History Main / JourneyToFindOneself

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' ends with Brian going to LA to find himself. The next episode begins with a slew of action movie cliches, none of which even remotely resemble anything that happened in the previous episode. The sequence then ends with Lois exclaiming "Brian's gone to LA to find himself!", but even that line didn't appear in the previous episode.

* The first installment of the ''Fanfic/SurvivorsOfTheCalamity'', ''Fanfic/BreathOfTheWild'', has Link going through this as he did in canon. Unlike the game, it's presented with each of his memories obtained in sequential order, with Link learning more and more about his past. It stretches to the rest of the first installment, with him recovering little bits of information as he frees Divine Beasts. It's not until the very ending that he finally obtains all the memories of his life from 100 years prior.

%% * Ogremon from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''.
%% * Jiro, from ''Anime/AndroidKikaiderTheAnimation''.
%% * Subverted in ''Anime/MyHime'', when said by [[spoiler: Natsuki Kuga. Problem is, her attendance is too low, so she does not have the time to go on a journey.]]
%% * Soujirou, from ''Manga/RurouniKenshin''.
%% * The latter arc of ''Manga/HoneyAndClover''.
%% * [[spoiler: BattleCouple Allelujah Haptism and Marie Parfacy]] does this in the GrandFinale of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''.
%% * Daisuke Aurora takes one of these at the [[GainaxEnding end]] of ''Anime/HeatGuyJ''.

* Mamimi of ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'' does it at the end by leaving her town and pursuing a career as a photographer.
* ''Manga/{{BoboboboBobobo}}'' ends with one by one friends departing for their own personal journey. The later reunion is shown in the sequel manga.

* During ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' both ComicBook/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/WonderWoman take some time off superheroing to find themselves. Batman also brings along [[ComicBook/Robin1993 Tim]] and [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick]] who also need some time off to mentally and physically recover from recent events, but according to ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'' Diana didn't tell her proteges what she was up to leading to ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie giving her quite the chewing out when she resurfaces.

* ''Film/{{Wild}}'' is about Cheryl Strayed's 1100-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, following a period of destructive behavior (drug use, promiscuity) after her mother's death. Cheryl goes on her hike because she wants to be a better person, worthy of her mother's memory.

%% * Snufkin does this at the end of the first ''[[Literature/TheMoomins Moomins]]'' book. Granted, he's kinda TheDrifter anyway...
%% ** He leaves for winter every year. One time, Moomin offered to join him, but was rejected.

%% * Fell does this at the end of ''Literature/TheSight'', after escaping from [[spoiler: being ReforgedIntoAMinion by Morgra.]] This also acts as a SequelHook.

%% * After reforming, Toxica and Jindrax decide to do this at the end of the ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce''.
%% ** As does Merrick Baliton with Zen-Aku accompanying him.

%%% * Doctor Franklin did this on ''Series/BabylonFive''. It ended in [[spoiler:a near-death hallucination, after getting stabbed during an attempt to intervene in a mugging in Downbelow.]]
%% * In ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'', Jan and Gou both go on separate journeys.
* Parodied in the finale of ''Series/ThirtyRock''. Liz and Jack have a nice goodbye as he embarks on a yacht trip in the middle of the night to figure out what he wants to do now, but he doesn't get more than a hundred yards before having a brilliant new product idea (see-through dishwashers so you can see what's going on inside) and turning around. "I'm so glad I took that boat trip."
* At the end of the seventh season of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', Sheldon is feeling overwhelmed by all the changes in his life ([[spoiler:the university won't let him change his field of study, Leonard is engaged to Penny and may leave him, the comic book store where he goes burns down]]) and decides to go riding aimlessly on trains to clear his head.

* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] by Lily in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. She wanted to broaden her horizons and pursue her dream of being an artist in San Francisco, leaving her loving fiancee and friends behind. But when she arrived in San Francisco, she realized she'd broken up the love of her life in the cruelest way and alienated her friends. She spent her time there alone, bitter and afraid she ruined everything for herself. And her attempt to be an artist proved fruitless as her teacher criticized her work and told her she wasn't as talented as she thought. Lily's old life wasn't holding her back but provided her with happiness and stability. And when she did return to New York, her fiancee didn't take her back right away and her friends struggle to trust her again.

%% * Croix from ''VideoGame/LaPucelle''.
%% * The "neutral" [[MultipleEndings ending]] of ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''.
%% * Ganz in the human [[MultipleEndings ending]] of ''VideoGame/RadiataStories''.
%% * Lynn and Ryouga from ''VideoGame/SummonNight: Swordcraft Story 2''. Also, Master Sakuro from the first game, and Shintetsu prior to the game's start.
%% * Murray from ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'' (A rare case in which the character's return is included.)
* Kain from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', who has a specific goal in mind -- he is going to try to renounce his sins and become a Paladin, as Cecil did in the game.
** Leon of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' leaves the party at the end for similar reasons, having been EasilyForgiven for his earlier villainy but considering himself unworthy of forgiveness.

%% * At the end of ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', Georg leaves to travel the world, setting up his eventual appearance in ''VideoGame/SuikodenII''.
%% * The protagonist of ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom''. The apparent conclusion of his journey is the final scene of the ending.
%% * Ryudo of ''VideoGame/GrandiaII''.
%% * ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' establishes that [[spoiler:Revan]] did this following the end of the first game. WordOfGod says that he never came back. [[spoiler:The Exile]] shares his fate.
%% ** Jolee also was involved in this before becoming involved in finding the Star Forge.
%% * [[spoiler: Magus]] in the best ending of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' does this. Although he does it because he's looking for his [[spoiler:sister, Schala]].
%% * [[spoiler:Grace]] at the end of ''VideoGame/GabrielKnight 3''.
%% * Gilles de Rais, at the end of ''VideoGame/JeanneDArc'', after [[spoiler:taking Roger's place in sealing Gilvaroth within himself]]. If the post-game history sticks to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_rais reality]], [[spoiler:he will not succeed]].
%% * Happens in several of the ''Front Mission'' games, though best seen in ''1st'' with [[spoiler: Royd Clive]] and ''VideoGame/FrontMission2'' with [[spoiler: Ash Faruk]].
* At the end of ''VideoGame/{{Lugaru}}'', Turner is OfferedTheCrown of the rabbit kingdom, but turns it down and chooses to wander the island in search of purpose.
* The backstory of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' is that Link left Hyrule after the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' to go on a journey of self-discovery and training (some of which we later got to play through in the ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle]]'' games). The game itself begins with Link returning towards Hyrule at the end of his journey, but along the way, he gets shipwrecked and washes ashore on Koholint Island.
%% * PlayedWith and LampShaded in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'': TheHero must do this ''literally''.
* Possibly the protagonist of the first ''VideoGame/Persona1'' game, who we learn in ''[[VideoGame/Persona2 Persona 2]]: Eternal Punishment'' had to leave his friends after the end of the first game for some undefined reason. It fits with the development of the other characters from the first game, as while the game involved a lot of "finding oneself," they still had a lot to do between games to actually ''become'' the person they realized they were and wanted to be (such as Elly turning from the image-conscious popular girl to the occult nerd she always hid from others). It's strongly implied at the end of ''Eternal Punishment'' that the first game's protagonist has finally come back, though we only see the door open on the reunion before he walks in.
* ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt'': The game ends with [[ByronicHero Gunvolt]] having killed his father figure, [[SupportingLeader Asimov]], in revenge for killing his ImpliedLoveInterest Joule. Having effectively disbanded both the enemies he faced and his own team, he goes on the run. He continues his work dismantling the Sumeragi Group as an outlaw in the sequel and meeting new friends.
** His rival, Copen, also leaves off on his own in [[VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt2 the sequel]], having a lot to think over about his one-man crusade against Adepts [[spoiler:and leaving behind his now-amnesiac sister so she never has to find out about him, while still struggling to deal with the fact she had been an Adept this whole time]].

[[folder:Visual Novel]]
* ''VisualNovel/TheLabyrinthOfGrisaia'': Protagonist Yuuji goes on to one of these after [[spoiler:his master's death]], to figure out where and how to move forward.
[[/folder]]

* Hannelore in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' goes Walkabout after calling out her mother for using both her and Tilly (the personal assistant she tried to force on her daughter) to further her own business goals. The comic has cut back to her occasionally, showing Hanners brushing a yak, helping out at a deep-sea research station, and visiting the space station she grew up on and finding out that Tilly and the Station AI are a couple now.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' ends with Brian going to LA to find himself. The next episode begins with a slew of action movie cliches, none of which even remotely resemble anything that happened in the previous episode. The sequence then ends with Lois exclaiming "Brian's gone to LA to find himself!", but even that line didn't appear in the previous episode.

** [[spoiler: Ironically, the reconstructed Earl of Lemongrab goes on a journey of his own later on in "The Mountain."]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': In "The Future", [[spoiler: Steven decides to leave Beach City and travel the country, hoping to get in touch with his human half.]]

* During ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' both Franchise/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/WonderWoman take some time off superheroing to find themselves. Bats takes along [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim]] and [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick]] who also need some time off to mentally and physically recover from recent events, but according to ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'' Diana didn't tell her proteges what she was up to leading to ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie giving her quite the chewing out when she resurfaces.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' is a {{Crossover}} between ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'' in which Chloe Cerise of the former decides that instead of following everyone's expectations to be into Pokémon and finding herself on the eponymous Train, she's going to find herself across the train's multiple pocket dimensions.

->'''Eugene''': I would like to think of this trip as something more than seeing tourist sights or exotic scenery. This is my chance to connect with the inner-person. A journey to myself!
->'''Bernard''': Sounds like a pretty short trip.

%% * Jiro, from the {{anime}} ''Series/{{Kikaider}}''.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': The [[SpaceElves Craftworld Eldar]] live a strictly regimented lifestyle to prevent the hedonism and debauchery that brought down their original civilisation. Some of the younger of their kind who find this too overbearing, or older Eldar lacking a purpose in life, walk the Path of the Outcast: they leave the safety of the Craftworld and wander the galaxy. Some settle on planets and become [[ForestRanger snipers and hermits]], some take to open space in small ships and become [[SpacePirate Corsairs]]. The whole point is to experience a little freedom and adventure that they wouldn't be able to experience on the Craftworld. Most get tired eventually and return to their Craftworld, but some don't: some go off and join Harlequin troupes, some stick to the life of piracy, and some embrace hedonism and savagery to such a degree that they seek out the fabled Dark City, Commorragh... And then, [[CrapsackWorld of course]], some simply don't survive the harsh galaxy and die lost and alone.

* N Harmonia does this at the end of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. The protagonist eventually leaves to look for him. He returns in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', having gained some perspective and direction in life... but the previous games' protagonist is still out looking for him.

* The first installment of the ''Fanfic/TheTriforceTrilogy'', ''Fanfic/BreathOfTheWild'', has Link going through this as he did in canon. Unlike the game, it's presented with each of his memories obtained in sequential order, with Link learning more and more about his past. It stretches to the rest of the first installment, with him recovering little bits of information as he frees Divine Beasts. It's not until the very ending that he finally obtains all the memories of his life from 100 years prior.

* ''Manga/{{BoboboboBobobo}}'' ends with one by one friends departing for their own personal journey. The later reunion is shown in the sequel manga.'

* Ogremon from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''.
* Jiro, from the {{anime}} ''Series/{{Kikaider}}''.
* Subverted in ''Anime/MyHime'', when said by [[spoiler: Natsuki Kuga. Problem is, her attendance is too low, so she does not have the time to go on a journey.]]
* Soujirou, from ''Manga/RurouniKenshin''.
* The latter arc of ''Manga/HoneyAndClover''.
* [[spoiler: BattleCouple Allelujah Haptism and Marie Parfacy]] does this in the GrandFinale of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''.
* Daisuke Aurora takes one of these at the [[GainaxEnding end]] of ''Anime/HeatGuyJ''.

* ''Manga/{{BoboboboBobobo}}'' ends with one by one friends departing for their own personal journey. The later reunion is shown in the sequel manga.

* Snufkin does this at the end of the first ''[[Literature/TheMoomins Moomins]]'' book. Granted, he's kinda TheDrifter anyway...
** He leaves for winter every year. One time, Moomin offered to join him, but was rejected.

* Fell does this at the end of ''Literature/TheSight'', after escaping from [[spoiler: being ReforgedIntoAMinion by Morgra.]] This also acts as a SequelHook.

* After reforming, Toxica and Jindrax decide to do this at the end of the ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce''.
** As does Merrick Baliton with Zen-Aku accompanying him.

* Doctor Franklin did this on ''Series/BabylonFive''. It ended in [[spoiler:a near-death hallucination, after getting stabbed during an attempt to intervene in a mugging in Downbelow.]]
* In ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'', Jan and Gou both go on separate journeys.

* Croix from ''VideoGame/LaPucelle''.
* The "neutral" [[MultipleEndings ending]] of ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''.
* Ganz in the human [[MultipleEndings ending]] of ''VideoGame/RadiataStories''.
* Lynn and Ryouga from ''VideoGame/SummonNight: Swordcraft Story 2''. Also, Master Sakuro from the first game, and Shintetsu prior to the game's start.
* Murray from ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'' (A rare case in which the character's return is included.)

* At the end of ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', Georg leaves to travel the world, setting up his eventual appearance in ''VideoGame/SuikodenII''.
* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom''. The apparent conclusion of his journey is the final scene of the ending.
* Ryudo of ''VideoGame/GrandiaII''.
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' establishes that [[spoiler:Revan]] did this following the end of the first game. WordOfGod says that he never came back. [[spoiler:The Exile]] shares his fate.
** Jolee also was involved in this before becoming involved in finding the Star Forge.
* [[spoiler: Magus]] in the best ending of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' does this. Although he does it because he's looking for his [[spoiler:sister, Schala]].
* [[spoiler:Grace]] at the end of ''VideoGame/GabrielKnight 3''.
* Gilles de Rais, at the end of ''VideoGame/JeanneDArc'', after [[spoiler:taking Roger's place in sealing Gilvaroth within himself]]. If the post-game history sticks to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_rais reality]], [[spoiler:he will not succeed]].
* Happens in several of the ''Front Mission'' games, though best seen in ''1st'' with [[spoiler: Royd Clive]] and ''VideoGame/FrontMission2'' with [[spoiler: Ash Faruk]].

* PlayedWith and LampShaded in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'': TheHero must do this ''literally''.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The premise of the video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9-ZmH_KYSY&t=0s&list=PLSQLREUw9vwlh8bzgvZCt_WS8615trN5H&index=2 a Link Between Genders]].
* Vork does this during season 3 of ''WebVideo/TheGuild''.
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt'': The game ends with [[ByronicHero Gunvolt]] having killed his father figure, [[SupportingLeader Asimov]], in revenge for killing his ImpliedLoveInterest Joule. Having effectively disbanded both the enemies he faced and his own team, he goes on the run. Of course, the game was surprisingly successful for an obscure downloadable title, so Gunvolt's story will continue, but considering the StoryBreakerPower he earned at the [[EleventhHourSuperpower end of the game]], this is probably the end of his own story.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicII'' establishes that [[spoiler:Revan]] did this following the end of the first game. WordOfGod says that he never came back. [[spoiler:The Exile]] shares his fate.

* Subverted in ''Anime/MaiHime'', when said by [[spoiler: Natsuki Kuga. Problem is, her attendance is too low, so she does not have the time to go on a journey.]]

* Possibly the protagonist of the first ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' game, who we learn in ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona2}} Persona 2]]: Eternal Punishment'' had to leave his friends after the end of the first game for some undefined reason. It fits with the development of the other characters from the first game, as while the game involved a lot of "finding oneself," they still had a lot to do between games to actually ''become'' the person they realized they were and wanted to be (such as Elly turning from the image-conscious popular girl to the occult nerd she always hid from others). It's strongly implied at the end of ''Eternal Punishment'' that the first game's protagonist has finally come back, though we only see the door open on the reunion before he walks in.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''VisualNovel/GrisaiaNoMeikyuu'': Protagonist Yuuji goes on to one of these after [[spoiler:his master's death]], to figure out where and how to move forward.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': The [[OurElvesAreBetter Craftworld Eldar]] live a strictly regimented lifestyle to prevent the hedonism and debauchery that brought down their original civilisation. Some of the younger of their kind who find this too overbearing, or older Eldar lacking a purpose in life, walk the Path of the Outcast: they leave the safety of the Craftworld and wander the galaxy. Some settle on planets and become [[ForestRanger snipers and hermits]], some take to open space in small ships and become [[SpacePirate Corsairs]]. The whole point is to experience a little freedom and adventure that they wouldn't be able to experience on the Craftworld. Most get tired eventually and return to their Craftworld, but some don't: some go off and join Harlequin troupes, some stick to the life of piracy, and some embrace hedonism and savagery to such a degree that they seek out the fabled Dark City, Commorragh... And then, [[CrapsackWorld of course]], some simply don't survive the harsh galaxy and die lost and alone.

* Happens in several of the ''VideoGame/FrontMission'' games, though best seen in ''1st'' with [[spoiler: Royd Clive]] and ''2'' with [[spoiler: Ash Faruk]].

Compare TheAtoner, LeavingYouToFindMyself.

* The overarching plot of ComicBook/{{X 23}}'s solo series consists of this as Laura goes "walkabout" in the aftermath of her stint on ComicBook/XForce, in large part triggered by questions over whether she has a soul after an encounter with [[spoiler: Hellverine]]. She leaves Utopia because she feels there are too many voices trying to tell her who she is, and wishes to find her own answers. It's relatively brief, and ends with Laura deciding to attend ComicBook/AvengersAcademy after an invitation from ComicBook/BlackWidow. During this time, Laura makes substantial progress in at least coming to terms with herself, even if much of her emotional damage remains.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Oz leaves the show with one of these in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' to learn to control his werewolf side. He returns for one last episode, seemingly able to control the transformation (not changing to a full moon). He finds his feelings for Willow, who has since moved on, can still trigger it against his will, and leaves for good.

* At the end of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, having found out his mentor and a figure he greatly admired [[BrokenPedestal were both truly amoral]], leaves on a journey to understand true justice. In the second game, ''Justice For All'', he is briefly assumed to be dead, but returns to prosecute the final case, having learned what he sought out to find.

* The backstory of ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' is that Link left Hyrule after the events of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' to go on a journey of self-discovery and training (some of which we later got to play through in the ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle]]'' games). The game itself begins with Link returning towards Hyrule at the end of his journey, but along the way he gets shipwrecked and washes ashore on Koholint Island.

* Hannelore in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' goes Walkabout after calling out her mother for using both her and Tilly (the personal assistant she tried to force on her daughter) to further her own business goals. The comic has cut back to her occasionally, showing Hanners brushing a yak, helping out at a deep sea research station, and visiting the space station she grew up on and finding out that Tilly and the Station AI are a couple now.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' ends with Brian going to LA to find himself. The next episode begins with a slew of action movie cliches, none of which even remotely resemble anything that happened in the previous episode. The sequence then ends with Lois exclaming "Brian's gone to LA to find himself!", but even that line didn't appear in the previous episode.

* Possibly the protagonist of the first ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' game, who we learn in ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona2}} Persona 2]]: Eternal Punishment'' had to leave his friends after the end of the first game for some undefined reason. It fits with the development of the other characters from the first game, as while the game involved a lot of "finding oneself," they still had a lot to do between games to actually ''become'' the person they realized they were and wanted to be (such as Elly turning from the image-conscious popular girl to the occult nerd she always hid from others). It's strongly implied at the end of ''Eternal Punishment'' that the first game's protagonist has finally come back, though we only see the door open on the reunion before he walks in.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'''':'' After successfully making his sister a princess but still feeling dissatisfied, Koon Agero Agnis decided to climb the Tower to search for what he really desired.