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Nice, Mean and In-Between

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A style of three characters in a piece of media. One of them is nice, one's rather rude, and the other is caught between the two.

  • Nice Character: This is pretty self-explanatory - they are simply really nice, friendly, kindhearted, compassionate, and helpful. They are typically really kind and friendly to everybody else. They usually don't lose their temper, however this can be subverted. Other variations will portray them as way too naive and gullible due to them thinking everybody is good. A rare example is them being a a pushover who is way too nice for their own good. They'll oftentimes be the peacemaker if the mean and in-between characters get into a fight. If they are siblings, they are usually the youngest one. If they are dumb, they'll be a Kindhearted Simpleton. If the trio is in particular evil, they are the Token Good Teammate.
  • Mean Character: The foil of the nice character. Pretty self-explanatory - they are rude, insensitive, harsh, inconsiderate, and abrasive. In most cases, they are typically really hostile towards the nice and in-between characters. They typically seem to be a bully to the nice character, just to seem like a jerk. Also, they could get into arguments with the in-between character, a lot. They may be a Jerkass at their worst, but a Jerk with a Heart of Gold at their best. If they are the latter, then they more on the "Jerk" side rather than "Heart of Gold". If they are a hero, then they'll most certainly be an Anti-Hero that is above Type 1, who's always harsh to others. Sometimes, they may as will be a cynic, be really grumpy, and/or be really snarky/sarcastic. If they are the leader then they'll be a strict, cruel, and no-nonsense one. If they are siblings, they'll either be the oldest or the middle child. If the trio is in particular evil, then they'll be a Token Evil Teammate.
  • In-Between Character: This character is not as nice as the nice character due to being well y'know - the in-between character - and have some bad qualities, but unlike the mean one, they aren't as bad as they are, and they're mainly a Jerk with a Heart of Gold at their worst, but with more focused on than the "Heart of Gold" part rather than the "Jerk" part. If they are not a jerk, they can be too serious and quiet to have a true representation of being either neither nice nor mean.If they are a Nice Guy, it will be at their best, and not to the point of being a pushover. If they are dumb, then this depends on the character's intent of being nice or mean. Sometimes, they can be more of an older brother/sister figure to the nice character, and have a mostly friendly rivalry with the mean one. If they are in a team/group, they can be a wise leader, and making sure the two behave, mostly the mean one, due to being friendly rivals. They can also be portrayed as the Only Sane Man and be the most intelligent out of the three. Just like the mean character, if they are siblings, they'll be either the middle child or the oldest.

Anime and Manga[]

  • Ah! My Goddess: Belldandy is the nice for being an All-Loving Hero, Skuld is the mean for being aggressive, and Urd is in-between for being a trickster.

Comic Books[]

Film[]

  • The main characters of The Little Mermaid. Flounder was Nice and always willing to help Ariel, stick-in-the-mud Sebastian was Mean, always telling her to return home and give up on her dream, while Ariel herself was In-Between, nice to everyone but still having some moments of snark and deviousness.
  • Home on the Range. Grace is nice to everyone on the farm, Maggie is mean, acting wildly mannered, and often argues with Mrs. Calloway, and Mrs. Calloway herself, sticks in between, she may be nice, but often gets into an argument with Maggie.
  • The Sanderson Sisters of Hocus Pocus. Mary is the nice one, while Winifred is the mean one, and Sarah stays in between.

Literature[]

  • The main trio of Harry Potter. Harry (In-Between) was perfectly affable but had moments of anger, Ron (Mean) was mainly ruled by biting emotions and very quick to anger while Hermione (Nice) was a calm and ruled by logic, some moments of ego stroking about her intellect notwithstanding.
  • In Magic Attic Club, Heather Hardin and Keisha Vance are the nice ones, Megan Ryder and Alison McCan take the mean section due to being jerks with hearts of gold, and Rose Hopkins is in-between.

Live-Action TV[]

  • On Friends, Phoebe is Nice, Rachel is Mean, and Monica is In-Between. Though Phoebe and Rachel sometimes swapped roles, Depending on the Writer and given the Flanderization of later seasons.
  • The Nick Verse:
    • Zoey 101:
      • When Nicole was on the show, she was the Nice to Zoey's In-Between with Dana (in Season 1) or Lola (in Season 2) serving as the Mean.
      • When Nicole left, Zoey became Nice, Lola was still the Mean, and Quinn was In-Between, willing to help but even more willing to go along with Lola's snark about everything.
      • Among the guys, Michael, Logan and Chase filled the respective roles.
    • The main trio in iCarly. Extreme Doormat Freddie is nice, as a petty jerkass, Sam is mean, and Carly, as their voice of reason, is the in-between.
    • The main three girls from Victorious. Ditzy Cloudcuckoolander Cat was Nice, Jerkass Alpha Bitch Jade was Mean, and level headed Tori was the In-Between, being nicer than Jade but still capable of some devious acts.
  • The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance:
    • Among the Gelfling trio; Deet is a Nice Friend to All Living Things who can barely understand hurting others. A hardened warrior who watched his girlfriend get fridged by the beings he'd sworn fealty to, Rian is understandably snarky Mean. And Brea is nice enough but Innocently Insensitive on account of her sheltered upbringing leaving her with some "Well, Excuse Me, Princess!" moments. Which makes sense, she is a princess.
    • Among the Skeksis, skekTek, skekSo and skekSil respectively. While the Skeksis are Always Chaotic Evil, skekTek was pragmatic enough and had more than enough Jerkass Woobie moments. Emperor skekSo embodied Stupid Evil and did any cruel act to sate his own pettiness. And while skekSil understood the value of diplomacy and alliances, he was cruel even for a Skeksis.
  • The guys on How I Met Your Mother. Marshall is always the nice one, Barney is in it only for himself, and Ted is largely well-intentioned but has a lot more similarities to Barney than he would like to admit.

Newspaper Comics[]

Radio[]

  • Old Harry's Game: Scumspawn as the nice, Thomas as the mean, and Edith as the in-between.

Theatre[]

  • Spooksville: Adam (nice) is a friendly and idealistic person, Sally (mean) while being sarcastic, but still good-hearted, Watch (in-between), while not as heroic as Adam, he is still a decent person.

Video Games[]

  • The main characters from Ratchet & Clank. Clank (Nice) is always willing to do the right thing, Quark (Mean) has an ego that dwarfs most galaxies with fame being his main concern, while Anti-Hero Ratchet (In-Between) will do the right thing but does like a little bit of fame every now and then and loves indulging in I Shall Taunt You.
  • The main trio in Deltarune Chapter 1 fits these roles with Ralsei as Nice, Susie as Mean, and Kris as In-Between.
  • Street Fighter does this often with it's female characters
    • Chun-Li is nice, Juri is mean and Cammy is the in between
    • With the Alpha girls Sakura is nice, Karin is mean and Rose is the in between.
    • In the Street Fighter III side Elena is nice, Makoto mean and Ibuki in between (though Ibuki does lean towards nice more, though not to the extent of Elena).
  • The Resident Evil Outbreak ladies also follow this with Cindy being the nice Alyssa being the mean and Yoko being the in between.
  • This is the idea of the three blackjack dealers in Déjà Vu 2. Though worth noting the player has to know what actions it takes to make Rudy "nice".

Web Animation[]

  • RWBY: Ruby is nice, Weiss is mean, and Blake is in-between.

Web Comics[]

  • In the Miraculous Ladybug AU Scarlet Lady, Marinette and Chloé have their respective canon positions of nice and mean, though amplified thanks to Chloé's Adaptational Villainy, while Adrien is the snarky In-Between as a coping mechanism for dealing with Chat Noir having to operate alongside Chloé.

Web Original[]

Western Animation[]

  • Ben 10:
    • In the first series, Grandpa Max was a Nice Guy towards everyone, Ben was rather self-aggrandizing and rude, and Gwen had more self-awareness and restraint than Ben but more than a few "Well, Excuse Me, Princess!" moments.
    • In Ben 10: Alien Force and Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Gwen, Ben and Kevin fit this mold perfectly. Gwen was willing to help anyone, Ben was also willing but enjoyed some snark and Kevin was a Token Evil Teammate who shamelessly became a war profiteer at one point.
    • Ben's three mentors nicely slot into this. Grandpa Max retains his Nice status, Azmuth is aloof and stern while Professor Paradox is a Trickster Mentor who is kind but always dodges giving a straight answer.
  • The Griffin children fit this dynamic quite well in the early seasons of Family Guy. Chris was a Kindhearted Simpleton who was ready to help everyone out, Stewie was a Take Over the World Evil Genius and Meg was an average teenage girl who was nice to her family but not above manipulations to increase her popularity or get what she wanted. Given the Flanderization of the post-Uncanceled era, it's hard to fit the three into this dynamic on a long-term basis, their roles shifting from episode to episode.
  • Marinette, Chloé, and Alya respectively in Miraculous Ladybug. Marinette is a Friend to All Living Things, Chloé is a Spoiled Brat while Alya, though having good intentions, can often disregard a person's right to privacy.
    • Marinette's other girl friends also qualify. Rose is sweet and caring towards everyone, Alix is The Napoleon, while withdrawn Juleka balances everyone.
  • The Best Friends Squad in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Bow is the polite Nice Guy, Glimmer, while still very nice, became more confrontational and aggressive in the later seasons, and Adora can always see both their points of view. Ironically, her In-Between status seems the result of her being raised to be an ideal Horde trooper.
  • The kids in The Simpsons. Environmentally conscious and always willing to help Lisa is Nice, Bart is a Mean little brat, and Maggie is just as likely to express love towards her father as she is to hit him with a mallet.
  • Steven Universe:
    • Among the main three Crystal Gems, Cool Big Sis Pearl is Nice, Broken Bird Amethyst is Mean and Team Mom Garnet is In-Between.
    • Among the Great Diamond Authority:
      • Pink is Nice, Yellow is Mean, and Blue is In-Between.
      • Blue is Nice, White is Mean, and Yellow is In-Between.
  • Thomas the Tank Engine:
    • Henry, Gordon, and James respectively in the earlier seasons. Though Henry's nice can often be a relative term.
    • Toby, Thomas, and Percy respectively, also in the earlier seasons. Toby was a calm and wise, Thomas still had some of his Small Name, Big Ego/Entitled Bastard moments and Percy always tried to be nice but he often lost his temper and/or had moments of cheek.
  • In Season 2 of Transformers: Cyberverse, the Naive Newcomer Cheetor was Nice, Anti-Hero Hot Rod was Mean, and Bumblebee, more affable than Hot Rod but a hell of a lot more cynical than Cheetor, was the In-Between.
  • Hunk, Lance, and Pidge respectively in Voltron: Legendary Defender.
  • Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls are this trope. Bubbles (nice) is the kindest and gentlest of the three although she can sometimes be naive. Buttercup (mean) is generally violent and aggressive, and can pick on Bubbles and argue with Blossom, that said she does have her softer moments when she feels like it. Blossom (in-between) can be rather caring, but can come off as bossy and snobby sometimes.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The Cutie Mark Crusaders are this trope. Sweetie Belle is rather nice and can be portrayed as the Only Sane Pony. Scootaloo is a downplayed variation of mean, due to being brash, and can be prone to impulsive decisions. Apple Bloom is the in-between due to being mostly well-behaved, but can go along with Scootaloo's desicions.
  • The Lion Guard:
    • Bestie is the nicest of the group, Fuli is often ill-tempered and stuck-up, and Bunga is the in-between.
    • Kiara and her friends are at this. Tiifu is nice and gentle, Zuri is mean and vain, and Kiara herself stays in-between.
    • Janja and his clan are at this too. Cheezi can be the nicest of the clan, often saying "I wouldn't wanna be his enemy" shown in "The Bite of Kenge", while Janja is mean and bossy, and Chungu sticks in-between, often whines because he didn’t get enough food.
  • Vampirina: Vampirina and her friends are at this. Bridget is the nice one, sweet, and a shy Shrinking Violet, Edgar can be arrogant and foolish at times, not at all mean, and Poppy and Vee stick in between.
  • The Powerpuff Girls has Bubbles' Nice (The Heart), Buttercup's Mean (Jerk with a Heart of Gold), and Blossom's In-Between (The Smart Girl).
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