History Main / NewTransferStudent

* ''Stardust Telepath'': Umika's world is turned upside down when a girl claiming to be an alien transfers to her school. The girl, Yuu Akeuchi, has no memory of her past and claims according to her travel log her spaceship broke down and stranded her on Earth. According to Yuu, she just woke up in an abandoned lighthouse one day. ''How'', exactly, she enrolled in the school without parents or even Japanese citizenship isn't brought up. Unless she's just plain ''cuckoo'', that is.

* In ''Manga/ZatchBell,'' the character Shion (partner to the momodo Nya) is introduced as a transfer student to Kiyo's high school. When her mini-story-arc is completed, she exits with the excuse that her transfer stay was over, and she didn't want to stay around 'cause she might start relying on Kiyo and Zatch too much.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' fanfic ''DarthWiki/TheNewGirl'' has Svetlana Jankovic,a beautiful girl from Slovakia. But she doesn't really care about boys.
* We present a Chinese publisher's unauthorised attempt to cash in on ''Literature/HarryPotter'' with: ''[[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/opinion/10potter7.html Harry Potter and the Chinese Overseas Students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]''.

** In the first episode of ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar'', Mai is the NewTransferStudent, having just returned to the area after leaving years ago. Until [[Anime/YesPrecure5 Urara]] a year later, and Kurumi from ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5 Go Go!'' the year after that, Mai was unique among transfer students in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise in that she does ''not'' start out with a bad attitude, gradually improve while becoming friends with main characters, suddenly turn out to be evil (though the audience knew this all along), fight the main characters, change affiliations during the fight, head off to apparent death, and then reappear near the end of the season. And later on, we would get [[Anime/FreshPrettyCure Setsuna]] and [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Tsubomi]], albeit the former is another [[HeelFaceTurn villain turned good]], then [[Anime/SuitePrettyCure Ellen]], [[Anime/SmilePrettyCure Miyuki]], [[Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure Makoto]], [[Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure Hime]] and then [[Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure Towa]]. Of those ten, three are formerly evil and six come from other worlds (there's a bit of overlap there).

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Shinigami seem to enjoy this as a method of remaining in contact with Ichigo. Rukia, Hitsugaya, Renji, Matsumoto, Ikkaku and Yumichika have all attempted it. Even Shinji tried it when the Vaizards decided to make contact with Ichigo. The anime takes this even further in filler arcs, to the point where a filler character "transferred" to Ichigo's class who was clearly far too young for the class age-group. This was noticed by other classmates (Hitsugaya had also drawn attention in the canon, although not as much).

** Then later on, she's joined by Kazumi (who fiddled the records to get Kuroha in in the first place) and Kotori, both of whom are also magic users. Ryouta actually lampshades it by pointing out how suspicious it looks for so many students to be transferring in at once.
* ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': Due to her age, [[ActionGirlfriend Tokiko Tsumura]] has twice transferred into a school on a mission for the Alchemist Army. The first time, told during flashbacks, was to investigate a the miraculous healing power of a relic at Newton Apple Academy for Girls that turned out to be a [[AlchemyIsMagic kakugane]]. The second time was at the beginning of the series when she transferred into Ginsei Private Academy to search for the student who was creating [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculi]], and keep an eye of [[StockShonenHero Kazuki]].

** Tarou Misaki later transferred to Nankatsu as well. He transferred to a lots of school due to his father's job as an artist and Misaki even played for Meiwa FC and Furano FC at some point. He eventually would move to France with his father and he has been staying there while keeping playing soccer.

** Maria Higashio transferred to Conan's class sometime off-screen. Unlike Conan and Haibara, Maria doesn't stand out and she initially has trouble to find friends. This is until Kobayashi-sensei creates a game which heavily integrates her and fellow student Takuma Sakamoto, giving them the chance to become friends with their classmates.
** Rather than a transfer student, Conan's class gets a transfer ''assistant teacher'' in volume 91, Rumi Wakasa. While it is initially asumed she is simply there to help out because with three transfer students the class has become to big, she's actually ObfuscatingStupidity and seems to test Conan's deduction skills for unknown reasons. She's also one of the prime suspects believed to be [[NumberTwo Rum]].

** Suzaku transfers in early on in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. It's not the first time the viewers have seen him, though. He does it again in the second season, and there's a marked difference in how the students treat him, since he's gone from being "that Eleven who they say killed Prince Clovis" to "ace pilot and war hero".

* Subverted in ''Manga/DearBrother'', where Nanako and Tomoko hav several typical traits ({{Naive newcomer}}s, have just arrived to class, are shown around by other students, etc) but they did ''not'' transfer, having entered Seiran High via normal admission tests. This is because Seiran in itself is an ElevatorSchool, so almost all the other girls have been there for years and having new students arrive in highschool is a ''very'' rare thing.

* Ryu Amakusa and Megumi Minami have to act the part in ''Manga/DetectiveSchoolQ'' by enrolling into a BoardingSchool to investigate a girl's disappearance, supposedly caused by the ''nasty'' online bullying coming from the ClassRepresentative. [[spoiler: He ends up murdered, and we find out that ''another'' girl was the target of his constant and cruel insults]].

* ''Manga/TheDisastrousLifeOfSaikiK'': This is a favorite way to introduce a new secondary character, to the point where the class actually starts to gets sick and tired of it after a while. [[ISeeDeadPeople Reita Toritsuka the spirit medium]] was first (Saiki thought it was cliche even then), he was quickly followed by [[BadassBiker Aren Kuboyasu the ex-gang member]] who's terrible at hiding his past, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Metori Saiko the spoiled rich kid]], [[AlwaysSecondBest Imu Rifuta the prettiest girl in her old school]] who's now firmly in second place behind [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman Teruhashi]], [[FortuneTeller Mikoto Aiura the fortune teller]] who transferred because her fortune said that Saiki is her soulmate, [[SecretChaser Touma Akechi, Saiki's former classmate who correctly suspects him of being a psychic]], and finally [[BornUnlucky Hii Suzumiya]]. By the end the class is so crowded that Saiki lampshades how only a handful of the named characters are ever shown to be in class at once, depending on the plot of the episode.

* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasChronicleOfTheMoonExploration'' have a new student named Luca transferring into Nobita's class, who is the new [[TheAce Ace]] in sports, studies, and quickly makes friends with the entire gang, even Suneo and Gian who tried bullying Luca earlier on. But then, it's revealed that Luca is actually a millennia-old alien from the moon who's fleeing from a genocidal alien dictator.

* ''Manga/FoodWars'': Souma Yukihira technically enrolls Tootsuki the normal way by passing through the application exam, so he starts his first high school year like everyone else. The thing is that everyone else has been in Tootsuki since middle school and they have been using the elevator system. Thus everyone treats and calls Souma a transfer student and he's the only one to have passed the exam in the first place.
* Veronica's role in more than one chapter of ''Manga/FrankenFran'', due to Fran desiring her to socialize and the like. It doesn't have a high success rate at finding normalcy.

* Noriaki Kakyoin from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' claims to have transfered to Jotaro Kujo's high school the day before he's introduced. He even has a [[TransferStudentUniforms transfer student uniform]] that's dark green instead of black like the other boys' gakurans. [[spoiler: This may have just been a ruse to avoid Jotaro's suspicion as he was there to kill him due to being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy under the influence]] of one of [[BigBad DIO's]] flesh buds.]]

* ''Manga/KiniroMosaic'' begins with Alice, a girl Shinobu befriended while the latter was homestaying in England, transfers into her class. Alice's best friend, Karen, who is also from England, followed Alice and transfers into her school as well, albeit the parallel class.

** ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' didn't even show the school that often, but Fate transferred in and became friends with Nanoha's groupies effortlessly anyway (they had already knew about her from the video mail that Nanoha and Fate had been exchanging for the previous six months). Hayate transfers in during the spring after ''A's'', having become well enough to attend.

** Invoked by Lutecia in ''[=ViVid=] Life'' when's she's caught wandering around St. Hilde in a middle school uniform and claims to be a transfer student to save face. She's immediately placed in Einhart's class... much to Einhart's confusion given that Lutecia is 2 years older than her.

* In the short titled ''Murasaki'' (collected in the first volume of ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Program_(manga) Short Program]]''), Creator/MitsuruAdachi with a CreatorCameo [[LampshadeHanging noted]] that whenever your plot is heading to a dead end, simply introducing a transfer student will help moving it along.

*** It never was stated that she was in junior high all time, which would be highly visible... Actually opposite was stated as Takamichi was her classmate, which could happen only in highschool or university. So it's only her 2nd or 3rd time in junior high for that 15 years. And she can change visble age and appearance. So for the sake of {{masquerade}} she is a transfer student.

** Shinji gets the "main character is starting a new life bit". He's ignored, worshiped and beat up by turns on his first day. Most conventionally, he becomes friends with ThoseTwoGuys.
** Asuka's first week of school is played and shot like the "hot new girl in school" from countless romantic comedies and love sims, more specifically a "returned overseas student" (someone who lived abroad because of daddy's job). Actually, she was born overseas (given her citizenship, in Germany or the USA most likely), and has never lived in Japan. It immediately becomes clear that Asuka doesn't care anything about "fitting in", academics or dating with any of all those star-struck boys. She only cares for [[LoveInterest Shinji]] and makes friends with [[ClassRepresentative Hikari]].

* ''Manga/NurseAngelRirikaSOS'' begins with Nozomu's fanclub greeting him when he arrives at school for the first time. He's from England, or so he says. He's actually a {{Human Alien|s}} from another planet.

* Ma-ri in ''Webcomic/OrangeMarmalade'' has been her school for around a week before the story starts. Later Si-Hoo transfers to her school as well.
* Parodied in ''Manga/OresamaTeacher''. The main character Mafuyu Kurosaki is a new transfer student in Midori Ga Oka Academy, but she is such a CloudCuckoolander that everything associated with this trope is turned upside-down. She's so excited that she dons a new school uniform a day before the school starts, her well-practised introductory speech is so out-of-character that her homeroom teacher bursts out laughing, and when ordinary classmates (non-delinquents) talk to her [[SociallyAwkwardHero she is deeply moved]]. Her FriendlessBackground is only her imagination; in fact, her friends from Higashi High appear from time to time and have their own sub-plots.

* After travelling through six different regions with friends, Satoshi/[[DubNameChange Ash]] takes a vacation with his mother in Alola when the ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'' anime begins. After a couple of events, Satoshi/Ash decides to stay there and goes to the Pokémon School and joins the class of the people he has met during his vacation. Due to that, the series changes from the longly known adventure setting to a school setting.

** There's also something of a RunningGag since Kurumi arrived -- the size of their name in their introduction and the state of panic they're in. Kurumi, Ellen and Hime wrote their names large, Tsubomi wrote hers teeny-tiny, Tsubomi and Miyuki suffered StageFright, Ellen passed out from lack of sleep and Hime passed out from ''sheer fright''.
** In ''Anime/PrettyCureAllStars New Stage'', the film's protagonist Ayumi moves with her family to the town where the film takes place. Her transferring to a new class is one of her many worries she suffers from moving to different town. Fuu-chan, a piece of the BigBad Fusion which she befriends, attempts to fulfill her "wish" of getting rid of the school and town as part of their friendship. During the run of the movie, Ayumi gets to learn more and more about how to deal with her worries and manages to tell Fuu-chan her feelings straight. By the end of the movie, she starts befriending with her new classmates.
* Homura Akemi in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' is one, although she doesn't transfer for educational reasons, but rather to keep and eye on and protect Madoka.
** [[spoiler:[[GroundhogDayLoop In the beginning]], though, she was transferred for a legitimate educational reason-- she has been previously hospitalized long-term due to heart disease, and was in the process of mainstreaming]].

** Makoto, a main character, is introduced to the cast as a new transfer in the first season of the [[Manga/SailorMoon first anime]]. This corresponds to a similar introduction in the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]]. In both stories, she's considered a frightening and intimidating person due to her [[HugeSchoolgirl intimidatingly large height]] and naturally light and wavy hair (which in Japan is normally the sign of a delinquent student). In fact, she wears her old school's uniform because they didn't have any in her size. In both storylines, she is quickly revealed to be a kind and easy to approach person and joins the cast as Sailor Jupiter.
** In the Creator/DiC dub only, Amy was introduced like this. In all other dubs, she was already a student at the same school, just in a different class from Usagi and only drawing her attention conveniently when the plot needed to add another heroine to the cast.

* ''Manga/ASilentVoice'' starts with Shouko Nishiyama transferring to Shouya Ishida's elementary school. Not soon afterwards she starts getting bullied (mainly be Shouya) due to her deafness. It became so bad that she transferred out of school. Afterwards the manga skips ahead to her as a high schooler where she reconciles with [[TheAtoner Shouya]], who has learned sign language to apologize to her.

* Chihiro in ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' is on her way to become the new transfer student, and plays it like it might happen in real life: she is unhappy about parting from her friends and nervous about meeting new ones. Defeats the trope, however, because the story ends before she even reaches the new school. However, within the context of the bath-house she fills the role the transfer student could have served had the bath-house been a school; she has to fit in, acquires a uniform, makes friends, learns the ropes, etc.

** The manga spinoff of the original ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' has Sasami transfer into a local elementary school. Being a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 700-year-old]] [[HumanAliens alien]] with no record of her existence on Earth is no impediment; all that's necessary is to have [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist the greatest genius the history of the universe]] ''create'' those records, so flawlessly that no one would ever question them.

* Tatsuma Hiyuu from ''Manga/TokyoMajin''. Subverted (a bit), however, as the series begins InMediasRes, following up with HowWeGotHere. Not so for the game though as this trope firmly applies since Tatsuma is the protagonist of the game and appears right at the beginning as a transfer student. Later on however a prologue can be unlocked which tells of Tatsuma's past at his previous school but this was omitted from the anime.

** Tear and Honoka transfer to the school in episode 4. Both girls also have D markings on them as well, and were sent here to help them understand their powers more, and protect them from unsavory people who may try to exploit them.
* In ''Anime/VividredOperation'', Akane, Aoi, and Momo transfer the same school as Wakaba, Himawari, and Rei. Mizuha also joins, but as a teacher.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': This happens a lot throughout the series. There is also the general rule of thumb that a transfer student has to enroll the Osiris Red dorm, albeit this seems to apply only in season 1.
** Rei Saotome transfers to Duel Academia, but soon her age is figured out, she has to leave the school. She joins the school the normal way in season 3.
** After Manjoume left Duel Academia, he enrolls North Academia, but switches back to Duel Academia, but with the consequence that he has to go to the Osiris Red dorm rather than any of the higher ones (he initially started as an Obelisk Blue). [[[[TransferStudentUniforms He keeps his coat from North Academia for the rest of the series.]]

** The third season introduces four exchange students (Johan Andersen, Austin O'Brien, Jim Crocodile Cook and Amon Garam) and a new teacher (Professor Cobra), all of them being given special privileges. And they are a SpotlightStealingSquad, being better than most of the old cast and having more screentime than them.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': Lucciano disguises himself as a rich transfer student for a single episode, so he could duel and possibly kill Luca. He's shown to be pretty popular with the girls, including Luca, and Lucciano goes so far to create his own mansion to make his disguise work better (with Placido as his butler). The next episode, after he has defeated Luca and Lua, but failed to kill any of them, nobody from the twins' school (except the main characters) can remember who Lucciano was and his mansion disappeared into thin air.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'': In the first episode of ''ZEXAL II'', Rei Shingetsu transfers to Yuma's class and introduces to him as a very enthusiastic {{Fanboy}}. Yuma and Shingetsu become friends and over the course of the series and he eventually reveals that he's a member of the Barian Police, a group of people who fight the evil Barian Emperors...except it's a huge lie because he's actually one of the Seven Barian Emperors himself: it's him -- Vector!
* Karin from ''Anime/YukiYunaIsAHero'' uses being a transfer student to explain her presence. In reality, she is a [[MagicalGirlWarrior Hero]] specially trained by Taisha who is meant to supervise the others. She says that she transferred because of her parents job, however in reality Karin [[MinorLivingAlone doesn't even live with them]].

** In ''ComicBook/ManyHappyReturns'', Kara gets enrolled in Linda's school as a way to try to blend in. Unfortunately, her schoollmates think she is a freak.

* ''Fanfic/RiseOfTheMinisukas'': Lampshaded. Upon Mana's arrival, Toji and Kensuke why so many people (Shinji, Asuka, Kotone, Mat and Mana within some few weeks) are transferring, and why so many of them are redheads.

** Twilight Sparkle actually arrives at Canterlot High School through a PortalDoor that connects to a MagicMirror in Equestria. But of course she can't tell people that. So she uses this trope as her cover story. Even Principal Celestia accepts this, despite not having seen any [[UndeadTaxExemption transfer paperwork]].

* [[FullNameBasis Marybeth Louise Hutchinson]] in ''Film/TheFaculty'' is a transfer student from UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}. [[spoiler:She's lying. She actually transferred from another ''planet''.]]

* In the original ''Literature/TheMagicSchoolBus'' books, this is how Phoebe was introduced in the second book, ''The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth''. In the later TV series, she's in Ms. Frizzle's class from the first episode, but constantly says "at my old school" as part of her MadLibsCatchPhrase.

* Sage from ''Literature/AlmostPerfect'' moves from Joplin to Boyer and starts high school there in November of her senior year. Logan is surprised, because people almost never move to a small, poor town like Boyer. He finds out later that it's because she's trans. After years of [[HomeschooledKids homeschooling]], she finally turned eighteen and told her parents that they couldn't stop her from going back to public school, and they responded by moving to another town where no one would know what happened to their "son."

** Jenna transferred in season 9 and immediately told Clare that she was known as a "boyfriend stealer" at her old school - and sure enough, partway through the season she'd stolen Clare's boyfriend K.C.

* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' had several over it's run.

** Blaine transfers to [=McKinley=] at the beginning of season 3, though it's a subversion because he was a well known character by then anyway.

** Unique appears in two episodes of season 3, and in the second one hints that she might transfer to [=McKinely=] instead of put up with her poor treatment at Carmel. Sure enough, she joins the New Directions at the beginning of season 4.

* ''Series/StrangersWithCandy'' had the entire student body, teachers and parents ostracizing the new kid to the point of almost lynching him for being seen talking to Jerri at the school dance.

** Allison is introduced this way at the start of first season. Though Scott eyes (or should it be, hers? Both?) her before she's even introduced to the class. Her family had come to town because they were [[HunterOfMonsters werewolf hunters]], and she's mentioned to have moved around a lot prior to the events of the show.

** Malia is introduced to the characters ''before'' transferring in, but doesn't become part of the group until she does.

* ''Series/{{Victorious}}'': Tori Vega is an unusual example. Not only is she the main character, but the whole reason why she transfers to Hollywood Arts (a school for the talently gifted) is because she's pressured to do so by the school's students, after she substitutes for her sister (also a Hollywood Arts student) for a song number and gives a stellar performance. Most of the first episode revolves around the described events and how quickly she fits in.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': The titular "New Girl in Town". Harriet Conklin is jealous because the new girl is after Walter Denton. Things don't become serious, until Miss Brooks finds out that the girl's mother has eyes for LoveInterest Mr. Boynton.

%%* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest''... where do we begin? Adam Dodd, Ken Lawson, Erick Rischio, Dacey Ashcroft and Kallie Majors, among others. (and that's only ''V3'')

* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'': Technically all students enrolling Hope's Peak Academy are this, since one of the requirements for entering the school is that they have to be already enrolling a different high school. The respective cast usually enter their new class at the same time and they all are from different schools and wear different uniforms (if any uniform at all), even though the school actually provides its own uniforms. [[spoiler:Although, all games reveal that they either have been in school for a couple of year and have their school memories stolen.]] Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles follows a similar principle, but has a limited student body count of 16 and the plot twist is similar, but different from before. It is also a prison school from the get-go, while Hope's Peak genuinely started off as a school for talented people and researching talent.

* In ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae'', Kei and Rusalka both show up as transfer students at the main character Ren's school. This is on the day after they almost killed him. Their goal is mostly just to [[KeepingTheEnemyClose keep tabs on and "motivate" him]] if he doesn't go along with their demands. And given that group they belong pretty much control every aspect of the city, getting them in was easy. And as one of the side-stories show, this is not the first time the group has done this either.

** Keiichi counts, although at the start of the story, he's been there for about a month. Being the NaiveNewcomer to town either causes many misunderstandings or gives him an insight others don't, depending on the arc.

** A better example would be Hanyuu. She drops in during the final arc, and is immediately [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe taken home... three times.]] She isn't a new character to the player [[spoiler:as she's been a ghost for the entire series and has been a major character for the last few arcs]], but to everyone besides Rika she is.

** This series is yet another case of the protagonist being the transfer student... however, this is explicitly not a good thing, as the way that transfer students must be treated in Aogami High School turns out to be a very delicate balancing act that could either make the students look like total suck-ups, or in the worse case, earn the ire of [[VengefulGhost Shino Misora]].
--> '''Inari:''' "Transfer students must be treated well, or [[{{Understatement}} bad things will happen.]]"

* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', Bladedancer and Carmilla and Heyoka all started at Whateley Academy late in fall term, at different times. Then Seraphim started winter term. {{Justified|Trope}} in that Whateley is specifically a school for young mutants, whose powers may spontaneously manifest and necessitate a sudden transfer from whatever school for "baselines" they previously attended at any point in the school year. It would have to be a pretty atypical semester in which ''no'' new transfer students showed up for a change.

* The protagonists of ''WesternAnimation/GalaxyHigh'', JerkJock Doyle and AcademicAlphaBitch Aimee, transfer to the eponymous Galaxy High thanks to his sports prowess and her booksmarts respectively. Their situations get completely flipped: the formerly super popular Doyle turns into the ButtMonkey whereas the once isolated Aimee becomes a "late bloomer".

* Will Vandom in ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' starts as this. In the [[ComicBook/{{Witch}} comics]] Taranee is another one, having moved a few days earlier (in the cartoon she moved a year before the series). Interestingly, in the comics we see that Taranee was actually born in Heatherfield, as [[spoiler: the burned down house of Taranee's real parents is on the city's outskirts]] and moved out when she was [[spoiler: adopted]].

* ''Literature/TheNameJar'': [[TheProtagonist Unhei]] is this. She and her parents moved to the United States from Korea.

%%* Sung-Hae at the start of ''Manhwa/ZippyZiggy''.

* The ''ComicBook/KidSherlock'' story "The Smell" introduces [[FunnyAnimal Watson]] as the new kid at Baker Elementary School.

* In chapter 20 of ''Fanfic/RWBYScars'', Penny transfers to Beacon Academy mid-semester because she wants to experience life outside of Atlas.
* [[AdaptationalBadass Tamaki]], [[spoiler:[[AdaptationalHeroism Karin]], and [[SparedByTheAdaptation Haku]]]] all transfer into Naruto's class at the Konoha Ninja Academy after the events of [[spoiler:the Uchiha Insurrection]] in ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin''.

** [[spoiler:[[GroundhogDayLoop In the beginning]], though, she was transferred for a legitimate educational reason-- [[IllGirl she has been previously hospitalized long-term due to heart disease]], and was in the process of mainstreaming]].

%%** In early seasons, Darcy, Mia, Peter, Chester, and others arrived this way.
** Every Lakehurst student who came after Mia was a transfer student (think Holly J, Anya, Sav, etc).
** In season eight, Clare was not the typical example of a transfer student because she arrived in ninth grade HOWEVER she did transfer from private to public school and kept wearing the uniform from private school.
%%** In season ten we have Owen, Drew, Adam, Bianca, and Eli.
%%** Season 12 has twins Luke and Becky Baker.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}''
%%** Sam Evans in the second season.
** Subverted with Blaine and Wade/Unique. While both transferred to [=McKinley=] in the third and fourth season respectively, both were established characters on the show well before that.

-->-- ''Series/StrangersWithCandy''

%%* Suzume in ''Manga/DaytimeShootingStar''.

* At the end of the first episode of ''Manga/WitchCraftWorks'', ''five show up at once''. One of them is the girl who'd just spent half the episode trying to kill [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Honoka]], and it's a safe bet that the other four are after him as well.

* ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}:
** In ''Adventure Comics #397'', Nasthalthia 'Nasty' Luthor is transferred to Stanhope College, where Linda Danvers alias "Supergirl" takes classes, as part of a plan of her uncle Comicbook/LexLuthor to lure Supergirl out and kill her. Although their plan failed, 'Nasty' was a pain in the neck of Supergirl for the rest of that run.
** ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl1972 Most]]'' ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 of]]'' ''[[ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth her]]'' solo books start with Supergirl being transferred to a new college or school.

* In ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'' Tim was a new transfer in perpetuity, attending a long list of High Schools including Gotham Heights, [[ElaborateUniversityHigh Brentwood Academy]], Louis E. Grieve Memorial, [[InnerCitySchool John Wayne]], and Gotham City before dropping out of school altogether.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' had a FlashBack to when Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire was a transfer student. Sue Ellen Armstrong is introduced later this way.

Note how long they wear their [[TransferStudentUniforms old uniforms]] tells whether they assimilate. Especially if the new school doesn't [[Film/CatchMeIfYouCan have uniforms]]. Compare ForeignExchangeStudent. Someone ExpelledFromEveryOtherSchool will likely end up as one of these.

* Alistair transfers to ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt''... for a week. He doesn't even bother with a uniform.
** It's mentioned in passing that Antimony also came to the school late. (WordOfGod puts the time at about halfway through the first year.)
** You could say practically everyone attending the Court is a transfer student, as most of them (such as Zimmy and Gamma) are brought to the school to be studied for their powers or conditions, leading to several students coming and going.

** At the beginning of the series, [[{{Kitsune}} Kyouka]] transfers into [[UnluckyEverydude Ousake's]] class. Although she initially pretends to not know him, this is only so that she can make a big reveal about the fact that she is his [[MagicalGirlfriend Magical Wife]].

** There's also, of course, Sōsuke himself, who managed to botch his introduction so spectacularly--getting caught with a gun in his bag, reflexively introducing himself as Sergeant, announcing a long string of active warzones as his prior residence instead of North Carolina as per his cover story, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking going on an extremely nerdy tangent about military tech magazines]]--that everyone assumes he's just a very {{Chunnibyou}} military otaku who's making half of what he says up.

* Homura Akemi in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' is one, although she doesn't transfer for educational reasons, but rather to keep and eye on and protect Madoka.

* In the first episode of ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar'', Mai is the NewTransferStudent, having just returned to the area after leaving years ago. Until [[Anime/YesPrecure5 Urara]] a year later, and Kurumi from ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5 Go Go!'' the year after that, Mai was unique among transfer students in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise in that she does ''not'' start out with a bad attitude, gradually improve while becoming friends with main characters, suddenly turn out to be evil (though the audience knew this all along), fight the main characters, change affiliations during the fight, head off to apparent death, and then reappear near the end of the season. And later on, we would get [[Anime/FreshPrettyCure Setsuna]] and [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Tsubomi]], albeit the former is another [[HeelFaceTurn villain turned good]], then [[Anime/SuitePrettyCure Ellen]], [[Anime/SmilePrettyCure Miyuki]], [[Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure Makoto]], [[Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure Hime]] and then [[Anime/GoPrincessPrettyCure Towa]]. Of those ten, three are formerly evil and six come from other worlds (there's a bit of overlap there).
** There's also something of a RunningGag since Kurumi arrived -- the size of their name in their introduction and the state of panic they're in. Kurumi, Ellen and Hime wrote their names large, Tsubomi wrote hers teeny-tiny, Tsubomi and Miyuki suffered StageFright, Ellen passed out from lack of sleep and Hime passed out from ''sheer fright''.
** In ''Anime/PrettyCureAllStars New Stage'', the film's protagonist Ayumi moves with her family to the town where the film takes place. Her transferring to a new class is one of her many worries she suffers from moving to different town. Fuu-chan, a piece of the BigBad Fusion which she befriends, attempts to fulfill her "wish" of getting rid of the school and town as part of their friendship. During the run of the movie, Ayumi gets to learn more and more about how to deal with her worries and manages to tell Fuu-chan her feelings straight. By the end of the movie, she starts befriending with her new classmates.

* ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'' has Inori popping up in Shu's class, right after he rejected the rebel group Undertaker's offer.

* Veronica's role in more than one chapter of ''Manga/FrankenFran'', due to Fran desiring her to socialize and the like. It doesn't have a high success rate at finding normalcy.

* Haruka Kotoura, the main character of ''Manga/KotouraSan'', does this as an attempt to change her [[BreakTheCutie cutie-breaking]] environment. It works.
* Eric in ''Manga/TheHeartOfThomas'', with the catch that he looks exactly like Thomas, a student of the school who died just one week prior.
* ''Manga/KiniroMosaic'' begins with Alice, a girl Shinobu befriended while the latter was homestaying in England, transfers into her class. Alice's best friend, Karen, who is also from England, followed Alice and transfers into her school as well, albeit the parallel class.
* Parodied in ''Manga/OresamaTeacher''. The main character Mafuyu Kurosaki is a new transfer student in Midori Ga Oka Academy, but she is such a CloudCuckoolander that everything associated with this trope is turned upside-down. She's so excited that she dons a new school uniform a day before the school starts, her well-practised introductory speech is so out-of-character that her homeroom teacher bursts out laughing, and when ordinary classmates (non-delinquents) talk to her [[SociallyAwkwardHero she is deeply moved]]. Her FriendlessBackground is only her imagination; in fact, her friends from Higashi High appear from time to time and have their own sub-plots.
* Kuroha in ''Manga/BrynhildrInTheDarkness'', who transfers in to prevent the psychically-foretold deaths of two students, and ends up sticking around. Ryouta is baffled as to how she got into the school with so little education (she knows nothing about multiplication tables and can't read basic [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseWritingSystem kanji]]).
** Then later on, she's joined by Kazumi (who fiddled the records to get Kuroha in in the first place) and Kotori, both of whom are also magic users. Ryouta actually lampshades it by pointing out how suspicious it looks for so many students to be transferring in at once.
* Kakeru Okikura, from ''Anime/{{Glasslip}}'', transfers to the high school Tōko Fukami attends, in his third year.
* Chihiro in ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' is on her way to become the new transfer student, and plays it like it might happen in real life: she is unhappy about parting from her friends and nervous about meeting new ones. Defeats the trope, however, because the story ends before she even reaches the new school. However, within the context of the bath-house she fills the role the transfer student could have served had the bath-house been a school; she has to fit in, acquires a uniform, makes friends, learns the ropes, etc.
* Umino, the transfer student deuteragonist in ''Manga/SatouKashiNoDanganWaUchinukenai'', is the oddball daughter of a formerly popular singer who keeps on insisting she's a mermaid.
* ''Manga/ASilentVoice'' starts with Shouko Nishiyama transferring to Shouya Ishida's elementary school. Not soon afterwards she starts getting bullied (mainly be Shouya) due to her deafness. It became so bad that she transferred out of school. Afterwards the manga skips ahead to her as a high schooler where she reconciles with [[TheAtoner Shouya]], who has learned sign language to apologize to her.

%%* Suzume in ''Manga/DaytimeShootingStar''.
* Subverted in ''Manga/DearBrother'', where Nanako and Tomoko hav several typical traits ({{Naive newcomer}}s, have just arrived to class, are shown around by other students, etc) but they did ''not'' transfer, having entered Seiran High via normal admission tests. This is because Seiran in itself is an ElevatorSchool, so almost all the other girls have been there for years and having new students arrive in highschool is a ''very'' rare thing.
* ''Babibubebobubobu!! Sapp-kun'' by Hidemitsu Shigeoka revolved around a ForeignExchangeStudent, Wrestling/BobSapp, who grew giant when becoming angry and became friends with Akebono.
* ''Manga/GoodnightPunpun'' starts with Punpun [[PuppyLove being enamoured]] with the new transfer student, Aiko.
* ''Manga/HatsukoiZombie'' features one in the very first chapter with Ririto Ibusuki, the girl the protagonist Tarou was smitten with as a small kid. [[UnsettlingGenderReveal So he's not too happy to learn that "she" was a guy all along.]]
* ''Manga/NurseAngelRirikaSOS'' begins with Nozomu's fanclub greeting him when he arrives at school for the first time. He's from England, or so he says. He's actually a {{Human Alien|s}} from another planet.

* Kanna starts attending elementary school in chapter 13 of ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid''. [[UndeadTaxExemption The fact that she's a dragon from another world with no legal identity]] gets solved by Tohru using magic to create the necessary paperwork. While the school setting rarely shows up in the main series, her new ([[ImpliedLoveInterest girl?]])friend Saikawa ends up becoming a recurring character.
%%* Dong-ha in ''Manhwa/ImAtEndOfYourSight'', though whether or not he attends school depends on his personality.
* Ma-ri in ''Webcomic/OrangeMarmalade'' has been her school for around a week before the story starts. Later Si-Hoo transfers to her school as well.













* Largely averted in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''. Even though Ranma himself is a transfer student, nothing is ever made of it after season one/volume 2.
** Gosunkugi becomes a New Transfer Student in the anime, while in the manga he was present from the start.
** Ukyo Kuonji transfers over from her (boys-only) school to Furinkan while chasing Ranma down.
* ''Manga/Reborn2004'''s Inheritance Ceremony Arc begins with [[ArcNumber seven]] new transfer students to Tsuna's school. It turns out that they are members of the Simon Family, sent by the Vongola as guests.
** The Arcobaleno Trials FillerArc also had two new transfer students (they were actually Belphagor and Mammon from the Varia). After the arc is over, they leave and nobody questions what happened to them.
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' used this plot point several times:
** Makoto, a main character, is introduced to the cast as a new transfer in the first season of the [[Manga/SailorMoon first anime]]. This corresponds to a similar introduction in the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]]. In both stories, she's considered a frightening and intimidating person due to her [[HugeSchoolgirl intimidatingly large height]] and naturally light and wavy hair (which in Japan is normally the sign of a delinquent student). In fact, she wears her old school's uniform because they didn't have any in her size. In both storylines, she is quickly revealed to be a kind and easy to approach person and joins the cast as Sailor Jupiter.
** In the Creator/DiC dub only, Amy was introduced like this. In all other dubs, she was already a student at the same school, just in a different class from Usagi and only drawing her attention conveniently when the plot needed to add another heroine to the cast.
** Al and En in the "Makaiju" FillerArc effortlessly masquerade as normal middle schoolers.
** While the Sailor Starlights are already known to the cast due to being super famous {{Idol Singer}}s, they join the cast proper when they transfer in. The manga had already introduced them much sooner, however, which doesn't quite match this trope (they transfer into Juuban High to stay close to Usagi), but the anime plays it almost completely straight (where they're simply searching for Princess Kakyuu.)
** In the manga, Koan poses as new student Koan Kurozuki in order to harvest students at Rei's school - and later to capture Rei as well.
** The first chapter of ''Chibiusa's Picture Diary'' starts with Chibiusa having her first day of classes at Juuban primary school, after time travelling from 30th century to 20th century. She was mocked by her classmates due to her name, pink hair, weird haircut, big head, and being small (it is a 4th year class). The chapter's MonsterOfTheWeek also joined her class a few days before Chibiusa.
** Likewise, Tin Nyanko is introduced to the cast posing as a student, Nyanko Suzu, trying to get close to Usagi and also to harass the Starlights (as she knows their true identities as {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}s.)
%%* ''Anime/ShatteredAngels'' more or less depends on this trope to get the story started.
* ''LightNovel/SoICantPlayH'' begins with [[{{Shinigami}} Lisara]] coming to the human world in search of a fabled being of immeasurable power, who may be able to save [[AnotherDimension Grimwald.]] She has reason to believe he may be hidden among the students at Ryosuke's school, so she enrolls in his class the day after forming a contract with him.
* ''Stardust Telepath'': Umika's world is turned upside down when a girl claiming to be an alien transfers to her school. The girl, Yuu Akeuchi, has no memory of her past and claims according to her travel log her spaceship broke down and stranded her on Earth. According to Yuu, she just woke up in an abandoned lighthouse one day. ''How'', exactly, she enrolled in the school without parents or even Japanese citizenship isn't brought up. Unless she's just plain ''cuckoo'', that is.
* Sara in ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'', who managed to get into military school under a false name and raise no eyebrows.
%%* At the beginning of volume 2 of ''Manga/StrawberryMarshmallow'', this is how Ana becomes introduced to Matsuri (having already encountered Chika and Miu).
* In ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'', this is how Himespetchi is inducted into the main cast... ''twice''.
** Her original debut, episode 114, has her becoming a student at Tamagotchi School and [[LoveAtFirstSight immediately falling in love with Mametchi upon first seeing him enter the classroom]].
** In the third episode of the ''Yume Kira Dream'' arc, she is introduced to Dream School after she moves to Dream Town (to be with Mametchi, trailing off from the aforementioned EstablishingCharacterMoment from episode 114).
* Happened to Tenchi, the "main character", in ''Anime/TenchiInTokyo'', after he moved to Tokyo.
** The manga spinoff of the original ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' has Sasami transfer into a local elementary school. Being a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 700-year-old]] [[HumanAliens alien]] with no record of her existence on Earth is no impediment; all that's necessary is to have [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist the greatest genius the history of the universe]] ''create'' those records, so flawlessly that no one would ever question them.
* The ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' {{Prequel}} ''JACK'' focuses on a teenaged [[TheAce Kishou]] [[TykeBomb Arima]] going undercover at a high school as one. The Class Representative, Minami Uruka, is also noted to have transferred into the school earlier in the year and quickly become popular. This turns into a plot point, since [[spoiler: Minami is actually a Ghoul, and the BigBad of the story]].
* Tatsuma Hiyuu from ''Manga/TokyoMajin''. Subverted (a bit), however, as the series begins InMediasRes, following up with HowWeGotHere. Not so for the game though as this trope firmly applies since Tatsuma is the protagonist of the game and appears right at the beginning as a transfer student. Later on however a prologue can be unlocked which tells of Tatsuma's past at his previous school but this was omitted from the anime.
%%* Ami Kawashima in ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}''.
* Both Cab and Minerva in ''Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'', though in their cases, it was revealed soon after they were introduced that arrangements had been made to send them to the International School. In fact, Cab was initially reluctant to attend until he met Shuta.
** Later, Jean transfers to a new school upon landing on Earth in ''Anime/TransformersVictory''.
* ''Anime/{{Tsuritama}}'''s plot kicks off with Yuki's transfer to Enoshima.
** ...and [[AlienAmongUs Haru]] a couple minutes later.
** ....and soon after Akira, who is ''25 years old.''
* In ''Anime/VividredOperation'', Akane, Aoi, and Momo transfer the same school as Wakaba, Himawari, and Rei. Mizuha also joins, but as a teacher.
* At the beginning of ''Manga/WanderingSon'' the protagonist and her sister are transfer students to an elementary school.
* At the end of the first episode of ''Manga/WitchCraftWorks'', ''five show up at once''. One of them is the girl who'd just spent half the episode trying to kill [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Honoka]], and it's a safe bet that the other four are after him as well.
* [[NiceGirl Chihiro]] [[{{Narrator}} Watanuki]] from ''Manga/YugamiKunNiWaTomodachiGaInai.'' First chapter covering her first day at school? Check. FriendlessBackground? Check. IJustWantToHaveFriends mentality? Check.
%%* Happened to both Bakura and Kaiba in [[Manga/YuGiOh the manga]] and [[Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries first series]] of ''Franchise/YuGiOh''. (Kaiba is already a student at the beginning of the [[Anime/YuGiOh second series]] and in the manga).
* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': This happens a lot throughout the series. There is also the general rule of thumb that a transfer student has to enroll the Osiris Red dorm, albeit this seems to apply only in season 1.
** Rei Saotome transfers to Duel Academia, but soon her age is figured out, she has to leave the school. She joins the school the normal way in season 3.
** After Manjoume left Duel Academia, he enrolls North Academia, but switches back to Duel Academia, but with the consequence that he has to go to the Osiris Red dorm rather than any of the higher ones (he initially started as an Obelisk Blue). [[[[TransferStudentUniforms He keeps his coat from North Academia for the rest of the series.]]
** Edo Phoenix and later Takuma Saiou transfer to Academia in season 2, but not as Osiris Red students, likely due to abusing their power. Edo prefers to reside inside his yacht, while Saiou brainwashes everyone in Obelisk Blue and some of Ra Yellow. And Manjoume. They leave Duel Academia after season 2.
** The third season introduces four exchange students (Johan Andersen, Austin O'Brien, Jim Crocodile Cook and Amon Garam) and a new teacher (Professor Cobra), all of them being given special privileges. And they are a SpotlightStealingSquad, being better than most of the old cast and having more screentime than them.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': Lucciano disguises himself as a rich transfer student for a single episode, so he could duel and possibly kill Luca. He's shown to be pretty popular with the girls, including Luca, and Lucciano goes so far to create his own mansion to make his disguise work better (with Placido as his butler). The next episode, after he has defeated Luca and Lua, but failed to kill any of them, nobody from the twins' school (except the main characters) can remember who Lucciano was and his mansion disappeared into thin air.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'': In the first episode of ''ZEXAL II'', Rei Shingetsu transfers to Yuma's class and introduces to him as a very enthusiastic {{Fanboy}}. Yuma and Shingetsu become friends and over the course of the series and he eventually reveals that he's a member of the Barian Police, a group of people who fight the evil Barian Emperors...except it's a huge lie because he's actually one of the Seven Barian Emperors himself: it's him -- Vector!

%%* Delia Fisher in ''Series/MySoCalledLife''.

* ''Series/StrangersWithCandy'' had the entire student body, teachers and parents ostracizing the new kid to the point of almost lynching him for being seen talking to Jerri at the school dance.
%%* Gentaro Kisaragi in ''Series/KamenRiderFourze''. Later on, Ryusei Sakuta/Kamen Rider Meteor.

%%** Sam Evans in the second season of ''Series/{{Glee}}''.

%%* ''Series/SavedByTheBell: The New Class'' had at least one (often more) every season.

* [[Series/{{Victorious}} Tori Vega]] is an unusual example. Not only is she the main character, but the whole reason why she transfers to Hollywood Arts (a school for the talently gifted) is because she's pressured to do so by the school's students, after she substitutes for her sister (also a Hollywood Arts student) for a song number and gives a stellar performance. Most of the first episode revolves around the described events and how quickly she fits in.
* Like the example above, Chyna Parks, the main character from ''Series/ANTFarm'', transfers into Webster High School to become a part of the gifted "'''A'''dvanced '''N'''atural '''T'''alents" program. Since she otherwise would've been a MiddleSchool student, fitting in with the older students becomes an overarching theme from time to time (and a major reason why she's antagonized by the school's AlphaBitch).
%%* Nina Martin, Eddie Miller and KT Rush on ''House of Anubus'', all in separate seasons.

* Junior in ''Series/{{Blackish}}'' goes from private to public school partway through high school, quickly finding his way to an entire clique of [[BlackAndNerdy blerds]].
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "Straight and Narrow", Rusty Dobson is enrolled at the Milgram Academy and discovers that it [[AssimilationAcademy brainwashes its students]]. He and another student, Charlie Walters, are immune because of the ulcer medication that they take.
* ''Series/{{Hardball}}'': Mikey moves from New Zealand to Sydney when his father gets a trial with a Sydney rugby league team. The first episode has his first day at his new school in West Sydney, where he is inadvertently thrust into the SeriousBusiness of schoolyard handball.
* While the details of her past aren’t disclosed, in the first episode of ''Series/TheInBESTigators'' Maudie is new to the school and to Ezra, Ava, and Kyle’s fifth grade class. Ezra is tasked by the principal to look after her as his “special project.”
* Gentaro Kisaragi, the protagonist of ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'', kickstarts the series' plot after he transfers to Amanogawa High School. Notably, he still wears an old-fashioned uniform after transferring, and only wears the AGHS uniform a few times during the show's run. [[SixthRanger Ryusei Sakuta]] aka Kamen Rider Meteor also transfers to Amanogawa mid-series from Subaruboshi High School, and like Gentaro keeps wearing his old uniform as well.

%%* Kori Twelves in ''VideoGame/TimeHollow''. Interestingly, [[spoiler:she actually is from that school, just decades in the past.]]

%%* The catalyst for ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}''.
%%* Arthur Chen from ''VideoGame/BackyardSports''.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** Selphie Tilmitt from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' spent most of her studies at Trabia Garden, but she has to transfer to Balamb Garden for the [=SeeD=] exam. During the SlowPacedBeginning, Squall can give her a tour of Balamb Garden. The party eventually goes to Trabia Garden [[spoiler:after it's destroyed in a missile strike]], where they can meet many of Selphie's old friends.
** Marche from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' was a new transfer student from the beginning of the game, so he was called "New Kid" at first. "New Kid" is also the name of his job class exclusively during the SnowballFight.
* Mayu Suzumoto of ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'' is an inversion. She's transferring ''out'' of Kisaragi Academy. The festival is supposed to be her last day. [[spoiler:[[{{Retirony}} If only she'd transferred out sooner...]]]]
%%* Anzu, AKA The Player Character in ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars''.

%%* ''VisualNovel/PrincessWaltz''
%%* ''VisualNovel/MuvLuv''

* ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'': Tomoyo Sakugami is a second-year who transferred to Tomoya's school due to her violent behaviour in previous schools. She tries to become the school's council president to save the yard's cherry blossom trees.
* Nerine and Sia's transfer gets the ball rolling in ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}!'' [[spoiler:Later on, Primula transfers into the school as well, one year below the others]].

* Hisao from ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo''; after having a heart attack, his doctors decided it would be best for him to go to Yamaku Academy, and he transferred in early on in his third year. All the other characters, however, most likely have attended Yamaku since they entered high school.
%%* Sakuya is introduced this way in ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend''. Strange, since it's the first day of school.
* The dragon transfers into the protagonist's school in ''VisualNovel/DraKoi'' after they get in a fight at the park. People somehow overlook her obviously not being human for the most part, even when she starts firing beams.
* In ''VisualNovel/DateALiveRinneUtopia'', [[spoiler:the eponymous character, [[SecondaryCharacterTitle Rinne Sonogami]], transfers back to Shido's class in a WhatIf ending]].

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'':
** Keiichi counts, although at the start of the story, he's been there for about a month. Being the NaiveNewcomer to town either causes many misunderstandings or gives him an insight others don't, depending on the arc.
** Rena used to be one. She was born in Himamizawa, moved away a few years prior, but recently moved back with her dad. She transferred to the school one year prior to Keiichi.
** A better example would be Hanyuu. She drops in during the final arc, and is immediately [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe taken home... three times.]] She isn't a new character to the player [[spoiler:as she's been a ghost for the entire series and has been a major character for the last few arcs]], but to everyone besides Rika she is.
* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'': Technically all students enrolling Hope's Peak Academy are this, since one of the requirements for entering the school is that they have to be already enrolling a different high school. The respective cast usually enter their new class at the same time and they all are from different schools and wear different uniforms (if any uniform at all), even though the school actually provides its own uniforms. [[spoiler:Although, all games reveal that they either have been in school for a couple of year and have their school memories stolen.]] Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles follows a similar principle, but has a limited student body count of 16 and the plot twist is similar, but different from before. It is also a prison school from the get-go, while Hope's Peak genuinely started off as a school for talented people and researching talent.
* This particular trope is a major plot device in ''VisualNovel/GakuenHeaven''. Not only is Keita Itou a transfer student as there is a lot of speculation concerning his particular transfer to Bell Liberty.
* The protagonist of ''VisualNovel/MissingStars'', Erik, is a new transfer student to St. Dymphna. It's a specialized school to help teens with mental health problems. Erik was sent there to help with his PTSD recovery.
* In ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae'', Kei and Rusalka both show up as transfer students at the main character Ren's school. This is on the day after they almost killed him. Their goal is mostly just to [[KeepingTheEnemyClose keep tabs on and "motivate" him]] if he doesn't go along with their demands. And given that group they belong pretty much control every aspect of the city, getting them in was easy. And as one of the side-stories show, this is not the first time the group has done this either.

* Deandra is introduced as the new girl in the first episode of ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool''.
* ''WebAnimation/TsukiDesu'' has Chitose Miyamoto, [[PhenotypeStereotype blue-eyed blond]] transfer student who moved from America. Tsuki is instantly attracted to him.

* In ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'', Summer starts at her new high school in the middle of her freshman year. Uma just started a few weeks before her, so they're paired in biology lab. Nice to have somebody [[http://eheroes.smackjeeves.com/comics/1923195/for-a-given-value-of-normal/ normal]] to hang out with.
* In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfShanShan'', [[http://shanshan.upperrealms.com/view.php?pageid=008&chapterid=1 Cassiopeia's arrival]] happens with a lot of other events. Not to mention that she's quick on the uptake.

* ''Webcomic/NicoleAndDerek'' starts with the arrival of international transfer [[Webcomic/YouSayItFirst Nicole Adams.]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', this is presumably Ellen's cover story when she starts high school. Being Elliot's OppositeSexClone with all his memories until her creation plus having the memories of an AlternateUniverse version of herself up to the end of high school means from a knowledge standpoint she ''is'' effectively a transfer student twice over despite having only physically attended school for one day (while impersonating Elliot).
* ''Webcomic/{{Bastard|2014}}'': Kyun Yoon transfers into Jin's school, saves his life... and then promptly becomes [[SerialKiller Dongsoo's]] latest target.

* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' slips seamlessly into Dib's elementary school despite having a PaperThinDisguise that doesn't even change his skin color from its normal green; claiming it's a skin condition and also why he doesn't have ears. Or a nose, for that matter.

%%* Bolbi from ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius''.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DaveyAndGoliath'' TV special "School, Who Needs It", a boy is introduced into Davey's class on the first day of school. Davey and his friends at first make fun of him behind his back for being the only kid who actually likes school, but eventually accept him into their club when they find out how intelligent and artistic he is.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' had a FlashBack to when Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire was a transfer student. Sue Ellen Armstrong is introduced later this way.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', Mary Jane counts even though she was introduced several episodes before she transferred to the main characters' school.
%%* This is how ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' introduces many of its one-time characters, but it is also used to introduce recurring characters, such as Pip.
%%* Gus from ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}''.

* Will Vandom in ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' starts as this. In the [[ComicBook/{{Witch}} comics]] Taranee is another one, having moved a few days earlier (in the cartoon she moved a year before the series). Interestingly, in the comics we see that Taranee was actually born in Heatherfield, as [[spoiler: the burned down house of Taranee's real parents is on the city's outskirts]] and moved out when she was [[spoiler: adopted]].
* Mandark is introduced to ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' this way. Like many examples, he's revealed to be similar to our protagonist, being intelligent, well-liked by the teachers... and he also has a laboratory.
* Penny is introduced as one in the ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'' episode "Rudy's Story". When she originally debuted in the ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' short "Rudy's Date" (which was edited into the second episode of the show), she never got a proper introduction. When the shorts became a series, it's explained that she had recently moved to town in "Rudy's Story", possibly to avoid RememberTheNewGuy.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'' begins with Zach as the SupportingProtagonist, waiting for the bus on his first day at a new school and meeting [[BornUnlucky Milo]]. Being new, he stands next to Milo and doesn't understand why no one else will. [[TheJinx Then the two start are nearly crushed by construction equipment]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'' starts with the two lead characters transferring to the same high school: Barbara Gordon moved from Gotham with her dad while Diana [[TheRunaway ran away]] from home.

* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasChronicleOfTheMoonExploration'' have a new student named Luca transferring into Nobita's class, who is the new [[TheAce Ace]] in sports, studies, and quickly makes friends with the entire gang, even Suneo and Gian who tried bullying Luca earlier on. But then, it's revealed that Luca is actually a millennia-old alien from the moon who's fleeing from a genocidal alien dictator.
* Ryuko Matoi of ''Anime/KillLaKill'', in an example where the transfer student is the main character. She arrives at Honouji Academy after having started fights at every other school she's gone to in the Kanto region. Luckily, she fits [[WorldOfBadass right in]] [[WorldOfHam at her]] [[FightingSeries new school]].
* In the ''Anime/MazingerZ'' series:
** Kouji -the main character- transferred to Sayaka's high school after his first battle in order to live closer to the Base.
** In ''Manga/ShinMazingerZero'' Minerva arrived at Kouji, Sayaka and Boss' school shortly after waking up in the final time loop.
* Mone in ''Anime/{{Yumeria}}'' is registered and attending Tomokazu's high school almost within minutes of exiting the dream world and showing up in his bed.
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' used this plot point several times:
** Makoto, a main character, is introduced to the cast as a new transfer in the first season of the [[Manga/SailorMoon first anime]]. This corresponds to a similar introduction in the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]]. In both stories, she's considered a frightening and intimidating person due to her [[HugeSchoolgirl intimidatingly large height]] and naturally light and wavy hair (which in Japan is normally the sign of a delinquent student). In fact, she wears her old school's uniform because they didn't have any in her size. In both storylines, she is quickly revealed to be a kind and easy to approach person and joins the cast as Sailor Jupiter.
** In the Creator/DiC dub only, Amy was introduced like this. In all other dubs, she was already a student at the same school, just in a different class from Usagi and only drawing her attention conveniently when the plot needed to add another heroine to the cast.
** Al and En in the "Makaiju" FillerArc effortlessly masquerade as normal middle schoolers.
** While the Sailor Starlights are already known to the cast due to being super famous {{Idol Singer}}s, they join the cast proper when they transfer in. The manga had already introduced them much sooner, however, which doesn't quite match this trope (they transfer into Juuban High to stay close to Usagi), but the anime plays it almost completely straight (where they're simply searching for Princess Kakyuu.)
** In the manga, Koan poses as new student Koan Kurozuki in order to harvest students at Rei's school - and later to capture Rei as well.
** The first chapter of ''Chibiusa's Picture Diary'' starts with Chibiusa having her first day of classes at Juuban primary school, after time travelling from 30th century to 20th century. She was mocked by her classmates due to her name, pink hair, weird haircut, big head, and being small (it is a 4th year class). The chapter's MonsterOfTheWeek also joined her class a few days before Chibiusa.
** Likewise, Tin Nyanko is introduced to the cast posing as a student, Nyanko Suzu, trying to get close to Usagi and also to harass the Starlights (as she knows their true identities as {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}s.)

* Arika's enrollment in Garderobe Academy in ''Anime/MyOtome'' isn't exactly a transfer, but it has all the other symptoms of the trope, including having the one student who knows (and dislikes) her being assigned as her roommate and guide around the school.
* ''Anime/MyHime'':
** Mai Tokiha and her brother Takumi are such. Their arrival at the school was planned well ahead of time, however.
** In the ''Manga/MyHime'' manga, Yuuichi transfers in at the start of the series, and later on, Shiho and several students from Searrs do so as well.
** In the [[RealTrailerFakeMovie fake movie trailer]], Arika transfers in this way. She is also seen discussing enrolling at Fuuka Academy with Mashiro and Fumi at the end of the manga.
* Belldandy from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' had to go through some shenanigans so that she wouldn't be revealed as a fake student at Keiichi's college.
* In ''Manga/ZatchBell,'' the character Shion (partner to the momodo Nya) is introduced as a transfer student to Kiyo's high school. When her mini-story-arc is completed, she exits with the excuse that her transfer stay was over, and she didn't want to stay around 'cause she might start relying on Kiyo and Zatch too much.
%%* ''Anime/ShatteredAngels'' more or less depends on this trope to get the story started.
* The ever-GenreSavvy Haruhi from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' goes ''looking'' for a "mysterious transfer student" to complete her [[FiveManBand club]] -- and latches onto Koizumi, who's just tickled pink to join the SOS-dan. Even if he hadn't exactly been planning to transfer in until Haruhi decided she needed a transfer student.
* In ''Anime/VividredOperation'', Akane, Aoi, and Momo transfer the same school as Wakaba, Himawari, and Rei. Mizuha also joins, but as a teacher.
* At the end of the first episode of ''Manga/WitchCraftWorks'', ''five show up at once''. One of them is the girl who'd just spent half the episode trying to kill [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Honoka]], and it's a safe bet that the other four are after him as well.

%%* Happened to both Bakura and Kaiba in [[Manga/YuGiOh the manga]] and [[Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries first series]] of ''Franchise/YuGiOh''. (Kaiba is already a student at the beginning of the [[Anime/YuGiOh second series]] and in the manga).
* In the short titled ''Murasaki'' (collected in the first volume of ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Program_(manga) Short Program]]''), Creator/MitsuruAdachi with a Main/CreatorCameo [[Main/LampshadeHanging noted]] that whenever your plot is heading to a dead end, simply introducing a transfer student will help moving it along.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': This happens a lot throughout the series. There is also the general rule of thumb that a transfer student has to enroll the Osiris Red dorm, albeit this seems to apply only in season 1.
** Rei Saotome transfers to Duel Academia, but soon her age is figured out, she has to leave the school. She joins the school the normal way in season 3.
** After Manjoume left Duel Academia, he enrolls North Academia, but switches back to Duel Academia, but with the consequence that he has to go to the Osiris Red dorm rather than any of the higher ones (he initially started as an Obelisk Blue). [[[[TransferStudentUniforms He keeps his coat from North Academia for the rest of the series.]]
** Edo Phoenix and later Takuma Saiou transfer to Academia in season 2, but not as Osiris Red students, likely due to abusing their power. Edo prefers to reside inside his yacht, while Saiou brainwashes everyone in Obelisk Blue and some of Ra Yellow. And Manjoume. They leave Duel Academia after season 2.
** The third season introduces four exchange students (Johan Andersen, Austin O'Brien, Jim Crocodile Cook and Amon Garam) and a new teacher (Professor Cobra), all of them being given special privileges. And they are a SpotlightStealingSquad, being better than most of the old cast and having more screentime than them.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': Lucciano disguises himself as a rich transfer student for a single episode, so he could duel and possibly kill Luca. He's shown to be pretty popular with the girls, including Luca, and Lucciano goes so far to create his own mansion to make his disguise work better (with Placido as his butler). The next episode, after he has defeated Luca and Lua, but failed to kill any of them, nobody from the twins' school (except the main characters) can remember who Lucciano was and his mansion disappeared into thin air.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'': In the first episode of ''ZEXAL II'', Rei Shingetsu transfers to Yuma's class and introduces to him as a very enthusiastic {{Fanboy}}. Yuma and Shingetsu become friends and over the course of the series and he eventually reveals that he's a member of the Barian Police, a group of people who fight the evil Barian Emperors...except it's a huge lie because he's actually one of the Seven Barian Emperors himself: it's him -- Vector!
* Happened to Tenchi, the "main character", in ''Anime/TenchiInTokyo'', after he moved to Tokyo.
** The manga spinoff of the original ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' has Sasami transfer into a local elementary school. Being a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 700-year-old]] [[HumanAliens alien]] with no record of her existence on Earth is no impediment; all that's necessary is to have [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist the greatest genius the history of the universe]] ''create'' those records, so flawlessly that no one would ever question them.
* Sara in ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'', who managed to get into military school under a false name and raise no eyebrows.

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Negi Springfield is essentially a New Transfer ''Teacher''.
** Many of the students refer to Evangeline as a transfer student, even though she's been stuck in that class since before any of the other students (or the teacher, for that matter) were even born.
*** It never was stated that she was in junior high all time, which would be highly visible... Actually opposite was stated as Takamichi was her classmate, which could happen only in highschool or university. So it's only her 2nd or 3rd time in junior high for that 15 years. And she can change visble age and appearance. So for the sake of {{masquerade}} she is a transfer student.
** Yue herself becomes a transfer student, as she joins another school late in the manga.
* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' starts with two transfer students. Chiyo is introduced right away, but Osaka's entrance is delayed until the first episode afternoon to give Chiyo some screen time.
* Both ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'' and ''Manga/SumomoMoMomoMo'' feature new students transferring in without delay throughout the series, as the main cast slowly accumulates not just into the same school, but also the same class.
** In the latter series, Koshi wonders how a dimwit like Momoko passed the entrance examination. Turns out she went to an interview with a school official and her BattleAura frightened him so much that he admitted her immediately.
** In ''Mermaid'', it helps that San's family has effectively taken over the school by the third episode.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' subverts this trope, while touching all the normal bases with impressive grace. Each of the children/pilots has a different "first day" and covers a different "transfer student" plot.
** Shinji gets the "main character is starting a new life bit". He's ignored, worshiped and beat up by turns on his first day. Most conventionally, he becomes friends with ThoseTwoGuys.
** Asuka's first week of school is played and shot like the "hot new girl in school" from countless romantic comedies and love sims, more specifically a "returned overseas student" (someone who lived abroad because of daddy's job). Actually, she was born overseas (given her citizenship, in Germany or the USA most likely), and has never lived in Japan. It immediately becomes clear that Asuka doesn't care anything about "fitting in", academics or dating with any of all those star-struck boys. She only cares for [[LoveInterest Shinji]] and makes friends with [[ClassRepresentative Hikari]].
* ''Manga/{{Loveless}}'': Ritsuka Aoyagi begins as a transfer student both in the manga and the anime.
* ''Manga/CaseClosed'':
** Conan himself is an example; however, he actually gets transferred back to Teitan Elementary... because the last time he attended was [[FountainOfYouth seven years prior to the series]]. Also subverted in the anime, when the scene where he was transferred was in the [[TheStinger stinger]].
** Ai Haibara is introduced as "the first transfer student since Conan arrived". It's not a coincidence. Conan seems to have picked up on this as he is immediately suspicious when he hears of a new exchange student in Ran's class who soon becomes the focus of his plot investigations.
** In the parent series ''Manga/MagicKaito'', Saguru Hakuba enters the classroom the same way (interestingly, both he and Haibara have English mothers). This may be a subversion, as he only transfers at the ''end'' of the chapter... after having already been established as a [[TeenGenius teenaged]] [[GreatDetective detective]] going after the eponymous thief. Needless to say, Kaito has a headache.
** [[CuteClumsyGirl Eisuke Hondou]] is like this, too. He transfers into Ran's class and he has some connections to Rena Mizunashi, a.k.a. Kir, who looks very similar to him. A good portion of his story involves him figuring out how connected Mizunashi is to him and why she looks like his sister Hidemi. [[spoiler:It's because she ''is'' his sister.]]
** Masumi Sera gets transferred to Ran's class at the end of her introductory case, and similar to Eisuke who resembles Mizunashi, Sera heavily resembles Shuichi Akai and she's the second of the three suspects believed to be Bourbon. After Bourbon's identity is revealed, she still shows up in later chapters due to other reasons, and she actually had a ForgottenFirstMeeting with Shinichi and Ran (Sera didn't forget, but those two did) while other members of her family are slowly introduced.
** Maria Higashio transferred to Conan's class sometime off-screen. Unlike Conan and Haibara, Maria doesn't stand out and she initially has trouble to find friends. This is until Kobayashi-sensei creates a game which heavily integrates her and fellow student Takuma Sakamoto, giving them the chance to become friends with their classmates.
** Rather than a transfer student, Conan's class gets a transfer ''assistant teacher'' in volume 91, Rumi Wakasa. While it is initially asumed she is simply there to help out because with three transfer students the class has become to big, she's actually ObfuscatingStupidity and seems to test Conan's deduction skills for unknown reasons. She's also one of the prime suspects believed to be [[NumberTwo Rum]].
** A {{filler}} case starts with a handsome boy named Tamanosuke Itou transferring into Teitan Highschool. He even shows up in a [[SailorFuku gakuran]] uniform, contrasting with the school's blazer-type ones.
%%* Masayuki from ''Anime/GhostHound''.
%%* Both Yasako and Isako from ''Anime/DenNohCoil''.
* ''LightNovel/SoICantPlayH'' begins with [[{{Shinigami}} Lisara]] coming to the human world in search of a fabled being of immeasurable power, who may be able to save [[AnotherDimension Grimwald.]] She has reason to believe he may be hidden among the students at Ryosuke's school, so she enrolls in his class the day after forming a contract with him.
* The two lead characters Takaki and Akari from ''Anime/FiveCentimetersPerSecond'' transfer schools several times, which is crucial to the plot.
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
** Suzaku transfers in early on in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. It's not the first time the viewers have seen him, though. He does it again in the second season, and there's a marked difference in how the students treat him, since he's gone from being "that Eleven who they say killed Prince Clovis" to "ace pilot and war hero".
** Also in ''R2'', Gino and Anya transfer in to Ashford, just to see what civilian life was like.
* Variation in ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'': Syaoran (and in the anime, Meiling as well) presumably has all the documentation an innocuous transfer student would need, as he's a human with a past and a family; the most unusual part from a bureaucratic standpoint would be how he joined the class in the middle of the school year. Played straighter with Eriol; while he joins the class at the beginning of the summer session, he's [[spoiler:the reincarnation of Clow Reed, and in the manga is explicitly said to have been a child for years]], so not much chance of legitimate records from his former school helping his transition.
* In the first episode of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'', Takeru (TK) transfers to the school where Hikari (Kari) and most of the new Chosen Children are enrolled.
* Happens thrice in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing''. First, Heero transfers in and out of Relena's high-class boarding school, hacking around a little to make up some fake credentials. Then he and Duo transfer to a public school, with Relena keeping watch (of sorts). Later, Heero and ''Quatre'' transfer to the Sank Kingdom's school run by Relena, and they meet another transfer student... ''Dorothy Catalonia''.
* Subverted in ''Manga/KemekoDeluxe'', in which a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} [[SpiderSense predicts]] the arrival of a transfer student, and sure enough, a new character bursts onto the stage (through a window) moments later. However, the actual transfer student turns out to be a named extra unrelated to the main plot.
* Both Cab and Minerva in ''Anime/TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'', though in their cases, it was revealed soon after they were introduced that arrangements had been made to send them to the International School. In fact, Cab was initially reluctant to attend until he met Shuta.
** Later, Jean transfers to a new school upon landing on Earth in ''Anime/TransformersVictory''.
* Himari in ''Manga/OmamoriHimari'', with a little help through UndeadTaxExemption.
* Largely averted in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''. Even though Ranma himself is a transfer student, nothing is ever made of it after season one/volume 2.
** Gosunkugi becomes a New Transfer Student in the anime, while in the manga he was present from the start.
** Ukyo Kuonji transfers over from her (boys-only) school to Furinkan while chasing Ranma down.
* Subverted in ''Manga/ManabiStraight'' when the new transfer student Manami Amamiya becomes StudentCouncilPresident on her very first day at her new school, before even being introduced to her new homeroom class.
* ''Manga/MidoriDays'' with Lucy, an American transfer student who has as much of an idea of Japan as your typical anime fangirl. Acts like one, too, not surprisingly.
%%* Amuro Ninagawa of ''Manga/KenkoZenrakeiSuieibuUmisho''. And in a later episode of the series, Maaya Nanako.
* Tatsuma Hiyuu from ''Manga/TokyoMajin''. Subverted (a bit), however, as the series begins InMediasRes, following up with HowWeGotHere. Not so for the game though as this trope firmly applies since Tatsuma is the protagonist of the game and appears right at the beginning as a transfer student. Later on however a prologue can be unlocked which tells of Tatsuma's past at his previous school but this was omitted from the anime.
%%* Ami Kawashima in ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}''.
* Ryu Amakusa and Megumi Minami have to act the part in ''Manga/DetectiveSchoolQ'' by enrolling into a BoardingSchool to investigate a girl's disappearance, supposedly caused by the ''nasty'' online bullying coming from the ClassRepresentative. [[spoiler: He ends up murdered, and we find out that ''another'' girl was the target of his constant and cruel insults]].
** Later, a student of said highschool [[spoiler:(Kuniko Touya)]] transfers into the Dan Detective School. [[spoiler:She's the girl who was bullied to the point of emotional breakdown, actually]].
* ''Manga/Reborn2004'''s Inheritance Ceremony Arc begins with [[ArcNumber seven]] new transfer students to Tsuna's school. It turns out that they are members of the Simon Family, sent by the Vongola as guests.
** The Arcobaleno Trials FillerArc also had two new transfer students (they were actually Belphagor and Mammon from the Varia). After the arc is over, they leave and nobody questions what happened to them.
%%* At the beginning of volume 2 of ''Manga/StrawberryMarshmallow'', this is how Ana becomes introduced to Matsuri (having already encountered Chika and Miu).
* Lampshaded in ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya'' when Illya shows just how GenreSavvy she is for MagicalGirl tropes:
-->'''Illya:''' That Girl seemed to be about the same age as me, didn't she?\\
'''Ruby:''' Seems to be. What about it?\\
'''Illya:''' According to the pattern...\\
''[the next day...]''\\
'''Illya:''' I knew it'd turn out like this.\\
'''Ruby:''' I see. The transfer student development, huh? Quite the cliche.\\
'''Taiga-sensei:''' Take the seat all the way at the back by the window. Right behind Illya-chan's seat.
* ''VideoGame/CorpseParty: Blood Covered'' inverts this with Mayu: when the story opens, it's her last day at Kisaragi Academy before transferring ''out''. Plot developments put a hold on that plan, however...
* Homura Akemi in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' is one, although she doesn't transfer for educational reasons, but rather to keep and eye on and protect Madoka.
** [[spoiler:[[GroundhogDayLoop In the beginning]], though, she was transferred for a legitimate educational reason-- [[IllGirl she has been previously hospitalized long-term due to heart disease]], and was in the process of mainstreaming]].
** In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'', [[spoiler:after Homura separates Madoka from the Law of Cycles and rewrites the universe, the roles have been reversed -- now it's '''Madoka''' who is the transfer student]].
* At the beginning of ''Manga/WanderingSon'' the protagonist and her sister are transfer students to an elementary school.
* ''Manga/OtogiMatsuri'': Shortly after Yousuke and his friends meet Yomogi Inaba, the strange new priestess of the town's temple, they discover that she will be the newest member of their class.
-->'''Teacher:''' We have a new student joining us. She came to town on some family matter. Please introduce yourself.\\
'''Yomogi:''' I'm Yomogi Inaba. Pleased to meet you!\\
'''Yousuke:''' Such a predictable development...

* ''Anime/{{Tsuritama}}'''s plot kicks off with Yuki's transfer to Enoshima.
** ...and [[AlienAmongUs Haru]] a couple minutes later.
*** ....and soon after Akira, who is ''25 years old.''

* [[ArtificialIntelligence Autonomously Thinking]] [[MoreDakka Fixed Artillery]]-san and [[ArtificialHuman Itona Horibe]] from ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom''. Since Koro-sensei is not allowed to harm his students, those two special assassins are thrown in by the government to use advantage of that rule. [[TheChick Kaede Kayano]] is also a transfer student, as she transferred to Class 3-E before the start of the series, a detail that simply serves as {{Foreshadowing}}.

* [[NiceGirl Chihiro]] [[{{Narrator}} Watanuki]] from ''Manga/YugamiKunNiWaTomodachiGaInai.'' First chapter covering her first day at school? Check. FriendlessBackground? Check. IJustWantToHaveFriends mentality? Check.

* The ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' {{Prequel}} ''JACK'' focuses on a teenaged [[TheAce Kishou]] [[TykeBomb Arima]] going undercover at a high school as one. The Class Representative, Minami Uruka, is also noted to have transferred into the school earlier in the year and quickly become popular. This turns into a plot point, since [[spoiler: Minami is actually a Ghoul, and the BigBad of the story]].
* In ''Anime/{{Charlotte}}'', Yu and his younger sister Ayu both get transferred to Hoshinoumi Academy by the end of the first episode, so that Nao can keep tabs on him.

%%* Sung-Hae at the start of ''Manhwa/ZippyZiggy''.
* At the start of ''Webcomic/DiceTheCubeThatChangesEverything'' an attractive, tall boy named Taebin transfers to the school.
* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', after the 7-year time-skip, Son Gohan enters Satan City's Orange High School for studying purposes. While the school setting is barely touched upon in the manga, the anime extends his high school life a little bit to give some more focus on his newly created superhero alter ego, the Great Saiyaman. Gohan's transfer also leads him to meet Videl, the daughter of Mister Satan whom he would marry much later.
* After travelling through six different regions with friends, Satoshi/[[DubNameChange Ash]] takes a vacation with his mother in Alola when the ''Sun & Moon'' Saga of the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime begins. After a couple of events, Satoshi/Ash decides to stay there and goes to the Pokémon School and joins the class of the people he has met during his vacation. Due to that, the series changes from the longly known adventure setting to a school setting.
* ''Manga/DissolvingClassroom'' begins with new transfer student Yuuma Azawa introducing himself to the class, and then immediately apologizing, for no apparent reason. He continues to apologize to people every chance he gets, which gets him bullied [[spoiler:and eventually [[BrownNote kills the entire class]] except for one girl who escapes with only brain damage]].
* Haru from ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'' kept on having to transfer schools prior to the series beginning, since her RichBitch personality kept on alienating her from her classmates. At one point, she was only at a school for a single week.
* ''Manga/FoodWars'': Souma Yukihira technically enrolls Tootsuki the normal way by passing through the application exam, so he starts his first high school year like everyone else. The thing is that everyone else has been in Tootsuki since middle school and they have been using the elevator system. Thus everyone treats and calls Souma a transfer student and he's the only one to have passed the exam in the first place.
* ''Manga/AngelDensetsu'': After finally being accepted in his old school, [[FaceOfAThug Kitano]]'s family moved out of town and he has to transfer to a different school, where he's yet again feared just because of his face. He accidentally becomes the school's banchou in no time and lots of people challenge him due to rumors of him being very strong or because he looks like a villain/monster/etc. While more and more characters figure out that he's actually a NiceGuy from the beginning, it takes a lot of time for the other students to realize his true nature.
* ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'':
** In his elementary school days, the Ohzora family moved away and Tsubasa joined the Nankatsu SC, which started the plot of the story. During the yearly Nankatsu vs Shuutetsu match, Tsubasa manages to bring his underdog team their first victory.
** Tarou Misaki later transferred to Nankatsu as well. He transferred to a lots of school due to his father's job as an artist and Misaki even played for Meiwa FC and Furano FC at some point. He eventually would move to France with his father and he has been staying there while keeping playing soccer.
** Tsubasa's friend Yayoi Aoba transferred to another school herself, not long after Tsubasa moved away. She became the CuteSportsClubManager of Musashi FC and she would encounter Tsubasa during the National Championships.
* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': The Nakanos transfer to Fuutarou's school in their second year, but only Itsuki is in the same class as him.
* Hikaru from ''Manga/MajorSecond'' is the new transfer student at Daigo's school. He was born in New York and his parents recently moved back to Japan. Hikaru happens to be the son of Goro's childhood baseball rival from ''Manga/{{Major}}''. As [[GenerationXerox a result]] Hikaru and Daigo become rivals too.
* ''Manga/TheDisastrousLifeOfSaikiK'': This is a favorite way to introduce a new secondary character, to the point where the class actually starts to gets sick and tired of it after a while. [[ISeeDeadPeople Reita Toritsuka the spirit medium]] was first (Saiki thought it was cliche even then), he was quickly followed by [[BadassBiker Aren Kuboyasu the ex-gang member]] who's terrible at hiding his past, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Metori Saiko the spoiled rich kid]], [[AlwaysSecondBest Imu Rifuta the prettiest girl in her old school]] who's now firmly in second place behind [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman Teruhashi]], [[FortuneTeller Mikoto Aiura the fortune teller]] who transferred because her fortune said that Saiki is her soulmate, [[SecretChaser Touma Akechi, Saiki's former classmate who correctly suspects him of being a psychic]], and finally [[BornUnlucky Hii Suzumiya]]. By the end the class is so crowded that Saiki lampshades how only a handful of the named characters are ever shown to be in class at once, depending on the plot of the episode.
* ''Manga/KitsuneNoYomeiri'':
** At the beginning of the series, [[{{Kitsune}} Kyouka]] transfers into [[UnluckyEverydude Ousake's]] class. Although she initially pretends to not know him, this is only so that she can make a big reveal about the fact that she is his [[MagicalGirlfriend Magical Wife]].
** In Chapter 18, the {{Tanuki}} Kanon transfers into Ousake and Kyouka's class so that she can continue her [[TheRival rivalry]] with the kitsune princess.

* ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': Due to her age, [[ActionGirlfriend Tokiko Tsumura]] has twice transferred into a school on a mission for the Alchemist Army. The first time, told during flashbacks, was to investigate a the miraculous healing power of a relic at Newton Apple Academy for Girls that turned out to be a [[AlchemyIsMagic kakugane]]. The second time was at the beginning of the series when she transferred into Ginsei Private Academy to search for the student who was creating [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculi]], and keep an eye of [[StockShonenHero Kazuki]].
* Noriaki Kakyoin from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' claims to have transfered to Jotaro Kujo's high school the day before he's introduced. He even has a [[TransferStudentUniforms transfer student uniform]] that's dark green instead of black like the other boys' gakurans. [[spoiler: This may have just been a ruse to avoid Jotaro's suspicion as he was there to kill him due to being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy under the influence]] of one of [[BigBad DIO's]] flesh buds.]]
* ''Stardust Telepath'': Umika's world is turned upside down when a girl claiming to be an alien transfers to her school. The girl, Yuu Akeuchi, has no memory of her past and claims according to her travel log her spaceship broke down and stranded her on Earth. According to Yuu, she just woke up in an abandoned lighthouse one day. ''How'', exactly, she enrolled in the school without parents or even Japanese citizenship isn't brought up. Unless she's just plain ''cuckoo'', that is.
* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', [[spoiler:Maki's twin brother Mikado (who had previously been attending a public school because he wanted to play soccer with his friends) transfers into Shuchi'in on the first day of senior year.]]
* In ''Manga/BadCompany'', Ryuji starts the story as a new transfer student, and immediately starts picking fights to establish dominance among the [[JapaneseDelinquents delinquents]].
* ''Manga/ShonanJunaiGumi'': Eikichi and Ryuji start the series as this, though they claim they were kicked out of their old school. Abe is introduced in a chapter titled "Transfer Student".

* The "transfer students" in ''Film/BattleRoyale'' are two guys voluntarily participating in the game. For Kazuo Kiriyama, this only applies in the film version, with the character being a gang leader (the role assumed by Numai alone in the film) in the novel and manga. For Shogo Kawada, he's a transfer in all three versions.

* In Enid Blyton's ''Malory Towers'' sextet, every new character who enters Darrell Rivers' form in the second and subsequent books. Arguably also Darrell herself, as some of the girls she starts with already seem to know each other and are familiar with the school (the series at times shows severe continuity issues). The one exception is Zerelda Brass, who's a ForeignExchangeStudent (from the United States).

--> '''Inari:''' "Transfer students must be treated well, or [[{{Understatement}} bad things will happen.

* ''Webcomic/{{Bastard}}'': Kyun Yoon transfers into Jin's school, saves his life... and then promptly becomes [[SerialKiller Dongsoo's]] latest target.

* ''Manga/TheDisastrousLifeOfSaikiK'': This is a favorite way to introduce a new secondary character, to the point where the class actually starts to gets sick and tired of it after a while. [[ISeeDeadPeople Reita Toritsuka the spirit medium]] was first (Saiki thought it was cliche even then), he was quickly followed by [[BadassBiker Aren Kuboyasu the ex-gang member]] who's terrible at hiding his past, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Metori Saiko the spoiled rich kid]], [[AlwaysSecondBest Imu Rifuta the prettiest girl in her old school]] who's now firmly in second place behind [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman Teruhashi]], [[FortuneTeller Mikoto Aiura the fortune teller]] who transferred because her fortune said that Saiki is her soulmate, and finally [[SecretChaser Touma Akechi, Saiki's former classmate who correctly suspects him of being a psychic]]. By the end the class is so crowded that Saiki lampshades how only a handful of the named characters are ever shown to be in class at once, depending on the plot of the episode.