History Main / HealTheCutie

* The world of ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' is not kind to its cast of cute characters. Notably, Curly Brace is a friendly, upbeat girl who takes motherly care of a group of rabbit-creatures, but [[AdultFear loses all of them]] to the MadDoctor. She then makes a desperate attempt to help the protagonist fight back, [[spoiler:and is forced to [[KillTheCutie sacrifice herself to save him]]. With some VideoGameCaringPotential and a good deal of GuideDangIt, you can change the ending and bring about this trope. When Quote initially saves her, she's left an unresponsive amnesiac, but after her memory is restored, she remembers her and Quote's original mission, and returns to her former self.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'' has Anahir, a FlawedPrototype [[{{Mons}} Temtem]] created by the [[BigBad Boleto Clan]] as part of their efforts to create an [[ElementalRockPaperScissors indestructible Diamond type]]. You find it being abused by their head researcher ForScience, and as a result it has the Trauma ability which [[TraumaButton lowers its Defense every time it's hit]], or the alternate Flawed Crystal, which causes it to take more damage from types it resists. If the player is willing to put in the effort to raise it, its final form Anatan gains the Self-Care ability that gives it a HealingFactor, or Protective Crystal, which reduces damage from Electric, Mental, and Fire attacks.

* ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'' has Anahir, a FlawedPrototype [[{{Mons}} Temtem]] created by the [[BigBad Boleto Clan]] as part of their efforts to create an [[ElementalRockPaperScissors indestructible Diamond type]]. You find it being abused by their head researcher ForScience, and as a result it has the Trauma ability which [[TraumaButton lowers its Defense every time it's hit]] or the alternate Flawed Crystal which causes it to take more damage from types it resists. If the player is willing to put in the effort to raise it, its final form Anatan gains the Self-Care ability that gives it a HealingFactor or Protective Crystal which reduces damage from Electric, Mental, and Fire attacks.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Dumbo}}'', the adorable elephant mocked for his big ears, is separated from his mother and accidentally ruins a circus performance, becoming an object of scorn. Then with the friendship of a mouse, some crows, and a magic feather, he makes you believe an elephant can fly and becomes a beloved celebrity, and is reunited with his mother.

* Music/LinkinPark's music video for the song "Crawling In My Skin" depicts a girl in an abusive relationship who puts up walls around her (shown in the form of crystalization taking place around her) In the end the crystals retreat implying that she fought her demons.

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Alternatively, a broken character may have not necessarily been a Cutie previously (assuming that their past isn't [[MysteriousPast unknown]] or [[AmnesiacHero forgotten]]), but as they recover they nevertheless start to display sweet, caring, lovable traits. This character may be a jerk or a cynic who becomes more [[TookALevelInKindness kind]], [[TookALevelInIdealism idealistic]] or [[TookALevelInCheerfulness cheerful]], but they could also be a BlankSlate who has yet to be shown some goodness and hope. Either way, this variation can have a similar satisfying effect on the audience's sympathy: as the character recovers, they exhibit adorable traits that draw affection. In other words, they heal into the Cutie.

The very nature of this trope involves the outcomes of characters arcs, so expect '''unmarked spoilers ahead!'''

%%Image chosen per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1639197127056206700&page=1

[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/KotouraSan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heal_the_cutie_0.png]]]]

* Keyaru throughout ''LightNovel/RedoOfHealer'' spends his years getting revenge on everyone who wronged him, starting with Princess Flare. However, [[spoiler:he inadvertently ends up fixing her original personality and that of her younger yet crueler sister Norn, both of them were kind girls until they were twisted by the Jorial Kingdom’s corruption. Keyaru even admits that he has started to lose his desire revenge as he cleans up the Kingdom of its problems.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/KotouraSan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/k-s-haruka-comp-350-v2_7197.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:This BrokenBird will [[EarnYourHappyEnding fly again]].]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'' has Anahir, a FlawedPrototype [[{{Mons}} Temtem]] created by the [[BigBad Boleto Clan]] as part of their efforts to create an [[ElementalRockPaperScissors indestructible Diamond type]]. You find it being abused by their head researcher ForScience, and as a result it has the Trauma ability which [[TraumaButton lowers its Defense every time it's hit]] or the alternate Flawed Crystal Flawed Crystal which causes it to take more damage from types it resists. If the player is willing to put in the effort to raise it, its final form Anatan gains the Self-Care ability that gives it a HealingFactor or Protective Crystal which reduces damage from Electric, Mental, and Fire attacks.

* ''VideoGame/Temtem'' has Anahir, a FlawedPrototype [[{{Mons}} Temtem]] created by the [[BigBad Boleto Clan]] as part of their efforts to create an [[ElementalRockPaperScissors indestructible Diamond type]]. You find it being abused by their head researcher ForScience, and as a result it has the Trauma ability which [[TraumaButton lowers its Defense every time it's hit]] or the alternate Flawed Crystal Flawed Crystal which causes it to take more damage from types it resists. If the player is willing to put in the effort to raise it, its final form Anatan gains the Self-Care ability that gives it a HealingFactor or Protective Crystal which reduces damage from Electric, Mental, and Fire attacks.

* A similar case within the Fan Works section can be found in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX''. Way before [[Anime/CrossAnge Ange]] developed into a misanthrope thanks to the situation surrounding her, she met [[Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries Wataru]] and just couldn't find any reasons to belittle him. Then, she met [[Anime/CodeGeass Lelouch]], who showed her that Justice can be achieved even in a seemingly cruel and uncaring universe. It is safe to say that both the young hero and former Holy Britannia Emperor, were responsible for helping keep her from further descending into despair, to the point where she would end up hating everyone and everything (and if it helps, Lelouch was also there to dampen the plot that would ultimately drive Ange into misanthropy, namely her attempted execution, by planning ahead and screwing off the Misurugi while he's at it). Further interactions with Wataru, Lelouch (and the [[OriginalGeneration X-Cross]]) made Ange's development take a much more positive route while staying true with her show's plot.

* Keyaru had always spent his new four years getting revenge on everyone who wronged him, starting with Princess Flare. However, [[spoiler:he inadvertently ends up fixing her original personality and that of her younger yet crueler sister Norn, both of them were kind girls until they were twisted by the Jorial Kingdom’s corruption. Keyaru even admits that he has started to lose his desire revenge as he cleans up the Kingdom of its problems.]]

** Both the manga adaptation and ''Rebuild of Evangelion'' films [[spoiler: provide even more blatant healing for Shinji and Asuka, not to mention several other characters, in their conclusions, ''Rebuild'' in particular.]]

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'': Eva ordering coffee. For context, she's a careless alcoholic for most of the series. Her changing her order from scotch to coffee marks the first step toward her recovery.

Compare IronWoobie, StoicWoobie, {{Determinator}}, and PluckyGirl, for when the character refused to break to begin with, or ThePollyanna, for when the character is simply unfazed. If a Cutie never really heals, they may become a BrokenBird.

* ''WesternAnimation/AstroBoy'' was built by Doctor Tenma to replace his dead son Toby. Astro inherits Toby's vast intelligence and upbeat nature but soon finds that his dad cannot accept him as a substitute for his dead child. Astro runs from home and finds himself on the surface, where he tries to find friends and a new life, but he finds that robots on the surface are treated as mere property. When his identity as a robot is revealed, he is rejected, and decides nothing matters anymore, willingly turning himself in to the PresidentEvil. Doctor Tenma decides to shut him down[[spoiler:, but then changes his mind, accepting Astro not as Toby, but as his son nonetheless. Astro embraces his role in the world as a hero and gains family, friends, and thankful admirers.]]

* A similar case within the Fan Works section can be found in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX''. Way before [[Anime/CrossAnge Ange]] developed into a misanthrope thanks to the situation surrounding her, she met [[Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries Wataru]] and just couldn't find any reasons to belittle him. Then, she met [[Anime/CodeGeass Lelouch]], who showed her that Justice can be achieved even in a seemingly cruel and uncaring universe. It safe to say that both the young hero and former Holy Britannia Emperor, were responsible for helping keep her from further descending into dispair, to the point where she would end up hating everyone and everything (and if it helps, Lelouch was also there to dampen the plot that would ultimately drive Ange into misanthropy, namely her attempted execution, by planning ahead and screwing off the Misurugi while he's at it). Further interactions with Wataru, Lelouch (and the [[OriginalGeneration X-Cross]]) made Ange's development take a much more positive route while staying true with her show's plot.

* ''VisualNovel/ALittleLilyPrincess'' follows heroine Sarah Crewe as she goes from the life of a priveledged elite at a boarding school with the best clothes, lodging, toys, and even a personal maid, to months of abuse, toil, and hunger, being made to live in a cold, rat-infested attic and work as a servant by the headmistress after her father passes away. And then, finally, her happily-ever-after, being supported and eventually adopted by an anonymous, wealthy benefactor who turns out to have been a friend of her father who ows him his life. The stat-raising aspect cleverly follows this development, going from a "Self-Improvement Schedule" where Sarah can do activities such as reading, dancing, playing with toys and having tea parties to raise stats such as Artistry, Patience, Sympathy and Grace, to a list of Chores including Kitchen Duty, Tending Fires, Running Errands and Washing Clothes which Sarah must balance to avoid becoming overburdened with Hunger, Fatigue, Pain and Sorrow, and then back again.

* Octavia Blake in ''Series/The100'' starts out as a GenkiGirl and AnnoyingYoungerSibling, but after her lover is executed by a man her brother put into power, she discovers that VengeanceFeelsEmpty and becomes a DeathSeeker. In this CrapsackWorld, everything goes FromBadToWorse, and while she has a HopeSpot when she wins the Conclave and saves as many people as possible to live in the underground bunker, the horrifying conditions she has to lead through result in six years of SanitySlippage. When the bunker is opened and she's faced with an unsympathetic brother and another war on her hands, she is driven to increasingly desperate KnightTemplar actions to achieve her mission of bringing her people to Shallow Valley. The valley is destroyed and the survivors are sent across space to a new planet, Sanctum, where a new start should be possible... only she is TheFriendNobodyLikes and is exiled into the forest along with Diyoza. Diyoza and Octavia both walk through the Anomaly, and in what is just minutes on the Sanctum side, spend ten years on another planet raising Diyoza's daughter Hope, which gives Octavia the time to process her trauma and pain and engage in SanityStrengthening. When she is reunited with her family and friends, she is now the level-headed one, giving compassion and guidance to characters such as Echo, Clarke and Hope, who have now picked up the BrokenBird label in her stead. In the series finale, Octavia saves the human race (again) by convincing both sides to lay down their weapons and see that they are NotSoDifferent.