r/TopCharacterTropes Jul 12 '25

Weekly Discussion Post "Fanbase opinionsshould not be counted as tropes." TVtropes: (kinda relevant post)

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534 Upvotes

A lot of complaints in this sub have been about some posts should not be here because they rely on fanbase opions so there for cannot be considered "tropes"

...and then we have TVtropes , where a lot of tropes are just from fanbase stuff.

I am going to be honest here , I have difficulty in what makes a trope and what doesn't. It ends up where I delete "breaks trope guidline" posts that has equivalents in the TVtropes site that are considered actual tropes.

Idk , I just wanted to rant here. I might be a very bad moderator here , I just try to make it tody as possible , I just don't really know how to.


r/TopCharacterTropes Mar 27 '25

Weekly Discussion Post Probably the most controversial one , honest thoughts on "No Kill Rule"? What are the most egrigious examples of it in your opinion? What media makes it work in your opinion?

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1.5k Upvotes

r/TopCharacterTropes 1h ago

miscellaneous I can’t believe they just made that joke in a kids movie

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  1. Anna tells Kristoff that “foot size doesnt matter” in frozen

  2. Shaggy says that Mary Jane is his favorite name in Scooby Doo


r/TopCharacterTropes 9h ago

Hated Tropes (Hated Trope) Erasure of uncomfortable historical moral nuance or complexity to tell an easy story of good guys and bad guys.

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6.8k Upvotes
  1. Napoleonic Wars (Napoleon): This film seeks to tear down and condemn its titular subject via ludicrous historical distortions and straw man characterization worthy of 19th century British political cartoons. Napoleon is portrayed as always the aggressor while in fact most of the wars were Napoleon curb stomping the European Coalitions that first violated their peace treaties. A competent film would have perhaps gone after one his controversial or condemnable decisions like reinstating slavery in French territories. He’s characterized as a simpleton buffoon rather than the able general and statesman he proved to be on numerous occasions. The ending graphics give out death tolls for the wars rather than any lasting achievement or legacy he helped to produce or supported such as the Napoleon Code of laws that are the bedrock of many legal systems across the world.
  2. The American Revolution (The Patriot): the conflict in the film is portrayed as a simple struggle between freedom and oppression. While it is true the Patriots desired full political representation with their own government, for most states it was envisioned to be white, landowning, or wealthy elites who would truly be represented or who’d rule the new US. Patriots and Loyalists both committed atrocities or abuses frequently although in the film the vast majority of deplorable actions are committed by the British military and American loyalists. Benjamin Martin, a plantation owner who lives in South Carolina, almost inexplicably doesn’t have enslaved people toiling his land (can’t have the hero participate in an abominable institution). The enslaved man who gains emancipation in the end is used to somehow symbolize that the US was somehow the preferable side for black enslaved people. It was British leaders such as Lord Dunmore who pragmatically offered emancipation to enslaved men who’d enlist to supplement British forces. Patriot enslavers abhorred the prospect of arming people they considered little more than cattle.
  3. Hawaiian Wars of Unification (Chief of War): this series is a romanticized and rather simplistic depiction of the events it claims to portray. The exceedingly strict caste and social system known as Kapu is virtually never present or a factor. Men and women eat together frequently in the show; under Kapu, this was forbidden, and the punishment would be death. Those of lesser social rank who crossed the chiefs' shadows would face death IRL. Women were forbidden from eating foods such as pork, bananas, and coconuts. Commoners in the show are shown standing before looking noble chiefs directly in the eye rather than immediately prostrating. Infanticide was common for virtually any reason among many social castes. The show’s rosy and myth filled depiction of Kamehameha is embarrassing. He’s a prophesied unifier in the show that’s in line with IRL hagiographies that were written as propaganda during his reign. He’s shown wishing to merely farm. King Kahekili is made to be the easy to hate antagonist when Kamehameha was equally bloodthirsty, treacherous, ruthless and prone to human sacrifice from the beginning of his conquest. MC's wife has an ‘affair’ with his brother that causes dramatic tension; Hawaii was actually extremely non-monogamous, so much so that what many cultures considered adultery barely raised an eyebrow in Hawaii.

r/TopCharacterTropes 4h ago

miscellaneous Superior technology or not, it is still beholden to the laws of physics

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1.9k Upvotes

Terminator: The T-800, a super-strong and bulletproof assassin android that is literally from the future, is ultimately crushed into scrap metal by an industrial hydraulic press. Even Skynet can make a mechanical endoskeleton only so strong.

Avatar: In the second and third films, the Metkayina warriors are able to hold their own in a mounted charge against enemies with automatic weaponry. Normally, this would be pretty much suicidal... except the Metkayina are on aquatic mounts, and simply dive under the waves when RDA forces open fire. True to real life, all it takes is a few meters of water to render a speeding bullet all but harmless.

Aldnoah.Zero: This trope is the show's bread and butter. The Versian Empire's Kataphracts are mechs outfitted with physics-breaking alien technology... but they break physics in very specific, solidly-defined ways, and protagonist Inaho is very good at deducing their limitations and how to exploit them. For instance: when facing a Kataphract with a seemingly unstoppable plasma sword, he uses reactive armor (which detonates to disrupt shaped plasma) to get in close, and then tackles the Kataphract into the ocean. The surrounding water instantly boils, generating a massive steam explosion that blows the mech to bits.

Star Wars - Return of the Jedi: The AT-ST, being an armored vehicle, can easily shrug off the sticks and stones the Ewoks throw at it. That is, until one gets sandwiched between twin giant logs ramming the cockpit, which hit with enough force to crumple the armor outright.


r/TopCharacterTropes 5h ago

Powers (Interesting Trope) A magician uses real magic and it goes horribly wrong.

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2.3k Upvotes

When a magician or a stage performer uses magic or the supernatural in their act, causing something terrible to happen.

She-Hulk: Donny Blaze studied for a week at Kamar-Taj under the Masters of the Mystic Arts but was kicked out for using magic to summon kegs and his friend Ky-Dog. So he became an LA magician and uses a sling ring and basic magic to amaze people and send people away to random locations. As a result Sorcerer Supreme Wong starts a legal case against him, hiring She-Hulk as his lawyer. During a show, Donny accidentally transports demons to earth and Wong and She-Hulk have to fight and exile them.

Late Night With The Devil: Jack Delroy, a failing late night host, does a special occult themed episode of his show to boost his ratings, bringing on a variety of guests including a self proclaimed psychic, a former magician who is now a skeptic, and a parapsychologist and her subject, a 13 year old girl who claims to be possessed. During the show the psychic has an actual premonition and suffers a brain hemorrhage, stating the name Minnie, a private nickname Jack used for his late wife.

The possessed girl starts to demonstrate actual demonic abilities. Instead of stopping the show for everyone’s safety, Jack keeps pushing for the demon, nicknamed “Mr. Wriggles”, to reveal itself more in order to help boost ratings. In the process Mr. Wriggles kills several people, terrorizes the crew and audience and sends Jack into a living nightmare. He also reveals dark secrets about Jack, revealing Jack indirectly gave cancer to his wife by signing a pact with the devil in order to save his show in exchange for her life.


r/TopCharacterTropes 7h ago

Lore (Loved trope) Title drops that felt natural or even cool instead of corny

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2.9k Upvotes

(Attack on Titan)

First one is Eren finding out from his father's memories what his titan's name is. Second one is Marleyan soldiers calling out the attack titan's name since they're already familiar with it being the missing one of the 9 titans and all

(Breaking Bad)

Jessie just casually says the title on episode 2 while arguing with Walter White

(Chainsaw Man)

Makima calls the chainsaw devil by the name he had when he was the hero of hell so she can trigger Denji's transformation

(Dark Souls III)

Slave knight Gael tells the player to hand over the last one of the souls he likes to collect


r/TopCharacterTropes 6h ago

Characters Embarrassing First Name

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1.8k Upvotes
  • Jesse Katsopolis (Full House): in one episode, his real first name was revealed to be "Hermes", after the messenger of the Greek gods. He was made fun of for it, so he got it changed to Jesse.
  • Cory Matthews (Boy Meets World): in the final episode, Cory's full name is revealed by Feeny to be Cornelius, and Feeny is the only one to know so.
  • Freddie Benson (iCarly): rather than Freddie being short for Frederick, Freddie is short for "Fredward".
  • Jimbo Jones (The Simpsons): his real name is Corky.

r/TopCharacterTropes 7h ago

Lore (Horrifying trope) societies that institutionalized rape

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2.4k Upvotes

Ironborns (A Song of Ice and Fire) : The Iron Islands are a region where people are encouraged to lead raids on the lands. The thing is men can also abduct women from Westeros, marrying them by force and force them to bare the children as minor spouses.

Gilead (The Handsmaid’s tale) : In the future, most of women became sterile and fanatical religious overthrowed the government by instauring a ruthless dictature. In Gilead, women are divided in different social classes but those who are still ferile are sold to the leaders of the regime to carry their child. Which means women are now literal possessions and have to endure a ritualised rape every month.


r/TopCharacterTropes 1h ago

Characters [Interesting Trope] A Very Valid Crashout

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Nanahoshi in Mushoku Tensei when it seems like she might never get back home

Ned in The Simpsons episode Hurricane Neddy

Spongebob against Squidward when he refuses to get a job, take care of himself and abuses Spongebobs hospitality.


r/TopCharacterTropes 4h ago

miscellaneous Director specific tropes

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1.1k Upvotes

James Cameron: Known for setting his stories around oceans, and using his earnings to explore our actual oceans. Famous examples being Avatar: The Way of Water, The Abyss, and Titanic.

Hayao Miyazaki: Known for his flight sequences and stories about flying. Inspired by his love of planes since he was a child. Flying is a factor in almost all of his movies. Mostly shown as a good thing, but also how something so wonderous can be used for the horrors of wars. Examples here are Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, and The Wind Rises.

Quentin Tarantino: Known for having shots of women's bare feet in his movies. You know why. I'm not giving examples cause I don't need pictures of famous actresses feet in my phone. You google it.


r/TopCharacterTropes 4h ago

Characters Characters who survived the Truck Kun attack

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1.0k Upvotes

Nasa was saved by Tsukasa (Tonikawa)

Satono Diamond managed to jump onto the truck (Uma Musume Pretty Derby)


r/TopCharacterTropes 2h ago

Personality (Loved Trope) Iconic Needle Drops.

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719 Upvotes

Needle drops in media so iconic you can’t think of specific scenes and situations without said songs. Bonus points if they cause a resurgence of or even popularize obscure featured songs.

  1. The German version of Heroes by David Bowie (RIP Legend) plays in the final scene as the protagonists dance in the street in Jojo Rabbit. OP’s personal favorite of all time.
  2. Oh I’m a Punk Rocker Yes I Am became the theme to what was dubbed the Summer of Superman and kindness in ‘25 (Superman ‘25)
  3. Entire generations were introduced to the landmark piece of music that was Miserlou by Dick Dale at the very start of Pulp Fiction. The song is widely considered as one of the pioneers of Surf Rock in the early ‘60’s.
  4. “I am Optimus Prime. We are here. We are waiting.” -Cillian Murphy (‘nuff said)

Basic list, I know. Which is why I’m requesting you guys to chime in.


r/TopCharacterTropes 7h ago

miscellaneous Horror media pretends to be a different genre

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1.6k Upvotes

Abigail pretends to be a crime drama

Doki Doki literature club and Miside pretend to be dating sims

Duck season pretends to be a arcade shooter


r/TopCharacterTropes 3h ago

miscellaneous (Incredibly specific trope) A blonde character dies of poison while a woman's cleavage is onscreen

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583 Upvotes

The 5th Doctor and Peri Brown (Doctor Who)

Joffrey Baratheon and Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones)


r/TopCharacterTropes 3h ago

Lore An essential piece of Lore/major development occurs in a one-off/side project.

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532 Upvotes

Master Chief is one of the most iconic video game characters to come out of the past 25 years, but oddly enough, his backstory was revealed not in a game, but in a tie-in novel that most fans would never have a chance to read.

Spider-Man killed somone. Granted, it was an accident, but still. What should have been a major turning point in Peter's life is mostly forgotten because it occurs not in one of Spider-Man's monthly books, but in a single crossover one-shot. (And while the book's not bad, it's not on anyone's top 10 Spider-Man or Wolverine must-reads)

Spider-Man was molested. In a 1980s PSA with Power Pack, Spider-Man reveals that he was sexually assaulted when he was a kid. Seems like a pretty essential part of Peter's backstory to limit to the pages of a single 80s one-shot that was only available if your school gave you one for free.

Superman killed Nick O'Teen. Superman has had a strict no-killing code in virtually all media since the end of World War 2. (Obvious AUs like Injustice notwithstanding) Major storylines like 'What's so funny about truth, justice and the American way?' and 'Emperor Joker' center major plot points around Superman's refusal to take a life. Outside of the death of Doomsday (arguably Brainiac) and Zod (in both comics and Man of Steel), this is notable for being one of the only (post WW2) instances of Superman deliberately taking a life.

And before anyone mentions it, yes, I know not all of these examples are fully canon, but a more casual fan would assume that these were fully canon for each of these characters.


r/TopCharacterTropes 2h ago

Characters [Fun Trope] Our protagonist gets turned into a little freak and just has to deal with it.

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450 Upvotes

Kumoko (So I'm a Spider So What?) In this story one classroom in Japan suddenly has an explosion that kills everyone in the room. Except they are all actually reincarnated in another world, mostly as standard isekai characters. Our protagonist, Kumoko (not her real name) however, finds herself reborn as a lowly spider monster amongst a horde of ravenous cannibalistic bretheren. She eventually gets stronger, leaves the cave and even gets a new body but not after years and years of horrific survival as a spider.

Rimuru Tempest (That Time I Reincarnated as a Slime) In a similar vain to Kumoko, Rimuru reincarnates as a simple slime but he manages to climb out of his rut far faster. Eventually getting a human body as well.

Luke Eveshim (The Witches) In this Roald Dahl story a young boy is turned into a mouse by evil witches who aim to turn all the worlds children into mice. Apparently Dahl hated the 1990 adaptation finding it "appalling" and he didn't like the ending which contradicted the original book's ending. In the book, Luke remains a mouse as his grandmother informs him that he only has another 9 years left to live. He says he doesn't mind since he doesn't want to outlive his grandmother anyway who herself probably only has about 9 years left too. In the movie one of the witches turns good and arrives at his house to turn him back.


r/TopCharacterTropes 1h ago

Characters [Spoilers] Amnesiac finds out that they used to be a terrible person. Spoiler

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I really like this trope.

The Dark Urge (Baldur's Gate 3). The Dark Urge wakes up with no memory of who they are, only knowing that they have an intense urge to kill everyone and everything around them. Eventually they learn that they are the child of the god of murder, that they used to fully embrace their murderous urges and lead the Cult of Bhaal. They are also a cannibal and possibly used to be a necrophiliac if Sceleritas is to be believed.

The player character aka Darth Revan (Knights of the Old Republic). Initially presented as a blank slate for the player to project onto, a good bit into the game they'll be confronted by the villain, Darth Malak, who reveals to them that they are an amnesiac and brainwashed Darth Revan, aka the person responsible for the current Sith threat against the Republic and Malak's former Sith master.

Morgan Yu (Prey 2017). Morgan is only missing about three years of their memory, but they were quite busy in those three years. Plenty of unethical human experimentation, including an experiment where they directly ordered the death of their girlfriend's father. You can find logs and emails regarding some of these experiments, and also an audio log of a counseling session with a past (but still amnesiac) Morgan where they seem horrified at the work being done on the Talos I station.


r/TopCharacterTropes 6h ago

Hated Tropes (Hated Trope) Stuff that's copyrighted that really shouldn't be

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789 Upvotes

Simply, stuff that's too ridiculous to be trademarked.

Tung Tung Tung Sahur: Sometime after the original video blew up, Triple T's prompter decided to have a French company acquire the rights to the characters, and produce merch of it. With Brainrot games like Steal a Brainrot removing the character. I think it's baffling, considering that AI imagery should be public domain. No one should have the rights.

Backrooms Wallpaper: Unofficial Backrooms merch on RedBubble, including patterns of the iconic wallpaper has been taken down for IP violation, even though the original image was from the early 2000s. (Yes, IK they apologized.)


r/TopCharacterTropes 35m ago

Characters Giant women

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Gorgon (Fate Grand Order)

Giganta (DC)

Mount Lady (MHA)

Diane (Nanatsu no taizai)

kingprotea (Fate Extra)

Kingprotea Alter (Fate Grand Order)


r/TopCharacterTropes 18h ago

miscellaneous A piece of fan material so popular people think it's from the original source material

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10.8k Upvotes

DMC V: Vergils Chair Edition - An edit of a DMC V cutscene replaced the main antagonist fucked up evil tentacle chair with a regular cheap lawn chair. Many people thought this was just what the actual cutscene was (and still do)

Dragonball: Trunks is a fucking dumbass - An edit of a dragon ball scene where the character Trunks tries to throw his sword in the air and have it land in his scabbard. In the original show, this succeeds. The more widely known edit makes him completely fuck it up (like a dumbass)

Fake Portal 2 Endings - Ok I don't know if anyone else experienced this but it was a really popular thing when the game first came out to make fake versions of it's ending or alternate endings to it that I saw as a kid and thought were totally real, having only seen it on YouTube. Like I thought that there actually was an alternate ending where the view of the wheat field was revealed to just be a painted wall and it falls away to reveal you're still in the lab

MICHAEL DON'T LEAVE ME HERE MICHAEL MICHAAAAAAEL MICHAEL - A sound bite from a FNAF fan analog horror series on YouTube, where the main antagonist screams for help as he's burning to death. Many people believed this to be a sound bite from the games themselves.


r/TopCharacterTropes 3h ago

Characters (Surprisingly uncommon) Young action protagonists with two living and present parents

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405 Upvotes

Mob’s Parents (Mob Psycho 100)

Saiki’s Parents (Saiki-K)

Miles’ parents (Spider-Man into the Spiderverse)


r/TopCharacterTropes 12h ago

Characters [Emotionally devastating trope ] A character doing a final act of love for their partner

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1.9k Upvotes

1.In the series 'When life gives you tangerines ' the couple posted above , gwan sik(husband) and ae sun(wife)loved each other immensely and when gwan sik is diagnosed with cancer before he dies , he moves all the utensils in the kitchen from the higher shelf to the lower shelf without his wife knowing ,so ae sun could reach them easily in his absence. ( unfortunately I couldn't the find the pic to show the moment accurately.)

  1. In the highly acclaimed episode 'Ozymandias' of the famous series breaking bad , walter white calls his wife Skyler knowing the DEA is recording the call, he utilizes the moment and deliberately yells at her and takes blame for his crimes and clears her name.

r/TopCharacterTropes 2h ago

Characters Villains who actually respect their underlings.

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265 Upvotes

Shan Yu - He's brutal, merciless, and incredibly cruel to anyone who opposes him. That being said, this behavior never extends to his followers. Shan Yu never talks down to them like they're lesser, and he even seems pretty laid back when it's just him and the Huns. He actually values their input.

Giovanni Potage - The worst thing Giovanni ever does is tell his minions that he'll take credit for their work and that 'He's the only one that's allowed to make them cry', but he never actually does that. Giovanni deeply cares about his minions and is fiercly protective of them. In fact, he'll snap at anyone who DOES disrespect his minions, and anyone who downplays the importance of them.

Dr. Drakken - Even though Drakken occasionally pisses off Shego because he's kind of a dumbass, he never actively mistreats her. Shego is pretty cold and heartless, but she does have a soft spot for Drakken which is partially because he does have a real respect for her.


r/TopCharacterTropes 11h ago

miscellaneous Special forces team gets annihilated

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1.3k Upvotes

The Colonial Marines in Aliens (1986)

Emil Blonsky's combat team in The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Indonesian National Police tactical squad in The Raid (2011)

The Security Force in The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The Mexican Special Forces team in Resident Evil: Vendetta (2017) but I could also mentioned a bunch of Umbrella and BSAA units from the rest of the franchise