[Image Description: an Undertale chat box with the name "PAPYRUS", in all caps and Papyrus font, in its center. On its left is a talksprite of Papyrus sweating anxiously, and on its right is a talksprite of Papyrus wearing sunglasses. End I.D.]
The Great Papyrus is the most popular Undertale character among the fans surveyed here. 19.6% of responders chose him as their favorite. That’s a total of 519 fans! (Wowie!!)
Not all Papyrus fans are unified on his characterization, however. The most obvious divide was between fans who call him a “cinnamon roll” or “precious baby,” and those who find these takes infantilizing. A lot of people like the friendliness and optimism of this character, while others recognize this but highlight his maturity too. Fans who worry about his infantilization seem most concerned with how he can be portrayed as naive or dumb by the fandom. A portion of fans specifically mentioned this naivety as a point in his favor, though the marginally more popular take seems to be that he is not naive, regardless of how he first appears. This fandom divide seems to relate to Papyrus’s autistic or ADHD coding. Many fans relate to him as ADHD and autistic themselves.
Fans also related to him in his desire for friends. Many responders think of him as a friend and a comfort character, so at least in one way his wish has been fulfilled.
The phone calls were a major reason that fans said they felt connected to Papyrus. Thanks to these calls, he has the most dialogue of any character in the game. His humor and dialogue were often highlighted as favorite qualities.
While fans may disagree on some aspects of Papyrus’s personality, it is clear that his fans all value his optimism and kindness. His fans do not see his kindness as weakness. Many talked about the complexity of his character and the strength it took for him to show mercy to the player character, even when the player doesn’t show it in return. He believes in himself, and he believes in you! This kindness and trust has inspired his fans to be kinder themselves.
Papyrus fans were also drawn to his mysteriousness. Several responses pointed out that he is a more mysterious character than Sans, who is also often loved for his mystery. As shown in the phone calls, Papyrus will put on fronts depending on who he is around, making it even more difficult for fans to uncover his secrets. Some people in other sections of the survey found this frustrating, but Papyrus fans tend to see it as another point in his favor.
Among the greatest proportion of responses were from fans who couldn’t choose a favorite trait, or who just love everything about Papyrus. While these responses may be less lengthy, they are still as full of love as the essay-length answers. These responses tended to say phrases like “cool dude” or “Papyrus my beloved” or “THE GREAT PAPYRUS.”
(You were overcome by writing about such a handsome skeleton. He understands.)
Highlights: (under the cut)
Honestly Papyrus just feels like joy. Funny, incredibly kind, with a few mysteries/weird quirks about him that are fun to ponder over. I especially love how he often acts proud and self aggrandizing without putting others down, and in fact sometimes uses that to lift his friends up alongside him. You don't see this take on proud characters often.
Papyrus is strong. Strong in body, but also morally strong. He knows what is right, what it means to be merciful and kind, even in the face of danger or death. Some think him naive. And yet, even facing death and seeing the dust of those he knew, he did not falter or turn from his ideals of mercy and change for the better.
BECAUSE HE IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS
His optimism and his overall personality is endearing! You're always having fun with him :D
He's meeting all of my standards.
Papyrus is very under appreciated, and overlooked, and it's very frustrating to me—he's a complex character but people treat him like he's a baby!!! I like him because he's kind of goofy with how he talks and he's just very charming and kind.
He's weirder than Sans, and it wasn't acknowledged for years because he acts oblivious and dumb, even when he's clearly not. Quite frankly, I find it iconic. Also, his entire personality helps a lot.
I'm ND, trans, and projecting!
OK SO he's just a friendly guy!! A dude who likes cooking for his friends!! We love a hype man!! Also smart as hell and I feel like fanon majorly overlooks this. Making good, fun puzzles is HARD and setting up a flamethrower to go off wirelessly is complicated. Like even if that bridge puzzle didn't go off the components were complicated. Love that cool dude!!!!
I heavily relate to Papyrus as a character and consider him my favorite fictional character of all time. He is a very well-written and thought out character with several quirks and layers in his personality. It is headcanoned by some (myself included) that Papyrus may possibly be on the Autism Spectrum due to his nature, his interactions with others, and overall how he displays himself to the world we see.
I could talk about Papyrus forever, and you have made a grave mistake in allowing me to do so. He is a charming, strong spirited, well intentioned, complex character that is often wildly misinterpreted, and I think originally this is why I was drawn to him. He is presented as one thing and in fact acts as one thing (though not the same way as presented by fandom), and in reality when you look closer than you are meant to he is not, in fact, any of these things. It was intriguing to me. Secondly, and rather contradictorily, another thing that drew me to him is that he is very true to himself, when it comes to idiosyncrasies and moral values. It's true that he does not offer much in the way of personal backstory and feelings, but he offers very much indeed in the way of personality. What a guy! He wears silly crop tops and bright colors, he speaks in a manner specific to him that sometimes doesn't make sense, he cares about something or someone and goes whole hog with it -- he's passionate, damn it! I love him and his weirdo, goofy self with all my heart. He cares about other people to a fault, too. He would sacrifice everything to help someone, and his belief in the potential of both others and himself is indomitable. When faced with the responsibility of a kingdom, his friends gone, his brother lying to him, and himself all alone without a reliable support system, he recognized what he was facing and still bucked up and became determined to get through it. When faced with a murderous, over powerful enemy, someone who had killed many of his friends and fellow monsters, someone who had repeatedly been rude and borderline aggressive and showed no signs of stopping, he saw that they were having difficulty and offered to help and to care for them, and didn't regret his decision or change his opinion on what they needed and their potential for change, even when quite literally killed by them a moment after. Even in death, even directly after a betrayal like that, he never stops believing that they can get better, that anyone can be a good person if they want to be. That's important, I think; that concept of giving people the chances they need to grow and to change. I have a tattoo of that moment on my thigh, it's that important to me. I guess I really like Papyrus because even though he is fictional, watching him out there makes it easy to believe in people, in our inherent goodness and desire to love each other. He makes it easy to see that we can change, that no matter what you've done in the past or who you currently are, no one is inherently a bad person, and no one is incapable of learning how to be a good one. It is just a step by step process that we have to take day by day.
[Image Description: A wordcloud shaped like Papyrus. His gloves, boots, and cape are red; his Battle Body is blue, yellow, and white; and his bones are white. Some of the most visible words are: Kind, Love, Good, Cool, Relate, Funny, Friend, Mystery, and Papyrus. These are the words that responders mentioned most in their essays about him. End I.D.]
Read the full list of responses shared with permission by clicking this link! (The document is 25 pages long, so you may want to make a copy to prevent lagging.)
[Image Description: an Undertale chat box with the name “Chara” in its center, between a sprite of the red SOUL on the left and a Dating Hub CRIME measurer and a FRIENDSHIP level on the right. End I.D.]
Chara is the third most popular character in the fandom, with 196 responders (7.4%) choosing them as their favorite; however, their fans are divided on how to interpret them.
In the past, Chara was more often known as a villain, pushing the player on in the no mercy route. Some responders still made comments like “stabby stab” or “crazy ass” about them in their responses, but overwhelmingly more fans say that Chara is misunderstood and does not deserve to be demonized. Even if other Undertale fans still demonize Chara, it would make sense that those who choose Chara as their favorite would have a more sympathetic view of them. One fan with this view said, “They aren't a bad person. They're just a child who needs love.”
Of course, fans still connect them with the No Mercy route, even if it is in a different direction. “If shown the Darker path through No Mercy, something about them becoming a supremely powerful world-erasing Child God I just find incredibly cool. And the way they hold the Player accountable for their actions, the headcanons people have developed… [...] it goes beyond simple words.” While fans still enjoy connecting Chara with the No Mercy route, it’s interesting how there has been a shift away from Chara being the villain, towards Chara using their power to punish the player for going too far.
A third group of fans take an interesting approach in that they like Chara both as a murder child and as a tragic character: “there are so many different ways you can interpret their character, whether as the mastermind behind the genocide run, the flavour text narrator, or just a sad kid who wanted to help their family and the underground.” This wide room for interpretation is a major thing that Chara’s fans love about them.
Much like with Asriel/Flowey, fans like how Chara’s backstory is revealed gradually and throughout different routes of the game. “I love how their presence is so overt but exists almost entirely in subtext and implication you have to piece together. I loved going through text again and finding out more about them,” one responder said.
There’s lots of text to look through for fans who subscribe to the theory that Chara is the narrator of the game. Proving this theory goes beyond the scope of this essay, but it is believed widely enough to be regarded as canon by nearly all of Chara’s fans. If this theory is true, then Chara is with you throughout the whole game, making them feel even more relatable and comforting. A few fans even relate enough to them to kin them, either currently or at some point in the past.
Their trauma and how they are misunderstood seem to be two qualities that make Chara relatable. “I personally see them as a misunderstood, neurodivergent, nonbinary kid (like I was when I first played Undertale) who loves the Dreemurrs,” one fan said. The fact that there is so much left unknown about Chara leaves room for fans to project onto them as well.
While most of Chara’s fans do not demonize them, they also acknowledge that Chara is complex and not perfect. “We ought to remember Chara for who they were: not an evil villainous murderer, or a perfect golden hero, but a child, a child who made mistakes, a child who was mistreated by humanity, a child who loved their family and their kingdom. Just a child, who was the hope for both humans AND monsters.”
Much like with Asriel, Chara’s fans wish they could save them. While there is no ability to physically revive Chara within the game, they clearly live on in the hearts of those who love them, both within the game and out.
Highlights: (under the cut)
I think they deserve better. They aren't a bad person. They're just a child who needs love.
I kinned them so extremely hard from the ages of 13-16 and now they live in my brain forever.
I do wish there was more about them in the game, but for now, we ought to remember Chara for who they were: not an evil villainous murderer, or a perfect golden hero, but a child, a child who made mistakes, a child who was mistreated by humanity, a child who loved their family and their kingdom. Just a child, who was the hope for both humans AND monsters.
Their whole concept as the Narrator of the game and travelling along with Frisk (and the player) is very neat to me. Shame that fandom often interprets them wrong as a sadistic murderer :-( They're a kid who suffered and did what they thought was right at the time, despite being flawed
There is a lot to puzzle out about them, and it’s very rewarding to do so! I’m glad that the fandom consensus about them has gradually shifted away from the evil incarnate demon child image from the end of Genocide. They were once just a spunky kid who ate pie with their hands, knitted a big sweater, tried to talk like an adult, and liked to mess with their brother; they sacrificed themselves for a bad plan and a childish hope that would have never worked in the first place.
In Neutral and Pacifist paths, I prefer to view them in their past and present as kind and well meaning, if sarcastic and a punster at times. While if shown the Darker path through No-Mercy, something about them becoming a supremely-powerful world-erasing Child God I just find incredibly cool. And the way they hold the Player accountable for their actions, the headcanons people have developed... there's so many reasons, I don't think I could do it justice by just writing it down... it goes beyond simple words.
I love their vibe as villain but I'm sure they are not the villain here
Their backstory is so heartbreaking as there are so many different ways you can interpret their character, whether as the mastermind behind the genocide run, the flavour text narrator, or just a sad kid who wanted to help their family and the underground.
Stabby stab
I also love how they serve as the ultimate test of whether or not you've absorbed the pacifist route's lesson. You only see them in person at their worst, and the game never gives you a direct opportunity to show them Mercy, to forgive and comfort them like you get with Asriel/Flowey. It is entirely up to you to look at who they are and why they are that way, to take responsibility for the part you played, and to decide that, despite the harm they've caused to their family and your friends, this deeply damaged child deserves sympathy too.
I love what they represent - the partnership between player and character, and the lust for power when in an RPG-like mindset. They are their own character, certainly, and are more complex than that, but the idea of their death and reincarnation is executed in an amazing way.
Chara is not perfect by any means but they seem like someone who truly cares and wants to do good and holds themself to a high standard which is both admirable and tragic given the circumstances.
[Image Description: a wordcloud shaped like a red SOUL. Some of the most visible words are: Chara, Game, Story, Person, Child, Human, Character, and Love, which represent the most common words in the essays responders wrote about them. End I.D.]
Read the full list of responses shared with permission by clicking here!
[Image Description: an Undertale textbox with “INTRODUCTION AND DEMOGRAPHICS” in all caps in its middle. To its left and right are a radar screen and an egg, sun, and "WED" from the Dating Hub. End I.D.]
Our sample size consisted of a total of 2651 responses. We did not set any sort of age restriction to take the survey, and no other qualification than self identifying yourself as part of the Undertale fandom.
[Image Description: a pie chart titled “AGE OF UNDERTALE FANS”. In clockwise order, the results: 31%, or 812 responders, are 13-17 years old; 44% or 1160 are 18-24; 15%, or 398, are 25-30; 6%, or 158, are 31-40; 0%, or 6, are 41-50; 3%, or 91, preferred not to answer, and 1%, or 25, are 12 and below. End I.D.]
The age group most represented is composed of people between 18 to 24 years old (also known as emerging adults), corresponding to 44% of all participants. They are followed by teenagers aged 13 to 17 years old (31%) and young adults aged 25 to 30 years old (15%)
(Many more demographics under the cut.)
[Image Description: a pie chart titled “GENDER OF UNDERTALE FANS”. In clockwise order, the results: 374, or 14%, are male; 1144, or 43%, are female; 789, or 30%, are nonbinary; 167, or 6%, identify as ‘other’, and 177, or 7%, prefer not to say. End I.D.]
In terms of gender, most people identified as female with a total of 43%, followed by nonbinary with 30% and male with 14%. A significant amount of people responded with “Other,” explaining their identity (or questioning) more in depth.
[Image Description: a pie chart titled “UNDERTALE FANDOM AND LGBT+ IDENTITY”. In clockwise order, the results: 1949, or 73%, identify as LGBT+; 293, or 11%, do not identify as LGBT+; 280, or 11%, are questioning; and 129, or 5%, prefer not to say. End I.D.]
Considering the great amount of LGBT+ representation present in Undertale, we decided to ask people whether they identify themselves as part of this community. The majority, 73%, has declared to be a part of it. It is relevant to add that 5% chose not to say, and 11% were questioning. It is possible that media containing well developed representation draws more people to it; many people said that the reason they liked certain characters was being able to feel represented as a minority.
[ID: a pie chart titled: “LOCATIONS OF UNDERTALE FANS”. In clockwise order its results: 1788 responders, or 67%, are from North America; 420 responders, or 16%, are from Europe; 141 responders, or 5%, are from Asia; 94 responders, or 4% are from South America; 83 responders, or 3%, are from Australia; 11 responders, or 0% are from the Pacific Islands; 22 responders, or 1% are from “Other” locations; 92 responders, or 4%, selected ”Prefer not to say.” End of ID.]
The internet has made the game known all over the world, which motivated us to look into the way its fans are distributed around the globe. It is important to consider that since this survey is in English, people were more likely to respond to it if they understood the language, whether it is their native language or not (like Vessel #1, who’s writing this paragraph). It would be interesting if other communities did a similar exercise in the future by translating the survey.
Having said that, we present the results. To get these numbers some of the answers were distributed into their corresponding existing group, and at least three new categories were created.
North America: 1788 votes
Europe: 420
Asia: 141 votes
South America: 94 votes
Australia: 83 votes
The most represented area is North America, which is no surprise considering it’s composed by a majority of native English speakers. It should also be noted that considering Toby Fox is from the US, it makes sense that people with a similar cultural background would more likely hear about Undertale and join the fandom. Europe follows with 420 votes, which could be due to their usage of the English language either as a native language or a frequently taught second one. Asia has a similar situation, however, if we take global population estimates (e.g: 141 per 4.561 billion in the case of Asia compared to Europe with 420 fans in an area with a population of around 746 million people), we can see that the density of Asian fans is drastically lower. After that we have both South America and Australia with a similar amount of votes. In those cases, knowledge of the English language may also factor into the density. Common social media used around the world could also be a factor but we do not have enough data to draw any conclusions.
92 people preferred not to specify and 50 people answered the survey with “Other”, giving their explanation. A few of these responses were put in bigger categories (Canada is in North America, for example). Besides them, the most notable group were Pacific Islanders, making up 11 people, 3 more than Africa. Due to their sizes, further investigation is needed to know if this is a replicable result or just the product of the places the survey was able to reach this time.
[Image Description: a pie chart titled “YEAR FANS FIRST EXPERIENCED UNDERTALE”. In clockwise order, its results: 937 responders, or 35%, experienced it in 2015; 687, or 26%, experienced it in 2016; 231, or 9%, experienced it in 2017; 181, or 7%, experienced it in 2018; 123, or 5%, experienced it in 2019; 145, or 5%, experienced it in 2020; 88, or 3%, experienced it in 2021; 231, or 9%, don’t know when they experienced it, and 25, or 1%, have never experienced Undertale. End I.D.]
We asked about the exposure to the source material. After all, to be a fan of something, you should know about it. The biggest proportion of fans experienced Undertale for the first time in 2015 and 2016, with those two years amounting for more than half of our sample. As for people who have only started playing during this year, they represent 3% of all participants.
[Image Description: a pie chart titled “YEAR FANS FIRST EXPERIENCED DELTARUNE”. In clockwise order, its results: 1585 responders, or 60% of those responding, experienced Deltarune in 2018; 275, or 10%, experienced Deltarune in 2019; 213, or 8%, experienced it in 2020; 126, or 5%, experienced it in 2021; 115, or 4%, don’t know; 253, or 10%, have not played but want to; 77, or 3%, have not played and don’t plan to; and 7, or 0%, do not know what Deltarune is. End I.D.]
Many people are familiar with Deltarune as well. Most of them played the first chapter of the game as it was released in 2018, and other people followed in the next few years. Among the people that didn’t play, 253 manifested interest in playing in the future, while 77 stated they knew of the game’s existence but did not plan on playing it.
[Image Description: a pie chart titled "HOW FANS FOUND UNDERTALE". In clockwise order, its results: 870 responders, or 33%, saw someone play it online; 576 responders, or 22%, were introduced by a friend; 539, or 20%, saw fancontent first; 195, or 7%, read reviews or recommendations on social media; 63, or 3%, came through the Kickstarter before release; 50, or 2%, came through a different fandom; 34, or 1%, came by following Toby Fox, Temmie Chang, or other collaborators; 221, or 8%, came through another way; and 101, or 4%, don't remember how. End I.D.]
33% of responders found Undertale by watching someone play it online. The next largest categories were those who were introduced by friends or saw fancontent first, comprising 22% and 20%, respectively. These statistics are indicative of the love that fans have for Undertale: they want to share the game with others, whether by creating and sharing fancontent, or just by talking about the game positively enough to inspire others to give it a chance. In the “other” category, many fans mentioned specific fanworks or AUs as their reasoning for giving Undertale a chance. Other common answers in the “other” category were through the soundtrack, through memes, through connections to Homestuck, and through curiosity about the infamous fandom. One humorous response that stuck out said, “I was searching for the word ‘sand’ and had wrote ‘sans’ by wrong.”
[Image Description: an Undertale chat box with the name "Mettaton" in its center, between two Mettaton EX talksprites. The first is pursing his lips, and the second is sticking his tongue out and smiling. End I.D.]
OH YES! Mettaton was ranked fourth favorite character among fans, with 138 votes, amounting to 5.2% of responders.
Many of Mettaton’s fans love the queer representation he provides. He is heavily trans coded, with a backstory revealed through his diary entries and phone calls. “Mettaton closely resembles the trans experience. It was very uplifting for me,” one Mettaton fan responded. For many fans, this was one of their first times seeing a transgender character, and many queer fans see themselves in him. Several other fans say that they appreciate his lack of a canon love interest, and headcanon him as asexual.
Fans also cited his confidence as one of his best traits. It is also impossible to miss his flamboyance. “I just tend to enjoy smug, cocky, flamboyant, and possibly narcissistic characters with hearts of gold,” a fan said. Another take on him used the phrasing “extremely confident, charismatic, and exuberant personality, and he is overall very charming.” Another popular character trait of his is his humor. “Also the way he talks is HILARIOUS,” one fan said.
A lot of Mettaton fans said that they loved his music and his acting as a tv show host, which he would be thrilled to hear. (Maybe if they’re lucky, Mettaton will let them join his fan club for free.)
At the same time, Mettaton does have insecurities. A large portion of fans pointed out his fear of coming out to his ghost family as one of the most relatable things about him. This makes even more fans see themselves in him, whether it is because they are closeted or because they are afraid to share something else about themself with the world.
Some fans brought up Mettaton’s arc in the Queen Alphys and No Mercy routes, where Mettaton NEO fights to buy time for the monsters to escape, even though he knows it’s likely he won’t survive. He also shows other signs of selflessness, which provides an interesting contrast with his more visible narcissism. As one fan pointed out, his generosity or selflessness is present on every route: “He’s kind and supportive of people he barely knows, like the employees at his hotel and the lion he gives his dress to. In the neutral route, after Frisk proves themself to be strong enough to protect humanity, he sacrifices his lifelong dream to be a star on the surface because he doesn’t want to disappoint the monsters who love him and he cares about making the Underground a better place. He sacrifices his life in the genocide route so he can save Alphys and the monsters she evacuates with. In the pacifist route, instead of going straight to the surface like he always wanted, he goes back for Napstablook.”
Of course, many fans find him hot, though some point out that it is in an aesthetic sense and that they are not actually attracted to him. “I mean, yeah, he's hot, but I don't think I ever really had a crush on him or anything.” His attractiveness is treated as more of an inherent fact about his character than a subjective opinion. (Mettaton would be inclined to agree.)
Between his infectious charisma, the queer representation he provides, and his backstory dealing with fear of rejection, a common theme among his responses was a sense of inspiration. Even though he is affectionately called “problematic” and “evil,” by many of his fans, his flair for drama and the way his entire story is an allegory for being transgender gives many fans hope that they can one day be as confident in themselves as he is. That’s what he would want for his LEGacy, darlings!
Highlights: (under the cut)
He's unique, he's lovable, he's annoying and rude and narcissistic at times, he learns and grows just like every fantastically written character in this game, he has a fantastic arc, he has a wonderful design, and I wanna know where he bought his boots.
Legs
The whole thing lol I can’t pin it down to a simple answer, but if I had to try? I like his charisma.
hot robot. legs 4 days.
I love his design a lot but mostly I like his character development, the different layers you get to discover in the different routes and his charismatic personality. The fact that at first he seems to be an egocentric ambitious egotistical star but then you get to discover how good he was with everyone or how he was willing to even sacrifice himself so more monsters could be saved in the neutral and genocide routes make him very "human" and enchant me.
Leg hot
Flamboyant, center of attention, sexy, little bit evil, just like me
Leg
The AU potential for mettaton is astounding. I created a half-ironic semi-AU with just Mettaton derivatives with my friend and we are still having a ball with those characters like 4 years later. also mettaton hot
Legs 🦵
Comfort character also very trans
Hot hot letlg leg so hot you fry an egg
Funny, Handsome, compelling backstory
I fell in love with Mettaton as soon as you first meet him in game as the rectangle. then he got legs. endgame for me.
Mettaton was my first exposure to a trans-coded character, and he has a special place in my heart for helping me realize that I'm trans myself
Funny hot legs robot man
He’s kind and supportive of people he barely knows, like the employees at his hotel and the lion he gives his dress to. In the neutral route, after Frisk proves themself to be strong enough to protect humanity, he sacrifices his lifelong dream to be a star on the surface because he doesn’t want to disappoint the monsters who love him and he cares about making the Underground a better place. He sacrifices his life in the genocide route so he can save Alphys and the monsters she evacuates with. In the pacifist route, instead of going straight to the surface like he always wanted, he goes back for Napstablook.
fancy boy good boy long leg
backstory/relationship with other characters in the game, his charismatic personality, his well explained and at point motivations and of course, legs.
[Image Description: a wordcloud shaped like Mettaton in box form, holding a microphone and waving. The words are pink and light cyan colors. Some of the largest words are: Robot, Game, Trans, Love, Leg, Out, One, and Mettaton, which are the words most commonly used by responders when writing about him. End I.D.]
Read the full list of responses shared with permission by clicking here.
[Image Description: an Undertale textbox with "CHARACTER PREFERENCES" in all caps in its middle. To its left and right are a radar screen and an egg, sun, and "WED" from the Dating Hub. End I.D.]
[Image Description: a pie chart titled "Favorite Undertale Main Characters". In clockwise order, it shows the results: Too Many To Choose with 657 points (25%), Papyrus with 519 votes (20%), Sans with 495 votes (19%), Chara with 196 votes (7%), Mettaton with 138 votes (5%), Flowey with 111 votes (4%), Undyne with 104 votes (4%), Napstablook with 91 votes (3%), Asgore with 73 votes (3%),Frisk with 59 votes (2%), Toriel with 60 votes (2%), , Alphys with 57 votes (2%), Asriel with 63 votes (2%), Mad Dummy / Mad Mew Mew with 12 votes (1%), No Main Character with 16 points (1%), and . End I.D.]
If you have been keeping up with today’s posts, you may already be familiar with the popularity trends among the main characters. In case you have not, a brief recap: Papyrus was the most popular character with 519 votes (20%), followed closely by Sans with 495 votes (19%). In third place was Chara with 196 votes (7%). Interestingly, Chara received nearly four times the amount of votes that Frisk did, despite them both being nonbinary human children.
Asriel and Mad Mew Mew were added to the survey late, and it is impossible to calculate how many people would have chosen them compared to other characters, since this question required a single answer. However, hypothetically, they would have received about 3.5% and 0.7% of the votes, respectively. It’s likely that any who truly wanted to pick them would have chosen either Flowey (in Asriel’s case) or the “too many to choose” option, but of course this cannot be confirmed.
[The rest of the section is under the cut.]
Overall, female Undertale characters were chosen less often as favorites. The lowest ranked characters were Mad Mew Mew (16 votes, 1%) and Alphys (57 votes, 2%). Frisk (who is not female) followed with 59 votes (2%), but a drastically higher proportion consume and create content including them, as we will get to in the next section. Then the fourth lowest was Toriel with 60 votes (2%). Even Asriel, who was added into the survey late, surpassed Toriel, as did Asgore. Asgore in particular was surprising considering many fans’ divided opinions on his actions. The highest ranked female character was Undyne with 104 votes (4%), and she is surpassed by Flowey and Mettaton. While 61.9% of fans enjoy Alphys/Undyne content (as we will discuss in a later post), this enjoyment is apparently not enough to make these characters overall fan favorites.
Those who could not choose a favorite character because they had too many favorites comprised 25% of responders. In contrast, 12 responders (1%) said they care for none of the main characters. A few of these responders mentioned Gaster and Burgerpants as characters they would have chosen, and expressed confusion or offense that they were not listed as main characters. While twelve responders is too small of a sample to make broad generalizations, when we combine these sentiments with the results of the NPC question, it becomes clear that fandom has allowed these minor characters to become more developed than they originally were.
[Image Description: a barplot titled "Characters in Fancontent". From left (greatest) to right (least): Sans with 1886 who CONSUME content about him and 1337 who CREATE content about him, Papyrus with 1780 consumers and 1163 creators, W.D. Gaster with 1254 consumers and 672 creators, Frisk with 1213 consumers and 841 creators, Chara with 1077 consumers and 756 creators, Flowey with 918 consumers and 563 creators, Undyne with 894 consumers and 488 creators, Alphys with 796 consumers and 436 creators, Mettaton with 742 consumers and 399 creators, Toriel with 735 consumers and 415 creators, Grillby with 653 consumers and 318 creators, Asriel with 640 consumers and 336 creators, Asgore with 622 consumers and 316 creators, Napstablook with 519 consumers and 297 creators, the Amalgamates with 386 consumers and 181 creators, Muffet with 371 consumers and 215 creators, Burgerpants with 284 consumers and 111 creators, Mad Dummy / Mew Mew with 164 consumers and 67 creators, Bratty and Catty with 131 consumers and 70 creators, Other Canon Characters with 353 consumers and 323 creators, and None or N/A with 31 consumers and 549 creators. End I.D.]
Some of the trends among favorite characters carried over into the fancontent engagement statistics, but others were quite different. First of all, more people consume and create content with Sans than Papyrus, despite more people voting Papyrus as their favorite. Frisk also ranks much higher in this data, which makes sense since they are so central to the plot of Undertale. Unless a fic takes place before or after the game or in certain AUs, Frisk is likely to be present. While Frisk may not have been a first choice of a favorite, they are still very loved by the fan community.
In contrast, Napstablook, while scoring rather highly among the favorite character data (with 91 votes or 3% of all fans), is not as present in fanworks. They are surpassed by characters like Gaster, Toriel, Grillby, and Alphys, who either scored much lower on the favorite characters poll or were not listed as main characters at all. Napstablook appears to be a character that people enjoy the vibe of, but who is not central to the plot enough to be featured in many fanworks.
The questions about character preferences in fancontent included a wider range of characters. Here we can see that while Gaster does not count as a main character in canon, 1254 responders (47.3%) enjoy consuming content with him, and 672 (25.3%) create content featuring him. Grillby is also moderately popular with 24.6% consuming content for him and 12.0% creating it.
13% of fans said that they also enjoy consuming content with other canon Undertale characters, and 12% enjoy creating content with them. This may be a testament to the large and lovable cast of characters that Undertale brings to the table.
