History Main / OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': A group of Ordinary High School Students (plus a talking cat, a shut-in and a [[spoiler:mockery of an ]]accomplished gymnast) investigate an alternate dimension formed by the twisted desires of those who abuse their power.

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': A group of Ordinary High School Students (plus a talking cat and a shut-in) investigate an alternate dimension formed by the twisted desires of those who abuse their power.

** ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'': Hajime Hinata and Nagito Komaeda, [[spoiler:at least initially. Despite Komaeda's title being the same as Naegi's and the fact that he got into Hope's Peak under the ''exact'' same circumstances (lottery), he's stated to have ''legitimate, extreme fluctuations between good luck and bad luck'' on top of being a rare [[BitchInSheepsClothing villainous]] example, having [[AxCrazy a personality]] [[KnightTemplar that is anything]] [[BlueAndOrangeMorality but ordinary]]. Hinata, however, is revealed to have ''no'' outstanding talent, and is ''actually'' an Ordinary High School Student from one of the reserve groups. At least, before his [[UltimateLifeForm transformation]] that he underwent out of hatred for being ordinary]].
** ''VideoGame/AbsoluteDespairGirls'': Komaru Naegi tops them all: she's not even ''associated'' with Hope's Peak, thus making her the most truly ordinary protagonist in the series. Heck, she was supposed to have died with her parents in the beginning. Probably the only thing that makes her stand out from other targets is the fact that she's a Naegi, specifically the sister of original protagonist Makoto. Kanon from the ''Ultra Despair Hagakure'' spinoff also fits the mold, with her standout trait being she's related to one of the first game's students.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Walter Denton and Harriet Conklin meet the bill, although Harriet's somewhat atypical in the fact her father is the high school ''principal''. Neither are the program's protagonist, that honor goes to English teacher [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Miss Brooks]].

* ''Series/{{Roswell}}'' had this as the main hook for the series (and helped pioneer the genre). Max in particular strives to appear as "average" as possible.

Sometimes, instead of gaining superpowers or TakingALevelInBadass, they merely become a WeirdnessMagnet: for example, they gain ''something'' that makes the [[ChickMagnet opposite sex flock to them]], and possibly the [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer odd member]] [[EvenTheGuysWantHim of their own]], whether they [[UnwantedHarem want the attention or not]]. Or they are a CosmicPlaything who frequently find themselves in the unenviable position of having to SaveTheWorld [[{{Muggle}} without any special powers]].

* Keiichi in ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' (although he's more an ordinary college freshman).

* Hayate and Ayumu started off as this in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', the rest of the cast being between {{Child Prodigy}} and {{Teen Genius}}, and a few {{Ojou}} just to top off the cake.

* Yashiro Isana of ''Anime/{{K}}'', thinks he's this at the beginning of the series, even though he's already had his cat turn into [[InnocentFanserviceGirl a naked girl]], and an anachronistic {{Bishonen}} swordsman after him because he's been framed for a murder. [[spoiler: He ends up being one of the more extreme cases of not-so-ordinary - a 90 year old immortal scientist, body-swapped and memory wiped. He's actually only been in school for under two weeks, and all of his memories before that are fake, courtesy of that psychic cat girl]].
** Averted with everyone else - the few under-20 characters in the rest of the class aren't in school. [[spoiler: Shiro himself ends up as a teacher]].

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''

** The animes didn't wait as long, being only one season each (compared to the LongRunner manga), and made all the {{Muggles}} abnormal in the season finale.

* Luluco of ''Anime/SpacePatrolLuluco'' tried so ''hard'' to be this in the beginning of the show, and for the most part it worked. [[spoiler: Her plea for normalcy isn't unfounded, since most of her childhood was her [[CopsAndDetectives father]] and [[SpacePirate mother]] fighting 24/7.]]

** After being avoided in ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', this trope returnes into effect in ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' and ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' as [[YoungerAndHipper Ordinary Middle School Students]]; though in the latter case, it applies to the protagonist's female ChildhoodFriend as well, and it dances into the territory of {{Deconstruction}} in a manner not unlike ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' listed above.

* Manga/{{Nichijou}} literally means "my ordinary life" but the events that happen during that life are [[Main/BlatantLies anything but...]]

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''

* Doug Ramsey was a kid from suburban New York who was good at languages and didn't know any different until he was informed by an acquaintance from the [[Comicbook/XMen odd boarding school nearby]] that he was in fact a mutant the with powers of... [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway comprehending languages]]... and dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to come establish communications with a potentially-hostile alien.

* Mineko from ''Manga/HeliosEclipse''.

* Suzaku in ''FanFic/MyMirrorSwordAndShield'' is ordinary high school student making average grades who ends up time-travelling in his adoptive father’s time machine and ends up as an AcePilot for the EvilEmpire warring with his native people. Despite the hints of Suzaku having his canonical relations and backstory, he retains his backstory of being a normal person and [[spoiler: willingly goes back to normalcy in the end.]]

* The film and book of Stephen King's ''Film/{{Carrie}}'', and the film sequel, ''Film/TheRageCarrie2''.
* Sam Witwicky was just an Ordinary High School Student until he bought his first car. [[Film/{{Transformers}} Turns out it was an alien robot.]] [[WeKnewIt Who knew?]] His special quality is just being the great-grandkid of the man who found Megatron.

* ''Literature/BattleRoyale''
* Jerry Renault, unexpected instigator of Literature/TheChocolateWar.

* Ben was this before he was Literature/TrappedOnDraconica--and, in defiance of what almost always happens next, he '''stays''' ordinary. [[spoiler:By the time he finds out that he has a unique power to travel between worlds, at the end of the story, Dronor says he has to take it away from him to make sure a villain never gets their hands on it again]].
* Tsuruhara Iori and Aragaki Koji in ''Literature/WarAndSnowflakes''. [[spoiler:Aragaki, it is revealed, is not so ordinary: he had been conscripted to be a [[HumongousMecha titan]] pilot until a training accident made him unable to be a pilot, and left him with uncanny mechanical abilities]].

* David Rain from ''[[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]]'' is an Ordinary College Student. [[spoiler:For awhile]].

* Scott McCall from ''Series/TeenWolf'' was an ordinary high school student (and asthmatic, no less, which severely curtailed his attempts to make the lacrosse team) until he was bitten by a werewolf.

* Kyo Kusanagi in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'', although as the series went on his high school student image was dropped entirely (it's also been implied that he never attends high school at all due to his constant fighting).
** And according to the ''Maximum Impact'' series, he's spent so much time fighting and training that he still hasn't graduated from high school.

* Fei from ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' plays almost every part of this troupe. Yeah, he knew martial arts, but he thought it was just "normal" martial arts. Besides [[spoiler:knowing martial arts that can destroy God and giant robots]], he's also the only one that can pilot a special [[HumongousMecha gears]], which turns out to be the super-ultra-special one in the title. [[spoiler:He is also secretly one of the most powerful beings in the game's universe, whom "God" gave his power to]]. While he is utterly oblivious to all or this at the beginning, [[spoiler:he has several split personalities, one of which has shut himself off from the world, and another of which is an utter sociopath who makes full use of his godly power]].

* Darren Michaels is this in the second ''VideoGame/BlackMirrorVideoGames'' game.

** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'': The Ultimate Luckster, Makoto Naegi, considered himself one, since he was picked to go to elite academy Hope's Peak by winning a lottery. His only outstanding trait is that [[ThePollyanna he tends to be more optimistic than others]]. [[spoiler:Not so ordinary anymore when [[HopeBringer that same optimism]] helps defeat the BigBad [[IHaveManyNames Monokuma/the Mastermind/Junko Enoshima/the True Ultimate Despair]]]].

* Mike Cosley from ''Webcomic/{{Bardsworth}}.''

* Cei from ''Webcomic/{{Falconhyrste}}.''

* ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl'' has a cast of them.

* The main character in ''Literature/TheFiniteLifeOfADatingSimHeroine'' is one of these.
* Yu Jin of ''TAL''. [[spoiler:Partly subverted, however, when Ei Mae Tal tells him he likely is older than he thinks]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'': Ben was this, but was the star of the (apparently hugely popular for high school) soccer team at the end of the TimeSkip.
** Well, he was the goalie anyway.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'': Doug Funnie is an Ordinary Elementary School Student in the Nick show and an Ordinary Middle School Student in the Disney one.

* Virgil from ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' was this, until the Big Bang gave him (and a bunch of other people) superpowers.

* The Ultimate Luckster, Makoto Naegi of ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'', considered himself one, since he was picked to go to elite academy Hope's Peak by winning a lottery. His only outstanding trait is that [[ThePollyanna he tends to be more optimistic than others]]. [[spoiler:Not so ordinary anymore when [[HopeBringer that same optimism]] helps defeat the BigBad [[IHaveManyNames Monokuma/the Mastermind/Junko Enoshima/the True Ultimate Despair]]]].
** Hajime Hinata and Nagito Komaeda of the [[VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2 sequel game]] also qualify, [[spoiler:at least initially. Despite Komaeda's title being the same as Naegi's and the fact that he got into Hope's Peak under the ''exact'' same circumstances (lottery), he's stated to have ''legitimate, extreme fluctuations between good luck and bad luck'' on top of being a rare [[BitchInSheepsClothing villainous]] example, having [[AxCrazy a personality]] [[KnightTemplar that is anything]] [[BlueAndOrangeMorality but ordinary]]. Hinata, however, is revealed to have ''no'' outstanding talent, and is ''actually'' an Ordinary High School Student from one of the reserve groups. At least, before his [[UltimateLifeForm transformation]] that he underwent out of hatred for being ordinary]].
** Komaru Naegi of ''[[VideoGame/AbsoluteDespairGirls Ultra Despair Girls]]'' tops them all: she's not even ''associated'' with Hope's Peak, thus making her the most truly ordinary protagonist in the series. Heck, she was supposed to have died with her parents in the beginning. Probably the only thing that makes her stand out from other targets is the fact that she's a Naegi, specifically the sister of original protagonist Makoto. Kanon from the ''Ultra Despair Hagakure'' spinoff also fits the mold, with her standout trait being she's related to one of the first game's students.

See FarmBoy for their rural counterpart. Many, MANY Japanese media live off this trope. For ordinary high school studrnts doing ordinary things, you're better off looking for a SchoolgirlSeries or a SliceOfLife than one of these guys.

Look for [[HollywoodDressCode the kid in the fully open button shirt over a T-shirt, jeans and Converse sneakers]]. If Japanese, an open blazer with slacks or a gakuran will do.
See FarmBoy for their rural counterpart. Many, MANY Japanese media live off this trope. For ordinary high school studrnts doing ordinary things, you're better off looking for a SchoolgirlSeries or a SliceOfLife than one of these guys.

Look for [[HollywoodDressCode the kid in the fully open button shirt over a T-shirt, jeans and Converse sneakers]].
See FarmBoy for their rural counterpart. Many, MANY animes live off this trope.

* The Ultimate Luckster, Makoto Naegi of ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'', considered himself one, since he was picked to go to elite academy Hope's Peak by winning a lottery. His only outstanding trait is that he tends to be more optimistic than others. [[spoiler: Not so ordinary anymore when that same optimism helps defeat the Mastermind, Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Despair]].
** Hajime Hinata and Nagito Komaeda of the [[VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2 sequel game]] also qualify, [[spoiler:at least at first. Despite Komaeda's title being the same as Naegi's and the fact that he got into Hope's Peak under the ''exact'' same circumstances (lottery), he's stated to have ''legitimate, extreme fluctuations between good luck and bad luck'' on top of having a personality that is anything but ordinary. Hinata, however, is revealed to have ''no'' outstanding talent, and is ''actually'' an Ordinary High School Student from one of the reserve groups. At least, before his [[TheAce transformation]]]] that he underwent out of hatred for being ordinary.
** Komaru of ''[[VideoGame/AbsoluteDespairGirls Ultra Despair Girls]]'' tops them all: she's not even ''associated'' with Hope's Peak, thus making her the truly most ordinary protagonist in the series. Heck, she was supposed to have died with her parents in the beginning. Probably the only thing that makes her stand out from other targets is the fact that she's a Naegi. Kanon from the ''Ultra Despair Hagakure'' spinoff also fits the mold, with her standout trait being she's related to one of the first game's students.

* Ken Kaneki in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' is an Ordinary College Student who wants to go on a date with a cute girl. Then she turns out to be a [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier ghoul]] and tries to eat him. One accident involving steel beams and an organ transplant later, and Kaneki is now a one-eyed ghoul- the most powerful kind of ghoul. He soon gets dragged into a turf war between an AntiHumanAlliance and a [[HunterOfMonsters ghoul-hunting organization]]. However, [[{{Deconstruction}} unlike most examples of this trope]], this is played for ''[[PlayedForDrama tragedy]]''- poor Kaneki endures a horrifying TraumaCongaLine, and it’s [[MemeticMutation frequently pointed out]] that all this horror is happening to ''an ordinary guy who just wanted a date''. The second BigBad even confirms that Kaneki happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and was not personally a factor in his plans at all. Kaneki is less TheChosenOne who’s destined to [[SavingTheWorld save the world]] and more the UnluckyEverydude who undeservingly became the world’s [[TheWoobie punching bag]]. [[spoiler:[[{{Reconstruction}} However-however]], he ''[[EarnYourHappyEnding does]]'' ultimately become the new One-Eyed King, defeats the villains, and saves the world, after [[TookALevelInBadass taking a dozen levels in badass]].]]

* A few protagonists are this in the ''Franchise/SuperRobotWars'' series. Most notable is Touya Shun of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsJudgment'' who was an Ordinary High School student (who went to school with the protagonists of ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'' and ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'') until a HumongousMecha crashed into his school.

* Takeru in ''Franchise/MuvLuv'' is a typical harem protagonist [[spoiler:who is dragged into an alternate {{crapsack|World}} universe]].

* As with most MagicalGirl series, the main characters of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' fall into this category (mostly in the Ordinary Middle School Student variant) before gaining supernatural powers. The WeaselMascot, Kyubey, even mentions that it's strange [[spoiler:how much karmic potential the TitleCharacter seems to have, since girls who fall into this category really shouldn't be that significant]]. As with most typical genre tropes, [[spoiler:the show brutally [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] this. It turns out that ordinary teenagers aren't the greatest fighters and actually tend to die horribly when forced to fight monsters]].

* Lain in ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain''. She gets progressively less ordinary (along with the show.)
* Sakai Yuuji of ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana''. All extraordinary traits he has he owe to an [[{{MacGuffin}} artifact]] he received out of luck. Unusually, we never learn how long he's had it.

* Ken Kaneki in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' is an Ordinary College Student who wants to go on a date with a cute girl. Then she turns out to be a [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier ghoul]] and tries to eat him. One accident involving steel beams and an organ transplant later, and Kaneki is now a one-eyed ghoul- the most powerful kind of ghoul. He soon gets dragged into a turf war between an AntiHumanAlliance and a [[HunterOfMonsters ghoul-hunting organization]]. However, [[{{Deconstruction}} unlike most examples of this trope]], this is played for ''[[PlayedForDrama tragedy]]''- poor Kaneki endures a horrifying TraumaCongaLine, and it’s [[MemeticMutation frequently pointed out]] that all this horror is happening to ''an ordinary guy who just wanted a date''. The second BigBad even confirms that Kaneki happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and was not personally a factor in his plans at all. Kaneki is less TheChosenOne who’s destined to [[SavingTheWorld save the world]] and more the UnluckyEverydude who undeservingly became the world’s [[TheWoobie punching bag]]. [[spoiler:[[{{Reconstruction}} However-however]], he ''[[EarnYourHappyEnding does]]'' ultimately become the new One-Eyed King, defeat the villains, and saves the world, after [[TookALevelInBadass taking a dozen levels in badass]].]]

* Ken Kaneki in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' is an Ordinary College Student who wants to go on a date with a cute girl. Then she turns out to be a [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier ghoul]] and tries to eat him. One accident involving steel beams and an organ transplant later, and Kaneki is now a one-eyed ghoul- the most powerful kind of ghoul. He soon gets dragged into a turf war between an AntiHumanAlliance and a [[HunterOfMonsters ghoul-hunting organization]]. However, unlike most examples of this trope, this is played for ''[[PlayedForDrama tragedy]]''- poor Kaneki endures a horrifying TraumaCongaLine, and it’s [[MemeticMutation frequently pointed out]] that all this horror is happening to ''an ordinary guy who just wanted a date''. The second BigBad even confirms that Kaneki happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and was not personally a factor in his plans at all. Kaneki is less TheChosenOne who’s destined to [[SavingTheWorld save the world]] and more the UnluckyEverydude who undeservingly became the world’s [[TheWoobie punching bag]].

** The original Rangers were the trope namers for RecruitTeenagersWithAttitude. By ''Turbo'', the founders had all graduated, and by ''Space'' the high school concept was left behind. It wasn't revisited until [[Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder Dino Thunder]], which brought back an original Ranger as a ''teacher''.

Protagonists based on this trope are typically invoked to provide an AudienceSurrogate. Considering the demographic works with these protagonists are generally aimed at, the OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent is someone every young person can easily relate to and [[EscapistCharacter place themselves into]]. By extension, such a character also appeals to [[PeripheryDemographic older viewers]] for a similar reason. The character may additionally be TheEveryman or a RidiculouslyAverageGuy.

* The ''Literature/{{Percy Jackson|AndTheOlympians}}'' series does this. Although, to be fair, he is an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary Middle School Student]] for most of the books.

* Mia from ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'' is an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who turns out to be a princess of a minor European principality. Unfortunately, it is not the case that EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses.

* Taylor from ''{{Literature/Worm}}'' used to be one. Then she got superpowers.

** Komaru of ''[[VideoGame/UltraDespairGirlsDanganRonpaAnotherEpisode Ultra Despair Girls]]'' tops them all: she's not even ''associated'' with Hope's Peak, thus making her the truly most ordinary protagonist in the series. Heck, she was supposed to have died with her parents in the beginning. Probably the only thing that makes her stand out from other targets is the fact that she's a Naegi. Kanon from the ''Ultra Despair Hagakure'' spinoff also fits the mold, with her standout trait being she's related to one of the first game's students.

* Cei from ''Webcomic/{{Falconhyrste{{.''

* A few protagonists are this in the ''Franchise/SuperRobotWars'' series. Most notable is Touya Shun of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsJudgement'' who was an Ordinary High School student (who went to school with the protagonists of ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'' and ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'') until a HumongousMecha crashed into his school.