: Re: Can a useless protagonist be interesting? So, I was thinking about one of my little worlds, when I stumbled into an interesting problem. At first, this is a run-of-the-mill isekai (trapped in

@Rambettina586

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One variant of this is for the protagonist to be useless by the criteria their society uses. But no-one is useless entirely; it's about finding your niche, whoever that may put you amongst. Every example looks different, so I'll flesh out three.

Consider Touma in A Certain Magical Index. In a city that values measurable "esper" abilities, he's the only person physically incapable of ever showing even a slight power. Why? Because his right hand negates powers. You can probably guess why there are people who find he's the only one who can solve their problems. It gets him caught up in a lot of conflicts he doesn't really care about; he just wants to resolve them to stop violence. He doesn't even appreciate his Imagine Breaker, however, because it also means he can't be lucky.

Consider Kaz in Neo Yokio. He has exorcism powers, which is how he makes his living. But is that the kind of talent that gets you respect where he lives? It gets him called a rat catcher. What he's judged by is the concerns of the wealthy: fashion style, being an "eligible bachelor", that sort of thing.

Consider Billy Cranston in Power Rangers. He spends his ranger career as the one with the least martial arts ability, which costs him Ch confidence early on. Yet it's one of the longest because he's more useful solving technical problems; he even does this for a season after losing his powers. He turns down the chance to be a Zeo Ranger because he thinks he can help more behind the scenes, and boy does he ever. And in his private life, his social awkwardness and clumsiness have their obvious drawbacks, but his intellect and kindness earn him dates with several girls.

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