History Main / UselessProtagonist

* Madoka Kaname from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' until very late in the series, despite being the main character mostly seems to around to be tortured and for other characters to rescue. [[spoiler: As in, the very last episode. In the previous timelines, however, she kicks massive amounts of ass.]] Note that she's being kept in this role by Homura Akemi, who has [[AwfulTruth very good reasons]].

Contrast PinballProtagonist where a character does have useful skills, but is incapable of acting on their own initiative because stronger characters have set the plot on rails. Not related to a SpotlightStealingSquad taking focus from the lead. Compare HelplessObserverProtagonist.

* Vaan and Penelo from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' come across more as the story’s TagAlongKid duo compared to the central story of Ashelia’s quest to save her kingdom and her romance with Baltheir the sky pirate.

* Snake from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4''. When you think about the story as a whole in the game, most of what he tries to accomplish ends up failing and when he does succeed, it's only because someone else planned it and did all the actual heroics, reducing Snake to nothing but a glorified delivery boy. [[spoiler: This, in fact, was always his role, from start to finish, from the first [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 game]] onwards. Snake was never intended to have agency, but to follow orders...which is what he does. It's when he accomplishes things ''in spite'' of outside machinations that he's at his most heroic: seemingly killing Big Boss in ''Metal Gear'' and ''Metal Gear 2'', for example, and frustrating the Patriots in ''Metal Gear Solid 4''.]]

A Useless Protagonist is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly that]]: a Point of View character who can only watch as more capable supporting characters bust their asses saving both them and the world. They may become more badass later on, but they always start as something of a pansy.

This may seem similar to FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator, but it's not quite the same. The FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator isn't the most key player, but can still be useful, often as the {{Sidekick}}. A character falling under this trope might really be the center of attention but is simply incapable of doing anything useful.

* In defiance of the Harem Anime convention, Issei Hyoudou of ''Literature/HighSchoolDxD'' quickly realizes how useless he is compared to the rest of Rias' team and how his Sacred Gear is more valuable than he is, resulting in a minor breakdown and some early CharacterDevelopment. Over time, he eventually becomes TheChampion to Rias, and a much more competent individual with a personal stake in the plot.

* Bella Swan from ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. What little actual action there is is performed by other characters; Bella mostly just hangs out and watches as people compete for her attention, fight each other, debate whether or not to fight each other, etc. Bella doesn't even watch that much.

* Finn during most of ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. Though majority of the film focused on him, he doesn't do anything that makes him the protagonist. He spends most of that screen time following behind the other two characters whose actions better fit the role, and that's when he's not trying to run away from the First Order. Poe, the ace pilot for the resistance has more of a presence in the beginning, and later Rey [[spoiler: who is revealed to be the real protagonist, making Finn a DecoyProtagonist, fills the role as the next powerful Jedi in the sequel trilogy.]]

A Useless Protagonist is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly that]]: a Point of View character who can only watch as more capable supporting characters bust their asses saving both him/her and the world. They may become more badass later on, but they always start as something of a pansy.

* In defiance of the Harem Anime convention, Issei Hyoudou of ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'' quickly realizes how useless he is compared to the rest of Rias' team and how his Sacred Gear is more valuable than he is, resulting in a minor breakdown and some early CharacterDevelopment. Over time, he eventually becomes TheChampion to Rias, and a much more competent individual with a personal stake in the plot.

%% * The kids in ''Anime/FinalFantasyUnlimited''.

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''Manga/CellsAtWork''. The red blood cell is hopeless at fighting the [[MonsterOfTheWeek various pathogens that threaten the body]], but she's useful as a framing device for said fights.

Note that this is not a one-time uselessness due to strange effects, or a [[IllGirl long-term effect on someone who requires protection]]. It's a healthy character with no good excuse for {{cower|Power}}ing behind their constant savior. The literary term for this is "agency": a character has agency when they ''act'' rather than ''react'', when the story proceeds ''because of'' their actions rather than through the actions of others. A character with little to no agency has the plot happen ''to'' them, with little control over the outcome, while a character with a lot of agency ''drives'' the plot: their actions force other characters to act or react.

* A criticism of a few ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' installments, more specifically ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''''.
** Tidus from X gets the most flak for it as, compared to Yuna and her quest to preform the final summoning to defeat Sin or Auron who seeks to end both his undying torment and that of his [[spoiler: best friend Jecht by destroying Sin]], Tidus’s weak connection to Sin, [[spoiler: being that Sin is his father reborn]] and that ultimately [[spoiler: he’s not even a real person, merely an imperfect memory of an actual Blitzball player from real Zanardkand ((however that works))]], he’s a rather uninteresting character.
** Vaan and Penelo from XII are a close second, coming across more as the story’s TagAlongKid ‘s compared to the central story of Ashelia’s quest to save her kingdom and her romance with Baltheir the sky pirate.

* A criticism of a few ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' installments, more specifically ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''.

** Tidus from X gets the most flak for it as, compared to Yuna and her quest to preform the final summoning to defeat Sin or Auron who seeks to end both his undying torment and that of his [[spoiler: best friend Jecht by destroying Sin]], his weak connection to Sin, [[spoiler: being that Sin is his father reborn]] and that ultimately [[spoiler: he’s not even a real person, merely an imperfect memory of an actual Blitzball player from real Zanardkan]], he’s a rather uninteresting character.

** ''Film/PumaMan'': While the title character does fight a number of villains, he's aided by his HypercompetentSidekick, Vadinho the Aztec priest, a BadassNormal who tells him what to do and holds his own without any of Puma Man's super powers. This aspect of the film was highlighted by the related episode.

* This would become a criticism for later ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' installments, specifically ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' with the bulk of criticisms leveled at the character’s Tidus, Vaan and Penelo respectively who are more tag alongs to the more interesting, or more story focused characters of Yuna, Asha and Baltheir the Sky Pirate.

* This would become a criticism for later ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' installments, specifically ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' with the bulk of criticisms leveled at the character’s Tidus, Vann and Penelo respectively.

[[folder:Web Video]]
* A critique that ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'' has levied against every ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' since ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has had people who the game claims to be the main character is in fact this trope, pointing out in X that the story is more Yuna centered than Tidus and making the argument that XII’s story would be better if Vaan and Penelo were removed as the story focuses more on Balthier the Sky Pirate and his romance with Asha
[[/folder]]

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in Manga/CellsAtWork. The red blood cell is hopeless at fighting the [[MonsterOfTheWeek various pathogens that threaten the body]], but she's useful as a framing device for said fights.

Contrast PinballProtagonist where a character does have useful skills, but is incapable of acting on their own initiative because stronger characters have set the plot on rails. Not related to a SpotlightStealingSquad taking focus from the lead.

* The ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' fanfic ''[[Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}} City of Lost Children]]'' takes place while Tom is still a [[AndIMustScream Controller]], so he can only watch as his family falls apart around him and [[PuppeteerParasite Essa]] continues to deceive them. Tom's only act of agency is a brief moment of FightingFromTheInside.