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Seiryuu 2010-10-09 09:32

Looking for a hero who just can't win
 
This is sort of a mirror of my request for a character like Arata of Arata the Legend. In the first thread, I was looking for someone with a personality like Arata's, this one deals with his social situation at school.

In the first thread, I was looking for someone who looked weak but had an inner strength, who pathetically couldn't stand up for himself no matter how unjust the persecution is, but also couldn't back down from anything when someone else was being hurt without cause.
This one I'm looking for the circumstances he faces, the way he's unable to do anything right in most people's eyes, but instead always ends up being seen in the worst light.

It can either be that something about his appearance or manner, or just choice of words, makes people unconsciously twist everything he does and see it in the worst way, or it could be that he was somehow identified as the perpetrator of some act and this makes everyone see everything he does differently, in light of the sort of things they "know" he does. In the eyes of his peers, he's guilty until proven innocent.

Akiharu of Ladies v. Butlers suffers from this a lot, especially in the first episode, because of his face and abrupt manner. Sai Akuto of Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaoh faces this to the extreme because he's wrongfully identified as an evil mage bent on destroying the world. In both cases, while sometimes the guy is just caught in a bad situation, many of the times he's doing his best he's seen as the worst.

While not necessary, I would prefer a normal school setting for two reasons: first, the guy has to come face to face with the people who doubt him every day, and second, he is denied the luxury of a clear-cut villain or massive conspiracy that he can tear down to prove his innocence. A good example would be if a guy went to school one day and found out that someone had spread a rumor that he'd raped someone.
Or with a girl, something like a chapter from Salad Days where a guy dumps a girl on account of rumors that she's done everything with everyone; he later finds out that this false rumor had been spread by a girl who was jealous because her crush liked that girl, but it's still stuck.


Note: there are several tropes related to this, such as the Villain Ball Magnet, the Hero with Bad Publicity, and to some extent Digging Yourself Deeper. Not a Hero with an F in Good or villain with a Zero Approval Rating. Unfortunately, there's just a couple anime/manga examples listed on Tvtropes.

GreatTeacherKen 2010-10-09 17:46

Harima Kenji from School Rumble can sort of qualify as a comedic example. While he does two other female love interests, he can't seem to get anywhere with Tenma Tsukamoto, the girl he truly loves. Everything he tries backfires in a spectacular and comical way, in fact, one of his love interests becomes a love interest as a direct result of one of his attempts to win Tenma's heart backfiring.

roriconfan 2010-10-09 18:34

Angel Densetsu ftw then.

cerrian 2010-10-09 18:59

Onizuka is like that. He gets blamed for all sorts of shit and more often than not he has to prove himself. Seeing as you're an anime veteran, I'm assuming you've already seen GTO but if you haven't then look up Great Teacher Onizuka.

Another possible candidate would be Tylor from Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

thevil1 2010-10-14 16:43

Trigun
Quote:

Originally Posted by ANN's Plot Summery
Plot Summary: Vash the Stampede is a gunman on the run with a 60 billion double dollar bounty on his head which has made it difficult for him to go anywhere without being chased and shot at. Every town he ever visits ends up being destroyed because of his pursuers, but miraculously no one ever gets killed. Meryl and Milly are two insurance agents that have been sent to find Vash the Stampede and keep him under surveillance so no more damage is caused. Meryl, who leads the pair, refuses to believe that the man they have met can possibly be the legendary gunman. This spikey haired, gangly, young man is extremely friendly, a pacifist, hates blood and suicide, absolutely loves donuts, and is a dork and a crybaby (far from a notorious outlaw). But there is more to Vash and his past than meets the eye.


This is the only one that comes to mind.

DragoZERO 2010-10-15 10:39

I would suggest Code Geass, not sure if it fits your tastes though.

Seiryuu 2010-10-17 09:44

It's not hard to find a fantasy or sci-fi piece where the hero is made out to be the villain. It tends to have some downsides though, such as the hero getting the benefit of an enemy he has to completely destroy and his not having to stick around and face the same people every day. The hero can and often does travel.

Are there any that are done in a more "real" setting? Particularly a school, as I mentioned, since the guy is then faced with the same people every day, and inevitably is also stuck close to the real villain as well. And youths jump to conclusions quickly and hold to them, meaning that a smart enemy doesn't have to do much to convince others that something happened the way he says, and it can be very difficult at times to convince people otherwise without clear evidence.

One thing I'm particularly interested in is a story where a student who's average or even popular is framed or falsely accused of some horrible act, such as rape. While it would be easy enough for him to prove that there's not enough evidence to convict and thus that he's legally "innocent", it would take a good deal of evidence or character to convince most of his fellow students. A great new anime this season has something similar happen to a girl.
Spoiler:
In a way, this could almost be called social rape, in the way it affects the person and leaves marks that are very difficult to heal.


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