History Main / OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent

* ''Film/{{Transformers}}'': Sam Witwicky was just an Ordinary High School Student until he bought his first car. 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.

Whether or not they discover their PowersInTheFirstEpisode or merely receive a CallToAdventure that sends them on a [[IAmWho quest for their true nature]], it usually quickly becomes apparent they are anything but ordinary.

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

* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Kazuki was just a normal, if overly energetic, high school student until he got killed while trying to save a girl from a monster and was brought back to life by implanting a [[MacGuffin Kakugane]] into his chest as a replacement heart.

* Natsuki in the manga ''HoukagoXPonytail'' seems pretty normal, but she's a hardcore {{Shoujo}}-manga {{otaku}}, and got black belt in both karate and taekwondo.

%%* Kurusugawa Himeko in ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden''.

* Almost all of the [=HiME=] from ''Anime/MaiHime'' start out at this stage (although a few of them are [[IJustWantToBeNormal dead set on staying that way]]). Those that aren't ([[spoiler:Midori and Sister Yukariko]]) were Ordinary High School Teachers.

* Ayase Yuuto, the male protagonist of ''LightNovel/NogizakaHarukaNoHimitsu'', found out the [[TheOjou female protagonist's]] [[ClosetOtaku secret]] and the two of them became friends because of this since he didn't look down on her for this. Her fans can't understand what she sees in him.

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

* ''ComicBook/NewMutants'': 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.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* Justin is one in ''FanFic/KiraIsJustice'' besides for the fact he is a ShrinkingViolet and a little smarter than normal... until he receives the Death Note.
* Mary Jane Watson of ''FanFic/UltimateSpiderWoman'' was an Ordinary College Student when she began to develop her bizarre superhuman abilities, and continues to be one even as she tries to juggle a superhero career along with it.
* Jorge from ''FanFic/TheSecretLifeOfTheBackyardKids.'' Except he's not in high school, he's in middle school.

** ''FanFic/TheAwkwardAdventuresOfMeghanWhimblesby'' are about a nineteen-year-old high school student from South Carolina. Meghan was in class when she [[{{Fainting}} fainted]] from [[AfraidOfBlood the sight of blood]] and somehow woke in Middle-earth.
** In ''FanFic/HowToSurviveInMiddleEarthWhenYoureATeenagedGirl'', Priscilla is the teenaged girl of seventeen years from a cattle ranch near Magnolia, Texas. The story did not show Priscilla in school, but it was summer, when most schools have summer break.
** In ''FanFic/TimeWillTell'', Jorryn is sixteen years old when she falls into the Shire. This happens, not during school, but during the summer holiday of 2001. Jorryn is only four feet and five inches, short, but taller than a hobbit. Other than that, Jorryn is a generic girl from some small town in the USA.
* There are few of these floating around about these kinds of people being thrown into the world of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''. The fanfiction '' [[FanFic/{{RWBYReckoning}} RWBY Reckoning]]'' is considered by quite a few to be surprisingly well written.

* 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]].

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

*** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'': A group of Ordinary High School Students test an urban legend, only to find the world around them thrown off-kilter as demons invade.

* Battler, from ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''. All his powers to "fight" witches were granted by the witch herself, [[spoiler:at least at first]]. The "student" part of him doesn't get much focus, though, as the story take place on his off day, [[spoiler:what with him getting killed and all]].

* ''{{Franchise/Danganronpa}}'':

->''"I am Shirahama Kenichi, an extremely ordinary first-year high school student who loves reading books and growing flowers. But, for some reason now, '''I'm locked in a desperate battle on top of a speeding bus!"'''''

%%* Kurusugawa Himeko in ''Manga/KannazukiNoMiko''.

* Mahiro Yasaka from ''LightNovel/HaiyoreNyarkoSan'' is one of these who just happens to be in a LoveDodecahedron, and lives with, a group of [[LovecraftLite literal]] [[EldritchAbomination Lovecraftian]] [[MoeAnthropomorphism horrors]], [[UnfazedEveryman without somehow going permanently insane]]. It's revealed early on that his mother is a part-time Evil God Slayer, and he inherited her skill with [[ForkFencing forks]]. [[spoiler:The novels take it a step further, revealing that Mahiro can perceive and resist distortions in space-time, an extremely rare ability.]]

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' attempted this during its DorkAge by shoving Sonic, Bunnie and Rotor into a high school. It didn't last at all.

* Kaede of ''Manga/NininGaShinobuden'' was one of these. Until a HighlyVisibleNinja attempted to sneak into her room to steal her panties.

* Mikan Sakura from ''Manga/AliceAcademy'' who suddenly discovers she has a special ability called an [[AppliedPhlebotinum alice]] and is admitted to the Alice Academy. Though she is younger than a high-school student at the time.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'':
** Negi thinks early on that he'll need to hide his being a [[WizardsAndWitches Magister Magi]] from his class of ordinary middle school students... who just so happen to include an AntiMagic-capable princess ([[spoiler:Asuna]]), two ''Magistra Magi'' (Evangeline, [[spoiler:Chao]]), a MagicKnight [[spoiler:[[HalfHumanHybrid Half-Bird Tribe]]]] (Setsuna), [[GiveHimANormalLife two children]] of ''Magi'' ([[spoiler:Konoka and Yuna]]), a ''Ministra Magi'' ([[spoiler:Misora]]), a [[ColdSniper mercenary]], former ''Ministra Magi'', [[spoiler:[[OurDemonsAreDifferent and half-demon]]]] (Mana), [[spoiler:[[OurDemonsAreDifferent a full demon]]]] (Zazie), a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] (Evangeline again), a [[TimeTravel time traveler]] ([[spoiler:Chao again]]), a ghost (Sayo), a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot magic puppet/robot]] (Chachamaru), and a {{Ninja}} (Kaede); meaning that roughly a third his 31 students are [[EverybodyKnewAlready already in on his secret or have one of their own]]. One can just imagine LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya kicking herself for not enrolling in Mahora Academy.
** The animes didn't wait as long, being only one season each (compared to the {{Long Runner|s}} manga), and made all the {{Muggles}} abnormal in the season finale.
** If you stop and think of it, there were only ''four'' Ordinary High School Students (Nodoka, Haruna, Misa, and Madoka) to start with, although exactly how involved they were varied greatly. Yue, for example, didn't know anything about magic but knew that Mana, Kaede and Ku Fei were some type of mercenaries who would be able to help fight monsters.
** As of 34 volumes in, only [[spoiler:two]] characters in his class are not supernatural, either due to the above list, training from another, or a pactio.

* Notable among these incarnations is Kazuki Yotsuga from ''Anime/ParallelTroubleAdventureDual'', who is also the HumongousMecha Zinv.

* The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series centers on Ordinary High School Students and the friends they make along the way dealing with paranormal phenomena and in general trying to protect the world from otherworldly entities. To wit:
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'': A group of Ordinary High School Students test an urban legend, only to find the world around them thrown off-kilter as demons invade.
** ''VideoGame/Persona2'': Ordinary High School Student Tatsuya Suou and his friends must get to the bottom of a strange force that causes rumors in Sumaru City to become reality.
** ''VideoGame/Persona3'': A group of Ordinary High School Students (plus a dog and an android) investigate a mysterious tower crawling with monsters that appears from beneath their school every night at midnight.
** ''VideoGame/Persona4'': A group of Ordinary High School Students (plus a bear mascot) investigate an alternate dimension hidden within televisions, which a serial killer is using to conduct their murders.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': A group of Ordinary High School Students (plus a talking cat, a shut-in and later a detective[[spoiler: who is actually a criminal]] and [[spoiler:a mockery of]] an accomplished gymnast) investigate an alternate dimension formed by the twisted desires of those who abuse their power.

* Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''.

* Many (though not all) recent ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games feature Ordinary High School Students as protagonists. Something usually happens to make them considerably less ordinary, [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor such as finding a computer that can summon demons]], [[VideoGame/{{Persona}} learning to call forth entities from the inside of their mind]], [[VideoGame/DevilSummoner being forced to share their body with a Devil Summoner]], [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne or being turned into a demon after witnessing the end of the world]].

** ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'': A group of Ordinary High School Students test an urban legend, only to find the world around them thrown off-kilter as demons invade.

* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'' series centers on Ordinary High School Students and the friends they make along the way dealing with paranormal phenomena and in general trying to protect the world from otherworldly entities. To wit:

Either way, now they have to WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld.

%%* Aya Mikage in ''Manga/AyashiNoCeres''.

They're revealed to be reincarnated ancient heroes or alien princesses RaisedByHumans. They suddenly find a use for the [[ChekhovsSkill obscure skill or art]] they've been practicing since they could walk, or they discover their entire life has been a SecretTestOfCharacter to prepare them for [[WithGreatPower a great responsibility]]. They find out their SecretLegacy as heirs to a BadassFamily of demon hunters, wizards, or {{Yakuza}}. They find an ancient mystical MacGuffin in their attic, buy one for a few coins from a junk dealer, or are given one by a mysterious stranger on their DangerousSixteenthBirthday. They suddenly gain a TricksterMentor or a MagicalGirlfriend. They establish secret identities as a HenshinHero or a MagicalGirlWarrior, find a way to channel KiAttacks, summon a powerful GuardianEntity or [[FallingIntoTheCockpit fall into the cockpit]] of a HumongousMecha.

* 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 [[SpacePirates mother]] fighting 24/7.]]

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

** Negi thinks early on that he'll need to hide his being a [[WizardsAndWitches Magister Magi]] from his class of ordinary middle school students... who just so happen to include an AntiMagic-capable [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] ([[spoiler:Asuna]]), two ''Magistra Magi'' (Evangeline, [[spoiler:Chao]]), a MagicKnight [[spoiler:[[HalfHumanHybrid Half-Bird Tribe]]]] (Setsuna), [[GiveHimANormalLife two children]] of ''Magi'' ([[spoiler:Konoka and Yuna]]), a ''Ministra Magi'' ([[spoiler:Misora]]), a [[ColdSniper mercenary]], former ''Ministra Magi'', [[spoiler:[[OurDemonsAreDifferent and half-demon]]]] (Mana), [[spoiler:[[OurDemonsAreDifferent a full demon]]]] (Zazie), a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]] (Evangeline again), a [[TimeTravel time traveler]] ([[spoiler:Chao again]]), a ghost (Sayo), a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot magic puppet/robot]] (Chachamaru), and a {{Ninja}} (Kaede); meaning that roughly a third his 31 students are [[EverybodyKnewAlready already in on his secret or have one of their own]]. One can just imagine LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya kicking herself for not enrolling in Mahora Academy.

* ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya'': Illya is an ordinary elementary school student living an ordinary life when she gets a talking magical wand that tells her she needs to become a MagicalGirl and collect the Class Cards. What makes this notable is that in ''Fate/Stay Night'' (below) she was very much ''not'' ordinary. She was a Master of the Holy Grail War, [[OlderThanTheyLook actually eighteen]], and fully prepared to slaughter anyone besides her adopted brother Shirou (who didn't know they were related). ''Fate/Kaleid'' implies very strongly that the only reason Illya was able to live a normal life was because her parents [[RoaringRampageOfRescue slaughtered the rest of the family]], who would have used her as a tool.

* Emiya Shirou from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is sort of this. Sure, he's the adopted son of a magus and (unknowingly) possesses his own magic circuits, but his own magic isn't useful for anything other than [[MundaneUtility fixing radios]]. Until such time as it makes him a candidate to [[MagicContractRomance summon]] [[LadyOfWar Saber]]...

** A later manga episode [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded it]]. When the principal organized a contest of physical prowess among the classes one student immediately protested that one class had an unfair advantage due the presence of students with superhuman abilities. Ataru, Lum, Mendo and Ryunosuke agreed that those students had to be equalized... Only to realize too late they were speaking of ''themselves'': Ataru was incredibly fast, Lum could fly (to be fair she's an alien, and on her planet it's normal), Mendo's arms were so strong he could break a bronze bell from the inside and Ryunosuke had {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s!

*** Though even a Level 0 is technically an esper, emitting their own AIM fields and as well as experiencing harmful backlash if they attempt to use magic. Its just that their ability to bend reality is so insignificant its practically nonexistent. The only people that could be truly called ordinary are those who have not gone through the power curriculum program.

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