Examples:
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The Harry Potter books
- Ginny's development from a Shrinking Violet to a Fiery Redhead taking place mostly off-screen, and the development of her relationship with Harry, have led to her being one of the most divisive characters in the books. Either her development taking place offscreen was justified given how Out of Focus she was in the previous books and makes sense upon a close re-reading of them or it was a lazy and overly hasty re-tooling of her character that feels inorganic as a result. From that point forward, Ginny has been seen by readers as either a lovable badass and funny Deadpan Snarker or an insufferable and unsympathetic brat who gets too much Character Shilling.
- Ron. Is he a great and devoted friend and relatable everyman type of character, or a self-centered and lazy jerkass who contributes little to the general plot and narrative? And are the various times he abandons his friends justified or not?
- The series' main villain Lord Voldemort. Fans of him consider him to have a strong intimidating presence and find his Lack of Empathy and vicious Social Darwinist worldview to be the perfect foil to Harry. Detractors meanwhile see Voldemort as a Flat Character whose multiple cases of Bond Villain Stupidity make it impossible to take him seriously as a credible threat.
- Snape is one of the most infamous examples, and would likely top that list if he were ever paired off with anyone. The most divisive thing about his character is his morality. Was he a tragic Heartbroken Badass, or was he just an Entitled Bastard who thinks a few good deeds justify his dickish behaviour and completely insults Lily's memory by bullying Harry? Some feminist
fans have also heavily criticized the character for his complicity in James and Lily's deaths and his fans for romanticizing his obsession with Lily Evans. The Book 7 revelations redeemed him in the narrative of the books and among his fans. While even his detractors tend to see him as one of the most complex characters in the books, it's just that there's the question of whether or not he's actually likable. J. K. Rowling has confirmed that she thinks he was both a good and bad person at the same time. When asked if she thought Snape a hero, said:J. K. Rowling: Yes, I do; though a very flawed hero. An anti-hero, perhaps. He is not a particularly likable man in many ways. He remains rather cruel, a bully, riddled with bitterness and insecurity — and yet he loved, and showed loyalty to that love and, ultimately, laid down his life because of it. That’s pretty heroic! - Hermione: Is she one of the most badass females in literature, or is she just a self-righteous character that's never allowed to be wrong (or at least almost never allowed to be wrong)?
- Dumbledore: Is he truly a likable Eccentric Mentor (as shown in the early books), who was merely still human and made mistakes? Or is he a self-righteous manipulator bordering on Knight Templar?
- James Potter, who is built up in the first four books as an all-around great wizard, only for the fifth book to reveal that he bullied Snape. Readers are split whether James is someone who successfully changed for the best or if the reveal irreparably ruined the character because we barely get any additional information to explain how he changed to become the character described in the first four books.
- Harry himself on whether he's a good, relatable protagonist or bland in comparison to the other characters. His behaviour in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is also divisive, with half of the fanbase finding it justified considering the trauma he endured the previous years and the fact that no one believes him about Voldemort's return and the other half finding it just plain unbearable Wangst. There's also the debate over whether or not Harry's willingness to be the pawn in Dumbledore's master plan, especially in the last book, made him a weak hero or not.
- Colin Creevey. Some see him as a sweet Cheerful Child while others see him as annoying and overly hyperactive.
- Draco's Draco in Leather Pants status has made him this between those who find him a complex Jerkass Woobie who should have gotten a more explicit Heel–Face Turn and those who consider him a Flat Character with no significant change and can't understand why he gets so much praise. Some even go as far as to say that the only reason he is popular is because of the actor who played him being Mr. Fanservice.
- For some fans Percy gets hatred for being rather arrogant, too rule-bound, and pompously self-important. He also turned his back on his family for most of the last three books, siding with the Ministry over Harry and ignoring the reality of Voldemort's return. He also takes a good long while to come around even when he's been definitively proven wrong. This is in spite of Dumbledore giving a speech about Percy reminding the heroes that "it's easier to forgive someone for being wrong than for being right." Meanwhile other fans will sympathize and defend Percy’s actions as Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal given that even before his defection he was teased and ridiculed for his accomplishments, with there being little to no moments where his family ever shows affection towards him whereas Percy was audibly proud of Ron in the first book and tried to look out for Ginny on the second. It goes to reason that his father dismissing his promotion would have been the final straw.
- Cho Chang draws some fans' ire. She was Harry's first crush and things didn't work out between them, getting dislike for Die for Our Ship and Padding. When her friend Marietta Edgecombe betrayed the DA to Umbridge, Cho remained friends with and defended them ignoring the harm. On the other hand, some fans appreciate her loyalty to Marietta, as Marietta had been a good friend to her when all her other friends had rejected her because of the emotional behaviour she had been showing, and her general kindness to Harry, even being one of his only supporters right from the start of the First Task in Goblet of Fire. Also, people who aren't a massive fan of Hermione appreciate the fact that Cho makes some valid points about the less likeable traits of Hermione (her jinxing the parchment in the first place). She is also seen as an Ethnic Scrappy by many Asian readers, because on top of her role in the story being stereotypical for Asian female characters, her name is sometimes seen as a case of Interchangeable Asian Cultures. While "Chang" is a common Chinese surname, "Cho" is a Japanese given name or a Chinese/Korean surname.
- Some fans see Lavender Brown as one of Harry's most frustrating classmates, while others feel that her flaws are blown out of proportion by said fans and that she has plenty of subtle interesting and likable moments.
- Umbridge. Some people see her as a great villain (including Stephen King, who considers her the second greatest villain ever created). However, others see her as a one-dimensional strawman, a roadblock in Harry's conflict against Voldemort, and for being rather superfluous in the long run.
Fantastic Beasts
- Credence. A lot of fans find him to be a boring Flat Character who constantly steals screentime from Newt, his friends, Grindelwald and the titular Fantastic Beasts and think his arc contradicts too much of the Dumbledore's family backstory. Other fans see him as a Tragic Hero with a heartbreaking character arc and the real protagonist of the series.
- Many regard Tina as the most boring character of the main four, seeing her as nothing but a uninteresting Satellite Love Interest to Newt who lacks the depth or charm of the rest of the characters. However other fans regard her as a highlight of the franchise and find her Adorkable. This can be summarized with the reception towards the third movie where she got Demoted to Extra: half of the fanbase were pissed off and the other half didn't care.
- Queenie was a fan-favorite during the original movie but her arc in the two sequels split the fanbase. Some understand the reasons behind her Heel–Face Turn and were glad when she decided to return with Jacob, while other fans thought it was really forced, think she fell into being Unintentionally Unsympathetic and felt she didn't do anything to deserve her redeemption.
- Albus Dumbledore is already a major Base-Breaking Character and these movies didn't do him any favours. Some fans regard him as the most fascinating character of the sub-franchise and think the series does a great job at humanizing the franchise's Big Good, others see it as a blatant Spotlight-Stealing Squad that keeps distracting from Newt and the Fantastic Beasts and think that having him being still The Chessmaster so many years before the events of the original series makes him look even more like a Knight Templar than he was in the original books. Jude Law's performance however, has being praised.
Films
- The Shrunken Head on the Knight Bus. Some find him bizarrely out of place and unnecessary, others find him a nice bit of comic relief. It's worth noting that it was approved by J. K. Rowling - who prevented Alfonso Cuarón from inserting a choir of tiny people playing the piano.
