The Harry Potter series was an example where, whenever fans voted for their favorite character, it usually wasn't Harry Potter. He'd be in the runningb but not at the top.

Fans were like, "I mean, we all like Harry. But we don't necessarily *love* him. And he's not *fucking memorable*. He's kind of boring.

Many people instead preferred Snape, Hermione, Black, Dumbledore, Dobby, etc.

-The very deep anti-hero or pseudo-villain. Highly conflicted, dark, and emotional, but sides with good. (Snape)

-The smartest one that fixes everything. (The books were read by bookish types, and Hermione was their bookish character identifier.)

-The wise mentor. Usually among the strongest, but from the prior generation. The plot has to factor him/her out. (Dumbledore)

-The chad scary seeming-villain who is actually a hero. (Sirius)

-The ultra-weak character, with charisma and talents, that manipulates things around the margins and morally *has* to fucking win. (Dobby).