people like his lightning-wielding UnknownRival Mikoto under most circumstances. In their first onscreen confrontation, Touma protests to a sparking Mikoto that he's "just a Level 0" esper. Mikoto makes a compelling rebuttal in the form of a giant blast of (ineffectual) electricity.
* The title character of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' was an ordinary elementary school student, which shocked her students [[TimeSkip in the third season]] when they visited her [[InsignificantLittleBluePlanet home planet]] [[AllThereInTheManual during the first Sound Stage]] and discovered that the legendary mage Nanoha had a completely unlegendary past and civilian life.
* Almost all of the [=HiME=] from ''{{Mai-HiME}}'' start out at this stage (although a few of them are [[IJustWantToBeNormal dead set on staying that way]]). Those that aren't ([[spoiler:Midori and Sister Yukariko]]) were Ordinary High School Teachers.
* Saya from ''[[BloodPlus Blood+]]'' is an ordinary high school girl on the surface, but thanks to almost a lifetime's worth of [[LaserGuidedAmnesia amnesia]], she has no idea of her vampiric abilities... until a Chiropteran shows up at her school and starts messing things up, and she's forced to kill it.
* Rin Tsuchimi from ''{{Shuffle}}!'', who just [[ContrivedCoincidence happens]] to be [[UnwantedHarem liked by five girls all at the same time]].
* Hiroyuki in ''ToHeart''.
** And so is Takaaki in ''ToHeart2'', also an UnluckyEverydude with an UnwantedHarem consisting of [[HotLibrarian Manaka]] [[ClassRepresentative Komaki]], [[BottleFairy Yuma]] [[{{Tsundere}} Tonami]], [[CoolBigSis Tamaki Kousaka]], [[StudentCouncilPresident Sasara Kusugawa]], [[AgentMulder Karin Sasamori]], [[TimeTravel Yuuki Kusakabe]], [[HumanAliens Ruuko Kireinasora]], [[LikeBrotherAndSister Konomi Yuzuhara]], and [[TeenGenius Sango Himeyuri]].
* Kanzaki Hitomi from ''{{Vision of Escaflowne}}''.
* Kaede of ''NininGaShinobuden'' was one of these. Until a HighlyVisibleNinja attempted to sneak into her room to steal her panties.
* Kira of ''GundamSeed'' averts this trope -- he's actually a genetically-enhanced superhuman who [[IJustWantToBeNormal wants to be a normal high school/college student.]]
* Tsukune from ''RosarioToVampire'' is a normal high school student, at a distinctly [[ExtranormalInstitute not normal]] high school, with [[CuteMonsterGirl not normal]] high school friends. He eventually becomes not normal himself.
* Rito from ''ToLoveRu'' wishes he was still an unremarkable Ordinary High School Student instead of the center of a complicated LoveTriangle with at least half a dozen points on it, including three or possibly four [[MagicalGirlfriend Alien Princesses]] -- [[spoiler:Lala, Run, Lala's little sister Momo, and maybe Momo's twin Nana]].
* Toki from ''{{Amatsuki}}'' wouldn't even have ''become'' the hero if his school hadn't sent him to the museum for [[BookDumb failing history class]]. And just when he finally gets a fresh new start in life after being [[TimeTravel dragged into the past]] against his will, he's given [[IAmWho phenomenal cosmic powers]] that [[BlessedWithSuck ruin his life]]! His friend and fellow victim Kon could also qualify, however there is evidence to suggest he's [[ObfuscatingStupidity not all he seems]].
* Subverted in ''CodeGeass''. Lelouch is an ordinary high school student...who is an outcast [[ThePrince prince]], genius military strategest [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]], and all around MagnificentBastard biding his time to jump at a chance to destroy [[TheEmpire Britannia]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Kazama Jin from ''{{Tekken}}'' started out somewhat ordinary, but things haven't been exactly going well since. Ling Xiaoyu is a milder example. The ''Tekken 5'' ending for Kazama Asuka suggests she might be more than just a brawler, too.
* [[StreetFighter Kasugano Sakura]] seems like a typical schoolgirl enamored with a rough famous fighter. Aside from the fact that instead of trying to date him, she prefers mirroring his moves as best she can. Including martial-arts fireballs.
** Hell, pretty much ''everybody'' in ''RivalSchools''.
* Ethan Kairos in ''Time Hollow'' is completely ordinary. He just happens to be the latest in the line of his family to receive the power to adjust history via a special pen.
** Hell, the English manual quotes this trope exactly, describing him as an "ordinary high school student".
* Fei from ''{{Xenogears}}'' plays almost every part of this troupe. Yeah, he knew martial arts but he thought it was just "normal" martial arts. Besides [[spoiler: knowing martial arts that can destroy God and giant robots]], he's also the only one that can pilot a special [[HumongousMecha gears]], which turns out to be the super ultra special titular one. [[spoiler: He is also secretly one of the most powerful beings in the game's universe, whom "God" gave his power to.]]
** And while he is utterly oblivious to all or this at the beginning, [[spoiler: he also has several split personalities. One of which has shut himself off from the world, and another which is an utter sociopath who makes full use of his godly power.]]
* Many (though not all) recent ''ShinMegamiTensei'' games feature Ordinary High School Students as protagonists. Of course, something usually happens to make them considerably less ordinary, [[DevilSurvivor such as finding a computer that can summon demons]], [[{{Persona}} learning to call forth entities from the inside of their mind]], [[ShinMegamiTenseiDevilSummoner being forced to share their body with a Devil Summoner]], [[ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne or being turned into a demon after witnessing the end of the world]].
* [[MegaManBattleNetwork Lan Hikari]] and [[MegaManStarForce Geo Stelar]], but the latter fits better the description. None of them are high-schoolers, but close enough.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Mike Cosley from ''[[http://www.bardsworth.com Bardsworth]].''
* Kanzaki Kei from ''[[http://www.revenant-braves.schala.net Circumstances of the Revenant Braves]],'' more so than any other character.
* Sarah from ''ElGoonishShive'' is the only member of her group of friends who isn't a shapeshifter, witch, mad scientist, or martial artist of some kind.
** Give her time. At some point the demonic duck will be the most ordinary character in the strip.
* [[TakahashiCouple Ash and Emily]] from ''{{Misfile}}'' until [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Rumisiel]] got stoned while in charge of the [[RewritingReality Celestial Files]]. [[HilarityEnsues Wackyness Ensued]].
* ''DividedSky'', like so many other tropes, lampshades it.
* Uma from ''EverydayHeroes''. To everyone else, she's perfectly [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=107230 normal]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Yuri Mikagami in the round-robin story ''[[http://www.improfanfic.com/dhh/ Dark Heart High]]''. A bit of a subversion as its revealed in the very first scene that her father is a retired EvilOverlord. (A non human one at that!)
* As far as ''{{Survival of the Fittest}}'' goes, it would be easier to list ''exceptions'', since just about everyone in the entire cast is an Ordinary High School Student. For example, Johnathan Michaels of V2 was a world champion boxer and Renee Valenti of V3 a burgeoning movie star.
* Nick Reilly, Bill Wilson, Tony Chandler... A lot of the kids who become mutants and then go to SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy in the ''WhateleyUniverse''.
* Eliot in ''ElGoonishShive'' is probably the only ordinary one who could qualify. Even after he gets a alternate gender clone and we find out he has chi-blast style kung fu skill, he's remarkable ordinary. Anyone standing next to Tedd would have to be just to keep the universe in balance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''DannyPhantom''
* ''[[BenTen Ben10]]'': Ben was an Ordinary Elementary School Student, but was the star of the (apparently hugely popular for high school JV) soccer team at the end of the TimeSkip.
* ''CodeLyoko'': Every member of the group is an Ordinary Student, though Jérémie is the only one who can use the Supercomputer, Aelita is the only member who can deactivate towers, and the other three are her protectors.
** Aelita's status is a lot more complicated; she didn't start out ordinary in any sense.
** Oddly enough, William is an actual Ordinary Student until Season 3. Debate has been going on for quite some time on several fan forums as to whether he's still a Warrior or an Ordinary Student in the series finale.
* ''TheFairlyOddparents'': Timmy is an average kid that no-one understands.
[[/folder]]

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