History Main / HonestAdvisor

** Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, kept his old nanny around (her life extended via rejuvenat treatments) because he knew she would tell him the things he didn't want to hear.

This kind of advisor isn't cruel, just [[BrutalHonesty blunt and outspoken]]. They'll never let their charge take the easy way out, never sugarcoat the truth, and never be afraid to criticize. As a result, their wisdom is either completely appreciated by their students, or [[CantTakeCriticism violently rejected if said student is the egotistical type]].

** Genkai is one, whose favorite pastime is to call her student a dumbass/moron/dimwit/etc. and outline just how stupidly he's dealing with the current situation. All in all, she isn't afraid to [[TheTrickster trick]], [[DrillSergeantNasty insult]], or [[SinkOrSwimMentor nearly kill Yusuke]] if it means he'll finally stop fooling around and see things clearly. Ironically, this is the very reason Yusuke respects her so much (not that he'd ever admit it of course), because she's the only adult in his life that doesn't screw around with him.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Zoro serves as this to Luffy at the end of the [=CP9=] saga. When [[spoiler:the Straw Hats learn that Usopp is planning to rejoin the crew after his nasty split-up with Luffy at the beginning of the saga, Zoro is the one who has to stop Luffy from accepting him back into the crew without a proper apology]]. Zoro isn't very bright, but he understands the important things in a pirate's life, and serves as a grounding force when Luffy needs it.

* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'': After realizing that both [[DaddysGirl her father]] and Adrien enabled her [[SpoiledBrat spoiled, bratty behavior]] for years by never challenging her, Chloe pursues a tentative friendship with Marinette for the sake of having somebody who will be brutally honest with her. She ''wants'' to change for the better, and hopes Marinette will help keep her on the straight and narrow.

* ''Film/{{Syriana}}'': Prince Nasir offers Bryan Woodman's company a lucrative contract, partly out of guilt over the accidental death of Woodman's son. A still-grieving Woodman ''rips into him'' with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtcaIA9SU7o what he really thinks of Nasir and Arabs in general, then accepts the offer.]] Clearly bearing the page quote in mind, Nasir takes it right on the chin and on-the-spot hires Woodman himself as an economic advisor.

*** Tyrion is notably not this during ''A Dance With Dragons'' due to having passed through the DespairEventHorizon and crawled his way back up through ThePowerOfHate: [[spoiler:The advice he gives Young Griff was definitively not given in good faith and leads the Golden Company to invade Westeros prematurely, likely setting off ''another'' CivilWar and plenty of suffering. Tyrion is well-aware that Griff will have no chance of restoring Targaryen rule even in the best possible scenario. Yet, [[VillainsNeverLie however dishonest the intent, the advice itself still had a solid basis in verifiable fact(s)]]: Daenerys is ''not'' some meek little girl to simply marry and swipe the throne from under with no logical, foreseeable problems with that theoretical course of action. Being a dishonestly honest-ish, CaptainObvious-skinned onion, for the win. Especially if, say, one suspects the lost Targaryen prince one is currently advising is actually a Blackfyre already geared up to do ''something'' politically destructive with the Golden Company against the Seven Kingdoms as a whole, the Targaryen with dragons and ''the Lannisters'' in particular. Which Tyrion kinda sorta ''does'' very, very strongly suspect. Yeah; trying to divine the "right" side to tacitly or outwardly support for the least amount of fallout in any given direction in ''that'' particular mess (and still survive the experience) is... yeouch. Even without personal issues on top.]]

* In Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' books, it is built into the Heraldic system that the King or Queen always has a Monarch's Own Herald, ready to serve as trustworthy friend, confidant, and brutally honest advisor if needed. Part of their purpose is to call the Monarch out on anything questionable, stupid, or pointless they try to do. The breakdown of this relationship between Queen Selenay and Queen's Own Herald Talamir causes numerous political problems and plot points in the main time period covered by the books.

** Michael Garibaldi wants this of his workers and subordinates. In Season 5 when [[spoiler:he becomes the leader of Edgars Industries by marrying the widow, an old girlfriend, of the deceased owner William Edgars, he first deals with the troublesome backstabbing corrupt board who tried to have him and Lise killed. After that, he got a list of names of people stuck in middle management. These are troublemakers and complainers and ones who think they can do their job better than the department heads and selected six of them. He told them he is promoting them, not firing as they each feared and suspected, to the board of directors with an effective 100% increase in pay with benefits]]. He tells his new advisors their job is to tell it to him straight and tell him when he or the company are messing up. If they stand their ground and are right, he will give them a bonus. If they are wrong, he "will eat [them] for lunch."

** ADA Erin Reagan becomes one to her new boss Manhattan District Attorney Amanda Harris in season 3 when she is promoted. When a subordinate brings to Erin a concern their boss [[spoiler:might have buried exculpatory evidence in a case a few years ago, Erin calls her out on the injustice of her actions and when pushed by her boss, Erin pushes back with the threat to go public with this. The DA backs down and contacts the judge on that case on her oversight of the evidence]]. The DA is impressed by Erin's courage and keeps her in her new spot. The DA tells Erin she may not like it when Erin talks to her like in this incident, but it may be something she needs to keep her from going over the line again.

** Malcador the Sigilite in the backstory of the game as well as the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' is shown to have been the Emperor's closest confidant and advisor despite his unassuming appearance. Not only did he manage the Imperium with incredible efficiency and helped established vital institutions like what became the Inquisition, but also had the privilege of being blunt and frank in his comments (and criticisms) on the Emperor. And the Emperor, for all his disdain against people questioning his views or decisions, ''approved'' of him.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn,'' Soren is the chief strategist of the Greil Mercenaries, and he has a pragmatic and blunt, straightforward way of advising them. While many of the mercenaries are idealistic, Soren is a realist, and the first to suggest refusing to harbor an escaped princess being hunted by a powerful enemy kingdom due to the danger it poses to themselves, or even that joining a war on the aggressive, invading side is more to the mercenaries' benefit, while reminding the mercenaries that they work for coin in the end. As their leader, Ike, is an idealist, his more pragmatic suggestions are often overruled, though Ike tells Soren that he values his strategical skill in battle.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Bolin becomes this accidentally when he mentions that the businessman [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Varrick]] is not [[ItMakesSenseInContext actually levitating]]. Varrick takes a shine to him for it, fires the lying swami on the spot and scolds all his [[YesMan yes men]] for not telling him and letting him look like an idiot.
* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'': Beach Head often took up this role to his superiors in the Joe team. His primary function was the team's [[DrillSergeantNasty drill instructor]] and thanks to being the military equivalent of a ByTheBookCop, he was more than willing to speak up if he thought that something was off. That said, if after giving his opinion he's ordered to proceed anyway, he'd adhere to TheChainOfCommand and obey. He avoids TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong by actually being '''right''' on several occasions: in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise", he complains to General Hawk, Duke and Flint that they're letting the Joes get too soft and it's in the midst of his haranguing Mainframe for slacking off that Mainframe bothers checking the security cameras just in time to see [[OhCrap COBRA is arriving and preparing to attack]].

* [[Series/MasterChef Gordon]] [[Series/HellsKitchen Ramsay]] is basically the culinary world's equivalent to Simon Cowell. He's known for his fiery temper, frequent f-bombs and curses, clever yet harsh insults and taking no bullshit or tomfoolery, but is doing so because he wants to bring the best out of his contestants. Plus, he has 16 Michelin Stars, so clearly advice, criticism or praise from him would mean a LOT.

** What made Cao Cao the most successful of the warlords was his ability to realize he had a number of these in his employ and knew when to listen to them. As an example, during one campaign, his forces were besieging a city that put up a better fight than expected and in his fury, Cao ordered that when the city fell everyone inside was to be killed]]. After the siege stalled, his general and kinsman, Cao Ren, approached him and pointed out that since everyone in the city knew they were going to die anyway, naturally they'd fight to the bitter end. Seeing his point, Cao rescinded his order and the city surrendered soon after. On another occasion, when his showdown with Yuan Shao had stalemated, he sent a letter to his top advisor, Xun Yu, back in Xu City, his letter written in such a way that let Xun know he wanted to be advised to retreat (so that he could claim, "Oh, I wanted to stay and fight, but Wenruo (Xun's style name) advised me to retreat so what choice did I have?"). Xun instead wrote back and pointed out if he retreated, sooner or later, Yuan would crush him so it was better to fight to the end where he was. Cao supposedly laughed and saw Xun's point. He eventually overcame Yuan thanks to holding on.
** Jia Xu was notable for being one of these, not because it was something he particularly believed in, but because it was pragmatic. When he served Zhang Xiu and helped Zhang successfully repell Cao Cao (killing Cao's oldest son, Cao Ang, in the process), he later dismissed a messenger from Yuan Shao who hoped to recruit Zhang's forces in the buildup to Yuan's showdown with Cao. He bluntly laid out his reasons for doing so [[note]] Chief among them was that Yuan was more powerful and so not really treat them with any kind of respect while Cao being weaker would value them more[[/note]], and when Zhang rightfully pointed out Cao might hold a grudge over their previous conflict (especially since Cao lost his eldest son and heir), Jia admitted that was probable, but he also judged that [[BatmanGambit Cao wasn't a man to put personal grudges over affairs of state]]. He was correct and Zhang's forces were welcomed into the fold with Zhang achieving high rank due to Cao's acknowledgement of his ability.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem:''
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn,'' Soren is the chief strategist of the Greil Mercenaries, and he has a pragmatic and blunt, straightforward way of advising them. While many of the mercenaries are idealistic, Soren is a realist, and the first to suggest refusing to harbor an escaped princess being hunted by a powerful enemy kingdom due to the danger it poses to themselves, or even that joining a war on the aggressive, invading side is more to the mercenaries' benefit, while reminding the mercenaries that they work for coin in the end. As their leader, Ike, is an idealist, his more pragmatic suggestions are often overruled, though Ike tells Soren that he values his strategical skill in battle.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses,'' in his support conversation with Hubert, the son of the current prime minister of the Adrestian Empire, Ferdinand, states that his intention once he inherits the mantle of prime minister of the Empire from his father is to be someone who can challenge the imperial princess and future Adrestian Emperor, Edelgard. He wants to give, in his words, "frank advice" to her when she's on the wrong path, rather than blindly following her orders the way Edelgard's retainer and YesMan, as well as Ferdinand's {{foil}}, Hubert, does.

* Stern the Destructor of the ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable'' games is this to her Lord Dearche. As she always says [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice and later shows]]]], she's absolutely loyal to her Lord and [[ServileSnarker truly does respect her]], but as the [[TheSmartGuy Material of Wisdom]], she could not abide by any plan or opinion of her Lord that is illogical or counter-productive to their goals. Lord Dearche, for her part, tends to relent when Stern argues against her, but not without a lot of grumbling first.
* Despite his name, Yes Man of ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'' is capable of telling the player when they make decisions that he considers strategically unwise, ranging from allying/ignoring factions he considers potential threats (most notably the Brotherhood of Steel) to even destroying your SealedArmyInACan. Granted, he tends to be somewhat passive-aggressive regarding most of his criticisms, but he'll still make it clear what he thinks.

** What made Cao Cao the most successful of the warlords was his ability to realize he had a number of these in his employ and knew when to listen to them. As an example, during one campaign, his forces were besieging a city that put up a better fight than expected and in his fury, Cao ordered that when the city fell [[KillEmAll everyone inside was to be killed]]. After the siege stalled, his general and kinsman, Cao Ren, approached him and pointed out that since everyone in the city knew they were going to die anyway, naturally they'd fight to the bitter end. Seeing his point, Cao rescinded his order and the city surrendered soon after. On another occasion, when his showdown with Yuan Shao had stalemated, he sent a letter to his top advisor, Xun Yu, back in Xu City, his letter written in such a way that let Xun know he wanted to be advised to retreat (so that he could claim, "Oh, I wanted to stay and fight, but Wenruo (Xun's style name) advised me to retreat so what choice did I have?"). Xun instead wrote back and pointed out if he retreated, sooner or later, Yuan would crush him so it was better to fight to the end where he was. Cao supposedly laughed and saw Xun's point. He eventually overcame Yuan thanks to holding on.

* [[Series/TheXFactor Simon]] [[Series/AmericanIdol Cowell]]: "I'm not being rude, but..." He wasn't interested in making friends or sparing feelings; he often delivered hard truths the contestants needed to hear as they'd likely had a lifetime of coddling by people more interested in stroking their ego than nurturing any talent they might have had. On the other hand, it has often been said that if Simon gives someone praise, then they probably really deserved it and had some real talent.
* [[Series/MasterChef Gordon]] [[Series/HellsKitchen Ramsay]] is basically the culinary world's equivalent to Simon Cowell. He's known for his firey temper, frequent f-bombs and curses, clever yet harsh insults, and taking no bullshit or tomfoolery, but is doing so because he wants to bring the best out of his contestants. Plus, he has 16 Michelin Stars, so clearly advice, criticism, or praise from him would mean a LOT.

* The old Imperial Chinese Bureaucracy had the anonymous memorandum system, where any official could send straight to the Emperor (bypassing the entire bureaucracy) a critique of what was wrong with the current state of administration (up to and including denouncing him in name). [[ShootTheMessenger Pity the poor sucker who had to give the memo to the Emperor, though.]] Others went up to tell him to his face, [[HonorBeforeReason and then would kill themselves if they were really serious about it.]]

** The uber-example of these would be Zhang Zhao, who served Sun Quan of Wu. Historically, he was legendary for telling Sun Quan exactly what he thought whenever he thought Sun was in the wrong, and the fact that he'd known Sun from his youth meant he could get away with outright scolding his boss. It wasn't unusual to have both Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao [[VitriolicBestBuds screaming at each other when they disagreed]].
** What made Cao Cao the most successful of the warlords was his ability to realise he had a number of these in his employ, and knew when to listen to them. As an example, during one campaign his forces were besieging a city that put up a better fight than expected, and in his fury Cao ordered that when the city fell [[KillEmAll everyone inside was to be killed]]. After the siege stalled, his general and kinsman Cao Ren approached him and pointed out that since everyone in the city knew they were going to die anyway, naturally they'd fight to the bitter end. Seeing his point, Cao rescinded his order and the city surrendered soon after. On another occasion, when his showdown with Yuan Shao had stalemated he sent a letter to his top advisor Xun Yu back in Xu City, his letter written in such a way that let Xun know he wanted to be advised to retreat (so that he could claim, "Oh, I wanted to stay and fight, but Wenruo (Xun's style name) advised me to retreat so what choice did I have?") Xun instead wrote back and pointed out if he retreated, sooner or later Yuan would crush him so it was better to fight to the end where he was. Cao supposedly laughed, and saw Xun's point. He eventually overcame Yuan thanks to holding on.
** Jia Xu was notable for being one of these, not because it was something he particularly believed in, but because it was pragmatic. When he served Zhang Xiu and helped Zhang successfully repell Cao Cao (killing Cao's oldest son Cao Ang in the process), he later dismissed a messenger from Yuan Shao who hoped to recruit Zhang's forces in the buildup to Yuan's showdown with Cao. He bluntly laid out his reasons for doing so [[note]] Chief among them was that Yuan was more powerful and so not really treat them with any kind of respect, while Cao being weaker would value them more[[/note]], and when Zhang rightfully pointed out Cao might hold a grudge over their previous conflict (especially since Cao lost his eldest son and heir), Jia admitted that was probable, but he also judged that [[BatmanGambit Cao wasn't a man to put personal grudges over affairs of state]]. He was correct, and Zhang's forces were welcomed into the fold with Zhang achieving high rank due to Cao's acknowledgement of his ability.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Zuko can always go to his uncle Iroh and best friend Aang when he wants someone to tell it to him straight, though the latter is more in the tie-in comics than the show itself. The trust runs so deep that in the SequelSeries (mentioned below), Zuko's grandson [[DeadGuyJunior Iroh II]] jumps right into helping Korra because of how much respect his grandfather had for Aang.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Bolin becomes this accidentally when he mentions that the businessman [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Varrick]] is not [[ItMakesSenseInContext actually levitating.]] Varrick takes a shine to him for it, fires the lying swami on the spot, and scolds all his [[YesMan yes men]] for not telling him and letting him look like an idiot.
* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'': Beach Head often took up this role to his superiors in the Joe team. His primary function was the team's [[DrillSergeantNasty drill instructor]], and thanks to being the military equivalent of a ByTheBookCop he was more than willing to speak up if he thought that something was off. That said, if after giving his opinion he's ordered to proceed anyway, he'd adhere to TheChainOfCommand and obey. He avoids TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong by actually being '''right''' on several occasions: in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise" he complains to General Hawk, Duke and Flint that they're letting the Joes get too soft, and it's in the midst of his haranguing Mainframe for slacking off that Mainframe bothers checking the security cameras just in time to see [[OhCrap COBRA is arriving and preparing to attack]].

** Applejack ''would'' be this if she had any interest in politics. However, she plays one in the pageant from the "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E13HearthsWarmingEve Hearth's Warming Eve]]" episode, Smart Cookie. Her boss Chancellor Puddinghead was such an arrogant [[TheCaligula nutjob]] that Smart Cookie had long since degenerated into a DeadpanSnarker.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Mr. Burns hired Lisa (who hates him) as his assistant after listening to his yes men caused him to lose his fortune.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Zuko can always go to his uncle Iroh and best friend Aang when he wants someone to tell it to him straight, though the latter is more in the tie-in comics than the show itself. The trust runs so deep that in the SequelSeries (mentioned below), Zuko's grandson [[DeadGuyJunior Iroh II]] jumps right into helping Korra because of how much respect his grandfather had for Aang.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Bolin becomes this accidentally when he mentions that the businessman [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Varrick]] is not [[ItMakesSenseInContext actually levitating.]] Varrick takes a shine to him for it, fires the lying swami on the spot, and scolds all his [[YesMan yes men]] for not telling him and letting him look like an idiot.

* Many of the (successful) leaders of the [[Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms Three Kingdoms of China]] had at least one of these, though whether or not they listened varied. The uber-example of these would be Zhang Zhao, who served Sun Quan of Wu. Historically, he was legendary for telling Sun Quan exactly what he thought whenever he thought Sun was in the wrong, and the fact that he'd known Sun from his youth meant he could get away with outright scolding his boss. It wasn't unusual to have both Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao [[VitriolicBestBuds screaming at each other when they disagreed]].

** The Seanchan Empire codifies this role with the Truthspeaker: a servant of royalty who is required to ignore the Court's exacting code of etiquette and be a voice of unflinching BrutalHonesty to their master. In an empire where a servant even making eye contact with a royal can be a deadly insult, one famous Truthspeaker was not punished for [[RefugeInAudacity slapping]] the Emperor before the entire court.

* OnePiece: Zoro serves as this to Luffy at the end of the CP9 saga. When [[spoiler:the Straw Hats learn that Usopp is planning to rejoin the crew after his nasty split-up with Luffy at the beginning of the saga, Zoro is the one who has to stop Luffy from accepting him back into the crew without a proper apology.]] Zoro isn't very bright, but he understands the important things in a pirate's life, and serves as a grounding force when Luffy needs it.

* This is a central trope in ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''. The eponymous character is initially a self-centered jackass who finds it difficult to understand that other people have feelings, and may even disagree with her. Unfortunately, she's also an extremely powerful RealityWarper who may have created the universe, and because of this, very few people are willing to tell her when she's wrong. That is where Kyon, the series' POV character, comes in. He is deeply pessimistic and rarely a moment goes by when he does not insult Haruhi... but he's also the only person willing to tell her the truth, and it's his unwavering honesty that kickstarts her CharacterDevelopment into a better person. Haruhi, for her part, usually pretends to ignore him, but the first season's finale makes it pretty clear that she values him more than any other person, and he's the deputy of the group she forms in all but title.

TheGoodChancellor is this as a matter of course. Often the role of the CourtJester in a royal court, getting away with mouthing off to the king either by [[MirthToPower couching criticism in satire]], or by being (or [[ObfuscatingStupidity appearing to be]]) [[TheFool mentally incompetent]] and thus not a threat. Another term frequently used in the past was "Naysmith" (which survives in the modern surname Naismith), meaning the one person in a royal court who could openly say "no" to the king's plans without fear of censure, forcing the king to accept criticism--the opposite of a YesMan.

'''Captain:''' I said I don't want to hear anymore from you about my children!\\

** The ''Franchise/StarWars'' [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] establishes that Vader is a FatherToHisMen when it comes to the front line troops, but that he typically has a hate-on for the officer corps. That said, any officer sufficiently sharp to keep up while working for him can face rapid promotion ([[YouHaveFailedMe probably due to how the insufficiently sharp officers are disciplined]]), so Vader presumably respects officers who have proven themselves capable. In this case, Daine Jir had proven himself a capable officer with a bluntly honest manner about him and Vader was impressed enough to promote him for it.

* A twist on an InterServiceRivalry joke goes like this. The Chiefs of Staff of all the services decide to test which of their enlisted men are the bravest. All other services’ men willingly climb taller and taller flagpoles carrying more and more explosives on their back. But the enlisted man in the service of your choice, responds with an order to climb a flagpole with explosives by saying, “You’re insane, sir!” And the service chief turns around, saying “Now that is true courage!!”

** Londo Mollari is [[ArrangedMarriage unhappily married]] to three wives: One (Timov) who unabashedly criticizes him at every turn, and two others (Muriel and Daggair) who act nice to him in person while plotting behind his back. When he's permitted to divorce two of the three, Timov is the one he keeps even though she's given him no reason to like her. When she asks why Londo chose her, he explains that she was chosen because he would always know where he stood with her, unlike with his other two wives.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Bolin becomes this accidentally when he mentions that the businessman [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Varrick]] is not [[ItMakesSenseInContext actually levitating.]] Varrick takes a shine to him for it, and fires the lying swami on the spot and scolds all his [[YesMan yes men]] for not telling him and letting him look like an idiot.

* [[Series/MasterChef Gordon]] [[Series/HellsKitchen Ramsay]] is basically the culinary worlds equivalent to Simon Cowell. He's known for his firey temper, frequent f-bombs and curses, clever yet harsh insults, and taking no bullshit or tomfoolery, but is doing so because he wants to bring the best out of his contestants. Plus, he has 16 Michelin Stars, so clearly advice, criticism, or praise from him would mean a LOT.
* Italo Balbo, TheDragon of UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini, who didn't trust the Germans and advised Mussolini to continue with the alliance with France and maybe build up an alliance with the UK as well. Mussolini refused and Balbo answered with ''"You will all wind up shining the shoes of the Germans."'' Guess what Mussolini's last job was.