You can say "protagonist" in this case. They're the main character, that's the protagonist. It's "hero" that isn't interchangeable with Main Character, not Protagonist. Protagonist = The main focus of the story. Antagonist = The main opposing force entity of the story.
Bonus words: Deuteragonist = Secondary Main Character (Misty to Ash in Pokemon). Tritagonist = Tertiary Main Character (Brock to Ash and Misty in Pokemon).
It is perfectly possible to have a villain-protagonist (and a hero-antagonist), You'd see this in the anime Moriarty The Patriot, where Sherlock Holmes is the antagonist (because he's out saving lives and stopping crime that the protagonist is attempting to do), but the villain Moriarty is solidly in the protagonist slot (because he's the viewpoint main character).
You can say "protagonist" in this case. They're the main character, that's the protagonist. It's "hero" that isn't interchangeable with Main Character, not Protagonist. Protagonist = The main focus of the story. Antagonist = The main opposing force entity of the story.
Bonus words: Deuteragonist = Secondary Main Character (Misty to Ash in Pokemon). Tritagonist = Tertiary Main Character (Brock to Ash and Misty in Pokemon).
It is perfectly possible to have a villain-protagonist (and a hero-antagonist), You'd see this in the anime Moriarty The Patriot, where Sherlock Holmes is the antagonist (because he's out saving lives and stopping crime that the protagonist is attempting to do), but the villain Moriarty is solidly in the protagonist slot (because he's the viewpoint main character).
Thank you, I was mixing up hero and protagonist.