History Main / ReluctantMonster

* In ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'', "Secret" is, on paper, an EvilCounterpart to the [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights in Shining Armor]] of the setting, the Solars, since she is a Death Knight, has the requisite RedEyesTakeWarning, and got her Exaltation from a DealWithTheDevil. However, in practice, she's more like this: she tries to avoid hurting people when possible, she doesn't follow her lord's orders, and [[spoiler:she only made her Deal because she [[IDontWantToDie was afraid of the fact that she was dying]] [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0300.html of the plague that ravaged her island]]]]. She's [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0096.html still a minor]] WalkingWasteland, however, and she infrequently has bursts of Resonance, which she gains from the aforementioned disobeying of her lord, and they are [[NightmareFuel not pretty]]. Corollary to this, she is not a fan of these outbursts, and is currently looking for ways to get out of her plight, [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0283.html such as sorcery]]. Later, it unfolds that [[spoiler:[[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0311.html there might be a way for her to become a Solar]]]].

* Most of the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series games feature a ghost named Pamela who either does not know she is a ghost or is oblivious to the fact that people find her scary.

* Ryner Lute from ''LightNovel/TheLegendOfTheLegendaryHeroes'' is constantly labeled as a monster because of his Alpha Stigma, a power which eventually goes out of control, destroying everything around it and killing the user. However, he rarely uses the Alpha Stigma outside of battle.

* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', more cynical and self-aware than most, is fully aware of his species' reputation; he just wants to be left alone. He [[MonsterFacade plays up the monstrous act]] to keep people with TorchesAndPitchforks away from his swamp.

** ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' gives us Marcus, another intelligent Super Mutant who was initially part of the Master's army. Later, he became friends with a Brotherhood of Steel paladin, and they decided to settle down and create a town where humans, ghouls, and super-mutants can live together peacefully (most of the time, anyway). He makes another appearance in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''.

** Fawkes in ''VideoGame/Fallout3''. After much time splattering the brains of Supermutants across the wasteland, the player encounters a genetic experiment gone wrong in [[ComicBook/VForVendetta cell 5]] of an abandoned Vault. They know they are a monster, but while the FEV that created all supermutants made most of the rest of Supermutants hulking bloodthirsty monsters with the IQ of a vegetable, Fawkes is intelligent and has a good heart, and offers to help the player in their quest.

** ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' gives us Marcus, another intelligent super-mutant who was initially part of the Master's army. Later he became friends with a Brotherhood of Steel paladin, and they decided to settle down and create a town where humans, ghouls, and super-mutants could live together peacefully (most of the time, anyway). He makes another appearance in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''.

* Seras Victoria of ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', is fully aware of her condition, but she does her best.
* Another ghost who is barely aware of it, [[CuteGhostGirl Aisaka Sayo]] from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. The manga version is a CuteClumsyGirl who manages to trip over her own feet despite not actually ''having'' feet. The anime version gets an entire [[TearJerker episode.]]
* An earlier example, the ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' anime has Kogane, the least frightening of all the various monsters, spirits and demons that have shown up (a list that includes, but is not limited to, a pair of giant, but harmless, jellyfish, a badly drawn female panda come to life, an evil spirit that possesses people to feed on their evil impulses and their life-force, a hideous horse kami and his equally ugly boar kami friend, the {{Orochi}} and a [[WhenTreesAttack demonic cherry tree]]). She does have GhostlyGoals... finding a tanuki doll she forgot to pick up when she bought the notebook that her spirit is anchored to, and is so shy and retiring she bursts into tears when Nabiki demands to know what she wants (quoth Kasumi; "Nabiki, please stop scaring the ghost").
* Maya the Phantom Cat from ''Manga/{{Geobreeders}}''.
* Ichiko from ''VisualNovel/OtobokuMaidensAreFallingForMe''. The main character has a hard time convincing her that she's a ghost, despite her constant floating, not to mention the fact that she hasn't aged in about twenty years, during which she's been living in a closet (although certainly not in ''the'' closet).

* Shia from ''Manga/PitaTen''. Worst...demon...ever. She's nicer than the ''angel''. Than ''most'' angels. Her RightHandCat is embarrassed. This has disastrous consequences, [[TearJerker much more so in the manga]].
* Misaki from ''Manga/BloodAlone'' is a completely innocent little vampire girl. At her worst, she's a pouty ClingyJealousGirl.
* Shades of this, mixed with BadPowersGoodPeople, color the God of Poverty in ''Anime/{{Kamichu}}''.
* Ryner Lute from ''LightNovel/TheLegendOfTheLegendaryHeroes'' is constantly labeled as a monster because of his Alpha Stigma, a power which eventually goes out of control, destroying everything around it and killing the user. However, he rarely uses the Alpha Stigma outside of battle.
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', the Rogue Titan is something of a dark example of this. Unlike other Titans, it does not attack or devour humans, but seems more interested in furiously fighting and killing any other Titan that it finds. [[spoiler:The Rogue Titan is actually Eren Yeager, one of the few humans who possess the ability to shift into Titan form]]. True to the cynical tone of the series, many of the military want nothing more than to kill him [[spoiler:even when he reverts back to human form]].
* An interesting case is Garou in ''Anime/OnePunchMan''. While he hates heroes and desperately wants to be a monster, and his desire is so great that he eventually transforms into one, he still holds up his ideals, refusing to kill humans and only 'hunting' heroes to defeat them and not kill them.

* [[Fanfic/PastSins Nightmare Nyx]]. She knows she's been turned into a monster, but she doesn't want to be, desperately tries not to be, and [[spoiler:actually doesn't do too bad a job as queen of Equestria, after a few false starts]].
* Grown-up Spike in ''Fanfic/ItTakesAVillage''. His friends and all of Ponyville see the same little dragon who grew up around them. [[spoiler:[[TorchesAndPitchforks The neighboring communities don't]]. No matter what [[NoTrueScotsman his fellow dragons say about him]].]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' Susan Murphy grows to a height of almost fifty feet after being stuck by a meterorite. She is quickly labeled a "monster" by the government and is put in a detention facility, despite not doing anything malicious or intentionally destructive at all. She is joined by her fellow inmates Doctor Cockroach, The Missing Link, B.O.B., and Insectosaurus.
* Unlike his brethren, Louis the Alligator from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' doesn't want to eat frogs or scare people. He just wants to play jazz trumpet and perform on stage.

-->'''Van Helsing:''' Evil may have created him, evil may have left its mark on him, but evil does not rule him so I cannot kill him.

* Somewhat {{downplayed|Trope}} but still in the vein of this trope are the children books of Creator/TomiUngerer starring disliked animals like a constrictor, a vulture etc.
* ''Literature/TheReluctantDragon'' is an 1898 children's book by Kenneth Grahame (originally published as a chapter in his book ''Dream Days''), which served as the key element to the [[Film/TheReluctantDragon 1941 feature film]] of the same name from [[Creator/{{Disney}} Walt Disney Productions]].

* The various ''Franchise/{{Frankenstein}}'' films have often portrayed the monster who acts as a main character as a confused beast who doesn't want to hurt anyone and is unfairly hunted down by the villagers. In [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} the original novel]], the monster was like this at first, but after being hunted wherever he is found, he vows revenge on his creator and kills Frankenstein's brother, friend and wife. At which point Frankenstein becomes the hunter.
* The title character of ''Literature/TheBFG'' is the only giant who eats vegetables instead of humans. He's also a midget runt (for a giant) so the others enjoy beating him up.

* ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'': While no [[OurDragonsAreDifferent creature in]] [[SapientSteed the British]] [[LivingShip Aerial Corps]] is more vicious than most men (certainly no more vicious than any ''soldier''), Temeraire in particular seems frequently befuddled and occasionally offended over how readily most humans are frightened by a barn-sized predator with sharp claws the size of a woman's forearm and a maw that can devour a cow in three bites.

* ''Literature/VoyageOfTheBasset'': Medusa is initially rather [[DefrostingIceQueen cold and arrogant]], but she doesn't even want to petrify animals, and she is as horrified as anyone when she accidentally does it to a member of the crew.

* Creator/CirqueDuSoleil's WidgetSeries ''Solstrom'' played with this via a {{Metamorphosis}} -- in the horror pastiche "Howling Wind", a hotel is transformed into a HauntedCastle / HellHotel hybrid via magic. While surprised, the elderly Hotel Owner decides to go on with business as usual as best he can, and thinks nothing of (if he even notices) the help being transformed into ogres, vampires, and sundry eccentrics, or even that ''Death'' is now a guest. As it turns out the magic is slowly turning ''him'' into a WolfMan. But he's hardly aware of his increasingly monstrous form -- when he notices that his fingernails are turning into claws, his response is simply to try filing them down. So preoccupied is he with being a good host that it's a shocked guest whose reaction alerts him to the fact that he's grown a ''tail''. [[spoiler: In TheStinger, the transformation is complete but he is still affable and harmless.]]

* Possibly Amy from ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. She didn't ''want'' to be a kitsune and even [[spoiler: killed her mother to save a younger Sam from her. Sam in turn saved her from John and Dean, who were on the hunt.]] She was only killing [[spoiler: to save her son, who was sick.]] Then again, it's left ambiguous whether or not this is really the case. [[spoiler: Dean kills her rather than wait to find out.]]
* ''Series/TheMunsters'': They're monsters ripped from the old Franchise/UniversalHorror movies, but they act as a fairly typical, if eccentric, working-class family that can't understand why most strangers seem to turn pale and run whenever they see them. The reboot pilot portrays Grandpa Munster as... [[AxCrazy definitely not reluctant]]. Although he seems to (grudgingly) hold back on outright homicide.
* ''Series/SesameStreet'': This was Herry in the earliest seasons. Everybody would be singing and playing, then Herry would show up roaring (which is what monsters do, after all), and when everybody else ran away, he would turn to the camera and say something like "I just wanted somebody to play with".
* Cadence from ''Series/TheTroop''. She tries her hardest to stay in her human form and doesn't eat humans. Her brother on the other hand is a FullyEmbracedFiend

* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' has the Nativity, children whose [[TrulySingleParent mothers]] were infected by the Abyss outside reality and whose souls are basically seeping wounds in the structure of the universe. For the unsuspecting kid, this means a miserable childhood wondering why [[AnimalsHateHim animals hate them,]] [[DoomMagnet bad luck and misfortune follow them everywhere,]] and [[MyBelovedSmother their mother is slowly going insane.]] Fortunately their souls can be fixed, assuming they're not killed by illness, accident, or a mage who pinpointed the Abyssal intrusion that was throwing off all the magic in the city.

* Vivian the Shadow Siren from ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' is a rather friendly creature of darkness (possibly even a demon of the same race as the Shadow Queen) who joins Mario's party.

* A quest chain in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' begins with a mission where the player must bring a potion to the client. It turns out that the client is a zombie and doesn't know it; it's not aggressive though, and upon being informed of its post-life status, it sadly shambles off into the mist. [[spoiler: The rest of the quest chain reveals that the zombie is Frimelda, a legendary swordswoman, and completing the quest chain cures her zombification and lets her join the player's clan.]]

* In ''{{VideoGame/Moonrise}}'', the player is forcibly turned into a werewolf and can express rage, grief, and regret about this transformation. They can even go so far totally rejecting the person who turned them.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', the imp merchants only want to sell you something - even when you attack their bases.

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowsOfTheDamned,'' the traveling trader Christopher is a monstrous looking creature with a SlasherSmile, who tells you he is [[HalfHumanHybrid half man, half "beast"]]. When Garcia, the main character, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman calls him out on it]], Christopher shoots back with, "you gotta look past the leath'ry exterior! Deep down I am a sensitive and understanding listener!"
** He even surrounds himself with flower gardens and [[LightIsGood lamps]], the latter of which keeps hell's [[WeakenedByTheLight demons]] away. How sweet!

* The Architect from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'' is a RogueDrone sapient Darkspawn that actually wants to end the Blights and free all his kind from the Old Gods giving them sapience and free will as well. Unfortunately he suffers from BlueAndOrangeMorality and thus has done some horrible things that jeopardized his plans simply because he didn't realize that what he did was horrible. Also the Messenger, one of the Darkspawn the Architect has awakened to sapience is an even better example apparently being a genuinely nice person who, depending on the player's choices, can end up as a MysteriousProtector of travelers in trouble, albeit accidentally spreading [[TheCorruption the Blight]] in some cases.
* The entire population of monsters in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' are one, despite being monsters, they are far from being evil. In fact, it is unknown whether ''any'' of them can really, truly hate when faced with [[TurnTheOtherCheek enough kindness]]. [[spoiler: Even a seemly sinister and unfeeling being like [[JerkassWoobie Flowey]] is sympathetic once we get to know his [[IJustWantToHaveFriends true nature]]. The only malicious beings are none other than the [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans]].]]

** Starting in [[spoiler:Strip #878, Durkon Thundershield is now this. He was briefly under MindControl from Malack, but with the latter's death in Strip #906, is now free to resume adventuring with the Order,]] and by his own words is no more evil than [[ComedicSociopath Belkar Bitterleaf,]] [[DamnedByFaintPraise Which doesn't mean that much,]] but at least implies he's willing to work with the Order. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted. Durkon is actually demonically possessed by a servant of an Evil-Aligned God, who is sick of dealing with squabbles with her pantheon, and who wishes to get the gods to agree to destroy the world in order to prevent the Snarl from escaping so that she'll get the souls of every dwarf in existence and become more powerful than any of the other Northern Gods. She was just trying to have Vampire Durkon avoid suspicion with his following this trope until she could carry out her plans. Though at a critical time, Durkon was able to push all his memories into the demon possessing him, which overwhelmed said demon and caused Durkon's normal personality to reassert control just long enough to thwart her plans via HeroicSacrifice.]]
* The title character of ''Webcomic/GeorgeTheDragon'' has a steady diet of junk food and can't even eat a hamster, never mind a human. (And set a bunch of food-type hamsters free.)
* Buwaro of ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'' just wants to give the world a big hug. However, being a member of the vicious and powerful Demon race makes most people more likely to [[http://www.sdamned.com/2008/01/01132008/ scream in terror]]. Justified in that all Demons have a limit-break berserk mode, and he has a health condition that forces his NORMAL state to be berserker. Not justified in that, with medication, Buwaro is a noble demon and incapable of harming anyone who doesn't harm his friends.

* [[spoiler:Daniel Ti'Fiona]] from ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' doesn't want to be an incubus. This is both PlayedForLaughs and PlayedForDrama.
* ''[[http://schwarzkreuz.xepher.net/sk/sk.php Schwarz Kreuz]]''[='=]s main character, Nikolas Von Helsing. He's a descendant of ''that'' [[{{Dracula}} Von Helsing]]. He used a ritual to turn himself into a vampire when his group of [[VampireHunter Paladins/Clergymen]] was under attack by Nazis, and thus manages to survive to continue his order. Doesn't drink blood, but does drink alcohol. Lots of it.
* Jareth in ''Webcomic/{{Roommates}}'' is a highly powerful [[TheFairFolk fae]] who tries hard to defy his very nature. Also his [[TheFourLoves motivations]] are more humanlike than natural for his species ([[EvilParentsWantGoodKids thanks to his dad]] mostly), but he [[HeroWithAnFInGood kinda sucks]] in this whole acting good thing. (And if he overexerts himself he CAN [[SuperpoweredEvilSide snap]].)
* In ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'', "Secret" is, on paper, an EvilCounterpart to the [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights in Shining Armor]] of the setting, the Solars, since she is a Death Knight, has the requisite RedEyesTakeWarning, and got her Exaltation from a DealWithTheDevil. But in practice, she's more like this: she tries to avoid hurting people when possible, she doesn't follow her lord's orders, and [[spoiler:she only made her Deal because she [[IDontWantToDie was afraid of the fact that she was dying]] [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0300.html of the plague that ravaged her island]]]]. She's [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0096.html still a minor]] WalkingWasteland, however, and she infrequently has bursts of Resonance, which she gains from the aforementioned disobeying of her lord, and they are [[NightmareFuel not pretty]]. Corollary to this, she is not a fan of these outbursts, and is currently looking for ways to get out of her plight, [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0283.html such as sorcery]].
-->'''Misho:''' ''[after nearly choking from surprise]'' Really? Secret, why would you want to learn sorcery?\\
'''Secret:''' Ah. Well. Me being all... death. I've been thinking it might be better for me to learn how to do more... healthy things. More non-killing options.
** And recently, it unfolds that [[spoiler: [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0311.html there might be a way for her to become a Solar]].]]
* ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'' has a village full of people who rose as various kinds of TheUndead after a massacre. Some of them hate it enough to go picking fights with people who might put them back in their graves for good; others just go about their business as usual and help the survivors restore the town. The latter group includes a snarky skeleton archer and Jeremy the vampire cobbler.

* ''WesternAnimation/LoopyDeLoop'', a wolf character from Creator/HannaBarbera that often gets in trouble for things he clearly didn't do because he's a wolf.

* Roger the Alligator, from ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar''. A notable aversion of ReptilesAreAbhorrent, he is extremely pacifistic and would rather bake muffins for his enemies than hurt them.
* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' has an onion-bodied spider named "Willie Nelson" who lives in the Aqua Teens' attic. He's very mellow, except for when he's actually ''in'' [[AxCrazy the attic.]]
* Muzzy from ''WesternAnimation/MuzzyInGondoland''. A big, hairy green alien who is actually very kind and only eats clocks and other metal objects.
* Mr. Bumpy from ''WesternAnimation/BumpInTheNight'' once had an episode where, upon hearing that some monster under the bed was upsetting his boy, resolved to track down the interloper and deal with him. A brief investigation led to Squishington quickly realizing that the monster was Mr. Bumpy, and his late-night, hard-partying ways were scaring his boy awake. Mr. Bumpy is horrified at this, since he loves his boy, as he's the main source of all his stuff and the dirty socks he eats.

* Tiger, the cat Fievel befriends in ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail''.

* Louise the Alligator from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' doesn't want to eat frogs or scare people. He just wants to play jazz trumpet and perform on stage.

The very extreme of MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch -- unless [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood they're all like this, that is]]. If the character is of great size, they may be a GentleGiant. If they're "ugly", they might be a GorgeousGorgon. Compare NonMaliciousMonster, ReluctantPsycho, and MonsterAdventurers. Likely to result in VanHelsingHateCrimes.

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' episode "Behold, Eck!" was [[WorkingTitle originally titled]] "The Reluctant Monster". The titular creature is a meek, polite two-dimensional being from AnotherDimension who accidentally winds up in our world and wreaks unintentional havoc while the heroes figure out how to send him home.

* Bizarro is often written as possessing all of ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s heroic tendencies, but with such a... well, ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin bizarre]]'' view of the world that his attempts to express them only cause disaster.
* ''[[ComicBook/{{Swordquest}} Swordquest: Earthworld]]'' has Cancer, a gigantic green crab who cheerfully helps rescue explorers who've fallen into its tidepool.
* ''[[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk The Hulk]]'' is often portrayed this way, having a childlike psyche and repeatedly claiming that he just wants to be left alone, yet the military and various supervillains are always after him.

-->'''Van Helsing:''' Evil may have created him, evil may have left its mark on him, but evil does not rule him so I can not kill him.

* Somewhat downplayed but still in the vein of this trope are the children books of Creator/TomiUngerer starring disliked animals like a constrictor, a vulture etc.

* In the Cineverse Cycle, Book Two, the Slime Monster doesn't really like scaring people. His name is Edward and he is simply very misunderstood.
* The various ''[[FrankensteinsMonster Frankenstein]]'' {{film}}s have often portrayed the monster who acts as a main character as a confused beast who doesn't want to hurt anyone and is unfairly hunted down by the villagers. In the original novel, the monster was like this at first, but after being hunted wherever he is found, he vows revenge on his creator and kills Frankenstein's brother, friend and wife. At which point Frankenstein becomes the hunter.

* While no [[OurDragonsAreDifferent creature in]] [[SapientSteed the British]] [[LivingShip Aerial Corps]] is more vicious than most men (certainly no more vicious than any ''soldier''), Literature/{{Temeraire}} in particular seems frequently befuddled and occasionally offended over how readily most humans are frightened by a barn-sized predator with sharp claws the size of a woman's forearm and a maw that can devour a cow in three bites.
* The main character in Creator/HPLovecraft's "The Outsider" is one, if only for a minute. He spends most of his life completely alone, thinking he's human. When he finally does meet other people, they run away in terror, and he even terrifies himself when [[TomatoInTheMirror he sees his reflection.]] He quickly decides to just go with it.
* In ''Literature/VoyageOfTheBasset'', Medusa. She's a bit [[DefrostingIceQueen cold and arrogant initially]], but she doesn't even want to petrify animals, and she is as horrified as anyone when she accidentally does it to a member of the crew.

* In ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'', [[FanNickname Secret]] is, on paper, an EvilCounterpart to the [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights in Shining Armor]] of the setting, the Solars, since she is a Death Knight, has the requisite RedEyesTakeWarning, and got her Exaltation from a DealWithTheDevil. But in practice, she's more like this: she tries to avoid hurting people when possible, she doesn't follow her lord's orders, and [[spoiler:she only made her Deal because she [[IDontWantToDie was afraid of the fact that she was dying]] [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0300.html of the plague that ravaged her island]]]]. She's [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0096.html still a minor]] WalkingWasteland, however, and she infrequently has bursts of Resonance, which she gains from the aforementioned disobeying of her lord, and they are [[NightmareFuel not pretty]]. Corollary to this, she is not a fan of these outbursts, and is currently looking for ways to get out of her plight, [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0283.html such as sorcery]].

* Ichiko from ''VisualNovel/OtobokuMaidensAreFallingForMe''. The main character has a hard time convincing her that she's a ghost, despite her constant floating, not to mention the fact that she hasn't aged in about twenty years, during which she's been living in a closet ([[SchoolgirlLesbians although certainly not in ''the'' closet]]).

* ''The Reluctant Dragon'' is an 1898 children's book by Kenneth Grahame (originally published as a chapter in his book ''Dream Days''), which served as the key element to the [[Film/TheReluctantDragon 1941 feature film]] of the same name from [[Creator/{{Disney}} Walt Disney Productions]].

* Somewhat downplayed but still in the vein of this trope are the children books of Tomi Ungerer starring disliked animals like a constrictor, a vulture etc.

* Somewhat downplayed but still in the vein of this trope are the children books of Tomi Ungerer starring disliked animals like a constrictor, a vulture etc.

* Satsuki Kiryuin from ''Anime/KillLaKill'' [[spoiler: trying to buy out her evil mother's trust before the big betrayal; by all means necessary.]] Sadly enough, her initial efforts were in vain.

* Most video games in the ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series by Gust (of which the ''Atelier Iris'' games are but a small part) feature a ghost named Pamela who either does not know she is a ghost or is oblivious to the fact that people find her scary.
* A quest chain in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance 2'' begins with a mission where the player must bring a potion to the client. It turns out that the client is a zombie and doesn't know it; it's not aggressive though, and upon being informed of its post-life status, it sadly shambles off into the mist. [[spoiler: The rest of the quest chain reveals that the zombie is Frimelda, a legendary swordswoman, and completing the quest chain cures her zombification and lets her join the player's clan.]]

* Another ghost who is barely aware of it, [[CuteGhostGirl Aisaka Sayo]] from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. The manga version is a CuteClumsyGirl who manages to trip over her own feet despite not actually ''having'' feet. The anime version gets an entire [[TearJerker episode.]]

* Ichiko from ''VisualNovel/OtomeWaBokuNiKoishiteru''. The main character has a hard time convincing her that she's a ghost, despite her constant floating, not to mention the fact that she hasn't aged in about twenty years, during which she's been living in a closet ([[SchoolgirlLesbians although certainly not in ''the'' closet]]).

* Shades of this, mixed with BadPowersGoodPeople, color the God of Poverty in ''Anime/{{Kamichu}}!''.

* ''[[ComicBook/{{TheIncredibleHulk}} The Hulk]]'' is often portrayed this way, having a childlike psyche and repeatedly claiming that he just wants to be left alone, yet the military and various supervillains are always after him.

* [[FanFic/PastSins Nightmare Nyx]]. She knows she's been turned into a monster, but she doesn't want to be, desperately tries not to be, and [[spoiler:actually doesn't do too bad a job as queen of Equestria, after a few false starts]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' is filled with creatures with quite nasty traits and histories, but the days of animosity between humans and {{youkai}} are long gone and the denizens of Gensoukyou are more interested in [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu parties]] than following past trends. Even Remilia, local vampire princess who boasts about being a terror of the night, never drinks enough blood in one sitting to kill anyone and the worst thing she ever did was block the sun for a while so she could go flower viewing during the day. The (initial) exception is Utsuho Reiuji, who after gaining the power to control nuclear fusion decides to torch the world. After the heroines beat some sense into her, she instead opts to use her power by controlling a nuclear fusion powerplant to provide Gensoukyou with electricity.

* The Architect from VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening is a RogueDrone sapient Darkspawn that actually wants to end the Blights and free all his kind from the Old Gods giving them sapience and free will as well. Unfortunately he suffers from BlueAndOrangeMorality and thus has done some horrible things that jeopardized his plans simply because he didn't realize that what he did was horrible. Also the Messenger, one of the Darkspawn the Architect has awakened to sapience is an even better example apparently being a genuinely nice person who, depending on the player's choices, can end up as a MysteriousProtector of travelers in trouble, albeit accidentally spreading [[TheCorruption the Blight]] in some cases.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' :