History Main / CardiovascularLove

* In the ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/9048346 Bullets For My Love]]'', the other handlers rib Jose over the ''H+heart+J'' graffiti on the wall of the Killing House, put there by his infatuated cyborg Henrietta.

* Heart symbols emanating from Kitsuburami's WingdingEyes in episode 5 of ''Anime/{{FLCL}}''. This may be due to what she is [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/FLCLheartSymbol.jpg looking at]] (reflected in Canti's screen). Despite what it looks like, it's a giant hand in a trench coat. Really.

* In ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'' when [[spoiler:Naoto]] tells the group she was scared, [[SweetOnPollyOliver Kanji]] gets these floating around him.

** In fanart, the kanji symbol on Gaara's forehead (which means "love") is often replaced by a '''♥'''.
* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' played with it. [[{{Satan}} Hild]] blows a '''♠''' kiss at Keiichi. Belldandy counters it with a '''♥''' kiss, sending the two symbols ricocheting all over the room until they're caught by their mutual owners. Good thing she did, since '''♠''' kisses are apparently destructive.

* In ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' Itoshiki is once given a chocolate heart as present, but it's not very well-made and looks ugly, so the perfectionist Chiri gives him [[spoiler:an anatomically correct chocolate heart]] instead, freaking everybody out.
* In ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'', the smoke from [[HeadlessHorseman Celty]]'s neck [[http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9885/heartt.jpg periodically formed a heart]] while Shinra defended her [[spoiler:[[RelationshipUpgrade and their recently upgraded relationship]]]] from his father's criticisms.
* [[StalkerWithACrush Grell]] gets these when flirting over Sebastian in ''Manga/BlackButler''. There's also episode 15 when Aleister does it while thinking of Ciel DisguisedInDrag.

* For a while, the Stepford Cuckoos from ''ComicBook/XMen'' were [[EmotionlessGirl unable to feel emotions]] because their hearts were made of diamond. That's not a metaphor, it was literally the case.

* ''Magazine/{{MAD}}''': Multiple:

* StrawVulcan Spock lampshades the illogicality of this trope in [[http://community.livejournal.com/st_tos_kink/485.html?thread=87781#t87781 this]] SlashFic.

* In the ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/9048346 Bullets For My Love]]'', the other handlers rib Jose over the ''H+heart+J'' graffiti on the wall of the Killing House, put there by his infatuated cyborg Henrietta.

''Animation/BoBoiBoyTheMovie'':

* Apparently, a heart that was two sizes too small was responsible for TheGrinch's lack of fondness for Christmas. The trope is played straight in the most literal sense possible.
* The main plot point in ''The Wizard's Hairy Heart'', a short tale and [[ShowWithinAShow Book Within a Book]] in the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Harry Potter universe]]: A twisted wizard seeks to remove all emotion from himself in order to become stronger, and so uses dark magic to physically extract his heart and store it in a container. [[GoneHorriblyRight It works better than he ever intended]].

* ''Series/AlteredCarbon''. In "Force of Evil", Kovacs is being tortured in VirtualRealityInterrogation, but thanks to his Envoy training is able to take control of the system. In order to [[YourMindMakesItReal stop his heart in the real world]] so the {{Torture Technician}}s will be forced to revive him to full consciousness, he [[AndShowItToYou tears out his heart]] and offers it to a hallucination of his [[TheLostLenore deceased lover]] Quellcrist Falconer, saying his heart has always belonged to her.

** This exchange in "Helpless", when Angel tells Buffy how he fell in LoveAtFirstSight with her.

* On the lam in his bathrobe, Hurley buys an "I '''♥''' Shih-Tzus" shirt in the ''Series/{{Lost}}'' episode "The Lie". The cashier is puzzled. "I like shih-tzus," Hurley explains. "It looks like you heart them," the cashier answers.

* In the ''Series/PushingDaisies'' episode "Corpsicle", a boy who was waiting on a heart transplant (because he initially had no heart) was rather mean. A played straight example.

* Used as a visual gag in ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}''. Jeremy's parents have a bumper sticker reading "We ♥ Our Son," while a dour Jeremy has a sticker on his bag reading "I [Stomach] My Parents."

* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'':
** A Godzilla-related comic has "I 8 NY".
** Another ''Far Side'' comic features a surgeon in love. But, being a surgeon, instead of a heart symbol it is represented by an anatomically correct heart.
* In a ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' strip, Mr. Butts, the spokescigarette for the tobacco lobby, has little hearts appear around him as he deceitfully claims he loves children. A fellow lobbyist calls this "the heart thingy."

* In ''Sherman's Lagoon'', when Hawthorne hermit crab arranged a meeting between Sherman's shark human enemy, Captain Quigly and another woman. Sherman thinks it's working because he can see the "cartoony love hearts". Hawthorne corrects him by telling him that they're flies.

* Typing "love" into ''{{VideoGame/Scribblenauts}}'' makes [[ParodiedTrope a realistic human heart appear]]. [[JokeItem Said heart does nothing]].
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': the "Heartless" are composed of the darker and more instinctual emotions, and the "Nobodies" are almost StrawVulcan-type beings with only logic and no feelings. A played-straight example, since the heart is still equated with the "warm and fuzzy" emotions.
* The animation for the infatuation status and the Attract move in the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games is a small floating pink heart.
** The love-symbolizing Pokemon Luvdisc is basically a living HeartSymbol with a face.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' offers (real-world, not in-game) bumper stickers with "I '''♣''' Seals" on them, because of the Seal Clubber class.
* When characters in ''VideoGame/TheSims'' fall in love, they emit hearts to indicate this.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': The game uses this on occasion as a source of visual humor due to hearts being the series' long-standing [[HeartsAreHealth recovery items]]:
** If Link talks to the fangirls outside the clawshot game in Castle Town after winning at least once, they will squeal in excitement and produce a cluster of cartoon hearts, which will fall to the ground as health pickups.
** The reunion of the yeti couple after a quick bout of possession results in a huge mass of hearts shooting out of their loving embrace, the largest being a health-boosting HeartContainer.
* Averted in ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo''; the game logo has a bandaged heart, but while it is a DatingSim with five {{disabled love interest}}s, it also represents the protagonist's heart condition.
* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' uses them for the max level that Dark Assembly members can like you... and just to show how wicked the Netherworld is.
--> Great for chopping heads off♥
---> -- "[[{{Pun}} Headhunter]]" axe description
* In ''VideoGame/NutsAndMilk'', Yogurt and Milk would hold a heart symbol between them at the end of every level. In the {{Bonus Stage}}s, the heart would get bigger and a heart-shaped field of flowers would appear.

* ''VisualNovel/ILoveYouColonelSanders'': The {{Heart Symbol}}s on the StartScreen's display of the title, in a Dating Simulator AffectionateParody, that has the word "Love" in the title.

* ''VisualNovel/MurderByNumbers2020'': When Tully flirts with Honor after the screwdriver's discovered in Case 1, red {{Heart Symbol}}s come out of his mouth:
--> '''Tully:''' I'll lend you a tool any time you like.

* Parodied in [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/tgs4.html this episode]] of ''Teen Girl Squad'', a ShowWithinAShow of ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''. When So and So gets some floating heart symbols from feeling a crush, one of the hearts gets hit by an arrow and screams.
** From [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/tgs12.html Vamlumtimes Day!]]
--> "Whattaya mean I'm less than B?"
* In ''WebAnimation/ThereSheIs'', Doki the rabbit's floating hearts, generated by her love for Nabi, are apparently quite physical and can bury people under them, mainly Nabi.

* Averted in [[http://dresdencodak.com/2006/05/17/anagoge-starring-tiny-carl-jung/ this]] ''Webcomic/DresdenCodak'' strip; when one of her friends makes a reference to "matters of the heart," Kimiko points out that "[her] heart is nothing more than an engine forged from the remnants of a dead star."

* Bay got one in [[http://www.sailorsun.org/index.php?comicID=167 this strip]] of ''Webcomic/SailorSun''. Slightly tweaked at first just because she noticed it, it was [[PlayingWithATrope played with]] even more when she was [[http://www.sailorsun.org/index.php?comicID=175 able to physically grab it]]. Then, when Bay tried to shoo that embodied visual metaphor for her own crush out a window, it turned out to [[http://www.sailorsun.org/index.php?comicID=176 have feelings of its own]].

* ''ComicBook/MythAdventures'': The Creator/PhilFoglio comic adaptation of the books features signs saying "I ♥ NY"; "I ♣ Seals"; "I ♠ Cats" and "I ♦ ..." and the end of that sign is covered. Years later, Foglio was asked how the last sign ended, and replied "[[TheUnreveal It was cleverly blocked for a reason]]."
* ''Webcomic/FriendlyHostility'': Played with in [[http://friendlyhostility.com/d/20081015.html this]] comic, where a character not only notices the heart but ''pops'' it, too. Nice metaphor.
* ''Webcomic/TheCyantianChronicles'': Seen in Campus Safari when Cilke first met [[spoiler: Chrome.]] They were immediately dubbed "Floaty Love Hearts" by a fan of the comic.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Hearts are used to represent flushed romance -- that is, conventional human romance based on physical attraction and positive feelings. Trolls experience three additional forms of romantic attraction, which are represented using the other three suits of cards -- spades for pitch romance (physical attraction and negative feelings, or "romantic hate"), diamonds for pale romance (non-sexual soulmates and emotional support), and clubs for ashen romance (a three-person affair where one individual mediates between two feuding others). The eye symbol variant appears from time to time -- Vriska gets ♥'s in all 8 of her pupils after watching Creator/NicolasCage in ''Film/ConAir'', while Karkat gets ♠'s in his eyes after falling in hate with John. The emoticon versions are used more often: <3 for flushed, <3< for pitch, <> for pale, c8< for ashen.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': In the [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2003-04-23 2003-04-23]] comic, used in the last panel with SayItWithHearts, with those hearts accompanying someone saying:
--> God, I love that woman...

* At the end of the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' episode [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Girl_Who_Loved_Powerglide "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide"]], in a bit of InterspeciesRomance Powerglide reveals an LED heart, showing he does indeed have compassion. This made it into a toy of him... twenty odd years after the episode aired.
* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'' episode "Love Bugs". Flapjack meets a girl selling seashells and discovers that little hearts pop out of his head whenever he thinks of her. Peppermint Larry starts harvesting them and selling them to his customers as "sweethearts". Then it turns out that the hearts are actually [[spoiler:heart-shaped parasites called "bloodgnats", which Flapjack got from the seashell the girl gave him.]]

* In the Valentine's Day episode of ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'', Phil complains that hearts aren't even really shaped like that.
* Played with in a ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken'' episode, where the hearts that pop around the characters' heads are ''[[{{Squick}} anatomically correct]]''.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan'', Chu-Chu the dog has hearts coming out of his eyes for a magician's poodle assistant Fifi.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' [[http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lihjqimEOH1qe3twro1_500.gif and]] [[http://www.bravotv.com/media/imagecache/photo-scaled/photos/mosteligibledallasseason1gallerytvcouplesdougpatty.jpg Patti.]]
* Played annoyingly straight in ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'', "heart" refers to warm and fuzzy feelings and is also a ([[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway rather lame]] or [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower rather awesome]]) superpower.

** Parodied on season 11 episode "Saddlesore Galactica": Moe meets a beautiful woman at a horse racing track, mutters "You're BEAUTIFUL," and his heart starts beating out of his chest like in the older, wackier [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Golden Age of Animation]] cartoons (particularly the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' and [[WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons MGM]] cartoons directed by Creator/TexAvery). When he notices this, he immediately says "Excuse me, this is a serious heart condition, I gotta go!" Also counts as something of a PG-rated SomethingElseAlsoRises.
** A Valentine's Day episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' also {{Deconstructed|Trope}} this by having the school cafeteria serve ''beef hearts'' for lunch on Valentine's Day. Needless to say, this did not make things more romantic.
* A Valentine's Day card made by Jimmy to Cindy in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' included a holographic realistic heart.

** In "F.U.N.", when Spongebob is chasing Plankton, who had just run off with a Krabby Patty, Spongebob chases after Plankton who is using a propeller to fly away. Spongebob takes a policeman's baton and spins it around, flying into the air. The cop's reaction is to [[HoYay swoon over Spongebob, complete with heart bubbles]].

* Used as a visual gag in ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic''. On an especially lonely Valentines Day, Jay notices a newspaper with the headline "New York to New York: I ♥ You!" with a smaller blurb underneath reading "Mayor Has ♥ Attack."
* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': A familial example in "Art From the Heart." Randall has drawn a heart for Uncle Jack and Aunt Merna, but can't think of what to put inside it.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainUnderpantsTheFirstEpicMovie'': After Captain Underpants (while disguised as Mr. Krupp) flirts with Edith the Lunch Lady, she's left flustered as hearts pop up around her.
-->'''Edith:''' Ooh! (''fans herself'') Flirt Alert!
* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': While watching Eddie and his girlfriend, Dolores, make up, Roger not only has heart pupils, he also forms a heart-shape with his ears.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': The reunion of a yeti couple after a quick bout of possession results in a huge mass of hearts shooting out of their loving embrace. Since this is a Zelda game, the hearts are actually the series' long-standing [[HeartsAreHealth recovery items]], plus a health-boosting HeartContainer.

* In ''Anime/{{Interstella5555}}'', Music/DaftPunk have a brief {{cameo}}, losing to the main characters in a music contest. One of the two members has [=LEDs=] on his helmet forming a broken heart symbol.

* The Creator/PhilFoglio comic adaptation of the ''ComicBook/MythAdventures'' books features signs saying "I ♥ NY"; "I ♣ Seals"; "I ♠ Cats" and "I ♦ ..." and the end of that sign is covered. Years later, Foglio was asked how the last sign ended, and replied "[[TheUnreveal It was cleverly blocked for a reason]]."
* Played with in [[http://friendlyhostility.com/d/20081015.html this]] ''Webcomic/FriendlyHostility'' comic, where a character not only notices the heart but ''pops'' it, too. Nice metaphor.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Vriska gets ♥'s in all 8 of her pupils after watching Creator/NicolasCage in ''Film/ConAir''. And the black romance version, Karkat gets ♠'s in his eyes after falling in hate with John. The emoticon versions are used more often: <3 for redrom, <3< for blackrom.
** Karkat and Gamzee appear in a diamond after forming their Moirallegience. The symbol for Auspisticism is a club, but so far it's only figured in the various shipping diagrams.

The reason for this goes back to ancient days when people could do little more than guess at why people had so many different weird bits inside them, let alone which ones did what. Different cultures decided on different organs as being the seat of emotions and/or intelligence; Some went with the intestines (such as the Hebrews of the Old Testament), some went with the kidneys, some went with the Heart, etc. The Ancient Greeks were among the ones who went with the heart, and such was the strength of their influence on Western civilization that many of our idioms and figures of speech still reflect the notion of the Heart being the cognitive organ, even though we've known it to be untrue for centuries.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heartsign_8550.jpg]]]]

The reason for this goes back to ancient days when people could do little more than guess at why people had so many different weird bits inside them, let alone which ones did what. Different cultures decided on different organs as being the seat of emotions and/or intelligence; Some went with the intestines (such as the Hebrews of the Old Testament), some went with the kidneys, some went with the Heart, etc. The Ancient Greeks were among the ones who went with the heart, and such was the strength of their influence on western civilization that many of our idioms and figures of speech still reflect the notion of the Heart being the cognitive organ, even though we've known it to be untrue for centuries.

* The ''Literature/VitaNuova'' poem "Amore e ‘l cor gentil" is all about how love and an open heart can only exist together, as judged by the wise man, legislated by Nature, and executed by Lord Love. For a heart to exist, Love must at least be hibernating within it so that it is ready to act when the heart encounters beauty.

* Creator/DataEast's ''[[Pinball/TheWhosTommy The Who's Tommy]]'' whows Sally Simpson riding a scooter to go see Tommy, with a flock of heart symbols floating around her head.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', the smoke from [[HeadlessHorseman Celty's]] neck [[http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/9885/heartt.jpg periodically formed a heart]] while Shinra defended her [[spoiler:[[RelationshipUpgrade and their recently upgraded relationship]]]] from his father's criticisms.

* In ''Film/InspectorGadget'', Gadget's hat incorporates a scrolling marquee that normally displays such things as MirandaRights. Heart symbols go sliding across it during an intimate moment.

* Averted in ''Franchise/TouhouProject'', where Hecatia's "Welcome ♥ Hell" T-shirt is supposed to read "Welcome to Hell".
* ''VideoGame/LuxarenAllure'': A HeartSymbol connected to love, occurs with The True Love Chocolate, stored in a heart-shaped box and:
--> Said to be made by the goddess of Love, this delicacy restores all HP and MP to the party, out of battle.

* ''VisualNovel/ILoveYouColonelSanders'': The {{Heart Symbol}}s on the StartScreen's display of the title, in a Dating Simulator AffectionateParody, that has the word "Love" in the title.
* ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'': Aphrodite is the goddess of love. Fittingly, her boons and corresponding status effect "Charm" are marked with a pink heart.

* ''VideoGame/GoingUnder'': When Jacqueline eats a Peach and gets the ability to charm the first enemy that hits her, she emits {{Emoticon}}s with WingdingEyes of {{Heart Symbol}}s

** Played with in one strip: Jason makes heart-shaped placemats for his parents' Valentines Day dinner, but (being [[{{Nerd}} the person he is]]) makes them anatomically correct.

* ''[[VideoGame/RhythmHeaven Rhythm Heaven Fever]]'': During the final pose in Ringside, the Reporter has five hearts above her head, {{impl|ied trope}}ying that she has a crush on [[MaskedLuchador the Wrestler]]. However, it's only on screen for one second, and it's masked by camera flashes, making it a FreezeFrameBonus.

* Used as a visual gag in ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}''. Jeromy's parents have a bumper sticker reading "We ♥ Our Son," while a dour Jeromy has a sticker on his bag reading "I [Stomach] My Parents."