The Main

Pretty much the Hero without being, y'know, a hero.

The one the story focuses on more than anyone else in it. They might be the person the media is named after because of how main they are. They're part of the Main Cast or Family and are usually seen as a little more "important" than everyone else, meaning the other characters in the Main Cast don't have as much screen time or background as The Main.

The Main is, as their title insists, the main character, so we see life through their eyes the most. We see them through their day-to-day life, at school or work, and out in the community interacting with the Secondaries. But even though the Main is the most important character of the franchise, they barely win. Their rivals and friends usually get the good things in life, like money and reputation, while the Main gets lost far behind everyone else.

The Main is not as morally adjusted as others around them. They might act cruel to villainous degrees to some characters, some not even the Bullies would attempt to reach. The Main may be a Hater Of Good, meaning they'll pester the Saint to no end. Since the Main can't be as benevolent as the Hero, their adventurous counterpart, that's why the Better Friend exists: to steer them in the right direction and to neutralize whatever evil-like deeds they use to harm the Saint.

The Main is rarely ever rich and might even have some times when they're financially struggling. If the Main is the owner of a business, they likely get few customers or not as many customers in comparison to other local businesses. It's common for business-maintaining Mains to have a rival who bests them almost all the time.

Examples of the Main
Family Guy - Peter Griffin. The spectacled, overweight, misadventure-having American father is the most prominent character in his show, appearing in just about every episode. Rivaled with Homer Simpson of The Simpsons, Peter is seen going on many comical journeys along with his friends and family, some arguably more fun than what The Simpsons had even in its earlier life. Peter Griffin just might be THE family guy the show's referring to in its title.

SpongeBob SquarePants - SpongeBob SquarePants. This little sea sponge showed up in every episode of his show from seasons 1 to 11. He's been on many adventures, has many friends, and is known by everybody in Bikini Bottom in some way, let it be a friend, an employee, an annoyance, or just a casual acquaintance.

The Simpsons - Homer and Bart Simpson. Some argue that Homer is the main character of The Simpsons as he is the man of the house, the worker of the family, and the only one to have appeared in every single episode in some form, also meaning he's the most prominent character in the entire show. However, Bart is the most popular character from The Simpsons as he's appeared in every season at least once, had his own -Mania , has many pieces of merchandise in his name, and featured in every Simpsons video game. Bart is also considered by some to be the Mascot for his show, not his father, due to his explosion in popularity in the early years of his show.