History Main / TheXenophile

* In ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure'', this is PinkHeroine Hikaru’s defining character trait. She is enthralled with meeting [[OctopoidAliens Prunce]] and [[HumanAliens Lala]] for the first time (pictured above) and even takes a moment to gush at how cool [[GalacticConqueror the villains]] look before realizing they want to abduct [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fuwa]]. All throughout the story, it’s safe to expect Hikaru to say, “[[{{Catchphrase}} Twincool!]]” every time she meets a new alien species or disembarks onto a new planet. When her father appears, this characteristic of hers turns out to be a major part of her GenerationXerox of him.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[DarkAndTroubledPast As a result of her extremely traumatic childhood in the Human Realm]] causing her to dive into fantasy novels, when Luz Noceda stumbles into the Boiling Isles, she soon finds herself enamoured with the place, as well as it's people. She happily dives headfirst into as many Demon Realm traditions as she can safely partake in, and is the one actively pushing [[ApatheticTeacher Eda]] to help her learn more about the Isles, it's Magic and it's inhabitants. While Luz happily seeks out friends from the Demon Realm, the prospect of interacting with other Humans her age, [[spoiler:or even just observing her adoptive Basilisk sister Vee interact with them, sends Luz into a full blown ''panic'']]. Tellingly, her mother Camila is the ''only'' other Human in Luz's FamilyOfChoice except [[spoiler:Hunter, and he's a clone of a Human visually indistinguishable from a Witch. She even goes the extra mile of having a loving Witch girlfriend in Amity, and after graduating High School, she moves to the Boiling Isles full-time to study at Eda's magic academy.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DexHamiltonAlienEntomologist'' is absolutely fascinated by all types of alien insects, be they tiny or [[BigCreepyCrawlies ginormous]].

* Kai Green from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' is, like Ben and Gwen, the grandchild of a [[MenInBlack Plumber]] and [[FreakyIsCool finds Ben's wolf-like transformation more interesting than Ben himself]] in her debut episode. By the time of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' she's become an AdventurerArchaeologist both with her grandfather and on her own, specifically seeking alien artifacts to share with the world and show how human history was affected by AncientAstronauts. Her xenophilic tendencies really show in ''Omniverse'' as she's friendlier to Ben when he's alien form (especially Blitzwolfer, the same alien Ben changed into when they first met) and has no small amount of BelligerentSexualTension with Ben in his regular form, [[spoiler: and they end up HappilyMarried in the future]].

* Franchise/MonsterVerse: Naturally, the majority of [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Monarch]]'s key staff are implied to have this kind of attitude towards the Titans they study pretty much by profession. It's even led to Vivienne Graham being MarriedToTheJob and both Serizawas who were part of Monarch having a WhenYouComingHomeDad relationship towards their respective sons.

* The eponymous character from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. As demonstrated in her now-famous introduction speech, she "has no interest in ordinary humans" and would much rather meet aliens, time travelers, espers, and other such phenomena. What she doesn't realize is that she's unknowingly drawn those exact kinds of people to her club.

* Kai Green from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' is, like Ben and Gwen, the grandchild of a [[MenInBlack Plumber]] and [[FreakyIsCool finds Ben's wolf-like transformation more interesting than Ben himself]] in her debut episode. By the time of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' she's become an AdventurerArchaeologist both with her grandfather and on her own, specifically seeking alien artifacts to share with the world and show how human history was affected by AncientAstronauts. Her xenophilic tendencies really show in ''Omniverse'' as she's friendlier to Ben when he's alien form (especially Blitzer Wolf, the same alien Ben changed into when they first met) and has no small amount of BelligerentSexualTension with Ben in his regular form, [[spoiler: and they end up HappilyMarried in the future]].

* Bren Cameron of Creator/CJCherryh's ''Literature/{{Foreigner}}'' series of books. Meant to be an envoy/translator from the human government to the native aliens, he essentially defects to the alien side.

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** This is something the Imperial Inquisition's ''Ordo Xenos'' works very hard to avert. It doesn't always work, however, due to the monumental size of the task, the subtlety of some of the aliens or the humans involved, and the simple fact that you typically [[AFateWorseThanDeath don't want to attract the attention of the Inquisition]].
*** Many Imperial citizens that live near the [[ALighterShadeOfGray Tau Empire]] are attracted to their "Greater Good" philosophy, tech that isn't thousands of years old and requires a techpriest or six to maintain, and its less brutal treatment of its citizens.

---> The Orks are the pinnacle of creation. For them, the great struggle is won. They have evolved a society which knows no stress or angst. Who are we to judge them? We Eldar who have failed, or the Humans, on the road to ruin in their turn? And why? Because we sought answers to questions that an Ork wouldn't even bother to ask! We see a culture that is strong and despise it as crude.

* In ''Manga/HeterogeniaLinguistico'', Hakaba and his mentor the Professor are anthropologists and linguists who only want to learn about the cultures and languages of nonhuman species like WolfMen, LizardFolk, and {{minotaur}}s.

*** Many Imperial citizens that live near the [[ALighterShadeOfGray Tau Empire]] are attracted to their "Greater Good" philosophy and its less brutal treatment of its citizens.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/Abraxashrodvitnon Vivienne Graham]], like in Franchise/MonsterVerse canon. She's always been particularly awestruck and enticed by the Titans, especially Godzilla, and a passionate and driven Monarch operative in that respect.

* Ellie Arroway from ''Film/{{Contact}}'', both the book and the movie -- at least when it comes to the ''idea'' of aliens and how to make contact with them.

* Dr. Newton AKA "Newt" from ''Film/PacificRim'' is a self-proclaimed {{Kaiju}} fanboy. His torso and arms are covered in various tattoos of the monstrous creatures, and he reacts to Hannibal Chau's Kaiju organ black market with a giddy {{Nerdgasm}}. [[BunnyEarsLawyer Naturally, he's also a leading expert on Kaiju physiology]].
* Dr. Powell from ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' is ''really'' enthusiastic about the idea of aliens and FirstContact, a fact that the Decepticons exploit to pass themselves off as the good guys and turn the US military against Bumblebee.

* Willis E. Davidge, from Barry Longyear's ''Literature/TheEnemyPapers'', turns out this way, getting a thorough education in Drac culture after being stranded on an ice planet with a Drac for quite a while. Note that he and the Drac were fighter pilots ''trying to kill each other in a war between the two species''. The original short story is named ''Enemy Mine'', and serves as the basis for the film example above. [[spoiler: In a subsequent story set in the same 'verse, ''The Last Enemy'', we learn he's devoted his ''life'' to teaching little dracs the way of Talman, the Drac equivalent of a holy book/history of science/scientific literature rolled into one.]]

* Many of ''Series/DoctorWho's'' companions seem to end up like this, so caught up with time travel they don't want to go back to their own time.
* Daniel Jackson of ''Series/StargateSG1'', seemingly much more at home interacting with the many different cultures and races he's met through the Stargate than he ever is on Earth. He is an anthropologist, after all.

* Being a loving homage to ''Franchise/StarTrek'', the crew of ''Series/TheOrville'' is this trope in spades. In one episode the entire crew is almost delirious with joy when they realize they've scored a FirstContact mission.

* In ''VideoGame/GalacticCivilizations II'', when culture suddenly booms it's credited to/blamed on the Xenophiles (Depending on whether your planets are deep in someone else's territory, or theirs are in yours)
* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' Xenophile/Xenophobe is one of the ethical axes that Empires can select. Xenophiles have a bonus to diplomatic relations and will tolerate mixed-species populations more readily.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Jadzia Dax gets along with Ferengi, humans, and not least Klingons, while Sisko falls in love with Bajoran culture to the point that he decides to build a house there. Despite being born on Earth, as the Prophets put it he is, like them, "OF Bajor".

Aliens can be IntriguedByHumanity or a FantasticAnthropologist, but what about the inverse -- when a ''human'' character is obsessed with everything alien? This is often an evolved NaiveNewcomer character in SpeculativeFiction, and serves the same function in being a go-between and (sometimes literal) translator between a strange alien culture and the reader/viewer. Unlike a NaiveNewcomer, however, the Xenophile doesn't need another character to tell them about the alien culture we meet -- they can provide all (or at least, most) of the exposition themselves, cheerfully and enthusiastically! In fact, they're so enthusiastic they probably have neglected their relationships with their fellow humans. In addition to appearing in ScienceFiction, this trope can also appear in Fantasy literature where a human character is enthusiastic about non-human races and cultures.

* The eponymous character from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. As demonstrated in her now-famous introduction speech, she "has no interest in ordinary humans" and would much rather meet aliens, time travelers, espers and other such phenomena. What she doesn't realize is that she's unknowingly drawn those exact kinds of people to her club.
* Solomon in ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'' is fascinated with the non-human races' culture and was like a child in a candyshop when a group of manticore beasts invited him to spend the night in their underground city.

* In ''Film/EnemyMine'', a human and a Drac pilot who are on opposites sides of an space war learn to set aside their racial and political differences to survive on a hostile planet. They start out trying to kill each other, but become good friends.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Jadzia Dax gets along with Ferengi, humans, and not least klingons, while Sisko falls in love with Bajoran culture to the point that he decides to build a house there. Despite being born on Earth, as the Prophets put it he is, like them, "OF Bajor".

*** Many Imperial citizens that live near the [[ALighterShadeOfGray Tau Empire]] are attracted to their "Greater Good" philosophy, and its less brutal treatment of its citizens.

** The Eldar philosopher Uthan the Perverse holds that the orks of all species are the superior society, since they aren't best known for ripping open a NegativeSpaceWedgie and birthing a GodOfEvil through millenia of sadistic hedonism, or for half their elite military forces siding with Chaos and their greatest leader stuck on life support for all eternity. Then again, the guy's epithet ''is'' "the Perverse", [[AntiRoleModel so...]]

** The Digganobz of the GaidenGame ''Gorkamorka'' are the descendants of humans who now seek to emulate the orks in every way they can, such as driving big impractical vehicles, shooting while shouting, daubing themselves in green facepaint and other violent activities, which the orks find hilarious in a "Bless 'im, 'e's tryin' so 'ard" way.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' Xenophile/Xenophobe is one of the ethical axis that Empires can select. Xenophiles have a bonus to diplomatic relations and will tolerate mixed-species populations more readily.

* Willis E. Davidge, from Barry Longyear's ''Literature/TheEnemyPapers'', turns out this way, getting a thorough education in Drac culture after being stranded on an ice planet with a Drac for quite a while. Note that he and the Drac were fighter pilots ''trying to kill each other in a war between the two species''. [[spoiler: In a subsequent story set in the same 'verse, ''The Last Enemy'', we learn he's devoted his ''life'' to teaching little dracs the way of Talman, the Drac equivalent of a holy book/history of science/scientific literature rolled into one.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}}'', Dmitri is known for sleeping with any species that is at least 50% sexually compatible with humans.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'', the titular character's grandfather Max Tennyson has had two official love interests in the past, and several implied love interests. They are all various types of alien [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe women]].

* In ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure'', this is PinkHeroine Hikaru’s defining character trait. She is enthralled with meeting [[OctopoidAliens Prunce]] and [[HumanAliens Lala]] for the first time (pictured above) and even takes a moment to gush at how cool [[GalacticConqueror the villains]] look before realizing they want to abduct [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fuwa]]. All throughout the story, it’s safe to expect Hikaru to say, “[[{{Catchphrase}} Twincool!]]” every time she meets a new alien species or disembarks onto a new planet. When her father appears, this characteristic of hers turns out to be InTheBlood.

** The Digganobz of the GaidenGame ''Gorkamorka'' are the descendants of humans who now seek to emulate the orks in every way they can, such as driving big impractical vehicles, shooting while shouting, and other activities which the orks find hilarious.

* In ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure'', this is PinkHeroine Hikaru's defining character trait. She is enthralled with meeting [[OctopoidAliens Prunce]] and [[HumanAliens Lala]] for the first time (pictured above) and even takes a moment to gush at how cool [[GalacticConqueror the villains]] look before realizing they want to abduct [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fuwa]]. All throughout the story, it's safe to expect Hikaru to say "[[{{Catchphrase}} Twincool!]]" every time she meets a new alien species or disembarks onto a new planet.

* [[Characters/GLGreenLanternCorps Sodam Yat]] was born and raised in an AbsoluteXenophobe society. That didn't stop him from befriending an alien named Tessog who crash-landed on Daxam. Sadly, his parents found out, murdered Tessog, and brainwashed their son to hate aliens again. Sodam only regained his memories when he saw his friend's stuffed corpse in a museum. He became disgusted with Daxam's xenophobia and spent years repairing Tessog's ship so he could leave Daxam forever. The courage and determination it took for him to do this made Sodam worthy of becoming a Green Lantern.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': This is something the Imperial Inquisition's ''Ordo Xenos'' works very hard to avert. It doesn't always work, however, due to the monumental size of the task, the subtlety of some of the aliens or the humans involved, and the simple fact that you typically [[AFateWorseThanDeath don't want to attract the attention of the Inquisition]].
** Many Imperial citizens that live near the [[ALighterShadeOfGray Tau Empire]] are attracted to their "Greater Good" philosophy, and its less brutal treatment of its citizens.
** Some members of the [[MachineWorship Adeptus Mechanicus]] are obsessed with the [[SkeleBot9000 Necrons]] and their mind-bogglingly advanced technology. And extreme fringe group of the Mechanicus consider the Necrons to be holy warriors. It doesn't help that the Machine God is possibly one of the Necron's own omnicidal deities [[SealedEvilInACan chained down and sealed away]]. Other, known as the Xenarites, study any alien technology they can get, under the reasoning that since all technology comes from the Machine God, all technology is sacred, even that of the Xenos.
** There's even a form of radical group in the inquisition known as the Xeno Hybris who believe that humanity has more to gain from cooperating with ([[BlackAndGrayMorality certain carefully selected]]) Xenos than through exterminating them.
** Not just humans: the Eldar philosopher Uthan the Perverse holds that the orks of all species are the superior society, since they aren't best known for ripping open a NegativeSpaceWedgie and birthing a GodOfEvil through millenia of sadistic hedonism, or for half their elite military forces siding with Chaos and their greatest leader stuck on life support for all eternity. Then again, the guy's epithet ''is'' "the Perverse", [[AntiRoleModel so...]]
---> The Orks are the pinnacle of creation. For them, the great struggle is won. They have evolved a society which knows no stress or angst. Who are we to judge them? We Eldar who have failed, or the Humans, on the road to ruin in their turn. And why? Because we sought answers to questions that an Ork wouldn't even bother to ask! We see a culture that is strong and despise it as crude.
** The Digganobz of the GaidenGame ''Gorkamorka'' are the descendants of humans who now seek to emulate the orks in every way they can, such as driving big impractical vehicles, shooting while shouting, and other activities which the orks find hilarious (the main reason ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' is considered a SpiritualSuccessor to Gorkamorka is because the War Boys are essentially Digganobz without the green bodypaint).

* The eponymous character from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''.

* In ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure'', this is PinkHeroine Hikaru's defining character trait. She is enthralled with meeting [[OctopoidAliens Prunce]] and [[HumanAliens Lala]] for the first time and even takes a moment to gush at how cool [[GalacticConqueror the villains]] look before realizing they want to abduct [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fuwa]]. All throughout the story, it's safe to expect Hikaru to say "[[{{Catchphrase}} Twincool!]]" every time she meets a new alien species or disembarks onto a new planet.