History JerkWithAHeartOfGold / Anime

* Haru Jigokumeguri from ''Manga/{{Ojojojo))'' is a unique case in that the jerk part is actually subconscious due to a bad case of BecomingTheMask. While she is a genuinely sweet girl, she often finds herself slipping into [[RichBitch her old persona]] and acting condescending to those around her, including her friends and boyfriend (though she gets better as the story progresses).

* Vita from ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''. She as something of a fiery temper and is rude to anyone whose names aren't Hayate, Nanoha, or (for some reason) Chrono. At the same time, she's violently protective of those she cares about. Although the jerk part faded as the series went on.

** Ian also fits, by caring about Jeremy, but often gets too angry by Jeremy’s failures, and his attempts to help are… ''off''.

* Ataru Moroboshi, of ''UruseiYatsura'', who combines this with being a CasanovaWannabe. It's strongly hinted that the reason [[MagicalGirlfriend Lum]] loves him so much is because she can see the noble parts of him that most others (including himself) can't.

* Hamel, the titular ''ViolinistOfHameln'' (manga continuity only). He purposely humiliates people, charges exorbitant prices for anyone who hears his music, plans zany schemes to make money, actually uses his friends as ammunition and is so selfish he'd rather eat his crow companion than go hungry for even a little while. And believe it or not, ''he really is a good guy underneath it all.''

* Parodied in the first episode of ''Anime/OsomatsuSan'', where the brothers [[OutOfGenreExperience turn the show into a typical idol anime]] to increase viewership. Karamatsu establishes himself as a [[TroubledButCute lovable bad boy]] by thoroughly mocking the new show's heroine and then making it up to her by [[HeroicSacrifice diving in front of a car to save an absurdly tiny puppy]].

* ''Manga/DragonBall'' and ''Manga/DragonBallZ'':

%%* ''AngelSanctuary'' has Yue Kato and Sakuya Kira.

** Pekoms of the Big Mom Pirates comes across as very abrasive yet when he say that the Strawhats saved his family and home he broke down in tears of joy and thanked them on his hands and knees.

* Giroro of ''Manga/KeroroGunsou'' is normally a hard-boiled warrior, but he's proven that he's willing to go all out to protect the squad. And even moreso, Natsumi. He also shows his softer side to [[EverythingIsCuterWithKittens his cat.]]

* ''Anime/KillLaKill'''s [[TheHero hero]], Ryuko, is [[SirSwearsALot foul-mouthed]], [[HotBlooded temperamental]], and has a vengeful streak that would make Sasuke Uchiha proud. Still, it's not a good idea to mess with those she loves. She also hates the SocialDarwinist AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil [[spoiler:until they become her TrueCompanions]], and she's willing to help anyone who doesn't piss her off or [[AllMenArePerverts ogle at her]].

* Taishou from ''Manga/MekkoRarekko is a great example. At first, Taishou was a bit of a bully and a {{Jerkass}} towards Buchi his only friend in the first two volumes. But the reason that the two are friends is because back in second grade when Taishou saw that Buchi was being bullied, he wanted to help him out. And its not just because he felt it was the right thing to do. Taishou was bullied a lot in first grade and when he saw that Buchi was being bullied, it reminded him of his DarkAndTroubledPast and he didn't want to see someone else go through the pain of being bullied.

** Vegeta himself becomes one in the TimeSkip following the Cell Games, where he becomes a loving, if not [[WellDoneSonGuy distant]], father to main timeline Trunks, and he's become more attached to Bulma. He also performs a selfless HeroicSacrifice on Majin Buu later onward, and fights with Goku on friendly terms for the first time against Kid Buu, also fighting for the Earth for the first time. At the end, he's a stark contrast to the callous, self-absorbed {{Jerkass}} that came to destroy Earth years ago. This is best shown in ''Battle Of Gods'', where he swallows his pride and tries to please Beerus, and absolutely [[UnstoppableRage loses it]] when he [[BerserkButton slaps Bulma]].

* Gintoki Sakata from ''{{Manga/Gintama}}'' is a very good example of this. He's rude and snarky to almost everyone and often scoffs off other people's problems as none of his business. However, when push comes to shove, his kindness and sense of honor pushes him beyond humanly possible limits and the juxtaposition certainly makes him seem that much more awesome. Even more, he might risk his ''own life'' in order to help the needed ones.
** Then there is Hijikata from the Shinsengumi. He is even harsher than Gintoki, but if the situation is very serious, he might help in any posible ways to help the needed ones.

** ''Anime/MobileSutGundamAGE'': Woolf in the first generation. He enjoys annoying his crewmates and tries to nab the Gundam from Flit, but he looks out for Flit in combat. By Gen 2 he's still a cocky maverick, but much more of a mentor figure.

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* In ''Manga/{{Muhyo and Roji}}'':

** ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'':

* ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'':
** Kaoru Kaidoh, master of “The Snake” (In professional circuits, the Buggy Whip Shot), enjoys acting like an aggressive cobra around other players. Cold stares, heavy breathing, and frightening glares. All of this is hiding his heart of gold; in the anime, he nearly drowns ''trying to save a puppy''.

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':

** While Genma Saotome may be selfish and abusive towards Ranma, he still cares about his son. In a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming, he gives a young Ranma his blanket when both are cold.
* Gin, from ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'', has had some CharacterDevelopment that develops him from the JerkAss / HandsomeLech behaviour he’s been exhibiting by declaring all of his relationships to be “conquests”. It begins with him taking the blame for causing problems on campus [[spoiler:although it was actually one of his ex-girlfriends who was at fault]], as well as becoming a OneManArmy against the Fairy Tale organization because they pressed his BerserkButton [[spoiler:by messing around with his friends, specifically Sun, the one girl who has [[DefeatMeansFriendship gone toe-to-toe with him and gained his respect]].]]

!X

** Seto Kaiba is an arrogant male RichBitch, who rips up rare cards just so that he can have the only copies in the world. But his asshole attitude is because he’s made himself hard to take care of his younger brother, Mokuba.
*** He actually was a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk when first introduced (and even tortures Mokuba in the manga after he loses a game), but Dark Yugi's Mind Crush destroyed the evil in his heart, letting him rebuild himself as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.

!Z

** Minako Aino/Sailor Venus comes off as this to an extent in ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'' (less so in the anime). She is brash, fist-happy, and constantly treats Artemis like crap (which genuinely hurts him). But she regularly
defends fellow students from bullies, will endure a great amount of hardship in the name of her mission, and would protect Sailor Moon with her life (and expects the other Senshi to do so).

** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': Domon Kasshu has to be the Gundam poster boy for this trope. He's got zero manners, major anger issues, and drives his partner ''nuts''; in fact he's basically a straight-up JerkAss at the start and ''matures'' into this trope. But he's also a FriendToAllChildren, [[WorthyOpponents respects his rivals]], and does a good job as a WarriorTherapist when he doesn't need one himself.

* ''Manga/GakuenAlice'' has a great example in Natsume Hyuuga, who is pretty much horrible to Mikan from the get-go and [[{{Tsundere}} remains so even as he gradually falls for her]]. His behavior towards Mikan changes in small steps over the course of the manga, and he has gotten to the point where he would [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther give his own life for her sake]]. But all in all, while he is rather cold towards most others you do sense his innate kindness, especially through his interactions with Ruka or You-chan. You also eventually find out that [[spoiler: his sister was being kept hostage and he was [[DeclarationOfProtection doing everything he could to protect her]]]].

* Tomoya Okazaki from ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'', who tries to project the image of a wangsty, cynical lazy ass… Delights in twisting the truth for practical jokes on anyone and everyone (leading to some impressive amounts of confusion and misunderstanding among the more naive cast -- Nagisa especially), and tries to look all bored and detached. Yet he ends up trying to help the main characters of every arc, without a second thought, and has been seen to cry at the ends of some of the arcs, in ManlyTears, or open frustration and sadness.

%%* ''{{Angel Sanctuary}}'' has Yue Kato and Sakuya Kira.
%%* ''AshitaNoNadja'' has Black Rose ([[spoiler: aka Keith Harcourt]]) and Antonio Fabiani.
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* Manga/AttackOnTitan:

* Kiyoshiro, from ''Anime/ShatteredAngels'', begins his characterization by riping dresses off of female students. His heart of gold is shown when his brother convinces him to change his behaviour.

* Sara Werec, of ''Anime/SoukouNoStrain'', is clearly a good person, and ''we'' (the audience) already know that. She's had to put away her kind and friendly nature because she blames herself for her dead schoolmates and [[ItsPersonal just wants to stop her brother]]. The “Space Squadron”, however, think she’s acting selfish and aloof.

* ''Manga/{{Jin}}'' has Nokaze and Tanosuke, both of whom come across as rather jerish in their first appearances. As they and Jin get to know each other better, they slowly reveal their hearts of gold - Nokaze collects money to pay for treatment of their co-workers and Tanosuke buys Jin's debt when the doctor has to lend money to save a courtesan Tanosuke has made pregnant.