Idiot Hero

The idiot hero is a protagonist who makes up for the lack of brains with heart, inner strengths & their heroic talents/efforts.

Why This Trope Rocks

 * 1) Similar to anti-heroes, idiot heroes are shown to be quite relatable.
 * 2) They represent the fact that everyone has their own shortcomings and we can all make up for them with our own positive qualities.
 * 3) With that said, the way these kinds of characters are written often shows how you are able to root for the dumbest characters around.
 * 4) This trope can also add a comedic effect to the characters' personalities with their stupidity, goofiness, blunders, obliviousness and/or quirks.
 * 5) They inspired the audience to face our obstacles without overthinking, which helps develop great courage and determination.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) It can be seen as a cliche, especially in anime, specifically when it comes to shonen protagonists.
 * 2) Some idiot heroes can be quite mean-spirited, unfunny, and/or unsympathetic because of how obtuse they can be.

Examples of well-written idiot heroes

 * Ash Ketchum (Pokémon)
 * Asta (Black Clover)
 * Ben Tennyson (Ben 10)
 * Bullwinkle J. Moose (Rocky & Bullwinkle)
 * Bonkers D. Bobcat (Bonkers)
 * Boyfriend (Friday Night Funkin')
 * Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot)
 * Dexter (Dexter's Laboratory) [An example of "Ditzy Genius", being a boy genius who makes a lot of dumb decisions]
 * Dudley Puppy (T.U.F.F. Puppy)
 * Earthworm Jim (Earthworm Jim)
 * Ed (Good Burger) [A goofy restaurant cashier who may not show much in the ways of intelligence, but proves to be heroic in the end.]
 * Eliza Thornberry (The Wild Thornberrys) [A young girl who is actually very intelligent, but can be naive and reckless at times]
 * Fatman (The Adventures of Fatman, The Weird Al Show)
 * Finn Mertens (Adventure Time)
 * Freakazoid (Freakazoid) [a lunatic who is rather street smart, but not quite as book smart and is usually scatterbrained, manic, and acts like a doofus most of the time.]
 * Fred Figglehorn (Fred) [Someone who is actually smart enough to provide educational values in spite of his occasional moments of being annoyingly dumb and immature, and generally being hyperactive and quirky instead of just dumb]
 * Gintoki Sakata (Gintama)
 * Gary Goodspeed (Final Space) Was arrogant and immature at start until he became more mature as the series went on.
 * Goofy (Disney)
 * Gumball Watterson (The Amazing World of Gumball) [Although he became more intelligent as the show went on]
 * Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) [a kid who can be smart at times, but otherwise dumb in a naive, inexperienced way]
 * Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
 * Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas) [Not an idiot by intelligence, but rather naive and sometimes too excitable to use common sense]
 * Jaune Arc (RWBY) [Not too much of an idiot, more of a naive underachiever than anything else]
 * Jimmy Neutron (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius/The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron:Boy Genius) [Another example of a "Ditzy Genius", having very little common sense despite having high intelligence]
 * Johnny Bravo (Johnny Bravo)
 * Johnny Test (Johnny Test)
 * Kazuma Kuwabara (Yu Yu Hakusho) [Has a lot of common sense, but can be dense at times, just like Yusuke]
 * Katarina Claes (My Next Life As A Villainess!)
 * Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne (Dumb & Dumber)
 * Mario (SMG4) [A lazy fool who does have his clever and intelligent moments here and there, but he is generally dense, insane, and incredibly moronic beyond all belief]
 * Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
 * Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
 * Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto) [not too much of an idiot, but rather a goofy and redeemable troublemaker than anything]
 * Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)
 * Oscar Proud (The Proud Family/The Proud Family:Louder and Prouder) [A man who has moments of intelligence, but is an unsuccessful businessman and can be goofy, immature and shortsighted at times.]
 * Osmosis Jones (Osmosis Jones)
 * Otis the Cow (Back at the Barnyard) [Who can come up with clever ideas aside from his acts of stupidity, mischief and irresponsiblity]
 * Okuyasu Nijimura (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable) [Which he was too stupid to die in that said anime]
 * Patrick Star (SpongeBob SquarePants)
 * Penrod "Penry" Pooch (Hong Kong Phooey)
 * Po Ping (Kung Fu Panda) [being a goofball who can be insightful and wise rather than just an idiot]
 * Rango (Rango) [More of a scatterbrained goofball than a downright idiot]
 * Riley Freeman (The Boondocks) [Not exactly too much of an idiot and is actually street-smart, but he's just a kid that can be reckless and impulsive at times.]
 * Ron Stoppable (Kim Possible)
 * Sheen Estevez (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius/The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron:Boy Genius) [Before Planet Sheen, he was not that much of an idiot, but rather a comedic, hyperactive, impulsive & redeemable troublemaker than anything]
 * Son Goku (Dragon Ball)
 * SpongeBob SquarePants (SpongeBob SquarePants)
 * The Tick (The Tick)
 * Timmy Turner (The Fairly OddParents) [not as much of an idiot but rather a naive butt-monkey all things considered]
 * Tommy Pickles (Rugrats)
 * Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes)
 * Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon)
 * Yusuke Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho) [A teenager who is street-smart but is not book-smart due to skipping school]

Examples of poorly-written idiot heroes

 * Bubsy T. Bobcat (Bubsy) [Where everything can go wrong, as always]
 * Coconut Fred (Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island) [Being a SpongeBob rip-off who actually predated Season 6b & 7 of the latter's stupidity]
 * Cool Cat (Cool Cat Saves The Kids/Cool Cat Fights The Coronavirus) [An blithering fool who's not only an hyperactive manchild, but is meant to be a role model for kids...]
 * Gord Brody (Freddy Got Fingered) [Being more of an idiotic, maniacal manchild aside from being just than an idiot]
 * Jake Spidermonkey (My Gym Partner's a Monkey)
 * Reggie the Great Turkey (Free Birds)
 * Sheen Estevez (Planet Sheen)
 * Crash (Crash and Bernstein) [Who can be very entertaining and funny but is poorly executed as a character]
 * Morphman (Morphman, 1993)
 * Black Star (Soul Eater) [Depending on your view]
 * Norm (Norm of the North)
 * Pac-Man (Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures) [This is better shown in the animated series in comparison to the games]