History Main / NeverTheObviousSuspect

** In any case where there's a ''really'' obvious suspect (sometimes there's even more than one), you can be assured that they are innocent. Even if they're a SerialKiller who has already racked up an impressive body count prior to the events of the game. [[spoiler:And then Chapter 3 of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' rolls around, where the MetaTwist is that for once, the obvious suspect really ''did'' do it]].

*** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' has Kyoko Kirigiri (whose Ultimate talent is unknown for most of the game, although she seems quite comfortable around corpses) and Toko Fukawa (who has a SplitPersonality that is an infamous SerialKiller). [[spoiler:Both survive to the end of the game.]]
*** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' has Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, the Ultimate Yakuza, and Byakuya Togami (a returning character from the first game who has [[FormerlyFit a significantly different appearance]] and [[TookALevelInKindness personality]], facts that are never brought up since the rest of the game's cast are new characters who wouldn't know Byakuya from the first game). [[spoiler:Byakuya (actually the Ultimate Impostor) is the victim of the first case, while Fuyuhiko survives to the end of the game]].
*** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' has Rantaro Amami (whose Ultimate talent is unknown for most of the game), Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Assassin (who initially lies and claims her Ultimate talent is Child Caregiver) and Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader (''what'' he is the Supreme Leader of is a mystery for most of the game, though he insists it's a NebulousEvilOrganization trying to conquer the world). [[spoiler:Rantaro is the victim of the first case, Maki survives to the end (though she does try to kill Kokichi but doesn't succeed), and Kokichi is the victim of the fifth case and was actually the Supreme Leader of a group of clowns who commit petty crimes and pull pranks on people]].

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': When Linda performs a stage play in the restaurant, Louise plays a butler who reacts dismissive to the murders and loudly remarks that the murder weapon is hers. This is intended as a (lazy) RedHerring, with Linda actually being the killer. When the true killer is revealed, the audience becomes angry since clearly TheButlerDidIt and there were no clues pointing to Linda.

* In ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'', it becomes gradually clear that the supposed BigBad Unknown, a leader of [[{{Cult}} Mint Eye]], is working for someone else, whom he calls The Savior. All clues initially point to V, the current leader of the RFA, due to how suspiciously he acts. He appears sparingly, talks cryptically about everything, divulges little information on the [[NeverSuicide supposed suicide]] of the past leader (and his girlfriend) Rika, refuses to give a straight answer whenever the RFA members question him, disappears for days in each route and will not answer calls or messages, and generally behaves in a way that ''screams'' traitor. Notably, Rika's grieving cousin Yoosung is convinced that he is indeed responsible, and even [[spoiler:Seven]], later on in his route, begins thinking the same thing. In the first secret ending, it turns out that [[spoiler:he is actually TheMole; ''[[NotQuiteDead Rika herself]]'' is [[TheDogWasTheMastermind Unknown's boss]]]].

See also ArkhamsRazor, where a scenario like this is played for humor, OrgyOfEvidence, which can apply to the first suspect, and RedHerringMole, when the obvious suspect is (not) a spy. If the obvious suspect is ruled out by being the second victim, that's SuspectExistenceFailure.

See also ArkhamsRazor, where a scenario like this is played for humor, OrgyOfEvidence, which can apply to the first suspect, and RedHerringMole, when the obvious suspect is (not) a spy.

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Subverted in an early Creator/JohnByrne ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'' story: Scotland Yard comes to see Superman for helping finding Winn Schott, aka the Toyman. They relate how they've been following him after a murder spree against the toy company owners who fired him, often using his own toy designs. A baffled Superman asks why they didn't just go after Schott in the first place, when the evidence was clear. With some embarrassment, the inspector admits that he and his team were so used to cases where the ''least'' likely suspect was the killer that it took a while before they realized it really was the most obvious person.
[[/folder]]

* In ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'', it becomes gradually clear that the supposed BigBad Unknown, a leader of [[{{Cult}} Mint Eye]], is working for someone else, whom he calls The Savior. All clues initially point to V, the current leader of the RFA, due to how suspiciously he acts. He appears sparingly, talks cryptically about everything, divulges little information on the [[NeverSuicide supposed suicide]] of the past leader (and his girlfriend) Rika, refuses to give a straight answer whenever the RFA members question him, disappears for days in each route and will not answer calls or messages, and generally behaves in a way that ''screams'' traitor. Notably, Rika's grieving cousin Yoosung is convinced that he is indeed responsible, and even [[spoiler:Seven]], later on in his route, begins thinking the same thing. In the first secret ending, it turns out that [[spoiler:he is actually a ReverseMole; ''[[NotQuiteDead Rika herself]]'' is [[TheDogWasTheMastermind Unknown's boss]]]].

** Lamshaped again in ''Literature/AMurderAtTheVicarage'' when Marple notes how she was onto the killer as "in the books, it's often the least likely person but [[ThisIsReality I've found that rarely applies in real life.]]"

* Played straight in all but two trial cases in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games (including [[VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVsPhoenixWrightAceAttorney the crossover with Professor Layton]]), where the culprit is not the defendant. Given that the entire premise of the series is of a defense attorney trying to clear his clients of murder charges, the real application of this trope should be when Phoenix's first suspect isn't the guilty one, which happens a couple times as well. Most famously, in [[spoiler:the final case of ''Justice For All'']], Phoenix accuses someone, only to later discover that [[spoiler:''his client is actually guilty after all''. While he didn't kill the victim himself, he hired an assassin to do it, and therefore didn't set off Phoenix's lie-detecting Magatama when he answered "No" to "Did [[Exactwords you]] kill him?"]].

* Played straight in all but two trial cases in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' games (including [[VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVsPhoenixWrightAceAttorney the crossover with Professor Layton]]), where the culprit is not the defendant. Given that the entire premise of the series is of a defense attorney trying to clear his clients of murder charges, the real application of this trope should be when Phoenix's first suspect isn't the guilty one, which happens a couple times as well (most famously, in [[spoiler:the final case of ''Justice For All'']], Phoenix accuses someone, only to later discover the real killer was [[spoiler:hired by the defendant himself]].)

*** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' has Rantaro Amami (whose Ultimate talent is unknown for most of the game), Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Assassin (who initially lies and claims her Ultimate talent is Child Caregiver) and Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader (''what'' he is the Supreme Leader of is a mystery for most of the game, although it's assumed to be something evil). [[spoiler:Rantaro is the victim of the first case, Maki survives to the end, and Kokichi is the victim of the fifth case]].

*** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' has Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, the Ultimate Yakuza, and Byakuya Togami (a returning character from the first game who has a significantly different appearance and personality, facts that are never brought up since the rest of the game's cast are new characters who wouldn't know Byakuya from the first game). [[spoiler:Byakuya (actually the Ultimate Impostor) is the victim of the first case, while Fuyuhiko survives to the end of the game]].
*** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' has Rantaro Amami (whose Ultimate talent is unknown for most of the game), Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Assassin (who initially lies and claims her Ultimate talent is Child Caregiver) and Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader (''what'' he is the Supreme Leader of is a mystery for most of the game, although it's assumed to be something evil). [[spoiler:Rantaro is the victim of the first case, Maki survives to the end, and Kokichi is the victim of the fourth case]].

Anime & Manga

* In any ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' case where there's a ''really'' obvious suspect (sometimes there's even more than one), you can be assured that they are innocent. Even if they're a SerialKiller who has already racked up an impressive body count prior to the events of the game. [[spoiler:And then Chapter 3 of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' rolls around, where the MetaTwist is that for once, the obvious suspect really ''did'' do it]].

* Played for laughs in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' with the character of Mayo Mitama: she is so obvious she is a delinquent (because she looks exactly like one and tend to do delinquent things in absolutely plain sight) that everyone somehow believes she must be a living case of [[AcceptableTargets Acceptable Targets]] and [[FaceOfAThug Face of a Thug]]. Turns out, she is a thug in face, behaviour, and everything else.

* Played for laughs in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' with the character of Mayo Mitama: she is so obvious she is a delinquent (because she looks exactly like one and tend to do delinquent things in absolutely plain sight) that everyone believes her to be a living case of [[AcceptableTargets Acceptable Targets]] and [[FaceOfAThug Face of a Thug]]. Turns out, she is a thug in face, behaviour, and everything else.

* Played for laughs in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' with the character of Mayo Mitama: she is so obvious she is a delinquent (because she looks exactly like one and tend to do delinquent things in absolutely plain sight) that everyone believes her to be a living case of [[AcceptableTargets Acceptable Target]] and [[FaceOfAThug Face of a Thug]]. Turns out, she is a thug in face, behaviour, and everything else.

* Played for laughs in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' with the character of Mayo Mitama: she is so obvious she is a delinquent (because she looks exactly like one and tend to do delinquent things in absolutely plain sight) that everyone will believe her to be a living case of [[FaceOfAThug Face of a Thug]]. Turns out, she is a thug in face, body, and everything else.

* Played for laughs in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' with the character of Mayo Mitama: she is so obvious she is a deliquent (because she looks exactly like one and tend to do delinquent things in absolutely plain sight) that everyone will believe her to be a living case of [[FaceOfAThug Face of a Thug]]. Turns out, she is a thug in famce, body, and everything else.

Writers like to use the above formula because it adds a [[PlotTwist twist]] to the story. Discovering the culprit becomes an interesting puzzle instead of the detective simply finding the number one suspect and arresting them. Plus, if the real mastermind was trying to get away with it, they would never make themselves so overt. However, this trope has become so common that the audience is now used to it, which means they pretty much expect the real culprit to be someone else than the obvious choice. In most cases, the twist is also SpoiledByTheFormat: if a detective show lasts for 45 minutes, and after the first 15 minutes the detective already appears to have caught the guilty party, it's almost certain the real culprit will turn out to be someone else.

* In ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'', it becomes gradually clear that the supposed BigBad Unknown, a leader of [[{{Cult}} Mint Eye]], is working for someone else, whom he calls The Savior. All clues initially point to V, the current leader of the RFA, due to how suspiciously he acts. He appears sparingly, talks cryptically about everything, divulges little information on the [[NeverSuicide supposed suicide]] of the past leader (and his girlfriend) Rika, refuses to give a straight answer whenever the RFA members question him, disappears for days in each route and will not answer calls or messages, and generally behaves in a way that ''screams'' traitor. Notably, Rika's grieving cousin Yoosung is convinced that he is indeed responsible, and even [[spoiler:Seven]], later on in his route, begins thinking the same thing. In the first secret ending, it turns out that [[spoiler:he is actually a ReverseMole; ''[[NotQuiteDead Rika herself]]'' is [[[TheDogWasTheMastermind Unknown's boss]].

See also ArkhamsRazor, where a scenario like this is played for humor, and OrgyOfEvidence, which can apply to the first suspect.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Wadanohara}}'', the Blue Sea Kingdom has a traitor working to subvert the kingdom’s defenses against their enemy Tostasu Kingdom. Everyone suspects the shark Samekichi- he has an [[ThreateningShark intimidating]], [[DarkIsEvil “bad boy” appearance]], antagonizes Wadanohara and tries to keep her away from the sea, gets in the way of the mission to restore the kingdom’s defenses, and refuses to explain his reasons for doing so. His silhouette is also occasionally seen destroying the shields and doing other bad things. Because of this, everyone (save [[OnlySaneWoman Wadanohara]]) thinks it’s him. So naturally, he turns out to have been framed by [[spoiler:[[CainAndAbel his own brother]]]].

* In ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'', it becomes gradually clear that the supposed BigBad Unknown, a leader of [[{{Cult}} Mint Eye]], is working for someone else, whom he calls The Savior. All clues initially point to V, the current leader of the RFA, due to how suspiciously he acts. He appears sparingly, talks cryptically about everything, divulges little information on the [[NeverSuicide supposed suicide]] of the past leader (and his girlfriend) Rika, refuses to give a straight answer whenever the RFA members question him, disappears for days in each route and will not answer calls or messages, and generally behaves in a way that ''screams'' traitor. Notably, Rika's grieving cousin Yoosung is convinced that he is indeed responsible, and even [[spoiler:Seven]], later on in his route, begins thinking the same thing. In the first secret ending, it turns out that [[spoiler:he is actually a ReverseMole; ''[[NotQuiteDead Rika]] [[TheDogWasTheMastermind herself]]'' is Unknown's boss]].

Writers like to use the above formula because it adds a [[PlotTwist twist]] to the story. Discovering the culprit becomes an interesting puzzle instead of the detective simply finding the number one suspect and arresting them. However, this trope has become so common that the audience is now used to it, which means they pretty much expect the real culprit to be someone else than the obvious choice. In most cases, the twist is also SpoiledByTheFormat: if a detective show lasts for 45 minutes, and after the first 15 minutes the detective already appears to have caught the guilty party, it's almost certain the real culprit will turn out to be someone else.

* Subverted in an early Creator/JohnByrne ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'' story, Scotland Yard comes to see Superman for helping finding Winn Schott aka the Toyman. They relate how they've been following him after a murder spree against the toy company owners who fired him, often using his own toy designs. A baffled Superman asks why they didn't just go after Schott in the first place when the evidence was clear. With some embarrassment, the inspector admits that he and his team were so used to cases where the ''least'' likely suspect was the killer that it took a while before they realized it really was the most obvious person.

* Subverted in an early John Byrne Superman story, Scotland Yard comes to see Superman for helping finding Winn Schott aka the Toyman. They relate how they've been following him after a murder spree against the toy company owners who fired him, often using his own toy designs. A baffled Superman asks why they didn't just go after Schott in the first place when the evidence was clear. With some embarrassment, the inspector admits that he and his team were so used to cases where the ''least'' likely suspect was the killer that it took a while before they realized it really was the most obvious person.