But For Me It Was Tuesday / Western Animation

---

• The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: In the episode "The League of Villains", Jimmy has created a way to restore his and his friends' superpowers from a previous episode, "The N-Men", and of course, all of his friends want their powers back for their own purposes. Jimmy refuses, asking them if they remember how out of control they all went last time and they all shamefully say yes... Except for Sheen, who everyone looks at. His response?
  Sheen: So?! What if I don't?! A lot's happened since then!
• Avatar: The Last Airbender:
  • Princess Azula shows herself to be this type of villain when her plan against her brother begins to take shape in Season 3. When he barges into her bedroom at night and demands to know why she did something without supplying any details about what he's referring to, you can almost see her going through the exhaustive list in her head of My-Diabolical-Plots-Against-Zuko.
    Zuko: Why'd you do it?!
    (Beat)
    Azula: You're going to have to be a little more specific.
  • A more humorous version of this happens when Sokka and Zuko travel to the Boiling Rock and run into Suki:
    Sokka: Oh, good. You guys have met.
    Suki: Actually, we met a long time ago.
    Zuko: We did?
    Suki: Yeah. You kind of burned down my village.
    Zuko: Oh. Sorry about that. (Beat) Nice to see you again?
    • This example is a bit unique in that it seems it was a bit of a Tuesday for Zuko and Sokka. Sokka obviously remembers going to Kyoshi Island and meeting Suki, but considering how often the Gaang's visits to various places ended with Zuko showing up and setting things on fire, this particular event didn't stand out to him. In Zuko's defense he never actually spoke to Suki or even knew her name, as they just fought briefly on the island. At that time she was in her Kyoshi warrior gear and makeup, so it would be surprising if he recognized her months later without it.
  • Played nearly straight when Katara finally tracks down the man who murdered her mother when she was a child. At first, he has no idea what she's talking about, but recalls it clearly after Katara jogs his memory. He reacts appropriately.
• Ben 10: Ultimate Alien provides a heroic example. In Ben 10, Zombozo was a creepy Emotion Eater whom Ben was absolutely terrified of. When the Monster Clown reappears 6 years later as the leader of a Villain Team-Up, Ben claims he doesn't even remember him ("We've fought him before?"). Dwayne McDuffie has stated that Ben actually does remember, but doesn't want to admit he used to be scared of clowns.
  • Also, in Ben 10: Omniverse, with Billy Billions, a former classmate who was envious of Ben when they were eleven years old and tried to zap Ben into Dimension 12, resulting in him ending up trapped in that dimension after he tried to shoot at Diamondhead. Turns out Ben not only doesn't remember him, he wasn't even aware of his existence.
• In the Biker Mice from Mars episode "Hard Rock", the titular character is confronted by the Biker Mice, who hate him for destroying many cities on Mars... Except he destroyed too many places on too many planets to remember.
• A heroic example occurs in the Codename: Kids Next Door episode Operation: BULLIES (a parody of Jurassic Park), where Numbuh Four does not remember giving Jerry Rassic the wedgie that destroyed his life back in first grade. Too bad Jerry now has a Wedgiesaurus Rex ...
• Gargoyles:
  • The first Hunter was Gillecomgain, who was just some farm kid who went to investigate a noise coming from the stable, where he surprised Demona, who was homeless, hungry, and stealing food. In a reaction that was part instinct and part petty malice, Demona casually mangled his face before fleeing. Gillecomgain responded to that by becoming one of the most skilled and dangerous warriors/assassins in Scotland, and, in between carrying out assassinations for the paranoid and power hungry King Duncan, went on a personal crusade to try to destroy any gargoyles he could find and especially to relentlessly hunt down Demona. Several decades and many battles later, she finally overpowers Gillecomgain, unmasks him, and is momentarily taken aback when she sees his face. He draws her attention to his scars and asks if she now knows why he hunted her for so long... only to be shocked and infuriated when she flatly replies "No", having obviously never given their encounter a second thought and most likely having forgotten it the moment after she left that stable. After Gillecomgain is killed, Duncan takes up the mask and the position of Hunter, and after he's gone, Duncan's descendants carry on the hunt for Demona for the next thousand years, and she still doesn't know why. (Being Demona, she wouldn't care about the reasons even if she did know). In a deleted scene from "Hunter's Moon: Part Two", the leader of the latest generation of Hunters confesses to Elisa that no one in his family remembers how or why the hunt began, either.
  • This was echoed later on with Malcolm Canmore, son of Duncan. Macbeth killed Duncan in battle and banished Canmore to England. Later, Canmore becomes the new Hunter and invades Scotland, eventually unmasking dramatically in front of Macbeth.
    Macbeth: Should I have recognized you, sirrah?
    • That said, Macbeth does remember Canmore, he just doesn't recognize him. It's been over fifteen years since they last met, and Canmore was a scrawny, mouthy young boy back then instead of a grown, large, vengeance driven man. The moment Canmore says who he is instead of waiting for Macbeth to recognize him on sight, he gets a different reaction.
  • On the heroes' side, they had a repeated negative effect on the life of a man named Vinny until he becomes a comic relief villain, and the only person to ever carry out revenge against Goliath to his satisfaction.
    • "Mmm.. Banana cream!"
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy used this in the episode "Nigel Planter and the Order of the Peanuts", where Nigel Planter is incensed that Dean Toadblatt doesn't remember him and Toadblatt explains that he torments thousands of students every semester and can't be expected to remember them all.
• On Jimmy Two-Shoes, Heloise is prone to this. In "The Mysterious Mr. Ten", when Jimmy confronts her about putting a curse on Mr. Ten, she tells him that she needs more information and shows Jimmy a long list of people she's cursed.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: In "Make New Friends But Keep Discord", during their second meeting, Discord is outraged when Tree Hugger doesn't recognize him in spite of his infamy and unique appearance. Tree Hugger says she's traveled all over the world and met many strange looking individuals, so he didn't really stand out.
• There's an unspoken example in The Owl House with Emperor Belos. When Luz and Hunter enter his mindscape in "Hollow Mind", there's a section of his memories for the previous Golden Guards that he's killed, with the number of masks suggesting that there were 16 before Hunter. But later episodes show via the pile of physical corpses in the Titan's skull that the number is closer to (if not already in) the triple digits, with it implied that he's made and killed so many over that centuries that they just run together in his head.
• Samurai Jack: Aku has shades of this, best shown in season 5: Aku is ultimately surprised at the existence of Ashi because he was doing little more than jokingly humoring the Cult of Aku with a gift, when he paid them a visit. He really has to think back to remember doing it, too. Before that, he didn't even recognize the Scotsman as being one of his main enemies, even when he clearly had the means to harm him. All this chalks up to Aku having a rather poor memory.
• The Secret Saturdays, Argost is confronted by Drew and Doyle when they discover he was the Yeti that attacked their camp in the Himalayas and murdered their parents. His response?
  Argost: *smirks* Did I? Oh, there were so many in those days. One can hardly remember each individual scream.
• The Simpsons:
  • "The Great Louse Detective" is an entire Episode showcasing Homer's tendency for falling into this trope. When an unknown assailant makes several attempts on Homer's life, a baffled Chief Wiggum enlists Sideshow Bob to help solve the case. Bob asks Homer who might have reason to harm him, and Homer answers with a comically Long List — which includes a former US President and the Emperor of Japan. Realizing the futility of that line of questioning, Bob sets up a decoy Homer dummy as bait. The dummy is immediately and brutally attacked in quick succession by Moe, Patty and Selma, Groundskeeper Willie, Reverend Lovejoy, and Homer himself.
    Sideshow Bob: None of this seems odd to you?
    Marge: Meh.
    • Also, the perpetrator turns out to be Frank Grimes Jr., the son of perpetual butt monkey Frank Grimes seeking revenge for his father's death. Homer barely remembers the incident.
    Homer: Oh, yeah! How is ol' Grimey?
  • Exaggerated between Homer and Mr. Burns. No matter how many messed up, idiotic, and catastrophic things Homer does...Mr Burns still can't remember the name of that buffoon from Sector 7G.
    Smithers: That's Homer Simpson, sir. All of the recent events in your life have revolved around him in some way.
    Mr. Burns: Simpson, eh?
  • "Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part One" took this to extremes, with Homer breaking into Mr. Burns' office, spray-painting "I AM HOMER SIMPSON" along his walls in huge neon green letters, and Mr. Burns' response is, "Who the devil are you?" This drove Homer mad.
    Homer: (strangling Mr. Burns) HOMER SIMPSON! HOMER SIMPSON! MY NAME IS HOMER SIMPSON!
    (Smithers enters)
    Mr. Burns: Smithers, who is this idiot strangling me?
    Homer: SHUT UP!! HOMER SIMPSON!!
  • This actually bites Homer in the butt. When Mr. Burns regains consciousness after being shot, all he can say is "Homer Simpson" over and over, which initially leads people to believe Homer was the shooter. Though ironically, he still doesn't recognize Homer.
  • Parodied/inverted in "Treehouse of Horror XII":
    Fortune Teller woman: How's that curse I cursed you with, Cursed-y?
    Homer: I know you don't remember me, but...
  • Bart asks Fat Tony about Skinner is "Bart the Murderer"
    Bart: Did you kill my principal?
    Fat Tony: Uh, Chinese guy with a moustache?
  • Krusty the Clown with Bart, despite owing him many, many times over.
    Krusty: Good job, kid. What's your name?
    Bart: I'm Bart Simpson. I saved you from jail. (Krusty mutters non-recognition.) I reunited you with your estranged father. (Continued non-recognition.) I saved your career, man! Remember your comeback special?
    Krusty: Yeah, well, What Have You Done for Me Lately?
    Bart: I got you that danish!
    Krusty: And I'll never forget it.
• Spirit: Riding Free: Lucky finds out that the reason Wilson is helping her take down Butch LePrey is because she killed his father, a judge, while breaking out of prison. However, when he confronts the criminal, she shows no recognition of his last name. When he reveals that the man she killed was in his father, Butch simply responds that she can’t be bothered to remember everyone who gets in her way, implying that Judge Grayson was not the only one who tried to stop her and paid the price.
• In the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "Twovix", Kayshon is shocked about the incident where the USS Voyager was infected with cheese. Ransom's reaction? "It's Voyager. [BLEEP] got freaky.
• In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Pursuit of Peace", Count Dooku has Separatist senator Mina Bonteri murdered in a False Flag Operation, as a pretext to severing peace negotiations with the Republic. A season later, in "A Friend in Need", Mina's son Lux tries to take revenge on Dooku, who claims not to remember (though it's implied that he does and is just taunting Lux).
  Dooku: Those are some rather strong accusations you have levied against me.
  Lux: You know what you did.
  Dooku: Do I? I've done a lot of things, young man, and choose to remember them in order of importance. The death of your mother... seems to have escaped me.
• Steven Universe:
  • In "The New Crystal Gems", Connie is surprised that Lapis Lazuli can't remember how the latter once tried to drown the former.
    Connie: You almost drowned me when you tried to steal the world's water.
    Lapis: (avoiding eye contact) I almost drowned a lot of people.
  • It's shown Yellow Diamond is like this about planetary genocide on any planet except Earth and treats it more like a boring office job than a massacre of sentient organic life.
  • Peridot's Heel–Face Turn becomes official when she calls Yellow Diamond a clod to her face (well, over a visual communicator), a moment that she comes to take pride in. Thus, when she comes face-to-face with Yellow Diamond again (for real this time), she triumphantly asks:
    Peridot: Hey! Yellow Clod! Remember me?
    Yellow Diamond: ...No. (KO's her in one shot)
    • (It's less likely that Yellow doesn't remember the incident — getting insulted by anyone is a rarity for her — and more likely that she can't be bothered to remember which individual Peridot is which.)
  • Played for Drama in "Change Your Mind". When Steven asks Blue Diamond how many times she locked Pink Diamond in the prison tower and used her Emotion Bomb powers to make her cry, Blue Diamond thinks for a second and is promptly horrified to realize she has no idea, and now understands why Pink abandoned her.
• In Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015) Overload encountered Bumblebee in the past and grievously injured him. In the present, Overload doesn't recognize Bumblebee, stating that he's taken on many Autobots and it can be hard to disseminate them. Though in Bee's case he admits a familiarity and tries to remember when they clashed, but ultimately the memory escapes him.
• Brock Sampson from The Venture Bros., with various characters from his past: "Do I know you?" Subverted when he meets 21 again in Season 3. He does recognize him, but decides to mess with him.

---