History Main / UnpopularPopularCharacter

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'':

** [[InsistentTerminology Captain]] Jack Sparrow has a status of legend in-universe especially [[LegendaryInTheSequel in the fourth and fifth movie]] but this only applies to those who hadn't met him, pretty much all the Pirate Lords see him as a nuisance that owns them money, the two [[LoveInterest Love Interests]] he had in the movies tried to kill him, the crews that had served him tend to have mixed feeling about his leadership to the point he suffered ''three'' mutinies (and one attempted) in five movies and the few people that truly care about him would have a VitriolicBestBuds relationship with him at best or at worst tried to [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder kill him or betrayed him at least once in the past (if he wasn't the one who did it)]]. Of course among viewers [[InsistentTerminology Captain]] Jack Sparrow is the BreakoutCharacter and arguably the most popular and iconic character of the franchise.

'''Chikn Nuggit:''' Who wanted this?.

** James Norrington is the epitome of this. He didn't get his girl, his entire ship and crew were destroyed, he was [[spoiler:[[RedemptionEqualsDeath killed]] in ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd At World's End]]'' saving the hides of Elizabeth and her Chinese crew]], and he apparently didn't deserve a ''first name'' until the second movie (except for in the deleted scenes). But ask your average (female) ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' fan; he is ''very'' popular. He's a decent role model, too. A man principled enough to stand against both piracy ''and'' the nefarious deeds of the East India Trading company, their mortal enemy. Even in the face of death, humiliation, and [[DidNotGetTheGirl non-girl-getting]]. He's almost TheWoobie because he didn't get the girl; while he said [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy that he was fine with her marrying Will]], every time he looks at her it's clear how agonized he is that he didn't get her, and it's acted so well it tugs the heartstrings.

** [[InsistentTerminology Captain]] Jack Sparrow has a status of legend in-universe especially [[LegendaryInTheSequel in the fourth and fifth movie]] but this only applies to those who hadn't met him, pretty much all the Pirate Lords see him as a nuisance that owns them money, the two [[LoveInterest Love Interests]] he had in the movies tried to kill him, the crews that had served among him tend to have mixed feeling about his leadership to the point he suffered ''three'' mutinies (and one attempted) in five movies and the few people that truly care about him would have a VitriolicBestBuds relationship with him at best or at worst tried to [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder kill him or betrayed him at least once in the past (if he wasn't the one who did it)]]. Of course among viewers [[InsistentTerminology Captain]] Jack Sparrow is the BreakoutCharacter and arguably the most popular and iconic character of the franchise.

* James Norrington from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' is the epitome of this. He didn't get his girl, his entire ship and crew were destroyed, he was [[spoiler:[[RedemptionEqualsDeath killed]] in ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd At World's End]]'' saving the hides of Elizabeth and her Chinese crew]], and he apparently didn't deserve a ''first name'' until the second movie (except for in the deleted scenes). But ask your average (female) ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' fan; he is ''very'' popular. He's a decent role model, too. A man principled enough to stand against both piracy ''and'' the nefarious deeds of the East India Trading company, their mortal enemy. Even in the face of death, humiliation, and [[DidNotGetTheGirl non-girl-getting]]. He's almost TheWoobie because he didn't get the girl; while he said [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy that he was fine with her marrying Will]], every time he looks at her it's clear how agonized he is that he didn't get her, and it's acted so well it tugs the heartstrings.

'''A Administrivia/{{No Recent Examples|please}} rule applies to this trope''' and examples shouldn't be added until '''3 months''' after the character is introduced.

-->'''Creator/ProZD:''' People love the Charlie Brown Adults!\\

A character who is [[EnsembleDarkHorse liked in the fandom]] that, within the work, is the exact opposite: being treated badly, overlooked, or just plain hated by all other characters. In some comedic works, this can be a RunningGag on the part of the creators, in which the character in question [[InformedFlaw isn't actually annoying or doesn't actually display the traits]] they're ridiculed or hated for. It's just funny to have everyone [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer constantly mock and belittle them]]. Of course, not every character in this category will necessarily be a lovable loser. Sometimes it's a case of the audience latching on to the work's resident {{Jerkass}}, villain or AntiHero: dangerous characters whom the cast have a legitimate reason to hate and fear but are sufficiently powerful enough or have enough PlotArmor that everybody else has little choice but to put up with them.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'': Yzma is a treacherous advisor to [[{{Manchild}}Kuzco]] that tries to kill him when he fires her, she quickly abuses her power even before she got fired, and everyone in the kingdom seems to call her "scary beyond all reason". She's still one of Disney's most popular villains precisely because she's so hilarious.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Gollum is treated by everyone he meets with some varying mixture of pity and disgust. Gollum is a TragicVillain who's been twisted by the power of the Ring into a creepy little freak who spends most of his time crawling around in the darkness, eating raw meat, and plotting futile vengeance against everyone who wronged him. He was never a very good person, but since his turn to evil was orchestrated by the power of an ArtifactOfDoom, most characters will at least admit that it wasn't his fault. Even his relatively benign personality of Smeagol is a pathetic snivelling DirtyCoward rather than anything particularly likeable. Multiple characters stay their hand against him more or less just because he's NotWorthKilling, and those who do place some kind of faith in him, such as Frodo, will usually find it doesn't last long. Even the forces of Sauron have no love for him, and he hates them right back. In the fandom, meanwhile, Gollum is consistently one of the most beloved and iconic characters, thanks to being remarkably complex and sympathetic villains in a story that mostly runs on BlackAndWhiteMorality, along with his odd speech pattern and LaughablyEvil personality making him very memorable. His performance in the films by Creator/AndySerkis is consistently held to be one of the high points of those adaptations, to the point of him getting Oscar buzz for it, as well as [[SerkisFolk a technological marvel]] that they got it to work as well as it did. It certainly doesn't hurt Gollum that [[NiceJobFixingItVillain he ultimately destroys the Ring and saves the world]], albeit entirely unintentionally.

* ''WebAnimation/AlphabetLore'': F is an outcast among the other letters and the main antagonist. But he'sprobably'''the''' most popular character to the series' fans.

* ''WebAnimation/AlphabetLore'': F is an outcast among the other letters and the main antagonist. But he's ''highly'' popular to fans and is given a lot of fanart.

* Characters/{{The Punisher|FrankCastle}} 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]].

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
** The Ice King. Despised by nearly everyone in Ooo, but loved by the fans.
** Lemongrab is a BaseBreakingCharacter version of the trope.
* Wakko Warner from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' was intended to be this, as a joke about "MiddleChildSyndrome," and it was explicitly mentioned a few times in regards to Dot's [[InformedAbility cuteness making her]] [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall so much more popular with the fans]]. The truth of the matter was the exact opposite.
* ''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'', [[Characters/IncredibleHulkBruceBanner 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, [[Characters/TheMightyThorThorOdinson Thor]], and [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]], 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.
* Beavis qualifies as this during the ChristmasEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' when during both the ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' parody where [[UnPerson Butt-Head]] learns he's now Stewart's sidekick and even protected from Butt-Head by helpful homeless people. During the "Letters to Santa Butt-Head" segments, Beavis gets increasingly more and better fan mail, much to Butt-head's annoyance.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': Why universe hate Waspinator? And [[TheChewToy his suffering]] also makes him beloved by fans, to the point his popularity saved Waspinator from being killed in Season 2.
* [[LovableRogue Argit]] from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''. The guy's a ConMan who'd sell his grandma for money. He seems to have everywhere in the galaxy people who want him dead. And even the protagonists despise him, allowing him to go around only because he isn't that much of a threat. The only reason someone as obnoxious as him could survive so far is that he has the ability to stop his pulse to [[PlayingPossum play dead]]. Yet, fans adore him because they find him hilarious.
* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': While Wheeler is considered a friend (or potential love interest) by the rest of the group, he's also the least environmentally sensitive (due to being the only city kid), resulting in a lot of criticism from his comrades-in-arms. The fandom as a whole considers him UnintentionallySympathetic due to being dismissed [[StrawmanHasAPoint even when he has a point]] and criticizes the more sensible Planeteers for being preachy, flawless, and condescending.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'':
** Numbuh 86 is a grumpy, unpleasant and confrontational StrawFeminist who is associated with the feared practice of decommissioning other Kids Next Door agents. For those reasons, she's not very popular among the main characters or any other KND operative, but the fandom (and the show's creators) loved her enough that she went on to become a highly recurring character, receiving plenty of character development all the while that helped make her less one-dimensional.
** The Toiletnator, the resident IneffectualSympatheticVillain with toilet-based superpowers. The main characters [[LaughablyEvil laugh at him]], the other villains [[TheFriendNobodyLikes hate him]], but the fans love him.
* Creator/{{Disney}}'s WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck is one of the most famous enforced examples. Disney always ensures that Donald InUniverse is portrayed as second banana to Mickey and that in his adventures with Mickey and Goofy, he's often TheLoad who gets into trouble (while Mickey and Goofy are portrayed as more collegial, in spite of similar blundering from Goofy), and he's often invoked as the sourpuss and unlikable one. Outside Disney's corporate brand image politics, however, Donald is easily more popular and beloved than Mickey Mouse and Goofy, a character who has been reinterpreted time and time again for multiple generations, and who still finds new audiences around the world. He's a far more consistent and in-demand moneymaker than Mickey and Goofy ever were.
* Xandir of ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' is largely the show's ButtMonkey, being on the receiving end of all kinds of abuse by the other characters, particularly Captain Hero. However, in the fandom, he's far and away the most popular character on the show; just go to any ''Drawn Together'' message board or fan community and check out how much Xandir traffic there is compared with the other characters.
** This only follows: He and Foxxy Love, both the only minority characters on the show, [[FlawlessToken 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.
* Eric the Cavalier in ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons1983'' was intended to be a case of TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong, but his ButtMonkey luck, copious sarcasm, and the fact he was the ''only'' [[OnlySaneMan one of the party]] willing to call [[TricksterMentor Dungeon Master]] out on his dirty tricks made him a fan favorite, ''especially'' among tabletop players who have said things like that to their own dungeon masters.
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
** All three of the Eds are this.
*** While Ed's [[LethallyStupid near-lethal idiocy]] annoys nearly everybody in-universe and it's implied that [[TheUnfavourite not even his own family likes him that much]] (at least in the case of his mom and sister), he's loved for being so [[KindheartedSimpleton stupid and kindhearted]] as well as providing a lot of memes and comedy.
*** This is played with in the case of Double D, who's probably the most popular character in the series--while he tends to get in trouble just as often as his companions [[GuiltByAssociationGag (even when he had minimal involvement in their scam-of-the-day)]], he's clearly still more liked and respected by the other kids than Ed and Eddy are (the latter especially). In fact, when you really get down it, it seems like the rest of the kids really only dislike Double D because of the fact that he's friends with Ed and Eddy (mainly the latter). Double D's also the biggest ChickMagnet on the show (in the NerdsAreSexy-way) and, of course, has plenty of fangirls in RealLife.
*** Eddy's the most straight-up example of the titular trio--almost everyone on the show hates him with a passion and not even Ed and Double-D[[spoiler:[[note]]Who are, quite literally, Eddy's only friends up until the very end of theSeriesFinale[[/note]]]] sugarcoat just how much of an asshole he can be at times (particularly in the later episodes). But plenty of the show's fans do like Eddy (or at least sympathize with him).
** Marie Kanker (the Kanker Sister who likes Double D) is this as well--while everybody except for her sisters, Lee and May, fears and[=/=]or loathes her, she's considered to be the most popular female character on the show. And despite being an AbhorrentAdmirer, many male fans consider her to be more attractive than [[DudeMagnet resident hottie]] Nazz. The same also applies to Marie's sister May (albeit to kind of a lesser extent), especially since May's considered to be the nicest of the Kanker Sisters.
** Jonny 2x4 is definitely this to an extent--while he's generally more liked and accepted by Kevin, Rolf, Nazz, Sarah, and Jimmy than the Eds and the Kankers, he's still a bit of a loner and it's also clear that the other kids do find him to be weird [[EveryoneHasStandards (including the Eds and the Kankers).]][[spoiler: He eventually becomes the most despised kid on the show after the movie.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':
** Tootie is extremely popular with the fanbase, despite her position on the show. A decade into the show's life the creators seemed to have finally picked up on this, and elected to make her one of the main characters of the live-action ''[[Film/AFairlyOddMovieGrowUpTimmyTurner Fairly Odd Movie]]''.
** Timmy Turner is subject to this as well (mostly in the early seasons).
** Crocker, although he has become more a BaseBreakingCharacter (and even a borderline scrappy) case due to his overexposure and {{Flanderization}} in later seasons, especially in Seasons 9 and 10.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Early on, Meg Griffin wasn't a fan favorite due to being a rather bland, typical teenage girl character. She became popular with fans when the writers turned her character into an exaggerated ButtMonkey and the rest of the cast started treating her like crap for somehow being considered so ugly, people have committed suicide by setting themselves on fire. Due to her [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status, she has lots of fans, many pictures of her on Website/DeviantArt, and lots of stories of her in fanfiction.net, which tend to revolve around her [[TheDogBitesBack getting revenge on everyone who's ever wronged her]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
** Zoidberg is often literally told that he is hated by the cast. However, he's arguably the most iconic/popular character from the ''Futurama'' franchise besides [[BreakoutCharacter Bender]].
--->'''Fry''': They sure hate Dr. Zoidberg.\\
'''Bender''': [[{{Hipster}} Pft. Posers! I was hating Zoidberg before it was cool.]]
** [[GeneralFailure Zapp Brannigan]] is hated by everybody in the main cast. Outside of the show, [[FountainOfMemes almost everything he says is a meme]] and he's a very big EnsembleDarkHorse for his [[TheDitz sheer idiocy]].
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'':
** Eugene's peers (bar Arnold) ostracize him for being a jinx and being all-around unlucky. However, he has a lot of fans for his charming personality.
** Helga is widely disliked by the same peers for being a bully, but due to her character development, she's arguably the most popular character in the show as well as the BreakoutCharacter. Being a complex JerkassWoobie really helps.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'':
** Dib is [[TheWoobie the most unloved and abused character in the show]]. Everyone hates him... and yet, he's the second or third most popular character.
** Zim himself. Ostracized by his classmates (although they do sometimes stick up for him when he's being picked on by Dib, who they hate more), banished to Foodcourtia by his superiors, then double-banished to an obscure planet beyond the edge of known space when he escapes from his original banishment and tends to be the target of revenge plots whenever he comes into contact with other members of his own race. But his LargeHam tendencies and IneffectualSympatheticVillain nature make him a hit with fans.
* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'': Johnny can't get a girl on his home show, but there are plenty of chicks that would like to handle his bod in RealLife.
* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', Hawkgirl ends up becoming ''hated'' in-universe following the Thanagar Invasion, where neither the Thanagarians nor most Earth residents are willing to cut her a break. The other members of the League are pretty much her only holdouts, and it took many of them a long time to accept that she had atoned. But among fans, she has far more support.
* On ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam'', Henry is pretty much the planet's punching bag. But of course, most of the fans wanna pick him up and hug him.
* Among ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' fans, Stumpy is the most popular character, yet he is a ''literal'' CosmicPlaything and [[WithFriendsLikeThese his friends make fun of him and bully him.]]
* WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck from ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' is one of the longest-running and most famous examples ever. His [[EscalatingWar ever-escalating rivalry]] with WesternAnimation/BugsBunny has always been balanced by the audience knowledge that Daffy ''is'' very funny... or more accurately, [[TheChewToy his constant and frequently self-inflicted suffering]] is. A major theme of ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'' is that everyone hates Daffy, but can't get rid of him because he is a pivotal part of the show. Interestingly enough, after that movie, Creator/WarnerBros began using Daffy a lot more, giving him bigger roles and even [[WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers his own show]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'':
** Lincoln, at least in earlier episodes. While he's often depicted as a nerdy LoserProtagonist who gets screwed over by his sisters and [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer bullied by his schoolmates]], he's still popular among the fanbase due to how endearing and sympathetic he is ([[JerkassBall at least when he's not behaving like a selfish bastard]]).
** Luan isn't very popular in-universe as she's very often treated as incredibly annoying, with most of her family and acquaintances [[LamePunReaction groaning at her jokes]]. Despite this, she's widely liked by the fanbase due to how {{adorkable}} and endearing her fun-loving, childlike personality is. The only thing that makes the audience lose sympathy for her is her behavior on April Fool's Day, but [[FanonDiscontinuity some fans like to pretend that those episodes never happened]].
* Jenny from ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot''. Oftentimes she gets no respect from her hometown in spite of her saving it every other day, only has three real friends (one of whom has a bit of a [[StalkerWithaCrush infatuation]] problem with her), and is the school freak. With the fans, she remains one of the popular and iconic Nicktoon characters to this day, with many people hoping for a reboot of the show. Half of this trope does start to fade away as the show goes on though, Jenny's heroics are not ''entirely'' lost on the town and eventually they give her the recognition she deserves.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Downplayed with Cat Noir, who's a popular hero, but to a lesser extent than Ladybug. In universe, several characters already made clear that they see him as less important, and as her sidekick. When it comes to girls, many (including [[TheHero Marinette]]) have [[ChickMagnet crushes]] on his SecretIdentity, Adrien, who's a popular [[CelebrityMasquerade model]], with hundred of fans. [[LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman But nobody loves Cat Noir]], including his crush Ladybug (aka Marinette), who is turned off by the alter ego of the boy she loves. Fans, however, love Cat Noir even more than Adrien, the most often, due to his funnier and edgier personality. [[spoiler: (And his SuperpoweredEvilSide, Cat blanc, fall under "Evil is cool".)]] In fact, he's responsible for cases of PerverseSexualLust among more or less little girls in the fandom.[[note]]It expand to his ship with Marinette, aka Marichat. It's the less exploited of the four ships in the love square and the episode ''Weredad'' ridiculed it. Only [[ShipperOnDeck Tom Dupain]] shipped it, and it was not presented as a smart behavior. But in the fandom, it is not only the most popular angle in the square, it is also the most popular of all ships in the show, period. [[/note]]
** Played straight with Chloe. She was never popular in her school (unlike the classic AlphaBitch character), with nearly no friends, and she's the CreatorsPest. For that reason, [[spoiler: she was TheDragon to Hawk Moth in season 3 finale. As a result, season four saw Chloe stripped of her superhero status when the Bee Miraculous was given to her [[RememberTheNewGuy newfound]] and nicer half-sister, before Chloe was put OutOfFocus]]. But many fans found her behavior hilarious, and her [[ButtMonkey getting her comeuppance]] each time she wronged someone was satisfying (unlike the other and way more dangerous AlphaBitch [[KarmaHoudini Lila]]). Chloe was also the only character who went through positive CharacterDevelopment during the first three seasons, from a HateSink bully to a [[SixthRanger part time superhero]] with the FreudianExcuse of her horrible mother. [[spoiler: Throwing away all her development by the window arguably gained her more support from the fandom, actually.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Princess Luna. Within the show's universe, she comes to be accepted back after her exile, but many ponies are initially suspicious of her, as seen in the episode "Luna Eclipsed". Outside of the show, she's one of the most popular characters, even beyond the [[TrueCompanions Mane Cast]].
** The Great And Powerful Trixie is an egotistical showoff attention horse who spends most of her stage performance in her first appearance bragging about her accomplishments, humiliates Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash after they heckle her show, and earns the scorn of most of Ponyville before the episode is over. In real life she has a dedicated fanbase, regularly appears in fanworks, Snips and Snails swiftly became [[TheScrappy utterly despised by the fans]] for causing the conflict that ruined Trixie's career, [[https://derpibooru.org/ Derpibooru]] (the largest [=FiM=] fansite) uses Trixie's color palette and cutie mark as an icon (as well as the alternate domain "[[http://trixiebooru.org/ Trixiebooru]]" and her face as the icon for the "[[https://derpibooru.org/tags/best+pony best pony]]" category), and the owner of Equestria Daily (the second-largest [=FiM=] fansite) is an open and unabashed Trixie fan to the point that people used to have him appear in fanworks just to praise her. The showrunners very clearly picked up on her popularity, as she was the first antagonist ever in ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' to get a toy, her second appearance had her return for revenge against Ponyville ([[TakeThatScrappy particularly against Snips and Snails]]) that ends particularly well for her, and by the sixth season, Trixie had gone from one-off "antagonist" to a regularly appearing supporting character who has eased back on her narcissism.
** Gilda the Griffon also receives plenty of love from the fanbase despite her being almost literally run out of Ponyville by the main cast at the end of her debut, getting one more appearance several seasons later.
** Silver Spoon is often characterized by the fanbase as being emotionally conflicted and not actually enjoying taking part in Diamond Tiara's bullying of the Cutie Mark Crusaders but doing so simply out of loyalty to her only friend. In contrast, Diamond Tiara herself was considered a HateSink by the fandom until her FreudianExcuse was revealed in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark".
** Much of Fluttershy's childhood consisted of [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer other pegasi bullying her for her substandard flying skills]], to the point that she left her hometown behind and never looked back. But even when she got older, she continues to be berated or taken advantage of by other characters. However, Fluttershy was voted the most popular member of the [[FanNickname Mane Six]] by an [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/09/fluttershy-wins-fan-favorite-poll.html official poll]].
** Discord, even after making a HeelFaceTurn, was still distrusted by the show's cast for a good while due to his antics in the past. Said antics are hilarious and made him among the most popular characters in the show despite his few appearances.
** Maud Pie, Pinkie's older sister. Pinkie adores her to bits, but the rest of the Mane Six were initially put off by her extremely [[TheStoic Stoic]] mannerisms, [[CreepyMonotone monotone voice]], apparent dullness, and her obsession with rocks. They fail in bonding with her and even express that they don't really consider her a friend since they have virtually nothing in common with her. The fanbase however finds her quite intriguing and even [[TheComicallySerious hilarious]].
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': [[TheWoobie Doofenshmirtz]] is pretty much this, Oh so much. He's victim to a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood and his best and evidently only friend is also his ArchEnemy. And earlier in the series, his own daughter didn't appreciate him either, but CharacterizationMarchesOn. But put short, he only has [[FriendlyEnemy Perry]], [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Vanessa]], and [[RobotBuddy Norm]], and that's it. His balloon story doesn't even ''begin'' to cover it. He was forced to wear dresses after his mother believed they were having a girl, but it was a boy. He also had to become a garden gnome, moved to NYC after he was kidnapped, etc. One has to believe whenever or not he is really a [[JerkassWoobie misunderstood guy]].
* ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls'': Mojo Jojo. He would always be the butt of jokes, and he never wins. But in real life, fans love him due to his LaughablyEvil traits. And let's not forget how he speaks. Being the villain who appears the most, he's obviously the one who takes the most damage.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'': In the episode "Stimpy's Fan Club", Stimpy gets tons of adoring fan mail, while Ren gets none. Stimpy tries to cheer Ren up by making him the president of Stimpy's Fan Club, but this just drives Ren to new levels of psychosis (and for Ren, that's really saying something). The next week, Nickelodeon got a truckload of letters from children telling Ren they loved him too.
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Rick Sanchez is hated by many characters InUniverse due to his eccentric, dangerous and unpredictable nature, and seems to alienate everyone he comes across. His daughter only wants him to stay because of her abandonment issues, and his grandchildren have also slowly begun to dislike him due to his above-mentioned nature, and knowing he has infinite grandchildren ready to be replaced at a drop of a hat. Even infinite versions of Rick hate him, which is reciprocated. Rick has very few people he can call a true friend, and it's implied due to them turning a blind eye to his stranger activities. ''Outside the universe'' though, Rick is extremely popular among fans, to the extent that [[FountainOfMemes his rants]] have become {{Memetic Mutation}}s as well as Rick being genuinely funny, smart and quirky in nature, and accurate about his world in general.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': While the audience finds them lovable, it's made clear that most of the populace finds the Simpsons troublesome and/or dangerous. In the episode "Simpson Safari", this subtle exchange occurs:
-->'''Homer''': The Simpsons are going to Africa!\\
'''Family''': Yay!\\
''(In Africa, two tribesmen dance around a fire. Suddenly, one of them stops)''\\
'''Tribesman''': What is it, N'gungo?\\
'''N'gungo''': [[VaguenessIsComing Evil is coming.]]\\
'''Tribesman''': What shall we do, N'gungo?\\
'''N'gungo''' ''(puts his mask on the other tribesman's head)'': [[YouAreInCommandNow You are N'gungo now!]] ''(runs away screaming)''
** Milhouse fits this trope fairly well. He's one of the least popular kids at his school and a hopeless ButtMonkey in the show, but in the fanbase, he's one of the most popularly quoted characters.
** InUniverse, Moe the bartender is mean, ugly, creepy and a pervert. Fans love him thanks to his [[JerkassWoobie tragic circumstances]] and HiddenHeartOfGold.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** The Crystal Gems initially can't stand Peridot because a.) she's one of [[spoiler: the Homeworld gems that they've been fighting for centuries]] and b.) she is obnoxious and annoying. It's even implied that her own allies [[TeethClenchedTeamwork tolerate her at best]]. Although these issues lessened as the plot moved on, they were very much ''there'' for quite a while. Meanwhile, the fans have pretty much always ''loved'' her and she quickly became [[EnsembleDarkhorse a popular character]] thanks to her antics and complete [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain inability to be threatening]].
** Lapis Lazuli is, for some time, mistreated and manipulated by everyone other than [[AllLovingHero Steven himself]]. Out-of-universe she is quite possibly the most popular character outside of the protagonists thanks to her cute design and [[TheWoobie tragic]] [[TraumaCongaLine story]].
** InUniverse, Jasper is highly respected for being a pinnacle of gemkind. None of our heroes like her though; this is compounded in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'' when Jasper is one of the few gems interested in preserving [[TheEmpire Homeworld]]'s former warlike ethos. Though Jasper has committed morally reprehensible actions, it is hinted, then outright confirmed, that the circumstances of her "birth", combined with Homeworld's fascism, has left her with a deep, abiding sense of [[FreudianExcuse self-loathing]], that is only ameliorated by [[PetTheDog her deep, abiding love for her diamond]]. This, along with her beefy physique, makes her a ''very'' popular character.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** Kenny is killed off on a regular basis for five seasons, bullied and insulted by all of his friends, and generally treated [[ButtMonkey like dirt]]. Of course, as soon as he was KilledOffForReal, the fans were in an uproar, and he was back for good by the end of the season.
** Subsequently, the character of Butters has taken Kenny's place as the fan-loved, but terribly treated character.
** According to Craig in "Pandemic," ''the entire main cast'' qualifies as this. Cartman, being a sociopath, comes as no surprise, but Stan and Kyle are disliked because of [[WeirdnessMagnet their propensity towards getting involved in]] ZanyScheme after ZanyScheme that end up with them getting shot into space or stranded in Peru, which: A) only happens to them, out of all the children in South Park, and B) is their fault, according to -- well, everyone in South Park.
** Pip, who nobody in the show seems to like (including [[Creator/TreyParkerAndMattStone the creators]]) but has lots of [[SelfFanservice fanart]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
** Squidward Tentacles is often berated, loathed, and disrespected by most of the rest of the characters; which is pretty understandable considering a majority of the time he is a selfish and lazy jerk. That has not stopped countless fans however from sympathizing with his misfortunes and appreciating his DeadpanSnarker moments.
** [=SpongeBob=] himself seems to be despised by nearly everyone in Bikini Bottom, to the point where they actually have a holiday dedicated to getting away from him. This is however a [[ZigzaggedTrope zigzagged]] example, since [[DependingOnTheWriter in other episodes]] Spongebob is practically a town hero who is adored by all.
* Furrball from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' is an unwanted stray cat who is often abused and unable to find a home with anyone but [[AndCallHimGeorge Elmyra]] (who's the most frequent source of said abuse). His status as the show's resident ButtMonkey is epitomized in the lyrics to the opening theme, "Furrball's unlucky," complemented by a piano falling on him as he's happily sniffing a flower. Yet he's quite popular for a relatively minor character, with numerous fanart and fanfiction devoted to him. Being both a RidiculouslyCuteCritter and TheWoobie probably helps a lot, as quite a few Website/YouTube commenters on his shorts express their desire to see him get a home. To say nothing of the [[FanPreferredCouple fans who want to see him "get lucky" in the form of a certain purple skunkette from the same show...]]
* ''Franchise/TomAndJerry'': The former of the titular duo is not only more often than not the loser of the two's altercations at the end of many shorts, he is loathed by almost everyone else in the show, and most of them even take Jerry's side during the two's frequent quarrels. This, however, doesn't stop Tom from receiving a rather popular fanbase in which about 60% of them [[RootingForTheEmpire would root for him to win at the end]], usually because Jerry either started the conflict between the two for no reason at all or took his retribution towards Tom too far (as well as the fact that Jerry often portrays a rodent who steals more food than he really needs from the kitchen and Tom is ''ordered'' by his owners to get rid of the mouse). Luckily, in many of those instances, [[TeamRocketWins Tom ends up getting the last laugh at the end]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'':
** Chris is hated by the majority of the contestants in-universe, but some of the fans find him to be an interesting part of the show.
** Don from ''The Ridonculous Race'' could count. While Don was hated less by the contestants (only [[BigBad the Ice Dancers]], Laurie, and Gerry hated him), some of the fans that liked Chris didn't think [Don] was an interesting host.
** Heather is a perfect example, she was the most hated character in-universe (until Alejandro showed up), but is a fan favorite and has one of the largest fan bases out of every character in the show.
** While Duncan was one of the most popular characters in the show, the vast majority of the contestants in TDA hated him in-universe. This was evident in the TDA finale, where Duncan won in a close [3-4] vote in his ending.
** Cody during ''Island'', who was disliked by most of the girls in-universe but was an EnsembleDarkhorse in the fanbase. In ''World Tour'' this gets reversed where he's a favorite in-universe but becomes a BaseBreakingCharacter out-universe.
** Harold is fairly popular in the fan base but was deemed a loser and ButtMonkey in the series. Though much like Cody he becomes more liked in-universe as the series progresses.
** Courtney, in a sense. She's very unpopular with most of the other contestants because of her bossiness and "win at all costs"-attitude. However, in real life, while she's currently a BaseBreakingCharacter, she has one of the largest and most vocal fanbases.
** Noah is not very liked in the show, due to his condescending, sarcastic know-it-all, slacker nature. But in the fan base, he's an EnsembleDarkhorse, and unlike Cody, his support has not waned.
** [[StrawMisogynist Ezekiel]] was hated by the female campers before his transformation and [[FromNobodyToNightmare utterly feared by everyone afterwards]], but he's built up quite a fanbase that thinks of him as TheWoobie [[UnintentionallySympathetic and want him to get another chance]] and are hoping for him to be reverted back to his human self.
** Scott in ''All-Stars'' arguably qualifies. He still carries his hatred from ''Revenge of the Island'' in the show, but his IronButtMonkey and [[TookALevelInDumbass increased stupidity]] has [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap earned him a lot of fans from his very large hate base]].
** Samey from ''Pahkitew Island'' could possibly be the best candidate for the show to represent this trope. In that season, she is not strongly well-liked by her fellow contestants (except Jasmine, who understood her the most) due to her [[BigSisterBully bullying sister]] Amy making them believe that she's "horrible at everything". In contrast in real life, many fans have shown their huge love for her because of how she is [[NiceGirl genuinely sympathetic and kindhearted]], as opposed to her sister [[HateSink who is greatly hated because of her heartless, ignorant, and barbaric nature in the show, especially towards the former]].
** Scarlett is probably universally disliked in the show after the events of "Scarlett Fever", but she gained a lot of fans both before and after that incident in real life.
** Max is another perfect example, as he's arguably the most hated character since Heather, yet has quite a sizable fan base (despite being a BaseBreakingCharacter).
** The Ice Dancers from ''The Ridonculous Race'' were the villains of that show/season, and became hated by every other team for their cheating and backstabbing throughout the series. These traits also made them the [[LoveToHate most entertaining to watch]].
** The Goths regularly freaked out the other teams with their dour personalities, but they were [[DarkIsNotEvil decent people]], and the weird situations they got into made them a [[FreakyIsCool lot of fans]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': Blitzwing alternates between an aloof {{Jerkass}}, a HairTriggerTemper {{Jerkass}}, and a [[AxCrazy psycho]] {{Jerkass}}, and even his partner Lugnut can't stand him all the time. He's also one of the most popular characters in the show.
* If there was ever a poster boy for this trope, it'd be ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' own Dick Dastardly. Not only is he universally despised by all (even his own sidekick), but he never won a single race in the original series despite having the fastest vehicle in the tournament ([[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat mostly due to a compulsive desire to cheat]], [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption and every attempt always backfiring on him spectacularly]]). And the one time he actually appeared to have won a race by legitimate means (and by legitimate, we mean by the typical standards of this race), the judges called foul play and disqualified him, despite the same tactic being used by another racer who won. Regardless of these failures, Dick Dastardly is easily the most popular character in the fandom, to the extent that [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines he]] (and fellow contestant [[WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop Penelope Pitstop]]) got {{spinoff}}s!
* Jack Spicer from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown''. An IneffectualSympatheticVillain[=/=]ButtMonkey, described by many as being the funniest character on the show, and even having the largest number of fangirls. Following him is Raimundo, who has either a larger or equal number of fans, and is the butt of a lot of jokes within the show (not as much as Jack).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': Arguably, Altair in [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI the first game]]. 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.
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' has a few particularly successful cases of this:
** [[EvilSorcerer Edwin Odesseiron]]: In-universe an arrogant and entitled SmugSnake who fellow party members will mock and refuse to take seriously at best, and attempt to violently murder at worst, Edwin is TheFriendNobodyLikes taken to its logical conclusion; i.e. he has no friends at all and not even the dialogue choices with him for the player generally offer a friendly response. Among the fandom Edwin is not only widely considered an IneffectualSympatheticVillain for [[EpicFail his humorous failures]], but also has a respectable amount of {{Fangirl}}s (enough to star in his own romance mods!), and an infamous reputation among game-players as a GameBreaker to such an extent that he can effortlessly outperform player-made mages.
** [[AxCrazy Tiax]]: Even more than the aforementioned Edwin, Tiax is a [[OurGnomesAreWeirder gnome]] priest of [[ReligionOfEvil Cyric]] with a [[SmallNameBigEgo delusion of grandeur]]. His party members barely tolerate him but he has a solid fanbase among players.
** [[DarkActionGirl Viconia de Vir]]: In-universe a frequent victim of FantasticRacism and almost universally disliked as a result (but also [[{{Jerkass}} for other]] [[ReligionOfEvil reasons]]), among the fandom easily considered one of the best-written characters in the game and the [[EvilIsSexy hottest]] female in the series, with her RomanceSidequest without a doubt being the most popular one in the second game.
* InUniverse, Alice Angel from ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'' got a less-than-stellar reception upon her release. Out of universe, she’s arguably the most popular character in the game.
* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''
** Bang Shishigami. Everyone in-universe (except Hakumen for some reason, and later eventually Litchi) just thinks this HotBlooded {{Boisterous|Bruiser}} LargeHam {{Ninja}} is senile. But amongst the fandom, he's an [[RatedMForManly M-Rated]] MemeticBadass.
** How badly is Bang Shishigami treated in canon? Arakune, an insect infested BlobMonster who lives in a sewer and routinely eats {{Catgirl}} kittens refuses to eat Bang because it thinks Bang is too smelly and disgusting.
** Also, Hazama/Yuuki Terumi. He is the #1 most hated character in the ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' universe, and for very good reasons, but amongst the fandom, he's a FauxAffablyEvil [[ManipulativeBastard Bastard]], and that's [[EvilIsCool in the best meaning of those words imaginable]].
* The ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' series has Claptrap, who's a bit of an odd case. In the first game, the Claptraps were {{the Scrappy}}. After that, however, the writers noticed the fandom's negative opinion and went wild with the TakeThatScrappy moments. This actually led to him getting RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap -- the constant, relentless abuse made him [[TheWoobie downright pitiful]], and its {{jerkass}} tendencies eventually gave way to endearingly earnest incompetence.
* ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'':
** Yoshiki Kishinuma. Somewhat of a delinquent and loner, who's implied to have had a FriendlessBackground prior to meeting the main cast members. He suffers from some of the more gruesome Wrong Ends the game has to offer because the BigBad favours him as a [[TheChewToy chew toy]] and being paired with [[DamselInDistress Ayumi]] means he has to go through a lot of effort to keep her alive with little gratitude in return. He's also easily one of the most popular characters in the series, for being very level-headed in a crisis, surprisingly kind-hearted, and because fans just sympathize with the poor guy.
** Sakutarou Morishige, to a lesser extent. He suffers from LonersAreFreaks in-universe due to being so anti-social, but fans like him either because they can relate to that aspect of him [[spoiler: or because his [[NightmareFetishist creepy hobby]] later in the game is equal parts entertaining and tragic]].
* The Maple Heights district of ''VideoGame/CriminalCaseGrimsborough'' introduces Adam Bentley, a forerunning socialite whom the Grimsborough PD dislike for being a pretentious creep who frequently hangs around rich and powerful people -- most of whom ended up dying -- while the rest of the districts looks down on him for not having an affluent background. He seems to be quite well-liked by the audience, and his murder gathered more than a few mourners among fans.
* ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'':
** [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc The first game]] has [[NoSocialSkills Kiyotaka Ishimaru]]. Despite his best efforts to make the students work together, almost everyone else sees him as an annoyance, it is made clear that Mondo is his OnlyFriend, and [[spoiler: [[AngstWhatAngst barely anyone reacts when he's killed]]]]. The fanbase on the other hand loves him and he always scores highly in popularity polls.
** [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair The second game]] has two more:
*** Usami/Monomi is treated very badly by almost the entire cast. She gets abused by Monokuma for most of the time, and almost all students are suspicious of her and are very annoyed by her constant appearances, causing them to tell her off and verbally abuse her. Because of all the hatred she receives InUniverse, she's TheWoobie to the fandom, with many players being able to sympathize with her, especially since she is constantly shown to be on her students side no matter how much they hate her. It also helps that she is sometimes useful to the class, such as saving Fuyuhiko and Nekomaru's lives or her role in the GrandFinale.
*** Mikan was bullied relentlessly throughout her life by both her peers and family, repeatedly insulted by [[BrattyHalfPint Hiyoko]], and Fuyuhiko is rather harsh to her before his HeelFaceTurn, while the rest of the cast range from being annoyed or indifferent to being nicer but mildly condescending towards her, with the possible exception of Ibuki and Hajime. [[BaseBreakingCharacter While she is a bit more controversial than other characters listed here due to other factors]], many people express a desire to give the poor girl a hug.
** [[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.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'': King K. Rool is detested by the Kongs (''possibly'' related to the fact that he has stolen their bananas, kidnapped them and even tried to blow up their island) and isn’t well-liked even among his underlings [[BadBoss due to how badly he treats them]]. Among audiences, however, the Kremling King is beloved thanks to his refreshingly crazed personality and ridiculous yet effective schemes. He was one of the most popular contenders for a playable fighter in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, and his reveal in the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate fifth game]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikubyzm5EcY was met with acclaim]].
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'':
** Alistair is, while not ''hated'', at least viewed as rather annoying and childish by many of the other companions, with even the most positive opinions of him being condescending. Many of the [[EstrogenBrigade fans]], on the other hand, find him hilarious, adorable, or some combination of both.
* ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' has very clear in-universe popularity rankings for each of the units which often diverge greatly from reality. In-universe, fine is the clear top unit and Akatsuki second, while in reality those two tend to be among the least popular. (Though this is justified by the fact that real-world readers are privy to a lot of information about fine's bad behaviour that the in-universe audience are not, and fine's popularity is at least in part due to Eichi's deliberate manipulation.) By contrast, Knights is definitely the top unit in the real world, with Undead and Ryuuseitai up next. And while Ra*bits isn't hugely popular, it's a hell of a lot more known out of universe than in-universe, where they're a very new unit who got off to a ''very'' shaky start (thanks, again, to Eichi and Akatsuki).
* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'': Oswald the Lucky Rabbit leans a bit into this trope. In the game, he's portrayed as a vengeful and jealous antihero regarding Mickey's popularity. Though he improves, he's constantly pained with the knowledge that Mickey received his fame. In RealLife, Oswald's inclusion was one of the key aspects which drew people into the game, and he has a solid fanbase in Japan.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' Kefka Palazzo is hated by almost every single character on the game for good reasons. Amongst the returners, he's a cruel commander who has killed lots of people, innocents included, for his callousness and amusement. The empire soldiers on his charge doesn't have a higher opinion of him either, as he's infamous for burning lots of imperial soldiers during a practice. Kefka is so cruel, sadistic and sociopathic he cannot fully get true loyalty from anyone outside of dangerous beasts. And yet, the fanbase loves him for being such a darkly amusing villain who manages to take over the role of the ''BigBad''. A lot of his popularity comes from the ''{{Woolseyism}}'' in the American version, giving him a surprisingly charming humor sense while also showcasing his cruelty and effectiveness as a villain.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'''s Yuffie, certainly not without justification seeing as how she's a thief that attacked the party and tried to trick them after the fight. [[spoiler: If you head to her hometown, it'll turn out that the party was right to be suspicious. She steals your materia and you have to get it back from her. She joins you on the straight and narrow from then on and by the end, some of the group have grown attached to her, such as Red XIII (the only one to point out she's missing when the group re-unites before the final dungeon) and Cloud (who welcomes her back when she comes.)]]
* Serra from the ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade''. ''No-one'' likes her at all unless you engage Supports, yet she's very well-liked by fans.
* In ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'', it's clear that ''no one'' InUniverse likes [[MonsterClown the Daycare Attendant]], due to it being [[UnnecessarilyCreepyRobot unnecessarily creepy]] even for this series and its tendency to traumatize the children it's supposed to watch over in its [[SplitPersonality Moon form]]. Even [[AllLovingHero Freddy]] doesn't have anything good to say about it. Out of universe, it's easily one of the most popular characters, getting quite a bit of fanart and fanfic.
* Fukushima Masanori is one of the better-known historical Japanese generals, leader of the ''Seven Spears of Shizugatake'', and one of UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi's finest (and wasn't reported to be as brutal as his fellow general Katou Kiyomasa, who takes anti-Christianity [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]]). However, whenever he makes an appearance in KOEI games (''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', Franchise/AceAttorney-like game ''Saihai no Yukue''), he is usually portrayed as a bumbling fool nearing TheScrappy level to possibly make Ishida Mitsunari (main protagonist of the latter game) look good. Koei truly hates Masanori.
* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'' has Hu Tao who is canonically disliked by nearly every character save for a select few. Yet despite this, you would not have guessed that she is one of the most popular characters in the game who also has the ''largest'' fanbase, with her subreddit eclipsing even that of ''Raiden Shogun's''. The fact that her JP dub is voiced by Creator/RieTakahashi probably helps in her insane popularity.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'':
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': If there's any character in this game that deserves to be in this trope, it would be Ryder. Sure Ryder's an asshole [[spoiler: who betrays the Grove Street Families later in the story]], but he has the charisma and cohesive attitude that makes him a fan favorite to many fans of the game.
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Trevor Philips is undoubtedly one of the most psychotic and murderous playable characters in the franchise history which understandably makes him not very well-liked by anybody around him apart from Michael and Franklin and a handful of other people, with his underlings following him mostly out of their fear for him. For the fans, however, he's easily the most beloved and memorable character out of the three game protagonists thanks to that very same psychotic nature. Trevor's popularity is also helped by his surprisingly complex personality with many HiddenDepths that makes him an entertaining yet also relatable character.
* ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'': Norman Jayden is abused by every police officer in the game, [[spoiler: constantly getting the crap beaten out of him and doesn't have a ''single'' happy ending]] But he's easily the most popular character outside of the game.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Tingle is one, but [[AmericansHateTingle only in Japan]]. It's {{Downplayed}} in his [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask debut appearance]]; Tingle's father is certainly embarrassed by his son's obsession with fairies, but it doesn't go as far as hate. Notably, if you bring him a pictograph of Tingle, [[spoiler: he'll reward you with a heart piece.]] The Tingle of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', on the other hand, is clearly viewed as bizarre at best and outright disliked by the laborers on his island -- two of whom are his brothers!
* ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'': Lemina is loud, pushy, money-grubbing, has her fair share of blonde moments, and is somewhat lacking in integrity from time to time (despite her respectable long-term goals). She's sometimes viewed as a slight annoyance by the rest of the group, and certainly by people outside of it.
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** Kung Lao, at least in more recent games, has often been portrayed as the more jealous second fiddle to [[TheHero Liu Kang]]. Characters often compare him unfavorably to Liu Kang in terms of skill, but he has been a consistent fan-favorite since his debut for his unique abilities. Liu Kang, on the other hand, tends to be a BaseBreakingCharacter among fans.
** [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Johnny Cage]] qualifies as well. He was the resident ButtMonkey of the original timeline ([[RealLifeWritesThePlot as revenge by the writers due to the actor who played him doing work for a ''Mortal Kombat'' knock-off]]) and is something of a NoRespectGuy and TheFriendNobodyLikes even in the new timeline. His popularity with fans however skyrocketed with [=MK9=] due to the many [[Funny/MortalKombat9 CMOFs]] he contributes to the game and for being a DeadpanSnarker [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold with a Heart of Gold]]. Although this appears to be an IntendedAudienceReaction since the new timeline also makes him an AscendedExtra with improved and sympathetic characterization, makes him TheHeart for the good guys ''and'' subverts his FakeUltimateHero status.
** Mileena puts the two previous examples to shame. With the two exceptions of Tanya and Shao Kahn, literally everyone in the cast despises Mileena and consider her a ButterFace freak of nature, Kitana her twin in particular cannot stand Mileena and rejects her on sight. Even when Mileena is empress in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', she’s hated by the citizens of Outworld and quickly overthrown. Among the fanbase on the other hand, it is a very different story with Mileena being adored pretty much across the board with more than a few character polls even putting her above both Kitana and Sonya. The fact she's considered the series main MsFanservice, despite her face to the point of appearing in Magazine/{{Playboy}} may be the ultimate irony. ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' outright lampshaded Mileena’s popularity in her reveal trailer.
--->'''Mileena''': A coin for your thoughts, Erron?
--->'''Erron Black''': Just trying to reckon why the hell you're back.
--->'''Mileena''': [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall A million souls cried out for my return]].
* Creator/NipponIchi:
** Asagi. Her entire story is that she [[CrossoverCameo 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.
** Another Creator/NipponIchi example would be Laharl of ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''. On the same popularity poll as Asagi, he took the top spot. Yet, in-universe, just ask the VideoGame/PhantomBrave and ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' casts what they think of him. Hell, even his own vassals will take potshots at him given the chance.
** ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'': '''Captain Gordon, Defender of Earth!''' He's one of the most popular characters, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff especially in the west.]] In-universe, however, people disregard him as a total moron who's slow to catch on.
--->'''Laharl''': Aren't you happy, Flonne? [[DeadpanSnarker There's someone even dumber than you]].
** 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 how outright LaughablyEvil he is.
* ''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.
* Generally speaking, with the Phantom Thieves from ''VideoGame/Persona5'' receiving AllOfTheOtherReindeer treatment, a few of these are bound to happen. However, these people deserve special mention-
** 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. In spite of consistently ranking at the bottom on Eastern popularity polls, [[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.
** The other students at Kosei High treat Yusuke Kitagawa differently due to both his association with Madarame and because of his behavior in general, and after Madarame is arrested, he's actively shunned. However, he manages to be one of the most popular characters in the game due to him being a ComicallySerious {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.
** 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 she does have a [[VocalMinority vocal]] amount of [[HypeBacklash detractors]], Makoto nevertheless is one of the more popular characters within the Eastern and Western fandom alike, for being useful in battle, her [[TeamMom team mom]] status and a fan favorite love interest of Joker.
** Prior to Futaba Sakura being a shut-in, she was almost completely friendless at school with her OnlyFriend having to be a girl named Kana in which their friendship ended up falling apart. On the other hand, fans really like her due to her {{Moe}} personality, having huge amounts of CharacterDevelopment, and her lacking the AnnoyingVideoGameHelper tendencies that past MissionControl characters have.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Magikarp: since it has horrible stats and can learn only four moves outside of events, it is systematically perceived by in-game trainers as useless, and even its Pokédex profile describes it as "virtually useless". In RealLife, on the other hand, everyone knows it evolves into the much more badass and useful Gyarados, so it ended up being [[MemeticBadass the opposite of this trope]] for fans and the {{Trope Namer|s}} for MagikarpPower. This had the side effect of giving the impression that nearly any Pokemon based on a fish is bound to be awful, even when it isn't the case (most of the time anyway).
** Absol is despised in-universe for a widespread but mistaken belief that it starts natural disasters but has quite a hefty fanbase because of a very [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Absol_%28Pokémon%29 beautiful design.]]
** This applies to many of the Dark and Ghost types, as well as a few Poison, being widely feared or at least regarded with suspicion in-universe but loved by the fandom for their good designs, usefulness in battle, or just because EvilIsCool.
** Mimikyu is probably one of the franchise's biggest examples yet. It's a tiny ghost who wears a crudely made Pikachu costume made from old Pikachu merchandise in the hopes that it will be noticed and loved more thanks to its resemblance to the widely popular SeriesMascot. Considering its ''massive'' EnsembleDarkhorse status among the Pokémon introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', it seems to have achieved this out of universe at least, thanks to its [[TheWoobie Woobie-ish backstory]] and endearing design.
** In terms of human characters, Team Skull is treated as a group of nuisances and losers InUniverse, but out of universe, their comedic qualities, strong personalities, and [[spoiler: surprisingly sad backstory]] resulted in the group being one of the most popular villain teams in the franchise.
* From the ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' series:
** Glass Joe. He may be the ultimate {{Jobber}} with more defeats than most champions have victories, but he'll always be the champion in players' hearts.
** Aran Ryan (at least in the Wii version) is a complete psycho who breaks all the rules and is greeted with a chorus of boos from the in-game audience. He also happens to be one of the most popular characters.
** Super Macho Man (Also Wii version) is met with more audible boos than Aran Ryan, and the crowd cheers harder for when you knock him down than the other combatants. Despite this, he is loved by the fanbase for his overinflated ego and how much of a LargeHam he can be. Add that to the number of things he says falling under MemeticMutation.
* Schezo from ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' often gets no respect from his peers, due to being an intimidating dark mage and generally unpleasant. On top of that, his terrible choices in vocabulary lead to him be taken far less seriously than he would want to be. Fans, however, find his antics entertaining and is well-loved to have better depictions in fanworks, if only to soften his ButtMonkey status.
* Uncle from ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' and ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' is often berated by other characters for being a lazy, sleazy, drunken freeloader. Out of universe? He's one of the most, not ''the'' most popular character, due to providing much of the {{Comic Relief}}, his {{Jerk with a Heart of Gold}} moments, and [[spoiler: sacrificing his life to save the Marston family]].
* Erik from ''VideoGame/RuneFactoryFrontier''. Despite his sheer awesomeness, he has to bribe people in-game to appear impressed by him.
* Dexter "Dex" Jackson in ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRow1 Saints Row]]''. InUniverse, he's virtually hated by everyone InUniverse for [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn suddenly betraying the Saints for Ultor]], then attempting to kill the Boss, and then becoming a CorruptCorporateExecutive in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'']]. Outside, he's well-liked for [[DeadpanSnarker his snarky attitude]] and for being [[OnlySaneMan more level-headed than the rest of his gang, especially when compared to]] [[AxCrazy Johnny Gat]]. It doesn't help that Volition [[PutOnABus put both him and his storyline from the second game on a bus]], as the Corporate Warfare [=DLC=] was never released on [[PortingDisaster the infamous PC port]]. Although Dex returned in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'' as part of a revenge sidequest, many long-time fans felt that it was an AntiClimax ending to a feud that went unanswered for two games straight.
* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': Bolo is often treated with disdain from nearly everyone InUniverse, and generally written off as nothing but an idiotic screw-up and pervert. Out of universe, he is loved for being a loyal friend to Shantae, his antics being seen as hilarious, and he is even a popular ship partner for Shantae.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** Tails is often a "victim" of this, especially in ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic''.
** Knuckles seems to be leaning into this area as well due to recent Flanderization. He's bitterly jealous of Sonic and his [[DumbMuscle dopiness]] and [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong lack of "team ethics"]] has even [[{{Moe}} Cream the Rabbit]] making snide remarks at him at times, nevertheless he has a fanbase nearly as big as the hedgehog himself (granted, however, Knuckles was an EnsembleDarkHorse even before his transition into a ButtMonkey).
** Same for Dr. Eggman, especially in ''Anime/SonicX'', where the poor guy's really just an AttentionWhore at heart.
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
** [[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Dan Hibiki]]. The essential JokeCharacter, treated like a fool by everyone, and he's still one of the more popular characters. YAHOOEY!
** A good example of Dan's popularity power born from failure can be seen in the trailer for ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken''. Dan gets blasted through a door following an unfortunate encounter with [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Kazuya Mishima]] on his way to a face-to-face with [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu]]. He's the only other character seen in the trailer besides the two flagship fighting game characters, which lends credence to his status as the ButtMonkey with a following. In ''[=SFxT=]'', [[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2011-x-rush-system-interview/715452 according to]] [[WordOfGod Yoshinori Ono]], Kazuya's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown ''[[DeathByCameo killed]]'' Dan (this is because the dev team [[ShooOutTheClowns didn't want Dan in the game]]). No, '''really.'''
*** It's later revealed that [[spoiler:he didn't actually die; the ending of DLC characters Sakura and Blanka show him [[AuthorsSavingThrow trapped within Pandora]]]].
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** Luigi tends to be neglected by the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser and his men, apparently the entire population of the Beanbean Kingdom, [[VideoGame/MetalGear Colonel]] [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Campbell]]... his fanbase is fairly large due to this, especially since his own game debut ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' gave him his own personality to stand out from Mario, and it's pretty hard to find someone who doesn't like him nowadays, to the point where most Nintendo fans are likely to tell you they prefer the green-clad plumber to his more iconic brother. In fact, a lot of Luigi's problems in-universe, especially in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' games, is that he ''can'' be as good as Mario, but nobody gives him a chance. This has gotten to the point that Nintendo declared 2013 to be Advertising/TheYearOfLuigi to celebrate [[VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon three games]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperLuigiU Luigi]] [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam stars in]].
** Waluigi isn't very well-liked by the characters in-universe due to being a [[CloudCuckoolander crazy]], [[EvilIsPetty petty]] {{Jerkass}}. Outside of the games, a sizable portion of the fanbase loves him for various reasons, including being an underdog (due to his plans often backfiring, Nintendo themselves occasionally teasing him, and his minimal chances at ADayInTheLimelight - the closest to date being the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfbmFCUQfSg Tricksters Episodes]] from the 3DS version of ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games]]''), having great levels tied to him (such as ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' and ''VideoGame/MarioSportsMix''[='s=] Waluigi Pinball), going through bouts of CrazyIsCool and just plain [[RuleOfFunny hilarious ridiculousness]] (like trying to take over the world with his ''dance moves'' in ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolutionMarioMix''), creating several memes (including "[[VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash Waluigi time!]]", the [[VideoGame/MarioStrikers crotch chop]], and Waluigi's Taco Stand), and various combinations of the above. Nintendo once ran a poll asking who you would give a Valentine to, and while their polls usually pull in a couple thousand votes per option, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Waluigi/comments/dutfr2/dont_know_if_yall_saw_this_but_i_think_we_are/ Waluigi totaled]] more than 1.25 ''million'' votes by the end of March of 2019, becoming the only character on the poll to break a million; for comparison, ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''[='s=] BreakoutCharacter Isabelle received the second-highest number of votes, and she still didn't even reach half of Waluigi's total. In spite of his [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter lack of presence outside of spinoffs]], Waluigi has managed to pull in a dedicated group of fans, and support for him to have his time to shine, whether in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' or headlining his very own title, is very easy to find on the internet.
** Goombas are the lowest ranked and weakest enemies in Bowser’s army, and never stand a chance against [[GoombaStomp Mario’s almighty shoe soles]]. Yet they are an [[MascotMook integral part of the franchise]], being the most featured enemy along with Koopa Troopas, as well as influential enough in video game culture to have a [[TheGoomba trope]] named after them.
* Raven from ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. At best, everyone tolerates him. Usually, the party members are disgusted by his antics, mostly because he's a DirtyOldMan and refuses to act his age. Most of the time they don't even call him Raven; they just call him, "old man". He's still one of the group until the end.
* Lots of ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fan works (and some canon) show their love for characters like Hong Meiling, Cirno, and Reisen Udongein Inaba by making them into all-round {{Butt Monkey}}s abused by their superiors.
** Tenshi Hinanai too, despite the amount of damage she caused all because she got bored of FluffyCloudHeaven.
** More recently, Kogasa Tatara has become an ''epic'' example of this. She is pathetically weak, doomed to failure at every turn and every other character either ignores or mocks her. The fandom, however, has declared her to be [[MemeticMutation the new youkai moe~]] and love her intensely.
** Koishi Komeiji who debuted in ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism'' is the biggest example of this trope from Touhou franchise. [[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/THWiki_Popularity_Poll Koishi is the only character other than Reimu, Marisa, and Sakuya to win Fan Popularity Poll (2015)]] while InUniverse, Koishi's existence is somewhat vague to other characters save for a few such as Satori (her sister) and Kokoro (her storyline rival) thanks to her ability to control unconscious minds. Furthermore, many people who interacted with her and did as much as look the other way would eventually forget about her.
* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'': [[MemeticMutation Isn't it sad, Sacchin?]] But we love you.
* Papyrus from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has three people in the Underground who give him the time of day, and one of them's his brother. The others are Undyne, [[spoiler:and [[BigBad a soulless flower who's repeatedly killed him]] before you show up.]] Naturally, the main reason he wants to be a Royal Guardsman [[IJustWantToHaveFriends is because people might actually want to be his friend afterwards.]] The fandom, meanwhile, pretty much universally loves him, [[IncorruptiblePurePureness the cinnamon roll that he is.]]
[[/folder]]

!!Examples:

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Literature/{{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?
* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Guts has had [[DarkAndTroubledPast this hard]] from the moment of his birth and throughout his life, considered a curse by his awful adoptive father Gambino and despised by nearly everybody he came across. This only changed when he met [[TrueCompanions the Band of the Hawk]] who apart from [[{{Tsundere}} Casca]] and [[{{Jerkass}} Corkus]] accepted him with open arms. This also served as a metaphorical and physical gut punch as they were [[DarkestHour savagely taken away from him]] in the bloodiest and cruelest way possible. Which sent Guts off alone again as the infamous ''[[DarkIsNotEvil Black Swordsman]]''.
** Naturally Guts's eternal pain and struggle, make the heart and soul of the series in the eyes of fans. Who detests the injustice of Guts being accused and hunted during his quest for [[BestServedCold righteous vengeance]] and especially against the alleged hero of the kingdom Griffith who is [[VillainWithGoodPublicity worshipped]] despite the colossal amount of shit he's pulled.
* An example of this working to the character's benefit is Jeremiah Gottwald, the EnsembleDarkHorse of ''Anime/CodeGeass''. While legitimately villainous in his first appearance, after getting defeated by Lelouch he gets treated like crap in the first season, both the fans ''and'' the show's makers adored him, which inspired the writers to change his story arc from an early death to [[TookALevelInBadass taking several levels in badass]] and undergoing a HeelFaceTurn to join forces with protagonist Lelouch before finally receiving one of the few unambiguously happy endings out of the entire cast.
* L from ''Manga/DeathNote'' isn't exactly well-liked in-universe (having literally no friends and no social skills), but he is probably the most popular character with the fandom. Even those who don't like him do tend to have respect for his professional abilities.
** Ditto his EvilTwin, Beyond Birthday, mainly due to the DracoInLeatherPants phenomenon.
* ''Anime/DeltoraQuest'': Doom the [[RebelLeader leader]] of the rebellion against the Shadow Lord is distrusted and outright hated by everyone from the Jasmine in main trio to members of his own revolution, but Doom beloved by the fans and especially those who read books. [[spoiler: Knowing full well that Doom is actually Jarred, loving father of Jasmine making her hatred of him beautifully ironic]].
** Barda in books and anime is a disgraced guard turned beggar and despite his troubled status is adored by readers and viewers alike. The anime especially makes it very entertaining and gives him some legitimate awesome fights towards the end of the series, complete with Ak-Baba decapitations sadly not present in the books.
** Thaegan the [[RapidAging haggard]]/[[HotWitch beautiful]] sorceress is loathed in the books but is given a more sympathetic portrayal in the anime making her a fan favorite helped by her attractiveness and wickedness.
** [[spoiler: Dain was popular before and after he turns out to be an evil backstabbing [[{{Shapeshifting}} Ol]] due to his fangirls, most people were happy when Lief "gave him the belt" however]].
* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', Zenitsu is considered to be a loser by almost all of his past acquaintances before meeting the main cast, and even if he has friends now there’s still new people Zenitsu meets who don’t like him, yet he is very popular among the fandom, once scoring 2nd place in an official poll only behind the loved-by-all protagonist Tanjiro himself; his popularity proved to be long lasting, the 2nd official manga poll in Japan crowned Zenitsu with the 1st place in 2020. This is made even more curious by the fact Zenitsu is disliked by many of the girls he tries to impress but is loved by a fandom that has a gigantic female presence in it.
* Kanda from ''Manga/DGrayMan''. Because of his attitude, not many characters appear to like him at all including Allen. Minor characters, such as finders, hate him and even the characters that do like him have a bit of an issue with his attitude. Only Lavi normally doesn't seem to be bothered by that but gets annoyed from time to time. Despite this, he is quite [[{{Bishonen}} popular with fangirls...]]
* Due to the constant demands by producers to make the show more humorous, the dubbed version of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' had a lot of humor that poked fun at Davis' arrogant personality. [[MisBlamed Despite what you might think]], he was still a ButtMonkey in the original.
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
** Vegeta is very popular with fans despite most of the cast, including his loved ones and Goku (and even the [[Creator/AkiraToriyama author]] initially), either distrusting him or outright hating him for most of the series.
** Before Vegeta, Piccolo the reincarnated Demon King was the one HatedByAll, and for a good while none of the good guys could be around him without at least getting nervous. Of course, he’s a perennial fan favourite, with even Toriyama admitting that Piccolo is his favourite (though he later said it was Goku in another interview).
** Yamcha. In 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!)
** Chi-Chi is seen as an unpleasant EducationMama in-universe: her husband Goku is terrified of her, and even Toriyama admits he doesn’t like her very much. While a vocal section of fanbase still dislikes Chi-Chi for “holding Gohan back,” elsewhere in the fanbase she’s a massive EnsembleDarkHorse, being seen as misunderstood and sympathetic and has a massive amount of FanArt dedicated to her.
** Cell and Freeza have wide followings in the fandom, the former especially the [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff from the American fanbase]], but most everybody in-universe hates them, being that they're pure evil.
** Broly in his debut was supposed to be a disgustingly evil HateSink who repulses even Goku. Fandom-wise, Broly is absolutely beloved, being the most popular movie villain by far (rivalled only by Cooler). He’s so popular that [[CanonImmigrant he became canon to the main story]].
* No one in ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'' likes [[SmugSnake Jinnai]], save for the Bugrom he commands. But he's so entertainingly LaughablyEvil that he's one of the more popular characters outside of the show.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Envy is a spiteful, sadistic psychopath who exists to cause discord and [[CardCarryingVillain revels in being a vile heartless bastard]], doing acts as despicable as [[spoiler:posing as an Amestris soldier and [[WouldHurtAChild shooting an Ishvalan child]] to offset a civil war]] and gloating about it with a huge SlasherSmile on their face. They're so despised that they end up on the receiving end of [[spoiler:ColdBloodedTorture from one of our ''heroes''.]] Furthermore, while Envy does have their competent, {{manipulative|bastard}} moments, they're disrespected by both heroes and villains for their HairTriggerTemper and [[UnskilledButStrong awful fighting skills]] that result in them getting their ass handed to them and becoming a DirtyCoward. At best, they have a sibling bond with Lust and Gluttony who they playfully banter with, get along with [[MadBomber Kimblee]] who admires their cruelty, [[spoiler:and Edward feels some pity for them when he figures out Envy's jealous of humans.]] Despite all this, Envy is consistently one of the most popular Homunculi (competing with [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Greed]]) and the only one to rank in the top 10 on the popularity charts each time. Many fans find their cruelty and inevitable comeuppance [[LoveToHate extremely entertaining]] along with their snarky attitude, dramatic expressions, cute androgynous ShapeshifterDefaultForm, [[spoiler:ScaledUp EldritchAbomination form]] which is horrifying and disgusting but pretty cool, and their [[spoiler:sympathetic death scene in their de-powered UglyCute form.]]
** Envy is an even bigger case in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 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]].
** 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 AxCrazy he is.
* Akabane from ''Manga/GetBackers'', on the character charts, he's easily the most popular character followed by which of the duo gets the most development at the time of the polls, helped by being [[AffablyEvil easily the most genial character in the main cast]]. This is in spite of all of the cast fearing or hating him for being a killer [[ThouShallNotKill as they all have a no-killing mindset]] and understandably [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder turning on them at certain points]].
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
** [[PsychoForHire Ali al-Saachez]] of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' is loathed by every single character on the show who is not paying him for something at the time. The fans? They're the ones singing [[MemeticMutation "Prince Ali! Mighty is he!"]]
** Patrick Colasour from ''Gundam 00'', who underwent a very similar character arc (ButtMonkey antagonist, [[TheDeterminator hangs on by sheer persistence]], eventually gets his happy ending). Unlike Jeremiah, Colasour was never intended as anything but a joke, which makes his eventual fate more surprising.
** Among all the [[BrokenBase endless debates and disagreements]] over ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', one of the few things ''everyone'' agrees on is Rau Le Creuset is one of the best villains ''Gundam'' has ever produced. Obviously, he's very much hated in-universe (such that only two characters in ''Destiny'' thought well of him, and both of them still opposed his goals), and for good reason since [[spoiler:he nearly succeeded in causing humanity to wipe itself out]], but as far as anyone in the real world is concerned Rau is a MagnificentBastard of epic proportions, being one of the few ''Gundam'' villains (and CharClone to boot) to be completely evil and nefarious, yet holding a distinctive style and level of badass from those around him. Even fans who hate ''SEED'' in general often claim Rau was one of its saving graces.
* In ''Anime/HeatGuyJ'', the young mob boss Clair Leonelli is easily one of the most popular and well-known characters, but at least initially he's opposed both by the heroes (because he's a violent criminal they have to stop) and by the other members of his crime organization (because he's so young and mentally unstable), and generally surrounded by people who want to screw him over.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** Canada is ignored to the point of being invisible by pretty much all of the other nations. The fandom disagrees and goes a long way to fix this "oversight," [[PossessionSue to the point where fanfic readers can barely recognize the original character]].
** In-verse, no one really likes Prussia because of his brash, [[LargeHam 'Awesome-Me' personality]], his childhood friend [[ChildhoodFriends Hungary]] can't stand him, and he spends one Christmas pretending to like being alone. In the fandom, [[EnsembleDarkhorse he's surprisingly popular]] for one of the more minor characters.
** England and Russia, which isn't what you'd expect from two of the main characters. In-universe, England's got a long-running [[SitcomArchnemesis rivalry]] with France, his former-adopted-brother-now-possible-crush America keeps [[MasterOfTheMixedMessage shooting him down,]] and even his former colonies don't [[DudeWheresMyRespect show him any respect.]] Russia, meanwhile, has it ''worse''; his subordinates are extremely terrified of him, his [[MoralityPet older sister]] has [[PerpetualPoverty too many issues]] to deal with to spend time with him, the one person who likes him not only happens to be his [[BrotherSisterIncest younger sister]], but is also a PsychoKnifeNut {{Yandere}} as well, and everyone else either [[TokenEvilTeammate doesn't want him around]], or [[TheFriendNobodyLikes hates him.]] Both of them only [[IJustWantToHaveFriends want to have friends]], but from the looks of it, they won't be getting any.
** Belarus for that matter definitely qualifies as this. She's aggressive, sadistic and foul-mouthed, and very nasty to anyone who isn't her beloved brother, with who she has an incestuous obsession, so naturally, most of the other characters are scared of her. Lithuania has a huge crush on her, but it's because he's a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter and doesn't even seem to notice when she [[{{Fingore}} breaks his fingers]]. In the fandom, however, she's one of the most popular female characters for her [[MsFanservice good looks]] and [[ElegantGothicLolita cute outfit]] and many find her caustic attitude and {{Yandere}} tendencies entertaining.
* Music/HypnosisMic: Doppo Kannonzaka is one of the most popular characters among the fanbase, with many fans seeing him as TheWoobie, but the same can’t be said for him InUniverse. His coworkers and boss abuse and overwork him, he’s overlooked and ignored by Matenrou’s fanbase in favor of his more popular teammates, and overall he’s treated with a ''lot'' of contempt by the other characters (particularly Dice (who detests white-collar workers) and Saburo (who shows disdain towards just about everyone who isn’t Ichiro)), with many of them finding his [[ApologizesALot profuse apologizing]] to be insanely annoying.
* Aoi Todo from Manga/JujutsuKaisen is hated by most of the other students for his erratic behavior, violent tendencies, and obsession with his favorite idol, with only Yuuji somewhat tolerating him. These traits make him beloved by the fandom.
* [[DeadpanSnarker Ishigami]] from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' is considered to be creepy by most of his classmates due to an incident that happened back in middle school, but one of ''the'' most popular characters among the fanbase, especially when [[spoiler: the truth of the said incident (he tried to secretly protect the honor of a girl) comes to light]].
* ''Manga/MedakaBox'': Partly justified since he's a former villain, but Kumagawa generally aggravates a good chunk of the cast with his antics. However, he never "wins" in his eyes, and gets a fair amount of abuse. In the fandom, he's indisputably the most popular character of the series, having more than three times the votes of the titular character in one poll.
* In ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', Yuzuki Seo is brash, selfish, aggressive, and has a knack for saying exactly the right thing to piss people off without even meaning to do it. Apart from Sakura, just about everyone finds her annoying. Of course, the audience is watching from the sidelines where she is instead one of the funniest members of the cast by sheer virtue of how incredibly obnoxious she is.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
** Katsuki Bakugo is the biggest example. Among Class 1-A, the only ones to show signs of liking him are Kirishima, Uraraka, and Midoriya (and of those, Ochaco basically [[AllLovingHero likes everybody]] and Deku is his childhood friend), outside of that, he is either the ButtMonkey or TheFriendNobodyLikes, but he has ranked 1st place in three popularity polls in a row.
** Tsuyu Asui is the biggest example next to Bakugo. Within the series she’s supposed to be seen as weird and strange with her frog-like traits straight up freaking people out. Among the fandom however Asui is utterly '''beloved''' with countless fans finding her adorable and not creepy in the slightest. In the first US popularity poll ''she ranked 2nd place'', above even Bakugo, Ochaco, Momo and All-Might himself.
** The League of Villains is hated by everyone and even by other villains who consider them childish, such as Stain, and a bunch of overhyped villains, such as Chisaki. They even dislike each other among themselves. Still, characters such as Shigaraki, Himiko, and Dabi maintain a strong fanbase.
** Hitoshi Shinso isn't exactly popular when he's first introduced because of his MindManipulation Quirk which causes people to mistrust him and repeatedly comments it would be a useful power for a villain, and he provokes Midoriya into responding to his question by insulting Ojiro - but then we see that he actually wanted to be in the Hero Course and strives to be one despite the discrimination he faces. The fandom ''loves'' Shinso, to the point where he's consistently ranked in the top ten of every popularity poll since he's appeared, despite only showing up as a cameo since his debut and some fans even hope [[TheScrappy Mineta]] will be kicked out of the Hero Course and replaced with Shinso.
** Gentle Criminal can't seem to catch a break. Whether trying to become a hero in his younger years or being a villain when he got older, barely anyone acknowledged him, other than his only fan La Brava. To put it in perspective, Gentle created an online video-sharing account and uploads video after video, each of which barely gets any views. And the few comments that show up always seem to berate him. Meanwhile, Stain became an overnight sensation without even trying, as a ''single'' video featuring him leaked online, where he exclaims his true heroism ideals. Gentle could only wish for that amount of attention. If only he knew how many real-world fans he had who sympathize with him, especially after seeing his backstory. It's to the point that some fans [[RootingForTheEmpire wanted him to defeat Midoriya]]!
* Fans of ''Anime/MyHime'' love the bombastic, loudmouthed, malaproper-prone Haruka Suzushiro for precisely the same reasons that people in universe hate her. Averted with her ''Anime/MyOtome'' counterpart, Haruka Armitage, who is as loved in universe as she is out of it.
* Tomoko Kuroki from ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular''. A [[ShrinkingViolet shy]] {{Otaku}} girl with NoSocialSkills who gets into many [[CringeComedy humiliating situations]] because she, well, as the title may indicate, wants to be popular. Got quite the following on [[Website/FourChan /a/]], [[ThisLoserIsYou primarily for how close to home it hits]]. [[TheWoobie And how huggable the character is]].
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Rock Lee might as well be the TropeCodifier among Naruto for this. InUniverse he’s mainly seen as a ridiculous weirdo who trains hard but can’t hope to keep up with the likes Naruto and Sasuke and only a select few people such as Might Guy (his mentor), Tenten and Naruto genuinely like him. Fandom-wise Lee is absolutely beloved, skyrocketed to fifth most poplar character in the first and second popularity polls and among western audiences Lee’s {{Determinator}} nature and the fact he’s a MagicallyIneptFighter make him truly inspirational with a good portion of western fans actually believing he’d make a better protagonist than Naruto himself.
** Jiraiya in-universe despite being part of the Legendary Sannin is often regarded as a joke and embarrassing loser due his [[LoveableSexManiac lecherous]] behavior, both his teammates Tsunade and Orochimaru (former in the latter case) find him annoying. Of course, among the fanbase Jiraiya is adored being one of the popular characters [[spoiler:and his death often being considered the saddest in the series.]]
** Villains such as Zabuza, Orochimaru, Hidan and [[{{Jerkass}} especially]] Madara are loathed in universe with Hidan and Madara in particular meant to be HateSink to nth degree. Fandom-wise they are all extremely popular and adored.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Similar to the Zenitsu example, Sanji is supposed to a bit of a loser outside his crew despite his talents often being a CasanovaWannabe who gets put in humiliating situations and is frequently rejected by women when they aren’t pretending to find him attractive. When it comes to the fanbase Sanji eclipses 90% of the rest of the cast in popularity being only surpassed by Luffy and Zoro (and Nami world wide) and out of universe his female following is not feigned at all.
** Ace in-universe is absolutely hated across the world of One Piece for being the son of Gold Roger the King of the Pirates and only Whitebeard’s crew, Luffy's crew and a few others who know Ace personally like Jimbei, Tama and Oden like him. Fan-wise Ace is adored being consistently ranked high in popularity polls [[spoiler:even after he’s dead and buried]] and is one of the most celebrated heroes in the series alongside the aforementioned Luffy, Zoro and Sanji.
** Robin has been hated InUniverse since she was little girl even before she became wanted by TheGovernment. Every former ally she’s had has betrayed her and besides her close friends the Straw Hat Pirates and Revolutionaries she’s held in suspicion and considered a cursed woman. Out of universe, Robin is the most celebrated female character next to Nami with her character focused arc in Water 7 and Enies Lobby being an all time fan favourite.
** Buggy for a lot of the earlier series is supposed to be TheChewToy who is seen as laughable pathetic even by his former crew (who were the Roger Pirates). When it comes to the fans however Buggy is adored and even Oda has admitted Buggy is one of his favourite characters alongside Luffy. Averted in Marineford and onwards when he becomes a FakeUltimateHero.
** Caesar plays this straighter than Buggy, being a massive HateSink in-universe and understandably loathed by just about everyone for his WouldHurtAChild MadScientist actions. When it comes to fans, Caesar has a disproportionately large amount of them who find him extremely funny and endearing to some extent. It speaks wonders of Oda’s writing and art that he can make a man who experimented on children an EnsembleDarkHorse. Although given Caesar has the same Seiyū as the aforementioned Freeza maybe it isn’t so surprising.
* ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'': Saitama, the protagonist, is very popular with fans of the series, but in-universe is widely seen as a fraud who takes the credit from other, more competent heroes and has done nothing to earn any of the achievements he's accomplished. This is mostly because his strength is simply so unbelievable that whenever he beats an [[OneHitKill opponent in one punch]], the people assume that other heroes must have weakened it first and he [[CherryTapping cherry-tapped]] it for the final blow. Saitama himself does little to dispel these rumors since he doesn't want to take away the public's faith in the other heroes out there. There is a small group of people (notably Genos) who have witnessed enough of Saitama's strength to know he's the real deal, but they're definitely a minority and not all of them like him for it.
* Second brother and [[ButtMonkey Butt Monkey]] Karamatsu of ''Anime/OsomatsuSan'' is most often ridiculed, physically abused, or outright ignored (depending on which is funniest) by the rest of the cast, but especially the Western fandom, ironically or genuinely, adores him. This is even mentioned in an episode where Karamatsu himself says that the showrunners have been receiving letters from viewers that feel sorry for him.
** Ichimatsu often causes this reaction too. However, his reputation is not as bad as Karamatsu's.
* Team Rocket from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' are quite the [[TheChewToy chew toys]] in-Universe, and constantly fail, but are quite popular in the fandom.
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': Sanosuke Sagara is one of the most popular characters in the series (he's placed second in all the popularity polls after Kenshin himself). Within the story, he's often subjected to TheWorfEffect, and many characters don't quite respect him due to his IdiotHero tendencies, as well as being a moocher.
* Kanetsugu Naoe from ''Literature/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.
* Chiri of ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' is an AxCrazy NeatFreak who doesn't receive a lot of in-series affection on account of those traits. Nearly everyone fears her, she's the only student that Nozomu seems to dislike, and in one instance, a public park is shown to have a sign prohibiting her from being there and disturbing the peace. However, she's one of the more popular characters in the series because of how crazy she is.
* Kururu/Kululu from ''Manga/SgtFrog'' is supposedly the most unpopular character in the anime when mentioned in-universe [[spoiler:excluding Dororo because no one remembers him]], and the narrator nags him occasionally for having a "bad personality". In reality, Kururu is often considered the most outstanding character in the whole show, and the negative in-universe attention has potential to bring in would-be fans/intensify preexisting fan-ism. They all seem to forget that his personality makes it rather just; would you hang out with a [[LovableSexManiac perverted, near-sadistic FROG?]] However, he's only popular [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff outside Japan]], making this slightly more justified.
* ''Manga/SoulEater'''s Excalibur. Super powerful, ''downright annoying and loony'' as far as the other characters think, it says something that he singlehandedly created some sort of "DO NOT WANT" emoticon/meme (ﺧ益ﺨ). However, he's also considered very hilarious in his irritating-ness that even if he's TheScrappy in-universe, the fans and even the producers like him for his hilarity and loonydom.
* In the anime/manga series ''Manga/TenjhoTenge'', poor Masataka, despite being one of the most powerful characters in the series spends several of the early volumes being walked all over and generally mistreated by people, even if he could have beaten them with both hands tied behind his back. Fortunately, he starts to gain the respect of other characters as the series progresses, to the point where it is being hinted that he may be the key to resolving the plot of the entire series.
* In ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', Wild Tiger/Kotetsu Kaburagi's [[ButtMonkey low popularity as a superhero]] is something of a RunningGag -- a stark contrast to the real world, where he's not only ''the'' most popular character of the show, but [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-06-13/biglobe-poll/favorite-character-in-spring-2011-anime also of the entire Spring 2011 anime season]].
* 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 Satsukishou [[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']].
** It should be noted that the initial reception of Rice Shower on the spring Kikkashou was entirely TruthInTelevision (as they said that Rice Shower 'got in Mihono Boubon's way'), and the results of the real horse on the spring Tennoshou were met with the same reaction as in the anime. [[spoiler: Several fans of [=McQueen=] even ''threw their bets in the air'' at the end]].
* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'':
** Bastion (Daichi) Misawa on ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' is fairly popular among the audience, but is continually mistreated in the series. A recurring joke is that the other characters interrupt him without ever bothering to apologize. At one point in the second season, he threw an important duel once promised that he would be treated better if he lost. (Ironically, it was the only time he dueled the entire season, and he was treated even ''worse'' afterwards.)
** (Ryou) Bakura gets even worse treatment in ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries''.
** Also in ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' is Jaden Yuki, who just can't catch a break from Yami/Yugi or Yusei, and they also hate his rapping, though that is a well-regarded part of Jaden's shtick by the fans.
* Akari Akaza from ''Manga/YuruYuri''. She's constantly fighting against the world to get people aware of her existence (and hopefully not get hurt in the process), with only a scant few supporters, such as Sakurako. As for the fans, she always makes her way into show discussion precisely because of her lack of focus.
[[/folder]]

A character who is [[EnsembleDarkHorse liked in the fandom]] that, within the work, is the exact opposite: being treated badly, overlooked, or just plain hated by all other characters. In some comedic works, this can be a RunningGag on the part of the creators, in which the character in question [[InformedFlaw isn't actually annoying or doesn't actually display the traits]] they're ridiculed or hated for. It's just funny to have everyone [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer constantly mock and belittle them]]. Of course, not every character in this category will necessarily be a lovable loser. Sometimes it's a case of the audience latching on to the work's resident {{Jerkass}}, villain or AntiHero: dangerous characters whom the cast have a legitimate reason to hate and fear, but are sufficiently powerful enough or have enough PlotArmor that everybody else has little choice but to put up with them.

** 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 admittedly-clever Got Milk? ad).

* ''Literature/{{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?

** Before Vegeta, Piccolo the reincarnated Demon King was the one HatedByAll, and for a good while none of the good guys could be around him without at least getting nervous. Of course he’s a perennial fan favourite, with even Toriyama admitting that Piccolo is his favourite (though he later said it was Goku in another interview).

** Jiyaria in-universe despite being part of the Legendary Sannin is often regarded as a joke and embarrassing loser due his [[LoveableSexManiac lecherous]] behaviour, both his teammates Tsunade and Orochimaru (former in the latter case) find him annoying. Of course among the fanbase Jiyaria is adored being one of the popular characters [[spoiler:and his death often being considered the saddest in the series.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' gives us the title character Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz, victims of severe FantasticRacism in the world of video games they live in. They were both shunned by their fellow inhabitants for being a PunchClockVillain and a glitch. Now...go ask the ''fans'' what they think of [[BigBeautifulMan Ralph]] and [[TheCutie Vanellope]] and prepare yourself for a very long session of [[{{Squee}} squealing]] and [[SugarWiki/GushingAboutCharactersYouLike gushing.]] This is brought up in-universe when [[spoiler:King Candy argues that the players will dislike a glitchy character like Vanellope being made playable, and will report the game as broken because of her. Ralph counters with the possibility that the players will love her. [[GoodBadBugs In the end, Ralph's right]]]].

** Stannis' [[TheLancer loyal Knight]] Ser Davos Seaworth also gets this. He is looked down upon by many of the lords and nobility for being new nobility, as Davos was a smuggler who grew up poor but was knighted for Stannis when he smuggled food to him during a siege. However, Davos throughout the books shows himself to be one of the most decent and kind characters, always trying to do the most moral thing while at the same time showing UndyingLoyalty to Stannis despite Stannis' orders sometimes conflicting with Davos' morality. Also Davos acts as a useful contrast to other [[SocialClimber social climbers]] like the arrogant and corrupt Janos Slynt and the manipulative and treacherous Petyr Baelish, always trying to be humble and feeling unworthy of the honors Stannis gives him, such as when he is made a Lord and Hand of the King by Stannis.
** Edmure Tully is not treated well in-universe by his uncle Brynden Tully and nephew Robb Stark for messing up their military plan by holding back Tywin Lannister at the Fords. His sister Catelyn sees him as young and foolish, and doesn't like the way he lets smallfolk into Riverrun for protection. However he is very well-liked among the fandom, many people thinking it was unfair to blame him for the strategic failures as he hadn't been informed of the plan and understandably misunderstood the order hold Riverrun. He also seems to be one of the few Lords who actually takes his duty of protecting his people seriously and would make a great ruler in peacetime. [[spoiler:And despite marrying Roslin Frey at the infamous [[NastyParty Red Wedding]], where his sister and nephew were murdered along with a large part of his army by his treacherous father-in-law Lord Walder Frey, and he was made a prisoner of the Lannisters, he doesn't hold it against his wife and genuinely loves her, saying she was forced into it by her family.]]

** How badly is Bang Shishigami treated in canon? Arakune, an insect-infested BlobMonster who lives in a sewer and routinely eats {{Catgirl}} kittens refuses to eat Bang because it thinks Bang is too smelly and disgusting.

** Yoshiki Kishinuma. Somewhat of a delinquent and loner, who's implied to have had a FriendlessBackground prior to meeting the main cast members. He suffers from some of the more gruesome Wrong Ends the game has to offer because the BigBad favours him as a [[TheChewToy chew toy]], and being paired with [[DamselInDistress Ayumi]] means he has to go through a lot of effort to keep her alive with little gratitude in return. He's also easily one of the most popular characters in the series, for being very level-headed in a crisis, surprisingly kind-hearted, and because fans just sympathize with the poor guy.

* ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'': Norman Jayden is abused by every police officer in the game, [[spoiler: constantly getting the crap beaten out of him, and doesn't have a ''single'' happy ending]] But he's easily the most popular character outside of the game.

* ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'': Lemina is loud, pushy, money-grubbing, has her fair share of blonde moments, and is somewhat lacking in integrity from time to time (despite her respectable long term goals). She's sometimes viewed as a slight annoyance by the rest of the group, and certainly by people outside of it.

** Kung Lao, at least in more recent games, has often been portrayed as the more jealous second fiddle to [[TheHero Liu Kang]]. Characters often compare him unfavorably to Liu Kang in terms of skill but he has been a consistent fan-favorite since his debut for his unique abilities. Liu Kang, on the other hand, tends to be a BaseBreakingCharacter among fans.

** Super Macho Man (Also Wii version), is met with more audible boos than Aran Ryan, and the crowd cheers harder for when you knock him down than the other combatants. Despite this, he is loved by the fanbase for his overinflated ego and how much of a LargeHam he can be. Add that to the number of things he says falling under MemeticMutation.

* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': Bolo is often treated with disdain from nearly everyone InUniverse, and generally written off as nothing but an idiotic screw-up and pervert. Out of universe, he is loved for being a loyal friend to Shantae, his antics being seen as hilarious and he is even a popular ship partner for Shantae.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Downplayed with Cat Noir, who's a popular hero, but to a lesser extent than Ladybug. In universe, several characters already made clear that they see him as less important, and as her sidekick. When it comes to girls, many (including [[TheHero Marinette]]) have [[ChickMagnet crushes]] on his SecretIdentity, Adrien, who's a popular [[CelebrityMasquerade model]], with hundred of fans. [[LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman But nobody loves Cat Noir]], including his crush Ladybug (aka Marinette), who is turned off by the alter ego of the boy she loves. Fans, however, love Cat Noir even more than Adrien, the most often, due to his funnier and edgier personality.[[spoiler: (And his SuperpoweredEvilSide, Cat blanc, fall under "Evil is cool".)]] In fact, he's responsible for cases of PerverseSexualLust among more or less little girls in the fandom.[[note]]It expand to his ship with Marinette, aka Marichat. It's the less exploited of the four ships in the love square and the episode ''Weredad'' ridiculed it. Only [[ShipperOnDeck Tom Dupain]] shipped it, and it was not presented as a smart behavior. But in the fandom, it is not only the most popular angle in the square, it is also the most popular of all ships in the show, period.[[/note]]

** Silver Spoon is often characterized by the fanbase as being emotionally conflicted and not actually enjoying taking part in Diamond Tiara's bullying of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but doing so simply out of loyalty to her only friend. In contrast, Diamond Tiara herself was considered a HateSink by the fandom until her FreudianExcuse was revealed in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark".

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Rick Sanchez is hated by many characters InUniverse due to his eccentric, dangerous and unpredictable nature, and seems to alienate everyone he comes across. His daughter only wants him to stay because of her abandonment issues, and his grandchildren have also slowly beginning to dislike him due to his above-mentioned nature, and knowing he has infinite grandchildren ready to be replaced at a drop of a hat. Even infinite versions of Rick hate him, which is reciprocated. Rick has very few people he can call a true friend, and it's implied due to them turning a blind eye to his more strange activities. ''Outside the universe'' though, Rick is extremely popular among fans, to the extent that [[FountainOfMemes his rants]] have become {{Memetic Mutation}}s as well as Rick being genuinely funny, smart and quirky in nature, and accurate about his world in general.

** Cody during ''Island'', who was disliked by most of the girls in-universe, but was an EnsembleDarkhorse in the fanbase. In ''World Tour'' this gets reversed where he's a favorite in-universe but becomes a BaseBreakingCharacter out-universe.

** Courtney, in a sense. She's very unpopular with most of the other contestants because of her bossiness and "win at all costs"-attitude. However in real life, while she's currently a BaseBreakingCharacter, she has one of the largest and most vocal fanbases.

** [[StrawMisogynist Ezekiel]] was hated by the female campers before his transformation and [[FromNobodyToNightmare utterly feared by everyone afterwards]], but he's built up quite a fanbase that thinks of him as TheWoobie [[UnintentionallySympathetic and want him to get another chance]], and are hoping for him to be reverted back to his human self.