History Main / HeroicSelfDeprecation

* Vivian from ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''. Despite easily being the most powerful and the most versitile partner Mario had, she failed to develop much self-confidence until late in the game. She had a good reason, though; her sisters were bullies who always told her she was worthless. (The biggest reason for her HeelFaceTurn.)

* ''MawaruPenguindrum'': In Episode 14 [[spoiler:a mentally-broken Yuri drugs up Ringo, strips both of them naked and then tries to rape her, while mentally repeating how much she hates herself due to her body issues and loneliness.]]

* Years of being put down has resulted in Kotoha, Shinken Yellow in ''SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'', doing this to herself. When she's just absorbed into group efforts, it's no problem, especially since her job as retainer to her lord requires loyalty and to do what needs to be done. But if ever there's time to reflect on her worth, or points when their leader wants her sole decision on some matter, I'm-not-worthy-for-this-isms are inevitable. As is usual with {{toku}} character faults though, she slowly begins growing out of this by the season's halfway point.

** Squall Leonhart, the hero of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', puts up a [[TheStoic stoic]] JerkassFacade in part to hide a constant struggle with crippling insecurity and a miserable self-image.

** the character of Mind████ from the same series is a different example of this, in that she views herself as being less purely good than she actually is because she had to [[spoiler: MindRape herself into becoming a good person]]

*** That one is more due to the fact that, after having seen [[spoiler:Cedric Diggory's death and Voldemort's resurrection]], he isn't told anything about Voldemort, which he feels is important because Voldemort is trying to kill him personally. [[spoiler:And he is proven correct later in the book, by Dumbledore nonetheless, when he says that he has just realised that, by not telling Harry what he should have known earlier believing he was protecting him, he only made things worse.]]
** Harry's playing down of his own competence is probably justified, as he is already well aware that he's the centre of a 14 year old reputation built on a deed he didn't actually perform himself. The last thing he wants the other students to believe is that he can pull an unbeatable solution out of his arse every time or teach them to do the same, because he knows it could get them killed. [[spoiler:And sure enough, Colin Creevey, one of his biggest fans, dies in the last book, and it hits Harry "like a punch in the gut". Then again, Colin knew the score: he'd had to go out of his way to evade McGonagall and sneak back to fight. What Harry couldn't comprehend was just how determined the whole school was to make a stand; if McGonagall hadn't ordered them out, ''everyone'' would have stayed to fight.]]

* Colette Brunel from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. Treated as a tragic character flaw. [[spoiler:She also gets better once the burden of having to save the world is lifted from her by Lloyd.]]
* Squall Leonhart, the hero of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', puts up a [[TheStoic stoic]] JerkassFacade in part to hide a constant struggle with crippling insecurity and a miserable self-image.
* Cloud Strife of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' as well. (And how!) He didn't so much 'put up an image' of stoicism as attempt to adopt a totally different personality because he hated his own so much.
** He does this in the ''KingdomHearts'' series as well--more so in the second game, when Tifa is trying to cheer him up and encourage him to find his light, but Cloud essentially says "Yeah, whatever...".

* Lightning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. Through and through, she's strong and independent and heroic. She saved her sister, two worlds, millions of people, etc. and takes it further in the Sequel as she protects humanity across the entire timeline, protects a Goddess, and leads armies into battle as she fights an unwinnable war (she can't win... but she can stalemate indefinitely). You can always count on her to get the job done better than anyone else. Her opinion of herself? She's a rotten, no good killer who has failed everyone she loves and cares about every step of the way; refuses to forgive herself for not believing her sister at the start of XIII, no matter how understandable her actions were; feels she must atone for her sins and gain "redemption"; is constantly apologizing to her sister for failing her (Serah strongly disagrees with Lightning on this); and scoffs any time anyone tries to commend her.

* Cecil Harvey from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' spends half of the game hating himself for accidentally destroying a village of innocent bystanders (and doing other evil deeds as well). Even after his redemption he still goes back to reminisce about it eventually.
** Redemption does not equal forgetfulness.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has Luke. After his HeelRealization sets in and once he's done his HeroicBSOD, he spends the rest of the game like this, only fully recovering right at the ''final boss''. Once the rest of the party gets over [[spoiler: how he accidentally killed thousands due to his own selfishness]] (about a few hours after they are reunited), they keep telling him [[DontSaySuchStupidThings not to say such stupid things]].
** Asch gets pissed whenever Luke does puts himself down. Then again, he gets annoyed by virtually everything, but the party, for once, thinks this he is justified.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' practices this too, with Yuri, although it's much subtler. Mostly it's tied in with his InferiorityComplex when compared to Flynn, but later on, after [[spoiler: he kills Ragou and Cumore,]] he starts to hate on himself for being a criminal, too, and he also self-deprecates for [[spoiler: letting Raven essentially abduct Estelle right out from under his nose.]]

* ''SoulEater'': A recent chapter revealed that [[spoiler: Maka]] has a LOT of secret insecurities about her strength as a meister.

** Harry's playing down of his own competence is probably justified, as he is already well aware that he's the centre of a 14 year old reputation built on a deed he didn't actually perform himself. The last thing he wants the other students to believe is that he can pull an unbeatable solution out of his arse every time or teach them to do the same, because he knows it could get them killed. [[spoiler:And sure enough, Colin Creevey, one of his biggest fans, dies in the last book, and it hits Harry "like a punch in the gut".]]

* [[BrokenAce Miranda]] in the ''MassEffect'' trilogy has pretty severe self-esteem issues along these lines; since she was [[spoiler:designed from the ground up to be 'perfect']], she's got trouble believing she actually earned any of her accomplishments.

* ''{{Friends}}'': [[{{DeadpanSnarker}} Chandler]] makes constant jokes at his own expense. Even his ''first line of the series'' is a quip about his pathetic dating life. His snarking actually belies devestatingly low self-esteem and insecurity stemming from his neglectful parents and constant rejection. This is ironic as he has the most successful career of the gang, is relatively attractive and very witty. As the series continues you see him [[{{CharacterDevelopment}} gain confidence]], (largely in part to his [[{{HappilyMarried}} relationship]] with the supportive Monica) and become less self deprecating.

* Arguably, HarryPotter in ''Order of the Phoenix'':

** Lowen the Cavalier from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe FireEmblem 7]]'' is sweet, a great TeamChef, has great potential as a cavalier (and pretty good growths in-game, unless you count magic defense) and works damn hard to get the work done... but he's got crippling self-esteem problems and several supports with others (his boss Marcus, his mentor Harken and his potential girlfriend Rebecca) have him saying he's just a nuisance and a load in the group.

* After ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has Luke. After his HeelRealization sets in and once he's done his HeroicBSOD, he spends the rest of the game like this, only fully recovering right at the ''final boss''. Once the rest of the party gets over [[spoiler: how he accidentally killed thousands due to his own selfishness]] (about a few hours after they are reunited), they keep telling him [[DontSaySuchStupidThings not to say such stupid things]].

* This is a staple of most Super Hero movies, where the hero suffers some (usually) public defeat that is both physical and spiritual. In fact it is a major theme of "Film/TheDarkKnight". Bruce Wayne/ Batman seems thoroughly disgusted with himself when [[spoiler: Rachel dies]] and public opinion of him hits an all time low. In a rare subversion, he embraces his low public relations score for the greater good.

** One can argue that J.K. Rowling handles this trope quite well: Harry self-deprecates because he's thrust into the position of the most important person in the world ''before he's even done growing up'',

Welcome to the world of HeroicSelfDeprecation. It doesn't matter how many lives they've saved, worlds they've rescued or bad guys they've defeated -- their self esteem remains in negative figures and they'll still have a periodic HeroicBSOD, rendered useless until someone can convince them that they really are the most perfect person in the world. And someone will. The flip side of suffering from HeroicSelfDeprecation is that you automatically get equipped with a group of friends who will act as cheering squad, reminding you (and the audience) of just how wonderful you are. Expect many flashbacks to your heroic/kind deeds, the occasional GetAHoldOfYourselfMan, and phrases such as "You can do it!" "This is no time to get depressed!" or "We're counting on you!" {{Magical Girl}}s especially are prone to giving speeches of thanks after this happens: she repays her squad by [[ThinkNothingOfIt crediting them]] (and her boyfriend, and her parents, and her pet hamster...) with all of her victories, even if all they did was stand around slack-jawed as she did her super-special-shiny attack.

* Jeremy and Ian do this to themselves a LOT in {{A Cruel God Reigns}}. Jeremy often asserts that he "smells rotten" and that he makes those around him (particularly Ian) "dirty." Ian, likewise, regrets and agonizes over the fact that he did not notice that Jeremy was being abused, and that when he confessed, he did not at first believe him.

* ''{{Friends}}'': [{{DeadpanSnarker}} Chandler]] makes constant jokes at his own expense. Even his ''first line of the series'' was a quip about his pathetic dating life. Although humorous his snarking actually belies devestatingly low self-esteem and insecurity stemming from his neglectful parents and rejection from women. As the series continues you see him [[{{CharacterDevelopment}} gain confidence]], (largely in part to his [[{{HappilyMarried}} relationship]] with the supportive Monica) and become less self deprecating.

* ''{{Friends}}'': [{{DeadpanSnarker}} Chandler]] makes constant jokes at his own expense. Even his ''first line of the series'' was a quip about his pathetic dating life. Although humorous his snarking actually belies devestatingly low self-esteem and insecurity stemming from his neglectful parents and rejection from women. As the series continues you see him [[{{CharacterDevelopment}} gain confidence]], (largely in part to his [[{{HappilyMarried}} relationship]] with the supportive Monica) and become less self deprecating.

* As a Deconstruction of a [[TheCape Cape]]: Samaritan from ''AstroCity'', meaning it's a bit hard to get through dinner with him without hearing him complain.

* Lightning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. Through and through, she's strong and independent and heroic. She saved her sister, two worlds, millions of people, etc. and takes it further in the Sequel as she protects humanity across the entire timeline, protects a Goddess, and leads armies into battle as she fights an unwinnable war (she can't win... but she can stalemate indefinitely). You can always count on her to get the job done better than anyone else. Her opinion of herself? She's a rotten, no good killer who has failed everyone she loves and cares about every step of the way; refuses to forgive herself for not believing her sister at the start of XIII, no matter how understandable her actions were; feels she must atone for her sins and gain "redemption"; is constantly apologizing to her sister for failing her (Serah strongly disagrees with Lightning on this); and scoffs any time anyone tries to commend her.

* Lightning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. Through and through, she's strong and independent and heroic. She saved her sister, two worlds, millions of people, etc. and takes it further in the Sequel as she protects humanity across the entire timeline, protects a Goddess, and leads armies into battle as she fights an unwinnable war (she can't win... but she can stalemate indefinitely). You can always count on her to get the job done better than anyone else. Her opinion of herself? She's a rotten, no good killer who has failed everyone she loves and cares about every step of the way; refuses to forgive herself for not believing her sister at the start of XIII, no matter how understandable her actions were; feels she must atone for her sins and gain "redemption"; is constantly apologizing to her sister for failing her (Serah strongly disagrees with Lightning on this); and scoffs any time anyone tries to commend her.

* Shinji Ikari from ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is another example, maintaining his crushing self-esteem issues despite saving literally ''everyone in the world'' on a regular basis. Of course, since this is ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', [[DysfunctionJunction the people around him aren't terribly good at helping him out of his funk]].