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Western Animation - TV Tropes

  • ️Sun Jun 05 2022

RonTheDeathEater / Western Animation

Top: How Patrick is displayed in canon. Bottom: How Patrick is displayed in fanon.

Works with their own pages:

  • The Amphibia fandom has done this with the off-screen parents of Sasha and Marcy, whose scarce details have been used to explain the issues of the two characters to assist in their flaw reduction or offer Freudian excuses for them, as opposed to Anne's wholesome parents:
    • Marcy's parents have the most between them having actual offscreen lines and a holiday letter sent to them. This one scene was them arguing with Marcy over a genuinely stressful topic that they were moving, a revelation that Marcy takes very badly. Marcy's father has two lines, neither of which are particularly harsh with the harshest being telling her to 'get back here young lady' as Marcy runs out of the house, possibly after breaking something but definitely because their thirteen-year-old daughter ran out of the house in tears. From this fans, occasionally bolstered by a few of Marcy's other quirks like liking escapist fantasy, have decided that they, or more specifically Mr. Wu, is various forms of emotionally and verbally abusive, and is nearly always the homophobic parent if Marcy is paired with Anne and/or Sasha. Mrs. Wu, who gets one line, is this to a lesser extent, just as likely to be as bad as fans dub her husband as to be the good parent of the two. And even then she's portrayed as an enabler, letting her husband get away with his abuse on their daughter, sometimes encouraging it.
    • Sasha's parents have only been seen via holiday letters being sent to them as any context of who they are, as their daughter has pretty much never referenced them. However, partially because Sasha doesn't mention them at all and partially because of Sasha's more obvious and extensive list of problems the two are made out to be every sort of bad parenting trope in the book. They are negligent, controlling, verbally abusive, constantly fighting, and everything else that could cause a girl to develop a litany of issues that range from control freak tendencies to a disregard for rules and consequences. All that is known about them in canon meanwhile, is that they get two letters, implying separation. From this and nothing else the fandom has more or less decided they are terrible parents who are to blame for Sasha's issues.
    • Classmate Maggie is only shown bullying Anne once in Season 1, yet is portrayed in many fanworks as being a bigger jerk than she is in canon. A lot of works portray her as racist, being very discriminating towards Anne and her friends and showing homophobic or transphobic tendencies to them. As well as using physical violence as part of her harassment. While she is a jerk to Anne in canon, Maggie isn't nearly as antagonistic as most of the fandom portrays her as.
    • While Sasha clearly wasn't a very good person before Amphibia, flashbacks did show that she does care about her friends Anne Marcy a lot. But fanfics tend to portray her as a complete manipulative jerkass who would throw anyone, including her two best friends, under the bus at a moments notice.
    • Unfortunately, despite her vast popularity among the fandom as well as being a Nice Girl who is firmly on the side of good, Marcy herself has gotten this ever since The Reveal that she knew what The Calamity Box would do and got herself along with Anne and Sasha trapped in Amphibia on purpose in "True Colors". While many fans sympathize and felt bad for Marcy over the unfortunate circumstances that have befallen on her, others have demonized her here and there by saying that she can just as bad or even worse than Sasha in selfishness, her fate in True Colors was deserved, and she should've acted logically in talked to Anne and Sasha about her problems like a normal person, despite being autistic as per Diagnosis of God.
    • Despite being already a villain, Andrias Leviathan has been hit with this. In the show, he's a Tragic Villain who appears to take some sadistic pleasure in his actions but is really controlled and manipulated by his cruel ancestors and who's only real joy comes from his friendship with Marcy. In fanworks, however, even those released after the end of the show, he's often shown as a sadistic sociopath who's happily carrying out every cruel and tyrannical action, which tend to never factor in his past and the fact that so long as he wears the crown, he can hear the Core in his head always ordering him around and influencing his course of action rather than him always deciding to do wrong because he enjoys it. It doesn't help that other Disney TVA media that aired after the series finale such as Chibi Tiny Tales and Broken Karaoke still portrays him as an evil villain with no redeeming qualities, and continues be seen with other Disney TVA Villains such as Bill Cipher and Emperor Belos despite fellow redeemed villain Dr. Doofenshmirtz lampshading his redemption arc in the Broken Karaoke short "Evil As Can Be."
  • Arthur:
    • D.W. Read is widely despised by the fandom for her Annoying Younger Sibling tendencies, to the point where she's often portrayed as an Enfant Terrible in fanfiction and sociopathic tropes have been shoehorned onto her entry on the character page multiple times. While she's certainly no angel, she's nowhere near that bad in canon.
    • Arthur's Mom and Dad are often vilified by fans into being Abusive Parents who deny Arthur of the things he likes while letting D.W. get away with everything. Sure, they aren't perfect parents by any means (and their actions in ''Arthur's Big Hit'' were certainly mean) but they still love both Arthur and D.W. as shown in many episodes.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: The character most commonly and most extremely demonized is Azula. She is flanderized from being a Magnificent Bastard brought down by a Villainous Breakdown due to emotional and psychological turmoil to an Ax-Crazy Psycho Lesbian who rapes and tortures enemy and ally alike, abuses animals, and lacks all redeeming qualities from the show. This perception is so prevalent that it is taken as canon by much of the fanbase and is not merely limited to fanfiction. Karmic Rape against Azula is a disturbingly common trope in fanfics due to this.
  • Sarah from The Boondocks gets this a lot. She is a bit domineering, is a little flirty towards men, and can get bored with Tom but is still presented as in love with him. In fanworks Sarah will frequently cheat on Tom and is sometimes even abusive towards Tom or Jazmine..
  • Code Lyoko fans who love to ship Odd/Aelita tend to do this to Jeremie in their fanfics, often twisting him into a possessive Jerkass that abuses and insults Aelita.
  • In Daria, this has happened to just about every character at some point, due to the fandom's penchant for Darker and Edgier or Dark Fics:
  • Hazbin Hotel:
    • While Alastor mostly gets the Draco in Leather Pants treatment, the fandom can go the opposite direction too as some Fan Works portray Alastor as a Complete Monster who's worse than Adam or even Valentino. While Alastor is not a good guy in the slightest, these fans ignore Alastor's own twisted but resolute code of morals such as his hatred of rapists, his unwillingness to hurt children, him ultimately keeping his word to Charlie and protecting the Hotel however in self-interest it may be, and his genuine friendship with Rosie and Niffty.
    • While Sera did allow the exterminations to happen, it was more in the interests of protecting Heaven rather than wanting to further punish sinners, and her love for Emily appears to be sincere. In fanwork, she is frequently stripped of these qualities and portrayed as a tyrant willing to cross the Moral Event Horizon for the sake of maintaining order in Heaven (like murdering Sir Pentious to keep word from getting out that sinners can be redeemed) and an abusive mother/older sister figure who would banish Emily to Hell without hesitation for questioning her.
    • Fanfictions and fanarts depicting Adam in a more positive light will often portray Lucifer and Lilith (especially the latter) messing with his life for shits and giggles to justify his hatred towards them. Some fanworks specifically turn Lilith into an abusive gaslighter and the true cause of Adam turning into a jerkass, having manipulated and lied about the creation story in the "History of Hell" book to make herself look sympathetic. This is helped by the reveal in the Season 1 finale that shows Lilith in a far shadier light than previously thought, calling into question her telling of Hell's history.
  • Jackie Chan Adventures: Jade Chan is a unique case, since she's made more evil in a specific way, and not by haters. Many fans enjoyed Jade's portrayal as the evil Queen of the Shadowkhan and so have dedicated entire stories to turning her back into the Queen. Project Dark Jade is dedicated to works based on this premise.
  • The Loud House: The Loud family themselves are targets of this treatment but other characters were also demonized too.
    • Due to the shipping wars, it's not uncommon to see many other characters (Ronnie Anne, Cristina, Bobby, Clyde, etc.) get this treatment.
    • In regards to the numerous "Loudcest" ships, most of the sisters (mainly Luan, Lynn, and Lucy) tend to get struck with the Yandere treatment pretty hard.
    • The sisters in general have received plenty of this treatment in other manners. Their negative traits are amplified by some, due to being completely oblivious and/or ignorant of the abuse they put Lincoln through and typically getting away with it; "The Sweet Spot", "Sound of Silence", "Sleuth or Consequences", "It's a Loud, Loud, Loud, Loud, Loud House", "Brawl in the Family" and "No Such Luck" are notable episodes that back this claim up. That said, in most fan works, the sisters acknowledge how badly they've treated Lincoln and otherwise learn their lesson in the end.
      • Despite becoming kinder later on, there's fanfics that portray Lori as a Control Freak Alpha Bitch who only care about Bobby, her siblings be damned, with Lincoln being her favorite target. In regards to Carol, she is portrayed as being very envious of her and will do anything to outperform her.
      • Not even Leni is safe of this. She is portrayed by her haters as a Lethally Stupid ditz. There's also some fanfics that treats her ditzness as a facade to get away with her actions.
      • Luna is another case. Due to Die for Our Ship reasons, mainly when Sam is being shipped with someone else, her affection for her will be twisted into an Entitled to Have You situation where she wants to control Sam's life and even become a villain if she is found out to have an Incompatible Orientation. She is also portrayed as abusive to Lincoln and being paranoid if he wants to take Sam away from her.
      • Luan, due to her actions in the April Fool episodes, is believed to be a sociopathic prankster who doesn't care who gets hurt in her pranks as long as she is satisfied and gets a laugh. On the other hand, there's some fanfics that say she has an evil split-personality that takes her over during April Fool's Day.
      • Lynn is the most frequent target, due to being the more static of the sisters and because the episodes in which she takes the central spot tend to insist on the negative aspects of her personality; with her being frequently portrayed as a remorseless Big Sister Bully with an inflated ego and refusing to take responsibility for her actions, mainly on fanfics based on "No such Luck". While she does have some Character Development at the end of "Lynner Takes All" and "Net Gains", some fans tend to ignore them to amplify her flaw.
      • Lola was bratty but also became more kinder later on, but she is still portrayed as a manipulative blackmailer who only cares about herself, mainly due to the stories in "Sound of Silence", even though the stories were made-up.
    • Lincoln:
      • He himself isn't safe from this either, as some fans, when defending the sisters, will sometimes go too far and claim that Lincoln deserves any bad thing that happens to him, no matter how clearly disproportionate it is. He is also portrayed as an entitled and hypocritical brat who would gleefully torment his sisters if they doesn't cater to his wants, even brutally beating up his younger sisters.
      • There's an unintentional example while targetting his sisters; he is turned into an avatar for the vindictiveness from the writers, turning into a grudge-holding and spiteful Jerkass who is perfectly fine if his family suffers as long he is satisfied.
    • Lynn Sr. and Rita sometimes get this treatment too, due to their questionable moments as parents. In such cases, they're often derided as abusive, neglectful pushovers instead of the flawed but loving parents they are in the show.
    • Sam Sharp was canonically shown to love Luna and was a Nice Girl overall, but fanfics that puts her through Die for Our Ship portrays her as adulterous and even as a manipulative Bitch in Sheep's Clothing using Luna for her own selfish ends.
    • Chandler is an odd case; while he isn't meant to be sympathetic and later became an antagonist for Lincoln, there's some people who portray him as a sexist or misogynist Casanova Wannabe who treats girls as a prize. Though most examples tend to be Adaptational Villainy than this trope since he is usually portrayed as a bully and/or Manipulative Bastard.
  • Then there's the biggest victim of this, or about as close to a victim that a cartoon can be anyway, Mickey Mouse. Anytime people want to take shots at Disney, Mickey's the one who gets the short-straw, portrayed as a Corrupt Corporate Executive with no shreds of the Nice Guy All-Loving Hero he is in canon. It gets especially jarring when you consider how no other big mascot of a widely mocked company gets the same treatment (Bugs or Daffy whenever Warner Bros. (Or Michigan J. Frog, who has been depicted as a corrupt boss of Warner Bros. before, making him a good candidate). is mocked for example although Mario is occasionally portrayed as this for Nintendo), it's just Mickey who gets treated as a company sock-puppet. Whether it's South Park making repeated jokes about it, internet shows making a rather Shallow Parody, or people saying Mickey blackmailed Nintendo into adding Sora into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lest they be bought out by them (Something that would more likely horrify Sora), Mickey never seems to get a break from this.
    • While not on as big a scale as Mickey, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit winds up joining his "little brother" in this trope, many depicting him as still resenting Mickey or even turning evil over it. We'll ignore that Oswald, while certainly resenting Mickey at first, never really went through with trying to replace him (The worst he did being siccing some Spatters on him.), and eventually grew to care about him.
  • The Owl House:
    • The 'reality check camp' is frequently taken for the full extent of Fridge Horror possible and made into more or less a conversion camp. In canon, little about the camp is actually known. The camp is supposed to straighten out the wild personalities of children and help them to learn valuable skills over the summer, like balancing checkbooks. It's later shown in "Yesterday's Lie" that the camp is just unpleasant and ineffective at reforming kids at worst.
    • Camila gets a bit of this from some fans. Since she was the one to send her daughter to summer camp, she can and has been depicted as an abusive parent who mistreats her daughter as a result, though to a far lesser degree than the Blight parents and one is as likely, if not more, to find a Camila whose actions are treated as well intentioned but mistaken instead in these scenarios. Thankfully, by Season 2, this type of portrayal is very much dying down after "Yesterday's Lie" shows just how much of a loving and caring mother Camila really is. Of course, the rash promise she made Luz give her after finding out the truth and possibly unknowingly causing extra stress to her daughter didn’t stop a few detractors from viewing it as more "evidence" of her being the contrary.
    • Amity and Bump get this as well in their first episode. It's taken as a given that Amity expected Bump to dissect Luz, when Bump is generally characterized as a witch who resorts to diplomacy before violence, and gave the knife to Willow as a sort of test: if Willow cut Luz open, then she's not alive; if she refuses, then Luz is alive. Considering Amity has attended Hexside for years, she wouldn't have expected Bump to harm someone who was more or less innocent, and thus she is less bloodthirsty than some have portrayed. Afterwards, Bump simply bans Luz from the school.
    • Odalia and Alador Blight get this more than anyone. While it's true that they're Abusive Parents, at least in Odalia's case, they've only ever been shown being emotionally abusive and manipulative, yet their actions will often be conflated to include physical abuse and occasionally homophobia. This died down a bit once it became clear that Odalia has no problem with Amity dating a girl, just not Luz. However, the "physical abuse" theories continue unabated.
    • Mattholomule is often depicted as a being worse bully and jerk than Boscha, who in episodes has shown to have violently sociopathic tendencies. In the show itself, his bullying of Gus doesn't go as far as what Boscha does to Willow and the others. In his next major appearance he surprisingly Took a Level in Kindness by helping save Gus from the Glandus students, even befriending him by the end. The absolute worst he's done since is helping Tibbles' attempts to scam people with the Good Witch Azura books with said scam just being them taking credit for a book they didn't write.
    • As is common with a father who isn't around and isn't specified why, Luz's father was quickly made into a modular being whose absence was usually, but not always, used as a source of angst for Luz. This was primarily in the idea of having him walk out from the family or have been abusive. In truth, Season 2 would reveal not only his name, Manny, but that he's dead and fondly remembered. Fanfiction did a 180 to adapt, with Manny's death portrayed as a tragedy and its effects on Luz explored.
    • While she's clearly established to be a massive jerk since Season 1, Boscha is often called a homophobe by fans and treated like one despite, per Word of God, that not being a thing in the Demon Realm, some dialogue that implies that Boscha herself isn't straight, and the hint that she herself has two moms. This is typically from fans taking her dislike of Luz and Amity, two people she hates individually, and applying it to all couples like them in general demonization.
    • Belos also weirdly gets this, he is in canon a sociopathic mass murderer who views witches and demons as a vile evil to be wiped from existence, but he is also been often depicted by fans as a homophobic, racist and even sexist despite never having shown any of these traits in the show. This seems to be more because of the time and place Belos came from, very early Colonial America, where by modern standards such sentiments were the norm. Some fanfic authors even make Belos sexually abusive towards Hunter.
  • While The Penguins of Madagascar are far from saints, the fandom (and the character's in-universe as well) has a tendency of blaming them for things they didn't actually do, particulary getting Officer X fired from his job and traumatizing Leonard the koala. In the former side, they didn't actually had nothing to do with that, as he was fired after he downloaded his frustration over his failure on capturing the Penguins going on a rampage over the city and on the latter side, it was more related to Leonard panicking and not following their instructions that the Penguins attempting anything to do his situation worst.
  • The Powerpuff Girls: While it's true that the Powerpuff Girls can be Destructive Saviours and are prone to having selfish moments, some people exaggerate their flaws, forgetting that the three of them are far from being bad kids and that they do care about each other as well the citizens of Townsville.
  • Rugrats: Drew Pickles is often portrayed as a misogynistic, sadistic homosexual rapist courtesy of the Barney Bunch videos who would stop at nothing to get the satisfaction he needs.
  • She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
    • Both Glimmer and Catra are flawed characters, who have similar personality traits but different value systems: they both have a jealous and possessive streak, they both crave validation, they're both prone to assuming they're in the right even when they're not, they're both reckless and aggressive, and they both make some really big mistakes that they're going to have their hands full making up for. Because certain fringes of the fanbase have a problem with nuance, however (and their status as Adora's two most plausible romantic partners does not help with this), you get some really wild attempts to whitewash one of them by dragging the other through the mud: either Catra's moments of guilt and compassion are erased to portray her as an irredeemable, abusive monster, or Glimmer's occasional insensitivity and her ruthless streak are exaggerated into her being a completely unempathetic borderline sadist, overlooking that she can also be very kind and loyal (the latter may be slightly more common due to the sheer popularity of Catradora). And so you get things like attempts to portray Glimmer giving Catra a very brief electric shock during their battle in "Pulse" as some sort of display of horrible cruelty, but Catra's clearly extremely painful attempt to electrocute Adora in "Flutterina" is brushed under the rug. On the reverse end, many attempt to deny Catra's Heel–Face Turn and depict her as being abusive to Adora when they begin their relationship. They also tend to downplay the times Catra was actually right.
    • An interesting variation. Hordak most certainly is a villain, but you will find people who would rather gloss over his more sympathetic aspects, portray him as an irredeemable monster, and argue against the sympathy the show gives him. Many of them were not overjoyed when Hordak made a Heel–Face Turn in Season 5.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants
    • SpongeBob gets this sometimes. Although numerous post-season 3 episodes portray him as an annoying, obnoxious man-child, he can still be a nice guy, depending on the episode. Yet, some fans demonize him even when he doesn't cause trouble. He also gets this from some leftist/anti-capitalist fans who relate to Squidward due to his unconditional adoration of Mr. Krabs and his minimum-wage job at the Krusty Krab while being completely oblivious to Squidward's plight and to the class struggle, which causes them to paint him as a "perfect little capitalist minion".note 
    • Squidward gets this and the Draco in Leather Pants treatment (even though he isn't a villain without any redeeming qualities). Some fans hate Squidward because of how he treats SpongeBob and Patrick, ignoring the fact that SpongeBob and Patrick annoys him to no end and won't let him have any breathing space, when all Squidward wants to do is relax. Plus, some of them think that he deserves his Butt-Monkey status simply because he doesn't like SpongeBob and Patrick. Other fans treat him like a saint because he is a Butt-Monkey and gets endless abuse, forgetting that he acts like a jerk sometimes and does indeed deserve at least some of the abuse handed to him, depending on the episode.
    • Patrick is also prone to this treatment, particularly due to later episodes. While he does have his share of Jerkass moments, he's still a well-meaning Kindhearted Simpleton most of the time. However, fans often make him out to be a complete sociopath due to some of his actions often going beyond simple ditziness and bordering on Lethally Stupid, as well as throwaway lines in a few episodes that imply he's Obfuscating Stupidity.
    • While Mr. Krabs has had his fair share of jerkass and antagonistic moments Depending on the Writer, the early seasons often portrayed him as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold (if not a Mr. Vice Guy) and Reasonable Authority Figure who could be a Benevolent Boss to SpongeBob. On the other hand, fan works and interpretations almost always have him as the Big Bad and remove any redeeming qualities he had in canon, with recurring attempts on This Very Wiki to shoehorn him into The Sociopath, Knight Templar, and other such tropes.
  • Steven Universe
    • Steven Universe himself gets this due to the Common Knowledge that he forgives the Diamonds during the series finale. By detractor logic, this means that Steven condones Nazi branded fascism despite most of the series having him in staunch opposition to Homeworld gems and their misdeeds. Furthermore, Steven's willingness to see the good in others and allow them to change their ways is twisted into Steven forgiving villains for just about anything, regardless of how heinous they are.
    • Lars ended up with this due to his cynical personality being a Foil to Steven's optimistic outlook. From the way some fans saw him, you'd think that Lars was an abusive jerk who bullies Steven all the time and is an awful boyfriend to Sadie. This lessened when Lars was revealed to be insecure in later seasons and died off outright once Lars himself died and was resurrected by Steven.
    • Lapis Lazuli tends to be seen as an awful person due to her brief stint as an antagonist in "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" involving her creating a tower out of the Earths oceans or her being coerced into forming Malachite by Jasper. The reveal in "Alone at Sea" that she enjoyed abusing Jasper during their time as Malachite, caused some fans to portray her as a domestic abuser while letting Jasper off the hook despite Malachite being mutually abusive (Lapis physically abusing Jasper and Jasper coercing and manipulating Lapis into staying).
    • Out of all the Crystal Gems, Pearl gets it the worst. Pearl is seen by some as a highly strung, haughty bitch who secretly hates Steven because Rose Quartz gave up her physical form to give birth to him and is creepily obsessed with Rose Quartz. Episode such as "Space Race" (abducting Steven to take him to Homeworld via a custom made rocket) and "Rose's Scabbard" (not helping Steven after he nearly falls to his death) caused this happen early on though later ones such as "A Single Pale Rose" only exacerbated the issue, causing some fans to portray Pearl as a lying bitch who caused all the pain and suffering in the series by intentionally keeping Pink Diamond and Rose's identity a secret instead of considering that Pearl was forced to stay silent on the matter for years by Pink Diamond.
    • Rose Quartz (later revealed to be Pink Diamond) got hit with this hard after "A Single Pale Rose". Due to the episode revealing Pink Diamond as a younger version of Rose Quartz, fan perception of Rose Quartz went from "flawed but ultimately well intentioned rebel leader" to "lying, manipulate bitch extraordinaire who orchestrated the Gem War by playing both sides and caused countless aeons of suffering afterwards" and "Rose Quartz only changed her identity to avoid taking responsibility for her actions and intentionally gave birth to Steven so he'd have to atone for her sins."
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
    • April gets a weird amount of this, mostly shipping-related. Yes, she can be unreasonable at times, but she's also shown to be a kind person who genuinely cares for the people around her, and her bouts of jerkishness aren't much worse than the turtles'. The most stand-out example (her angrily cutting the turtles out of her life after her dad got mutated at the start of Season 2) wasn't entirely unjustified on her end (it was genuinely the turtles' fault and they did not break the news to her gently) and, more importantly, she acknowledged she was wrong and apologized.
    • The turtles themselves go through an odd variant in some fanfics. A lot of fanfics have taken to deconstructing their family dynamic, which is admittedly fair. The issue comes in that most of these address it by scrubbing three of the turtles of any positive traits they have to paint them as nothing more than toxic Jerkasses to the remaining brother's saintly Woobie, ignoring that both a) all of them do genuinely care for each other, and b) perhaps more importantly, all of them have moments where they grip the Jerkass Ball and are unnecessarily mean to each other.
    • Splinter also gets this, with a ton of fan works and interpretations spinning him as an Abusive Parent because of his Tough Love behavior towards the Turtles, despite it being made clear repeatedly throughout the show that he deeply cares for them and is only hard on them because how worried he is for their safety.
  • Tiny Toon Adventures:
    • A lot of fanfiction or fanart about the show focuses on Fifi La Fume and, naturally, romance. Furrball/Fifi fanfics often start with Fifi breaking up with Hamton J Pig. Sometimes, it’s simply handwaved that it just “wasn’t working out” between them. However there are some which state that Fifi left Hamton because he was spiteful, dishonest or even abusive; character traits that he never displayed at all in the show.
    • There are a number of Tiny Toons fans who like to depict Elmyra Duff as being genuinely evil instead of Obliviously Evil in their works. This is due in part to the short, "Out of Odor" (part of "Viewer Mail Day"), where Elmyra successfully captures Fifi, being under the impression that she's a cat.
  • Winx Club:
    • Prince Sky of Eraklyon is a tame example of this trope not because he's bashed less but because, viewed through a more objective lent, his canonical flaws are pretty nasty and he frequently comes off as Unintentionally Unsympathetic. The narrative presents him as the perfect, brave prince charming. In-Universe, he has been unfaithful to his fiancée Diaspro and his Love Interest Bloom by two-timing them, accused Bloom of cheating him (with an older man nonetheless), stalked her to prove his claims, and treated his cousin Thoren because the latter ran off to get help while Sky stubbornly tried to fend off assassins (they were kids at the time). Looking at him through adult eyes, many fans had a bad case of Broken Pedestal with him and portrayed him if not as an outright villain, at least as a Dogged Nice Guy in fanfics.
    • Some fans called Nabu out for killing Duman, because Duman was sick and Nabu promised to help him. Overlooking that Duman drew first blood by attacking him and the specialists while they were trying to help him, and even in the midst of this, Nabu offered to help Duman again and tried to reason with him, to which Duman coldly rejected his help and proudly confessed to his and his partners' betrayal and plan to kill all fairies. Had Nabu not destroyed Duman when he did, not only could Duman have possibly killed him and the specialists (and most certainly would have betrayed Nabu yet again if he spared him), but Ogron would have succeeded in killing all the fairies. Furthermore, Nabu sacrificed himself to save the fairies in the same episode.