Why Do People Like Loser x Popular?

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Okie-dokie, you. Why can't we get popular girl x popular guy? Why is there always a loser? I saw this tweet floating around, and putting the Twitter drama aside, I thought this was actually a pretty interesting question. Because how often do you see loser x popular?

[00:00:22]There's the anime this tweet was originally quoting, Gal's Can't Be Kind to a Takane, or we have the flip side, Kimi ni Todoke, My Dress-Up Darling, Honey Lemon Soda, so on and so on. While popular x popular definitely exists, such as Lovers War or His and Her Circumstances, off the top of my head, I could probably name way more loser x popular. And it got me thinking, why is this trope so popular? Well, the easy answer is because they're relatable, easy to self-insert into, but I personally think there's more to it. And the other reason why I think we have way more loser x popular is because we love seeing opposites. And what better way to explain opposites but with the anime called uh wait, what is this anime called again? My Little Monster. Ah, thanks, Yamada.

[00:01:17]Now, it should be mentioned that when I say loser x popular, loser is just a catchall for character that is not popular. For example, while Shizuku would definitely fit under the term popular, I wouldn't exactly call Haru a loser. He's more so just a guy that keeps to himself. And funny enough, that's the reason why Shizuku likes him.

[00:01:42]We've probably all heard the term opposites attract, but have you ever really thought about why that is? Well, I would say a big reason why opposites attract is because you see something in that other person that you wish you had yourself. Suzaki, as a girl that is very sociable, is the type of person to read the [music] room, match vibes of who she's with. She tends to worry about those around her and how she's seen by her peers. Tani, on the other hand, doesn't really change himself to fit in with others. He's not a pushover and he's not bossy. He's just a guy that treats everyone the same and Suzaki admires the fact that he has a strong sense of self, something that she feels she lacks. That is one of the reasons why loser x popular is more popular because it's easier to write character growth with two opposing characters. The most basic example is a loser wanting to be more confidence like a popular. That is a very easy option to pick when writing character arcs that's most likely going to be relatable to a lot of people. Yes, I'm calling you a loser.

[00:02:54]People love to root for an underdog and a loser type character makes for that perfect candidate. Popular x popular can be a bit more limiting since their flaws are less obvious from the outside. So, while it's definitely not impossible to give them a compelling character arc, I personally think there's a bit more thought needed to create that character arc to begin with.

[00:03:18]Which is funny to say because You and I are polar opposites is actually a great example of popular characters having character growth. Since Suzaki is the one that desires the self-confidence that she thinks Tani has, we have flipped the usual loser x popular character arc. In the very first episode, after Suzaki and Tani walked home [music] and brace yourselves, held hands. Scandalous. Suzaki gets confronted about her alleged ship with Tani. In a panic, Suzaki accidentally tells everyone that there's nothing between them right in front of Tony.

[00:03:57]What a generational fumble.

[00:03:59]Now, she absolutely wants to clear out the misunderstanding before Tony gets the wrong idea, but she can't find the right time to do so. Again, worried about what others might think of her, not confident enough to just jump up and declare that she didn't mean what she said. She spends the entire day worrying about how to talk to Tony without anyone else seeing, but period after period passes without her getting a chance.

[00:04:28]That is until after class.

[00:04:32]Tony walks up to her, tells her to please forget what happened yesterday, and walks out.

[00:04:43]Shizuki breaks down and finally reveals that she has a crush on Tony in front of her friends, and with the support of them, runs after him so that she can finally confess, taking her first steps in gaining self-confidence and freeing herself from worrying about how others think of her.

[00:05:03]The fact that Shizuki has the more so loser character arc and executed so well goes to show how well opposites work when it comes to writing character arcs even in this more non-conventional scenario. To give your character a character flaw makes it so much easier to endear them to your audience, and the dynamic of loser x popular allows you to highlight that character flaw by giving the other character the opposite of said flaw to help it stand out even more.

[00:05:33]They even do this with friendships.

[00:05:36]During Shizuki's breakdown, Manami, one of Shizuki's friends, asked her to redeem a popcorn coupon that expired today, a very carefree request from a girl that is herself very carefree, another opposite of Suzuki who cares a lot about how she's seen. When Suzuki confesses about her crush and runs after Tony, Manami tells Suzuki to not worry about the popcorn anymore, in which Suzuki responds, "Sorry, I don't really care."

[00:06:07]Ending with Manami responding with a playful little "Oi."

[00:06:10]It's such a small moment, but the fact that Suzuki is able to even say that she doesn't care feels like a major step forward for her character and making the carefree Manami be the one it's directed at feels like a very deliberate choice because of course she won't care if her friend doesn't want to get popcorn this one time. It shows us that Suzuki didn't have to worry about being a people-pleaser and could just be more of herself around her friends.

[00:06:41]Now, this is a great example of loser ex-popular, but what if you really did just want a popular ex-popular?

[00:06:49]Well, this show happens to have a great example of that as well in the form of Asuma and Tyra.

[00:06:56]Now, you might be thinking, "Hang on, isn't Tyra a loser-type character as well? Every time we see him, he's so pessimistic and gloomy." Well, as we've seen with Suzuki, popular characters are allowed to be anxious as well, and since Tyra is in the same friend group as Suzuki and Asuma, I would argue he is a popular character that again has a more loser-ish trait. These terms are pretty arbitrary. I'm just using them to paint a better picture. Since Tyra is someone that used to be a loser in middle school who had this high school debut to become more popular, he contrasts really well with Asuma, who was always popular. Even when the couple are both popular, oftentimes I will see them being written as having opposites just in some other aspect. Like how Lover's War is popular ex-popular, but Kaguya is rich and Miyuki is poor. And it's the fact that Asuma and Tyra being opposites is what leads to their great dynamic. Like how differently they react to the main relationship. On one hand, Asuma relishes in the gossip of credit from the innocent babies first romance that Suzuki and Tani have. While on the other hand, Tyra gets noticeably annoyed every time the two do anything coupley. When Suzuki reveals how she might secretly ask someone for their number, Asuma playfully asks if she used this tactic on Tani. While Tyra imagines and reenacts a romantic scenario between Tani and Suzuki and makes himself angry in the process.

[00:08:41]However, Asuma is not that dissimilar from Tyra. I said Tyra was pessimistic, but whenever Asuma talks about Suzuki's relationship, there is this hint of bitterness as she reminisces about the past terrible relationships that she herself has been in. While they are kind of opposites, they're also kind of similar in how they both have this self-deprecating aura surrounding them in the early episodes. I think the perfect example of this is in episode eight when the gang all goes out bowling together. Tyra sees some former classmates from middle school, which causes him to freak out because he doesn't want to bump into people that knew his old loser self. Asuma, however, sits next to him and tells him not to worry as they're clearly avoiding them for some unknown reason.

[00:09:34]Later on, while waiting for the train home, the topic of the old classmates pop up again, and Asma reveals that while she used to be part of that friend group, things had now gotten complicated.

[00:09:48]Long story short, two of the guys in that group were her exes, and two of the girls also in that group are now dating those exes. In fact, one of the guys had been seeing both Asma and the other girl at the same time, while the other broke up with her and immediately started dating her friend. All in all, a lot of couple swapping and cheating that just pushed Asma out of the group. And we start to see Asma as less of that popular girl that just seems a little bit negative, and now as this unfortunate pushover that had been treated really badly by the people she used to call friends. She tries to brush it off and laugh about it, even when one of the girls pretend to be friendly with her, or when she gets a text from ex one clearly trying to get back together with her. "Oh, it's all in the past. What can you do about it?"

[00:10:47]Which finally causes Tyra to crash out.

[00:10:51]He gets angry over the lack of respect Asma's old friends have for her, ruining their relationships while trying to pretend like nothing ever happened. The popular ex-popular couple turn out to be both losers in their own way. One over-analyzing how people treat him, and one that lets people walk all over her.

[00:11:12]It's the fact that these two both had negative experiences with old classmates that give us this moment of Tyra being able to take the frustrations that Asma always had and put them into words to help her contextualize why she has felt so worn down from her past relationships. And it's this that allows Asma to finally start to move forward just that little bit to be able to smile and laugh a bit more, not just with Tyra, but with the new friend group that treats her with the respect the old friend group never had.

[00:11:52]And so, this video that was originally about how opposites make great couples turned into one about how similarities also make great couples. And that's because there's not just one correct answer when it comes to writing couples, whether it's loser x popular, popular x popular, or even loser x loser. It's just a label that I stole from a random tweet. This video is less so, you must write this way to have a great couple, and more so, just exposing the foundations, providing examples of how you might write a great couple.

[00:12:31]You and I are poll opposites is a fantastic romance, and I can't wait to see even more opposites and similarities in season 2.