History Main / UnpopularPopularCharacter

* ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Charlie. To most characters, they don't take her too fondly and think her idea to help sinners is a waste of time. To the fans, however, she's just downright precious.

** Envy is an even bigger case in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the first anime]], where he's even crueler and more sadistic than his manga counterpart with no redeeming qualities, and nobody in the cast has a positive view of him. In the '03 fandom's heyday, he was consistently ranking in the top 5. In this version he's TheDragon and a lot more badass and manipulative, making him a compelling antagonist in a different way and arguably more important, but what really got him so popular was his personal vendetta against Edward and goals of murdering his father motivated by [[spoiler:him being the failed transmutation of Edward's half-brother]].

* ''Series/{{ER}}'': Dr. Kerry Weaver was not at all liked among her co-workers at County thanks to her [[NotGoodWithPeople abrasive personality]], [[JerkassHasAPoint insistence on following the rules]], and unfortunate tendency to put advancing in her career ahead of her relationships with her colleagues. However, Kerry was ''also'' an [[HandicappedBadass incredibly talented]], dedicated doctor with [[HiddenDepths an excellent bedside manner]] who was shown from the outset to be a FriendToAllChildren with a SugarAndIcePersonality and a surprisingly [[BrokenBird vulnerable side]]. All this won her a ''lot'' of support among the fanbase; to this day, a number of fans cite her as their favorite character on the show, and many more cite her as among their favorites.

* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'', Wolffy is rightfully recognized as a threat by the goats he wants to eat, but his IneffectualSympatheticVillain personality has endeared him to fans as much as the goats have. It helps that he's also the target of a lot of abuse by his wife Wolnie whenever he fails to catch the goats, painting him in a more sympathetic light; he just wants to get some food for him and her, and while he loves his wife, he obviously can't stand the slapstick she puts him through.

** Asagi. Her entire story is that she [[TheCameo cameos in other games]] (or tries to [[HostileShowTakeover take them over completely]]) because [[BreakingTheFourthWall her own game got cancelled]]. Yet she was ''number two'' on an official popularity poll. She's practically a mascot at this point.

** Ryuji Sakamoto is ostracized by his former track teammates because he was indirectly responsible for getting the team shut down-even though he was trying to call out Kamoshida’s abusive behavior, and while he's not disliked by the other Thieves, he’s definitely the ButtMonkey of the group and they, [[JerkassToOne especially Morgana]], tend to make comments at his expense. Needless to say, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff the Western fanbase]] ''adores'' Ryuji due to his endearing, friendly personality and [[HeterosexualLifePartners bromance with the protagonist]], and [[DudeNotFunny many of his fans are not fond of]] the scene where he gets [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale beaten up offscreen by the female Thieves while the males do nothing to stop them]] after they escape the last palace.

** Upon her introduction it is clear that Makoto Niijima is not very well-liked among her classmates. In fact, it's implied that she didn't have any friends before joining the Phantom Thieves. While some do see her as a BaseBreakingCharacter, she has still gained numerous amounts of attention. She ranked number 3 on a popularity poll in Japan and after the game's international release got even more popularity with increased amounts of fanart and being one of the, if not most popular shipping options with Joker.

** Gig from ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'' is outright hated by most of the cast and it takes most of the game for them to be able to even stand him. The fans, however, love him for his how outright how LaughablyEvil he is.

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Leah, the only female werewolf. Everybody in-story seems to hate her, but some people especially will argue that she's the most badass and well-developed character in the series.

* [[Webcomic/CucumberQuest Let's talk about]] [[BreakoutCharacter Bacon]]
-->''"Nah."''

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'': Ladd Russo, who's understandably disliked by most characters by virtue of being a totally [[AxCrazy off-his-rocker]] PsychoForHire. To be fair to the viewers, how many characters are so LaughablyEvil that they make ''[[WouldHurtAChild shooting off a ten-year-old's head]]''[[labelnote: *]][[{{Gorn}} blood and headless corpse included]][[/labelnote]] utterly hilarious?

* Kanetsugu Naoe from ''LightNovel/SamuraiGirls'' can't win the respect of anyone in the show, often being ignored, beaten up, or both. In a poll taken before the anime began, she was the winner, and when the show aired, she earned the love of the fanbase for her delusional persistence.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'': Arguably, Altair. He has status as a MemeticBadass among fans and the distinction as the first playable character in the series, but many of the other Assassins in-game don't think very highly of him because of his arrogance, to the point that he violates all three tenants of the [[TitleDrop Assassin's Creed]] and is demoted to novice by [[MentorArchetype Al Mualim]]. In particular, Malik--who loses his arm and his brother because of Altair--is pretty unforgiving of him for what he did previously. However, Altair's actions are appreciated by many NPC civilians, who call him a hero, and most of the Assassins warm up to him over time. It zigzags a bit in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'' where the Assassins are divided between supporting either Altair or another Assassin named Abbas. And by the end of the first game, Malik turned from strongest hater to closest confident and friend so Altair does more than just zigzag this trope.

* Strong Sad in ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''. The King of Town became this but didn't start out that way (he was more TheScrappy when he was only focusing on food, and [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap became funnier]] when he started to also focus on fixing his own unpopularity.)
* Also, What's Her Face from ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad''.

** The sadistic, genocidal, SociopathicSoldier MadBomber Kimblee is very much disliked in-universe for these reasons and was one of the few soldiers to be imprisoned for his actions (though in the manga/''Brotherhood,'' this was only because he blew up his superior officers; Mustang had an even higher kill count.) In the fandom, he’s one of the most popular antagonists, especially the manga version for his “[[BlueAndOrangeMorality unique]]” philosophy, class, and sense of style. The 2003 version is not as popular as he's more of a one-note psycho, but he's still very memorable and entertaining to the fandom for how gleefully hammy and AxeCrazy he is.

* ComicBook/ThePunisher doesn't exactly win popularity contests in the Marvel Universe. Villains hate him since he spends all his time slaughtering them, while other heroes hate him for how much of a ruthless, violent psycho he is, and Frank (DependingOnTheWriter) holds most heroes in contempt for being soft on crime. But for readers he's a fan favorite, due to him [[KickTheSonOfABitch slaughtering creeps who have it coming]], his status as one of the most BadassNormal characters in Marvel history, and how even when he's written at his most sociopathic he isn't above [[PetTheDog some acts of compassion]].

* ''Fanfic/{{Paradoxus}}'' (''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''): Trisha has a rather delicate situation as Domino's crown princess. Due to being the daughter who resembles Bloom the most, Domino's denizens regard her as a ReplacementGoldfish, however, Trisha has failed to live up to their unfair expectations and, as a consequence, they don't deem her worthy as Bloom's successor. For starters, Trisha certainly lacks her sister's charisma and doesn't own victories as impressive as her mother's. Also add to that she is a brooding, stoic ShrinkingViolet who hates being put in the limelight. Later in the story, [[spoiler: her RoaringRampageOfRevenge does little to help her gain points from both the corrupt Rocalucce Council she's hunting and the general public]]. Despite all of that and, in some cases, ''because'' all of that, plus her status as the resident {{Woobie}}, Trisha is quite popular among ''Paradoxus'' readers. It goes to the point most of them want to hug the poor girl and some even go as far as to justify her morally black deeds. Proof of this is that she's got some of the better fan arts such as this [[https://www.deviantart.com/ilyadeschats/art/Trisha-Ordsson-853582224 one]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Prince Zuko counted as this for a time, having to endure the hatred and neglect of his cruel father Ozai throughout his youth and of his sociopathic younger sister Azula, with only his beloved and kindhearted Uncle Iroh to support him through life even after his father deemed him "lucky to have been born". After he is banished from his homeland for speaking out of turn before his father, he is scorned and loathed by the Fire Nation elite as well as his former enemies in the world abroad, ultimately hoping to capture the Avatar in the hopes of regaining his father's love and admiration. In-universe this eventually all changes as Zuko realizes his nation's corrupt ways and devotes himself to helping Aang defeat his father, going on to serve a very successful and prosperous reign as Fire Lord after the war; out-universe, he has been one of the most beloved and respected characters since the very beginning, with his constant struggle between good and evil and his original status as a TragicVillain serving as a key appeal of the series.
** His sister as well. We see her being mostly a bratty bitch who ends up nearly killing Aang, torturing Zuko, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking kicking kid's sandcastles]] but her emotional turmoils combined with her epic breakdown at the end of the arc painted a different picture about her to many fans. Even beforehand, fans loved the [[MagnificentBastard hypercompetent dragon]] of Ozai for her accomplishments and [[ChildProdigy amazing talents]] with a suave, confident air.

* Regarding ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk The Hulk]] has so many fans, the second intro makes him one of only four members referred to by name.[[note]]The other three include ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], and ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, with Hulk getting higher billing than Cap.[[/note]] Unfortunately, the second season of the show sees ComicBook/RedHulk frame him of terrorizing SHIELD, torture him in prison offscreen for several episodes, and provoke him into performing a rampage that causes even his best friends to lose their respect for him. Worse, during the Hulk's imprisonment, none of the other Avengers acknowledged his absence.

* ''VideoGame/Persona4'':
** Yosuke is liked enough amongst most fans. It's not uncommon for him to end up as the butt of a joke. It's a different story when [[TheWoobie the laughter stops]]: See any scene involving Saki.
** From the same game, nobody in the party (except possibly the PC) likes Morrigan, but many fans like her for her acerbic wit and FemmeFatale qualities.

** Yamcha.Iin the story he’s a loser who was drastically OvershadowedByAwesome, lost his girlfriend to Vegeta, and is seen as a weakling by most characters. Among the fandom, thanks to smacking [[GodOfEvil Beerus]] on the back and being extremely fun to play in ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterZ'', Yamcha has become a MemeticBadass. Even in Japan, Yamcha was voted 15th most popular character (above even Bulma, the series' main female character.!)

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': Whirl, twice voted the most likely autobot to defect, and when a party is held to dress up as one's most hated person, most of the crew dresses as Whirl. Out of universe, this is his first grand role in fiction and is liked for being a hilariously crazy badass.

** The company has, at least once, run polls to see if he should get the cereal. When they do, [[PetTheDog the answer is inevitably "yes" in a]] ''[[PetTheDog landslide]]''. (Indeed, if the message the commercials is trying to get across is the benefits of being selfish and mean to someone, as they suggest, it hasn't rubbed off well.) And at least once, the rabbit has gotten his wish with no strings. (Oddly enough, that one time, where he won it in a bicycle race, the kids in-story had no say in the matter; the contest judges who gave it to him were adults.)
** One interesting example had him disguised as a human and hurriedly buying Trix (along with other cereals as decoys) before hurrying back to the house and pouring a bowl... before discovering he was out of milk (the entire thing being an admittingly clever Got Milk? ad).

** [[spoiler: Nagito]], Kokichi, and Miu are treated as TheFriendNobodyLikes within their respective stories. However, while some fans view them as [[BaseBreakingCharacter divisive characters]], they have very loyal fanbases. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/danganronpa/comments/5gvti9/rdanganronpa_character_ranking_poll_results_top/ A Reddit poll]] ended up placing [[spoiler: Nagito]] at the top ten and [[http://news.mynavi.jp/ad/2017/entertainment/danganronpa/sp_r/ the official NDRV3 popularity poll]] had Kokichi and Miu at #2 and #4 respectively.

** Eugene is disliked by Matt and the other clones for being too [[{{Nerd}} nerdy]] and annoying, but is loved by the fans.
** [[TheDitz Hugo]] is disliked by [[TheLeader Matt]] and [[{{Nerd}} Eugene]] for doing crazy things like eating the cat, but is adored by the fandom.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'':
** Arguably, Altair. He has status as a MemeticBadass among fans and the distinction as the first playable character in the series, but many of the other Assassins in-game don't think very highly of him because of his arrogance, to the point that he violates all three tenants of the [[TitleDrop Assassin's Creed]] and is demoted to novice by [[MentorArchetype Al Mualim]]. In particular, Malik--who loses his arm and his brother because of Altair--is pretty unforgiving of him for what he did previously. However, Altair's actions are appreciated by many NPC civilians, who call him a hero, and most of the Assassins warm up to him over time. It zigzags a bit in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'' where the Assassins are divided between supporting either Altair or another Assassin named Abbas.
** And by the end of the first game, Malik turned from strongest hater to closest confident and friend so Altair does more than just zigzag this trope.

* Rice Shower from ''Anime/UmaMusumePrettyDerby'' season 2. In-universe, she is much maligned by the general public due to winning the spring Kikkashou instead of Mihono Bourbon, who was about to become a Triple Crown as she already had won the Japan Derby and the Tennoshou [[note]] All three of these races belong to the same age category, and they are as such a once-in-a-lifetime event (or rather, they can only be participated in once) [[/note]]. The next time she participates, everyone fears that she will 'foil' [=McQueen=]'s expected success on the spring Tennoshou as well. This goes as far as Rice Shower nearly giving up on racing at all, as she's convinced no one likes her around and even pronounces herself as being a {{Heel}}. ''Out'' of universe, however, she has a sizable fanbase due to her ElegantGothicLolita design, the fact that her backstory is explored in-depth and her personality. Things do get slightly better for her as [[spoiler: she undergoes a very strict self-imposed training regimen that eventually ends up in her winning said spring Tennoshou. While the public is still disappointed, the ones that do know about Rice Shower's efforts applaud her. Later episodes show that she does earn some fame as the 'Ebony Stayer']].

** This only follows: He and Foxxy Love, [[PositiveDiscrimination both the only minority characters on the show, are the only ones who aren't complete and total moronic jackasses]]. Their negative traits are his naivete and romanticism and her raging Electra complex and many illegitimate children, respectively - which is a huge step up from most of the other characters.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'':

** Another example is [[AntiHero Agent]] [[BadassNormal Washington]], introduced in ''[[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Recovery One]]''. The Reds and Blues dislike and mistrust him; not only because he's a [[HiredGuns Freelancer]], but also because of how clear he makes it that he's only interested in what they can do for him, not in their well-being. Even among the Freelancers, where he's more well-liked, [[NoRespectGuy he still doesn't get much respect]], as he's got [[NormalFishInATinyPond one of the lowest combat ratings of the leadership group]]. Yet he's a very popular character among the fans. This slowly goes away as the series progresses, however, as the Reds, Blues, and the remaining Freelancers eventually come to respect him.
** ''[[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy The Chorus Trilogy]]'' gives us [[GenkiGirl Dr. Emily Grey]], an AxCrazy [[MadScientist Mad Doctor]] who the fans love for her [[DissonantSerenity cheeriness]], [[DitzyGenius quirkiness]], [[BreadEggsMilkSquick and utterly]] [[MadDoctor psychotic nature]]. In-Universe, the Reds and Blues alternate between finding her creepy/annoying or terrifying.

* Regarding ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk]] has so many fans, the second intro makes him one of only four members referred to by name.[[note]]The other three include ComicBook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], and ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, with Hulk getting higher billing than Cap.[[/note]] Unfortunately, the second season of the show sees ComicBook/RedHulk frame him of terrorizing SHIELD, torture him in prison offscreen for several episodes, and provoke him into performing a rampage that causes even his best friends to lose their respect for him. Worse, during the Hulk's imprisonment, none of the other Avengers acknowledged his absence.