History Main / SurprisinglyHappyEnding

* ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'' is a CosmicHorrorStory with a happy ending. It's even more surprising because it wasn't ''supposed'' to be this way; the players kept [[OffTheRails doing the unexpected]], resulting in Ruby and Tom escaping the facility together along with fellow survivor Jay, sharing a bottle of champagne as they ride off into the sunset. (Or in Jays case, sleeping on the front of the tram, because [[AndIMustScream he's been through some stuff…that’s a good way to put it]]).

Contrast to RayOfHopeEnding, which is a mainly bad ending that has some glimmers of hope in it, and SuddenDownerEnding, its direct opposite. May overlap with TearDryer.

* ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}'' ends with what first appears to be Shinichi failing to save Satomi from falling to her death. It is then revealed that what appeared to be her falling was actually a hallucination the hopeless Shinichi had in his mind, convinced that he wouldn't be able to save her. In fact, Migi succeeded in catching her after only falling a few feet.
* ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'' has multiple endings based on what you choose throughout the course of the game, but going by the anime, Okabe has completely resigned himself to Kurisu dying in order to save Mayuri, and for nearly the entirety of episode 22, that's what we think. Until that damn [[TheStinger Post Credits Scene]] reveals that Suzuha has returned to help Okabe save her in order to stop the Third World War. Apparently, her megalomaniac father killed her and stole her time travel thesis, which prompted an arms race between countries to perfect time travel first, and they all ended up destroying each other in their quest for power. After being forced to accidentally kill Kurisu himself because [[HeroicResolve he needed to personally feel what was at stake]], he finally manages to save her, stop her father from publicizing the thesis, and convince his past self that she actually died, so as to prompt him to text Daru and [[TrickedOutTime make sure all this happens at all]].
* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' managed to pull this trope twice in the final two episodes. In episode 25, Kotetsu gets up after his heroic sacrifice to reveal he hadn't died and had only passed out from the pain. A few minutes later, him and Bunny tell their friends they are going to retire from the hero-life, only to TimeSkip a year forward with them both returning to the Hero business.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' anime (and the first game it's been adapted from) ends with KOS-MOS seemingly sacrificing herself to save Shion and the rest. Then, however, she comes back, battered but otherwise fine. It's still a BittersweetEnding, since Kirsche died by HeroicSacrifice earlier on, but not the DownerEnding it could have been.

* The final episode of ''Manga/NurseAngelRirikaSOS'' is a non-stop TearJerker, but after trying so hard to get the audience to break down in tears from all the tragedy and noble sacrifice, the show goes out on a positive note. Ririka succeeds ''and'' survives. The only question is if her friends remember her.

* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' leads up to a massive downer ending (Hayate's knights are killed, she herself is consumed by the Book of Darkness, which proceeds to destroy the Earth, along with the entire Team Nanoha), which is averted in the last moment by Hayate managing to assume full control over the Book -- and by [[StuffBlowingUp firepower, lots and lots of firepower]]. In the end, only one life is lost (Reinforce, the benign will of the Book), but the majority of the damage is averted. Throughout the subsequent seasons and other sequels, this event is universally seen as a miracle.
* This is what happens in ''Manga/SteppingOnRoses''. Souichirou crashes Sumi's forced wedding to Nozomu and takes her away, while Eisuke and Mr. Ijuuin explain the BrotherSisterIncest deal in public, destroying Nozomu's intentions. Souichirou and Sumi re-declare their mutual love, and they get together again. In a not-so DistantFinale they're still together, Sumi works as a teacher while Souichirou is starting to rebuild his company (with Eisuke taking care of Souichirou and Sumi's newborn child alongside their adoptive siblings), and a back-to-sanity Nozomu has gotten back together with Miu, and they're both expecting a child of their own.
* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad II'' had one of the most crushing video game endings of all time, with the Dark One destroying 9/10ths of the world and Arc and Kukuru dying to seal him away. The anime of the game keeps many of the dark moments, but the ending is ''far'' happier than the game's. In the anime, Arc and Kukuru live, and the Dark One is defeated without destroying the world.

* ''Anime/CuteHighEarthDefenseClubLove'' manages this. [[WhamEpisode Episode 11 ends on a real cliffhanger]], with the two teams of magical boys finally facing off over the wreckage of the school, in what's become clear is a personal battle between Kinshirou and Atsushi. Come the finale, however, the whole thing is revealed as an ImmoralRealityShow, the TerribleTrio refuse to play along any further, and Kinshirou practically kisses and makes up with Atsushi, as {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by ShipperOnDeck Ryuu. The school is even magically repaired. ''And somehow it all works''.
* ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'': After a long series of tragic relationships where everyone the main character loves is emotionally crushed and put at risk of death, in the end Ayu's miraculous wish saves them all at once.
* ''Anime/AngelBeats''' final episode is ''extremely'' bittersweet, with the remaining cast making peace with their deaths and [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence moving on to their next life]], and the revelation that Kanade received a heart transplant from Otonashi after his death and was staying in purgatory to thank him. Then comes TheStinger, where Kanade and Otonashi are able to meet up again in their next life.
* ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' sets itself up for tragedy in-universe, with the threat of a ShootTheShaggyDog to render everything meaningless and the author in charge of the in-universe story openly pulling for a DownerEnding where Tutu vanishes, the Prince re-shatters his heart, and everything the characters worked for amounts to nothing. Thanks to the power of hope, it ends on the happy side of bittersweet, as the characters defy their fate and defeat the Raven, Mytho and Rue are happily married inside the story, the machine used to make it is destroyed, and while Ahiru is forever a duck, she stays by Fakir's side and both are happy with their lives as the town and the people move on.
* Despite Yuki, Rii, and especially Kurumi having a lot of death signs throughout the ZombieApocalypse-themed manga ''Manga/SchoolLive'', the manga ends with everyone surviving.

* ''ComicBook/FlashpointBeyond'': In spite of being a sequel to ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint|DCComics}}'' (which consisted of an AlternateTimeline to the DC Universe taking place in a CrapsackWorld where the characters we know either met horrible deaths before going down their destined paths or became very dark villains or antiheroes) and the main plot being about Flashpoint Batman having to stop his wife Flashpoint Joker's killing spree targeting metahumans who have the potential to change the past, the miniseries ends with the world united against a Kryptonian invasion with Flashpoint Superman on their side and hope to change for the better, in addition to Flashpoint Joker being on the road of recieving the professional help she needs as well as her and Flashpoint Batman getting another chance at parenthood after the loss of their son Bruce by adopting Harvey Dent's son Dexter (who becomes the Flashpoint timeline's equivalent to Robin).

* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''. Under the laws of Agrabah, Princess Jasmine had to marry a prince. At the end of the movie Aladdin was no longer a prince so Jasmine couldn't marry him. But wait!

* In ''WesternAnimation/WallE'', although EVE manages to repair and reactivate WALL•E, his memory and personality seems to have disappeared for good...until EVE kisses him.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'', Charlie Brown is on the verge of a typical DownerEnding for him, as he was unable to catch up with the Little Red-Haired Girl before she leaves town for summer camp, thus he won't be able to know why she picked him as his pen pal or how she feels about him. But then the Kite-Eating Tree takes pity on him and returns his kite, and his luck begins to turn around from then on, ending the movie on a triumphant note.

* ''Film/TaxiDriver'' shows the protagonist, Travis Bickle, slowly descending into madness over the course of the film, culminating in him trying to assassinate a politician. After his attempt fails, Travis goes to a hotel and starts a shootout to rescue a child prostitute he had met earlier ([[DeathSeeker and to get himself killed]]), killing three people and taking several bullets. He passes out as the police close in, apparently succumbing to his wounds. The next scene shows him recovered from his wounds, still working as a taxi driver but seeming more at peace with his life, with a letter telling him the girl was rescued and reunited with her family. The switch is so dramatic that many take it as a DyingDream.

* In ''Film/TwoBrothers'', two tigers have escaped back into the wild, but the two main human characters are afraid that the tigers will become man-eaters if they never learn to hunt animals. At the last minute, the two tigers reunite with one of their parents, so now they have a tiger to learn hunting skills from.
* ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'' -- After fighting off zombie-esque infected humans throughout the entire movie, Jim, Hannah, and Selena barely escape a military base gone mad, with Jim being shot in the stomach in the process. Hannah and Selena rush Jim off to a deserted hospital, where he falls into a coma. In brief flashes, Jim is shown struggling for life, one wonders how long Hannah and Selena can survive given the constant threats surrounding them, and at one point you see Hannah and Selena spell out in bed sheets on a hillside what appears to be, "HELL," leading the audience to believe it is a dire situation. However, the mood ultimately turns cheerful when it is revealed the words being spelled out is actually, "HELLO," an airplane spots them, and a rescue helicopter is ordered to take Hannah, Selena, and a recovering Jim to safety. This was done because test audiences ''hated'' the original DownerEnding. Originally, Jim dies of his injuries, and it ends with Selena and Hannah walking down the hall into the light of the outdoors. Although it was meant to symbolize their will to live, the test audience took it as a symbol of their hopeless inevitable death.
* Another zombie movie example: ''State of Emergency''. After an entire movie following four survivors holed up in a rural warehouse surrounded by ''28 Days Later''-style fast zombies created by a biochemical accident, the aversion of nearly every DownerEnding trope we've come to expect from a zombie film is downright surprising. Despite some earlier arguments, the survivors don't turn on each other. The one who was dying is cured by medicine recovered from an air drop. All four of them survive, and lonely protagonist Jim, who lost his girlfriend at the beginning of the film, realizes that he can finally consider the other three to be true friends. And on top of that, the military proves to be neither malevolent nor incompetent. They let the survivors go, and it even looks like they've got the zombie outbreak under control.
* In 2012's ''Film/TheThreeStoogesTheMovie'', just as it seems the Three Stooges have failed to save their orphanage from closing down due to their incompetence, they notice that a second one has been built next to it that has everyone in it that use to work/live at the old orphanage. As it turns out, thanks to [[ChekhovsGun Moe's work on]] ''Series/JerseyShore'', the writers and producers used Moe's money to buy a new, better orphanage while he was working.
* ''Film/BadSanta'', despite being a very cynical and bitter BlackComedy ends on a happy and optimistic note, with the {{Jerkass}} main character surviving his apparent death and becoming a better person thanks to his friendship with one kid.
* ''Film/WallStreetMoneyNeverSleeps'' has Gordon Gecko play everyone like a harp and make a billion dollars during the worst financial crisis in US history save the Depression. He then, more or less, plays Santa Claus to his estranged daughter and the film's protagonist--buying back their affection.
* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'' looks like it's going to end with Marty and Jennifer never getting to see Doc and Clara again, with Doc having eschewed the opportunity to go back to 1985 with Marty. However, while Marty and Jennifer are looking at the wrecked [=DeLorean=], Doc shows up in a time-traveling ''train'' with Clara to greet the two, and reveals that they're HappilyMarried and have raised two children. Even though Doc's happy with living in the late 19th and early 20th century, he can go visit Marty and company whenever he wants.
* In ''Film/TheBaby'', a horror-psycho-drama 1973 BMovie, the film ends on this sort of ending, though perhaps slightly more towards AmbiguousEnding. Baby Wadsworth has been rescued from his [[AbusiveParents insanely]] [[DoesNotLikeMen misandric]] mother and siblings, who have [[MindRape conditioned him into never mentally developing beyond infanthood]] and given a comfortable new life with the Gentrys. He even has a new playmate. The final shot is of the two of them splashing around in a pool together. It's almost enough to make you forget that Baby's playmate is Ann Gentry's husband, reverted to incurable infancy as a result of brain damage from a car accident, or that the Gentrys ''killed'' the Wadsworths in order to take Baby as their own, and the pool is actually erected over the Wadsworths' concealed grave.

* ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'' is an extremely dark film for the most part, but it has a controversial happy ending, involving David spending a day with a clone of his mom made by highly-advanced robots whose existence was not foreshadowed previously in the film.
* ''Film/AssassinsCreed2016'': Relative to the video games' endings in general. The modern day portions of the games have been {{Pyrrhic Victor|y}}ies at best, but Callum's story ends on an unambiguously happy note, reconciling with his Assassin heritage, finding closure with his mother's death, taking out the CEO of Abstergo Industries, retrieving the Apple for the Assassins and officially being inducted into the Brotherhood.
* The original version of ''Film/{{Arthur 1981}}'' ends with the title character deciding to choose his true love Linda over the $750 million inheritance he will only receive if he goes through with the ArrangedMarriage with Susan. The lovers are lucky to get out of this decision ''alive'' when his GrandeDame grandmother stops Susan's father from murdering them over this. Later, Arthur and Linda are discussing their future together and how he intends to get a job...whereupon said grandmother says that no member of '''her''' family will be working-class, and tells him he can have Linda ''and'' the money. It's teased that he'll turn his back on the fortune anyway, but it turns out to be a quick prank he's playing on Linda and his driver ("I'm not crazy!"). Thus he gets everything without having to substantially change who he is, save that he's taken responsibility for his happiness in hand. Notably, the 2011 [[TheRemake remake]] goes with a more realistic NotHisSled EarnYourHappyEnding instead -- Arthur doesn't go through with the arranged marriage but then finally ''earns'' his fortune by getting a job within the family business, and then makes himself truly worthy of his sweetheart by cleaning up his childish ways and [[TheAlcoholic getting on the wagon]].
* In the 1928 classic ''Film/{{The Wind|1928}}'', the protagonist is raped by a man who she shoots the next day. Letty was already undergoing SanitySlippage before that due to [[GoMadFromTheIsolation being in near complete isolation]]. Her husband comes back home and suddenly there's a happy ending where Letty comes to terms with living in a perpetually dusty plains town and being in a MarriageOfConvenience. This was actually the result of ExecutiveMeddling. The original ending was going to have Letty go mad and walk into the dust storm. It was decided not to go with a DownerEnding.
* ''Film/SecretsAndLies'': Once Roxanne gets over the shock of finding out about Hortense, she actually starts to warm up to the idea of having her as her half-sister.
* ''Film/BobLeFlambeur'' is a movie about a casino heist. After Inspector Ledru and the police are tipped off, it seems like the robbery will end badly like most every heist film ends. It does end badly for most of the gang, but not for Bob. After Bob gives in to temptation and starts gambling while waiting for the others, he wins an enormous sum of money. This causes him to be late for the rendezvous. He charges out the front just as his gang is exchanging shots with the police. As Ledru is taking them away, Roger points out that with a good lawyer Bob will beat the rap—after all, he didn't rob the casino and wasn't actually seen to do anything illegal. Bob, who now has a whole bunch of money won from the casino, and also has gorgeous Anne waiting for him at home, cracks that he'll sue the cops for damages.
* ''Film/{{Searching}}'' looks like it's going to have a DownerEnding with David's efforts to find his missing daughter being AllForNothing with an ex-con confessing to murdering her, until a [[ItMakesSenseInContext stock photo]] causes David to realize that the murder confession was actually a frame-up by the detective in charge of the case and his daughter turns out to be alive after all.

* Similarly to its animated counterpart, in ''Film/Aladdin2019'', Aladdin is no longer a prince since he used his last wish to [[FreeingTheGenie free Genie]] as he promised. Instead of the Sultan nullifying the law preventing his daughter's marriage, he opts to abdicate the throne instead and name Jasmine his successor, enabling her to change the law herself.
* ''Just Another Girl On The I.R.T'': The high school protagonist with a troubled home life is hiding her pregnancy and then gives birth to her daughter in the freaked-out baby's father's dorm room. Initially, she had placed the baby girl in a plastic bag and set it on the curb, [[WhatYouAreInTheDark but both of their consciences made them go back for her and go to the hospital to get them both checked out.]] In the end, not only is the little girl healthy and thriving, her mother ends up in college, her previously workaholic parents help her raise their grandchild and she and the child's father happily co-parent her.
* ''Film/TheGuestHouse'': At first it looks like Amy and Rachel are done. Then after the latter initially breaks up with her, she meets Amy again later. They kiss and proclaim their love for each other.
* With a tagline as brutal as "One Will Fall", ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' implies a tragic ending, especially with the director's insistence of a clear winner. The victor is Godzilla, who soundly defeats Kong fair and square...but then, ''Mecha-Godzilla attacks,'' and trounces Godzilla-- but with the humans' help, Kong is revived, the two defeat Mecha-Godzilla together, and the film ends with Godzilla still as the victorious King of the Monsters...and Kong finding a peaceful new life as a ruler of the Hollow Earth, despite his defeat at Godzilla's hands.
* ''Film/BlackSwan'': A bit more [[AmbiguousEnding ambiguous]] than most examples, but still counts. After the physical and mental TraumaCongaLine she endured throughout the production, Nina gives an ''amazing'' final performance and collapses from what seems like a self-inflicted stab wound, feeling she's finally achieved perfection. WordOfGod has confirmed that not only does she survive, but that her injury is symbolic of her [[CharacterDevelopment becoming a woman]]. This means not only did she excel at a role she desperately wanted and everyone, including [[GoodAllAlong Lily]], is absolutely proud of her, she can finally break free of her controlling StageMom and get the psychological help she absolutely needs.
* ''All the Right Moves'', a 1983 sports drama starring Creator/TomCruise, makes it seem like the protagonist Stefan is going to be doomed to the dead-end, miserable life in Ampipe he so desperately doesn't want, due to being blacklisted from most of his college opportunities. Then his former coach, who has taken a new job at Cal Poly, realizes that he was wrong is blacklisting him and offers Stefan a football scholarship there, which he accepts. However, there is a bit of a tarnished lining in that Stefan will most likely have to leave his family, his girlfriend, and his friends behind, since they will all spend the rest of their lives stuck in Ampipe.
* One of the writers of ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'' stated that once the movie gave more focus on the comedy, they had to end in a way that wasn't harsh. Hence Cage's TakingYouWithMe moment to kill the Omega also allowed him to reset to the day before the mission. And the Omega is dead all along in this new timeline, meaning all the kills from the SuicideMission were undone. Cage will also have a chance at building a relationship with Rita in peace.

* In ''Literature/TheSilverChair'', it looks like Eustace and Jill will be left to deal with the bullies chasing them. Then, Aslan gives them and Caspian swords and a riding crop and sends them to smack sense into the bullies. That fight also leads to the incompetent headmistress getting fired, because of her trying to find a lion seen on the school grounds.
* ''Literature/TheSongOfAchilles'': The entire ending of the book is very bleak. With Patroclus dead, Achilles becomes a mad man only interested in revenge against the man who killed him and spending every night crying over his lover's corpse on his bed, when he finally finds in himself to send it to the pyre and gets his revenge, he becomes a DeathSeeker, going into battle armorless so some warrior will finally kill him. By the time he is finally killed, his sociopathic son shows up and refuses to follow through with Achilles burial instructions, which makes him go to the afterlife, but without proper rites, traps the ghost of Patroclus on the land, indicating that they'll never be able to be TogetherInDeath as they planned. It's only on the very few final pages that Thetis, Achilles's mother that always hated Patroclus, has a change of heart and carves his name on Achilles's memorial, permitting him to pass on. The final paragraph of the novel describes their shades finding each other again in Hades, together at last.
* In the last book of ''Literature/TheRomanMysteries'', Flavia is exiled from Italia and must leave behind the place where she has grown up all her life. However, at the last minute, her love interest shows up and says that he is going to go into exile with her, leaving behind a promising political career and faking his own death just to be with her.
* The book ''TheSaddestLittleRobot'' appears to end with the eponymous robot's HeroicSacrifice, complete with the words "TheEnd". What follows is an additional chapter where Snoot comes back to life.

* ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment''. After 400 pages of misery the book has a surprising upbeat ending, with Raskolnikov and Sonya falling in love and implied that they will marry when Raskolnikov gets out of prison after seven years. Controversial, to say the least.
* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid: The Deep End'': As it turns out, all the other campers abandoning Campers' Eden during the second storm allows the Heffleys to finally have a wonderful vacation over the next few days.
* ''Literature/GirlWhoAreYouAlienErImAnAlien'': After discovering that everything she's been through was simply a failure at a HappyPlace that twisted into reliving her trauma, and that [[SelfMadeOrphan she was responsible for the death of her parents]], the girl is DrivenToSuicide - the cherry on top is that the alien insists she's also a figment of the girl's imagination, and leaves her to die by herself. However, the alien comes back in the nick of time to tell the girl [[ILied she lied]] and that she really was the girl's only piece of reality. The alien [[BungledSuicide saves the girl's life right as she's dying]] and gives her a new body so she can continue to live, then the alien takes the girl to the alien's ancestors' home planet, [[EarthAllAlong Earth]], where they can live peacefully.
* In ''Literature/SixOneSix'', it's revealed that God is actually Satan and that every soul in Earth is condemned to Hell. Then the protagonist, who went mad from the revelation, makes an improbable HeroicSacrifice to save a little girl, and it turns out that this was all that was needed for Satan to give God His place back and make everything good again.
* ''Literature/TheDarkForest''. It's a story about humanity horribly outmatched against an imminent AlienInvasion, establishes that the ''entire universe'' is full of [[AliensAreBastards paranoid, genocidal civilizations]], and seemingly no hope in sight. And yet it ends with humans and the invaders, the Trisolarans, ultimately calling a truce when their conflict threats to reveal both their existences to the rest of the galaxy. The Trisolarans exchange their technology with humanity, who manages to build gravitational wave transmitters, and Luo Ji, a researcher who converses with them, reunites with his wife and daughter after they awaken from hibernation. He also converses with a Trisolaran who suggests that love may be a universal concept, and maybe they can help it grow. The following book, ''Death's End'', pulls a HappyEndingOverride, unfortunately.
* ''Literature/RoysBedoys'': In “Don’t Spoil Surprises, Roys Bedoys!”, Roys spoils Wen’s surprise party and she fails at convincing her friends she’s surprised, but then she becomes genuinely surprised when she gets earrings as a present rather than the necklace Roys thought he was going to buy her.

* ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'': When it seems like Philip is gone for good and Shotaro has to move on without him, Wakana sacrifices herself to restore Philip.
* ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' is easily one of the darkest ''Franchise/KamenRider'' seasons, particularly once the final arc begins and the Riders start [[DwindlingParty dying one-by-one]]. So how does it end? Everyone gets revived in the ResetButtonEnding and lead happy lives in the "new world." Sento and Banjo are the only ones who remember what happened, but they at least have each other. The final scene is the two of them optimistically riding off to explore the new world. The post-series V-Cinema films take this a step further by having the rest of the cast regain their memories, allowing Sento and Banjo to reunite with them. The only downside is that the BigBad comes back too, he seems content to [[ExBigBad leave Earth and not cause further trouble]].
* The extremely dark and violent final season of ''Series/TheMusketeers'' ends with a thoroughly happy ending for all the sympathetic characters who survive: Queen Anne becomes Regent of France, firmly in charge of her son's future, and appoints Aramis as her first minister, so he can also be there for his son and for her. Porthos reunites with a single mother he befriended in a previous episode, he is appointed general in the army and proposes to her. Athos resigns as captain of the musketeers, returns to his country estate with a pregnant Sylvie and hands over the captaincy to D'Artagnan. All four Musketeers are finally happy in love and with a better position as Happy Ending music plays over the credits.
* Virtually ''every'' season finale of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' ends horribly for the main characters, and even in finales where they more or less win, there's always a steep price to be paid for the success. At the end of season 11, it looks like God is about to die, which will ultimately also cause the demise of his sister and the ''entire universe'' unless Dean pulls a HeroicSacrifice to kill Amara too, which will bring back the balance necessary to keep everything spinning. So even if things go well, at least one character is doomed, whereas if things go poorly, ''everyone'' is doomed. Instead, Dean convinces Amara to reconcile with God, they both thank Dean and float happily off into the ether, the universe is saved, Dean is fine, and on top of everything, Amara ''resurrects Mary Winchester in gratitude''. EverybodyLives, and the characters are now actually better off than they were before the season started. The only problem that crops up is that the British Men of Letters send an agent to arrest the Winchesters for the crap they keep pulling, which is minor in comparison to the happy ending they just got handed, and which they kind of deserve anyway.
* ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'': In the episode "Ricochet", after the camera suddenly cuts from Alan Tracy cutting through the inner airlock of the KLA Satellite to Thunderbird 2 where Virgil Tracy and Brains are preparing to shoot KLA down, Virgil suddenly hears Rick O'Shea's voice on Thunderbird 2s radio, so it seems Thunderbird 3 failed to rescue Rick O'Shea. In a last ditch attempt to save both Rick O'Shea and an oil refinery, Virgil and Brains literately use Thunderbird 2 like a bumper car to catch KLA on its starboard wing and fly it to safety. However even though Virgil saved the refinery, it appeared that O'Shea was killed when KLA broke free and crashed. Very sad music only reinforces the reality of this tragic twist. However when an equally very sad Virgil and Brains return to Tracy Island they discover from Alan's flashbacks that the only part of O'Shea that died was a recording of his voice that was left playing on KLA! Alan saved both O'Shea and his assistant Loman after all!
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In the episode "Replica" a husband and wife team of scientists are working on cloning human organs when the wife is rendered comatose in a lab accident. Three years later, with the wife declared brain dead, the husband illegally clones her. When the original miraculously regains consciousness, the clone (who will be destroyed if anyone finds out what she is) realises that if she [[KillAndReplace kills]] the original she can take over her life and marriage. [[ClicheStorm So far, so standard]]. However, after the inevitable cat-and-mouse throughout the couple's home and SpotTheImpostor scene, the two women suddenly realize the obvious solution: clone the husband. The originals get on with their lives, and the clones live HappilyEverAfter together in the couple's isolated vacation home.

* Every canon ''Videogame/ResidentEvil'' installment is this, with the best ending (if MultipleEndings exist, otherwise it's almost always a surprisingly happy ending by default) generally involve the good guys escaping and living for another day.
** For example, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmOm5KyreRk this theme]] that plays in the credits for ''Videogame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' is the cherry on top. While Raccoon City being nuked is bittersweet, at least most of the good guys survived and the city was largely evacuated.
** ''Videogame/ResidentEvil5'' sees the hero of the aforementioned game being BrainwashedAndCrazy. Beyond all hope, she recovered.
** ''Videogame/ResidentEvil6'' starts apocalyptically and ends with the whole outbreak contained as well as almost everybody good involved survives.
** Taking all of the DLC into account, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' takes the cake due to the hopelessly bleak the situation was. Ethan gets Mia back home to safety in the main game. The ''Not a Hero'' DLC sees Chris Redfield finishing off Lucas and stopping the further spread of bioweapons by destroying the databases. The ''End of Zoe'' DLC sees Zoe cured of the mold infection, Joe survives his ordeal (with Zoe knowing it was him who saved her), and Jack finally gets put to rest after the hell he's gone through.
** Somewhat averted in ''Videogame/ResidentEvilVillage'', as it's a standard BittersweetEnding where Ethan realized that he's been DeadAllAlong at the beginning of the preceding game. However, his final act of sacrifice severs the literal root of all evil (as it's the thing that inspires the founder of Umbrella to start the whole mess up since the beginning), though the B.O.Ws worldwide are far from being fully contained, with a SequelHook very clearly set up.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 3'', you've killed the Alpha Ceph, but the wormhole has already opened, the continent-sized Ceph battleship is coming through, and you have been flung into space. It looks like it's going for a downer ending, when [[PlayerCharacter Prophet]] gets a surge of [[HeroicSecondWind willpower]] and leaps to the Archangel Satellite and blows the ship to hell.
* In ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom'', it appears that [[HelloInsertNameHere the Hero]] has succeeded in saving the world from the Sinistrals, but has lost Lufia in the process. However, Lufia reappears during the ending, alive but suffering from IdentityAmnesia.
* ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns'' has one as well. Before her death, Seena promises Wain that they'll meet again, and she gets revived because of such promise, since as her last bit of Sinistral Erim's omnipotent fortune telling power grants her her wish before it fades away.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'': FLUDD is destroyed, while everything else about the plot reaches its resolution. Then, in the final scene, the Toads present a repaired FLUDD.
* The normal ending of ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2'' looks like it would be a BittersweetEnding thanks to the four CPU goddesses (Neptune, Vert, Blanc, Noire) who sacrificed themselves to destroy Arfoire. Only for the four of them to show up after Nepgear makes her speech about becoming the new goddess of Planeptune.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'': After a massive fan outcry centered around the original ending (which was felt to be too much of a DownerEnding regardless of the player's actions), Creator/BioWare released the "Extended Cut" {{D|ownloadableContent}}LC, which adds an epilogue sequence showing the fate of the galaxy in the aftermath of the [[HopelessWar Reaper War]]. If the player accumulated enough War Assets, it can be [[AWorldHalfFull surprisingly hopeful]]; though casualties were heavy, the lion's share of humanity and the other Council species are still alive, galactic civilization is being rebuilt, and the alliances forged during the war usher in a new era of peace and mutual cooperation (possibly bolstered by Shepard, the Reapers, or the newfound connection between organics and synthetics, depending on outcome).
* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' ends the classic ''Castlevania'' series not with Dracula destroyed, but with him reborn as a human and trying to overcome his past crimes, now ''aided'' by the heroes that previously tried to kill him.
* One of ''{{VideoGame/Undertale}}'s'' neutral endings sees all the leaders dead, but no one else hurt. In the end, the Annoying Dog ascends to the throne and makes life better for everyone by just sleeping all day.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1: Blue Shift'', Barney purely and simply manages to escape Black Mesa. No strings attached like Gordon, or being captured like Shepard.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tacoma}}''. A space station suffering a terrible accident that threatens the entire crew, the ship's AI acting suspiciously, an EvilCorporation plotting in the shadows, a crew member becoming increasingly terrified, the desperate escape plan blowing up in their faces...and then EverybodyLives, gets away, and the benevolent AI is rescued at the end of the game.
* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'''s Myreque quest storyline's final quest ''River of Blood'' ends surprisingly happily after the SuddenDownerEnding of the previous quest ''The Lord of Vampyrium''. In ''The Lord of Vampyrium'' the Myreque succeeds in assassinating Lord Drakan, although several members die, but at the end Vanescula betrays the Myreque and kills Safalan, and plans to use his blood to make vampyres and werewolves immune to the River Salve barrier so they can invade Misthalin, and Veliaf disbands the Myreque and reveals that Calsidiu doesn't exist. The only [[RayOfHopeEnding Ray of Hope]] is that a mysterious person held prisoner by Drakan is now free. In ''River of Blood'' the mysterious prisoner is revealed to be the former queen Efaritay and it is revealed that Safalan wasn't killed by Vanescula, but was turned into a wyrd. The player character manages to cure Safalan's hunger for blood and uses the same cure to make it so that any former human vampyre that tries to cross the River Salve barrier will turn back to human. After this, the werewolves declare themselves independent of their vampyre masters, thus preventing war between Morytania and Misthalin. [[GracefulLoser Vanescula admits defeat]] and rules over Morytania with Safalan and Efaritay [[note]]and also Veliaf if you tell him about what happened after the quest[[/note]] as advisors, making Morytania a better place for both humans and vampyres, with the cure for blood lust the player character created making it so vampyres won't need to feed on humans as much anymore.

* Creator/YokoTaro has a habit of writing [[TrueArtIsAngsty oppressively bleak stories full of suffering and hardship where there's little hope of a happy ending for anyone.]] It seems like ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'', already a game full of characters suffering from the horrors of a many millennia-long war of attrition as well as their own personal existential crises, tumbling over the DespairEventHorizon in droves, is well on its way to a tragic ending as well, with the [=YoRHa=] project destroyed, the revelation that humans have been long extinct and the androids trying to liberate the Earth on their behalf have been fighting and dying for a lie, 2B dead, 9S driven to murderous insanity by grief and rage over 2B's death as well learning the AwfulTruth about Project [=YoRHa=] and the meaninglessness of his own existence, and either A2 and 9S killing each other or A2 purging a logic virus from 9S' system to possibly ease his psyche and then pulling a HeroicSacrifice to destroy the Tower. At best the end of the game seems to be depressingly [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]]. And then comes Ending E, where Pod 042 [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming Grows Beyond His Programming]] and tries to salvage A2, 9S and 2B's data to bring them back to life at the risk of killing himself, which is represented by a ''brutally'' difficult BulletHell TrueFinalBoss battle against the end credits themselves. But instead of the tragically bleak feeling of the endgame the whole fight becomes more and more optimistic as the game sends the player encouraging messages from other players each time they die, and eventually even offers help from other player ships. If the player succeeds, then the trio are rebuilt and given a second chance at life. [[RageAgainstTheAuthor The whole thing comes off like the playerbase grabbing Yoko Taro by the collar and viciously shaking him until he agrees to write a happier ending]].
* ''VideoGame/DaysGone'' has a shockingly happy ending for a game with such a dark post-apocalyptic setting compared to most other works set in that kind of world. Deacon finds out his wife Sarah isn't dead after all, kills the traitor Skizzo and destroys the Colonel's army and when it looks like the Colonel is about to finish off Deacon, he coughs and collapses dead(Sarah having poisoned his tea) also while the zombie outbreak is still a problem, Deacon has an ally in the form O'Brian, so overall the characters alive at the end are in a much better place then they were before.
* In ''VideoGame/IterVehemensAdNecem'', going through the incredibly hard dungeon and finally retrieving the [[OffWithHisHead head of]] [[BigBad Elpuri]], or going even further to get the [[ArmorOfInvincibility Shirt of the Golden Eagle]] results in...Petrus upholding their promise and freeing/knighting you, respectively, and in the former case, that's still happier than you might think, as you still get to keep all the loot you acquired. The only ending that could be considered 'bad' is slaughtering the entirety of Attnam and becoming [[GodOfEvil Mortifier's]] right-hand man, but even that is beneficial to the PlayerCharacter.
* ''VideoGame/LuminousAvengerIX'': Despite being DarkerAndEdgier than the previous titles of the ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvoltSeries'' (which themselves usually have a BittersweetEnding at best), complete with TheReveal the game takes place in an AlternateTimeline where the ''Bad Ending'' of the first game goes through, the game actually does end on a genuinely optimistic note, with Blade and Kohaku managing to save Copen and Lola from dying after the FinalBattle, and as the [[VideoGame/LuminousAvengerIX2 sequel]] indicates, the world has largely remained peaceful after [[BigBad Asimov's]] demise.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'' gives Kratos one. After spending the entire first trilogy stuck in a vicious CycleOfRevenge, and the [=PS4=] game accidentally starting Ragnarok, he's able to scrape up some character development, reconcile with Atreus, save most of the Nine Realms from the apocalypse, and [[spoiler:avert a prophecy of his death by recognizing that fate is nothing more than the logical consequences of his actions and refusing to make the hasty decisions that cost him everything. He even finds a prophetic mural from his wife that hints that he will become known as a benevolent deity and beloved savior, a far cry from the monster he was in Greece]].
* ''VideoGame/GhostTrickPhantomDetective'' begins with protagonist Sissel's death, and he only has until dawn to find out who he is and who killed him before his ghost disappears forever. By the end he has not only uncovered the truth, but manages to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong travel back in time ten years to prevent a great tragedy that ruined the lives of most of the supporting characters]]. In this new timeline, [[EverybodyLives all the dead characters are still alive]], the wrongfully convicted characters were never imprisoned, and the events that traumatised some characters never occurred. The villain has a HeelFaceTurn and gladly accepts his punishment for his crimes in the original timeline, and everyone else is shown living happy, fulfilling lives.

* Invoked in [[WebVideo/InternetHistorian Internet Historian's]] biography of Stede Bonnet, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrGf4nJWVOU&feature=youtu.be The Gentleman Pirate]].'' He acknowledges that the real-life Stede was executed and [[TheHeroDies didn't have a happy ending]], but the biography decides to go with a more satisfying conclusion: Stede is able to stop his execution and kill his enemies with a machine gun. He then rides away on a speedboat with tons of gold, his children, and his magically-revived Quartermaster.
* ''WebAnimation/MonsterLab2021'' is a rather bloody adult comedy - oh, and an original work by ''WebAnimation/MeatCanyon'' for crying out loud - about a MadScientist and his paranoid neighbour. Yet surprisingly it ''isn't'' a complete horror fest, but rather has an ending where every major character (protagonist and antagonist) [[CharacterDevelopment ends up a better person]] (yes, even the bloodthirsty demon in the basement comes out better).
* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfyalPCdYfM Missing Cat]]'' is a video by [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC64FzJiwkIuKj1_msLkdmBg Darkbox Horror]], who specializes in horror works. Rather than some CruelTwistEnding as usual, the video ends with the protagonist finding the missing daughter from the posters, beating down the kidnapper, and getting his reward money as the family happily reunites.

* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' is very dark, and it's a very rough ride for the characters, especially the protagonist. But in the end, the world is saved and Taylor survives with a chance to start her life over. A lot of people still died, and it's still definitely a CrapsackWorld, but considering the FromBadToWorse nature of the series, the world not literally ending is pretty positive result.

* Season 2 of the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'' was just one long TraumaCongaLine for Tommy, to the point where, when [[GreaterScopeVillain Dream]] sent him and Tubbo an ultimatum to meet him somewhere far away to fight for the discs one last time, the most optimistic predictions still involved Tommy and Tubbo losing the fight and ending up in prison. However, a few days before the fight, Tommy quietly sent [[TheDragon Punz]] a ''massive'' bribe, leading to [[OnlyInItForTheMoney Punz]] secretly rallying about half the server to come in and [[BigDamnHeroes save Tommy and Tubbo]] from Dream. Dream was subsequently stripped of his power, locked in prison, and the season ended with Tommy and Tubbo sitting on their bench, listening to the discs, as [[BigBrotherMentor Wilbur]] [[GhostReunionEnding briefly returns as a ghost]] to tell Tommy [[SoProudOfYou just how proud he is]] of what they've pulled off. However, this gets somewhat undercut by Dream and Punz later confirming that this "victory" had been staged all along, to [[AssPull much contention]] from some parts of the fandom. That being said, it's fair to say that the results of this "staged victory" were [[BreakTheHaughty much]], [[ColdBloodedTorture much]] [[SanitySlippage worse]] than Dream anticipated.
* Despite its nightmarish imagery, the ''Literature/NESGodzillaCreepypasta'' ends on a relatively upbeat note: Zach may be traumatized and the haunted cartridge is still out there, but Red is slain, the benevolent monsters are revived, and Melissa is free to pass on.

* The final moments of ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' are surprisingly uplifting, especially taking into consideration the bitter conclusion of the first and second season, and the more cynical tone of the third season, with the last minutes of the series showing the main character having a happy, loving family as an adult.
* The series finale of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''. After Scooby destroys the Evil Entity (whom has just [[ApocalypseHow torn Crystal Cove to pieces and threatened to do so to the rest of the world]]), the results of doing so wind up [[AlternateHistory re-writing and undoing all of the series pre-history]], transforming their home into a perfect utopia of peace and happiness. Initially, the gang is down on their luck because in doing so, [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow there are no more mysteries to solve]]. Until the new timeline's version of their taskmaster Mr. E (Season 1 special guest Harlan Ellison, who remembers all timeline alterations) offers them admission to his school, which specializes in solving mysteries.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', while it was expected to end in at least a bittersweet ending, the finale actually had a happy ending where the [[BigBad Big Bad]] is defeated, everyone continues their life rebuilding the Boiling Isles society and Luz Noceda gets to happily visit the Demon Realm every time she wants.

* ''ComicBook/FlashpointBeyond'': In spite of being a sequel to ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint|DCComics}}'' (which consisted of an AlternateTimeline to the DC Universe taking place in a CrapsackWorld where the characters we know either met horrible deaths before going down their destined paths or became very dark villains or antiheroes) and the main plot being about Flashpoint Batman having to stop his wife Flashpoint Joker's killing spree targeting metahumans who have the potential to change the past, the miniseries ends with the world united against a Kryptonian invasion with Flashpoint Superman on their side and hope to change for the better, in addition to Flashpoint Joker being on the road of recieving the professional help she needs as well as her and Flashpoint Batman getting another chance at parenthood after the loss of their son Bruce by adopting Harvey Dent's son (who becomes the Flashpoint timeline's equivalent to Robin).

* ''ComicBook/FlashpointBeyond'': In spite of being a sequel to ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint|DCComics}}'' (which consisted of an AlternateTimeline to the DC Universe taking place in a CrapsackWorld where the characters we know either met horrible deaths before going down their destined paths or became very dark villains or antiheroes) and the main plot being about Flashpoint Batman having to stop his wife Flashpoint Joker's killing spree targeting metahumans who have the potential to change the past, the miniseries ends with the world united against an alien invasion with hope to change for the better, in addition to Flashpoint Joker being on the road of recieving the professional help she needs as well as her and Flashpoint Batman getting another chance at parenthood after the loss of their son Bruce by adopting Harvey Dent's son (who becomes the Flashpoint timeline's equivalent to Robin).

* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', this happens at least twice:

* ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns''. Before her death, Seena promises Wain that they'll meet again, and she gets revived because of such promise, since as her last bit of Sinistral Erim's omnipotent fortune telling power grants her her wish before it fades away.

--> [[ToiletHumor Jimmy's former classmates all suffered from hemorrhoids. Luckily for them, Jimmy went on to become a successful proctologist]].

--> '''Shirou''': "I'm back, Saber."
--> '''Saber''': "Yes. Welcome back, Shirou."

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' does this with a lot of its returning characters. Morrigan may have ran off at the end of ''Origins'', but she's back and the character development has stuck (and she's a loving mother and possibly still in a relationship with the Warden). Cullen gets to do good for once and return home to his family, possibly with his wife. Varric becomes Viscount of Kirkwall and makes things better there for his former party-mates, and so on.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'' gives Kratos one. After spending the entire first trilogy stuck in a vicious CycleOfRevenge, and the PS4 game accidentally starting Ragnarok, he's able to scrape up some character development, reconcile with Atreus, save most of the Nine Realms from the apocalypse, and [[spoiler:avert a prophecy of his death by recognizing that fate is nothing more than the logical consequences of his decisions and refusing to make the hasty decisions that cost him everything. He even finds a prophetic mural from his wife that hints that he will become known as a benevolent deity and beloved savior, a far cry from the monster he was in Greece]].

* A surprising number of [[{{Tragedy}} Greek tragedies]] have happy endings. [[note]] Keep in mind this is partially because the word "tragedy" has a completely different meaning in Ancient Greek drama than it does in modern usage [[/note]] Some of the more notable examples include:
** ''Theatre/TheOresteia''. Not that it isn't a pretty [[CycleOfRevenge dark and grisly trilogy throughout]], but the last entry, "The Eumenidies" ends on a remarkably good note. Orestes is rescued from the wrath of the Furies by Apollo and Athena, who acquit him in a jury trial and let him go free, pardoned of guilt. [[JustSoStory This ''also'' paves the way]] for Athena to establish Athens' legal system, which favors innocence over guilt, thus putting an end to the cycle of revenge and transforming the Furies into [[TitleDrop the Kindly Ones]].

* ''Film/TheOne'': Gabe manages to defeat Yulaw nonlethally, preserving the multiverse's stability, and ends up in an idyllic Los Angeles where he meets an alternate version of Izzy, showing his life will take the same track but even better. Meanwhile, despite being exiled, Yulaw prepares to tear the Hades Universe a new asshole and looks happy as a clam about it.

* With it being a prequel game set 100 years before ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', many fans were fully expecting ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' to have a downer ending where nearly all of Hyrule is destroyed, the King and the champions perish in battle, and Link is near fatally injured, requiring his 100 year long rest to properly save the kingdom. The game even starts with a scene showing the Calamity as it happens in Breath of the Wild's timeline, prepping players for the inevitable. However, the plot is subtly changed by the intervention of a time-travelling guardian built by Zelda to change the course of history, calling champions from the future to help their ancestors from the past. As a result, this creates a timeline where not only the Calamity is stopped before it lays waste to the kingdom, but the King and champions all manage to survive their fates and the villainous Yiga clan defect to the side of good. The only bittersweet aspects of the game's ending are the fact the future champions must return to their time (which is especially hard for Sidon, as his sister Mipha is one of the champions), and the guardian sacrificing itself to save the others, although even that can be changed by a post-game quest to rebuild it.

* Although not a work, the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar qualifies. Even as late as 1986, everyone believed the only way the ideological struggle between the [=USSR=]/Warsaw Pact and United States/[=NATO=] was going to end was with a nuclear war, as both blocs finally threw all their nuclear missiles at their opponent as WorldWarThree erupted. Nobody suspected that 1987 would see the beginnings of a renewed detente between the two nations, rapprochment between UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and UsefulNotes/MikhailGorbachev and a major arms-limitation agreement. Much less did anyone forsee the UsefulNotes/HoleInFlag revolutions that swept through the Warsaw Pact nations in 1989, including the dismantling of the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall and the peaceful reunification of East and West Germany. And the events of 1991, culminating in the Christmas Day dissolution of the Soviet Union, and Gorbachev peacefully handing over his power to UsefulNotes/BorisYeltsin of the Russian Federation, would have been a complete surprise to people in 1986.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow'' ends the classic ''Castlevania'' series not with Dracula destroyed, but with him reborn as a human and trying to overcome his past crimes, now ''aided'' by the heroes that previously tried to kill him.

* If you want to believe [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/when-we-came-home this]] tale, the Wiki/SCPFoundation actually gets this in the end, and boy if it isn't well deserved. After the [[EldritchAbomination Scarlet]] [[BigBad King]] is defeated by the armies of the [[TheGrimReaper Brothers Three]], one of their soldiers comes to a pond in a forest, where she takes of her armor and washes off the blood, before she walks home.