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* ''WesterbAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': In "Ember Island Players", the eponymous theater troupe put on a play based on the Gaang's adventures in the series (wildly innacurate and badly [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]]). But this being a Fire Nation troupe, performing for a Fire Nation audience, ends with [[BigBad Ozai]] using the powers of Sozin's Comet to kill Aang and TakeOverTheWorld. To the ''audience'' this is the HappyEnding. The Gaang are...less than thrilled.
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*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's SanitySlippage for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
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*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.ruler (i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's SanitySlippage for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
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Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious {{demonization}} and SanitySlippage of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
to:
*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious {{demonization}} and SanitySlippage of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
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* It isn't uncommon for ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard]]'' fans to root for Janja, Cheezi and Chungu. All the hyenas want to do is eat a decent meal, only to be stopped by the titular Lion Guard whenever they go hunting, because PredatorsAreMean.
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* It isn't uncommon for ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard]]'' ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' fans to root for Janja, Cheezi and Chungu. All the hyenas want to do is eat a decent meal, only to be stopped by the titular Lion Guard whenever they go hunting, because PredatorsAreMean.
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* It isn't uncommon for ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard]]'' fans to root for Janja, Cheezi and Chungu. All the hyenas want to do is eat a decent meal, only to be stopped by the titular Lion Guard whenever they go hunting, because PredatorsAreMean.
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* ''[[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Ed Edd N' Eddy's]]'' titular mainstays. Granted, their schemes are out for making a short change buck and are shoddy and shabbily built, but considering how Kevin and the rest of the kids are shown and hinted to have long been to be stuck up jerkasses that thrive on excluding the Eds for simply being "dorks" gets you rooting for them and celebrating escaping mass levels of disproportionate retribution when they can.
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* ''[[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Ed Edd N' Eddy's]]'' titular mainstays. Granted, their schemes are out for making a short change buck and are shoddy and shabbily built, shabbily-built, but considering how Kevin and the rest of the kids are shown and hinted to have long been to be stuck up jerkasses that {{jerkass}}es who thrive on excluding the Eds for simply being "dorks" gets you rooting for them them, and celebrating escaping mass levels of disproportionate retribution DisproportionateRetribution when they can.
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* ''[[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Ed Edd N' Eddy's]]'' titular mainstays. Granted, their schemes are out for making a short change buck and are shoddy and shabbily built, but considering how Kevin and the rest of the kids are shown and hinted to have long been to be stuck up jerkasses that thrive on excluding the Eds for simply being "dorks" gets you rooting for them and celebrating escaping mass levels of disproportionate retribution when they can.
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* ''[[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Ed Edd N' Eddy's]]'' titular mainstays. Granted, their schemes are out for making a short change buck and are shoddy and shabbily built, but considering how Kevin and the rest of the kids are shown and hinted to have long been to be stuck up jerkasses that thrive on excluding the Eds for simply being "dorks" gets you rooting for them and celebrating escaping mass levels of disproportionate retribution when they can.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' while [[DracoInLeatherPants many tend to take it too far]] due to Lisa’s status as a BaseBreakingCharacter fans do find it easier to root for Bart over Lisa in their SiblingRivalry due to the fact that Lisa has an overwhelming advantage over Bart. Even if you ignore that Marge and Homer take ParentalFavoritism UpToEleven to the point that they not only gave up on Bart at age five (merely to make it more convenient to help Lisa) but repeatedly tell him that he is an [[FutureLoser unloved accident that will never amount to anything]] (as well as laugh at him when he does try to better himself). It also doesn’t help that everyone in the family including Bart has given up what they love for her which she rarely if ever acknowledges. ** Also while Bart is presented as a BigBrotherBully many episodes show Lisa giving just as good as she gets giving her even more of an advantage since when ever they have a physical altercation she will win and her retaliations are usually DisproportionateRetribution. In the end while Bart should still be held accountable for things like destroying Lisa’s centerpiece, her career as a babysitter, ect. It is still easier to root for him over Lisa.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' while [[DracoInLeatherPants many tend to take it too far]] due to Lisa’s status as a BaseBreakingCharacter fans do find it easier to root for Bart over Lisa in their SiblingRivalry due to the fact that Lisa has an overwhelming advantage over Bart. Even if you ignore that Marge and Homer take ParentalFavoritism UpToEleven to the point that they not only gave up on Bart at age five (merely to make it more convenient to help Lisa) but repeatedly tell him that he is an [[FutureLoser unloved accident that will never amount to anything]] (as well as laugh at him when he does try to better himself). It also doesn’t help that everyone in the family including Bart has given up what they love for her which she rarely if ever acknowledges. acknowledges.
** Also while Bart is presented as a BigBrotherBully many episodes show Lisa giving just as good as she gets giving her even more of an advantage since when ever they have a physical altercation she will win and her retaliations are usually DisproportionateRetribution. In the end while Bart should still be held accountable for things like destroying Lisa’s centerpiece, her career as a babysitter, ect. It is still easier to root for him over Lisa.
** Also while Bart is presented as a BigBrotherBully many episodes show Lisa giving just as good as she gets giving her even more of an advantage since when ever they have a physical altercation she will win and her retaliations are usually DisproportionateRetribution. In the end while Bart should still be held accountable for things like destroying Lisa’s centerpiece, her career as a babysitter, ect. It is still easier to root for him over Lisa.
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** Recent series and the movie franchise have picked up on some of this and have begun portraying Optimus less like a Christ-figure and more of a President Lincoln: He is still the big good and leader, but the war has taken the toll. He still believes in his convictions that Freedom is the Right of all Sentient Beings, but is weighted by the high cost, loss of life, corruption of allies, and weariness of the millions of years of war. Optimus is still the BigGood of any setting, but he's not blind to the fact that the Autobots are not all virtuous and the Decpticons aren't all villainous.
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** Recent series and the movie franchise have picked up on some of this and have begun portraying Optimus less like a Christ-figure and more of a President Lincoln: He is still the big good and leader, but the war has taken the toll. He still believes in his convictions that Freedom is the Right of all Sentient Beings, but is weighted by the high cost, loss of life, corruption of allies, and weariness of the millions of years of war. Optimus is still the BigGood of any setting, but he's not blind to the fact that the Autobots are not all virtuous and the Decpticons Decepticons aren't all villainous.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' while [[DracoInLeatherPants many tend to take it too far]] due to Lisa’s status as a BaseBreakingCharacter fans do find it easier to root for Bart over Lisa in their SiblingRivalry due to the fact that Lisa has an overwhelming advantage over Bart. Even if you ignore that Marge and Homer take ParentalFavoritism UpToEleven to the point that they not only gave up on Bart at age five (merely to make it more convenient to help Lisa) but repeatedly tell him that he is an [[FutureLoser unloved accident that will never amount to anything]] (as well as laugh at him when he does try to better himself). It also doesn’t help that everyone in the family including Bart has given up what they love for her which she rarely if ever acknowledges. ** Also while Bart is presented as a BigBrotherBully many episodes show Lisa giving just as good as she gets giving her even more of an advantage since when ever they have a physical altercation she will win and her retaliations are usually DisproportionateRetribution. In the end while Bart should still be held accountable for things like destroying Lisa’s centerpiece, her career as a babysitter, ect. It is still easier to root for him over Lisa.
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** In episodes made after [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie the movie]] (and some before), Mr. Krabs' schoolyard-bully gloating of Plankton's failure makes Plankton the more sympathetic character to the audience. What doesn't help is that the mass {{flanderization}} of both characters has led Krabs to have less redeeming aspects than Plankton. In some cases, Krabs actually goes out of his way to ruin Plankton's rare legitimate efforts or make him miserable in the same ruthless manner as vice versa, and [[DesignatedHero due to their roles]], is more likely to succeed (eg. "Plankton's Regular").
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** In episodes made after [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie the movie]] (and some before), Mr. Krabs' schoolyard-bully gloating of Plankton's failure makes Plankton the more sympathetic character to the audience. What doesn't help is that the mass {{flanderization}} of both characters has led Krabs to have less fewer redeeming aspects than Plankton. In some cases, Krabs actually goes out of his way to ruin Plankton's rare legitimate efforts or make him miserable in the same ruthless manner as vice versa, and [[DesignatedHero due to their roles]], is more likely to succeed (eg. "Plankton's Regular").
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* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Some fans root for the Fire Nation out of the opinion they're the best candidate to [[WhiteMansBurden advance technology and bring 'progress' to the world]]. These fans also believe that the Avatar himself is a symbol of outdated superstitions and supernatural forces holding back humanity from its true potential, and that the 'Balance' the heroes are fighting to restore is merely the forced stagnation of civilization. As for all the people killed or enslaved by the Fire Nation, and for all the other people they were planning to exterminate along with their native cultures, that's apparently [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans a small price to pay]] for a one-world government and an industrial revolution. (One thing that ''can'' be said in their favour is that the other nations have a large StayInTheKitchen attitude, while Fire Nation military is open to women and no-one batted an eye at [[SheIsTheKing Azula becoming Fire Lord]].) In fact, on a character level, many Fire Nation character are sympathetic (Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai) or in Azula's case [[MagnificentBastard so good at being bad]], earning them massive fandoms. The problem is that all the sympathetic characters turn against the Fire Nation and its goals, for various reasons, and that Azula is revealed to be [[FreudianExcuse severely disturbed]].
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* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Some fans root for the Fire Nation out of the opinion they're the best candidate to [[WhiteMansBurden advance technology and bring 'progress' to the world]]. These fans also believe that the Avatar himself is a symbol of outdated superstitions and supernatural forces holding back humanity from its true potential, and that the 'Balance' the heroes are fighting to restore is merely the forced stagnation of civilization. As for all the people killed or enslaved by the Fire Nation, and for all the other people they were planning to exterminate along with their native cultures, that's apparently [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans a small price to pay]] for a one-world government and an industrial revolution. (One thing that ''can'' be said in their favour is that the other nations have a large StayInTheKitchen attitude, while Fire Nation military is open to women and no-one batted an eye at [[SheIsTheKing Azula becoming Fire Lord]].) In fact, on a character level, many Fire Nation character are sympathetic (Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai) or in Azula's case [[MagnificentBastard so good at being bad]], bad, earning them massive fandoms. The problem is that all the sympathetic characters turn against the Fire Nation and its goals, for various reasons, and that Azula is revealed to be [[FreudianExcuse severely disturbed]].
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* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Herpe the Love Sore", Peter and his friends get beaten up by a group of bullies, who are [[KarmaHoudini allowed to get away with it]] [[UnfortunateImplications because they're American soldiers]]. Afterwards, an exasperated Peter says "I can't believe I have to root for Afghanistan now."
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* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Herpe the Love Sore", Peter and his friends get beaten up by a group of bullies, who are [[KarmaHoudini allowed to get away with it]] [[UnfortunateImplications because they're American soldiers]].soldiers. Afterwards, an exasperated Peter says "I can't believe I have to root for Afghanistan now."
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* An overwhelming amount of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}} And The Holograms'' fans root for The Misfits. As the theme song says, their songs ''are'' better and their antics are very amusing. They tend to deeper characters than The Holograms and without any of the baggage such as Jem's and Kimber's notoriously difficult love lives. It helps that compared to other examples The Misfits aren't really doing anything too wrong. Their misbehavior is rude, sometimes illegal, and they have almost gotten people killed on a few occasions but on default they just want to be the most popular band out there, even if their methods of doing so meam bringing their rivals to their knees.
* There were a few ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fans that at least want Shego to actually beat Kim whenever they have a confrontation, as they find it a bit [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too much to swallow]] that Shego keeps being defeated by a teenage spy who shouldn't have been able to take on a superpowered foe hand to hand. Which explains why you have fanfics that say Shego purposely held back in each confrontation they had. For [[HoYay various]] [[FoeYay reasons]].
* There were a few ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fans that at least want Shego to actually beat Kim whenever they have a confrontation, as they find it a bit [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too much to swallow]] that Shego keeps being defeated by a teenage spy who shouldn't have been able to take on a superpowered foe hand to hand. Which explains why you have fanfics that say Shego purposely held back in each confrontation they had. For [[HoYay various]] [[FoeYay reasons]].
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* An overwhelming amount of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}} And The Holograms'' fans root for The Misfits. As the theme song says, their songs ''are'' better and their antics are very amusing. They tend to deeper characters than The Holograms and without any of the baggage such as Jem's and Kimber's notoriously difficult love lives. It helps that compared to other examples The Misfits aren't really doing anything too wrong. Their misbehavior is rude, sometimes illegal, and they have almost gotten people killed on a few occasions but on default they just want to be the most popular band out there, even if their methods of doing so meam mean bringing their rivals to their knees.
* A surprising number of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' fans want Mr. Cat to win for various reasons, such as the fact that he is [[TheChewToy constantly suffering from some form of abuse]], or that in some episodes (like Episode 68) the people he's up against can be jerks at times.
* There were a few ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fans that at least want Shego to actually beat Kim whenever they have a confrontation, as they find it a bit [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too much to swallow]] that Shego keeps being defeated by a teenage spy who shouldn't have been able to take on a superpowered foe hand to hand. Which explains why you have fanfics that say Shego purposely held back in each confrontation they had. For[[HoYay [[LesYay various]] [[FoeYay reasons]].
* A surprising number of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' fans want Mr. Cat to win for various reasons, such as the fact that he is [[TheChewToy constantly suffering from some form of abuse]], or that in some episodes (like Episode 68) the people he's up against can be jerks at times.
* There were a few ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fans that at least want Shego to actually beat Kim whenever they have a confrontation, as they find it a bit [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too much to swallow]] that Shego keeps being defeated by a teenage spy who shouldn't have been able to take on a superpowered foe hand to hand. Which explains why you have fanfics that say Shego purposely held back in each confrontation they had. For
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* ''[[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Ed Edd N' Eddy's]]'' titular mainstays. Granted, their schemes are out for making a short change buck and are shoddy and shabbily built, but considering how Kevin and the rest of the kids are shown and hinted to have long been to be stuck up jerkasses that thrive on excluding the Eds for simply being "dorks" gets you rooting for them and celebrating escaping mass levels of disproportionate retribution when they can.
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** Recent series and the movie franchise have picked up on some of this and have begun portraying Optimus less like a Christ-figure and more of a President Lincoln: He is still the big good and leader, but the war has taken the toll. He still believes in his convictions that Freedom is the Right of all Sentient Beings, but is weighted by the high cost, loss of life, corruption of allies, and weariness of the millions of years of war. Optimus is still the BigGood of any setting, but he's not blind to the fact that the Autobots are not all virtuous and the Decpticons aren't all villainous.
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* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Some fans root for the Fire Nation out of the opinion they're the best candidate to [[WhiteMansBurden advance technology and bring 'progress' to the world]]. These fans also believe that the Avatar himself is a symbol of outdated superstitions and supernatural forces holding back humanity from its true potential, and that the 'Balance' the heroes are fighting to restore is merely the forced stagnation of civilization. As for all the people killed or enslaved by the Fire Nation, and for all the other people they were planning to exterminate along with their native cultures, that's apparently [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans a small price to pay]] for a one-world government and an industrial revolution. (One thing that ''can'' be said in their favour is that the other nations have a large StayInTheKitchen attitude, while Fire Nation military is open to women and no-one batted an eye at [[SheIsTheKing Azula becoming Fire Lord]].)
** On a character level, many Fire Nation character are sympathetic (Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai) or in Azula's case [[MagnificentBastard so good at being bad]], earning them massive fandoms. The problem is that all the sympathetic characters turn against the Fire Nation and its goals, for various reasons, and that Azula is revealed to be [[FreudianExcuse severely disturbed]].
** Some fans root for the Fire Nation out of the opinion they're the best candidate to [[WhiteMansBurden advance technology and bring 'progress' to the world]]. These fans also believe that the Avatar himself is a symbol of outdated superstitions and supernatural forces holding back humanity from its true potential, and that the 'Balance' the heroes are fighting to restore is merely the forced stagnation of civilization. As for all the people killed or enslaved by the Fire Nation, and for all the other people they were planning to exterminate along with their native cultures, that's apparently [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans a small price to pay]] for a one-world government and an industrial revolution. (One thing that ''can'' be said in their favour is that the other nations have a large StayInTheKitchen attitude, while Fire Nation military is open to women and no-one batted an eye at [[SheIsTheKing Azula becoming Fire Lord]].)
** On a character level, many Fire Nation character are sympathetic (Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai) or in Azula's case [[MagnificentBastard so good at being bad]], earning them massive fandoms. The problem is that all the sympathetic characters turn against the Fire Nation and its goals, for various reasons, and that Azula is revealed to be [[FreudianExcuse severely disturbed]].
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
**''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Some fans root for the Fire Nation out of the opinion they're the best candidate to [[WhiteMansBurden advance technology and bring 'progress' to the world]]. These fans also believe that the Avatar himself is a symbol of outdated superstitions and supernatural forces holding back humanity from its true potential, and that the 'Balance' the heroes are fighting to restore is merely the forced stagnation of civilization. As for all the people killed or enslaved by the Fire Nation, and for all the other people they were planning to exterminate along with their native cultures, that's apparently [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans a small price to pay]] for a one-world government and an industrial revolution. (One thing that ''can'' be said in their favour is that the other nations have a large StayInTheKitchen attitude, while Fire Nation military is open to women and no-one batted an eye at [[SheIsTheKing Azula becoming Fire Lord]].)
** On) In fact, on a character level, many Fire Nation character are sympathetic (Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai) or in Azula's case [[MagnificentBastard so good at being bad]], earning them massive fandoms. The problem is that all the sympathetic characters turn against the Fire Nation and its goals, for various reasons, and that Azula is revealed to be [[FreudianExcuse severely disturbed]].
**
** On
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* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
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* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' has The DCAU depicted Batsy's RoguesGallery in general as a big, fun-loving dysfunctional family, making it easy for fans to root for them against [[TheComicallySerious the endlessly grim Dark Knight]] despite their evil deeds.
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** The DCAU depicted Batsy's RoguesGallery in general as a big, fun-loving dysfunctional family, making it easy for fans to root for them against [[TheComicallySerious the endlessly grim Dark Knight]] despite their evil deeds.
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* There is a subset of ''{{WesternAnimation/Captain Planet|AndThePlaneteers}}'' fans that cheers for the Ecovillains, just because the show itself makes them {{Anvilicious}}ly [[StrawCharacter nasty]] to support its GreenAesop. The writers must have been listening because there was an episode where Lootin did win, and man it was a DownerEnding. In hindsight the fans [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor should have been careful with what they wish for]]
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* There is a subset of ''{{WesternAnimation/Captain Planet|AndThePlaneteers}}'' fans that cheers for the Ecovillains, just because the show itself makes them {{Anvilicious}}ly [[StrawCharacter nasty]] to support its GreenAesop. The writers must have been listening because there "Whoo Gives a Hoot?" was an episode where Lootin Looten Plunder did win, and man it was a DownerEnding. In hindsight the fans [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor should have been careful with what they wish for]]
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*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious {{demonization}} and [[SanitySlippage sanity slippage]] of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
to:
*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious {{demonization}} and [[SanitySlippage sanity slippage]] SanitySlippage of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
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*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious [[Main/Demonization demonization]] and [[SanitySlippage sanity slippage]] of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
to:
*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious [[Main/Demonization demonization]] {{demonization}} and [[SanitySlippage sanity slippage]] of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
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*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Demonization demonization]] and [[SanitySlippage sanity slippage]] of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
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*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Demonization [[Main/Demonization demonization]] and [[SanitySlippage sanity slippage]] of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
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* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' was less prone to this its first two seasons beyond the same general RootingForTheEmpire from the movies, as being a kids' show the villains were often either less evil or cartoonishly flat. And then Season Three imports CanonImmigrant Grand Admiral Thrawn, probably the [[MostTriumphantExample most triumphant Star Wars example]] of this trope, from the Legends timeline....
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* Many fans and detractors of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' find themselves cheering on the villains. Drake Bell's Spider-Man is a real BaseBreaker and his teammates are MASSIVE Jerkasses who bully and mistreat him constantly, all of which make the protagonists look UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. The villains on the other hand are CreepyAwesome characters channeling EvilIsCool and tend to be the part many people think is [[JustHereForGodzilla worth watching]]. There's also the fact that some major villains on the show are portrayed in a very sympathetic light. Particularly [[spoiler:Venom, who is actually Harry Osborn, who is genuinely a good person, who cannot control the symbiote and is easily the most sympathetic character on the show.]] It really doesn't help that these villains are voice by beloved veterans like Creator/MauriceLaMarche, Creator/ClancyBrown, and Creator/TomKenny.
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* Many fans and detractors of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' find themselves cheering on the villains. Drake Bell's Spider-Man is a real BaseBreaker BaseBreakingCharacter and his teammates are MASSIVE Jerkasses who bully and mistreat him constantly, all of which make the protagonists look UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. The villains on the other hand are CreepyAwesome characters channeling EvilIsCool and tend to be the part many people think is [[JustHereForGodzilla worth watching]]. There's also the fact that some major villains on the show are portrayed in a very sympathetic light. Particularly [[spoiler:Venom, who is actually Harry Osborn, who is genuinely a good person, who cannot control the symbiote and is easily the most sympathetic character on the show.]] It really doesn't help that these villains are voice by beloved veterans like Creator/MauriceLaMarche, Creator/ClancyBrown, and Creator/TomKenny.
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* Played with X9 in ''SamuraiJack''. The episode he is in focuses on him, showing that he was hunting Jack because Aku was holding the robot's dog hostage. The episode was designed for you to root for the poor robot. [[spoiler:Jack cuts him down without a pause; he's just another robot mook to him.]]
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* Played with X9 in ''SamuraiJack''.''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''. The episode he is in focuses on him, showing that he was hunting Jack because Aku was holding the robot's dog hostage. The episode was designed for you to root for the poor robot. [[spoiler:Jack cuts him down without a pause; he's just another robot mook to him.]]
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* The villains from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' were popular even before WebAnimation/YouTubePoop caught on.
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* The villains from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' were popular even before WebAnimation/YouTubePoop caught on. In a similar vein, Eggman from ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' is also popular among the fanbase.
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* In a re-packed version of "Mickey and the Beanstalk" which was originally featured in ''Film/FunAndFancyFree'' in which Ludwig Von Drake tells the story to a beetle named Herman, after Willie the giant falls to his death Herman starts crying, when Ludwig asks what was wrong pointing out that everything turned out alright for the heroes, Herman states that he liked Willie, Ludwig assures him that it never actually happened and it was a work of fiction, only for Willie himself to show up alive and well.
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** The Changelings have their fans, arguing that despite the cruelty of their queen, most Changelings just [[BlueAndOrangeMorality want something]] [[EmotionEater to eat]].
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** The Changelings have their fans, arguing that despite the cruelty of their queen, most Changelings just [[BlueAndOrangeMorality want something]] [[EmotionEater to eat]]. The writers seem to have picked up on this, and have had [[https://derpiboo.ru/916289 one peaceful changeling]] named "Kevin" make an appearance not only in the show, but also as a friend-class character in the [[https://derpiboo.ru/1021751 collectable card game]].
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* A large part of the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' fanbase started backing the [[BigBad Ice Dancers]] if only because they're so entertaining to watch and did display considerable skill even before they turned full on villain. Many fans [[spoiler: wanted them to win and were not pleased when they didn't even make it to the final two.]]
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* Many fans and detractors of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' find themselves cheering on the villains. Drake Bell's Spider-Man is a real BaseBreaker and his teammates are MASSIVE Jerkasses who bully and mistreat him constantly, all of which make the protagonists look UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. The villains on the other hand are CreepyAwesome characters channeling EvilIsCool and tend to be the part many people think is [[JustHereForGodzilla worth watching]]. There's also the fact that some major villains on the show are portrayed in a very sympathetic light. Particularly [[spoiler:Venom, who is actually Harry Osborn, who is genuinely a good person, who cannot control the symbiote and is easily the most sympathetic character on the show.]] It really doesn't help that these villains are voice by beloved veterans like Creator/MauriceLaMarche, Creator/ClancyBrown, and Creator/TomKenny.
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* Many fans and detractors of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' find themselves cheering on the villains. Drake Bell's Spider-Man is a real BaseBreaker and his teammates are MASSIVE Jerkasses who bully and mistreat him constantly, all of which make the protagonists look UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. The villains on the other hand are CreepyAwesome characters channeling EvilIsCool and tend to be the part many people think is [[JustHereForGodzilla worth watching]]. There's also the fact that some major villains on the show are portrayed in a very sympathetic light. Particularly [[spoiler:Venom, who is actually Harry Osborn, who is genuinely a good person, who cannot control the symbiote and is easily the most sympathetic character on the show.]] It really doesn't help that these villains are voice by beloved veterans like Creator/MauriceLaMarche, Creator/ClancyBrown, and Creator/TomKenny.
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!!RealLife Examples:
* The villains from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' were popular even before WebAnimation/YouTubePoop caught on.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Some fans root for the Fire Nation out of the opinion they're the best candidate to [[WhiteMansBurden advance technology and bring 'progress' to the world]]. These fans also believe that the Avatar himself is a symbol of outdated superstitions and supernatural forces holding back humanity from its true potential, and that the 'Balance' the heroes are fighting to restore is merely the forced stagnation of civilization. As for all the people killed or enslaved by the Fire Nation, and for all the other people they were planning to exterminate along with their native cultures, that's apparently [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans a small price to pay]] for a one-world government and an industrial revolution. (One thing that ''can'' be said in their favour is that the other nations have a large StayInTheKitchen attitude, while Fire Nation military is open to women and no-one batted an eye at [[SheIsTheKing Azula becoming Fire Lord]].)
** On a character level, many Fire Nation character are sympathetic (Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai) or in Azula's case [[MagnificentBastard so good at being bad]], earning them massive fandoms. The problem is that all the sympathetic characters turn against the Fire Nation and its goals, for various reasons, and that Azula is revealed to be [[FreudianExcuse severely disturbed]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** Some fans support [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the Equalists]] stripping all [[ElementalPowers benders]] of their abilities as the only way to put [[TallPoppySyndrome all people on a level playing field]] and end the oppression of non-benders, even if the benders themselves don't consent to the procedure. Debates on whether or not bending is an intrinsic part of a person and the show's civilization/culture, and if what the Equalists are attempting is a fantastical form of mutilation or not, can get quite heated. The show itself is [[ALighterShadeOfGrey a bit grey on the issue]], showing that some benders ''can'' be oppressive but also portraying the process of benders being unwillingly stripped of their powers as analogous to rape. It gets much easier to call them bad guys after episode 6, where [[spoiler:they bomb the pro-bending arena]] and in episode 7 where [[spoiler:they attack innocent civilians and kidnap the metal bending police]]. Complicating matters is that some corrupt benders [[spoiler:namely representative Tarrlok]] feel that rounding up all non-bending individuals, Equalist or not, and imprisoning them, is a perfect way to neutralize the threat.
** In Season 3 many fans root for the BigBadEnsemble of Zaheer, P'Li, Ming Hua, and Ghazan, who prove themselves endearing because of their [[VillainousFriendship obvious rapport with one another]] and [[AmbiguouslyEvil arguably sympathetic motives]], as well as being [[EvilIsCool just plain cool]].
** Many fans comsider Kuvira doing what's best for the Earth Kingdom or being a better leader than the other options.
*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Demonization demonization]] and [[SanitySlippage sanity slippage]] of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
** More than a few fans wanted [[AntiVillain Mr. Freeze]] to save his wife, even when his plans to do so involved killing other people. It doesn't hurt that each appearance made him more sympathetic, with his canonically final appearance in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' being one of the biggest {{Tear Jerker}}s in the entire Franchise/{{DCAU}}.
** Harley Quinn is the poster-girl for MadLove and an in-universe proponent of DracoInLeatherPants, who honestly believes that "[[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Mr. J]]" is a sweet guy and the innocent victim of that [[Franchise/{{Batman}} mean old bat]], and frequently helps in his schemes of murder and mayhem. Many fans claim that if given the opportunity, they would do the exact same thing in her position.
** The Penguin. The short, fat, fish-slurping guy everyone in Gotham laughs at. It just gives you such a good feeling on those rare occasions when he gets away with his crimes or kicks some serious ass. Or that occasion in that one episode where ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome he told Batman to his face to get lost]]'', because for once it was the Penguin saving the DamselInDistress.
** The DCAU depicted Batsy's RoguesGallery in general as a big, fun-loving dysfunctional family, making it easy for fans to root for them against [[TheComicallySerious the endlessly grim Dark Knight]] despite their evil deeds.
* There is a subset of ''{{WesternAnimation/Captain Planet|AndThePlaneteers}}'' fans that cheers for the Ecovillains, just because the show itself makes them {{Anvilicious}}ly [[StrawCharacter nasty]] to support its GreenAesop. The writers must have been listening because there was an episode where Lootin did win, and man it was a DownerEnding. In hindsight the fans [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor should have been careful with what they wish for]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has a huge number of fans for the villains who are more liked than the main hero.
* The Urpneys in ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'', due to the extremely overwhelming SympatheticPOV, and that so few of them are [[MinionWithAnFInEvil genuinely malicious outside serving Zordrak out of fear]]. They are usually [[EnsembleDarkhorse more complex and amusing characters]] than the [[TastesLikeDiabetes sickly sweet]] [[HeroAntagonist Land Of Dreams]], and the relentless slapstick abuse they suffer from both the heroes and their BadBoss leads them to come off more as deeply pitiful punching bags than proper villains. Later episodes at least made some plot alterations to make the heroes look more sympathetic, but it was still hard not to want the Urpneys to come out on top for once.
* Many fans of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' want either [[SadistTeacher Crocker]] or [[JackassGenie Norm]] to win, especially as with each season Timmy becomes more and more of a {{Jerkass}}. Crocker being a JerkassWoobie and Norm being a magnificent DeadpanSnarker probably helps.
* Many fans and detractors of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' find themselves cheering on the villains. Drake Bell's Spider-Man is a real BaseBreaker and his teammates are MASSIVE Jerkasses who bully and mistreat him constantly, all of which make the protagonists look UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. The villains on the other hand are CreepyAwesome characters channeling EvilIsCool and tend to be the part many people think is [[JustHereForGodzilla worth watching]]. There's also the fact that some major villains on the show are portrayed in a very sympathetic light. Particularly [[spoiler:Venom, who is actually Harry Osborn, who is genuinely a good person, who cannot control the symbiote and is easily the most sympathetic character on the show.]] It really doesn't help that these villains are voice by beloved veterans like Creator/MauriceLaMarche, Creator/ClancyBrown, and Creator/TomKenny.
* A great deal of ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' fans sympathize with the VillainProtagonist's goal of conquering the Earth. It helps that humans (except for Dib and Gaz) are thoroughly TooDumbToLive and probably wouldn't even ''notice''.
* An overwhelming amount of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}} And The Holograms'' fans root for The Misfits. As the theme song says, their songs ''are'' better and their antics are very amusing. They tend to deeper characters than The Holograms and without any of the baggage such as Jem's and Kimber's notoriously difficult love lives. It helps that compared to other examples The Misfits aren't really doing anything too wrong. Their misbehavior is rude, sometimes illegal, and they have almost gotten people killed on a few occasions but on default they just want to be the most popular band out there, even if their methods of doing so meam bringing their rivals to their knees.
* There were a few ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fans that at least want Shego to actually beat Kim whenever they have a confrontation, as they find it a bit [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too much to swallow]] that Shego keeps being defeated by a teenage spy who shouldn't have been able to take on a superpowered foe hand to hand. Which explains why you have fanfics that say Shego purposely held back in each confrontation they had. For [[HoYay various]] [[FoeYay reasons]].
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
** In Creator/ChuckJones' autobiography ''Chuck Amuck'', he lists ten rules that every [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner Road Runner cartoon]] had to adhere to, the last of which was "The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote." See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner#Laws_and_rules The Other Wiki]] for the full list.
** Tom, Donald, Sylvester, and Wile E. Coyote from the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', ''Sylvester and Tweety'', Disney Shorts and ''Road Runner'' cartoons respectively, amass a lot of sympathy given their opponents are jerks or {{Invincible Hero}}es and reality seems to bend to their will. Tom seems to get the most of it, which is understandable because he's taking abuse from both the mouse who is breaking into his home and often his owners for failing to catch the trespassing mouse, and many episodes make it IMPOSSIBLE to root for Jerry. Jerry sabotaging Tom's attempts to woo a girl cat and ruining his concerto performances, for example, make him downright unlikeable. To compensate in a lot more shorts in the 50s and 60s Tom actually DID win (usually when Jerry acted without provocation).
** Yosemite Sam was created by Friz Freleng because he feared Elmer Fudd's haplessly and AffablyEvil demeanor would provoke this trope and make Bugs look like a bully. A lot of the later shorts went to extreme lengths to present foes who were so utterly unlikable that their losses could be seen as extreme LaserGuidedKarma that they brought on themselves (e.g. De Patie Freleng shorts such as ''Moby Duck'' and ''Well Worn Daffy'', which [[TookALevelInJerkass evolved Daffy Duck into a needlessly ruthless villain]] ([[ButtMonkey if still hapless and bumbling]]) against [[ExtremeDoormat an excessively empathetic and forgiving Speedy Gonzales]]).
** The retooling of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny. His initial appearances had him as more of a ScrewySquirrel who messed with people because it was fun. The "canon" version only brings the hurt after having been provoked ("Of course you realize, dis' means war!") or deliberately targeted by a predator (The Tasmanian Devil, Wile E. Coyote).
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** An incredibly popular version of this is the New Lunar Republic - fans who resent the reign of supposed [[RonTheDeathEater "tyrant"]] [[BigGood Celestia]] and would rather [[DarkIsNotEvil Luna]] take the throne. Whether or not this counts as Rooting For The Empire depends on whether they're rooting for Luna or Nightmare Moon. Luna is not an example because she's [[HeelFaceTurn ultimately good]] (if only a little impulsive), and the legitimate arguments against her right to the throne are purely [[FishOutOfTemporalWater political]]. Those who flat out rooted for [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]]... [[OmnicidalManiac play this]] [[MadGod trope straight]].
** [[MadGod Discord]] enjoys enormous popularity, many of his fans wanting the fun-loving, LaughablyEvil [[TheTrickster Trickster]] to succeed in his goal of [[WorldOfChaos eternal chaos]]. It didn't hurt that in his introductory episode, one of the main characters (namely [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Pinkie Pie]]) seemed perfectly fine with a guy who makes chocolate milk rain from the sky. To some extent those fans got to have their cake and eat it too when [[spoiler:Discord was freed and [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] without losing his wacky personality.]]
** The Changelings have their fans, arguing that despite the cruelty of their queen, most Changelings just [[BlueAndOrangeMorality want something]] [[EmotionEater to eat]].
** [[TerribleTrio The Dazzlings]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' have an ample amount of fans rooting for them to win, despite their [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]] goal. They do get a VillainHasAPoint moment in the movie when they orchestrate the BattleOfTheBands (what's so wrong with a little competition, indeed?). The rest of it stems from EvilIsCool and EvilIsSexy tropes, which the Dazzlings exploit for all they're worth (being {{Enthralling Siren}}s and all). Other factors include [[BigBad the leader of the group]] being one of the most effective antagonists in the franchise, another member is a hilarious, adorable [[TheDitz ditz]] comparable to Pinkie Pie, many people think [[VillainSong their songs]] are by far superior to the main characters', they are only the second villains in the franchise to have a battle scene (Tirek was the first), firmly cementing the EvilIsCool factor, and the ''Equestria Girls'' series is polarizing in the first place, so some would rather have the villains win instead of the heroes.
* Given his HORRIBLE childhood, it's not hard for ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' fans to want Doofenshmirtz to win just once. It helps that most of his plans are [[PokeThePoodle pretty harmless]].
* Played with X9 in ''SamuraiJack''. The episode he is in focuses on him, showing that he was hunting Jack because Aku was holding the robot's dog hostage. The episode was designed for you to root for the poor robot. [[spoiler:Jack cuts him down without a pause; he's just another robot mook to him.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':
** In episodes made after [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie the movie]] (and some before), Mr. Krabs' schoolyard-bully gloating of Plankton's failure makes Plankton the more sympathetic character to the audience. What doesn't help is that the mass {{flanderization}} of both characters has led Krabs to have less redeeming aspects than Plankton. In some cases, Krabs actually goes out of his way to ruin Plankton's rare legitimate efforts or make him miserable in the same ruthless manner as vice versa, and [[DesignatedHero due to their roles]], is more likely to succeed (eg. "Plankton's Regular").
** Can happen to Spongebob himself, especially in episodes where he goes up against Squidward. He may be a JerkAss, but Squidward is also the show's OnlySaneMan, TheChewToy, ButtMonkey, ''and'' DeadpanSnarker, so he gets sympathy from a lot of fans compared to the obnoxious, inane, callous, and occasionally sociopathic title character. It's different in episodes where Squidward picks on or tricks Spongebob, but often his motivation is just to avoid him and be left alone. Imagine if ''you'' had a neighbor like Spongebob, and this becomes a rather understandable desire.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' in general already had this given the EvilIsCool nature of a number of the villains as the show improved, particularly the regular battle droid, who mostly come off as {{Punch Clock Villain}}s doing what they're ordered to, never appear especially malevolent, at times descend into IneffectualSympatheticVillain territory due to how hilarious they are. But in an interesting case of EvilVersusEvil in the episode "Massacre", this trope can still be applied with outnumbered Asaaj and the Nightsisters taking a much larger droid army led by General Grievous. Grievous, unlike Assaj, has no sympathetic qualities to him, but many viewers were rooting for him and the droids due to Asaaj and the Nightsisters earlier [[MoralEventHorizon actions]] during the Nightsister trilogy of episodes, and that he had the battle droids, who came off as more likable than the Nightsisters.
* Many ''WesternAnimation/TitanMaximum'' fans want Gibbs to destroy the insufferable main characters. The show was left in limbo with a cliffhanger of Mercury being incinerated by the sun and the heroes have no ship to fly off... [[TheBadGuyWins so he already has.]]
* Many haters of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' have found themselves rooting for the series' villains, especially in episodes where the Titans are being excessively stupid and unsympathetic. Prominent examples include "Waffles", where Brother Blood is the StraightMan while Beast Boy and Cyborg are being childish [[{{Jerkass}} jerkasses]], and "Breakfast Cheese", where the Titans literally beat up the H.I.V.E. for [[FelonyMisdemeanor loitering]]. This is also taken UpToEleven in "A Farce", where Brother Blood and the Brain [[CourtroomEpisode take the Titans to court]] for their [[DesignatedHero careless and reckless destruction of Jump City]]. The Titans are all found guilty at the end of the episode.
* A small contingent of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' fans feel that the Decepticons are the real good guys, and that the Autobots are evil. Granted, a few continuities show that the Bots aren't perfect paragons of justice, and the Cons had good reasons to rebel, but stories where Decepticons [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Interplanetary_Wrestling_Championship! take small children hostage]] (or [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Murdered_puppy kill]] [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Pis a puppy]]) show that they are ''NOT'' nice mechs.
** Given a bit more weight in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' in which the ''Autobots'' are the ruling empire led by someone who's just a bit too willing to do bad things to achieve victory for comfort while the Decepticons are the scrappy rebels, albeit vicious and ruthless ones.
** In [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW the IDW comics]] the Autobot government ''was'' evil (well corrupt at least) and the Decepticons were laid off blue collar workers living in slums until this one miner showed up... (Most of the story is set millions of years later, by which point they're rather less sympathetic.)
** One of the movie prequel comics showed one part of the falling out between the Autobots and Decepticons was Prime wouldn't allow Megatron to attack a hostile force on their way to Cybertron, until they arrived and started attacking. Megatron was just trying to protect Cybertron.
** In the ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' continuity, Megatron was initially a gladiator who rebelled against an oppressive, caste-based society ruled by the Autobots, so initially it was the Autobots themselves who were the Empire and you should have rooted against. But Megatron became too prideful and ruthless, to the point his ideal of a caste-less society was buried by his desire to rule. Transformers seems to have been moving over the years from "Decepticons evil, Autobots good" to an almost ''StarWars''-like setup, where Cybertronian society badly needed shaking up but the Cons went too far and the necessities of war turned the Autobots into the casteless society the Decepticons wanted, while the Decepticons [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget became too obsessed to remember their original intentions]].
** The Megatron in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' seems to imply that the Predacons are currently stuck as servants to the ruling Maximal class and its Council of Elders. Megatron himself is made into [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler a very nationalistic figure, fighting to improve the lot of his suffering people after their terrible losses in the last war, damn the consequences. And get power himself in the process]]. He still manages to maintain a following in ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' despite [[TookALevelInJerkass being a lot more evil]] and wiping Cybertron clean of Maximals and Predacons alike.
** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' depicts the Decepticons as having a colorful range of personalities. For some of the less evil ones like Dreadwing and Predaking, it can be hard to not root for them at times.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' Daddy Venture commonly forgets about everyone and everything important to him. Anything halfway decent he horribly abuses. The villain, the Monarch, cares about his named henchmen, cares about the emotional health of his prisoners and participates in the 'Scared Straight' program when he spent time in the slammer. If it wasn't for the Monarch's occasional efforts to outright rip apart the Ventures, it'd be hard to tell who was the villain. Many viewers will compensate by rooting for Brock, who's a friendly, cool guy that genuinely cares about the Venture boys as if they were his own sons, and yet over the course of the series racks up a higher body count than Dr. Venture and the Monarch combined. Lampshaded at one point when Dr. Venture is groomed to be a villain, and shown to be a better potential villain than heroic Super Scientist.
* Who '''hasn't''' wanted Dick Dastardly and Muttley to succeed? Whether it's at [[WesternAnimation/WackyRaces winning a race]] or [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines stopping that pigeon]]. It helps the two bad guys always got much more screen time then the ''heroes'' in their shows, and Dastardly's alleged cheating is [[MoralDissonance often considered legitimate when performed by other supposedly "fair-playing" racers]]. His one victory was discounted due to him extending his vehicle, something that has been done countless times before by others in the show's run. Then there was that one time he got a ticket for speeding, which makes it look like the universe is deliberately trying to keep him from winning.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' we have Nox. At first he just seems to be a [[EvilLaugh Giggling]] AxCrazy BigBad, we come to learn why he is doing this. Because of his obsession with the [[ArtifactOfDoom Eliacube]], his family left him and they get killed in a flood. So he is planning to [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds drain all of the wakfu]] he could get so he can go back in time and stop this accident, not to mention if he did pull it off [[ResetButton all of his actions would have been reversed anyway]]. You can't help but [[spoiler:[[TearJerker feel sorry for him when 200 years of his work only turns time back 20 minutes and seeing that he will never save his family simply goes to their grave and dies]]]]. The Prequel episode showing his StartOfDarkness only seems to reenforce this.
* ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'': The original Brotherhood members just don't come off as evil to many fans, despite all the horrendous things they did. That they are ''just'' the "Bad" in a TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil situation lends a certain degree of sympathy, as does how they're constantly abandoned or generally treated horribly by everyone, including their supposed allies.
!!InUniverse Examples:
* In ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' Garfield tries to tell the story of Literature/HanselAndGretel to Nermal, but Nermal ended up feeling bad for the witch at the end of the story, forcing Garfield to try and come up with an ending that gives the witch a much happier ending. It should be noted that Nermal's horrified reaction to the story didn't really stem from him being evil by any stretch of the means, but rather his [[TastesLikeDiabetes innocent persona]] prevented him from really seeing the witch as evil.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' "Passover" episode, [[BrattyHalfPint Angelica]] immediately identifies with Pharaoh and feels sorry that [[GenderFlip she]] loses.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Herpe the Love Sore", Peter and his friends get beaten up by a group of bullies, who are [[KarmaHoudini allowed to get away with it]] [[UnfortunateImplications because they're American soldiers]]. Afterwards, an exasperated Peter says "I can't believe I have to root for Afghanistan now."
----
* The villains from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' were popular even before WebAnimation/YouTubePoop caught on.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Some fans root for the Fire Nation out of the opinion they're the best candidate to [[WhiteMansBurden advance technology and bring 'progress' to the world]]. These fans also believe that the Avatar himself is a symbol of outdated superstitions and supernatural forces holding back humanity from its true potential, and that the 'Balance' the heroes are fighting to restore is merely the forced stagnation of civilization. As for all the people killed or enslaved by the Fire Nation, and for all the other people they were planning to exterminate along with their native cultures, that's apparently [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans a small price to pay]] for a one-world government and an industrial revolution. (One thing that ''can'' be said in their favour is that the other nations have a large StayInTheKitchen attitude, while Fire Nation military is open to women and no-one batted an eye at [[SheIsTheKing Azula becoming Fire Lord]].)
** On a character level, many Fire Nation character are sympathetic (Zuko, Iroh, Ty Lee, and Mai) or in Azula's case [[MagnificentBastard so good at being bad]], earning them massive fandoms. The problem is that all the sympathetic characters turn against the Fire Nation and its goals, for various reasons, and that Azula is revealed to be [[FreudianExcuse severely disturbed]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** Some fans support [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the Equalists]] stripping all [[ElementalPowers benders]] of their abilities as the only way to put [[TallPoppySyndrome all people on a level playing field]] and end the oppression of non-benders, even if the benders themselves don't consent to the procedure. Debates on whether or not bending is an intrinsic part of a person and the show's civilization/culture, and if what the Equalists are attempting is a fantastical form of mutilation or not, can get quite heated. The show itself is [[ALighterShadeOfGrey a bit grey on the issue]], showing that some benders ''can'' be oppressive but also portraying the process of benders being unwillingly stripped of their powers as analogous to rape. It gets much easier to call them bad guys after episode 6, where [[spoiler:they bomb the pro-bending arena]] and in episode 7 where [[spoiler:they attack innocent civilians and kidnap the metal bending police]]. Complicating matters is that some corrupt benders [[spoiler:namely representative Tarrlok]] feel that rounding up all non-bending individuals, Equalist or not, and imprisoning them, is a perfect way to neutralize the threat.
** In Season 3 many fans root for the BigBadEnsemble of Zaheer, P'Li, Ming Hua, and Ghazan, who prove themselves endearing because of their [[VillainousFriendship obvious rapport with one another]] and [[AmbiguouslyEvil arguably sympathetic motives]], as well as being [[EvilIsCool just plain cool]].
** Many fans comsider Kuvira doing what's best for the Earth Kingdom or being a better leader than the other options.
*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler(i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's obvious [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Demonization demonization]] and [[SanitySlippage sanity slippage]] of her for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
** More than a few fans wanted [[AntiVillain Mr. Freeze]] to save his wife, even when his plans to do so involved killing other people. It doesn't hurt that each appearance made him more sympathetic, with his canonically final appearance in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' being one of the biggest {{Tear Jerker}}s in the entire Franchise/{{DCAU}}.
** Harley Quinn is the poster-girl for MadLove and an in-universe proponent of DracoInLeatherPants, who honestly believes that "[[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Mr. J]]" is a sweet guy and the innocent victim of that [[Franchise/{{Batman}} mean old bat]], and frequently helps in his schemes of murder and mayhem. Many fans claim that if given the opportunity, they would do the exact same thing in her position.
** The Penguin. The short, fat, fish-slurping guy everyone in Gotham laughs at. It just gives you such a good feeling on those rare occasions when he gets away with his crimes or kicks some serious ass. Or that occasion in that one episode where ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome he told Batman to his face to get lost]]'', because for once it was the Penguin saving the DamselInDistress.
** The DCAU depicted Batsy's RoguesGallery in general as a big, fun-loving dysfunctional family, making it easy for fans to root for them against [[TheComicallySerious the endlessly grim Dark Knight]] despite their evil deeds.
* There is a subset of ''{{WesternAnimation/Captain Planet|AndThePlaneteers}}'' fans that cheers for the Ecovillains, just because the show itself makes them {{Anvilicious}}ly [[StrawCharacter nasty]] to support its GreenAesop. The writers must have been listening because there was an episode where Lootin did win, and man it was a DownerEnding. In hindsight the fans [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor should have been careful with what they wish for]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has a huge number of fans for the villains who are more liked than the main hero.
* The Urpneys in ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'', due to the extremely overwhelming SympatheticPOV, and that so few of them are [[MinionWithAnFInEvil genuinely malicious outside serving Zordrak out of fear]]. They are usually [[EnsembleDarkhorse more complex and amusing characters]] than the [[TastesLikeDiabetes sickly sweet]] [[HeroAntagonist Land Of Dreams]], and the relentless slapstick abuse they suffer from both the heroes and their BadBoss leads them to come off more as deeply pitiful punching bags than proper villains. Later episodes at least made some plot alterations to make the heroes look more sympathetic, but it was still hard not to want the Urpneys to come out on top for once.
* Many fans of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' want either [[SadistTeacher Crocker]] or [[JackassGenie Norm]] to win, especially as with each season Timmy becomes more and more of a {{Jerkass}}. Crocker being a JerkassWoobie and Norm being a magnificent DeadpanSnarker probably helps.
* Many fans and detractors of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' find themselves cheering on the villains. Drake Bell's Spider-Man is a real BaseBreaker and his teammates are MASSIVE Jerkasses who bully and mistreat him constantly, all of which make the protagonists look UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. The villains on the other hand are CreepyAwesome characters channeling EvilIsCool and tend to be the part many people think is [[JustHereForGodzilla worth watching]]. There's also the fact that some major villains on the show are portrayed in a very sympathetic light. Particularly [[spoiler:Venom, who is actually Harry Osborn, who is genuinely a good person, who cannot control the symbiote and is easily the most sympathetic character on the show.]] It really doesn't help that these villains are voice by beloved veterans like Creator/MauriceLaMarche, Creator/ClancyBrown, and Creator/TomKenny.
* A great deal of ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' fans sympathize with the VillainProtagonist's goal of conquering the Earth. It helps that humans (except for Dib and Gaz) are thoroughly TooDumbToLive and probably wouldn't even ''notice''.
* An overwhelming amount of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}} And The Holograms'' fans root for The Misfits. As the theme song says, their songs ''are'' better and their antics are very amusing. They tend to deeper characters than The Holograms and without any of the baggage such as Jem's and Kimber's notoriously difficult love lives. It helps that compared to other examples The Misfits aren't really doing anything too wrong. Their misbehavior is rude, sometimes illegal, and they have almost gotten people killed on a few occasions but on default they just want to be the most popular band out there, even if their methods of doing so meam bringing their rivals to their knees.
* There were a few ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fans that at least want Shego to actually beat Kim whenever they have a confrontation, as they find it a bit [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too much to swallow]] that Shego keeps being defeated by a teenage spy who shouldn't have been able to take on a superpowered foe hand to hand. Which explains why you have fanfics that say Shego purposely held back in each confrontation they had. For [[HoYay various]] [[FoeYay reasons]].
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
** In Creator/ChuckJones' autobiography ''Chuck Amuck'', he lists ten rules that every [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner Road Runner cartoon]] had to adhere to, the last of which was "The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote." See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner#Laws_and_rules The Other Wiki]] for the full list.
** Tom, Donald, Sylvester, and Wile E. Coyote from the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', ''Sylvester and Tweety'', Disney Shorts and ''Road Runner'' cartoons respectively, amass a lot of sympathy given their opponents are jerks or {{Invincible Hero}}es and reality seems to bend to their will. Tom seems to get the most of it, which is understandable because he's taking abuse from both the mouse who is breaking into his home and often his owners for failing to catch the trespassing mouse, and many episodes make it IMPOSSIBLE to root for Jerry. Jerry sabotaging Tom's attempts to woo a girl cat and ruining his concerto performances, for example, make him downright unlikeable. To compensate in a lot more shorts in the 50s and 60s Tom actually DID win (usually when Jerry acted without provocation).
** Yosemite Sam was created by Friz Freleng because he feared Elmer Fudd's haplessly and AffablyEvil demeanor would provoke this trope and make Bugs look like a bully. A lot of the later shorts went to extreme lengths to present foes who were so utterly unlikable that their losses could be seen as extreme LaserGuidedKarma that they brought on themselves (e.g. De Patie Freleng shorts such as ''Moby Duck'' and ''Well Worn Daffy'', which [[TookALevelInJerkass evolved Daffy Duck into a needlessly ruthless villain]] ([[ButtMonkey if still hapless and bumbling]]) against [[ExtremeDoormat an excessively empathetic and forgiving Speedy Gonzales]]).
** The retooling of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny. His initial appearances had him as more of a ScrewySquirrel who messed with people because it was fun. The "canon" version only brings the hurt after having been provoked ("Of course you realize, dis' means war!") or deliberately targeted by a predator (The Tasmanian Devil, Wile E. Coyote).
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** An incredibly popular version of this is the New Lunar Republic - fans who resent the reign of supposed [[RonTheDeathEater "tyrant"]] [[BigGood Celestia]] and would rather [[DarkIsNotEvil Luna]] take the throne. Whether or not this counts as Rooting For The Empire depends on whether they're rooting for Luna or Nightmare Moon. Luna is not an example because she's [[HeelFaceTurn ultimately good]] (if only a little impulsive), and the legitimate arguments against her right to the throne are purely [[FishOutOfTemporalWater political]]. Those who flat out rooted for [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]]... [[OmnicidalManiac play this]] [[MadGod trope straight]].
** [[MadGod Discord]] enjoys enormous popularity, many of his fans wanting the fun-loving, LaughablyEvil [[TheTrickster Trickster]] to succeed in his goal of [[WorldOfChaos eternal chaos]]. It didn't hurt that in his introductory episode, one of the main characters (namely [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Pinkie Pie]]) seemed perfectly fine with a guy who makes chocolate milk rain from the sky. To some extent those fans got to have their cake and eat it too when [[spoiler:Discord was freed and [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] without losing his wacky personality.]]
** The Changelings have their fans, arguing that despite the cruelty of their queen, most Changelings just [[BlueAndOrangeMorality want something]] [[EmotionEater to eat]].
** [[TerribleTrio The Dazzlings]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' have an ample amount of fans rooting for them to win, despite their [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]] goal. They do get a VillainHasAPoint moment in the movie when they orchestrate the BattleOfTheBands (what's so wrong with a little competition, indeed?). The rest of it stems from EvilIsCool and EvilIsSexy tropes, which the Dazzlings exploit for all they're worth (being {{Enthralling Siren}}s and all). Other factors include [[BigBad the leader of the group]] being one of the most effective antagonists in the franchise, another member is a hilarious, adorable [[TheDitz ditz]] comparable to Pinkie Pie, many people think [[VillainSong their songs]] are by far superior to the main characters', they are only the second villains in the franchise to have a battle scene (Tirek was the first), firmly cementing the EvilIsCool factor, and the ''Equestria Girls'' series is polarizing in the first place, so some would rather have the villains win instead of the heroes.
* Given his HORRIBLE childhood, it's not hard for ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' fans to want Doofenshmirtz to win just once. It helps that most of his plans are [[PokeThePoodle pretty harmless]].
* Played with X9 in ''SamuraiJack''. The episode he is in focuses on him, showing that he was hunting Jack because Aku was holding the robot's dog hostage. The episode was designed for you to root for the poor robot. [[spoiler:Jack cuts him down without a pause; he's just another robot mook to him.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':
** In episodes made after [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie the movie]] (and some before), Mr. Krabs' schoolyard-bully gloating of Plankton's failure makes Plankton the more sympathetic character to the audience. What doesn't help is that the mass {{flanderization}} of both characters has led Krabs to have less redeeming aspects than Plankton. In some cases, Krabs actually goes out of his way to ruin Plankton's rare legitimate efforts or make him miserable in the same ruthless manner as vice versa, and [[DesignatedHero due to their roles]], is more likely to succeed (eg. "Plankton's Regular").
** Can happen to Spongebob himself, especially in episodes where he goes up against Squidward. He may be a JerkAss, but Squidward is also the show's OnlySaneMan, TheChewToy, ButtMonkey, ''and'' DeadpanSnarker, so he gets sympathy from a lot of fans compared to the obnoxious, inane, callous, and occasionally sociopathic title character. It's different in episodes where Squidward picks on or tricks Spongebob, but often his motivation is just to avoid him and be left alone. Imagine if ''you'' had a neighbor like Spongebob, and this becomes a rather understandable desire.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' in general already had this given the EvilIsCool nature of a number of the villains as the show improved, particularly the regular battle droid, who mostly come off as {{Punch Clock Villain}}s doing what they're ordered to, never appear especially malevolent, at times descend into IneffectualSympatheticVillain territory due to how hilarious they are. But in an interesting case of EvilVersusEvil in the episode "Massacre", this trope can still be applied with outnumbered Asaaj and the Nightsisters taking a much larger droid army led by General Grievous. Grievous, unlike Assaj, has no sympathetic qualities to him, but many viewers were rooting for him and the droids due to Asaaj and the Nightsisters earlier [[MoralEventHorizon actions]] during the Nightsister trilogy of episodes, and that he had the battle droids, who came off as more likable than the Nightsisters.
* Many ''WesternAnimation/TitanMaximum'' fans want Gibbs to destroy the insufferable main characters. The show was left in limbo with a cliffhanger of Mercury being incinerated by the sun and the heroes have no ship to fly off... [[TheBadGuyWins so he already has.]]
* Many haters of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' have found themselves rooting for the series' villains, especially in episodes where the Titans are being excessively stupid and unsympathetic. Prominent examples include "Waffles", where Brother Blood is the StraightMan while Beast Boy and Cyborg are being childish [[{{Jerkass}} jerkasses]], and "Breakfast Cheese", where the Titans literally beat up the H.I.V.E. for [[FelonyMisdemeanor loitering]]. This is also taken UpToEleven in "A Farce", where Brother Blood and the Brain [[CourtroomEpisode take the Titans to court]] for their [[DesignatedHero careless and reckless destruction of Jump City]]. The Titans are all found guilty at the end of the episode.
* A small contingent of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' fans feel that the Decepticons are the real good guys, and that the Autobots are evil. Granted, a few continuities show that the Bots aren't perfect paragons of justice, and the Cons had good reasons to rebel, but stories where Decepticons [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Interplanetary_Wrestling_Championship! take small children hostage]] (or [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Murdered_puppy kill]] [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Pis a puppy]]) show that they are ''NOT'' nice mechs.
** Given a bit more weight in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' in which the ''Autobots'' are the ruling empire led by someone who's just a bit too willing to do bad things to achieve victory for comfort while the Decepticons are the scrappy rebels, albeit vicious and ruthless ones.
** In [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW the IDW comics]] the Autobot government ''was'' evil (well corrupt at least) and the Decepticons were laid off blue collar workers living in slums until this one miner showed up... (Most of the story is set millions of years later, by which point they're rather less sympathetic.)
** One of the movie prequel comics showed one part of the falling out between the Autobots and Decepticons was Prime wouldn't allow Megatron to attack a hostile force on their way to Cybertron, until they arrived and started attacking. Megatron was just trying to protect Cybertron.
** In the ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' continuity, Megatron was initially a gladiator who rebelled against an oppressive, caste-based society ruled by the Autobots, so initially it was the Autobots themselves who were the Empire and you should have rooted against. But Megatron became too prideful and ruthless, to the point his ideal of a caste-less society was buried by his desire to rule. Transformers seems to have been moving over the years from "Decepticons evil, Autobots good" to an almost ''StarWars''-like setup, where Cybertronian society badly needed shaking up but the Cons went too far and the necessities of war turned the Autobots into the casteless society the Decepticons wanted, while the Decepticons [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget became too obsessed to remember their original intentions]].
** The Megatron in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' seems to imply that the Predacons are currently stuck as servants to the ruling Maximal class and its Council of Elders. Megatron himself is made into [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler a very nationalistic figure, fighting to improve the lot of his suffering people after their terrible losses in the last war, damn the consequences. And get power himself in the process]]. He still manages to maintain a following in ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' despite [[TookALevelInJerkass being a lot more evil]] and wiping Cybertron clean of Maximals and Predacons alike.
** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' depicts the Decepticons as having a colorful range of personalities. For some of the less evil ones like Dreadwing and Predaking, it can be hard to not root for them at times.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' Daddy Venture commonly forgets about everyone and everything important to him. Anything halfway decent he horribly abuses. The villain, the Monarch, cares about his named henchmen, cares about the emotional health of his prisoners and participates in the 'Scared Straight' program when he spent time in the slammer. If it wasn't for the Monarch's occasional efforts to outright rip apart the Ventures, it'd be hard to tell who was the villain. Many viewers will compensate by rooting for Brock, who's a friendly, cool guy that genuinely cares about the Venture boys as if they were his own sons, and yet over the course of the series racks up a higher body count than Dr. Venture and the Monarch combined. Lampshaded at one point when Dr. Venture is groomed to be a villain, and shown to be a better potential villain than heroic Super Scientist.
* Who '''hasn't''' wanted Dick Dastardly and Muttley to succeed? Whether it's at [[WesternAnimation/WackyRaces winning a race]] or [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines stopping that pigeon]]. It helps the two bad guys always got much more screen time then the ''heroes'' in their shows, and Dastardly's alleged cheating is [[MoralDissonance often considered legitimate when performed by other supposedly "fair-playing" racers]]. His one victory was discounted due to him extending his vehicle, something that has been done countless times before by others in the show's run. Then there was that one time he got a ticket for speeding, which makes it look like the universe is deliberately trying to keep him from winning.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' we have Nox. At first he just seems to be a [[EvilLaugh Giggling]] AxCrazy BigBad, we come to learn why he is doing this. Because of his obsession with the [[ArtifactOfDoom Eliacube]], his family left him and they get killed in a flood. So he is planning to [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds drain all of the wakfu]] he could get so he can go back in time and stop this accident, not to mention if he did pull it off [[ResetButton all of his actions would have been reversed anyway]]. You can't help but [[spoiler:[[TearJerker feel sorry for him when 200 years of his work only turns time back 20 minutes and seeing that he will never save his family simply goes to their grave and dies]]]]. The Prequel episode showing his StartOfDarkness only seems to reenforce this.
* ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'': The original Brotherhood members just don't come off as evil to many fans, despite all the horrendous things they did. That they are ''just'' the "Bad" in a TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil situation lends a certain degree of sympathy, as does how they're constantly abandoned or generally treated horribly by everyone, including their supposed allies.
!!InUniverse Examples:
* In ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' Garfield tries to tell the story of Literature/HanselAndGretel to Nermal, but Nermal ended up feeling bad for the witch at the end of the story, forcing Garfield to try and come up with an ending that gives the witch a much happier ending. It should be noted that Nermal's horrified reaction to the story didn't really stem from him being evil by any stretch of the means, but rather his [[TastesLikeDiabetes innocent persona]] prevented him from really seeing the witch as evil.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' "Passover" episode, [[BrattyHalfPint Angelica]] immediately identifies with Pharaoh and feels sorry that [[GenderFlip she]] loses.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Herpe the Love Sore", Peter and his friends get beaten up by a group of bullies, who are [[KarmaHoudini allowed to get away with it]] [[UnfortunateImplications because they're American soldiers]]. Afterwards, an exasperated Peter says "I can't believe I have to root for Afghanistan now."
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