Universally Beloved Leader

"The Lienid love their princes."

— Graceling Realm

There are rulers whom everyone hates. There are plain old bad rulers. There are useless rulers. Then there are characters such as The High Queen, The Good King, The Wise Prince, and those who do their job so well they have Vetinari Job Security.

And then there are people with this.

Everyone loves them. They aren't just loyal. They aren't just grateful to have these rulers in charge. They actually care about their rulers on a personal level. A simple request — not an order, but an appeal — will get immediate results. They will be hugely honored when a favor is granted to them. Threatening or insulting their ruler triggers anger. If a ruler is sick or hurt, they'll worry like it's their own family. They follow wherever the rulers lead but never forget that they're human. These rulers have a 100% Adoration Rating. They are almost always Royals Who Actually Do Something and almost always Modest Royalty. Even their enemies (unless they're the worst of scum) will acknowledge their virtue, viewing them as Worthy Opponents.

Subtrope to Loved by All, which deals with any character, not just authority figures, being loved by everyone else in the story.

Contrast 0% Approval Rating. An adventurer (not a ruler) treated this way has a 100% Heroism Rating. Compare and contrast Villain with Good Publicity, where their high adoration rating conceals the fact that they're actually the bad guy. Compare Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond, where an almost Hundred Percent Adoration Rating just isn't enough. Much like 0% Approval Rating, this trope is also about impossible in Real Life, as even some of the most admired leaders (and puppies) are bound to have some dissidents who oppose them for one reason or the other, whether said reason is trivial or not. After all, different people looking at the same things are known to want something different out of them. It is, however, common in myths, 'official' histories, and propaganda. Claiming a Hundred Percent Adoration Rating is common in the People's Republic of Tyranny.

noreallife

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Examples

Anime & Manga

• The Wizard King, Julius Novachrono, in Black Clover is beloved by everyone in the kingdom for his kindness and power, and deeply respected by all the Magic Knights captains. So much so that the actual, unpopular king is very jealous of it and gets pouty when reminded of this fact.
• Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School has Chiaki Nanami. She is the teacher's favorite student and was unanimously elected as Class Rep. Sadly, this ends up being Played for Drama when Junko subjects the rest of the class to her prolonged execution in order to drive them into despair. It's also revealed that the Chiaki AI from Danganronpa 2 was created by scanning the memories of the class for the most trusted authority figure in each of their lives. The AI was supposed to combine traits from everyone's results in order to create its personality, but everyone's result was Chiaki, so the AI just became her. The fact that even devoted Momma's Boy Teruteru subconsciously picked Chiaki over his own mother really says something.
• Iskander, better known as Alexander the Great in Fate/Zero. He's not a moral character by modern standards, but his subjects — especially his army — loved him in life and would have followed him to the ends of creation. These feelings are are what form his greatest Noble Phantasm: Ionioi Hetairoi, a Reality Marble which calls forth an entirely new landscape alongside his army, who prove they're all too happy to fight for their king even in death.
  • Not just his subjects: the one named member of his army is Mithrenes, a former enemy^note As the son of the satrap of Armenia, Mithrenes was a Persian subject and the commander of Sardis' garrison. After Iskander won the Battle of the Granicus against the armies of the local satraps, Mithrenes surrendered the city, and by the time of the decisive Battle of Gaugamela was a full member of Iskander's army, fighting against his own father.. Even his Master in the Grail War, Waver Velvet, ends up declaring himself his retainer, and since Heroic Spirits like Iskander (and thus his Noble Phantasm) explicitly exist outside of time, allowing heroes to be summoned from the future as well as the past, it's entirely plausible that Waver is already a part of Ionioi Hetairoi.
• Fist of the North Star: The citizens of the post-apocalyptic world live in fear and suffering, being abused by roving gangs of raiders and besieged by ruthless warlord... until Kenshiro walks into town. He is SO adored by the common folk that he has the nickname "Savior of Century's End."
• In Fullmetal Alchemist, Fuhrer King Bradley may be a military dictator, but it's clear throughout the series that his people hold him in very high regard. Late in the manga, when it is announced that he has possibly been killed in action, the populace's response isn't "Hooray, the dictator's dead!" but "Oh, Crap!! What'll we do!? How can we continue?" Roy Mustang immediately exploits this, protecting Bradley's wife and claiming that his rebellion is actually fighting on Bradley's behalf against traitors within his government. At the very end: the heroes realize that exposing Bradley's crimes against Amestris and his leading role in a Government Conspiracy would just lead to massive unrest, so they claim that he was an innocent victim, and died a heroic death fighting against the conspirators.
• Golden Kamuy's Lieutenant Tsurumi puts a dark twist on the trope. His 7th Division's opinions on him range from fanatical Undying Loyalty to out-and-out gay crushes, which he directly cultivated through his affable demeanor, insane charisma, and personally helping each and every one of his men through personal crises that he often had a hand in, if not directly orchestrated. The exception is Private Usami, who was already infatuated with him and ready to kill over it right from the start; he's the reason Tsurumi got the idea in the first place.
  Tsurumi: How do you get a man to shoot another man? That is a question all commanders have to ask themselves. One could use fear, or authority. I chose to use love.
• In Kyo Kara Maoh!, to know Yuuri is to love Yuuri. And once he starts getting out there and doing things, having met him is no longer a prerequisite. Thousands of years of racism can be eroded by his smile.
• Reinhard von Lohengramm from Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Once he becomes the ruler of the Galactic Empire, after winning a civil war, the common people, reform nobles, and military love him to death.
• Though she isn't the ruler (her father is the democratically-elected Chairman of the ruling council), Lacus Clyne of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny is held in this regard by ZAFT. She is held up as a paragon of kindness and gentleness (which, honestly, she kind of is), and a few words from her are enough to calm the population down from sheer panic and rage over the Earth attacking them with nukes. She actually does end up taking control of the PLANTs following the Second Bloody Valentine War, gaining her father's old position as Chairwoman of the PLANT Supreme Council.
• In My Hero Academia:
  • All Might is beloved by everyone as he is the Symbol of Peace. He, of course, is a very upstanding person himself who very often inspires everyone around him to do better. So when he is forced to retire after his battle with All for One, the public is understandably devastated and can't for the life of them like Endeavor to be a fitting replacement, since despite being extremely competent (in a few areas such as detective work even more competent than All Might) he is the whole opposite of All Might's public image. He is trying to make amends for his horrible reputation, though.
  • Then right next to Best Jeanist is Hawks, and it isn't hard to see how people adore him for his easygoing nature and charismatic attitude. He is most likely to get crowded on the street and spend the time taking selfies and giving out autographs.
• It was apparently the same for Arika in Negima! Magister Negi Magi, before she was framed and scapegoated for the war and Omnicidal Maniac terrorists. And even then, most of her people don't believe a word of it. One of her former subjects (who is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold) even compared her to an angel.
• In One Piece, there are a few examples of this.
  • King Cobra and his family are normally treated this way in their home country Alabasta until Crocodile shows up.
  • King of Dressrossa Donquixote Doflamingo seems to be adored throughout the Kingdom, to the extent that when the news that he 'abdicated' became public, the citizens went into mass panic. He remains popular even after that, as the crowd in the Corrida Colosseum cheered and respected the laws his underlings proclaimed and furiously glared at Franky for speaking ill of their king.
    • Of course, this does a complete 180 when Sugar is defeated causing everyone's memories to be restored. The country immediately erupts into war.
  • The previous king, Riku Doldo III, even more so. A flashback shows that when an enemy tried to extort King Riku for a ridiculous amount of money, Riku proceeded to beg his subjects to lend him all their money to pay it off. He had been forbidden from saying anything about the threat to his citizens or foreign powers, so he couldn't explain himself. Yet it's implied he might well have succeeded had said enemy not proceeded to sabotage him.
    • And then, after the war is over, it doesn't matter if the citizens are poor or if their country is vulnerable. They still want him to be the king.
  • Iceberg, the Mayor of Water 7, is also this, which makes sense since he's a master shipbuilder in a shipbuilding town who united the various building companies together to create an economic boom for the entire island. When he gets shot, everyone in town is worried sick and driven to bring his captors to justice at all costs.
• In Regalia: The Three Sacred Stars, Empress Yuinshiel Asteria is beloved by her subjects. Being a cute girl probably helps.
• In That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Rimuru Tempest is so well-loved by the people of the Kingdom of Tempest for his Nice Guy attitude and his acts of kindness towards them that everyone, from the lowest citizen to his highest-rank officer, would happily gush about him if you asked them to. Many of them are so grateful to him that they perceive any mocking or disrespect towards him as an affront to themselves.
• In Sailor Moon, Neo-Queen Serenity is this in Crystal Tokyo. She took the position of queen of the world at the insistence of most of the population of Earth and proceeded to usher in an era of unparalleled peace and prosperity.
• Princess Sakura from Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-, it only takes her to mention she likes apples for her to be presented with a bunch of them next time she's in town. This also extends to most people she meets in her travels.
• Both Atem and his father seem to have this in Yu-Gi-Oh! — the former for defeating Zorc, being the 'chosen Pharaoh' and continuing his father's dream of peace, and the latter for carrying what seemed to be a long, stable reign. Any flashbacks with Atem's father show crowds greeting him with cheers. The manga doesn't show Atem himself addressing great crowds, but the mook guards and his court are all fiercely loyal to him, and the same contingent of guards all cheer when hearing the Pharaoh survived a battle with Bakura, and again when he initially defeats Bakura's Diabound. It's assumed this passes on to Seto when he inherits the throne.

Comic Books

• Captain America is almost universally beloved in the Marvel Verse. To many, he is the superhero. This is deconstructed when he is turned into a HYDRA agent by a Reality Warper. His fascist self takes advantage of his reputation to manipulate the American government into giving him power. The events of Secret Empire ultimately result in HYDRA Cap tarnishing Steve Roger's reputation, meaning he no longer has a one-hundred percent adoration rating. Steve realized this when a child he tried to help in the aftermath of the event was too scared of him to take his hand. Steve is actually somewhat relieved the people no longer unconditionally trust him. He has wanted them to stop blindly trusting authority figures and heroes all along because he is all too aware that can lead to fascism.
  • Second to Cap in popularity in the Marvel Universe is the 'The Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing' of the Fantastic Four. Marvel Citizens love him for his unquestionable heroism and charm and every other hero in the universe, be they an Avenger, an X-Men, or else wise, will aid him if asked.
  • Mr. Fantastic is quite beloved as well, given his efforts to improve humanity and the countless times he's saved not just the Earth, but the whole universe from destruction. In Cataclysm: The Ultimates' Last Stand, Mysterio (who's from Universe 616 but stranded in the Ultimate universe) is absolutely stunned when he hears the heroes' utter contempt for that universe's Reed Richards, saying "He's like the most popular genius guy of all time. Hey, I even like him and I don't like anybody."
• In The DCU, pretty much everyone who isn't a supervillain loves the heroes of their city, and some of the villains respect the heroes. Neither storyline elements nor executive mandates can ever truly change this in the long run.
  • Metropolis loves Superman, and he loves them right back. If anyone is in trouble anywhere, they can have confidence that Superman will save them, because you can bet he will. He's not the Big Good of The DCU for no reason. There are criminals who'll willingly give themselves up to Superman without a run or a fight and appreciate the lack of punching to the face. This extends to even the darkest periods of DC history: when Doomsday Clock creates an explosion of anti-superhero paranoia worldwide, Superman is named as the sole exception, being the hero welcomed by every country.
  • Batman has the ordinary citizens of Gotham City rallying to his cause, causing crime to continuously drop, even when he's not there. Supervillains like The Joker have exploited this before, but that doesn't stop it from happening. Though compared to the rest of the DC universe he is much more willing, often, and sometimes seeking out, and being a Hero with Bad Publicity.
  • The Flash, arguably, has it the best of all of them, though. Wally West was seen as a working man's hero, not as high above everyone as Superman, not as dark and brooding as Batman. The public identity helped. Heck, all the Flashes were loved, as Central City built a Flash Museum! Even funnier? Even most of the Rogues Gallery that The Flash family do battle with at least respect the Flashes, sometimes to the point of Friendly Enemy.
  • Green Lantern Hal Jordan can request people to leave his city: they'll just rally the city in a green display in support of him amidst a Sinestro Corps invasion.
  • Wonder Woman may rarely have a city to call her own, but wherever she ends up for long enough she will always find herself loved by those around her.
  • Aquaman's status as this has waned over the years, but hit its peak in Aquaman (1991), where he's near-universally loved by the people of Poseidonis, who are overjoyed to see him even when his presence leads to danger. Arthur himself feels uncomfortable with the hero worship, as he feels unworthy of their love and worn out from giving so much.
• In the Disney Ducks Comic Universe Reginella, queen of the planet Pacificus, is literally adored by her subjects, even the three villainous ones (one of which was simply jealous of Donald). This actually backfires, as when the First Councillor Orbiton and the Second Cerusic decide to stage a coup nobody saw it coming.
• The Sandman (1989): In "The Golden Boy", America quickly grows to adore its 20-something president Prez Rickard because of all his accomplishments. As he nears the end of his second term there are efforts to give him a third one (or keep ruling in perpetuity), and the next election's voter turnout tanks because people don't want to vote for someone who isn't Prez. After Prez retires and rejects all attempts to return to the spotlight, there is a general melancholic sense that America's golden age has passed.
• Ultimate Marvel:
  • Ultimate Spider-Man: Initially, and per tradition, Spider-Man was a Hero with Bad Publicity, with J. Jonah Jameson publishing awful stories about him in the Daily Bugle. This changed after Ultimatum, as JJ saw Spider-Man valiantly risking his life to save people during the big flood. From then on, he decided that he Must Make Amends and retracted himself, treating Spider-Man as an Ideal Hero instead. His popularity soared, and when he died and his secret identity became public knowledge, he reached 100% adoration rating.
  • The Ultimates: Captain America, as in all incarnations. The president of the US and most of the people in the presidential line of succession were killed by The Maker, so new elections were called, amid a civil war. Captain America did not run for the presidency, he was busy protecting refugees, which was filmed on live television... and so, many people voted for him as a write-in candidate. Some time later, tired of the protocols, Captain America wanted to step down from the presidency. Stark tried to talk him out of it, saying that he's "the most popular president since... well, ever".

Fan Works

• Bethany Hawke, in her role as the Inquisitor, has achieved this by the final chapters of Beyond Heroes: Of Sunshine and Red Lyrium. At least, she has according to Varric, whom she herself calls "my one-man public relations team."
• Bequeathed from Pale Estates:
  • Dorne, who realized the value of using the goats for inoculation. Once they confirmed it worked for their own people, they spread the goats to all of Westeros and Essos. That saved almost the entire remaining population and made House Martell the most beloved house in Westeros.
  • The North, while not as beloved as Dorne, is in second place for two reasons. First, the Starks had their smallfolk inoculated at the same time as their bannermen while every other noble ignored the smallfolk until all the nobles had been treated, saving most of the North's population. Second, the source of inoculation from a vision from the Old Gods which are from the North, which caused people in the southron realms to convert in droves.
  • Shireen Baratheon. While opinions on the other members of the Baratheon family vary, everyone has a soft spot for Shireen, who is a kind young girl that had to endure undue amounts of tragedy over the course of her short life thus far. Even Olenna Tyrell visibly softens when interacting with her.
• The titular group in The Cosmos (Miraculous Ladybug) enjoy this sort of reputation. Students and staff alike admire them for their work as Bully Hunters, to the point where the only ones who dislike the Cosmos are their targets.
• One of the villains of the Elemental Chess Trilogy notes, in The Game of Three Generals, that Riza has this standing with the people of Central City because they feel so terrible about her situation. She's pregnant, her only living relative has been murdered, and her husband has been accused of the crime. Even he himself somewhat pities her, since he actually kind of likes her.
• In Equestria: A History Revealed, apparently Celestia had this up the wazoo during the Classical period. There was so much universal praise for her that it caused the Lemony Narrator to replace sections of her essay with her own haikus, just because she had enough of referencing the pro-Celestia sources. If the references are to be taken at face value, the Celestia propaganda was absurd within itself, with praise such as "Celestia is love, Celestia is life."
• In The Fledgling Year, this is averted, even though in the original canon everyone seemed to love King Lune and the royal family. A large portion of this fanfic’s plot revolves around a conspiracy to kill them off and put a distant cousin on the throne.
• The Karma of Lies has this as part of Marinette's Karmic Jackpot: after Hawkmoth is unmasked and defeated, Ladybug becomes a beloved figure in Paris...and since Marinette, Kagami, and Luka were also unmasked during the final battle, that also applies to their civilian identities.
• Mr and Mrs Gold: With the exception of Regina and her father (at first), everyone in Storybrooke knows and likes Rose despite her husband.
• Mako Mankanshoku in Natural Selection is one of the Elite Four who run Honnouji Academy and is universally beloved by the people of the Safe Zone thanks to her actively protecting the students and their families from the active bloodshed rampant in Honnouji Academy. It's to the point where she's damn near worshiped as a saint by the Safe Zone inhabitants. Such is the fervor of their love for her that, when she was on the verge of losing to Satsuki in the Sudden Death Runoffs, they convinced the entire student body into cheering for her to get back up and win.
• In Danny Phantom fanfic Resurrected Memories: After saving the world from the Disasteroid and revealing his secret identity, Danny has gained this sort of treatment from his fans.
• In Revelations, Túrante enjoys this. She is Queen to about 300 blood elves. In chapter 18/19, when Túrante returns to her city, every blood elf, without exception, volunteers to follow Túrante to war. In chapter 21/22, when Túrante needs volunteers for a dangerous mission, the whole crowd offers themselves.
  Once again her own people shocked her and she had to smile inwardly at herself... and it was hard to control her emotions, the loyalty and dedication of her people was stronger than she had thought possible...
• In Robb Returns, it's noted that every Northern lord liked the late Lord Torgen Surestone, even Roose Bolton.
• Service with a Smile: Jaune, who in this story is the owner of a café, is well-liked by everybody — criminals and huntresses alike — for his quality service.
• Baron Beltorey in The Tainted Grimoire is loved by his people in Grazton.
• A Thing of Vikings: Hiccup is almost universally beloved by his people even if they don't always agree with him and in the future, is so fondly remembered that his name is almost synonymous with altruism.
• To Forge an Heir: Rhaenyra and Alicent are adored by the smallfolk for their many charity endeavors. In the last chapter, it's stated that the people celebrated Rhaenyra's coronation so exuberantly that it bordered on disrespect toward the recently diseased Viserys.
• Taylor Hebert in The Weaver Option. Being named a Living Saint makes her well loved by people, particularly the Imperial Guard and the Blood Angels-descended Space Marines, but when she becomes the Nyx Sector Lady, her popularity explodes as she proves to be a leader that is more than happy to improve the standards of living of everyone under her aegis (unless you are someone - particularly a noble - that takes joy in hurting others: then her sending you straight to a penal legion is the most merciful thing she does), protects them to the utmost of her ability and keeps thinking on the future. Add to that the feats she carries out, such as her military victories against Commorragh or Slaanesh, and the people who dislike her within Nyx are probably on the range of rounding error.
• In What It Takes, after Damien Darhk and Quentin Lance start hunting Laurel Lance after exposing her identity, the people of the Glades are well aware that the Black Canary is now the only person fighting for them, and refuse to help the police arrest her. Several stores have even taken to hanging a black square in their window as a subtle display of support. They even start prepping "go bags" for her, giving her basic necessities for free.
• A Young Woman's Political Record sees Tanya von Degurechaff rise to the position of Germania's Chancellor. Initially, she followed similar guidelines to those used in Nazi Germany; however, instead of railing against a subset of the population, she directs the people's wrath at the ruinous Treaty of Triano, their belligerent neighbors the Francois, and the Communist threat presented by the Russy Union. Her career shoots up when she succeeds in having Triano tossed out and implements economic restructuring that completely saves Germania from the Great Depression; many other measures such as government investing in a brutally popular and affordable car (the equivalent to the Volkswagen Beetle), and dramatically improving the people's day to day lives and Germania's international standing give her party an astounding round-the-clock 70% approval rating, giving her nigh-complete political dominance and a virtual supermajority in every vote.
• In Z To A, Peter Parker clearly has this, with the young man swiftly making himself popular with everybody after he gains his memories of the future during the Battle of Leipzig Airport and starts to warn the Avengers of the future. During the final battle with Thanos, he is "chosen" by the Infinity Stones themselves to be their wielder, with Wanda (the only other person from Peter's future) observing to Tony that he shouldn't be surprised that even the Stones like Peter. By the time the universe "returns" to 2025 and the other heroes regain their memories of the original timeline, even the likes of Peter Quill are enthusiastically thanking Peter for saving their loved ones, and Wanda notes that Tony shouldn't be surprised that even his own daughter seems to enjoy Peter's company more than his own.

Films — Animated

• Most Disney Princesses who actually are princesses.
  • Invoked in Sleeping Beauty during Princess Aurora's proclamation day, when the fairies are giving her their blessings. Maleficent states that "the princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her." If nothing else, it proves true with regard to the woodland creatures, who are devoted to her as she grows up, the fairies who raise her love her, and the first person she meets since being sent to live with them falls in love with her right away.
  • It's most pronounced at the beginning of Tangled. When the pregnant Queen is sick and dying, her husband, the guards, and damn near the entire civilian population set out to the mainland to search for the magic flower that can save her. Subsequently, their daughter Rapunzel is equally beloved and revered by everyone she meets, and she's just as popular as her parents when she is finally freed from Mother Gothel, who had been keeping her captive in a tower away from everyone else since infancy, and reclaims her birthright.
  • In Frozen, once Elsa returns to Arendelle to resume her duties as the queen, everyone in the kingdom seems to adore her and look up to her despite, or perhaps because of her ice powers. This is clearly shown in the sequels and other extended materials where they follow her commands to a T without any hints of objections or hesitance from them.
• Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas is the Pumpkin King and official leader of Halloween Town — his citizens love him. While he seems to find their adoration a bit smothering at times, he clearly reciprocates it, as he immediately tries to share the wonders of Christmas Town with them. The only person in Halloween Town who doesn't like Jack is the Big Bad.

Films — Live-Action

• In I Married a Witch, titular witch Jennifer is in love with Wallace Wooley, a candidate for governor. She uses her magic powers to make everyone in the state vote for him. He is horrified.
  Wally: What if she runs me for President?
• In Maleficent, Maleficent says, before cursing an infant Aurora at the beginning of the film, that Aurora shall grow up "beloved by all who meet her". This comes true, and even Maleficent herself ends up loving her as well. Aurora is clearly shown to be universally beloved in the fairy realm and implied to have seamlessly taken over the human kingdom for her father.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe
  • Thor: The Dark World: Judging by the attendance and the reaction of the mourners at Frigga's funeral, all of Asgard love their Queen.
  • Thor: Ragnarok: In the third act, Loki manages to get back in just about everyone's good graces by pulling a Big Damn Heroes to rescue the citizens of Asgard from Hela — he has finally earned by authentic means the love and respect of his subjects that he had always yearned for. Even Heimdall of all people, who distrusted Loki in Thor and nearly killed him (not to mention that Loki-as-Odin wanted to arrest Heimdall for his treason after Thor: The Dark World), is glad that the Prince has returned.
    Loki: Your savior is here!
    Heimdall: Welcome home. I saw you coming.
    Loki: ...Of course you did.
• In Pixels, after President Cooper proves to be capable of handling the Alien Invasion, everybody loves him and his team of "Arcaders" — quite a shift from having 0% Approval Rating just three days before.
• Star Wars:
  • Padmé Amidala in the prequels. "Queen of Naboo" is an elected position and her constituents tried to change their laws to allow her to serve beyond the accepted number of years in her terms. Padmé declined, which probably made them love her even more. Justified in that she was a war hero and in Real Life, they always do well politically after the war.
  • The people of the planet Byss were this to Palpatine, even after his original death. Even throughout all the atrocities the Emperor committed, everyone on Byss fanatically loved him.
• In the comedy film Welcome to Mooseport:
  • Downplayed with former U.S. President Monroe "Eagle" Cole left office with an 85% approval rating and is repeatedly referred to (usually by himself or his staff) as "the most popular President in history". However, since it's not a complete 100%, he does meet a few of those 15% people that don't like him. And even so, his popularity is not enough to give him a guaranteed victory when he runs for Mayor of the titular town against his plumber Harold "Handy" Harrison, who is liked by almost everyone himself. Hilarity Ensues as they each try to gain an edge over each other in the election, and win over Handy's longtime girlfriend.
  • When trying to persuade Cole to run, one of the town leaders says that Mooseport's previous Mayor, who had just died, was a beloved person too and had always run unopposed.

Literature

• Nineteen Eighty-Four: Everybody loves the Big Brother, except for the certifiably insane, and even those can successfully overcome their oddity after a treatment in the Ministry of Love.
• In Beware of Chicken everyone loves the Lord Magistrate of Verdant Hill. The man is a coward who accepted a safe posting in the remotest backwater he could find and an incredible attention hog, who only does things to raise his adoration levels... but he's good at it and makes all the right decisions, even if for the wrong reasons. His inner monologue shows that whenever he is tempted to do evil, he's too afraid of the possible consequences. When the main characters do their thing and help people, the citizens assume these are the Patriarch's Master Plans...which works out great for him, but drive him to distraction since he worries that if he takes credit for things he didn't actually do, he'll be called upon to reproduce the results later. In other words, he's basically the embodiment of Enlightened Self-Interest.
• Cavendon Hall: The Inghams, especially the father. The father, Charles, is clearly beloved by everyone in all of his villages, to the point where the staff has no idea who could have raped Daphne and set the stable on fire. Dulcie and Daphne also seem to be particularly loved by at least the rest of the family and the staff, though it's hard to tell how far that extends beyond the family.
• The Chronicles of Narnia:
  • The four Pevensie children, during their reign over Narnia, are universally beloved by their people for having ushered in a golden era of peace and prosperity for the once-embattled kingdom.
  • Narnian royalty in general tends to be this. They're pretty much all described as being modest and willing to do what they must to protect the land. Even when the last king of Narnia is overthrown, it's only done out of fear of Aslan's wrath — not because the animals don't love him.
• Conan the Barbarian: In "A Witch Shall Be Born", Tamaris. It makes the Fake King gambit by her Evil Twin sister, The Caligula, that much more shocking.
  Taramis, whom all Khauran loves, betraying her people to that devil from Koth!
• In Deltora Quest, after King Lief saves Deltora 'twice', his people love him. When he asks them to send him their thoughts, they reply "Our thoughts? We would give you our lives!" Pretty much every Deltoran who isn't working for the Shadow Lord agrees. Of course, then there are the Capricons and the Masked Ones...
• Discworld series: Captain Carrot of the City Watch exudes some kind of charisma field (bags of it) that causes everyone to like him, and actually behave like decent and kind people. The worst-kept secret in Ankh-Morpork is that he's the rightful heir to the throne — not that this matters because he firmly believes the city needs a king "like a fish needs a... er... a thing that doesn't work underwater."
• In Elantris, Raoden gains this status inside of Elantris by the end of the story, which is fairly reasonable given that he turned the suffering wretches of the city into happy, functioning people, protected them from the three warlords, and eventually restored them.
• Queen Ehlana is said to have this in The Elenium and its sequel series The Tamuli by virtue of her intelligence, her kindness, and being willing to avoid the incest that plagued the previous generation of royals. It's also noted that if there's anyone in her capital city who doesn't love her, "they're being very careful to keep that fact to themselves" because the ones who do are a little fanatical about it.
• Queen Mallow, of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, was beloved throughout Fairyland. When she was overthrown and imprisoned by the Marquess, everyone went into mourning and held tight to the hope that she was still alive somewhere. Sadly, as it turns out, Mallow and the Marquess are one and the same...
• The Lienid in Kristin Cashore's Graceling Realm series tend to feel this way about their princes, as the page quote indicates — a sea captain is explicitly described as worrying about one such prince "as if it were a member of her family". King Leck of Monsea is beloved by his people. And so kind to children and animals. His mind control powers help, though.
• Håkon the Good, a king of Norway, in Heimskringla. He is so popular that, when he is killed in battle against the sons of Erik Bloodaxe, not only his subjects but even the Erikssons cry for him: “Both friends and foes wept over his death and said that never again would such a good king come to Norway.”
• In Masques, Geoffrey ae'Magi has this. People who have never even seen him immediately try to strangle their own friends if those friends say something negative about the ae'Magi. He achieved this by enchanting everyone, and is, in fact, the Big Bad
• The Neverending Story: The Childlike Empress. Every inhabitant of Fantastica, from the kindly talking donkeys to the terrifying malevolent giant spiders, is aware of her status as the Barrier Maiden and gives her the utmost respect.
• In Our Dumb World, Queen Rania of Jordan is portrayed as this. Heck, the entire page on Jordan is basically an adoringly written biography of her.
• In Perloo The Bold, just about everybody loves Jolaine. Even the cooks are personally concerned about her during her last illness.
• The Princess Bride: Princess Buttercup is described in this way on the day her engagement to Prince Humperdinck is announced. Her beauty is so overwhelming that "the majority [of the crowd] adored her instantly." Later, her popularity increases after she is safely returned from having been kidnapped.
• Eddis Helen in The Queen's Thief is adored by her populace. Even her barons—the class that causes no end of trouble in neighboring Attolia and Sounis—would walk over hot coals for her. Anything she asked her people to do, they would do without fear because they love her. Unfortunately, this means that when Eddis has to do anything genuinely unpopular, the Eddisians find a scapegoat to be angry at because they refuse to be angry at her. Usually, that's the protagonist Eugenides.
• RWBY: After the Fall: It's rare for Vacuans to rely on leaders in their harsh environment, but Slate is a strong, protective woman who cares deeply for the people she's looking after. She's generous with praise and, if she orders people to perform tasks for her, she will make sure they're compensated; when she orders two children to ration out the meat they've collected from a group of dead mole crabs, she offers them an extra share for their trouble. Cocoa concludes that people rally to her because she's organised, protective, and caring to a degree not common in Vacuo's harsh climate; as a result, she's become the undisputed leader of refugees from four completely different villages, some of which originally had their own leaders prior to coming into contact with Slate.
• In The Secret of Platform 13, the Queen and King of the secret island are loved by everyone, even the vilest monsters. When the little prince is kidnapped, more or less everyone volunteers for a rescue mission.
• A Song of Ice and Fire:
  • The Starks have this; the people of the North are very loyal to them, and declare war on the Lannisters for Ned's death. After Robb is killed in the Red Wedding by the Freys and Boltons, several Northern houses are planning to turn against them both by siding with Stannis and placing a Stark — any Stark left — as liege lord again. Even the mountain clans side with Stannis to avenge the Starks.
  • King Jaehaerys I Targaryen in the past was so loved that even Dorne, an independent principality at that time (and much of history a bitter enemy of the Targaryen monarchy), mourned his death. His wife the Good Queen Alysanne was equally beloved and remembered fondly in the Seven Kingdoms even to this day. The two basically set the Westerosi standard for The Good King and The High Queen.
  • Baelor Targaryen is the most beloved king in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. His barefoot walk to Dorne, advocating for peace after the war waged during his brother's reign, is legendary. That said, the things he did to his sisters reek of misogyny to modern readers and his religious fanaticism led to some very questionable choices late in his reign, but since such views are commonplace in the setting and his heavy religion aligns with King's Landing's culture (most if not all follow the Faith of the Seven), people are quick to overlook them.
• The novelization of Revenge of the Sith makes clear that Chancellor Palpatine has the whole Republic wound around his finger, preparatory to converting it into The Empire to enthusiastic approval. Slightly downplayed in that there were plenty of people who didn't like his policies, but still thought he himself was a good man.
  Palpatine of Naboo, the most admired man in the galaxy [...] is more than respected. He is loved.
• In The Witchlands, Prince Merik is absolutely beloved by his subjects in the south of Nubrevna, to the point that when he arrives in a small village without a prior warning, the people in it throw an impromptu party and it takes him a long time just to walk down the main street because everyone wants to chat with him and shake his hand.

Live-Action TV

• Ted from Better Off Ted is adored by all of his workers who will do virtually anything to curry his favor. Even his Ice Queen boss Veronica adores him.
• Subverted in the Blackadder Back and Forth special. It ends with 21st Century!Blackadder as the King of England, so wildly popular that he was able to disband Parliament and make himself an absolute monarch... because he stole Baldrick's time machine and manipulated history to put himself on the throne.
• One Victim of the Week in CSI: NY's eighth season is a wealthy businessman who came from a poor background, and while many would expect the people of his old neighborhood to resent him for it, everyone (including the man who turns out to be his killer) respects him for it. Of note is one young punk who picked up the victim's wallet after the killer discarded it and took out some cash. After having been informed of whom the money had belonged to, he voluntarily offered it back to the cops, saying it didn't feel right to take money belonging to someone he respected so much.
• The Dropout: Ian is so beloved by his colleagues that after Elizabeth fires him, his entire department threatens to resign unless he gets hired back. When he returns, they greet him with cheers and applause.
• Game of Thrones:
  • Renly Baratheon is so popular among the Stormlanders that they all swear fealty to him instead of Stannis, even though the bannermen are technically committing treason. (Although Renly is the Lord of Storm's End — and therefore the liege lord of the Stormlands — Stannis, as the eldest surviving male member of the family, is now the head of House Baratheon, and Renly is duty-bound to obey him.) After Renly's sudden demise, Davos reports to Stannis that all the men grieve for his younger brother.
  • Margaery Tyrell pretty much establishes this in King's Landing as she lines up to become first Joffrey's, then Tommen's wife and quickly becomes a Friend to All Children and others in need, effectively becoming the Westerosi equivalent to the Duchess of Cambridge.
  • The Starks are highly popular with their vassals and smallfolk, especially Ned Stark, whose name even compels respect from the likes of Robett Glover, embittered by Robb Stark's Shocking Defeat Legacy. This is almost certainly why Stannis tries to win Ned Stark’s bastard son Jon Snow into his campaign to win the North. In exchange for Jon leaving the Night's Watch and bending the knee to him, Stannis makes Jon an offer of legitimization and lordship of Winterfell, but Jon declines out of his Stark sense of duty.
• House of the Dragon: King Jaehaerys is widely considered one of Westeros' greatest kings, having helped bring about and ruled over an era of great peace and prosperity. Even after the fall of House Targaryen by the time Game of Thrones rolls around, he's still regarded well by the history books. Historians call he and Queen Alysanne the greatest Targaryen monarchs to have ever lived, a statement that even by the time of Game of Thrones has yet to be disputed.
• In Horrible Histories, Charles II has a Boastful Rap where he claims this applies to him. "I'm the King loved by everyone, my song is done." (In reality, this did not apply to him; although his other accomplishments in the song are real enough, he did have plenty of detractors and survived at least one plot against his life.)
• Richard in Legend of the Seeker gains such approval in an Alternate Timeline caused by Cara never becoming a Mord'Sith and stopping him from using the Boxes of Orden. His closest advisor is Darken Rahl, his older brother (father in novels) and enemy. Of course, the Keeper has to go and break the boxes, returning control of D'Hara to Rahl.
• The titular Ted Lasso is not this at first, as most Brits have a real issue with an American who knows virtually nothing about soccer/football coming in to coach a team of the Premier League. However, Ted is such a kindhearted, compassionate, and open-minded individual that even his biggest critics, even if they don't believe in his coaching skills, can't help but come to admire him as a human being. He gradually wins over every single one of the team's players and its owner, who was originally hoping he would fail for her own ulterior, albeit sympathetic, reasons. His insulting label of "Wanker" by the team fans becomes much more of an affectionate nickname over time. By the end of the second season, there are only 2-3 named characters who dislike him, one of whom has a very self-serving memory about him.

Tabletop Games

• Exalted: This is one of the goals Solar exalts strive for. Some of them achieved it the honest way, others... not so much.
• Warhammer 40,000 actually has a form of this in the Imperium of Man. If only because less than devout worship of the Emperor tends to result in fates worse than death at the hands of the Inquisition if lucky, and Chaos or worse if not.
  • For a specific character: Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels Legion. Sanguinius was probably the single-most adored Primarch, even above Horus. He was considered a trusted ally by virtually all of his brothers and was well known for his ability to smooth out disputes between them. Horus suggested Sanguinius should have been Warmaster instead of him, and Roboute Guilliman indicated he should be named Emperor of the Imperium should anything happen to the actual Emperor.

Theater

• Diana: The Musical: Diana is portrayed as universally adored by the UK's people after she's presented as their new princess. In "The World Fell in Love" the entire country of Wales is instantly charmed by her, and Charles is envious of how much more beloved she is than him.
• The musical Evita tells the story of Eva Peron, beloved wife of Argentinian president Juan Peron. Both were presented as popular among the people, but she in particular was greatly adored and eventually given the title of "spiritual leader of Argentina".
• Abuela Claudia in In the Heights, Washington Heights Matriarch. When she dies, the entire barrio gathers and holds vigil for her, with Kevin asking his cab drivers to roll down the windows and drive slow in her honor
• Prince William and Duchess Kate in the play King Charles III. Charles' coronation is just around the corner, but he's already gotten into a massive row with Parliament over the extent of monarchical authority (and the relevance of a monarchy in the modern day and age)^note The show is set in 2014. As a result, his popularity has taken a massive dive. William and Kate argue that their nigh-universal popularity and cultural relevance (and the goodwill they curried with the royal wedding in 2011) make them better suited to monarchy than the aged Prince Charles and indeed makes them the only members of the royal family who can undo the damage Charles has caused.
• Implied and also parodied in The Pirates of Penzance — when asked to surrender "in the name of the queen", the pirates do so, no questions asked (and keep in mind that this is how the entire conflict of the play is resolved). Both a Deus ex Machina and a deliberate lampooning of Victorianism.

Video Games

• Animal Crossing: New Leaf actually requires you to have a 100% adoration rating before you can start doing any work as a mayor proper.
• Baten Kaitos:
  • Melodia is the single most beloved figure in the world. She's playing 0% Approval Rating Geldoblame like a fiddle, of course.
  • To the citizens of Alfard, Geldoblame gets this reaction. It helps that he's deliberately cultivated strong civil pride.
• Civilization: "We Love the King Day." They sure do; they pay their city's upkeep out of their own pockets for a whole year.
  • In Civilization V, they celebrate with increased population growth. Yes, they love their ruler so much they copulate for him/her.
• Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny has zombie girl Bieko. Anyone who hears about her is completely smitten and will die on a hill for her, especially Ivar, who creeps Zed out for his infatuation with his little sister.
• Dragon Age:
  • In Dragon Age: Origins, depending on how you choose to play the Warden, you can achieve this with any or all of your nine potential companions. The right combination of gifts, dialogue options, and morality choices can lead to this result. Of course, since four of your companions are also possible Love Interests, this can additionally lead to some Love Triangles, even unintentionally.
    • This then lends itself to the royalty aspect of the trope, as it is possible for the Human Noble Warden to become Prince-Consort of Ferelden (by marrying the widowed Queen Anora) or Queen (by marrying the Hidden Backup Prince Alistair). In the latter case, the epilogue notes that the royal couple becomes extremely popular, in part because the people can see how very Happily Married they are.
    • If a hardened Alistair rules together with Anora, they make such a good couple that the people eventually consider the chaos of the civil war and the Landsmeet worth it for delivering such beloved monarchs.
  • In Dragon Age II, Mage!Hawke, though technically an illegal apostate mage, is essentially beyond the Templars' reach after ending the Qunari siege on the city of Kirkwall at the end of Act 2 and gaining the entire city's adoration. Warrior and Rogue Hawke fall under this trope as well and for the same reason, but they're merely de facto political rivals to Knight-Commander Meredith, instead of additionally being technically illegal by merely existing outside Templar control.
  • In Dragon Age: Inquisition, it's not possible for the Inquisition to reach this trope (although they come darn close) simply because they have so much power that they're somewhat terrifying. The Inquisitor themself, however, is this for the members of the Inquisition, who are incredibly loyal and are willing to march to their own deaths to support their leader. It takes a bit of hard work to achieve this with all of the companions, many of whom have very opposing viewpoints, but it can be done.
• Dragon Quest V, The Hero is revealed to be the prince of Gotha (and later the king). For the rest of the game, people in that small kingdom love him and the innkeeper will let his party stay in her inn for free despite that after he takes the crown, he goes rescuing his wife, goes missing, and is unable to do his job as a king for ten years. Maybe it's something to do with him being a son of a very good king and him being very heroic.
• In The Elder Scrolls series, Tiber Septim, the founder of the Third Tamriellic Empire who ascended after his death as Talos, the Ninth Divine, has this among the races of Men, especially the Imperials and Nords. He's remembered as a great hero of mankind, as the unifier of Tamriel, and as the ideal all men should aspire to become.
• Tandi of the Fallout series was made president of the NCR after the death of her father Aradesh. She was such a popular president that she was continually re-elected until her death. In Fallout: New Vegas however, Caesar notes that this technically makes her a dictator in his eyes.
• Hancock in Fallout 4 is the "mayor" of Goodneighbor, a position he earned by killing the previous tyrannical slumlord after taking the clothes and namesake of the historical John Hancock. Most of the citizenry of Goodneighbor adore him for his charisma and relaxed, down-to-earth nature. Those who don't, as Bobbi No-Nose describes, are typically too scared to say anything about it.
• In Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, the people of the Crystarium have nothing but praise and respect for the Crystal Exarch who has tirelessly led and protected as many as he can from the sin eaters for the past hundred years. The only people in all of Norvrandt who show hostility to the Exarch are the forces of Eulmore led by the Fat Bastard Vauthry since the Exarch opposes the sin eaters, who Vauthry can control and use to enforce his own society.
• Viciously deconstructed in the backstory of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Apostle Misaha is said to have been more loved than any Apostle before her. The common citizenry loved her so much that the moment they had someone to blame for her assassination, they committed genocide in her name.
• King Ludwig as he was depicted in the Gabriel Knight games. When the final part of his Thanatos Gambit fails and he is carted off to prison, he entrusts the final piece of The Plan to a local woman, having enough faith that his loyal subject will fulfill his final request — and she does.
• Galactic Civilizations: you can actually achieve this. With careful structuring and a lot of VR centres, you can even manage it while taking three-quarters of your subjects' income.
• Genshin Impact:
  • Everyone in Mondstadt has nothing but the utmost respect for Jean for her tireless efforts to keep the region as safe as possible. Even Diluc, who normally treats the Knights with disdain, respects her. At the end of her first character quest, many of the other characters throw her a party in Angel's Share to show how much they appreciate her.
  • According to the other characters' dialogue about Albedo, he's very popular around Mondstadt. Even Klee listens to him and Diluc actually trusts him with matters related to ley line abnormalities. Only Rosaria (of Church of Favonius) is wary of him due to his "outlander" status and Venti himself is worried that he might potentially be a Mad Scientist.
  • Over in Liyue, Rex Lapis is utterly adored by his people, with random NPCs on the street bragging about him to the Traveler when you enter the city. It's to the point where even the greediest of merchants are willing to offer tremendous discounts on high-priced goods the moment they find out it's for him... or rather, for his funeral. Only one character ever criticizes him, and even she changes her mind later in the story.
  • By the end of the Sumeru Archon Quest, Nahida's gone from being alienated by her people to revered by them, partly due to her part in thwarting the Sages' plan to turn Scaramouche into a new god, and partly due to all memory of her predecessor Rukkhedevata being erased, which not only did away with her more fanatical worshippers, but also caused all of her past deeds to be attributed to Kusanali instead. Even Dainsleif can't find anything bad to say about her.
• Played with in Guilty Gear. At the end of Revelator 2, Dizzy has become universally beloved by the people of Illyria due to her actions during the previous game, with them calling for her to be made queen (unaware that she already was due to her Secret Relationship with Ky).
• The Legend of Zelda: Each Princess Zelda is loved by everyone or at least everyone shown. There's been exactly one non-villain in the entire series who didn't like her and she eventually came around. (And depending on your interpretation of Ganon/dorf, even he does.)
• In Live A Live, the knight Oersted is beloved by the people for his victory in a tournament, his marriage to Princess Alethea, his bravery in challenging the Lord of Dark when the princess is kidnapped... basically, your average Knight in Shining Armor. Not a single person does not recognize and approve of Oersted throughout the entirety of the kingdom of Lucrece. Then Streibough's malignant plan is set in motion, and everything goes to hell in more ways than one.
• Amusingly, former Big Bad Lord Dearche of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable games is mentioned in the Sound Stages to have gained one in Eltria after the events of The Gears of Destiny. The fact that her idea of conquering Eltria involves using her nigh-unlimited powers to perform an extensive terra-forming project to rejuvenate the dying planet may have had something to do with it. Being a Card-Carrying Villain, reminding her of this is one of the easiest ways to earn her ire.
• If the player chooses the Paragon ending for Mass Effect, they will have this from most people in Mass Effect 2. Your friends (with one notable exception based on them being Locked Out of the Loop by another character's sudden bout of Poor Communication Kills) will go to hell and back for you, will quit their jobs and affiliate with a terrorist organization to work for you (or, contrarily, will actually quit their jobs with a terrorist organization to follow along when you tell them where to stick it), and you'll even see a turian shop owner seriously stating that he would name his first-born child after Shepard if they asked. In fact, only Udina and the turian Councilor seem to have a low opinion of you.
  • Though Hackett tells Shepard that they will have to make a Zero-Approval Gambit after they were forced to destroy a mass relay that went supernova and killed over 300,000 batarians, in order to avert war between humanity and the batarians. This damage is undone when the Reapers arrive and a Paragon Shepard becomes a beacon of hope in the galaxy's war for survival.
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda has Moshae Sjefa, for the angara. There is exactly one angara in the game who doesn't love her, and he's the one who sold her out to the kett. When he gets caught, he's immediately scheduled for a round of "head. Spike. Wall" treatment by the gang-land boss of Kadara, because even the angara there, who couldn't give a rat's ass about the war, still love their Moshae that much.
• Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists: Ateliers of the New World:
  • Once the approval rating mechanic is introduced a little ways into the game, you start out with an approval rating for Nelke of about 60-70%, which is displayed most of the time in the top-center of the screen. There are a number of things that can improve it, including having a surplus of goods and completing requests. Furthermore, only certain very specific things such as having expenses greater than earning for too many turns or not balancing the number of items you sell at shops can decrease it. Therefore, it is fairly easy for anyone with a basic understanding of the game to reach a 100% approval rating for Nelke fairly quickly.
  • Outside of the gameplay mechanic, the story itself makes it quite clear as the game progresses that all of the alchemists and villagers absolutely adore Nelke for what she's done for the city of Westwald.
• Pharaoh: The Kingdom rating measures how popular you are outside your city, if maxed out all of Egypt wants to serve you in the afterlife, while the citizens worship you as a god.
• Players in RuneScape can get this in the kingdom they help manage, simply by helping their subjects do their jobs. Maintaining the 100% approval rating is the way to gain the most resources in payment for managing the kingdom.
• In The Sims Medieval you can turn your Monarch into one of these by answering Petitions (for your own populace) and passing Edicts (for annexed territories.) There's even an achievement for it. Sadly, there are few actual gameplay benefits, so you can also have a very unpopular monarch with no consequences.
• Stronghold: Building nice structures, feeding your people with a variety of foods, building churches, and making sure the alehouses are built will make you beloved, how the nice structures will make your people work slower at the exchange for an army that will defend their home at all costs.
• Super Mario Bros.: Princess Peach is beloved on a personal level by all of her subjects.
  • Except for the Goombas, who defected to Bowser in the original storyline (though not all of them, as some RPGs reveal that there are benevolent Goombas).
    • And on that note, Bowser himself in the eyes of his minions, Depending on the Writer. Some of the earlier RPGs showed him ruling by fear and having his troops desert, while newer material shows they follow him just as loyally as Peach's subjects do her.
  • Mayor Pauline from Super Mario Odyssey. She's very competent as New Donk City's mayor, and the New Donkers love her for it.
• Tales of the Abyss:
  • Princess Natalia. When she and the rest of the group are being pursued by the king's guards, normal civilians stand in the way to stop them in order to protect their princess, even though Natalia protests, pointing out that she's not the real princess, but the citizens reply that they don't care about her false title of royalty, they care about how kind and helpful she was as a leader.
  • Emperor Peony has this too, as seen by talking to every NPC in Grand Chokmah. Even when the world is literally falling apart around them, they all trust that he has things in hand and will do what's best for everyone.
• Tales of Graces has this in the case of Richard, though only during Lineage and Legacies. Hubert and Malik suggest he might even be more well-liked in Strahta and Fendel than the current leaders of Strahta and Fendel. Note that both Strahta and Fendel's leaders are implied to be elected, while Windor is a monarchy, and Richard took the throne by murdering his (admittedly corrupt and evil) uncle.. Fendel had been at war with Windor for several years previous to this, and that Richard recently spent a good amount of time possessed by a demon from space, flying around on Nova monsters, absorbing all the eleth from the valkines, screaming his head off about his friends, and cackling while stabbing anything that got in his way. And now he's popular enough to have his own line of keychains and fruit snacks...
• Them's Fightin' Herds: Jarl Stronghoof Hoofstrong is well-respected by all the deerfolk, regardless of how they feel about his daughter, Velvet. Arizona sees him surrounded by admirers when she encounters him in story mode.
• In the Total War series, among the many other advantages it brings (increases to command, influence, troop morale, popularity, protection from assassination...), your Faction Leader having traits that fit this trope will greatly reduce unrest and the probability of revolt across your empire. Even conquered provinces who resent being under the heel of a foreign faction are somewhat soothed by knowing that at least their conquerors have a reputation for valor, fairness, and honesty. The same is also true for any Generals you have situated as governors within the province they are governing.
• In Tropico, you can be the El Presidente everyone honestly loves. Keep your citizens well-fed, raise wages, lower taxes, give people access to religion, healthcare, and entertainment; and don't forget to erect landmarks (some of which can be dedicated to you, but if you're really nice, it's justified). Even those who have already joined the rebel will return to citizenship!
• In Undertale, Asgore has earned the love of all of his subjects due to his benevolent rule and approachable personality. The only monster who hates him is his ex-wife Toriel, who viciously disagreed with his actions following the death of their two children.
  • Being the only real source of entertainment in the Underground, Mettaton is this by the monsters. It's actually because he's so beloved that he gives up his plan to leave the Underground.
  • This is also invoked for the fallen child player character to complete the True Pacifist Route by befriending everyone beyond just sparing them Like going on a date with Papyrus, befriending Undyne and helping Alphys and Undyne get together with each other romantically.
• In Warcraft and subsequently World of Warcraft, there was a prince who was adored by his subjects. He enjoyed talking and hanging out with the common populace and when he was serving in the army he always got to know his companions and knew to take care of them. His name was Arthas. This gets to the point that most of the army that followed him to Northren were volunteers.
  • Leaders who are this are at least to those of their race and/or class are actually fairly common in Warcraft (as opposed to Real Life). There are two characters who have this from all the mortals on Azeroth though: Darion Mograine and Tirion Fordring. Even though Darion got killed and was a member of the Scourge and is now a cursed death knight pretty much everybody still thinks he's awesome (including Tirion). This is mostly due to him still being a genuinely good leader despite having been drafted into the cartoonishly evil Scourge. The death knight starting area is a bit, uhhh...surreal. When he betrays the Lich King, it's kind of a no-brainer that the player is going to follow him even though redemption hurts like hell for death knights.
  • Tirion Fordring gets this because he's basically the one character who loves pretty much everyone living, and even the undead who aren't part of the Scourge. One could even argue that the Lich King adores Tirion, he just has a really strange way of showing affection.
  • Anduin Wrynn, when he assumes the mantle of High King of the Alliance, gets this a lot. The writers at Blizzard once mentioned that they mostly design him to be a Human and Alliance Version of Thrall.
  • There are also a lot of people who say "my life for xx" when they're dying, though most of them are fanatics.
• In A Witch's Tale, Queen Alice is adored and revered by all of her subjects, especially Liddell.
• Gulcasa in Yggdra Union, although you don't find out until the last third of the game (the heroes resent him for various reasons and assume that everyone else must, too). As he has spent the past three years sweating blood to repair the damage his negligent predecessor did to his country, suffered just as much as his citizens under said predecessor, and is pitifully nice to boot, the Bronquian civilians' abject adoration is a bit understandable.

Web Animation

• RWBY: Blake's father, Ghira Belladonna, is the beloved chieftain of Menagerie, loved and respected by the inhabitants. Adam's attempt to have Ghira assassinated to spite and hurt Blake is what finally convinces the Faunus of Menagerie to overcome their Bystander Syndrome; they form a militia to protect the humans of Haven Academy from Adam's assault.

Webcomics

• In Girl Genius the Old Heterodynes somehow managed to combine this trope with being Evil Mad Scientists, at least inside Mechanicsburg.
  • They were beloved in their own city, but had 0% Approval Rating elsewhere, because of how evil and destructive they were. Barry and Bill redeemed their family's name with their heroics and were hailed as the greatest heroes of their generation, resulting in this trope.
• In S.S.D.D. Collective of Anarchist States First Advisor Laura Black achieved a 96% approval rating after nuking Texas, the highest since the CAS's founder (and that poll was restricted to those who hadn't actually met him). It scared her into fleeing the country, seeing how there was now nowhere to go but down.

Western Animation

• King Gregor and his daughter, Princess Calla, are deeply loved by the residents of Dunwyn, in Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears.
• In Adventure Time, Princess Bubblegum was unquestionably adored by all of her subjects for quite a long time, possibly because she had personally created every Candy Kingdom citizen. No matter what choice she made, all of the Candy People praised and loved her. However, as the series progressed, she began growing more totalitarian and controlling, a result of her near-death from the Lich. Even then, it was all done to protect her subjects from the dangers of Ooo. Unfortunately, this (along with the Candy People's idiocy) was what led to them electing the so-called King of Ooo to rule over them. However, the Candy people soon suffer the consequences of electing a lying incompetent buffoon into power, and eventually he's run out. Furthermore, prior episodes have PB ease up on her Control Freak tendencies. She ends up back in the monarchy.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
  • Princess Celestia gets so much respect that the moment she shows up, even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie genuflected in silent reverence — while Twilight Sparkle, the only one who had personal familiarity with her, went for a hug. Might have something to do with her being a physical goddess. Later episodes though show that many of her subjects are a little intimidated by her, and frequently fuss about making a good impression (always needlessly) and that Twilight has neuroses about never letting her down EVER. Celestia herself is always a bit perturbed by this, preferring to know her subjects more personally.
  • Surprisingly enough, the comics show that Queen Chrysalis is quite popular with the changelings. She ends up becoming hated by the changelings in the Season 6 finale when her true intentions have been revealed and she had been deliberately starving them just to gain more power.
  • Princess Luna initially feared that she had a 0% Approval Rating, causing her to turn into Nightmare Moon and attempt to invoke The Night That Never Ends before she was stopped. After changing back, she seems to have gotten back in everypony's good graces, especially with kids. Protecting them from having nightmares may have something to do with that.
  • With some notable exceptions, now-Princess Twilight Sparkle is incredibly beloved by the general population. One episode even stated that opinion polls listed her as Equestria's favorite princess. Like Celestia before her, Twilight is a little put out by this, since she'd rather deal with people on a personal level.
• In Superman: The Animated Series, Darkseid is revered by all of his subjects. When Superman beats him to a pulp and throws him to the downtrodden Lowlies, they immediately try to find medical attention for him. Though it should be noted it's not adoration but pure fear and conditioning to the point they can't function without him.
  Darkseid: I am many things, Kal-El, but here, I am God.
  • This continues into Justice League Unlimited, where Darkseid's death causes Apokolips to fall into a civil war, and his return from the grave instantly ends it, with nobody daring to continue their fight for the throne.
• In the animated series Tabaluga, both the titular character and his father are beloved by their subjects.
• Tangled: The Series: Criminals and villains aside, almost everyone in Corona adores Rapunzel. Almost.
• Optimus Prime is this beloved by the Autobots in most versions of Transformers where he is the leader of all Autobots (as opposed to just the main team, like in Beast Wars and Animated.) Notable exceptions include the comic version of G1 Grimlock, who feels Prime isn't strong enough (read: isn't a Blood Knight like Grimmy and believes smashing stuff doesn't solve everything.) and many Redshirt Autobots in Armada (a moment of realism about it being war: instead of just going along with the new situation, it was "you mean we suffered heavy losses to the 'cons taking this territory, and now we're gonna walk away from it and work with the 'cons to fight some fairy tale bogeyman called 'Unicron'?")
• In Wander over Yonder, Lord Hater's Adorable Evil Minions, the Watchdogs, genuinely love him and strive for his approval. He's less well-liked among the populations he's conquered, however.

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