History DamselInDistress / AnimeAndManga

* Shirayuki of ''Manga/AkagamiNoShirayukihime'' occasionally falls into this category, though as a PluckyGirl she doesn't take it lying down and tends to [[DamselOutOfDistress try to do something about it herself]]. Played completely straight during the Tanburn arc, where she is [[spoiler: not only kidnapped, but then ''kidnapped from her kidnappers'']].

* Lyra/Kitty from ''Anime/KimbaTheWhiteLion''.

** Rukia Kuchiki gets to be the Damsel in Distress in the Soul Society arc, despite the fact that she was a bit of an ActionGirl in previous episodes.[[spoiler:She agreed to go because she knew she'd be executed for giving her powers to a human... and Rukia ''[[SuicideByCop wanted to die]]'' in the first place]]. Despite her QuicklyDemotedWoman status, it could be argued that Rukia was actually just a BadassInDistress... for a ''really'' long time. The anime spoofs her DID gig [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edku5gnLceE&NR=1 here]].

* Rachel from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'', at least twice. Pretty bad track record for a girl who wanted to climb the Tower by herself. Then again, [[DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel she's learnt a few things or two]].

* ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'': Given the number of times that Fuu ends up getting kidnapped, she made a good investment in saving the two male leads to be her bodyguards. Considering how most of the kidnappings were all just random encounters, you wonder why she wasn't more concerned with separating from them. This was lampshaded in an old "Anime Insider" magazine, which featured a match-up pitting Fuu against [[Manga/ExcelSaga Excel and Hyatt]] in an eating contest. On her stats, Fuu's pet peeve is listed as "getting kidnapped."
* Parodied in ''Manga/TheDevilKingIsBored'' when the titular Devil King kidnaps a kingdom's princess because he's, well, bored, and thinks that fighting some heroes would be fun. He even places a portal to hell in the middle of a populated town. With a sign above it that says "Portal to Hell."
* Subverted regularly in ''Anime/SonicX'', most notably with the episode ''Young Girls Jungle Trap'' where the female characters are captured multiple times -- and get out of it entirely by themselves multiple times, too.
* Subverted in ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', where it becomes clear over time that Sara is just pretending to be Robotnik's hostage.
* Both in ''Anime/BurstAngel'''s anime and manga, this is the official duty of Meg. And [[BerserkButton invariably Jo goes tilt]] every time the thing happens.

//
// Instead of a RescueArc, Kallen's time as a Prisoner Of War is used as ''CharacterDevelopment''. She not only interacts with Nunnally and sees a different side of Lelouch through her, but also gets to [[UnstoppableRage punch Suzaku]] ''while wearing said frilly, cleavage heavy dress'', which makes Suzaku [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize he is]] JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope.
//
// She ends up in a mini-TraumaCongaLine version of this as not long after the battle over Tokyo comes to its disastrous conclusion, during which she was finally freed from her imprisonment, she ends up back in distress again, as she tries to defend Lelouch, who she has been used to bait into a betrayal from her fellow Black Knights. Her comrades [[PunishedForSympathy accuse her of being under Lelouch's geass]]. When he realizes Schneizel is behind this, it takes Lelouch [[ShooTheDog shooing her off]] with a fake admission to using them all in order to save her.

* Generally played straight in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' with Akane Tendō. Two plotlines in the 38-volume manga (and two of {{the movie}}s) involve her BoundAndGagged and in need of rescue. A good number of the other girls fall prey to this throughout the series, and the entire female cast winds up like this in the second tie in movie. Ranma himself holds the DistressBall (both in male and female forms) more than once and needs someone from his harem to rescue him.

* Invoked in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''. [[WrongGenreSavvy Maria Louise]] ''really'' wants to play the Damsel part so her KnightInShiningArmor George De Sand will come to her rescue, so she gets Domon to [[BatmanGambit help her plan her own kidnapping so he can fight George]], who refused to duel with Domon per HonorBeforeReason motifs. It backfires ''spectacularly''. [[spoiler:Not only does the ''far'' more GenreSavvy George deduce their plan ''right from the start'', but he also delivers a "WhatTheHellHero" speech to Maria as he and Domon fight. Maria and Rain Mikamura barely escape with their lives from the battlefield and, as punishment, Maria is [[PutOnABus sent back to Neo France]] until the Neo Hong Kong arc.]]
* In the later ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' novels, ActionGirl Kaname turns into an extreme Damsel in Distress. She may have more or less given up for a while after the events of Continuing On My Own, but it's only a temporary thing, and it's not that long before she starts to regain some of her old vigor and determination. [[spoiler:After that she ends up being more or less mind controlled by Sophia aka the First Whispered Ever, but that's a bit of a different matter.]]
* Subverted in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', as a part of the TwistEnding of the first season. [[spoiler:The girls ''thought'' that [[BarrierMaiden Princess Emeraude]] was the Damsel in Distress. She actually had the power to break through Zagato's prison all the time... but didn't do it because she was in love with him since they met. And because she was the ''real'' BigBad. Who summoned the girls [[ICannotSelfTerminate to KILL her]], and Zagato kidnapped her to ''save'' her from them]]. The problem was solved in the end. [[TearJerker Very dramatically.]]
* In the second arc of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Asuna is still trapped in cyberspace in a different game under control of a domineering GameMaster. While said GameMaster has had months to wear her down and use his admin privileges to stop any plot she devises, the contrast between her hardcore ActionGirl persona in the first arc and the helpless damsel in the second was taken poorly by some fans.
* Nia generally fits this role in the third and final arc of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. The third was justified because she was BrainwashedAndCrazy. [[spoiler:Once she snaps out of this with the help of Simon however, she fits this trope to a T.]]

* ''Manga/FutureDiaries''
** Averted with Yuno Gasai since she's quite the {{Yandere}} ActionGirlfriend and so far she's only been whacked counted times with the DistressBall. After she gets hit with it, she's very likely to pull a [[HesBack She's Back]] and recover soon.
** Exploited with [[spoiler: Tsubaki Kasugano aka the 6th]], who [[spoiler: ''[[DecoyDamsel pretends]]'' [[DecoyDamsel to be one]] so she can gain Yukiteru's trust via TheDulcineaEffect and keep him away from Yuno.]]
* Nao from the ''Manga/LiarGame'' starts off as this, extremely naive and crying whenever someone who she put her trust in (even if she shouldn't) deceived her and always relying constantly on Akiyama to help her. But she [[TookALevelInBadass matured]] and now, she's quite a force to be reckoned with, using her honest character to trick others, even deceiving [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bastards]] Yokoya and Akiyama on separate occasions without either of them realizing it until afterwards.
* [[PluckyGirl Relena Peacecraft]] from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' is ''falsely'' accused [[DieForOurShip by her]] [[RonTheDeathEater detractors]] of being one. Since she's an ActualPacifist she never fought her way out guns blazing, but she wasn't a DamselScrappy either, actually trying to [[TalkingYourWayOut talk down her captors]] in the three instances where she's in enemy hands throughout the anime (by Romefeller late in the TV show, White Fang near the end, and Mariemaia's in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWingEndlessWaltz'') even showing her GuileHero chops by turning the first instance into a '''massive''' payoff. She once even dissuaded Heero from killing or harming her ''with words alone.''
* Akiko Aoshika from ''Manga/WolfGuyWolfenCrest''. Haguro tries to invoke this trope with Ryuuko, but she points out that Inugami isn't interested in her.
* Lyra/Kitty from ''Anime/KimbaTheWhiteLion''.
* Deconstructed in ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''. Many shows have DID girls who go through Hell and back, but remain sweet and nice and without many psychological marks because many writers won't know what to do. ''Utena'' points out that in RL, people of both genders stuck in these roles will ''stop'' being "pure" and "sweet" and start acting more passive-aggressive and manipulative, if they're forced into situations where they can't seize direct power. This is ''very'' obvious in the cases of Shiori Takatsuki (looks sweet and gentle and demure, but is very malicious and has horrible self-esteem since her "best friend" Juri is a beautiful and strong LadyOfWar), Kozue Kaoru (repeatedly gets herself in trouble and flirts/sleeps with other guys to catch the attention of her twin older brother and "prince", Miki), and ''specially'' [[spoiler: Anthy Himemiya (once performed a huge sacrifice, paid the price by both suffering immense physical pain and becoming a passive figure as the Rose Bride, ultimately became a mix of BrokenBird and [[TheDragon puppet]] to her ManipulativeBastard brother Akio a.k.a. Dios aka End of the World) and Utena Tenjou (she's ''not'' one since the beginning, but her insecurities and naiveté more than once play quite a part into shoving her close to the "role")]] This is not to say that BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil, or that it's stupid to be remain nice after a tragedy. It's just pointing out a general trend: if weakness is imposed on people, it ''will'' bring consequences.

* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'',
** [[spoiler: Winry is taken "hostage" by the military after Ed and Al discover the truth about the homunculi. Although Winry has no idea, if Ed and Al do something the government doesn't like, then the powers-that-be will kill her. To save her, they end up north, near Briggs, and enlist the unlikely help of Scar, the man who'd murdered her parents, by pretending to have him kidnap her. Granted, the fake kidnapping part of the plan was Winry's own idea, so she half rescued ''herself''...]]
** This dirty little trick was played off on Roy and Riza as well: [[spoiler:the same situation was setup with Riza, to make sure Roy didn't act up. However, she's more of a BadassInDistress here because despite being a hostage, she knows it isn't fazed by it in the slightest. She remains courageous to the point where she can confront Selim Bradley about his secret identity as the homunculus Pride, and then use her position as a hostage to ''prevent him from killing her on the spot''.]]
* Naru Osaka of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' needs to be saved from a Monster of the Week attack fairly regularly, to the point where it gets frequently lampshaded in FanFiction.
* Lampshaded in ''GunXSword'' when Van asks Wendy "Why do you keep getting caught?" (As it happens, she keeps getting in trouble because she's not afraid to mouth off to the [[MonsterOfTheWeek villain of the week]] . . . which usually pisses off said villain.)
* Aura's kidnapping is the [[SaveThePrincess drive]] behind most of volume 2 and 3 of ''LightNovel/{{Corsair}}'', however, being a PluckyGirl she doesn't act overly distressed about it or her impending execution, [[spoiler: and when Ayace finally shows up to rescue her, her reaction is: "[[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike You're late!]]"]]
* Done twice in ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'', once to [[AnIcePerson Mizore]] through an ArrangedMarriage, once to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Moka]] for being a LivingMacGuffin. In [[SplitPersonality Moka's]] case, it's actually both this and BadassInDistress, depending on which of her personalities we're talking about.
* Shirayuki of ''Manga/AkagamiNoShirayukihime'' occasionally falls into this category, though as a PluckyGirl she doesn't take it lying down and tends to [[DamselOutOfDistress try to do something about it herself]]. Played completely straight during the Tanburn arc, where she is [[spoiler: not only kidnapped, but then ''kidnapped from her kidnappers'']].
* In ''Manga/{{Otoyomegatari}}'', Mr. Smith's refusal to marry Talas out of pity meets bewilderment: Saving her is what a man ''does'', right?
* Akiko in Shonen Omnyouji gets her moment when a group of demons kidnap her in order to use her blood to heal their master, as well as lead Masahiro into a trap. Of course in the end either Masahiro or Akiko would have been enough to heal their master, but Masahiro has some pretty steller spiritual powers in terms of combat so is more of a threat.
** She was pretty much asking for it really. She followed Masahiro out at night, despite the fact that Masahiro had specifically directed her to stay in her room so she could be protected by the spiritual barrier his grandfather had erected.
* ''Franchise/LupinIII'': Clarisse, Murasaki, Fujiko ([[BadassInDistress sometimes]])... The character trope was used back in the Manga, and is expected to occur. There's one in pretty much every Lupin movie or TV special, in fact. See the DamselInDistress/AnimatedFilms page.
* In ''Manga/YuGiOh'', Anzu falls into this role more than once and is kidnapped, brainwashed, possessed, or has her life endangered by nearly all of the villains in the series. This even carries over to spin-offs, such as ''Manga/YuGiOhR'', where she's kidnapped by Yako to be the vessel for Pegasus's resurrection, and ''VideoGame/YuGiOhForbiddenMemories'', where Seto kidnaps her pre-incarnation, Teana. However, in a bit of an out-of-character moment, she invokes the trope once to lure out Dark Yugi in one of the manga's early chapters, putting herself in danger with the Playing Card Bomber.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsters'' has a maiden from a village who is chosen as a sacrifice to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

* The BigBad of ''Manga/YuGiOhR'' specifically targets [[TheChick Tea]] in order to upset [[TheHero Yugi]].

* ''Franchise/LupinIII'': Clarisse, Murasaki, Fujiko ([[BadassInDistress sometimes]])... The character trope was used back in the Manga, and is expected to occur. There's one in pretty much every Lupin movie or TV special, in fact.
** Murasaki, who twice found herself the target of kidnapping and/or traps. The first was when she was captured by a Fuma Ninja during her wedding, and demanded the MacGuffin in exchange for her life. The demand motivated Goemon and company to steal the vase and deliver it to the Fuma.
** ''Anime/LupinIIITheColumbusFiles'' shows an example of Fujiko being a DamselInDistress ''and'' a {{Badass}}, but without being a BadassInDistress. During the opening, she loses her memory, and her entire personality changes. She's terrified of nearly everything, and everyone is a stranger to her. When she contributed to part of her rescue via pure Muscle Memory, that also terrifies her.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Rukia Kuchiki gets to be the Damsel in Distress in the Soul Society arc, despite the fact that she was a bit of an ActionGirl in previous episodes.[[spoiler:She agreed to go because she knew she'd be executed for giving her powers to a human... and Rukia ''[[SuicideByCop wanted to die]]'' in the first place]]. Despite her QuicklyDemotedWoman status, it could be argued that Rukia was actually just a BadassInDistress... for a ''really'' long time. The anime spoofs her DID gig [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edku5gnLceE&NR=1 here]].

* Rachel from ''TowerOfGod'', at least twice. Pretty bad track record for a girl who wanted to climb the Tower by herself. Then again, [[DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel she's learnt a few things or two]].
* In the anime of ''ChronoCrusade'', [[spoiler:Rosette]] [[{{Chickification}} takes on this role]] towards the end in the series. In the manga, Azmaria tends to play this role the entire time.
* ''SamuraiChamploo'': Given the number of times that Fuu ends up getting kidnapped, she made a good investment in saving the two male leads to be her bodyguards.
** Considering how most of the kidnappings were all just random encounters, you wonder why she wasn't more concerned with separating from them.
*** This was lampshaded in an old "Anime Insider" magazine, which featured a match-up pitting Fuu against [[Manga/ExcelSaga Excel and Hyatt]] in an eating contest. On her stats, Fuu's pet peeve is listed as "getting kidnapped."

** Also subverted in ''SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', where it becomes clear over time that Sara is just pretending to be Robotnik's hostage.
* Both in ''BurstAngel'''s anime and manga, this is the official duty of Meg. And [[BerserkButton invariably Jo goes tilt]] every time the thing happens.
* Played with and subverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'' when [[{{Tsundere}} Kallen]] is captured and becomes a hostage for 1/3 of the season with Lelouch swearing to rescue her. She is then put in a plexi-glass cage and given [[GoGoEnslavement a frilly, cleavage heavy dress]]. This is a subversion since Kallen is by far the show's number one ActionGirl, Lelouch's personal bodyguard and one of the deadliest pilots in the CG universe, thus [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome she re-affirms all three facts within moments of being rescued]].
** Also, further subverted because instead of a RescueArc, Kallen's time as a Prisoner Of War is used as ''CharacterDevelopment''. She not only interacts with Nunnally and sees a different side of Lelouch through her, but also gets to [[UnstoppableRage punch Suzaku]] ''while wearing said frilly, cleavage heavy dress'', which makes Suzaku [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize he is]] JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope.
** She ends up in a mini-TraumaCongaLine version of this as not long after the battle over Tokyo comes to its disastrous conclusion, during which she was finally freed from her imprisonment, she ends up back in distress again, as she tries to defend Lelouch, who she has been used to bait into a betrayal from her fellow Black Knights. Her comrades [[PunishedForSympathy accuse her of being under Lelouch's geass]]. When he realizes Schneizel is behind this, it takes Lelouch [[ShooTheDog shooing her off]] with a fake admission to using them all in order to save her.
* Let's see... a MysteriousWaif who's below the CompetenceZone and happens to be the daughter of the main character? Yup, Vivio of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' was destined for this role the moment she was introduced. With her now actively training [[GooGooGodlike on her powers]], and another TimeSkip putting her into the CompetenceZone's minimum age, she likely won't end up as DamselInDistress again.
* Happens several times in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' First is Konoka during the Kyoto arc, but that's a JustifiedTrope since she had not waken up her own powers and she didn't have any similar to self-defense training. Then a demon captures Asuna. Lastly, [[spoiler:Asuna and Anya are held captive by Fate. Unfortunately, the rest of the team is unaware of this, as Asuna is replaced by a doppelganger, and Anya is MIA to begin with.]]
* Inverted in ''Anime/{{Monster}}'': Realizing that Johan has plans to meet up with (and presumably do [[MindRape horrible, unspeakable things to]]) his estranged twin sister, Nina, Tenma rushes off to rescue her. The thing is, in the rush, the good doctor seems to have not accounted for two things -- 1) Being mostly a NonActionGuy, he is woefully unprepared for things like a crazed lackey stabbing him in the face with garden shears and 2) Nina is pretty damn awesome in the art of Aikido, which she immediately demonstrates by saving ''him''. Looks like she didn't need your help after all, Tenma. [[spoiler:Too bad the same couldn't be said for her ''parents''...]]

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Pikachu often gets [[AmbiguousGender itself]][[note]]It's canonically male, as seen when a female Pokémon affects it with Attract.[[/note]] caught in Team Rocket's traps. However, it often gets itself out, so this is an aversion.

* In the second arc of SwordArtOnline, Asuna is still trapped in cyberspace in a different game under control of a domineering GameMaster. While said GameMaster has had months to wear her down and use his admin privileges to stop any plot she devises, the contrast between her hardcore ActionGirl persona in the first arc and the helpless damsel in the second was taken poorly by some fans.

* Averted with Yuno Gasai of ''MiraiNikki'', since she's quite the {{Yandere}} ActionGirlfriend and so far she's only been whacked counted times with the DistressBall. After she gets hit with it, she's very likely to pull a [[HesBack She's Back]] and recover soon.

* Nao from the ''LiarGame'' starts off as this, extremely naive and crying whenever someone who she put her trust in (even if she shouldn't) deceived her and always relying constantly on Akiyama to help her. But she [[TookALevelInBadass matured]] and now, she's quite a force to be reckoned with, using her honest character to trick others, even deceiving [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bastards]] Yokoya and Akiyama on separate occasions without either of them realizing it until afterwards.

* Played with in ''SpiceAndWolf''. Holo isn't a Damsel in Distress - in fact her counterpart Lawrence usually takes the part of the DistressedDude - but she's GenreSavvy enough to be well aware of the trope. She jokes around with Lawrence about him liking meek women he could comfort, and enthusiastically play-acts the part for him in jest. She even fools Amati into being her KnightInShiningArmor, [[ItAmusedMe largely for kicks]]. When she's genuinely crushed by the revelation that [[spoiler:Yoitsu has been destroyed]], she bitterly accuses Lawrence of hiding it from her because he liked seeing her helpless and ignorant.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', [[spoiler: Winry is taken "hostage" by the military after Ed and Al discover the truth about the homunculi. Although Winry has no idea, if Ed and Al do something the government doesn't like, then the powers-that-be will kill her. To save her, they end up north, near Briggs, and enlist the unlikely help of Scar, the man who'd murdered her parents, by pretending to have him kidnap her. Granted, the fake kidnapping part of the plan was Winry's own idea, so she half rescued ''herself''...]]

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Rukia Kuchiki gets to be the Distressed Damsel in the Soul Society arc, despite the fact that she was a bit of an ActionGirl in previous episodes.[[spoiler:She agreed to go because she knew she'd be executed for giving her powers to a human... and Rukia ''[[SuicideByCop wanted to die]]'' in the first place]]. Despite her QuicklyDemotedWoman status, it could be argued that Rukia was actually just a BadassInDistress... for a ''really'' long time. The anime spoofs her DID gig [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edku5gnLceE&NR=1 here]].

* Rachel from ''TowerOfGod'', at least twice. Pretty bad track record for a girl who wanted to climb the Tower by herself. Then again, [[DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel she's learnt a few things or two.]]

* Subverted regularly in ''SonicX'', most notably with the episode ''Young Girls Jungle Trap'' where the female characters are captured multiple times -- and get out of it entirely by themselves multiple times, too.

* Both in ''BurstAngel'''s anime and manga, this is the official duty of Meg. And [[BerserkButton invariably Jo goes tilt]] everytime the thing happens.
* Played with and subverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'' when [[{{Tsundere}} Kallen]] is captured and becomes a hostage for 1/3 of the season with Lelouch swearing to rescue her. She is then put in a plexi-glass cage and given [[GoGoEnslavement a frilly, cleavage heavy dress]]. This is a subversion since Kallen is by far the show's number one ActionGirl, Lelouch's personal bodyguard and one of the deadliest pilots in the CG universe, thus [[CrowningMomentOfAwesomeMechaAnime she re-affirms all three facts within moments of being rescued.]]

* Let's see... a MysteriousWaif who's below the CompetenceZone and happens to be the daughter of the main character? Yup, Vivio of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' was destined for this role the moment she was introduced. With her now actively training [[GooGooGodlike on her powers]], and another TimeSkip putting her into the CompetenceZone's minimum age, she likely won't end up as DistressedDamsel again.
* Happens several times in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' First is Konoka during the Kyoto arc, but that's a JustifiedTrope since she had not waken up her own powers and she didn't have any similar to self-defense training. Then a demon captures Asuna. Lastly, [[spoiler:Asuna and Anya are held captive by Fate. Unfortunately, the rest of the team is unaware of this, as Asuna is replaced by a doppleganger, and Anya is MIA to begin with.]]

* Generally played straight in ''RanmaOneHalf'' with Akane Tendō. Two plotlines in the 38-volume manga (and two of {{the movie}}s) involve her BoundAndGagged and in need of rescue. A good number of the other girls fall prey to this throughout the series, and the entire female cast winds up like this in the second tie in movie. Ranma himself holds the DistressBall (both in male and female forms) more than once and needs someone from his harem to rescue him.

* Invoked in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''. [[WrongGenreSavvy Maria Louise]] ''really'' wants to play the Damsel part so her KnightInShiningArmor George De Sand will come to her rescue, so she gets Domon to [[BatmanGambit help her plan her own kidnapping so he can fight George]], who refused to duel with Domon per HonorBeforeReason motifs. It backfires ''spectacularly''. [[spoiler:Not only does the ''far'' more GenreSavvy George deduce their plan ''right from the start'', but he also delivers a WhatTheHellHero speech to Maria as he and Domon fight. Maria and Rain Mikamura barely escape with their lives from the battlefield and, as punishment, Maria is [[PutOnABus sent back to Neo France]] until the Neo Hong Kong arc.]]

* Subverted in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', as a part of the TwistEnding of the first season. [[spoiler:The girls ''thought'' that [[BarrierMaiden Princess Emeraude]] was the Damsel in Distress. She actually had the power to break through Zagato's prison all the time... but didn't do it because she was in love with him since they met. And because she was the ''real'' BigBad. Who summoned the girls [[ICannotSelfTerminate to KILL her]], and Zagato kidnapped her to ''save'' her from them]]. The problem was solved in the end. [[TearJerker Very dramatically]].

* Averted with Yuno Gasai of ''MiraiNikki'', since she's quite the {{Yandere}} ActionGirlfriend and so far she's only been whacked counted times with the DistressBall. After she gets hit with it, she's very likely to pull a ShesBack and recover soon.

* Nao from the ''LiarGame'' starts off as this, extremely naive and crying whenever someone who she put her trust in (even if she shouldn't) deceived her and always relying constantly on Akiyama to help her. But she [[TookALevelInBadAss matured]] and now, she's quite a force to be reckoned with, using her honest character to trick others, even deceiving [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bastards]] Yokoya and Akiyama on separate occasions without either of them realizing it until afterwards.

* Lyra/Kitty from ''KimbaTheWhiteLion''.

* Played with in ''SpiceAndWolf''. Holo isn't a Distressed Damsel - in fact her counterpart Lawrence usually takes the part of the DistressedDude - but she's GenreSavvy enough to be well aware of the trope. She jokes around with Lawrence about him liking meek women he could comfort, and enthusiastically play-acts the part for him in jest. She even fools Amati into being her KnightInShiningArmor, [[ItAmusedMe largely for kicks]]. When she's genuinely crushed by the revelation that [[spoiler:Yoitsu has been destroyed]], she bitterly accuses Lawrence of hiding it from her because he liked seeing her helpless and ignorant.

* Done twice in ''RosarioToVampire'', once to [[AnIcePerson Mizore]] through an ArrangedMarriage, once to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Moka]] for being a LivingMacGuffin. In [[SplitPersonality Moka's]] case, it's actually both this and BadassInDistress, depending on which of her personalities we're talking about.
* Shirayuki of ''Manga/AkagamiNoShirayukihime'' occasionally falls into this category, though as a PluckyGirl she doesn't take it lying down and tends to [[DamselOutOfDistress try to do something about it herself]]. Played completely straight during the Tanburn arc, where she is [[spoiler: not only kidnapped, but then ''kidnapped from her kidnappers''.]]

** ''Anime/LupinIIITheColumbusFiles'' shows an example of Fujiko being a DamselInDistress ''and'' a BadAss, but without being a BadassInDistress. During the opening, she loses her memory, and her entire personality changes. She's terrified of nearly everything, and everyone is a stranger to her. When she contributed to part of her rescue via pure Muscle Memory, that also terrifies her.

* Subverted in ''MagicKnightRayearth'', as a part of the TwistEnding of the first season. [[spoiler:The girls ''thought'' that [[BarrierMaiden Princess Emeraude]] was the Damsel in Distress. She actually had the power to break through Zagato's prison all the time... but didn't do it because she was in love with him since they met. And because she was the ''real'' BigBad. Who summoned the girls [[ICannotSelfTerminate to KILL her]], and Zagato kidnapped her to ''save'' her from them]]. The problem was solved in the end. [[TearJerker Very dramatically]].

* Akiko Aoshika from ''WolfGuyWolfenCrest''. Haguro tries to invoke this trope with Ryuuko, but she points out that Inugami isn't interested in her.

* Naru Osaka of ''Manga/SailorMoon'' needs to be saved from a Monster of the Week attack fairly regularly, to the point where it gets frequently lampshaded in FanFiction.

* Happens several times in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' First is Konoka during the Kyoto arc, but that's a JustifiedTrope since she had not waken up her own powers and she didn't have any similar to self-defense training. Then a demon captures Asuna. Then it is inverted and the TrueCompanions have to rescue Negi. Lastly, [[spoiler:Asuna and Anya are held captive by Fate. Unfortunately, the rest of the team is unaware of this, as Asuna is replaced by a doppleganger, and Anya is MIA to begin with.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Rukia Kuchiki gets to be the Distressed Damsel in the Soul Society arc, despite the fact that she was a bit of an ActionGirl in previous episodes.[[spoiler:She agreed to go because she knew she'd be executed for giving her powers to a human... and Rukia actually ''[[SuicideByCop wanted to die]]'' in the first place]].
** Despite her QuicklyDemotedWoman status, it could be argued that Rukia was actually just a BadassInDistress... for a ''really'' long time.
** The anime spoofs her DID gig [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edku5gnLceE&NR=1 here]].
** Also, the above quote is a response to Rukia's refusal to play the part of Distressed Damsel. She's also pretty upset that Ichigo is fighting her brother, even though her brother is trying to return her to her execution.
** In the Arrancar and Hueco Mundo arcs, [[GenkiGirl Orihime]] [[StepfordSmiler Inoue]] heavily '''[[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]]''' the trope. She went with [[spoiler:Sosuke Aizen]] ''willingly'' to protect her friends [[spoiler: right after they got their asses kicked by the Arrancar ([[SadisticChoice had she not gone, they would've been killed and Karakura would've been destroyed right on the spot]])]]... The story arc is absolutely NOT shy about showing the tremendous emotional and physical strain it brings on her [[spoiler: to the extreme of causing her an ''epic'' HeroicBSOD that almost made her cross the DespairEventHorizon]]; sure, [[spoiler: Ichigo and Ishida manage to reach for her]], but things go wrong immediately afterwards, and before ''that'' [[BreakTheCutie she was throughly abused]] by Loly, Menoly, Nnoitora and Ulquiorra, among others. [[spoiler: It takes Orihime almost a ''year'' to fully get over the horrible effects of her imprisonment.]]

* Shirayuki of ''Manga/AkagamiNoShirayukihime'' occasionally falls into this category, though as a PluckyGirl she doesn't take it lying down and tends to [[BadassDamsel try to do something about it herself]]. Played completely straight during the Tanburn arc, where she is [[spoiler: not only kidnapped, but then ''kidnapped from her kidnappers''.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Rukia Kuchiki gets to be the Distressed Damsel in the Soul Society arc, despite the fact that she was a bit of an ActionGirl in previous episodes. In a sort-of subversion, though, [[spoiler:she agreed to go because she knew she'd be executed for giving her powers to a human... and Rukia actually ''[[SuicideByCop wanted to die]]'' in the first place]].

** She ends up in a mini-TraumaCongaLine version of this, though, as not long after the battle over Tokyo comes to its disastrous conclusion, during which she was finally freed from her imprisonment, she ends up back in distress again, as she tries to defend Lelouch, who she has been used to bait into a betrayal from her fellow Black Knights. Her comrades [[PunishedForSympathy accuse her of being under Lelouch's geass]]. When he realizes Schneizel is behind this, it takes Lelouch [[ShooTheDog shooing her off]] with a fake admission to using them all in order to save her.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Pikachu often gets [[AmbiguousGender itself]][[note]]It's canonically male, as seen when a female Pokémon affects it with Attract, if this troper remembers correctly.[[/note]] caught in Team Rocket's traps. However, it often gets itself out, so this is an aversion.

* Subverted in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''. [[WrongGenreSavvy Maria Louise]] ''really'' wants to play the Damsel part so her KnightInShiningArmor George De Sand comes to her rescue, so she gets Domon to [[BatmanGambit help her plan her own kidnapping so he can fight George]], who refused to duel with Domon per HonorBeforeReason motifs. It backfires ''spectacularly'', though: [[spoiler:not only does the ''far'' more GenreSavvy George deduce their plan ''right from the start'', but he also delivers a WhatTheHellHero speech to Maria as he and Domon fight. Maria and Rain Mikamura barely escape with their lives from the battlefield and, as punishment, Maria gets [[PutOnABus sent back to Neo France]] until the Neo Hong Kong arc.]]

* Deconstructed in ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''. Many shows have DID girls who go through Hell and back, but remain sweet and nice and without many psychological marks because many writers won't know what to do. ''Utena'', however, points out that in RL, people of both genders stuck in these roles will more or less ''stop'' being "pure" and "sweet" and start acting more passive-aggressive and manipulative, if they're forced into situations where they can't seize direct power. This is ''very'' obvious in the cases of Shiori Takatsuki (looks sweet and gentle and demure, but is very malicious and has horrible self-esteem since her "best friend" Juri is a beautiful and strong LadyOfWar), Kozue Kaoru (repeatedly gets herself in trouble and flirts/sleeps with other guys to catch the attention of her twin older brother and "prince", Miki), and ''specially'' [[spoiler: Anthy Himemiya (once performed a huge sacrifice, paid the price by both suffering immense physical pain and becoming a passive figure as the Rose Bride, ultimately became a mix of BrokenBird and [[TheDragon puppet]] to her ManipulativeBastard brother Akio a.k.a. Dios aka End of the World) and Utena Tenjou (she's ''not'' one since the beginning, but her insecurities and naiveté more than once play quite a part into shoving her close to the "role")]] This is not to say that BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil, or that it's stupid to be remain nice after a tragedy. It's just pointing out a general trend: if weakness is imposed on people, it ''will'' bring consequences.
* Played with in ''SpiceAndWolf''. Holo isn't a Distressed Damsel - in fact her counterpart Lawrence usually takes the part of the DistressedDude - but she's GenreSavvy enough to be well aware of the trope. She jokes around with Lawrence about him liking meek women he could comfort, and enthusiastically play-acts the part for him in jest. She even fools Amati into being her KnightInShiningArmor, largely for kicks. But when she's genuinely crushed by the revelation that [[spoiler:Yoitsu has been destroyed]], she bitterly accuses Lawrence of hiding it from her because he liked seeing her helpless and ignorant.

** She was pretty much asking for it really. She followed Masahiro out at night, despite the fact that Masahiro had specifically directed her to stay in her room so she could be protected by the spiritual barrier his grandfather had erected.

* Deconstructed in RevolutionaryGirlUtena. Many shows have DID girls who go through Hell and back, but remain sweet and nice and without many psychological marks because many writers won't know what to do. ''Utena'', however, points out that in RL, people of both genders stuck in these roles will more or less ''stop'' being "pure" and "sweet" and start acting more passive-aggressive and manipulative, if they're forced into situations where they can't seize direct power. This is ''very'' obvious in the cases of Shiori Takatsuki (looks sweet and gentle and demure, but is very malicious and has horrible self-esteem since her "best friend" Juri is a beautiful and strong LadyOfWar), Kozue Kaoru (repeatedly gets herself in trouble and flirts/sleeps with other guys to catch the attention of her twin older brother and "prince", Miki), and ''specially'' [[spoiler: Anthy Himemiya (once performed a huge sacrifice, paid the price by both suffering immense physical pain and becoming a passive figure as the Rose Bride, ultimately became a mix of BrokenBird and [[TheDragon puppet]] to her ManipulativeBastard brother Akio a.k.a. Dios aka End of the World) and Utena Tenjou (she's ''not'' one since the beginning, but her insecurities and naiveté more than once play quite a part into shoving her close to the "role")]] This is not to say that BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil, or that it's stupid to be remain nice after a tragedy. It's just pointing out a general trend: if weakness is imposed on people, it ''will'' bring consequences.

** Also, further subverted because instead of a RescueArc, Kallen's time as a Prisoner Of War is used as ''CharacterDevelopment''. She not only interacts with Nunnally and sees a different side of Lelouch through her, but also gets to [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan punch Suzaku]] ''while wearing said frilly, cleavage heavy dress'', which makes Suzaku [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize he is]] JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope.

* Cho Kanan, Lirin, and Yaone all hold their own separate moments in ''{{Saiyuki}}''. Both Yaone and Lirin being saved successfully by Kougaiji. And Kanan becoming the traditional DisposableWoman.

* In the later ''FullMetalPanic'' novels, ActionGirl Kaname turns into an extreme Damsel in Distress. She may have more or less given up for a while after the events of Continuing On My Own, but it's only a temporary thing, and it's not that long before she starts to regain some of her old vigor and determination. [[spoiler:After that she ends up being more or less mind controlled by Sophia aka the First Whispered Ever, but that's a bit of a different matter.]]

* Both in ''Burst Angel'' 's anime and manga, this is the official duty of Meg. And [[BerserkButton invariably Jo goes tilt]] everytime the thing happens.

* In the manga and Brotherhood series of ''FullmetalAlchemist'', [[spoiler: Winry is taken 'hostage' by the military after Ed and Al discover the truth about the homunculi. Although, Winry as no idea, but if Ed and Al do something wrong then the powers that be will kill her. To save her, they end up in Briggs and enlist the help of Scar to rescue her, by pretending to have him kidnap her. Well, granted the plan was Winry's idea in the first place, so she half ''rescued herself''.]]
** This dirty little trick was played off on Roy and Riza as well: [[spoiler: Much the same thing was done to Riza to make sure Roy didn't act up. However, she's more of a BadassInDistress here because she's a hostage, she knows it, and it doesn't faze her in the slightest. She remains courageous to the point where she confronts Selim Bradley about being a homunculus, then uses her position as a hostage to ''prevent him from killing her on the spot.'']]