Line #7 UnexpectedCharacter/JumpForce


1	* Light Yagami and Ryuk from ''Manga/DeathNote''. While the series is extremely popular, its dark and cynical tone has lead to it being somewhat distanced from ''Magazine/ShonenJump'' as a whole, and the fact that the series relies on intricate mind games rather than pure action has lead to it rarely being represented in crossovers. WordOfGod eventually confirmed that the two are [=NPCs=] in the game.
2	* Yami Yugi from ''Manga/YuGiOh'', mostly because he's best known for playing card games. Not exactly the type of thing you'd expect for a fighting crossover. However, in his Egyptian days, he (among others) summoned decidedly-real monsters from stone tablets, and has displayed various supernatural powers like his Mind Crush, and the shadow games of his earlier days. [[OlderThanTheyThink Also, Yugi was playable]] in ''VideoGame/JumpSuperStars'' and ''Jump Ultimate Stars''. To some, this is amplified further due to Creator/{{Konami}}'s ownership of the anime and card game.
3	* The presence of the transformations from ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' is quite a shock since they did not originate in ''Shonen Jump''. That said, given ''Super'''s popularity and status as a canon sequel to ''Manga/DragonBall'', the developers most likely made an exception for this series.
4	* Sabo from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is a lesser example of this. Although some new ''One Piece'' characters, Sanji and Blackbeard, had been confirmed for the game around the same time he was revealed, he initially wasn't shown or listed alongside them. It wasn't until the release of the official gameplay trailer showcasing Sanji and Blackbeard (along with Vegeta, Gon and Hisoka) that it was revealed Sabo would be joining the roster as well. Speaking of which, Blackbeard himself was likewise a surprise to many as he had yet to really re-appear in ''One Piece'' at the time. That being said, he was a more likely pick to give his franchise a "bad guy" to play with.
5	* Dragon Shiryu from ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' is another lesser example. While one of the more popular characters in the series, many believed that characters like Phoenix Ikki and Gemini Saga would have been chosen before him.
6	* Ryo Saeba from ''Manga/CityHunter'' comes as a surprise because his series is from the '80s, and unlike other long-runners, is pretty obscure to many Western audiences, especially in the U.S., one of the main target markets of the game.[[note]]Albeit the same cannot be said in Europe, mainly in France, Spain, and Italy, where both the manga and anime are very popular, and popularity for City Hunter has been steadily increasing.[[/note]] There's also the fact that he's an unpowered gunman which kinda makes him stand out in a roster full of people with special over-the-top abilities.
7	* Downplayed with Renji Abarai from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. While plenty of people expected more ''Bleach'' characters to eventually be revealed, most fans were expecting other representatives such as Hitsugaya[[note]]who was later confirmed to be one of the nine DLC characters for Season 1[[/note]], Uryu, Ulquiorra, or Yhwach.
8	* [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Kaguya Ōtsutsuki]] was a massively unexpected choice, given many had assumed Obito or Madara[[note]]who was later confirmed to be one of the nine DLC characters for Season 1[[/note]] would be the villain representative in the game, and Kaguya is infamous for being [[TheScrappy incredibly unpopular]] in the fanbase.
9	* Manga/{{Boruto}} is this too, though not as much as Kaguya. While his series is very successful, people were more expecting someone more classic like Sakura or Might Guy, while Boruto was introduced in the literal ''last chapter'' of the original series.
10	* Dai from the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' spin-off ''Manga/DragonQuestTheAdventureOfDai'' is an interesting example, as while ''The Adventure of Dai'' is definitely not niche in Japan, with it being one of ''Shonen Jump'''s best-selling titles, it is much more obscure overseas, and that's besides the idea of a primarily video game-based franchise like ''Dragon Quest'' seeing representation in a manga arena fighter. Then again, there was leftover data of him in the prior ''J-Stars Victory Vs.'' somewhat tying into this.
11	* The inclusion of two characters from ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' (Kenshin Himura and Makoto Shishio) was very unexpected. Although the series is pretty well-known and the characters are fitting for a fighting action game, the author, Creator/NobuhiroWatsuki, was charged for possession of child pornography less than two years before the game's release. This led many fans to believe that ''Shonen Jump'' would want to distance themselves from him, never mind giving the series TWO representatives.
12	* [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Yoruichi Shihoin]] also makes a surprising appearance, given that she's an important character -- but not ''that'' important in the grand scheme of things, compared to other playable ''Bleach'' characters like Grimmjow or even those not on the roster like Uryu.
13	%%* There are three Season 1 DLC characters that are examples of this:
14	%%** [[Franchise/DragonBall Good Majin Buu]]
15	%%** [[Franchise/OnePiece Trafalgar Law]]
16	%%** [[Manga/HunterXHunter Biscuit Krueger]]

Context UnexpectedCharacter / JumpForce