Basic Trope: An important character loses said importance in adaptations and/or sequels or gradually becomes less focused on as a show goes on.
- Straight:
- Mina, an important supporting character in the comic Fighting Crime makes only a few appearances in the cartoon adaptation.
- Mina starts off as a fairly important central character in the first season of the show but becomes less focused on in the later seasons.
- Exaggerated:
- Mina is only a background extra that only appears for one frame in the cartoon.
- Several supporting characters along with Mina, previously important, make only brief appearances in the cartoon.
- Mina was the protagonist in the comic, yet in the cartoon, she's completely absent and has been replaced by Alice, a new character.
- Downplayed:
- Mina was the deuteragonist in the comic, yet in the cartoon she's demoted to tritagonist.
- Mina is still a main character in any adaptations, but several recurring characters have bigger roles than her.
- Justified:
- The adaptation covers a portion where Mina had a minor role to begin with.
- The cartoon is a sequel to the comic, and it takes place after Mina's character arc has come to an end.
- Inverted: Ascended Extra
- Subverted:
- Mina returns unexpectedly for a major plot, getting a great deal of screen time and importance...
- Although she has little screentime and doesn't has any impact on the plot, those little appearances are awesome and often used for advertising.
- Mina isn't demoted, she's just not getting an Adaptational Early Appearance.
- Double Subverted: ...but it turns out to be only A Day in the Limelight
- Parodied: Mina struggles in each episode to get more screentime.
- Zig-Zagged: Commuting on a Bus
- Averted: Mina has the exact same role in the comic and the cartoon adaptation.
- Enforced:
- Mina's planned voice actor had other commitments, forcing her to have little screentime. Alternatively, Mina is The Scrappy.
- The cartoon is only a 12-Episode Anime, so the producers decide to remove Mina's subplot in order to squeeze overall plot in 12 episodes.
- Lampshaded: "I remember Mina used to be around more often. What happened, anyway?"
- Invoked: Reassigned to Antarctica.
- Exploited: Mina is able to spy on the Big Bad precisely because she has been ignored.
- Defied: Mina does a Hostile Show Takeover.
- Discussed: "Mina if you hang around over there so much, we'll stop noticing you!"
- Conversed: "All the fans miss Mina and wish she came back".
- Deconstructed: Mina pulls a Face–Heel Turn because she was suddenly ignored by everyone.
- Reconstructed:
- Mina then does a Heel–Face Turn and is promptly ignored again.
- Or Mina was a bit of a Scrappy beforehand when she had a bigger role but in this adaptation/new installment while she gets a lot less screentime most/all of her negative attributes get downplayed/removed making her a more likable character. So to make a long story short she gets less screentime but is Rescued from the Scrappy Heap as a result.
- Plotted A Good Waste: Mina's decreased importance was done entirely to ensure the fans would be as excited as possible when that importance returns.
- Played For Laughs: Mina humorously complains to the writers about her sudden insignificance. Repeatedly.
- Played For Drama: Mina's fewer appearances are caused by depression or anxiety. The characters talk about trying to help her.
Back to Demoted to Extra
