History Main / SmallRoleBigImpact

* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' has [[spoiler:Chihiro Fujisaki]]. While [[spoiler:he quickly dies, becoming the victim of the second case, effectively the 4th death of the game, it turns out that he used the old laptop the group found in the library to create an AI of his image that can hack and collect information inside the network of the school, eventually saving Makoto's life from his execution and helping the group to get out of the school. By the second game, it turns out he was the one that developed the Neo World Program, as well as setting up the basis for the AI Chiaki that helped Hinata]].

** The unnamed soldiers in ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' only appears in the prologues but it is their attack on the town and murder of Pedro that led to the formation of the afromented place along with the formation of the family's miracles and contributed to Alma's trauma that she passed on to the rest of the family.

** Wrestling/AliciaFox killed Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} in 2008. Well, indirectly, and only temporarily. It was the videotape of her being romanced by the Rated-R Superstar on the day of his wedding to then-General Manager of ''[=SmackDown=]'' Wrestling/VickieGuerrero (leaked by Triple H during the ceremony) that caused Vickie to turn vindictively on her fiancé and rehire the Undertaker (who had been [[TenMinuteRetirement permanently banished from WWE about a month earlier]]), whom she then pitted against Edge in a main event Wrestling/HellInACell Match at that year's ''[=SummerSlam=]''. In that match, the Undertaker chokeslammed Edge right through the ring that created a hole, and then caused flames to erupt from it, the implication being that Edge had literally been sent to Hell. But bringing 'Taker back was the worst possible thing that Vickie could have done, since the "Deadman" turned his wrath on her as well as Edge (he having much more reason to hate ''her'', after all). His attempt to choke Vickie's soul out of her body resulted in Wrestling/TheBigShow turning heel to save her, which, in turn, resulted in Big Show becoming Vickie's new boyfriend, until [[JokerImmunity Edge returned]]. This sparked a bitter feud between Undertaker and Big Show that lasted for the rest of the year and continued into 2009 before Vickie and Edge got back together.

* Despite his run with Wrestling/BulletClub lasting less than a year before he left NJPW for WWE, Wrestling/FergalDevitt (WWE's Finn Bálor) influence on the course of the stable's and the company's history can be felt nearly five years following his departure:

* ''Series/PiliFantasyWarOfDragons'': The masked martial artist Ouyang Lin. [[spoiler:She finds and frees the Sacred Dragon Bone Sword, and convinces Yeh Hsiao-chai to forgive Su Huan-chen.]]

** Torbjörn's boss, who only appeared in a flash-back. He's the one who informed Torbjörn of just how valuable Old World books were, and made him realize how much money he could make by getting his hands on some and selling them.

Compare ChekhovsGunman, someone who looks insignificant who turns out to have some significance to the plot. Also compare InnocuouoslyImportantEpisode, where an isolated story turns out to be much more important to the MythArc than expected.

Compare ChekhovsGunman, someone who looks insignificant who turns out to have some significance to the plot.

This can occasionally overlap with UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom, OneSceneWonder, OneShotCharacter, PosthumousCharacter, TheGhost, SpearCarrier or even KarmaHoudini Also see PlotTriggeringDeath, where this person's end is the beginning of the story. An UnknownCharacter takes this trope to its logical conclusion by not having them appear at all.

This can occasionally overlap with UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom, OneSceneWonder, OneShotCharacter, PosthumousCharacter, TheGhost, SpearCarrier. Also see PlotTriggeringDeath, where this person's end is the beginning of the story. An UnknownCharacter takes this trope to its logical conclusion by not having them appear at all.

** P's presence in the narrative isn't very large, but it is far-reaching: he was there for the drug charge that got Joe sent to the Elan School in the first place, he tells Joe that [[spoiler:the drug charges were all dropped three months into Joe's stay at Elan, and he also later introduces Joe to Website/{{Reddit}}, which becomes instrumental in helping Joe and the "core group" take down Elan for good.]]

* In the [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda Kung Fu Panda trilogy]], the unnamed parents of Lord Shen only appear during one brief flashback at the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2''. However, had they not asked the Soothsayer to predict their son's future, the events of the trilogy would have been very different. Indeed, because of this prophecy, Shen tried to [[spoiler: exterminate all pandas]], which ultimately resulted in Po being found and adopted by Mr. Ping and growing up near the Jade Palace, becoming the Dragon Warrior years later. Had Shen's parents not asked for this prophecy, Po may have still lived with his parents in their village far from the Jade Palace and never have become the Dragon Warrior.

* {{Meta}}-example in Howard Ashman. The only [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 two]] [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast films]] he completed [[note]](he began working on ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', but Music/AlanMenken finished the film with Creator/TimRice after Howard's death)[[/note]] both won the Academy Award for Best Song Score (as it was then known) and the UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong, became critically-acclaimed and highly successful, and eventually conferred with "classic" status from both fans and Disney.

** Though Kenny only has prominence in a single flashback, his actions in the past proved very important to the establishment of the Yeongdeungpo Union. He tried to leave the Manwol Gang to protect his brother, which in turn caused the Manwol to inflict a CareerEndingInjury on him. This spurs his brother Jake to seek revenge, which in turn causes him to join the Union, which in turn gives [[BigBad Donald]] the excuse he needs to obliterate the Manwol and establish the Union as the strongest gang in the city.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' has two.

** ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' has [[TheDreaded the Barracuda]]. Throughout the entire film, he appears exactly once: in the opening scene, where he kills Marlin's wife, Coral, and all of their babies save one. This directly creates Marlin's FatalFlaw: he becomes an OverprotectiveDad to said surviving baby, Nemo, whose attempt at rebelling years later causes him to be captured by Dr. Sherman, starting Marlin's frantic search and the film's main plot. Said search, by the way, also brings Marlin and Dory together, thus without the Barracuda, the events of ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory'' wouldn't happen, either.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' has the four tuners -- Boost, DJ, Wingo, and Snot Rod -- who decide to mess with Mack after he has trouble staying awake. Had they chosen not to bother him, Lightning would not have fallen out of him and wound up in Radiator Springs. They do later show up in a post credits scene where they get arrested by Sheriff for speeding and continue to appear in other media around the movie, so this is downplayed.

* The Big Show heel turn mentioned above had another bit player besides Alicia Fox. [[Wrestling/LondonAndKendrick Brian Kendrick]] won a match to qualify for a WWE championship shot against Triple H. Big Show thought he won, so he stepped out of the ring over the top rope and walked back to the locker room. Little did he know Kendrick was being hoisted on his bodyguard Ezekiel Jackson’s shoulders. After Show left ringside, Kendrick was rolled back into the ring to claim victory. Frustration over this loss ultimately may have caused Show to snap that fateful night.

* {{Meta}}-example in Howard Ashman. The only [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 two]] [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast films]] he completed [[note]](he began working on ''Aladdin'', but Music/AlanMenken finished the film with Creator/TimRice after Howard's death)[[/note]] both won the Academy Award for Best Song Score (as it was then known) and the UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestOriginalSong, became critically-acclaimed and highly successful, and eventually conferred with "classic" status from both fans and Disney.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' has three.
*** Edna Mode. She appears three times, all in the first half of the film. She's the one who alerts Helen to her husband's moonlighting hero work, and convinces Helen to go track Bob down.

*** And probably the biggest of the three, Oliver Sansweet. This man only has two scenes, but his attempted suicide and lawsuit against Mr. Incredible once he stops him and injures him in the process open the floodgates for the lawsuits that become the reason for the Registration Act. Better yet, when Mr. Incredible attempts to stop his suicide, he tackles Sansweet into the bank that is being robbed by... Bomb Voyage.

* The homeless man in ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' is responsible for taking Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny into the R rated movie they wanted to see (at the boys' own behest, granted). Them swearing in class leads to their parents led by Sheila to declare war on Canada.

* The homeless man in ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' is responsible for taking Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny into the R rated movie they wanted to see. Them swearing in class leads to their parents led by Sheila to declare war on Canada.

* If it weren't for Gru's nosy neighbor Jillian setting him up on a terrible blind date in ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2'', Gru would not have realized that he has feelings for Lucy.

** The murderer of [[SpiritAdvisor Mia Fey]], [[ReverseWhodunnit Redd]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive White]], is an example of a character's role being relatively small ''because'' of their large impact. [[FirstEpisodeTwist You wouldn't want to spoil the ending of one of the first cases in the series for people playing out of order, would you?]]
** Doug Swallow from ''Trials and Tribulations''. He's a victim of a tutorial case in the third game with just a few seconds of screentime. But his attempt to warn Phoenix about Dahlia is what not only saved Phoenix from Dahlia and lead to her arrest but also to Phoenix meeting Mia and becoming her apprentice which in turn made him responsible for a significant part of the original trilogy.

** With Bansai Ichiyanagi (Blaise Debeste in the fan translation) being who he is, namely the chairman of the PIC, it's hard to think of a point in the entire series that ''didn't'' play out the way it did because of him.

** There is also [[spoiler: Sayaka Maizono]], who is the first victim of the game and dies in the first chapter, whose story acts as the thematic and narrative EstablishingSeriesMoment for the entire franchise. Their death after being given much narrative buildup establishes that AnyoneCanDie, plus the series' habit of killing [[spoiler: someone who is played up as a main character]]. Their sweet demeanor combined with being a StepfordSmiler and [[spoiler: Sayaka suddenly snapping and breaking down]] establishes that anyone could [[spoiler: become a murderer if their buttons were pushed hard enough.]] Finally, their last act of [[spoiler: hesitance to kill her intended victim and her dying message to identify her murderer]] establishes that very few murderers are actually bad people, just ordinary teenagers who are driven to extremes in a desperate and emotionally taxing situation.

** And if all of the above aren't enough, The Elite being ousted from the stable (and later New Japan itself, though this was because [[RealitySubtext the Elite decided to let their contracts with]] Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and Wrestling/RingOfHonor [[RealitySubtext run out and not re-sign]]) ''also'' led to the creation of Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling. [[TheButterflyEffect A WWE superstar created the stable that would, in turn, create the first serious rival for the WWE ever since the folding of WCW.]]