Basic Trope: A ramshackle group of characters has to save the day.
- Straight: A wizard, having learned of a danger, collects a few men-at-arms, a thief, and a forester to help him — they were the people at the hiring fair who could help.
- Exaggerated: The king empties out his dungeon and sends them all under his captain of the guard's authority. Plus a few courtiers with useful skills. Or useless skills.
- Downplayed:
- The characters aren't entirely ill-suited, about one-third of them have had trainings to deal with the matters at hand.
- The characters have the skills necessary, but constantly clash with each other and have personal issues which would normally disqualify them from anything more vital or dangerous than operating a cheese grater.
- Justified:
- They're what's available — either for lack of authority, or because the location is isolated.
- They're expendable.
- The Big Bad poisoned the king, his knights and their squires, and his wizards; the princess, the pages, the stable boys, and the apprentice wizards are what's left.
- The Hero gathers his team in his travels resulting in the group being anyone who would help him over people suited for the job
- As punishment for various misdeeds, the king sent some knights, squires, wizards, and other retainers to a manor while festivities were going on; then, the court is attacked, and the Evil Wizard clearly has information that could only have been given to him by the people at the festivities. Realizing they are the only ones who aren't suspects, the king sends them to bring down the wizard.
- The plan is Crazy Enough to Work and these are the only people who aren't having a conniption about the "crazy" part.
- Inverted: Quirky Miniboss Squad
- Subverted: They're Bunny Ears Lawyers; you shouldn't judge them by looks.
- Double Subverted: On the other hand, their quirks are — distinctive, and interfere with the mission on occasion.
- Parodied:
- A want-ad is placed for heroes, stating that the requirements for the job include bravery, strong moral character, and either one major quirk or three minor-but-distinctive foibles.
- A princess, a pickpocket, a unicorn, a Nature Hero, and an angel are sent to defeat the Big Bad. And they are all constantly high.
- Zig Zagged:
- The authorities are always trying to send new teams, which range from crack, well-trained teams to characters picked at random.
- A skilled, trained team has to make some unusual new additions to their group along the way.
- Averted: The team is constructed carefully.
- Enforced: "The players are going to want to run their own characters; we need a scenario to fit them all in."
- Lampshaded: "All groups of adventurers with no visible reason to stick together will be shot on sight."
- Invoked: "Hey, everyone! Let's go take out the Dark Lord! Since none of us know each other or have the least in common, that's the best plan."
- Implied: The very first thing we hear about the team is a disgusted "these are the people who are supposed to save us?"
- Exploited: "If we have no idea how these people would be able to work together, then there's no way the Dark Lord will be able to predict their moves either!"
- Defied: "I'll take the best men I can get, and I'll train them until they work together!"
- Discussed: "But sire, how do you expect a farmboy, his dog, the princess, a 100 year-old wizard, and a cave woman to save our kingdom!?"
- Conversed: "This anime contains so many strange crazy things as heroes. I bet this team of Ragtag Bunch of Misfits will triumph despite Big Bad despite what the town cryer thinks."
- Deconstructed: The team collapses from in-fighting, and several members become Turn Coats.
- Reconstructed: With the traitors purged, the misfits are ashamed of their poor showing and pull themselves together. Plus one Turn Coat was their leader, the government official in charge, and they realize he was The Mole.
- Plotted A Good Waste:
- The rag-tag bunch of misfits are quirky and individualistic and comedic... and the story undergoes Cerebus Syndrome, they get a Trauma Conga Line, and after a Time Skip they got some actual training. They still fit the description, but have become much more professional.
- The bunch of misfits are a collective Decoy Protagonist. The true heroes are the bunch of misfits' kids, who are more solid about the whole "teamwork" thing.
- Similar to the above, but the actual team is a highly-professional bunch of soldiers who may have the individuality of a drone bee but the film is saved by running on Competence Porn.
- Played For Laughs: Even at their most serious, the bunch of misfits' weird quirks cause at least one funny moment. At the least serious, they are a barely-functional bunch of maniacs winning on sheer crazy.
- Played For Drama: The bunch of misfits are a barely-functional bunch of maniacs who very barely get things done because they waste a lot of time insulting and trying to (not to?) kill each other. Even when they supposedly see each other as a Family of Choice.
- Played For Horror: The bunch of misfits are a ripoff of the Manson Family.
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