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The idiot hero is a protagonist who makes up for the lack of brains with heart, inner strengths, effort & heroic talents/efforts.
Why This Trope Isn't That Idiotic
- Similar to anti-heroes, idiot heroes are shown to be quite relatable.
- They represent the fact that everyone has their own shortcomings and we can all make up for them with our own positive qualities.
- With that said, the way these kinds of characters are written often shows how you are able to root for the dumbest characters around.
- This trope can also add a comedic effect to the characters' personalities with their stupidity, goofiness, blunders, obliviousness and/or quirks.
- They inspired the audience to face our obstacles without overthinking, which helps develop great courage and determination.
Bad Qualities
- It can be seen as a cliche, especially in anime, specifically when it comes to shonen protagonists.
- 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
- Akihisa Yoshii (Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu)
- Ash Ketchum
- Asta (Black Clover)
- Ben Tennyson
- Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Bill and Ted)
- Bullwinkle J. Moose
- Bonkers D. Bobcat
- Boyfriend (Friday Night Funkin')
- Crash Bandicoot
- Danny Rand (Iron Fist)
- Dave Lister (Red Dwarf)
- Dexter [An example of "Ditzy Genius", who is a boy genius but makes a lot of dumb decisions due to being a kid and not knowing any better]
- Donkey Kong
- Dudley Puppy
- 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 [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 the Human
- Frank Drebin (Police Squad and The Naked Gun)
- 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 (YouTube version) [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
- Gumball Watterson [Although he became more intelligent as the show went on]
- Greg Heffley [a kid who can be smart at times, but otherwise dumb in a naive & inexperienced way]
- Homer Simpson
- Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas) [Not an idiot by intelligence, but rather naive and sometimes too excitable to use common sense]
- Jacques Clouseau (The Pink Panther)
- Jaune Arc (RWBY) [Not too much of an idiot, more of a naive underachiever than anything else]
- Jimmy Neutron [Another example of a "Ditzy Genius", having very little common sense despite having high intelligence]
- Johnny Bravo
- 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!)
- Kiana Kaslana (Honkai Impact 3rd and Gun Girl Z)
- 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]
- Maxwell Smart (Get Smart)
- Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
- Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
- Naruto Uzumaki [not too much of an idiot, but rather a goofy and redeemable troublemaker than anything]
- Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)
- Oscar Proud (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 [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)
- Patrick Star
- Penrod "Penry" Pooch (Hong Kong Phooey)
- Philip J. Fry (Futurama)
- Po Ping (Kung Fu Panda) [being a goofball who can be insightful and wise rather than just an idiot]
- 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: [Before Planet Sheen, he was not that much of an idiot, but rather a comedic, hyperactive, impulsive & redeemable troublemaker than anything]
- Son Goku
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!) [Not exactly an idiot, but more on reckless in thinking]
- The Tick
- Timmy Turner [not as much of an idiot but rather a naive butt-monkey all things considered]
- Tommy Pickles
- 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
- Brennan and Dale Huff (Step Brothers) [blithering, idiotic, and hyperactive manchildren]
- Bubsy T. Bobcat [Where everything can go wrong, as always]
- Coconut Fred [Being a SpongeBob rip-off who actually predated seasons 6b and 7 of the latter's stupidity]
- Cool Cat (Saves the Kids/Fights the Coronavirus) [An blithering fool who's not only a 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) [Flanderized]
- Crash (Crash and Bernstein) [Who can be very entertaining and funny, but is poorly executed as a character]
- Morphman (1993)
- Black Star (Soul Eater) [Depending on your view]
- Norm of the North
- Pac-Man (The Ghostly Adventures) [This is better shown in the animated series in comparison to the games]
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