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...
The villain I grew to appreciate was Draco Malfoy. The influence of his arrogant father molded him as a young kid to be a bully like his father, but you can see the internal turmoil, between good and evil, festered inside him as part of his character development over the years. Though I always wondered if Harry would be who he is had he been in Draco’s shoes and Draco in Harry’s. And the same can be said for Draco himself.