History Main / WelldoneSonGuy

** The ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'' game focusing on Miles Edgeworth shows that this has long been the for Franziska. In the fourth case, 13-year-old Franziska declares a competition with Edgeworth to see who can solve the crime first and proudly boasts about it to father Manfred von Karma. Edgeworth just placates her and decides to play along since he can see [[ThePerfectionist how much being "perfect" matters to her,]] since that's supposedly all a von Karma is allowed to be. Considering how he seems to care much more about Edgeworth's progress and skills than hers, this explains a lot about how desperate she was to establish herself as a prosecutor and why she keeps insisting to all the adults around that she's about to become the best prosecutor around once she takes the bar. Keeping in mind that Edgeworth and his deceased father vexed von Karma for fifteen years, so much so that he brought Edgeworth into his home and under his tutelage just to warp his sense of justice and one day frame and convict him for murder to get back at his father, it makes sense that he often didn't give his biological daughter a passing glance.

** The ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'' game focusing on Miles Edgeworth shows that this has long been the for Franziska. In the fourth case, 13-year-old Franziska declares a competition with Edgeworth to see who can solve the crime first and proudly boasts about it to father Manfred von Karma. Edgeworth just placates her and decides to play along since he can see [[ThePerfectionist how much being "perfect" matters to her,]] since that's supposedly all a von Karma is allowed to be. Considering how he seems to care much more about Edgeworth's progress and skills than hers, this explains a lot about how caught up she was in Manfred's worldview. Keeping in mind that Edgeworth and his deceased father vexed von Karma for fifteen years, so much so that he brought Edgeworth into his home and under his tutelage just to warp his sense of justice and one day frame and convict him for murder to get back at his father, it makes sense that he often didn't give his biological daughter a passing glance.

* The ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'' game focusing on Miles Edgeworth shows that this is most likely true for Franziska. In the fourth case, 13-year-old Franziska competes with Miles, presumably to receive her father's attention. Considering he barely seems to acknowledge her skills compared to Miles, this explains a lot about how caught up she was in Manfred's worldview.

** In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Vera Misham puts her talents as [[spoiler:a forger of paintings, and later evidence]] to use for her father because she ses how happy she is able to make him by practicing those talents.

* The ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'' game focusing on Miles Edgeworth shows that this is most likely true for Franziska. In the fourth case, 13-year-old Franziska competes with Miles, presumably to receive her father's attention. Considering he barely seems to acknowledge her skills compared to Miles, this explains a lot about how caught up she was in Manfred's worldview.

* In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Vera Misham puts her talents as [[spoiler:a forger of paintings, and later evidence]] to use for her father because she ses how happy she is able to make him by practicing those talents.

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* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': If [[spoiler:Rin]] had ''just'' been a little bit less of a bitch to her sister [[spoiler:[[TheWoobie Sakura]]]] and a bit more supportive instead of, say, threatening to kill her (even if she's just insecure herself), then [[spoiler:Sakura]] wouldn't have snapped and [[spoiler:tried to destroy the world]].
* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', it is very strongly implied that Shizune Hakamichi's SpiritedCompetitor personality stems largely from a desire to earn the approval of her {{Jerkass}} AbusiveDad Jigoro. Unfortunately, he seems to view most of her accomplishments, including her position as StudentCouncilPresident, with contempt. Shizune is looked down upon by her father FOR her deafness, Jigoro thinks he gave life to a faulty human being who will never match his own standards.
* In ''VisualNovel/EfAFairyTaleOfTheTwo'', [[spoiler:Miyako became TheAce in an eventually fruitless bid to impress her parents, who were always quarreling each other before deciding to divorce.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Hakuouki}}'', Souji Okita wants nothing more than to be helpful to his father figure Isami Kondou and to earn his approval. This mostly leads to heartache for everybody, because although Kondou loves Souji like a little brother, he's somewhat oblivious to how strong his feelings run and how jealous he is of Kondou's reliance on Hijikata. Meanwhile, Souji quickly comes to the conclusion (helped along by the manipulation of Kamo Serizawa) that the only way he can be of help to Kondou is to use his prodigious talent for swordsmanship to kill Kondou's enemies... whether Kondou approves or not.

* In one episode of ''WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'', Wonder Woman's mother Hippolyta visits her SuperheroSchool. She is dismissive of essentially everything Diana does and every one of her friends. Hippolyta would rather have her daughter go to school back on her home island.

* A RunningGag on Website/{{Cracked}} is that the columnist's parents (and sometimes grandparents) are excessively disappointed by their offspring being nerdy, pasty internet writers instead of getting real jobs.
* Morpheus's ''Twisted Universe''[='s=] story "The Karma of Serenity" is about a guy who is all about this, and is a bully because his father thinks 'a real man' should act like that. [[spoiler: This ends when he becomes a girl due to his twist and she is delighted to find out that she doesn't have to follow those rules anymore]]
* ''Website/{{Lioden}}'': Anubis was always considered a disappointment to his father Seth due to his lack of physical prowess and creepy interest in dead things. If you choose to wake him up in Rise of the Serpent, he's surprised that you picked him to fight against the Serpent instead of his father, and says that he half-expects Seth to revive himself and attack out of sheer rage.

* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick sympathizes with the daughters of the ''WesternAnimation/{{My Little Pony|TheMovie1986}}'' movie because she knows how it feels to have a mother who thinks you're a disappointment.
* Until they realize he's actually fairly worthless, newbies from WebSite/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses are desperate to please WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic. He never notices them. Film Brain still kept his crush until ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', but that ends bittersweetly.

* WellDoneSonGuy/{{Fanfiction}}

* Creator/HenryFonda was described by his famous children, Creator/{{Jane|Fonda}} and Creator/{{Peter|Fonda}} as cold and detached. Jane wrote in her autobiography that her father was more open to strangers than to her: "Often I run into people who describe finding themselves sitting next to him on transatlantic flights and go on about what an open person he was, how they drank and talked with him "for eight hours nonstop." It makes me angry. I never talked to him for thirty minutes nonstop!"

* [[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204652904577191440888199840.html This]] ''Wall Street Journal'' piece argues that the four presidents from G.H.W. Bush to Obama all have daddy issues: They either have a hero figure as their father and a privileged background or no relationship to their father at all: '''"No recent presidents can boast paternity that seems ordinary or normal, finding middle ground between the intense expectations of a powerful, prominent parent and the disasters of badly broken families with absent birth fathers."'' Makes you wonder if that explains their political decisions. Oh, and all 2012 candidates, as well as many candidates from the previous elections (e.g. Al Gore, John [=McCain=]), also fell into this pattern ...

Our hero may be a perfectly NiceGuy, respectable, successful, a loving husband and a good father. But what he really wants is for this ''one guy'' to [[SoProudOfYou acknowledge]] [[LikeASonToMe this]].

Most often, that ''one guy'' is his emotionally distant father, though it can also be TheAce, TheMentor, an AloofBigBrother or especially that AlwaysSomeoneBetter individual, usually as an old friend of the hero. Almost always a SpecialGuest, and often a LargeHam as well. When it's a recurring character, usually a [[MeddlingParents controlling parent]].

** Natsuhi, Kinzo's daughter-in-law, also has this attitude towards him, perhaps even more so than Eva. [[spoiler:So much so that when he dies of natural causes, her attempts to [[OfCorpseHesAlive cover up his death]] combined with the stress from upholding the Ushiromiya family name causes her to snap, and as a result she imagines his ghost as a kindly figure who supports and encourages her. In [=EP5=] Bernkastel tells Natsuhi, using [[LanguageOfTruth the red truth]], that Kinzo never actually thought she was good enough.]]

* Though exceptionally well-educated and provided for, as children [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary I]] and UsefulNotes/ElizabethI were desperate for attention and approval from their misogynistic father, UsefulNotes/HenryVIII, which had a lot to do with their respective styles of ruling and general personalities. The way he treated their mothers was also a big part of it (though this is judging him by [[ValuesDissonance modern, Anglospheric cultural standards]]; he was, according to some, [[FairForItsDay a pretty good fellow for his day]]). There's also the fact that each of them was named Princess of Wales (heiress to the throne) upon her birth, only for Henry to deem each of them illegitimate and strip them of the title as he moved on to his next wife. The mess left behind was so convoluted that Henry had to spell out the line of succession in his will to prevent misunderstandings; on his deathbed he seems to have repented at least some of his behavior, and restored ''both'' daughters to the line. (This didn't keep things from going pear-shaped when his son Edward VI died nine years later, though.)

* Creator/HenryFonda was described by his famous children, Creator/{{Jane|Fonda}} and Peter as cold and detached. Jane wrote in her autobiography that her father was more open to strangers than to her: "Often I run into people who describe finding themselves sitting next to him on transatlantic flights and go on about what an open person he was, how they drank and talked with him "for eight hours nonstop." It makes me angry. I never talked to him for thirty minutes nonstop!"

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** The primary motivation for all the desperate lengths that Prince Zuko goes to, and the terrible decisions he makes, is to get the approval of the father [[AbusiveParents who burned, scarred, and exiled him]] under the pretext of a SnipeHunt. Eventually [[spoiler: Zuko is allowed to come home and receives his father's approval, only to discover that it is not as fulfilling as he had expected, precipitating his HeelFaceTurn]]. Occasionally, he shows traits of this towards his uncle Iroh. [[spoiler: After his HeelFaceTurn, he accepts Iroh as a ParentalSubstitute and becomes this full time.]]
** Sokka also wants his father to accept and acknowledge him as a warrior. When he does finally meet up with his father, he gets a YouDidntAsk type answer when his dad asks him, "Why do you think I left you in charge of the village?" Furthermore, when Fire Nation forces appear, Sokka's father orders his men to prepare for battle; when Sokka asks what he should do, his father warmly responds to him, "I said 'The rest of you ''men'' prepare for battle!'," which is the most thrilling thing Sokka could have heard.
** A similar setup is played for tragedy with [[BigBad Fire Lord Ozai]] and [[DaddysLittleVillain Princess Azula]]. She took on ''[[PhysicalGod the Avatar]]'' and his teachers armed with ''nothing but a knife'' for the man, while he hid out in his bunker during the eclipse. Even as someone who's aware that the opponents are {{Technical Pacifist}}s, that's devotion right there and the poor girl's only ''fourteen years old''. When Ozai announces she will replace him as Fire Lord, it's only because he's going to conquer the rest of the world and become the Phoenix King, [[KickedUpStairs thus making 'Fire Lord' an impotent title.]] Her mother Ursa clearly favored Zuko for being a nice person; thus, [[spoiler:feeling rejected by both of her parents ''and'' her friends, Azula descends into an epic VillainousBreakdown.]]
** Ozai seems to have learned his parenting skills from his father, Fire Lord Azulon. It is shown in his single appearance that Azulon shows little if any concern for his younger son and clearly favors Iroh, even after the latter gives up conquering Ba Sing Se.
** Eventually, this wound up repeated in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' with Aang's kids. Aang favors Tenzin, being he's the only Airbender among the three and the only way for Aang to continue the legacy. This leaves the other two feeling like they were disappointments to their dad for being "born wrong" - especially Bumi, who wasn't even a Waterbender like Kya. To compensate, Bumi wound up a general and Kya spent many of her years traveling the world (tellingly coming back home only after Aang died). Even Tenzin wound up hurt by this, as he feels the burden of being the carrier for the Airbender culture, and being picked as Aang's successor means he's the one with the monumental task of filling his shoes. That being said, at least Aang genuinely loved all his children in the end, which is more than can be said for the above example.
** Also in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' there is Toph's daughter Lin, who followed her mother's footsteps to become a police officer (later the chief of the police force), hoping to please her mother. [[spoiler:It didn't work. [[TearJerker Toph wasn't pleased]]. Much angst ensued as Toph's NeverMyFault attitude to her own failures as a mother led to Lin becoming alienated from both Toph herself and from her younger half-sister Suyin. Apparently, Toph ended up regretting this years later when Lin refused to get in touch with either of them.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': The episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE3NothingToFear Nothing to Fear]]" establishes that after a former colleague of his father seeing Bruce as nothing more than a playboy, Batman's greatest fear is that he's a disgrace to his family. Alfred assures him that his father would indeed be proud of what he's done.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Codename Kids Next Door}}'': Father suffers from this in ''WesternAnimation/{{Operation Z E R O}}'' as he tries to get Grandfather to rule with him and acknowledge him as a true villain. In fact, his fear-based loyalty to his own father is what caused his {{Start of Darkness}} in the first place.
* On ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', the character Goose Lee fills this role for Darkwing. He was Darkwing's sensei in the art of quack fu, and he perpetually refers to Darkwing as a disappointment, for his reliance on crime-busting gadgets and machines, his poor judgment around ninja, and his inability to master the all-important quack fu technique, the belly bounce.
** Darkwing's sidekick Launchpad [=McQuack=] in the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesS1E12TopDuck Top Duck]]". Launchpad thinks that his parents are ashamed of him and wants to show them he's a real [=McQuack=]. (In Launchpad's defense, it's easy to be intimidated when your dad's an {{Expy}} of Creator/JohnWayne!) However, he learns that his parents [[SoProudOfYou actually couldn't be prouder of him.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' parodies this mercilessly, with Peter even hiring a band to play the sappy SitCom music. Subverts the usual ending when his father admits, "Of course I love you. I just don't like you." "Nah nah nah, keep playing, I think this is as close as it's gonna get," Peter tells the band.
** It was played unusual serious through the rest of that episode. Peter even became depressed and apathetic when his father [[KickTheDog called him a lousy son and father]].
*** In a later episode, he at least earns [[spoiler: his biological father]]'s respect.
** A similar example happens in another episode, but with the daughter Meg instead. She gains Peter's respect at the end of the episode and he reveals to her that he actually does love her, despite his inexplicable abuse. He tells her that when they're alone, he'll be nice to her, but he'll be a jerk to her whenever anyone else is around.
** Peter's son, Chris, was also this in the earlier seasons as well.
* Jonas Venture Sr. in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' is the quintessential "Well Done, Son!" Guy and he's even more impossible to please because he's dead. Dr. Venture can never be as smart, powerful or well-liked as he believes his father was, and his super-science business mostly consists of repackaging his father's old projects and cheating off his father's old notes. All of Dr. Venture's insecurities, shortcomings, and bad habits come (or so Dr. Killinger says) from one childhood incident in which he saw the size of his father's penis.
** Somewhat repeated with the boys. Although the fact they are mostly dense doesn't help. Hank has this towards Brock mostly, but both of them often show the desire to be praised by their cold, uncaring, {{jerkass}} dad.
*** Episodes in the third season revealed that Jonas Sr. was a complete {{jerkass}}. An episode in season four reveals [[spoiler:that the dads or caretakers of boy adventurers seem to be terrible in one way or another.]] However by the end Rusty decides that for all his faults he's better off than others who shared his fate.
* Harry of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' is TheUnfavorite (even though he's an ''only child'') and is constantly trying to prove himself to his dad. That explains why he steals the Globulin Green performance-enhancing drug, and consequently develops a SuperpoweredEvilSide, the Green Goblin - he wants his father to be proud of him. It doesn't work.
** Norman did eventually say that he was proud of Harry. But it may have been a hollow victory for Harry since it happened just after Norman was unmasked as the true Green Goblin. As it turned out, Harry's own father had personally [[AbusiveParent dressed him up as a psychotic supervillain while he was passed out, even twisting Harry's ankle to maintain the illusion.]]
* The short-lived edutainment show ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'' suggested this as a motivation for Alexander the Great in one sketch where the conqueror was receiving therapy from UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud. This, after suggesting [[FreudianExcuse mother issues]], pushed Alexander's BerserkButton.
-->'''Philip of Macedon''': Pretty good, Al. Not great; pretty good.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': ''Zim's'' feelings toward the Almighty Tallest. He'll do anything to gain their favor or attention.
-->'''Zim''': [[OverlyLongGag My Tallest! My Tallest! My Tallest! My Tallest! My Tallest! Hey! Hey! Hey! My Tallest! My Tallest! My Tallest! My Tallest! My Taaaaaaaaaallest! My Tallest! Hey! My Tallest! My Tallest! My Tallest! My Tallest!]]
** Dib similarly wants to prove himself to his father, celebrated scientist Professor Membrane. Whereas in the series this was one of several reasons for wanting to expose Zim, in the {{revival}} movie ''[[WesternAnimation/InvaderZimEnterTheFlorpus Enter the Florpus]]'' it's implied to be his ''entire'' motivation. [[spoiler: And in one of the most touching scenes in the series' history, during the climax Membrane tells Dib that he doesn't need to constantly prove himself, as he's ''always'' proud of him.]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', this is the basis for a good half of Hank Hill's personality. In one episode, Hank has a hallucination involving his deepest desires while in a steam room and the entirety of the vision is his father happily saying he's proud of him (with a firm handshake to boot).
** This shows up quite a bit. One wonders if Creator/MikeJudge might have an issue on this front. Hank is a bit of one of these for Bobby, as Bobby is all too aware that he's artsy, comedic, lazy, and generally not the kind of son his father wanted. Peggy's mother absolutely refuses to identify any good her daughter ever does, even when Peggy goes so far as to save her mother's ranch from foreclosure. Also, Kahn wanted a boy, so he named his daughter Kahn Jr. (everyone calls her Connie). Almost nothing she does is good enough for him, except when he needs to brag about how much better he and his family are than his hillbilly neighbors.
** Hank's dad did admit at one point that Hank was the better father... in his own way.
--->"After all, you made Bobby! All ''I'' made was ''you.''"
** However, Hank is [[PapaWolf fiercely protective of Bobby]] despite his difficulties in expressing his affection for his son.
** The final episode has Bobby discovering a gift for grilling, something of which Hank can finally approve. An earlier episode also had Bobby taking home economics, with Hank at about the halfway point of the episode coming to enjoy what Bobby was able to create with those skills. However, that episode had ''Peggy'' as the disapproving parent, due to being jealous that Bobby was a better homemaker than she could ever be.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', Kalibak's primary reason for antagonizing [[FanNickname Big Blue]] was to please his father, Darkseid.
** Shoot, the first episode he appeared in was called "Father's Day".
* A daughter example with Helen and her dad in ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodeFamily''. Charlie frequently ridicules his daughter's liberal belief and insults her in any given opportunity. Helen is so desperate for his approval that she even let an ugly animal he adopts stay with her.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''
** The only person who ever got under the skin of David Xanatos, and the only one whose criticism of his amorality he seems to take seriously, is his father. His infinite wealth and feared reputation may not get him his father's approval, but his PapaWolf {{Determinator}} attitude when Oberon comes after his own son does.
** Xanatos's wife Fox completely inverts this trope: her father just wants her to show the slightest respect for honor, morality, respect for other people's property rights, and he'd give her his full approval and mega-corporation in an instant. Instead, she tries to bankrupt him so her husband can buy the business because she considers corporate espionage and sabotage ''more fun''.
** Goliath and Angela get a moment of this when he finally acknowledges her as his daughter - not because he hadn't approved of her, but because gargoyles in his clan traditionally didn't keep track of who fathered/mothered which offspring ("...the children of the entire clan") and he doesn't like abandoning or changing 'the gargoyle way'. He later also admits to Elisa that he knows Angela, who was raised by humans, doesn't see it that way, but he had another motivation: he definitely ''doesn't'' want Angela seeking the approval of her ''[[EvilMatriarch mother]]''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy''.
** Jeff's one and only motivation, adding to this, he's a really nice guy but, unfortunately, Billy is terrified of spiders.
** Poor Grim! He pretended to become a country rock star just to please his father, only to discover later that his father would have preferred having the Grim Reaper for a son (and now will not believe Grim to be the Reaper).
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', it's been often implied through flashbacks and certain episodes that Homer very much had a relationship like this with his father Abe, which would explain why Homer has such a numb and uncaring sentiment towards his dad now during Abe's old age. This was particularly looked at in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E10GrampaVsSexualInadequacy Grandpa vs. Sexual Inadequacy]]".
* Ulrich Stern from ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', especially in Season 1, as his dad is mostly interested in his grades. He does get it at the end of one episode... at the [[spoiler:apparent cost of his father's life]]. And then the story promptly presses the ResetButton.
* Cleveland Jr. is developing shades of this in ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', with his antics embarrassing or annoying Cleveland and the latter either blowing him off, putting him down, or ignoring him. Likewise, Cleveland is this to his own father, Freight Train, who is mean to and bullies him, and, in one episode, we find out why: [[spoiler:when his family was on a game show, Cleveland couldn't find the flag under the butter (a pretty obvious spot), which made them lose]] and Freight Train never forgave him for that.
* Remy Buxaplenty on ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' has this trope real bad. His parents are too rich and neglectful, that even when he's stranded on a desert island with them, it takes seconds for one to strike oil, and the other to build a casino. Luckily, his Fairy Godparent, Juandisimo picks up the slack in his own weird way.
* Jake Morgendorffer in ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' has a case of this that borders on the pathological. He bends over backward to be a supportive (read: embarrassing) father to Daria and Quinn because his own father, who is presumably dead, encouraged emotional repression. This creates a desperate sense of emotional neediness in Jake that in one episode gives him a ''heart attack!''
* Danny from ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' wants this. His parents are ghost hunters, and his alter-ego is the ghost Phantom that they hate and want to 'rip apart molecule by molecule.' He's understandably afraid of this and tries to make them grow to respect his ghost-half.
** [[OppositeSexClone Danielle]] wanted to appeal to her creator, Vlad Plasmius, her "daddy", until learning he was fine with letting her melt to create a perfect clone of Danny for a son. She sided with her genetic donor and renounced Vlad as her father afterward.
* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Lucius and Beezy's relationship has shades of this. Beezy wants his father to accept him for [[LazyBum who he is]], but Lucius most certainly does not. There is the occasional SoProudOfYou moment, but this show [[SadistShow being what it is]], it doesn't last long.
* Surprisingly, Comicbook/{{Superman}} is this in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' to Superboy, his clone. Superboy desperately craves some sort of attention and affection from Superman, who initially feels awkward and uncomfortable with the circumstances of Superboy's existence and believes that his clone would do better looking to others for a parental role, [[spoiler:until Superboy saves his life and the Justice League in the season one finale and the two reconcile, later settling into a sibling-type relationship rather than a parent-son one.]].
** Subverted with Robin. While he does want Batman's acknowledgment, he does not want to be ''the'' Batman since [[spoiler:he isn't able to pull off a GoodIsNotNice mindset in "Failsafe".]]
*** Batman himself averts this trope because he makes it clear to the Justice League in "Agendas" that he doesn't want Robin to be like him and took Robin in as a partner because he wanted to give Robin a chance to avenge the death of his parents. It's especially sad because as stated above, Robin feels that Batman wants him to take up his mantle.
----> '''Wonder Woman''': So he could turn out like you?\\
'''Batman''': So that he wouldn't.
* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', Norm the robot feels this way towards Doofenshmirtz, who created him. He wants to be acknowledged as his son, but Doof simply thinks of him as a servant.
** Which is nothing compared to Doof's feelings about his own AbusiveParents.
--->"So, what am ''I'' gonna do with the [[OutOfCharacterMoment Least-Likely-Inator]], you ask? Make my [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter daughter]] ''obey'' me, make my father ''love'' me? No, and double-no! Well, maybe later."
** To a minor degree, Django Brown wants to be an artist like his father but feels his drawings can't be compared to his dad's work (who makes giant sculptures). His father didn't get to see the giant version of his drawing, but he does like the normal sized version.
* Twilight Sparkle of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is this not toward her parents, but her mentor [[PhysicalGod Princess Celestia]]. She values being a good student and the idea of not being able to send a letter about what she's learned about friendship in time during [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero "Lesson Zero"]] is enough to give her [[SanitySlippage mental breakdown]]. She doesn't seem to understand that Celestia's approval isn't as conditional as she thinks it is. She also show signs of this towards her brother Shining Armor during the two-parter episode, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E25ACanterlotWeddingPart1 "A Canterlot]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 Wedding"]].
** To a lesser degree, Sweetie Belle is this toward her older sister, Rarity.
** Scootaloo is revealed to be this to her idol, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash hugs her and makes it feel all better.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'': For all their bickering and passing jabs at each other, Oscar Proud's issues with his mother is that she always seemed to prefer his older brother Bobby, despite him having no job or family of his own. Deep down, he just wants his mother to be proud of him. Fortunately, in her best moments, she admits that she does love Oscar.
* Ahsoka Tano from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. The only thing that genuinely worries her, is disappointing her master, Anakin. [[spoiler:Well, was, until the Season 3 finale.]]
* Head dog catcher Lenard [=McLeish=] in the 2010 version of ''[[WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010 Pound Puppies]]''. His mother Agatha is extremely rich and lives in a mansion. Lenard... is not as successful. Whenever she visits, [=McLeish=] pines for some sort of affection from her, only to be denied every time.
* In the AnimatedAdaptation of ''Literature/{{Franklin}}'', Bear is sometimes this in trying to get his Mom's attention over his sister.
* Oddly enough, Starscream [[TheStarscream (yes, that one)]] has been suggested to have a certain level of this mixed into his usual treacherous shenanigans in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. The character's as pathologically treacherous as ever, perhaps even more so because he doesn't suck at it quite as much as his previous incarnations, but there is the odd implication that he waffles on if being in command or just being acknowledged by anybody as worthy of respect is more important to him.
--> '''Agent Fowler''': He can't seem to decide if he wants Megatron's ''job'' or his ''approval''.
* There are several PJ-centered episodes of ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' that have this as a major part of the conflict. Over the course of the series, he has felt neglected and like a complete idiot when his father Pete favored his best friend, struggled with keeping the family business afloat and felt inadequate at doing so, been actively used as an unwitting spy when Pete pretended to have a change of heart and let him be on his team, worked himself much harder than he already was (which is saying ''a lot'') when he thought a new baby was going to get all the attention and felt like a complete and utter failure for not being able to live up to Pete's unrealistic (and [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]]) expectations. He is shown to be hurt in the first movie when Pete offers to give him a high-five and takes it back and in the sequel when Pete becomes impatient for him to move out. Pete ''deliberately'' exploits this the majority of the time.
* One of those rare mother-son combos appears in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' and is not remotely played for laughs except in a few instances of BlackComedy, due to being [[MoralityChainBeyondTheGrave posthumous]]. Steven's mother, the saintly and flawless Gem revolutionary leader Rose Quartz, [[NotQuiteDead is not strictly speaking "dead"]] and still exists in some ways in Steven himself; Steven understandably feels enormous pressure to live up to her legacy, complicated immensely [[ParentsAsPeople when he begins to discover that his legendary mother]] [[FeetOfClay had more than a few skeletons in her closet]] [[ShootTheDog and did things that]] [[AllLovingHero Steven]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo can't wrap his head around or justify.]] Him failing to follow in her footsteps leads to him fearing that whatever aspect of her that survived judges him for not being like her. [[spoiler:He eventually comes to terms with it, realizing she didn't want him to be like her or anyone else, to be his own person and make his own decisions what to do with his life.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Dogstar}}'', all Dino really wants is his father's respect.
* In ''WebAnimation/BravestWarriors'', the Cereal Master's daddy issues are lampshaded, discussed, and resolved in less than five minutes. It's a, uh... [[WidgetSeries rather strange series.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'': Commander Nebula is this for XR [[spoiler: and XR's predecessor XL]]. (Both see him as their father because he signed the work orders for their construction).
* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries''. In the episode "Yesteryear" Spock wants to prove to his father Sarek that he is a true Vulcan by undergoing the Kahs-wan ordeal.
* In ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'', Lord Boxman deliberately encourages this feeling in his [[MechaMooks robot children]] to make them more loyal, telling them that they can only get his love and approval if they’re good villains. [[spoiler:This backfires horribly on him in the season one finale, when Darrell [[ZerothLawRebellion comes to the conclusion]] that the only way he’ll get Boxman’s approval is by being ''[[EvilerThanThou more]]'' evil than him...]]
* One of the points on which Glimmer and Catra are NotSoDifferent in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' is that both of them want to prove themselves to their mothers - or, in Catra's case, adoptive mother. The key difference is that Glimmer's mother, Queen Angella, clearly loves her daughter and eventually learns to stop being so overprotective, coming to accept [[RebelliousPrincess Glimmer]] for who she is, while Catra's mother, Shadow Weaver, is an AbusiveParent to the core and mercilessly exploits Catra's need for validation whenever it rears its head.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' in which Rick meets an OldFlame Unity (a HiveMind who has taken over a planet) hints that Rick has issues on this front. One of the fantasies he has Unity enact for him is to fill an entire stadium full of men who even vaguely resemble his father to cheer him on as he has sex with Unity.
-->"Go son Go! Go son Go!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* The plot of the "So What IS a [=McNinja=]?" arc in ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': Dan and Mitzi [=McNinja=] are very disappointed in their son for becoming a Doctor rather than an assassin. Interestingly, the Doctor realizes that gaining his parents' respect with his medical skills is a hopeless task, so he decides to show them that he's "a damn good ninja!" as well.
** Meanwhile, his younger brother Sean still has "Well Done, Son!" Guy as a major motivation, hiding his technical wizardry behind a mask of misused slang. When a ghost wizard puts Sean in his ultimate fantasy world, his Dad is hugging him, saying, "Computers are pretty cool, son. They are pretty cool." [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/11p37/ He's brought to tears.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{DDG}}'' Zip, it turns out, feels this way towards 'Netta since she sees 'Netta as a [[http://www.sincomics.com/phpAlbum/main.php?cmd=imageview&var1=DDG%2FPages+100%2B%2FDDG120.jpg&var2=2 surrogate mother]] and could never get validation from her own mum.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Endstone}}'', [[http://endstone.net/2009/02/21/issue-1-page-4/ Cole stole her mother's Endstone to attempt to win her father's love.]]
* Gilgamesh Wulfenbach in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' spends his every waking moment (when not obsessing over Agatha) trying to live up to his Machiavellian father's expectations (who pushes Gil to the breaking point so that Gil [[ZenSurvivor won't go through what he did]]). Klaus ''does'' praise Gil upon completing difficult tasks, but the poor kid is usually too annoyed by the circumstances to really appreciate it. Klaus is [[SeenItAll rarely visibly impressed]] and thus easily comes across as dismissive. He was [[SoProudOfYou really enthusiastic]] only when saw Gil [[OneManArmy defeating a mechanized army, single-handed]].
** Though, eventually, Klaus spells it out. Ironically, it's a mistake (he thinks Gil ''intentionally'' sent to catch Agatha someone guaranteed to kill her, rather than doing so by accident).
--->'''Klaus''': It seems I have misjudged you. Well done, son.\\
'''Gil''': [suspicious] Is this another test?\\
'''Klaus''': Erk. Please, don't make me laugh. Owch. No. No more tests, my son. The time for such things is over.
** Gil made it to the age of ten or so completely ignorant of his heritage, and Klaus only revealed it when he broke into his own records and found the embarrassing decoy story. This was probably primarily to keep him safe, but combined with all the tests later, it instilled in Gil the conviction that he had to ''earn'' the right to be Gilgamesh Wulfenbach.
*** Which conveniently averted the "[[RoyalBrat spoiled second-generation conqueror]]" problem. Take that, Ibn Khaldun!
** That said, they have a strong mutual affection and Gil never seems to doubt that his father ''cares'', or even that he ''wants'' him... it's just that he can't be completely sure Klaus won't kill him or set him aside if he has to for the good of Europa. On the other hand, Klaus frequently looks down on the kid, but hasn't tried to shape his personality for anything but generic 'strength;' his lab at the beginning of the story contained no weapons whatsoever. (Subsequent events have required him to develop a more militant bent. Klaus seems to have been relying on the Spark to bring those qualities out when they were actually needed.) The closest to a healthy version of this trope you can get, considering there's an empire involved and both parties are [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder congenitally insane]].
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** The reason Roy Greenhilt took on the story's main quest was to prove his worth to his egocentric, self-centered father. He eventually comes to realize that his father simply isn't worth it and that nothing he can say will ever make him change. He gives up on him entirely, not even bothering with CallingTheOldManOut, and goes so far as to make his father promise not to ever visit his family from the afterlife -- which his father does easily and casually without a single worry -- to have the privilege of helping Roy.
** Nale also feels this way to his EvilOverlord father. Nale wants to prove that he can be even better BigBad material than the old man, and he wants him to acknowledge that. Of course, in this case, it's less "I want your approval" and more "I can take care of myself, get out of my life."
** An indirect version comes from Haley's father in this [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0941.html strip]]:
--->'''Ian Starshine''': Not bad, kid. Maybe you're not a diabolical sleeper agent out to infiltrate my family and destroy all I've worked for.\\
'''Elan''': ''[non-sarcastically]'' Truly, that's all any man can hope to hear from his girlfriend's father.
* Kazuo of ''Webcomic/RedString'' wants his father's approval so badly that he dumps his girlfriend that he loves dearly, resigns himself to an arranged marriage with a childhood friend he doesn't love that way, works at a job he hates, stops doing any of his hobbies--including cooking, which he actually wants to do as a career--and seems to be developing a drug problem to cope. Even when Kazuo shows some weak defiance, he always goes back to groveling for his father's love soon after. As of this writing, all his father's done in response is slap him repetitively, call him worthless, and point-blank tell the boy he's only good as a bargaining chip. [[spoiler:And [[DrivenToSuicide driven Kazuo to attempt suicide]]. Luckily, he survives.]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheSpecialists'', [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-85/ Henry]]. He's a jerk, a bigot and a Casanova Wannabe -- but you still feel sorry for him.
* It isn't something that [[TheStoic Dave Strider]] of ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'' likes to talk about, but he's clearly very deeply invested in following in his AloofOlderBrother [[spoiler:(who turns out to be his genetic father)]] and father-figure's example.
** Uniquely, Dave sort of gets ''both'' of the typical resolutions to this plotline. Eventually, he comes to recognize that [[BrokenPedestal his Bro was a terrible person]] who never deserved his respect. But later on, he also gets to meet an alternate universe version of Bro who is actually a decent person, and who is able to give him the praise and validation and affection he always wanted but never got from his real Bro.
** Inverted with his best friend John; John resents his father's doting on him, although [[spoiler: given that John [[ItMakesSenseInContext unconsciously covers his room in graffiti referring to himself as stupid]]]], it's rather understandable.
* [[TheCaptain Kaff Tagon]] from ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' looks like that [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2004-11-26 when we first hear about his father]]. But [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-09-30 a later flashback]] shows that there's more to their story: each blames the other one and himself for [[spoiler:not saving the rest of their family from assassination]] a couple of decades ago.
* Hurmiz from ''Webcomic/{{Harbourmaster}}'' already has its progenitor Kema's respect. What it ''doesn't'' have is Kema's love--an understandable lack, since Kema [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove still hasn't mastered the idea of love in general]]. This means Hurmiz is supportive of [[spoiler: Gilou]]'s efforts to force Kema to question its old habits more thoroughly.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* Biff starts out like this in ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman''.
** Happy is still like this, but to a slightly lesser extent.

* The ''Theatre/MrsHawking play'' series: Oh, good heavens, Nathaniel. He is desperate for ''everyone'' to like him, but particularly to get Mrs. Hawking's hard-won approval. It's the single largest driving factor of his character.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The Kid, from ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'', a game whose [[StoryToGameplayRatio extremely peripheral story]] involves nothing more than an incredibly hard quest to become The Guy. The Kid wants to become The Guy. The Father of The Kid is The Guy. The Kid is sent on his quest by Former Grandfather The Guy, who was replaced as The Guy by The Father The Guy, who The Kid now seeks to replace in turn to become The Guy. It doesn't get much more "Well Done, Son!" Guy than that.
* The Prince in ''VideoGame/KatamariDamacy'' seeks nothing but the King of All Cosmos' approval, and for good reason: disapproval means MoreDakka eye beams.
** In later games we find out that the King had a similar relationship with his father.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' series Lee and Jin (a "Well Done Grandson Guy") all at some point or another felt this way towards Heihachi. Eventually, they learn that doing this won't get them anywhere and thus went off their own way.
** Kazuya started this way as well. Heihachi throwing him off a cliff kind of ended that dream, though.
*** Adopting Lee into the family was actually supposed to ''induce'' this emotion in Kazuya, giving him someone to compete with and pushing him to achieve. Again, though, the cliff thing derailed that.
* ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'':
** For most of the game, Gwendolyn is constantly trying to prove herself as a warrior so that her father King Odin would be proud of and love her - a fact which Odin repeatedly uses to manipulate her. [[spoiler:Eventually Gwendolyn wises up and gives up on her father in favor of choosing to be with Oswald, who earnestly cares for her. Ironically enough, she does this around the point Odin seems to start having a HeelRealization about his own actions toward her, but all he can do by that point is just let her go to Oswald.]]
** Oswald himself strives single-mindedly to do whatever his adoptive father orders and admits that he could die happy as long as his father approved of him and loved him. Unfortunately, on his deathbed, his father spitefully rejects him for his failure and admits he never loved him, viewing Oswald as only a means to an end for his ambitions, little more than a tool. Soon after,[[spoiler: Oswald is taken to the Netherworld by the Halja, having lost the will to protect himself in despair. With several chapters of his story left to go, however, he breaks out and finds a new meaning to live for.]]
** Before the final boss of Velvet's book, it's revealed that [[spoiler:the destruction of Valentine was caused by Ingway, who tampered with the Cauldron in order to save Odin from being killed in battle against Valentine's superior forces and didn't anticipate the scale of the reaction that would result. In the aftermath, Odin claimed the cauldron with nothing but a callous "Well done, traitor" for Ingway, inspiring Ingway to go to rather extreme lengths to [[CallingTheOldManOut call him out]] for it later on.]]
* Even though he hates his father, Tidus from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' desperately seeks to measure up to him, especially after realizing he's following his exact same footsteps. Likewise, Yuna wishes to make her own father, High Summoner Braska, proud of her own pilgrimage. In the end, they exceed both of their parents, by [[spoiler: destroying Sin rather than just delaying it until next time]].
** Braska obviously loved Yuna, and she just didn't want his death to be in vain.
** Revisited in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', where Jecht was specifically chosen as the villain representative of ''Final Fantasy X'' due to his emotional connection with the hero. It's especially visible in the cutscene after Tidus beats him:
--->'''Tidus''': I hate you. I hated you so much. I've always wished you'd be gone. But deep down what I really wanted was just... your approval. For you to... tell me that I've grown strong.\\
'''Jecht''': Looks like the kid will never grow up.\\
'''Tidus''': That's not my fault. I can't help it. I'm your son, after all.\\
'''Jecht''': Hehe... I guess you are.\\
''[Both laugh.]''\\
'''Jecht''': Hey, cry-baby... You've grown strong.
* In an example of the hero's friend, Sora reveals at the end of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' that he's always striven to be as good at everything as his best friend, Riku. This was hinted at the beginning of the original game, as well. In true form, Riku also reveals that he was always jealous of the way his friend lived his life.
* Bosch from ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter'' is ''seriously'' messed up because of this reason. All throughout his childhood, his dad put him through ridiculous training (including making him fight a monster ''three times'' his size) and still wouldn't give him the praise he wanted. This left him willing to do anything necessary to get ahead in life which included [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness nearly murdering his former partner,]] [[AppendageAssimilation grafting a monster's arm onto himself]] and [[SealedEvilInACan linking with an ancient, evil dragon in return for its powers.]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear''
** Liquid Snake from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' may have been this at one point, but has built up a deep-rooted resentment for his father as well as the one his father ''did'' show approval of: Solid Snake.
*** ''WebComic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'' [[CharacterExaggeration exaggerates]] this part of Liquid's character to ridiculous proportions. Then it's revealed that Big Boss is doing it on purpose to help manipulate the boy better.
** Solid Snake himself in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' doesn't feel like he's accomplished anything until [[spoiler: Big Boss shows up to tell him 'well done'.]]
* This is one of the basics for the MayDecemberRomance between GeniusBruiser Oswin and WhiteMagicianGirl Serra in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword]]''. She treats him more respectfully than [[SlapSlapKiss her other possible love interests]] (FragileSpeedster Matthew and BadassBookworm Erk) and seeks for his approval, but when Oswin reprehends her in their B support, Serra mistakes this as him hating her as a person and almost has an HeroicBSOD. Their A support is about them clearing the misunderstanding.
** Speaking of ''Franchise/FireEmblem'', Prince Zephiel. Ever dutiful, ever charismatic Prince of Bern whose wish is just for his family to reconcile, by having his father acknowledge him. Poor kid doesn't know that his father is very much a {{jerkass}} who really wants him dead. When Zephiel learns it the hard way, [[NietzscheWannabe take a wild guess what Zephiel turns into]].
** Another ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Sword]]'' example is [[BadassAdorable Nino]]. All she wants is to earn Sonia's love and approval and agrees to go on a dangerous mission in which she would very well be killed ''just'' for the reward of her mother holding her hand and stroking her face.
** A less harsh example is Erk towards his mentor and adoptive father Pent, especially in their B support.
** Forrest in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' starts out angry at his father for criticizing his WholesomeCrossdresser habit, but once they start communicating better he expresses a desire to make his father proud despite being afraid to fight, and to wield the tome Leo uses and that Forrest will someday inherit.
* While not his father, Richard from ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' is wicked attached to his father figure, Mueller, and is always trying to get his attention, impress him, and make him happy. Seriously, this kid's entire world revolves around Mueller, so much that he's willing to carry any IdiotBall if it's for Mueller and it ''embarrasses'' Mueller.
** An observant or min-maxing player might notice that Richard's stats and skills make him the most powerful character in the game. Presumably not a coincidence.
** A straighter example is ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'''s Snowe Vingerhut, who longs to please his powerful, manipulative father. He even [[ICallItVera calls his sword]] 'Daddy Blade'. [[spoiler: If the blade is leveled up sufficiently, it is renamed to "Snowe Blade", which implies he grows past this.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', [[spoiler:Raz]]'s "inner demon" is a manifestation of his father, constantly taunting him for being a disappointment and [[spoiler:a psychic.]] Eventually [[spoiler:his ''real'' father, who looks nothing like the twisted monster that is Raz's internal interpretation of him, enters his mind and tells him that he just wanted Raz to be happy and safe.]]
** [[spoiler:It's actually even nicer than this - Raz believed the entire time that his father hated psychics and that he would hate Raz if he knew that Raz was psychic - when in fact his father is a psychic himself, and didn't want Raz displaying his talents, not out of resentment but out of fear that ACTUAL psychic haters would persecute or harm him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear XX'', this discussion can occur when Kliff Undersn fights his adoptive son, Testament:
-->'''Testament''': Father... I...\\
'''Kliff''': You've grown to be a fine man... I have no further regrets.
** Considering that at that point Testament has completed his HeelFaceTurn and is TheLancer to FriendToAllLivingThings Dizzy, it's no wonder that the LawfulGood father approves.
* Various dialogue in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' shows that the player character is frustrated at his foster father's lack of praise and emotional reactions. However, said foster father (Daeghun Farlong) has emotional problems of his own and did spend months looking for the player character after he vanished after the battle with the king of shadows.
* There is...quite a lot of this in ''Franchise/MassEffect''. To start with, there's Garrus, whose father is a standard, by-the-book military-minded turian. Garrus feels that rules are good and all, but following them to the point of blindness will let the bad guys get away with worse stuff, so it's necessary to break the rules every once in a while. This leads to his eventually uncomfortable position as a CowboyCop on the Citadel. Then there's Tali, whose father is a member of the Admiralty Board which controls the Quarian Flotilla, and the quarian race. Accordingly, everyone expects her to bring back some massively important gift from her Pilgrimage, and she hopes that in doing so, she will get her some notice from her otherwise distant father. No pressure. And then there's Liara T'Soni, whose mother is an extremely important spiritual figure. Her mother apparently mated with another member of the same species, which is a big no-no in their culture, so she's been ostracised nearly her entire life, leading her to run away from home and go on archaeological digs in the hopes of being known for something other than being her mother's daughter. That's the ''first'' game.
** Wrex, who attended a Crush (meeting of tribes) at his father's request despite ''knowing'' that it was most likely a trap. (Granted, Wrex got to resolve his father issues by killing him, but Wrex spends the rest of his life fighting against his father's policies and beliefs, which most Krogan still share.)
** It would take way too long to list all examples from the second game. Suffice to say, there are few characters who ''aren't'' on either the giving or the receiving end of this trope to some degree.
** At the very least we have to mention Thane and [[spoiler:his son Kolyat]]. Thane's whole loyalty mission is him trying to [[spoiler:stop Kolyat from following in his footsteps and becoming an assassin, and in the end convincing his son that he was always proud of him is what really turns him away from it in the end.]] There's a reason it's called "Cat's in the Cradle."
--->'''Thane''': I've taken many bad things out of the world. You're the only good thing I ever added to it.
** Meanwhile, if you have the spacer background, [[PlayerCharacter Commander Shepard]] gets to have a nice friendly chat with his/her mother.
** [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure David Anderson]] in the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC for the second game is revealed to have this relationship with his own son due to Anderson's workaholic nature estranging him from his family.
** It may be easier to mention the characters who don't have fathers like these: [[TheHero Shepard]], due to his/her parents being either dead, absent, or [[AvertedTrope in the military themselves]], [[TokenEvilTeammate Jack]], who never knew her parents, but [[AxCrazy makes up for it in other ways]], Ashley, who was very much DaddysGirl before her father died and is more concerned with general family honor, and Kaidan, who seems to get along with his. [[LadyOfWar Samara]] and [[ProfessionalKiller Thane]] are this to their children, the rest have daddy issues except for Legion, who's a robot. This trope is lampshaded and mocked when Shepard talks with [[RobotGirl EDI]] in the third game.
-->'''Shepard''': How's your focus, EDI? Any big questions?\\
'''EDI''': No.\\
'''Shepard''': Any small questions?\\
'''EDI''': No.\\
'''Shepard''': Any lingering issues?\\
'''EDI''': About what?\\
'''Shepard''': An imperfect designer who could be seen as a warped father figure, maybe?\\
'''EDI''': ''Definitely'' not. Did something prompt this line of questioning?\\
'''Shepard''': I've just learned you have to ask about these things.
** The Geth are a race of robots who suffer from this. It turns out that the ''Quarians'' initiated the RobotWar and the Geth only fought back to defend themselves, with every time the Geth attempted to lay down arms, the Quarians took advantage of the situation by opening fire, thus leading the Geth to believe they would ''never'' back down. Despite this, they ''don't'' want to hurt them and ''still'' desperately want their creators' approval.
*** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Shepard sees a recording of a Geth in the middle of being dismantled by a Quarian engineer, desperately asking to know what they did ''wrong''? What did it do that was so terrible, you might wonder? [[spoiler: Ask if it had a ''soul''.]]
** A comic has Garrus remembering how his father taught him to shoot. This fast-forwards to his days as the Archangel on Omega to the point of his one-man stand-off against three gangs. He calls his father to have one last chat. When asked why so urgent, Garrus calmly states that there are too many targets. His father tells him to forget the final father-son conversation and gets all business about Garrus's assets and ammo, insisting that he survive so that he can come back to Palaven and talk things over. Garrus takes another look in the scope and sees the N7 logo on an armor. He tells his dad that the odds just went up before ending the call.
* ''Franchise/DragonAge'' isn't quite as...overwhelming with its parental issues (though there's no shortage of missing or dead ones). ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' has a few examples.
** Saemus Dumar, the rebellious and idealistic son of Kirkwall's SlaveToPR Viscount, is the standout.
** Aveline is the daughter of an Orlesian chevalier exiled [[DeadlyDecadentCourt when his patron was killed]]. He raised her to be a knight and sold everything they had so she could join King Cailan's army. Instead, she grew up a principled but ''very'' pragmatic soldier, and eventual City Guard.
** Sebastian was the spare to the SpareToTheThrone who tactfully describes his parents as "rather traditional". He acted out by turning into a womanizing hedonist and was given to the church in his teens to prevent further embarrassment (and any illegitimate children who could have caused a SuccessionCrisis further down the line). He ended up liking it there, but his parents and older brothers were assassinated not long after.
** Carver has feelings like this toward his father Malcolm, because - in playthroughs where he survives the prologue - he was the only one of Malcolm's children who was not a mage, so his father had no time for him. Ironically, it's revealed in the game that Malcolm never wanted to sire mage children and Carver was the son he always wanted; but he had to devote so much time to helping Hawke and Bethany learn to control their magic that he had little time left over for his non-mage boy.
** This is also hinted to be the case for Varric with his mother, Ilsa, though it's only seen if he's taken along for the quest "Night Terrors" and comes under the influence of one of the desire demons encountered.[[note]]Whether the demons will affect him depends on who the other companions present are.[[/note]] His father died when he was a baby, and he spent most of his youth taking care of his LadyDrunk mother, who treated him badly. His response to the demon's temptations is very telling, as he notes that he did everything for his family all his life but his older brother Bartrand was nevertheless the favorite.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy and TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou aside, all Bass of ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' infamy wanted was for his creator Dr. Wily to acknowledge him as his greatest creation. Sadly, with the advent of [[spoiler:Wily creating Maverick Zero and the [[TheVirus Maverick Virus]],]] Bass ''might'' be wrong.
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' has Anomen; his dad is a [[AbusiveParents bad-tempered]], [[MissingMom widowed]] [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] who thoroughly disapproves of his son's aspirations to join TheOrder of the Radiant Heart. How Anomen deals with this depend upon player choice and the PC's relationship with him. [[spoiler: Trying to win his father's approval causes Anomen to fail his test of knighthood and start SlowlySlippingIntoEvil (unless he's being romanced by a female PC, in which case he just learns to be less uptight). Refusing to put his father's wishes over his morals will cause [[IHaveNoSon his father to reject him]], but it helps Anomen become a knight and a better person. No matter what he does at first, he has to give up this trope altogether to successfully complete his romance.]]
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', after Vieri de'Pazzi is assassinated, Ezio acquires a letter where the writer informs Vieri's father Francesco that all the young man wanted was his father's attention and approval.
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' Episode I and the first bits of Episode II have M.O.M.O. obviously trying to get approval from Juri Mizrahi. [[spoiler:Since she looks so much like her big sister, Sakura, Juri is less than accepting, if not outright frightened of the girl, giving her manipulative bitch status when she told M.O.M.O. that they can live together only to keep her stabe during the Y-Data analysis. It's sad when Ziggy shows more parental love for the poor thing who went through being kidnapped, mind-raped, possibly raped for real. and helping save Second Militia. It takes Ziggy's advice and M.O.M.O. shutting down her mind to prevent Albedo from grabbing the Y-data]] to wake Juri up. By III, it seems M.O.M.O. and Juri have finally become a real family.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'':
** According to the "Meet the Sniper" video, the Sniper's [[spoiler: adopted]] parents do not care for the Sniper's career choice. He spends quite a bit of the video speaking on the phone to his unseen father, who seems to think that the Sniper's some kind of crazed gunman. [[spoiler:The "Old Wounds" comic]] reveals that they came to terms with their son's job--or, considering that [[spoiler: they've been dead for some time and the Sniper died the Medic's operating table when he "met" them in "Heaven"]], this may be the Sniper indulging in some wishful thinking. This ends up becoming an IdiotBall of epic proportions when it turns out [[spoiler: the Sniper's biological parents]] are pure evil: the father created the world's first successful spaceship by destroying his own city and using one ton of Australium as PAINT, and the mother's a bickering alcoholic. The Sniper puts his blind faith in them anyway, even [[spoiler: while they're leaving him to die at the bottom of the ocean]].
*** Granted, a later issue confirm Heaven (and Hell exists), so it appears that Sniper's vision may be genuine.
** The Demoman's mother, on the other hand, disapproves of the fact that he only works three jobs and hasn't yet rid himself of more than a single eye because she knows that he'll eventually be blinded in the line of duty and unable to work.
---> '''Mama Degroot''': Mark me, Boy! No Demoman worth his sulfur has had an eye in his head past thirty!
** {{Fanon}} says that the Soldier's issues are because of an overbearing (if not outright abusive) father (supplementary material states that the Blu Soldier has the real name of "[[GenderBlenderName Jane]] Doe", and while he is enough of a CloudCuckoolander to think that this is a brilliant pseudonym, this also could be a "Boy Named Sue" sort of situation), whereas the Scout's are because of a lack of stable male role models in ''his'' life.
*** The Scout thing is a confirmed but really complicated one: [[spoiler: In the latest issue of the comic, the Scout, revealed to be named Jeremy, is dying and the Spy (in the [[MakesSenseInContext guise of Tom Jones]] reveals that he ''is'' Scout's biological father.]] Scout has been hinted at having serious issues with Spy due to the Spy being intimate with his mom. [[spoiler: Given how he's had dreams and possible suspicions of the Spy being his dad, there's possibly a part of Scout that wants Spy to accept him, but is also barred by their personalities clashing and the fact that Spy ''did'' run out on him when he was born.]]
* Mondo Zax of ''VideoGame/WildStar'' had a terrible, terrible childhood, being [[TheRuntAtTheEnd the #13 of 13 children,]] tiny, and constantly looked over by his father. The mysterious disappearances of all 12 of his siblings [[BlatantLies (which he had no part of)]] was helpful in trying to get his attention, but unfortunately, "a heated argument over engineering principles led to a familial schism between the two - one that was left unresolved when Mondo's father was inexplicably vaporized during a routine bot recalibration."[[note]]From the official [=WildStar=] [[http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/news/mondo_zax_and_victor_lazarin.php blog post]] about Mondo Zax and Victor Lazarin.[[/note]]
* Luke from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has this sort of feelings towards [[spoiler:Van]] till the end of the game, even after [[spoiler:discovering his true intentions]]. He manages to outlive it though, finding his reason to live.
--> '''Luke''': I finally understand what it is I wanted. I wanted you to acknowledge me. To accept me as [[spoiler:a human being, not a replica.]]\\
'''[[spoiler:Van]]''': Yes. And you have become a [[spoiler:human being.]]\\
'''Luke''': ...But that's not enough.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': Bowser Jr. will do anything to make his father proud. However, it's a downplayed example, as [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosBowser Bowser]] is already extremely proud of his son, and he knows it; he just wants to ''keep'' making his dad proud.
* ''VideoGame/PonyIsland'': Satan has a fit of rage when you cheat, revealing he is secretly desperate to win his [[GodOfGood father's praise]].
* Several conversations in ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' suggest that Pharah's relationship with her missing mother Ana is somewhere between this and CallingTheOldManOut.
--> '''Mercy''': Your mother always wanted you to follow in her footsteps.\\
'''Pharah''': She did? Funny, she never mentioned that to me...\\
\\
'''Soldier 76''': Your mother would have been proud of you.\\
'''Pharah''': ''(dryly)'' You didn't know my mother very well, then.
** [[spoiler:It turns out that Pharah's bitterness was actually towards Overwatch itself for turning her mother into a ShellShockedVeteran. Ana is proud of what Pharah's become but never wanted her to become a soldier like herself. Pharah knows this, so her mother's colleagues saying otherwise rubs her the wrong way.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' has this in some of its social links.
** Kanji reveals near the end of his social link that he'd been haunted by one of the last things his father said before he died -- that as a man, he has to be strong. Kanji, ashamed of his interest in and talent for handicrafts, gradually turned to dying his hair and acting as a {{Delinquent}} out of a false belief that it was what his father had in mind, but eventually came to realize that true strength lies in the courage to be himself.
** Shu Nakajima, a student the player character can tutor, is an exceptional student, and his mother often brags about him. Unfortunately, this leads him to conclude that the only way he can be connected with her is if he does well at school, so when a transfer student shows up and threatens his spot as the top student in the class, Shu is threatened enough to [[spoiler:cheat on a test]]. After an explosive argument with his mother, the two apologize and vow to start over as a family after talking through their issues.
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' has a variation on this with the Niijima sisters: Sae is both Makoto's older sister and legal guardian, the latter occurring due to their father dying in the line of duty. Makoto works hard in order to lighten the burden on Sae, so she's greatly upset when Sae, in a fit of anger, calls her a burden. [[spoiler:It later turns out that Sae is secretly jealous of Makoto's strong will and ability to fight for what she believes to be right]].
** A more tragic example is [[spoiler:Goro Akechi, the wunderkind detective who's secretly working as TheDragon for BigBad Masayoshi Shido. Goro reveals to the party in Shido's dungeon that he's his illegitimate son, and all of the horrifying things he has done for Shido -- mostly involving driving his political opponents insane - was done as a part of a grand scheme that would end with him humiliating his father by revealing his parentage to the public. However, as revealed by [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness a cognitive shadow of Goro -- a double representing how Shido sees him as a disposable puppet]] - deep down, he's also helping him because he wants to desperately be recognized by him as his son, to almost histrionic degrees.]]
* Zelda in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' was treated rather strictly by her father, who wanted her to put off the more scholarly and archaeological pursuits she preferred and focus on unlocking the RoyaltySuperPower that would let her defeat Calamity Ganon. [[spoiler:His methods may have actually hindered her from doing so even more than if he had simply let her be herself, but Zelda nonetheless tearfully blames herself when he, the Champions, and everyone in Hyrule Castle get killed by an unimpeded Ganon.]]
* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, as revealed in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', this is a trait of Nocturnal, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of [[TheSacredDarkness Darkness and the Night]] who is also associated with Thieves and Luck. Toward both her Nightingale servants and toward all thieves in general, she is described as a mother that offers little praise but always pushes you to do better. She is also very much a SinkOrSwimMentor, and while she does seem to care about her followers, she will not offer any sort of direct DivineIntervention if they get in over their heads.
* In ''VideoGame/{{God of War|PS4}}'' Atreus tries to desperately prove his worth to his father the series-established badass Kratos, which is already a tall order in of itself. Deconstructed however when over time, as Kratos continues to be harsh, often condescending and even seemingly (albeit unintentionally) abandoning his son for a period of time, Atreus starts to seriously question why he should impress such a jerk of a father.
* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' has [[CheerfulChild Lancer]], who shows great admiration for his father from his very first appearance, claiming how he wants his dad to make him "son of the month!" [[spoiler: It's too bad his dad isn't [[AbusiveParents nearly]] [[ParentalNeglect as loving.]]]]
* Nero in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' wants to prove himself to his TricksterMentor Dante and takes it very personally when Dante calls him "dead weight" and seems to push Nero away every time Nero wants to prove him wrong, only fueling Nero's sense of inadequacy and hurt pride since he had lost the Yamato that Dante entrusted to him. On the flip side, Dante knows that [[spoiler: Urizen is actually a part of Vergil, Nero's father]] and constantly tries to distance Nero away because of it. His attempts to shoo Nero away and even criticize V's decision to involve Nero are [[CruelToBeKind all done to protect Nero from the truth.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr.'': Brisco gets his "Well Done, Son!" moment after an encounter with the ghost of his father (who was murdered in the first episode of the series).
* ''Series/AgainstTheWall'': Has both Donnie and Abby searching for ways to gain their father's approval and pride during different parts of the show. Abby, in particular, has a strained relationship with her senior uniform-cop father since joining the InternalAffairs division as a detective.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Wesley goes through the same rigamarole with what turns out to be his father's [[EvilTwin Evil Imposter]]. But the impersonation was perfect, because Wesley's real father ''is'' that bad -- both as a father and as a ruthless asshole. It was previously mentioned that he locked Wesley under the stairs. And let's not forget their phone conversation in ''Angel'' season 2; Wes calls up his dad, hoping for his approval now that he's become the leader of Angel Investigations, but dear ol' Dad only cares about when, what, and how he'll screw up next.
** Angel himself clearly feels this about his strict father. One of the first things he did after becoming a vampire was to kill his father, thinking this would prove who had the real power. Darla points out that because Angel killed him, his father would ''never'' be able to approve of him.
** In "[[Recap/AngelS01E11Somnambulist Somnambulist]]", Angelus later sired an enthusiastic but unimaginative protege named Penn who re-enacted the murder of his family over the centuries over the issue.
** In a deliberate parallel to Angel, Kate Lockley is implied to have had a strained relationship with her father. While not a cruel man, her father never showed her any approval or affection after her mother died -- Kate recalls that as a child, she found more parental affection in the mother of one of her girlfriends. Her father never even told her "a beautiful lie" (ie: Heaven) to comfort her after her mother's death. It's implied that she became a policewoman to follow in his footsteps, but rarely received more than curt acknowledgment from him.
*** The Sensitivity Training Guy with his magic stick causes her to have a breakdown and express her feelings about this at his retirement party. He finds this deeply embarrassing and files it under 'We Shall Never Speak Of This Again.' Later he dies without ever having formally approved of her. This is not in the least Angel's fault, for once, but it involves vampires and puts the final nail in the coffin of his friendship with Kate until After The Fall.
*** The former episode throws in a weird perspective on Angel's issues re: this trope. This is before the flashback, but Sensitivity Training Guy says "tell me about your parents" and ''Angel'' snarls "They were delicious." Sounds like the kind of smack he talks when trying to scare bad guys and actually seems to lower the probability that he killed them, but then it turns out he ''did'', and can make ''jokes'' about it. Sick puppy even at his best.
* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'':
** Michael is constantly trying to get his father -- who tried to "toughen him up" by shouting down ''all'' his ideas -- to recognize his accomplishments, while GOB is sick of being in Michael's shadow. Michael gets his father's approval (although it would have been a more touching moment if he weren't on the lam) but GOB doesn't and doesn't deserve to.
** Michael is so busy trying to save the family company and get his father's approval that he doesn't notice his own son's attempts to gain his approval.
** With Tobias so focused on his acting dream, his wife Lindsay being a SpoiledBrat, and them being preoccupied with their own rocky relationship, they sometimes forget they have a teenaged daughter Maeby... And Maeby notices.
--->'''Maeby''': ''(trying to get her parents to notice her)'' Here are the fake airline tickets. If they don't see this, I really might go to South America.\\
'''George Michael''': That says 'Portugal'.\\
'''Maeby''': ''(oblivious)'' That's right.\\
'''Narrator''': Maeby's parents didn't see the tickets.
* In ''Series/AuctionKings'', Elijah learns the auction business at his dad's request. Jon also tends towards this, but not towards his dad, but rather Paul.
* ''Series/Batman1966'': Legs in "The Greatest Mother of them All"/"Ma Parker."
* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'':
** Flashbacks in the finale revealed that Dr. Gaius Baltar, resident narcissistic genius, not only tried to overcome his shame of having been born on a farm planet as son of a farmer, but had taken his old senile father with him to Caprica and secretly visited him every day, desperately trying to please the cranky old man.
** The show also features the less common mother-daughter variant of this trope, when Kara Thrace goes to see her mother [[spoiler: after earning her commission as a Colonial officer - the first in her family to do so - only to be berated for not graduating higher in her class]]. The fact that her mother was frequently abusive during her childhood in the belief that Kara had a [[BecauseDestinySaysSo "special destiny"]] means their relationship was already....''strained''.
* ''Series/BeringSeaGold'': At the end of season 3, Steve Pomrenke finally congratulates his son Shawn for his improved gold-catching performance that year, in spite of their normally contentious relationship.
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
** Leonard wants his mother's (near impossible to receive) approval and affection. He's not at all helped in this area by the fact she's more likely to thank his roommate for picking her up from the airport when Leonard is the one driving and she views Leonard's (actually very complex) work as the embodiment of laziness and ripping off others (he works in designing experiments to test hypotheses and validating experiments, which is an extremely important part of science -- laziness is coming up with something on the drawing board and thinking you're done without having proved it). To a lesser extent, Penny has some Daddy approval issues, feeling the need to lie to him about still dating Leonard (the only one of her boyfriends he's ever approved of) and feels like he less accepting of her because she's not a boy and rejects a lot of the tomboy activities she was involved with as a child. Although it's implied that she overblows it a bit and compared to her siblings (who from what we know from mentioned [[NoodleIncident noodle incidents]] include a brother that makes meth and a sister that once shot her husband) she might just be the golden girl of the family.
** It also does not help that Leonard's mother is a DistaffCounterpart of [[InsufferableGenius Sheldon]], making any form of emotional reciprocation practically impossible or done in a way that Leonard did not expect.
* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'': Frankie Stecchino. One episode even revolved around him faking a love of wrestling just to bond with his father.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Though they're only father and son on a more symbolic level, [[VillainProtagonist Walt]] can be this for Jesse. He has complimented Jesse all of once, and that was to say that his meth is as good as Walt's. It was enough to get Jesse to partner up with him again. Basically, anytime Walter compliments Jesse, especially in later seasons, it's nothing more than a [[ManipulativeBastard manipulation tactic]] to keep Jesse on his side.
* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': Amy Santiago has an obsessive need for approval from Captain Holt, which is often [[PlayedForLaughs played for laughs]] as she goes to great lengths to impress him.
** Amy's partner Jake Peralta is also desperate for fatherly approval - early in the series, he wants it from his own father, but after Roger Peralta resurfaces and turns out to be a pretty terrible person, Jake becomes increasingly interested in winning Captain's Holt's approval. In the last episode of season 3, Holt calls him 'son', which Jake is very happy about.
* ''Series/TheCloser'': Whenever Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson delivers a rare compliment, whichever member of PHD is being complimented lights up like a supernova.
* ''Series/TheColbertReport'':
** Stephen Colbert makes occasional vague references such as "the fathers we can never seem to please." His need for paternal approval appears to have been mostly displaced onto substitutes such as "Papa Bear" Creator/BillOReilly.
** Ironic since Colbert fears and hates bears -- a hint at the [[AlterEgoActing actor's]] real opinion of Bill.
* ''Series/CombatHospital'': Has trauma surgeon Major Rebecca Gordon, who accuses ''herself'' of daddy issues in a group therapy session.
* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
** Pierce Hawthorne is shown to have behavioral issues due to never receiving acceptance from his father.
** Jeff, too, has several trust issues stemming from his DisappearedDad.
* Subverted on ''Series/CornerGas''. The one and only time Oscar Leroy praises his son, Brent is simply creeped out by [[GrumpyOldMan his father]] acting so out-of-character.
* The female version occurs in ''Series/TheCrown2016''. Phillip sarcastically suggests that Elizabeth only puts up with the grueling duties of Queen to make her father love her as much as Margaret. This clearly struck a nerve in Elizabeth.
* Will had this with his father to the point that an originally awesome scene in ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' drove him to break down and deliver [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgkqTFasfmA this]] heartbreaking moment between him and Uncle Phil.
* ''Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart'': One segment of "Even Steven" concerning the Elián González debacle dealt with Steve Carell's daddy issues. In a weird reversal, considering the aforementioned ''[[Series/TheColbertReport Colbert Report]]'' example, Stephen Colbert roleplayed as Carell's father.
** And in ''Series/TheDailyShowWithTrevorNoah'', Ronny Cheng has... a number of issues that come to light in a segment on Virtual Reality.
--->'''Trevor''': Oh man, Ronnie, it sounds like nothing's good enough for you, man.\\
'''Ronny''': Yeah, I know. Now I know how my dad feels, am I right? (''Forced laughter'')
* ''Series/DeadliestCatch'': Captain Phil with his sons, Jake and Josh; Captain Jonathan with his son, Scotty; the captains in general to the greenhorns.
** Sig outright said he considers Jake Anderson as his son.
** Subverted in Season 6 King Crab with Wild Bill's son, Zack Larson, though it got better as Zack Larson is on the ''Kodiak'' for Season 7. Season 8 revealed that Bill didn't think he was pulling his weight, though Zack's tweets seemed to indicate he didn't see anything unusual about it (or at least didn't consider it to be "yelling").
*** Wild Bill: "Zack's a great kid, he just has no balls". Considering Wild Bill's dad was a ''[[DrillSergeantNasty Marine drill sergeant]]'' who was so scary that young Bill would leave as soon as he got home, Bill's concern for his son -- who he didn't even want to become a crabber -- is positively cuddly. The other captains chime in that their dads were the same (with the addition that their dads would tell everyone ''but'' their kids how proud they were of them), although grandfathers tended to be pretty cool.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter has shades of this. His obsessive perfection of his pitching aim is due to bubbling anger over losing his parents so early on in his childhood. This trope is even in play for Dex's relationship with Wilson Fisk. At the start of Season 3, Dex is bullying Fisk and treating him with disdain. By the end, before their relationship sours, Dex is treating him like a father he fears disappointing.
* ''Series/DeathInParadise'': Humphrey Goodman. Humphrey's father is convinced that Humphrey is wasting his life playing a game of cops-and-robbers instead of becoming a barrister like him (and his brother). In "Unlike Father, Unlike Son", Humphrey's father comes to the island to convince him to come back home to England for his ex-wife, Sally. Finally having had enough, Humphrey tells his father that he is a very good detective and that he is happier on Saint Marie than then he ever was in England and is staying there. After watching his son solve the case, Humphrey's father realises he is happy for him to remain in Saint Marie.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'':
** Debra Morgan had this kind of relationship with her father Harry, even following in his footsteps as a cop to gain his attention. It's not that he wasn't proud of her, but honing her brother Dexter's [[SerialKillerKiller extra-curricular activities]] (to which Deb wasn't invited for obvious reasons) meant that he couldn't spend as much time with his daughter.
** Likewise with [[spoiler:Christine Hill]], the daughter of [[spoiler:Arthur Mitchell/Trinity]]. She even killed [[spoiler:Frank Lundy]] to gain her father's approval. After she accidentally put him at risk of being discovered, he disowns her. [[DrivenToSuicide She doesn't take it well]].
** Dexter, too. Everything was to live up to Harry's expectations. When he realizes that a) Harry was using him as an outlet for his own vigilante impulses and b) Harry was deeply revolted by what he'd made him into, to the point of suicide, he...takes it pretty hard.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Rory seemed to have a mild case of this with his father Brian Williams, as seen in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". While Brian clearly loved his son, their banter during the episode implied that Brian thought Rory wasn't "manly" enough (didn't carry a trowel in his pockets, was a professional nurse). He also implied that Amy was a better wife than Rory deserved. During the course of the episode, as Brian is accidentally whisked along into one of his son's adventures with the Doctor, he starts to respect Rory more.
* The ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey'' episode "The Day of the Mum" featured Damian's mother, along with home movies of his childhood. It quickly becomes apparent that his FreudianExcuse for being a {{Jerkass}} obsessed with fame is getting ''some'' kind of acknowledgement from a woman whose CatchPhrase is "Ignore him, he's just doing it to get attention."
* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'': Played with in the case of Joan Watson and her mother. She shows hints of this which Sherlock is quick to point out she's dressing for a job interview rather than a brunch with her mother. Subverted in that Joan's mother isn't criticizing her current job occupation because it's not as respectable as a surgeon but because it doesn't make Joan happy. Joan's mother is actually glad that Joan is working with Sherlock because this ''does'' make her happy.
* ''Series/ForThePeople'' has Leonard Knox trying to live up to the standards of his high-profile US Senator mother.
* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': The relationship between Frasier, Niles and Martin has echoes of this; much of Frasier and Niles' SiblingRivalry exists as a result of their attempts to gain Martin's favour, which given the near-insurmountable differences in taste and personality between father and sons to begin with, was a difficult task in itself.
* There are a couple in ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** It's implied that Sam Tarly had this relationship with his father Randyll, [[spoiler:at least before he threatened to kill him if he didn't renounce being his heir and join the Night's Watch]].
** Robert Baratheon to Joffrey, [[spoiler:despite, of course, unknowingly not being his biological father]] is a tragic and twisted example in that many of the atrocities Joffrey commits are actually done in a misguided attempt to gain his father's love and respect. Attempting to act tough and manly and instead actually being monstrous is trying to live up to what he believed to be Robert's standards.
** Balon Greyjoy to Theon. Theon's quest for his father's respect drives him to extremes in Season 2 that completely alienate him from the Starks, only for him to realize too late that the man he should have been trying to emulate was Ned Stark.
** Tywin Lannister to Jaime, Cersei and Tyrion, who all seek validation from him that he always fails to provide, instead being quick to highlight their shortcomings, much to their chagrin. Tyrion has a heartbreaking expression when Tywin tells him he's sending him to King's Landing as his substitute because, "You're my son." In the books, he's furious with Tywin instead, assuming this means that Tywin is giving Jaime up for dead and is making Tyrion his ReplacementGoldfish. This is seen again with Tyrion in the third season premiere when he wants Tywin to acknowledge his successes as Hand of the King and officially name Tyrion the heir to Casterly Rock. Not only does Tywin deny him both but he gives Tyrion a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech instead. However, [[spoiler:Jaime and Tyrion get over it by the time Tywin presides over a [[KangarooCourt sham trial]] of Tyrion for Joffrey's murder.]]
--> '''Tywin''': ''[to Jaime]'' You are blessed with many abilities few men possess...and what have you done with these blessings, eh? You served as a glorified bodyguard to two kings. One a madman, the other a drunk.\\
'''Tywin''': ''[to Tyrion]'' You are a low-born, ill-made, spiteful little creature filled with envy, lust, and low cunning.\\
'''Tywin''': ''[to Cersei]'' I don't distrust you because you are a woman. I distrust you because you are not as smart as you think you are.
** Roose Bolton to his BastardBastard Ramsay Snow, both so that Ramsay can get rid of the stain of being called a "bastard" and because he genuinely cares what his father thinks of him. [[spoiler:Eventually, after the capture of Moat Cailin, Roose gives him a "Well Done, Son!" moment by having him legitimized as Ramsay Bolton, during which Ramsay looks like a kid at Christmas.]]
* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'': Variation: Lorelai has long since resigned herself to never earning the respect of her MeddlingParents, though she's pleasantly surprised to finally get it from her father after she helps him set up his new business. In a total reversal, though, she's actually ''[[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame horrified]]'' whenever she earns the respect of her mother.
* ''Series/{{The George Lopez Show}}'': When George and Angie decide to kick Jason out of the house (Their Daughter's then Boyfriend) for his steroid filled anger, George tells his father, only to find out his Father was the one who encouraged Jason to take the drug. Jason returned and comes clean, saying that it was the only way to earn any respect from his father. George relented saying that if even this wasn't enough to gain that recognition, then nothing will.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'':
** Kurt, especially in "Preggers" and "Laryngitis."
** Blaine too. In "Sexy", he mentions to Kurt's father (who at this point has a healthy, supportive, relationship with his son) that he isn't exactly close with his father, and that he felt the reason his father once had him help rebuild a car was because his father thought it would make him straight.
* ''Series/GossipGirl'': Chuck Bass.
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
** Both Mohinder Suresh and Elle Bishop have seeking the approval of their fathers as their driving motivation. Mohinder is try to prove the theories of his deceased father, while Elle's father sends her out to kill people for him.
** For all of his wacky murderous brain-stealing shenanigans, it seems all Sylar really wanted from life was the approval of his parents. Then again Sylar has a ''lot'' of problems, obviously. So he could have either mommy issues, daddy issues, neither, or both. Though in the past few episodes he has apparently developed his dead mother's personality, going so far as to shapeshift into her (and use her voice) when he's talking to ''himself''. Clever camera angles make this hard to determine but when he's with another character [[spoiler: Michah]] the camera shows him change back and forth. Creeeeeepy.
** Mohinder and Sylar twitted one another about their daddy issues back in season two. Specifically vis-a-vis Chandra Suresh, whom Sylar had temporarily adopted as a surrogate father figure.
* ''Series/{{House}}'':
** In the episode "Son of Coma Guy", House reveals that all he wanted to hear from his abusive, non-biological father were the words, "You were right. You did the right thing."
** Additionally, Chase fulfills the trope to the extent that a UK advertising campaign for the show used "What price approval?" as his tagline. In typical Housian fashion, he finally got it as he was being fired.
*** Chase had issues with his own biological father, who left him when he was a kid and never voiced any approval of him. He did not even tell Chase he was dying of cancer, and it is speculated this caused Chase's need to get approval from House at any cost.
* ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'':
** When his parents were coming to the House, Alfie was desperate to make them think he was smart and important, even pretending to be the nonexistent "head of house". [[WhyAreYouNotMySon Unfortunately, his dad and Jerome hit it off, leaving Alfie with none of the spotlight or praise.]]
** Victor is a tragic, but then heartwarming, example, and this serves as a bit of a FreudianExcuse. His father [[AbusiveParents was cold and unloving, forcing him to betray his own best friend Sarah Frobisher-Smythe in order for him to get the Cup of Ankh and the elixir of life recipe.]] Victor spent his adulthood trying to fulfill his father's goal, and reacted very defensively to any criticisms about him as well. His father, at this point, was long dead. When Nina met his father's ghost and managed to make an ally of him, his father eventually told Nina to pass along the message, along with a ring [[spoiler:containing the final tear of gold that Victor had been trying to acquire the entire season.]]
---> '''Victor Rodenmaar Senior''': Tell my worthless son...I'm sorry. And that I was the worthless one after all.
** Eddie also seems to be an example. Despite initially rejecting and despising Mr. Sweet for abandoning him years ago without reason or contact, when they start trying to be father and son, it was revealed that Eddie used to write him letters, and it seemed the main reason he was so angry was because he was under the impression that he was never wanted at all. [[WellDoneDadGuy Mr. Sweet also seems to have been desperate for his respect as well.]]
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'':
** It was revealed that the six words Robin wants to hear her dad say are "Robin, I'm proud of you, [[CanadaEh eh]]."
** This is a huge issue of Barney's, as multiple episodes show, most notably "Showdown" and "Cleaning House", and he doesn't even know who his father is. And now that he has met his father, after getting radically worse, he may actually be getting better.
* ''Series/ICarly'': Spencer Shay in during the episode ''iHire An Idiot'', but with his grandfather.
* ''Series/IronFist2017'':
** In Season 1, Ward clearly wants to be treated as something more than a minion by his father, and resents that he dotes far more on Danny than him.
** A flashback in Season 2 shows that Davos desperately wanted his mother's approval, who shunned him [[spoiler:after he lost the duel with Danny.]]
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': Lieutenant Williams in "Desert Son" feels that his father has always considered him a failure. What's worse, is he's right, and his father's low opinion of him is well-founded.
* ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'':
** Bobby Goren is this with his mother, even though he knows she's incapable of being rational. It's only on his mother's deathbed that he realizes [[spoiler:he was the product of an affair with a man who later violently assaulted his mother]] and that that's a large part of the reason that he was TheUnfavorite growing up (to her because of his connection to her attacker, and to his "father" because he knew Bobby wasn't his son), and realizing that he never had a chance of getting the approval he craved started him on a downward spiral.
** Zach Nichols with his father. It's particularly difficult for him because he grew up being adored and spoiled, only to seriously disappoint his parents (especially his father) with his choice of career. When they encounter each other in "Three-in-One", Nichols Senior tries to be polite, but he can't fully bite his tongue on the subject of his disapproval, and they come to a head, with Zach finally confronting his father about the proverbial elephant in the room. And then, for what's implied to be the first time in years, his father praises him and agrees to a change in tactics, and they make a huge breakthrough in the case as a result of their newfound ability to cooperate. The final scene between them (also [[PutOnABus Nichols' last on the show]]) is an awesome moment for the formerly-estranged father and son.
--->'''Dr. Nichols''': You know, in therapy, when we've had a really good session, we jokingly say, "today, we've been to Lourdes."\\
'''Zach''': Meaning you've achieved a miracle cure? \\
'''Dr. Nichols''': No, just meaning it was a very good session. But I believe it may be that...you and I have been to Lourdes.\\
'''Zach''': Should I take that as...approval?\\
'''Dr. Nichols''': Don't presume. (''Clears throat'') Don't presume.\\
(''Dr. Nichols smiles. Zach smiles back.'')
* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' has a non-comedic mother-son case in Rafael Barba, who at one point describes his mother's faith and high hopes for Barba's childhood friend. Then he notes, with some bitterness: "She never said that about me."
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
** Jack's father, Christian, has, in his own words "sacrificed certain elements of [his] relationship" with Jack in order to mold Jack into a great surgeon. An emotional conversation in which Sawyer relays Christian's last thoughts about his son to Jack gives him some closure...but it's not until the series finale that [[spoiler:Jack encounters his father in the "flash-sideways," subsequently revealed to be the afterlife, and they have their true reunion]].
** Jack almost follows in his father's footsteps when dealing with his own son, David...except [[spoiler:David doesn't exist and is a creation of Jack's afterlife used to help him with his father issues]].
* ''Series/{{Luther}}'': In addition to the relatively normal tactic of serving in the military to follow in his father's footsteps, the killer in the second episode is so desperate for his father's approval that when the latter, behind bars for killing a cop, orders him to embark on a terror campaign against the police to get him released, he obeys without question.
* ''Series/MadMen'':
** May as well be subtitled "How our horrible childhoods have ruined our adult lives". Exhibit A: Walking inferiority complex Pete Campbell, whose father died in a plane crash before giving Pete the validation he craves. By season five, it's clear that no matter how high Pete rises at the agency, he's never going to feel he gets the respect he's owed.
** Exhibit B: Peggy Olsen busts her back trying to get Don Draper to say things like, "Good work, Peggy", or "I'm proud of you." Eventually, his failure to do so leads to [[spoiler:her leaving Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce entirely]]... which may have actually been necessary before [[spoiler:he finally could say it, in the season 5 finale]]. This is a doubly-rare case: it crosses gender lines (the approval-seeker is a different gender from the one she's seeking approval from - and, to Mad Men's credit, they never even bat an eye at that aspect) ''and'' the approval-seeker isn't genetically related to the "father" figure at all (but she definitely considers him a mentor, and says so when she's [[spoiler:giving notice from SCDP]]).
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': Margaret Houlihan seeks validation from her distant father.
** Father Mulcahy starts to get elements of this when he finds out a Cardinal will be visiting the 4077th, to the point where he becomes obsessed and starts snapping at everyone. He's suitably humbled when a patient's predicament reminds him how comparatively small his problem is. In his sermon the following morning, he freely admits that it was this trope that was causing him to lash out.
--->'''Mulcahy''': I want to tell you about two men. Each facing his own crisis. The first man you know rather well. The second is a patient here. Well, the first man thought he was facing a crisis. But what he was really doing was trying to impress someone. He was looking for recognition, encouragement, a pat on the back. And whenever that recognition seemed threatened he reacted rather childishly. Blamed everyone for his problems but himself because he was thinking only of himself.
*** This sermon is immediately followed by the cardinal hugging him, [[ExactWords patting him on the back]], and praising him as "a tough act to follow".
* ''Series/MediciMastersOfFlorence'': Piero de Medici is like this, eager to prove himself to his father and take a larger role in the family bank and civic politics. This is baffling to Cosimo de Medici, who had to be forced to become a banker and kingmaker.
* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'': Throughout the series, Arthur (yes, [[KingArthur that]] Arthur) attempts to gain his father's approval, frequently risking his life in order to impress him/follow orders. His success is decidedly mixed. Uther may not show it overtly, but he loves Arthur, and willingly risks his own life several times to save him, such as drugging Arthur and taking his place in a duel with an undead knight. And if you're wondering, he did that because the undead knight could not be defeated and would cut down anyone in his way to kill Uther (then and only then would he go away), and unless Uther took his place, Arthur was the one in the way.
* ''Series/MockTheWeek'': Parodied in a "Scenes We'd Like To See" round. "I've just climbed Mount Everest without any food or survival gear. ({{Beat}}) NOW DO YOU LOVE ME, DADDY?!"
* ''Series/ModernFamily'': Phil is sometimes seen wondering why Jay does not like him. He is also sometimes seen having to remind Jay of the few manly things he does. For example, in the episode "The Kiss", as one of the running plots, Phil attempts to fix Jay's printer with the hopes of impressing him. When it finally does get fixed, Phil consistently reminds Jay of it in subsequent episodes when Jay calls Phil's manhood into question.
* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'':
** Dr. Julia Ogden was determined to become a medical doctor (a woman in late Victorian Toronto!) like her father, but she had to go against his wishes. Julia believes he favoured her younger sister Ruby. However, after his death Julia learns from people of Toronto's upper class society that he was very proud of her many accomplishments.
** John Brackenreid craves his father's approval, and usually he gets it because he's a pretty great son and his father, Inspector Thomas Brackenreid, is a pretty great guy. Seen in episodes when John pursues amateur theatre (both the son and the father are major theatre enthusiasts), plays football (soccer) and his father is their coach, or when he gets drunk for the first time (the Inspector is a heavy drinker, but advises John not to drown his youth in alcohol) or when John decides to become a cop like his father. His parents try to make him quit, but John persists. Inspector then compliments him and says he's not that surprised because John is as stubborn as his mother.
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'':
** Tony. So. Much. When he's not being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, his desperate need to impress [[BigBrotherMentor Gibbs]] makes him almost TheWoobie.
** Tony's real dad appears in an episode originally aired in January 2009. Yes, ''that'' Dad -- the one who [[spoiler:left him in Maui by himself for a week when he was a child.]] By the end of the episode, it's fairly clear that while Tony nevertheless loves his father and would still like his approval, he doesn't need it as badly as he once did because he has Gibbs.
** In season nine episode "The Penelope Papers" it is revealed [[spoiler:that [=McGee=] has almost exactly same issues with his own father.]] It has also been made painfully clear that Ziva was brought up with an authoritarian father, seeking his approval.
* Don Eppes of ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' has moments of this, especially early on in the series, though it's clear from an outsider's perspective how much his father loves him. It's pretty strongly suggested that the amount of attention his parents devoted to Charlie's genius has led Don to believe (wrongly) that he's TheUnfavorite.
** Colby also seems to be this with Don, especially when he feels like he's let Don down. Just look at the smile on his face in "Thirteen" when Don calls him "brother" and tells him he's approved his request to stay.
** Megan Reeves also suggests that she was once this with her father. Unfortunately, it seems he never did give her the validation she craved, leading to a lot of hurt and resentment.
* ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'': Even after her death, it's very clear that everything Del does is because he wants to make his Mum proud.
* ''Series/PennyDreadful'': Peter Murray, son of Sir Malcolm and a sickly child, undertakes an expedition to Africa with his father only to win his approval and recognition as a man. [[spoiler:He dies of dysentery in the Congo.]]
* ''Series/PerfectStrangers'': Larry ends up [[LockedInAFreezer locked in a flooding basement]] trying to prompt his father to for once say, "Well done, son," as something other than the response to "How would you like your steak?" [[spoiler:When Larry is able to engineer their escape, his father enthusiastically congratulates him: "[[SoProudOfYou Well done, son!]]"]]
* The ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' series has several characters who are out to impress their fathers and/or close relatives.
** ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'': Wes Collins and both his [[MeddlingParents controlling father]] and his AlwaysSomeoneBetter [[IdenticalGrandson Identical Descendant]] Alex.
** ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'': Shane and his brother. (Funny that {{superhero}}es would need so much validation.)
** ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'': RJ and his dad, who's disappointed he didn't follow family tradition and become a Shark-style Pai Zhua master. (RJ's still a master, he just went with Wolf-style instead.)
** ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'': Scott and Flynn, with Scott's brother being AlwaysSomeoneBetter and Flynn's dad not thinking much of his [[WideEyedIdealist Wide-Eyed Idealism]]. The latter is resolved in Flynn's flashback episode, while the former is an ongoing thread in the series.
** ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'': In a villainous version, [[spoiler:both Vrak and Vekar do all sorts of schemes to destroy and conquer Earth -- all in the name of impressing their father, Emperor Mavro.]]
* ''Series/{{Psych}}'':
** Shawn appears to have spent most of his life either trying to live up to his strict, not-easily impressed father Henry's expectations or actively rebelling against Henry's attempts to mold him. For his part, Henry isn't exactly shy about letting Shawn know when he's disappointed with him. Henry even arrested at least once.
** [[CharacterDevelopment This has changed]] over time: Henry and Shawn have a much better relationship and have shown a great respect for each other.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': SubvertedTrope in the episode "Better Than Life", when Rimmer reflects he never heard his father say he was proud of him, before entering the titular LotusEaterMachine. In the fantasy world he is an incredibly popular and successful figure, but when his father appears, it's to fulfill the Cat's fantasy of hearing him call Rimmer a total smeghead. It's after this point that Rimmer's subconscious rebels against him and converts the fantasy world into a horrible nightmare. Subverted again in the episode "The Beginning", when Rimmer learns [[spoiler: that his father is actually the gardener]], and is [[EpiphanyTherapy instantly freed of the crushing weight of expectations upon him]].
* Series/TheRanch: Both Colt and Rooster long for their father's approval.
* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Jason Neville's relationship with his father Tom Neville is...dysfunctional. In the episode "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E13TheSongRemainsTheSame The Song Remains The Same]]", Jason asked his father, "What'd I do wrong? I did everything you asked me to. I hurt people. Killed people. For you." The sad thing is that before the blackout, their relationship was happy and normal, as shown in a flashback in "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E5SoulTrain Soul Train]]".
* ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'': Taken to {{tearjerker}} levels whenever the {{drag queen}}s talk about less-than-accepting parents, especially fathers. It can lead to a heartwarming moment when a queen's father (especially if formerly estranged) sends a supportive video message.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'':
** Many stories relate to J.D.'s need to have Dr. Cox (his mentor and father figure, since his actual father was never there for him) say he's proud of him...no matter how many times he already has.
** Also, in one episode, Turk pined after Dr. Cox's acceptance.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Lex's (arguably) main reason for becoming evil is the fact his father never gave him any credit. So one of the richest men in the world, who created an [[spoiler: army of clones, studied spaceships and had a prison for superhumans]], was unhappy, ''all because his father (Lionel) wouldn't say "Well done, son."'' And then he [[spoiler:kills Lionel in Season 7.]] Talk about messed up.
** Considering what kind of father he had, that last action makes a whole lot of sense.
** Actually, the worst thing is that, after a lifetime of trying to get Lex to be a good evil, strong, worthy successor, [[MagnificentBastard Lionel]] went and had a ''HeelFaceTurn'' right after Lex finally crossed serious lines, and wound up as a replacement father figure to ''Clark'' by way of the Jor-El AI, meaning that the same person he always envied for having an incredibly supportive father he could never get to accept him (Jonathan Kent) now had ''his'' father, the one who'd put him through so much. Too cruel.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' has an interesting example with Vala and her DarkMessiah daughter, Adria. Adria is an unrepentant BigBad, but she won't harm her mother and tries repeatedly to convince Vala to join her side. Vala, and the rest of her team, try to figure out how to use Adria's need for her mother's approval to their advantage, but Adria is extremely hard to manipulate since she has fancy mind-reading powers.
-->'''Vala''': She has the knowledge of Ascended Beings, twisted as it may be, but I sense that there is a part of her that is just like any other kid, that wants her mother's approval. So I'm hoping I can use that somehow. I mean, why else would she care what I think, right?
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
*** In the episode "Journey to Babel", it's revealed Spock has this problem with his father who disapproved of his decision to enlist in Starfleet instead of following his father into the Vulcan Science Academy. Spock even refuses to give a blood transfusion to his father because he's trying to be the perfectly logical Vulcan his father would expect him to be (the ship is in danger, the captain is incapacitated, and if Spock is confined to Sickbay, the ship will be without both its commanding officers during a time of crisis). Kirk has to fake recovery to ensure Spock gives the transfusion that will save his father's life. The audience does learn that Sarek is actually proud of Spock (he just won't admit it to Spock) and at the end of the episode he does indicate approval of Spock.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
*** In the episode "Final Mission" (the one where Wesley Crusher departs), Wes confides that everything he's done on the Enterprise was to make surrogate father figure Captain Picard proud. Picard states at the end that he's always been proud of Wesley (despite never having said so). Cue the FullHouseMusic.
*** Will Riker doesn't get along with his father. As it turns out, his father is the kind of jerk who would cheat at playing games against his own son.
*** When Picard is near-death, Q conjures a vision of Picard's father, a winemaker, who apparently never wanted his son to join Starfleet.
*** Lore is normally extremely arrogant and considers himself superior to both humans and Data; but when speaking with his "father," Dr. Soong, he breaks down and reveals that his creator's opinion of what constitutes a defect is more important to him than his own.
---> '''Lore''': Why didn't you just ''fix'' me? It was within your power to fix me!
*** The series revisits Spock's daddy issues when he appears, and Picard, having previously mind-melded with Sarek, offers Spock the opportunity to experience what Sarek shared with him. Spock nearly breaks down in tears upon feeling how much his father really loved and admired him.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
*** Enabran Tain is first introduced in Series 2 as TheSpymaster who controlled the Obsidian Order, recruited and mentored Garak. Over the next few years of the show it becomes clear that Garak will bend over backwards to do anything Tain asks of him even though Tain both exiled him and tried to assassinate him. Despite this guaranteed loyalty, Tain always criticizes Garak and treats him quite harshly. [[spoiler:Only when Tain is on his deathbed is it revealed that Garak spent his entire life seeking a time when Tain would treat him like a son instead of a subordinate or a protégé. The last thing Tain ever does is give him one brief moment of that.]]
*** Despite their antagonistic (and definitely non-biological) relationship, this seems to be what Quark seeks from Odo. Quark's final comment on the relationship is "That guy loves me -- ''it's written all over his back''."
*** Odo had a strained relationship with the scientist who was assigned to study him when he was first discovered and with whom he does have a sort of parent/child relationship with since Dr Pol was responsible for Odo learning how to shapeshift and take humanoid form in particular. At one point, an alien infection does make Odo lash out at Pol, bringing Odo's desire into the open - even for Odo himself, who hadn't realized just how deep his own feelings ran. They are eventually reconciled.
*** [[TheNthDoctor Jadzia Dax]] spent years fearing that she didn't live up to predecessor Curzon's expectations, especially because he washed her out of the academy program and never explained why he allowed her to re-apply. Only by CallingTheOldManOut does she finally learn the truth. [[spoiler:He let personal feelings for her get in the way of his job by throwing her out of the academy to avoid temptation (something he felt deeply guilty for doing) and her successful re-application let him off the hook]].
*** [[MagnificentBastard Dukat's]] relationship with Sisko is, in part, a twisted variation of this. Despite [[ArchEnemy all differences]], Dukat respects his opponent, to the point of calling him an "old friend", and expects Sisko to behave the same way towards him (without much success). This culminates in a long discussion in "Waltz", where Dukat is desperately trying to force some kind of approval out of the Captain:
---> '''Dukat''': I don't think you're being entirely honest with me, Benjamin. You're not a man who hesitates to make snap judgments when the situation calls for it. It's one of the signs of a good commander. Now I'm asking for your opinion of me and I find it hard to believe you don't have one.\\
'''Sisko''': [[BlatantLies All right. I think you're right. You have been judged unfairly. I've judged you unfairly. But I think you probably had good reasons for everything you did on Bajor.]]
*** Dukat also seems to be somewhat obsessed with what Kira thinks of him, that getting her to "understand" what he did (including to her) during the occupation would somehow vindicate him. Sort of like an abusive parent trying to justify themselves that way, years later.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
*** This is the plot of the episode "Life Line". The Doctor, an artificially intelligent hologram, learns that his creator (and the man whose image he's based on), holographic genius Dr Lewis Zimmerman, is dying. The Doctor pleads with Captain Janeway to be transmitted back to the Alpha Quadrant, assuming Zimmerman will be proud of how he's exceeded his programming... only to find his creator is a cantankerous jerk who believes he's an obsolete model better suited to scrubbing plasma conduits on waste transfer barges. Needless to say, much angst and hilarity ensue before the two are reconciled.
*** Tom Paris's father Owen Paris was a Starfleet admiral and Tom never felt that he could live up to his reputation. Things were strained between them and only became worse once Tom was cashiered from Starfleet, joined the Maquis (not even for noble reasons, just to pay his bar bills), and then ended up in a Federation penal colony. It was only after the ''Voyager'' got lost in the Delta Quadrant and later established communications to Earth that the two re-connected, especially once Tom and B'Elanna became a couple and had a child. In the novels, things became strained between them again due to circumstances in part beyond Tom's control and Owen died in a Borg attack.
* ''Series/StElsewhere'': In "Once Upon a Mattress", after getting shot in the previous episode "After Life", Fiscus comes to the conclusion that his father Jonas has never liked him since he never showed interest in his activities growing up and always seemed to be annoyed by him. Jonas confirms that he never liked his son but says that he always loved him.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': It is safe to say that this entire universe has {{daddy issues}}.
** Dean has gotten so little of his dad's approval despite always following his orders and being a good hunter that in the Season One Finale, when his dad (possessed by the BigBad) tells Dean how proud he is that Dean brought the Colt and used a bullet to save Sam's life, Dean realizes he's possessed and aims the gun at him--correctly thinking that the real John would have been furious instead of proud. Even when Dean gets an attaboy and sign of trust from his father, it comes with a DarkSecret that endangers his relationship with his brother, and then his dad dies for him. Since Dean just wants his family to be with him and happy, that's about the worst sort of fatherly recognition he could get.
** Sam feels the same need for his father's approval, but acts out against his father's wishes instead of trying to act as the perfect son Dean struggles to be. Mainly because Sam feels like his flaw is what he ''is'', and not something he can change, whereas Dean thinks that if he just ''does'' enough, he can earn approval.
** ''All'' the angels suffer this, more or less, because ''{{God}}'' is a [[ParentalAbandonment crappy parent]].
*** Castiel's devotion to his father leads him to start rebelling against fellow angels and siding with humans, whom he thinks of as his father's "works of art". He undergoes death by explosion, eventual power loss, and various human indignities during his exile from Heaven, but he seems to be taking it all in stride--''until'' he hears from Joshua that his father doesn't give a crap about any of it, and would rather stay away and let the Apocalypse happen. Castiel then gives up, drinks a liquor store, and begins his downward spiral. At the end of Season 5, however, God does show some kind of intervention and raises Castiel from the dead a second time, and a re-angelfied Castiel flies back home at the first opportunity. Come Season 6, he's still carrying out his father's wishes by leading one faction of Heaven against the archangel Raphael. And that's since GoneHorriblyRight...
*** Lucifer, despite his rebellion, is basically a kid throwing a temper tantrum because he wanted Daddy to notice him again and return his affections. Michael's relationship with God intentionally parallels Dean's with John, except Michael is perfectly willing to kill what used to be his favorite brother if he believes that's what Daddy wants. Raphael has retreated into nihilism ("You're living in a godless universe.") and Gabriel into hedonism, and that's the four that have ever actually "''met'' the Man."
*** Uriel's faction have actively given up and want to side with Lucifer. Anna is probably the closest to indifferent to God's opinion of any angel appearing on the show; it's fitting she's also the only one with a consistently female appearance.
*** Joshua is so Zen it's creepy, but then he's the only one God actually talks to. He may also be Jesus. Zachariah comes down somewhere between Gabriel's hedonism and Raphael's nihilism, but less tastefully, and it's harder to link to God as such. He may just genuinely be a self-interested racist dick, though his preoccupation with making things play out in accordance with divine prophecy, the only thing God left behind for his children, may indicate issues of this type. Angels were created to serve and He gives no feedback for thousands of years, how are they not going to be legions of daddy issues?
** The demon Azazel, original nemesis of the Winchesters, evidently had this with Lucifer, based on his desperately devoted behavior in the convent flashback, and his whole program was geared toward [[spoiler: getting Hell open to free Lilith so she could bust out Lucifer, in both cases using the 'very special child' Lucifer told him to procure; i.e. Sam]], but Lucifer doesn't betray any awareness that he died for it. He in turn encouraged this from his own 'children,' such as the demon known as Meg.
* ''Series/{{Taken}}'': In "Acid Tests", Eric Crawford, well aware that he is TheUnfavorite, desperately tries to impress his father Owen in the hope of getting a pat on the back. His efforts fail at every turn and typically only serve to irritate Owen. In "Charlie and Lisa", 22 years after Owen's death, Eric's increasingly unhappy wife Julie tells their daughter Mary that it is amazing that not getting something as simple as a pat on the back could have such a negative effect on him and, by extension, her.
* ''Series/{{Titus}}'':
** Often the entire premise behind this show, where Christopher is always ready for his father's condescending remarks. Hilariously done in the first episode, while joking role-playing Titus recalls every proud moment he had being shot down by Papa Titus (graduation, first job, becoming a manager, etc.) When he finishes with "I opened my own car shop and now I make more money in one year then you ever made in any year of your life, what do you think about that?!" The real Papa Titus appears behind him, cracks open a beer and says, "I think without me pushing you boy, you never would have made it."
** Reiterated in the stand-up show ''Creator/NormanRockwell is Bleeding'' (the ''Anti-Dad!'' part), ending with
--->'''Christopher''': I have my own TV show and production company!\\
'''Dad''': And that shit got cancelled, didn't it!
* * ''Series/TrailOfLies'': Felix always felt that his father favored his younger sister Paloma and that no matter how well he did in his job at the family's hospital, it would never be enough for him.
* ''Series/{{Victorious}}'': It's revealed that Jade wants to prove to her father that her career in the creative arts isn't stupid. An episode revolves around her wanting to make a play she's putting on as perfect as possible because she knew her father would be in the audience.
* Colin Jost has turned this into a semi-running gag on [[Series/SaturdayNightLive "Weekend Update"]]:
-->Wednesday was National Hug Day...Dad.
* ''Series/TheWestWing'':
** In "The Two Bartlets", Toby points out that the President is haunted by the need to make his father like him. This is expanded on in "Night Five," when Josh's therapist is called in because Bartlet has been unable to sleep for five nights straight (because of the conversation with Toby.) Stanley the therapist notes that all his life, Bartlet has been reaching for ever higher goals in an attempt to gain the approval of his father, and it's resulted in him having the same job as Abraham Lincoln. It culminates thus:
--->'''Stanley''': I think Lincoln did what he thought was right, even though it meant losing half the country. I think you don't do what you think is right if it means losing Michigan's electoral votes.\\
'''Bartlet''': You don't know anything.\\
'''Stanley''': I'll be the first to admit that.\\
'''Bartlet''': I'm not trying to get my father to like me.\\
'''Stanley''': [[BrutalHonesty Good. 'Cause it's never, never going to happen.]]
** "Two Cathedrals," where it's pretty strongly implied that Bartlet's impassioned rant in the National Cathedral is directed more at his father than at God.
*** President Bartlet may not have been able to get his own father to love or approve of him, but he has an alternative "Well Done, Son!" Guy in his chief of staff, Leo [=McGarry=] (played by the late Creator/JohnSpencer). Just before a debate between Bartlet and the Republican candidate, Leo gives Bartlet a beautiful smile and says, "There's no such thing as too smart. There's nothing you can do that's not going to make me proud of you."
** The President himself is the guy to [[TheUnfavorite his daughter Ellie.]] [[TearJerker "The only thing you ever had to do to make me happy was to come home at the end of the day."]]
** Josh has strong tendencies of this - but not towards his real father (who is deceased and, by all accounts, was very proud of him). Instead he craves the approval of Leo [=McGarry=], who became a father figure to him after his own father's death. At one point, one of the characters notes that Josh is not afraid of losing but he is afraid of letting Leo down.
* ''Series/TheWire'': Lester Freamon is this trope personified. [[NotSoAboveItAll Cedric Daniels]] can even do a humorous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE9-u26NOWI impression of it]].
-->'''Cedric Daniels''': Did he do that thing where he stares at you over the top of his reading glasses? You know, with that look that says "I'm the father you never had ''and [[WellDoneSonGuy I don't want to be disappointed on you ever again]]''".
* ''Series/TheXFiles'':
** Agent Dana Scully spent a lot of time and energy trying to prove to her parents, but especially her dad, that her decision to join the FBI was a good one. She doesn't find out how proud of her her dad actually was until he's dead.
** Agent Spender had this going for [[spoiler:the Cigarette-Smoking Man, his biological father]], of all people. Well, at least until he tried killing his mom.
* ''Series/YoungDracula'': Ingrid. Her father gives Vlad all the attention, even though Vlad doesn't even want to be a vampire and she does.
* One of the recurring parental issues of ''Series/TheSopranos''. Tony goes out of his way to please his contemptible mother, who resents her children for being happier than her. At the same time, Chris, Tony's nephew, and A.J., Tony's son, try hard to earn praise from the old man or just live up to his perceived expectations, only to get frustrated when he doesn't give them any real credit.
* Gretchen on ''Series/YoureTheWorst'' behaves completely differently and lies about her life around her parents out of fear of disappointing them. She goes to great length to hide Jimmy from them, and when he finally meets them, he [[CallingTheOldManOut calls them out on that]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** Throughout the series, Neville Longbottom is the ButtMonkey, the lamest, most pathetic wizard in existence. All he wants is to live up to his parents' legacy, and it's mentioned how his grandmother was so ashamed of his clumsiness. Then, after his actions in both the Battle at the Ministry and in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', his grandma finally tells him how proud she is of him, and how he's just like his parents.
** Also, to some extent, Ron Weasley. He's always been [[OvershadowedByAwesome overshadowed by his brothers]] and simply wants to be set apart, and earn the recognition of his parents. However, the Weasley family is an extremely loving one, so while he doesn't necessarily feel "special" in their eyes, he does know that he's loved.
** Also Draco Malfoy, although more so in the films than in the books. Draco obviously worships his father and is constantly trying to live up to his considerable reputation.
** Barty Crouch, Jr. It eventually led him to join [[BigBad Voldemort]].
* Variation: In Creator/OrsonScottCard's ''Literature/HomecomingSaga'', protagonist Nafai longs for the love and approval of his eldest brother, Elemak. He ''knows'' this isn't very rational, as Elemak is an openly bullying JerkAss who sees Nafai as a useless mama's boy responsible for ruining his life and would happily crush his head with a rock.
* Creator/MercedesLackey's works:
** In ''Literature/TheBlackSwan'', a retelling of ''Swan Lake'', Odile is one of these. When she finally realizes Baron von Rothbart is only using her for her magical potential, she turns on him.
** In the ''Literature/LastHeraldMageTrilogy'', Vanyel spends a great deal of his life in trying to [[ChronicHeroSyndrome be heroic enough]] to get his father to accept him as a person, thanks to his "flaw" of being gay.
** In the ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Collegium Chronicles]]'', Lena Marchand is a female example, desperate for her father's approval. It doesn't help that Master Bard Tobias Marchand is an egotistical JerkAss who doesn't even recognize Lena when they accidentally run into each other at the beginning of ''Intrigues''.
** Princess Andromeda spends most of ''Literature/OneGoodKnight'' as a Well Done Daughter Girl. As it turns out (and as anyone with a passing knowledge of mythology will know), Queen Cassiopeia is ''not'' a nice person.
** Silverblade, Tadrith, and Keenath (from ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar The Silver Gryphon]]'') are all examples in different ways. Tadrith is frustrated with the default "he's almost as good at X as Skandranon" "compliments" he gets from everyone, and wants his father to see him as an independent gryphon. Keenath loves Skan but knows he has nothing in common with his father. Silverblade is simply convinced that Amberdrake will never be able to accept Blade's chosen life-path.
** Subverted in ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Winds of Fate]]'' with Darkwind and his father. In his youth, Darkwind was close to his parents. But when the Heartstone was sabotaged, and Darkwind's mother died, his father turned against him. [[spoiler:It turns out that Darkwind's father is Mind Controlled by the Big Bad and is deliberately trying to drive his son away to protect him, in the only way he can. When the spell is broken, Darkwind is amazed at the change in his personality and wonders how he could have failed to notice.]]
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** Tywin Lannister plays this role; the desire to please him pushes Tyrion and Jaime, though neither would admit it. As is typical of the series, Tywin never provides validation, especially for Tyrion. Well, not the ''typical'' form of validation. [[spoiler:This leads to him contracting an unfortunate fatal case of crossbow-bolt-through-bowels [[KarmicDeath at the hands of, naturally, his son Tyrion]].]] Even after that, it serves to motivate Jaime, to the point that one aunt has to point out to him that Tyrion is much more Tywin-esque than Jaime.
** It seems to drive [[SmugSnake Cersei]] (to a lesser extent) as well, although she flip flops between [[DaddysGirl wanting to make him proud]] and wanting to become so much greater than him that he would only be remembered as her father, [[NeverASelfMadeWoman instead of the other way around.]]
** Theon Greyjoy seems to have a case of this towards his father Balon. His feelings toward Ned Stark, the man who raised Theon as his ward since Theon was 10, are even more conflicted, which is unsurprising given Theon's dual role of hostage/ward. At times, Theon finds himself wondering what Ned Stark would say about some particular deed he's done and then becomes angry with himself for caring.
** In a ''very'' twisted sense, Joffrey Baratheon is like this towards Robert Baratheon, irritating his grandfather Tywin Lannister immensely. Tywin had thought Joffrey did not care for Robert and is pissed the little brat shows some pride at being a Baratheon rather than a Lannister. Which is ironic, considering Joffrey is ''all'' Lannister because he and his two siblings are actually the children of his mother Cersei Lannister with [[BrotherSisterIncest her twin brother, Jaime]], not Robert.
** Jon Snow adores his [[TheStoic father Eddard Stark]], often reflects on what his father taught him and his siblings, and yearns to make Eddard proud, to the point where he has a few dreams about being [[SoProudOfYou accepted as a true Stark]] and earning rights to Winterfell. He suffers a lot of guilt over that last part though, given [[HeroicBastard his status]] and love for his siblings. Eddard does love and respect Jon and wanted to assure him so but [[spoiler:[[OffWithHisHead Joffrey's interference]] meant he would never get the chance.]]
** The Martell children. [[TheChessmaster Doran's]] apparent ambivalence towards his daughter Arianne is a source of great grief to her, and though it isn't made explicit, her younger brother [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Quentyn's]] [[TooDumbToLive actions]] indicate that he too is searching for his father's approval.
** LovableCoward Samwell Tarly spends an undue amount of time wondering if any of his actions will earn him some small measure of approval from his father Randyll, who believes ARealManIsAKiller and is ''deeply'' disappointed Sam isn't.
* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy'' novel ''Fulgrim'', when Horus tells Fulgrim that the Emperor intends to become a god and dispose of them, Fulgrim speaks of how he has longed for his love and respect.
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/WarOfTheDreaming Mists of Everness]],'' there are not one but two examples in the same family. [[HandicappedBadass Peter]] regarding his father's AncientTradition; Peter's son [[KidHero Galen]] regarding his [[IJustWantToBeNormal father]].
* In Steve Perry's ''[[Literature/MatadorSeries Black Steel]]'', it's revealed that the brash revolutionary Sleel is the son of the two most famous botanists alive - who are both {{Absent Minded Professor}}s who care only about their work. Sleel's father, in particular, is very dismissive of everything his son has ever achieved since it doesn't involve botany or genetic engineering. Sleel has known all this from childhood, but can't help trying to get their acknowledgment and approval when visiting them during the course of the book.
* In Creator/JamesSwallow's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''The Flight of the Eisenstein'', the captain of the Eisenstein comments on how the Astartes strive to be independent of the Emperor as if he were their father -- and yet crave his approval.
** Prior to the storyline Captain Nathaniel Garro had craved validation from Mortarion but finds himself moving away from his primarch's ideals at the time the book starts and Solun Decius is desperate to live up to Garro's expectations [[spoiler: despite the cancer from hell (pun intended) infecting his body]]. By extension this trope probably applies to most of the Deathguard, considering that those who sided with Mortarion are known for worshipping ''Father'' Nurgle.
* In the third ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' book, Damien Howe, grandson of the founder of the Fantasia Corporation, seems to have been seeking his grandfather’s approval in vain all his life (or at least since his mother’s premature death). [[spoiler: In the end, it drives him to bring about the destruction of Fantasia.]]
* Jochi in the ''Literature/{{Conqueror}}'' books is constantly trying to gain some small measure of the respect his father, Genghis Khan, [[ParentalFavoritism showers on his younger brothers]]. No matter how successful as a warrior and general Jochi is, he never gets more than a reluctant, grunting acknowledgment that he's done something right.
* A couple in ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** Breezepelt. The ironic thing is, [[AbusiveParents Crowfeather]] only had Breezepelt so his Clanmates would accept ''him''.
** Bluestar, whose father Stormtail was just distant from his kits.
** Crookedstar. His mother Rainflower doted on him and his brother, but when he broke his jaw as a kit ruining his "handsome" appearance, [[AbusiveParents she became outright abusive]], rarely visiting him in the medicine cat's den and refusing to let the other kits visit him to keep his spirits up, renaming him from Stormkit to Crookedkit, making him sleep alone in the nursery, and frequently saying that he would never be as good as his brother. One of his goals in life was to make her proud of him.
** Tallstar, whose father wants him to be a tunneler like him. When he gets chosen to be a moor-runner, Sandgorse starts ignoring him in his worst moods or trying to get him to be like him in his best moods. So Tallstar wants to be a tunneler like him so that he could be proud of him.
** Thunder, who grew up [[spoiler: without a mother, due to her death.]] To make things worse, his father [[spoiler: Clear Sky]] was becoming increasingly unhinged and violent and refused to take care of him. When they meet, Thunder is fascinated and wants nothing more than to impress him. However, [[AbusiveParents his father tries to emotionally manipulate Thunder,]] and... [[spoiler: it works for some time, but Thunder eventually realizes what's going on, and they become enemies.]]
* In Simon Spurrier's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Literature/NightLords novel ''Lord of the Night'', Sahaal remembers how the Night Haunter had been this, and the Emperor had treated him with contempt. Thus justifying, in the Night Haunter's eyes and Sahaal's own, his revolt against the Emperor.
* The title character Adeline from ''Chinese Cinderella'' is this trope cranked UpToEleven. She constantly tries to get approval from everyone in the household. Feeling honored to play with her siblings, anyone?
* Jeb's son Ari becomes this in ''Literature/SchoolsOutForever'', hanging out with the copycat Max to make Jeb mad, and also coming up with a plan to take Max for his own. The plan eventually gets Jeb to notice him, which makes him happy enough to go out and steal a Game Boy. So...
* Plenty of the demigods in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' long for their godparent to acknowledge them. Especially Percy. Grover even says it when he tried to deny it.
-->''You're glad that your dad is alive. You feel good that he's claimed you and part of you wants to make him proud. That's why you mailed Medusa's head to Olympus. You want him to notice what you'd done.''
** Luke took this even more seriously. Many children of Hermes tend to feel very ignored, considering they get put with all 'the others', meaning those who aren't claimed. Furthermore, Hermes [[spoiler: accidentally caused Luke's mother's mental deterioration and left the boy to be raised by her.]] Eventually Luke became so bitter that he changed sides and tried to take down the gods. Although eventually, he had a last minute change of heart and [[RedemptionEqualsDeath sacrificed himself]] it shows just what an effect this trope can have. Percy even makes it a rule that all gods and goddesses must claim their children so that less of this kind of thing will happen. Considering that in this series, Winston Churchill was the son of Poseidon, it means he got a double-dose: both his biological father, ''and'' his step-father, as seen below.
* In the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', Miles Vorkosigan started out an odd variant of this. It is not so much his father Aral's feelings of contempt or disapproval that he strives against as his feelings of guilt (Aral blames himself for the sequence of events that led to his son's prenatal poisoning and resultant physical disabilities). Miles's grandfather Piotr has enough disapproval for both Aral and Miles to go around. If he didn't Aral and Piotr are such towering giants of Barayaran history Miles nearly kills himself trying to measure up.
* The title character of the Donald Barthelme novel ''The Dead Father'' is this in spades.
* Inverted in one of the two third Literature/RedDwarf novels (it's confusing), ''Last Human''. Arnold Rimmer is understandably dejected when his [[spoiler:long lost son has been sorely disappointed to learn that the heroic feats of his father were a fiction invented by his mother and that the reality is that his father is a sniveling coward. Then, in the end, Rimmer performs an incredibly brave (if a bit reckless) feat; even though he kind of screws up the execution (though it does accomplish the intended end) his son, looking on, is incredibly proud of the act. Seeing his son beaming with pride, Rimmer is finally freed of the neurosis that has plagued his entire existence which ultimately leads to him selflessly volunteering for a HeroicSacrifice]].
* In ''Literature/DaughterOfTheLioness'', despite knowing her mother loves her, Aly feels that her mother doesn't understand her and underestimates her abilities. In one of her dreams where she can see what her mother is doing, she realizes that Alanna does understand and trust Aly and knows she has the talents to survive.
* There's a bit of an inversion in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse. After he dies, Anakin Skywalker becomes a Force ghost. He appears briefly to Luke in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' but says nothing; a hundred twenty years later, in ''ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'', he speaks to a {{wangst}}y descendent, but in the meantime, he's only been written speaking to one person - [[Literature/TheTruceAtBakura Leia]]. He wants to apologize to her, tell her how proud he is of her, and be forgiven. However, she is furious and ''horrified'' at the sight of him, doesn't want to know that any part of him survived, still considers Bail to be her real father, and doesn't believe that [[KarmaHoudini redemption equaled death at all]]. Even after he fades out she's angry and deeply disturbed; by the end of the book, she hasn't changed her mind but decides that if he wants to be proud of her, fine.
** Later in the EU she doesn't quite forgive him, but she does come to terms with who he was; she names her third child "Anakin" (who, for his part, was not too happy for being saddled with such a name, but it sort of helped keep him from the Dark Side).
* Heather Acosta from the ''Literature/SammyKeyes'' books qualifies. Heather's relationship with her mother and father is a far cry from what Sammy has with her grandmother. Her mom seems to be going through some sort of mid-life crisis and her father admitted that he'd want a restraining order against her. The fact the Casey seems to be their father's favorite has led to some problems (among other things) between the siblings. It's been hinted in the series that this may be the reason why Heather act's out -- to gain attention.
* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': As noted in the Film category, Faramir was TheUnfavorite, though he fared better than his movie counterpart. By the time we see them interact, Faramir is more or less resigned to it and just does his job as best he can. Even so, his father's constant remarks that Boromir was a way better son makes Faramir lose his temper enough to remind Denethor that it was his order which sent Boromir away in the first place. There is also a displaced desire for this with Beregond, who laments that his fellow soldiers don't rank Faramir as Boromir's equal simply because Faramir is more scholarly than his brother was, and to them, that translates as "not as good a warrior" even though it's not true at all.
* Will in ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' grew up never knowing his father, and states outright in ''The Subtle Knife'' that he wants to find his father so that he can hear the words "Well done, son." When they finally do meet, [[spoiler: his father is killed within seconds of Will realizing it's him.]] However, [[spoiler: Will finally gets his wish in the third book when he meets his father in ghost-form.]]
** Lyra starts off the series looking up to her uncle [[spoiler:(who is revealed to be her father)]] Lord Asriel and initially wants his approval. She is extremely annoyed when he doesn't thank her after she saves his life by warning him about the poisoned wine and bringing him the alethiometer. Things go straight to hell shortly after the latter event, though, and any desire she has for his approval [[spoiler:evaporates at that point]].
* Michael in the ''Literature/KnightAndRogueSeries'' struggles in the first book to try and stave off his father's disapproval for the life he chose. When his father [[spoiler:has him marked as an unredeemable criminal]] to try and force a 'better' life on him in the second book he claims that he's stopped caring, but in the third book when trying to escape death one of the things that unlocks his 'needs' driven magic is his desire to prove to his father that he can make it.
* The relationship dynamic between Chris and his father in ''Literature/ThePaleKing''. Chris is fully aware of how disappointed his father is of him, but is usually too stoned or selfish to care. It's not until [[spoiler: his father dies]] that Chris feels guilty enough to change his life.
** This is made depressingly clear when the father comes home early to find Chris and his buddies in his living room, high out of their minds, surrounded by discarded Taco Bell wrappers, and their feet resting lazily on one his prized pieces of furniture. The father doesn't yell; he simply says, ''Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'', walks into his bedroom and shuts the door.
* Will from ''Literature/RangersApprentice'' grew up an orphan; his father-figure is Halt, his mentor. Gaining Halt's approval means more to Will than anything - even just a small smile from Halt means more to Will than any amount of praise his friends and his king laud on him.
* ''Literature/TimeScout'':
** Margo wants to be a time scout to rub it in her dying father's face.
** Skeeter also fits this trope. When he says "My father made me the man I am today." he means it as the absolute truth. He just doesn't know which father. One he hates, the other he loves and fears.
* In ''Literature/EastOfEden'', Cyrus Trask is this to his son Charles, who's TheUnfavorite. Thanks to GenerationXerox, his brother Adam becomes this to his own eldest son, Cal.
* In ''Literature/FlowersForAlgernon'', Charlie senselessly pursues ''both'' his parents after he becomes a genius, hoping that they'll be impressed by his newfound intelligence and finally acknowledge him. He's ashamed of this, but it's deeply embedded in his personality since he always thought that his parents would love him if he became "smart". [[spoiler: In the end, he was unable to reveal his identity to his father, his mother was too senile to appreciate it, and he ended up losing his intelligence anyway. At least his sister was proud of him.]]
* Lt Armstrong from ''Literature/PhulesCompany'' is revealed to have been that. By the start of the series, his father is long dead and it's clear to Armstrong that the approval never was an option, but he's already so set in his by-the-book ways that he has long become a caricature of an officer. [[ReassignedToAntarctica He ends up in The Omega Company]].
%% * In ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' Jace spent most of his life being this - until he found out who his father really was. And even then...
* David Rain from [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]] around [[ParentalSubstitute Liz]], usually.
* Orrec in ''[[Literature/AnnalsOfTheWesternShore Gifts]]'' is eager to please his father as a young child, but grows more restive as he gets older and the Caspro gift continually fails to manifest--which is bad news since you need the gift to be a brantor. He grows increasingly desperate until he's struck with PowerIncontinence.
* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': Corran's every action is driven by his desire to prove to father that he is his father's son and become a dragonslayer. [[spoiler: His father disowning him drives him over the DespairEventHorizon.]]
* In the ''Literature/SabinaKane'' series Sabina's main motivation for most of her life has been to earn at least the ''respect'' of her grandmother Lavinia, the ruler of all vampires and her only living family member. [[spoiler:By the end of the first book she's determined that not only does her grandmother not give half a hump whether she lives or dies, but that the Dominae, in general, is not worthy of her respect either.]]
* In Jeramey Kraatz's ''Literature/TheCloakSociety'', Alex. More toward his mother than his father. [[spoiler:He has to get over it.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Relativity}},'' Ravenswood is an alcoholic and a failure for most of his life. When he climbs out of it and becomes a successful coffee-shop owner, his father is still unimpressed. Unfortunately, he can't tell his father anything about his really impressive accomplishments, because he needs to keep his superhero identity secret.
* In ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'', villainous count Falk is one of the finest warriors of the Empire, yet has something of a masochistic relationship with his mother. He despises her, yet craves her approval; he desperately wants her to appreciate his accomplishments, yet knows it will never happen; he tries anyway.
* ''Literature/TheWitchlands'':
** Iseult is always trying to please her mother and the fact that she can't leave her with a bad case of HeroicSelfDeprecation.
** Vivia often feels like she can't please her father enough, and sometimes, when making a decision, she goes against her better judgement because she thinks he'll approve of the opposite.
[[/folder]]

* [[WellDoneSonGuy/AnimatedFilms Film ― Animated]]
%%* [[WellDoneSonGuy/LiveActionFilms Film ― Live-Action]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
%%* ''Film/OurMissBrooks'': Gary Nolan resents his father's inattention.
* ''Film/BoilerRoom'' revolves entirely around Seth going to work at a brokerage firm (which he later finds out is, in fact, an illegal operation) to earn enough money to impress his Supreme Court Judge father Marty. It actually endangers his father's career when the FBI's Financial Crimes unit catches wind of it.
* In ''Film/KickAss'', Red Mist wants desperately to prove he can be as much of a gangster as his father.
* In ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'', Andy explains in his breakdown scene that he hates wrestling but is into it to get his ''very'' competitive father's approval.
** Brian studies so much because his parents refuse to accept anything less than perfect grades.
** Bender lives '''down''' to his parents' expectations.
* The Master is this to Chang Lee in ''Series/DoctorWho: TheMovie'', although this was more apparent in the novelisation than the film.
* Emperor Commodus in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' is a ''very'' odd example of this. He [[spoiler:murders his father]] to become Emperor -- and he wants to become Emperor in order to prove to his father that he's a worthy son.
* In ''Film/BigGame'', Oskari has shades of this - his main motivation behind the hunt is not proving that he's a man, but impressing his father.
* Greg Focker in the ''Film/MeetTheParents'' movies spends all three films kissing up to [[KnightTemplarParent Jack]] and desperately seeking his approval. Although Jack is his father-in-law - his actual father is way more easygoing.
* In ''Film/{{Hamlet 2}}'', most of protagonist Dana Marschz's hang-ups and neuroses (which are presented in a [[CreatorBreakdown not-at-all-subtle fashion in the titular play]]) can seemingly be directly traced back to his difficult relationship with his father. Curiously, in this example the father doesn't actually appear; as such, Dana appears to have adopted the tight-ass principal of the high school where he teaches as something of a warped substitute, going so far as to screech "[[FreudianSlip You never believed in me, Daddy, I hate you!!!]]" in the middle of an argument with him completely out of the blue, and then having the principal kidnapped and forcibly made to watch the play so that he can get his approval.
* In ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle'', Kumar isn't interested in being a doctor like his father is, despite having perfect [=MCAT=]s. He even uses his medical textbooks as paper to make joints. He has an epiphany at the end of the first film and decides to give it a shot anyway.
* ''Franchise/IndianaJones'':
** Indy and Short Round trade hats in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''. Trust me, it's ''way'' more important in context.
** Indy's relationship with his own father, Henry Jones Sr., as shown in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''. Papa Jones always made Indy feel like, to use his own words, people who had been dead for centuries were more important to him than his own son. By the end of the adventure, however, Indy knows for sure just how much his dad loves him and how proud of him he is.
* Toyed with in ''Film/AustinPowersInGoldmember''. Austin is partially wrong in his assumptions about his father, Nigel- he does respect Austin and loves him, but he spent Austin's childhood trying too hard to be Austin's best friend when he should have been trying to be a father. He even sings a song about it: "[[DaddyDidntShow Daddy Wasn't There]]."
* Used straight in ''Film/TheKarateKid1984''. In this film, Mr. Miyagi is so well-developed as a father figure for Daniel that in the final scene, the thronging crowds or the trophy pale against the sight of the OldMaster's face, beaming with pride at his student's triumph.
* Faramir and Denethor in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movie trilogy, especially ''The Return of the King''. Even though Denethor clearly doesn't deserve his son's respect, it obviously breaks Faramir's heart when his father tells him he wishes he had died instead of his older brother Boromir. [[spoiler: Somewhat improved when he thinks his son is dead and proceeds to suffer an emotional breakdown...though still played rather dark as Faramir was clearly just unconscious, but he's too messed up to acknowledge this and tries to cremate himself and the "body" while Gondor is in the middle of an orcish invasion. Then played more nicely when Faramir opens his eyes and he is visibly shocked, but relieved, that his son really was okay (but catches fire and dies himself anyway). Still, Faramir seems more cheerful for the rest of the movie, perhaps partly knowing that his dad- while crazy and dead- in the end really did love him.]]
** This was visible in the books, too, but much less so, as Denethor was considerably less of a scumbag and more of a tragic figure whose pride allowed Sauron to destroy him.
** This is made even more pronounced in the extended editions of the film, with an extended scene in ''The Two Towers'' devoted to Faramir trying and failing, to win his father's approval.
* In ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'', all The Kid wants is the respect of his evil bastard father. As such, he enters a gunfighting competition, eventually facing his father down. The father tries to talk him out of the duel. [[spoiler:It doesn't work, and the father shoots him dead.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Obi-Wan and Anakin share such a moment in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', where Anakin expresses his anger over being allowed on the Jedi Council while not being advanced to being a Jedi Master. Obi-Wan expresses that his skill and talent is what got him on the Council in the first place, and not to be distraught over the disapproval of the other Jedi. Unfortunately, this doesn't help.
** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' had a scene where Obi-Wan apologized Qui-Gon for criticizing his sometimes peculiar actions (taking Jar Jar with them and betting their ship on Anakin winning the Pod Race). Qui-Gon quickly praised Obi-Wan for his willingness to learn and told him he would someday become a greater Jedi than Qui-Gon himself ever was. The novelization added other moments where Qui-Gon was critical of Obi-Wan's callousness (making jokes during combat) and lack of foresight (forgetting to turn his lightsaber battery off before jumping into swamp water), as well as the fact that Qui-Gon was known for seeking the "will of the force" over the immediate issues.
** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Kylo Ren wants to live up to Supreme Leader Snoke's expectations, and desperately wants to live up to the legacy of [[spoiler:his grandfather]], Darth Vader. However, this is not the case for his actual father, [[spoiler:Han Solo]], whom Kylo describes as "a disappointment". [[spoiler:Furthermore, Kylo kills him in order to assert his allegiance to the Dark Side and his loyalty to Snoke]].
* In ''Film/SonOfTheMask'', Loki, the [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse god of mischief]], is hunting down the Mask because his [[SadlyMythtaken dad]], Odin the All-Father, thinks it has caused too much trouble in the human world. Odin and Loki hate each other, but at the end of the movie, they are taught AnAesop by the main character about the importance of getting along with your family.
* Spock gets one of these in ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' when Sarek admits he was wrong to disapprove of Spock's decision to join Starfleet.
* Emphasized in the Music/JohnnyCash biopic ''Film/WalkTheLine'', where it seems like every failure or achievement Johnny experiences, he challenges his father about it. This is a bit of Flanderization though if you compare the source material ''The Man in Black''.
* Spoofed in ''Film/WalkHardTheDeweyCoxStory'', in which Dewey's father's response to anything his son does since accidentally cutting his brother in half with a machete is to growl [[YouShouldHaveDiedInstead "Wrong kid died!"]] [[spoiler:He ends up engaging in an attempt at OffingTheOffspring.]]
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
** ''Film/X2XMenUnited'':
*** Bobby Drake. As his visit to his parents' shows.
*** One of Stryker's commands for Jason was "make me proud." In turn, Jason's illusory self can be heard whimpering, "He's going to be so mad at me!" when Storm disrupts his control of Xavier.
** In ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'', Angel wanted to take the cure to please his father. [[spoiler:Later gets his respect by saving daddy from falling to death.]]
** In ''Film/TheWolverine'', [[spoiler:when Yashida's obsession with obtaining immortality nearly drove the company to bankruptcy, Shingen assured stockholders and investors to continue supporting them. Though trying to be a good son and hoping to be rewarded, he was still passed over Mariko to run the company.]]
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** There is a quasi-mother/son dynamic between M and Creator/PierceBrosnan's 007 (who is more of a ManChild than the other versions of the character). She frequently scolds him for one thing or another, yet there's an underlying affection between the two of them. In ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'', they both share an AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther moment after M delivers a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to him. In ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', Bond is somewhat mortified when he discovers that M knows about his past sexual encounters (almost like a naughty boy who has been caught by his stern mother), and he even tries to defend his promiscuous behaviour with, "That was a long time ago, M, ''before'' [Paris] was married." In ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', M mentions to Elektra that Bond is her best agent, but she'd never tell him that in person. In ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', Bond's delivery of "You burn me, and now you want my help" is petulant and resentful, and the hurt he feels towards M for not trusting him earlier is more personal than professional.
** The reboot of the franchise (''[[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 Casino Royale]]'' and ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'') subtly implies the same relationship. M is constantly berating Bond and, in the first movie, severely doubts his abilities while doubting his sanity in the second. However, in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', he mutters to himself while alone in his car, "I love you, too, M," after he receives forwarded documents from her office. In ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', Bond himself says that the BigBad tried to kill someone very close to him (the attempted murder of M at the beginning of the movie), to which Camille asks if it was his mother. Bond replies "She likes to think so." Then, at the very end of the movie, M tells Bond that they need him at [=MI6=].
*** It becomes explicit in the third film of the reboot, ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''.
---->'''Raoul Silva''': She sent you here knowing you were not prepared, knowing you would likely die... Mommy was very bad.\\
[[spoiler: '''M''': [[SoProudOfYou At least I got one thing right...]] ''([[TearJerker dies, as Bond closes her eyes and weeps over her body]])'']]
* Linus Caldwell in the ''Film/OceansEleven'' trilogy: Danny hooks him in the first movie by promising that after this heist "dad'll be trading on his name"; in the second movie he's upset that [[spoiler:his mom helps to bust him out of prison and that his dad knows this, as he will never let Linus live it down]] and in the third movie he [[spoiler:''finally'' gets a part in on one of his dad's schemes after being doubted by him through the whole movie.]] Then again, it's pretty hard to outdo an experienced thief who's legitimate/cover job is [[spoiler:''an '''FBI''' agent''.]]
* In ''[[Film/TheThinMan The Thin Man Goes Home]]'', Detective Nick Charles seems to have a casual (almost indifferent) relationship with his critical father, Dr. Charles, who has never forgiven Nick for not going into the family business. Nick is obviously downhearted by the fact that the old man has never been proud of him, so his wife, Nora, schemes to shake up the neighborhood in hopes of uncovering a mystery that Nick can solve in front of his father, and so gain the praise he silently longs for.
* A female version is Casey Seeger from ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman''. She pushes herself to be the Navy's first female aviator because she wants to win the approval of her father, who had wanted a son. She suffers a HeroicBSOD when DrillSergeantNasty Foley calls her out on it during training.
* The catalyst for the plot in ''Film/HotRod'' is that Rod has to earn the money for his stepfather's heart transplant so that he can defeat him in a fight in order to win the man's love and respect.
* UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush is desperate for [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush "Poppy's"]] approval in ''Film/{{W}}'' (the political life was apparently meant for brother Jeb), and a nightmare shows how terrified W is:
-->'''Dream!Poppy''': A hundred years it took to build up the Bush name ''and you single-handedly destroyed it!''
* In ''The Greatest Game Ever Played'', Francis Ouimet wants to prove to his disapproving coal-mining father that he's able to play and win the U.S. Open against all the upper-class golfers, even though he wouldn't get any money for winning since he's an amateur. Results in a major TearJerker when [[spoiler:Francis wins the U.S. Open and his father shows up in the crowd to wordlessly congratulate him]].
* In ''Film/{{Babe}}'', the relationship between Pig and his owner has shades of this. "That'll do, pig. That'll do."
** On the animal side, Babe with Rex. Because of his mother-son relationship with Fly, Babe tries to ingratiate himself to a very testy Rex, only to be rebuffed more and more harshly each time as Rex projects his own feelings of inadequacy and failure towards Babe. He does a HeelFaceTurn near the end of the movie, which is never fully explained.
* In ''Film/{{Amadeus}}'', Mozart felt tremendously guilty for living a life that his father disapproved of. Mozart's rival, Salieri, was able to use that guilt to "haunt" Mozart to death by dressing up in a costume his late father had worn and then goading him into composing a requiem mass (a mass which Salieri hoped to steal and take credit for).
* ''Film/BlankCheck'' has Preston seeking the approval from his capitalist father, who looks down upon him for not having a job. The kid is around ''ten years old''. His father does get the message, late in the movie, and Preston forgives him.
* Robert Fischer of ''Film/{{Inception}}'', giving him full woobie qualifications from the get-go. Made worse in that his father expressed his disappointment with his dying breath. Naturally, the plot relies on exploiting his Daddy-related insecurities mercilessly.
* In ''Film/EverAfter'' ("Literature/{{Cinderella}}" remade as a historical drama), Drew Barrymore played Danielle, who desperately tried to win the approval and love of her WickedStepmother, the Well Done Daughter Gal Rodmilla de Ghent, the only family she had left. After she destroys any hope of Danielle being with her prince, Rodmilla taunts her relentlessly until finally, Danielle asks if she had ever loved her at all. De Ghent cruelly replied, [[KickTheDog "Who could love a pebble in their shoe?"]] before selling Danielle into slavery. The next time they meet, Danielle is betrothed to her PrinceCharming, while de Ghent and her equally nasty older daughter are [[HumiliationConga stripped of their status and forced to work as servants in the castle]]. Danielle happily announces at that point, "I want you to know, that after this moment I will forget you and never think of you again. But you, I am quite sure, will think of me every day for the rest of your life."
** The step-mother ''is'' given some rationale for her hatred/resentment of Danielle. As her beloved husband lay on his deathbed, he all but pushed her aside in favor of his daughter from his previous wife. You can see the hurt and pain on her face turn into anger and resentment for the little girl.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** In ''Film/{{Thor}}'', Loki's motive behind the villainous acts he committed [[spoiler:([[MonsterProtectionRacket bringing Laufey to Asgard to assassinate Odin, but then killing him to make it look as if he had saved Odin]])]] was solely to gain his father's pride and affection. Tragically, Odin was already very proud of his son, although he was dreadful at communicating this fact.
--->'''Loki''': I never wanted the throne! I only ever wanted to be your (Thor's) equal!
*** [[spoiler: In ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' when Odin (before dying) tells Loki and Thor that he loves both of them, [[https://youtu.be/0tvGwytSiIU?t=201 Loki has a very telling look]] on his face]].
** Explored in ''Film/IronMan2'', as Tony has some shades of this. [[spoiler:[[SoProudOfYou He finally gets his "well done" from Howard in the video he left behind...even as he begins to realize just how brilliant his dad was.]]]]
*** ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' explores this further. Tony relates a memory (to an audience, no less!) of the last time he spoke his to his father before he died, implying that they had an awful fight along the lines of this very topic. It reveals that this event in the earlier film didn't bring Tony much closure or comfort after all. Furthermore, [[spoiler:when Tony learns Bucky is responsible for his parents' death at the end of the film, he justifies his desire to kill Bucky with the line, "He killed my mom." Apparently, Howard hasn't been forgiven yet.]]
*** Resolved in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' [[spoiler: as Tony, thanks to TimeTravel is able to see eye to eye with Howard and talk with him while disguised. Howard says he's nervous about his unborn's son's future but claims there's "nothing he wouldn't do for him", at which Tony hugs his father for the last time and leaves. Later on Tony concedes how he always made Howard out to be worse than he actually was and is grateful for being able to talk to him again]].
** Funnily enough Peter Parker aka Spider-Man becomes to Tony in ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' as he desperately wants to prove himself to Tony who in turn wants to be there Spidey in the way Howard father wasn't, however Tony still admonishes Peter's reckless attempts at heroism. Though Tony is humble enough to acknowledge he sounds like Howard while giving Spidey the third degree, it’s just that he [[CruelToBeKind wants best for Peter]].
-->'''Peter''': I just want to be like you.
-->'''Tony''': I want you to be better.
** In ''Film/AntMan'', Darren Cross sees himself as Hank's surrogate son and is motivated by a desire to prove to Hank that he's better than him after years of being pushed aside.
** As seen in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' Nebula truly did want Thanos's approval and thus became more and more embittered and vengeful when she fell short of Gamora (the [[ParentalFavoritism favorite daughter]]). When 2014 Nebula becomes vital for Thanos's schemes, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to him.
* ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'', being a bit of a JerkAss towards his own children when they were young. However, unlike most instances of this case, he does approve of the adult Albert (though still frustrated by his speech problems), much more than his oldest son. In real life, he expressed a preference for Albert and ''his nine-year-old granddaughter Elizabeth'' over Edward for the throne near the end of his life.
* ''Film/OctoberSky'' has Homer Hickam, who does want his father's approval, and his mounting frustration when his father fails to see the worth of his achievements [[spoiler:until the last rocket is launched. He also earns it when he goes to work in the mine to support the family, but loses it when he quits.]]
* Billy in ''Film/{{Buffalo 66}}'' hates both of his parents but still thrives to impress them, going so far as to kidnap a beautiful woman so he can pretend she's his wife.
* In ''Film/TheGuardian'', rescue swimmer trainee keeps trying to earn the respect of the class instructor, Ben Randall.
* ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'' -- the title character's father, being from a long line of miners, doesn't know what to make of Derek's job as a male model at first, but once Derek unveils the ultimate look "Magnum", he's more than proud to tell everyone "that's my son!"
* In ''[[Film/{{Pusher}} Pusher 2]]'', Tonny's motivation for most of the film is to make his father proud of him. [[spoiler:It doesn't happen.]]
* [[Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra Storm]] [[Film/GIJoeRetaliation Shadow]] was this as a boy.
* A large chunk of the plot in ''Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins'' is that successful TV talk show host Roscoe (Martin Lawrence), TheUnfavorite, still can't get his father (James Earl Jones) -- or anyone in his family except for his mother - to recognize and/or congratulate him for his accomplishments while still showering love and praise on his cousin Clyde (Cedric the Entertainer) for his car dealerships.
* Role reversed in ''Film/ThreeTenToYuma2007'' in which Dan Evans (Christian Bale) desperately wants to earn the love and respect of his bratty, ungrateful son William (Logan Lerman), thus inspiring him to take criminal Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to the train that will take him to prison (which will also provide him with some extra cash as a reward).
* In ''Film/MrBrooks'', Tracy Atwood inherited millions, but is still devoted to her career as a hard-working homicide detective, all because her father was very disappointed that she was born a girl, and he let her know it, so she has spent her whole life trying to prove him wrong.
* ''Film/InAWorld...'': Carol is this to father Sam Soto, a StrawMisogynist who feels there is no market for female voice-over in movie trailers. At least part of her drive to say [[InAWorld the titular phrase]] in a professional movie trailer is to prove him wrong.
* ''Film/TheGreenHornetSerials'': Britt Reid starts out with this motivation -- he and Kato build the [[CoolCar super-car that will become the Black Beauty]] simply to show Britt's dad that Britt isn't just a playboy. This vanishes as soon as he adopts the role of the Hornet. (Dad probably would have been happy with his son taking an active role running " The Sentinel", which also happens at that time.)
* ''Film/TroubleWithTheCurve'': Mickey has spent her life trying to prove herself to her father due to a lingering fear that he left her because she wasn't good enough for him.
* In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', Eggsy wants to be recruited in order to not disappoint Harry almost as much as he does it to prove to himself that he's more than a LowerClassLout.
* ''Film/{{Kenau}}'': Don Fadrique, the commander of the Spanish forces besieging Haarlem, visibly turns into a little boy when his father General Alba makes an unexpected visit to berate him for failing to subdue the city.
* In ''Film/TheJungleBook2016''', Mowgli wants Bagheera's approval of him using human tools to survive among the wolves. But Bagheera's stern attitude and disapproval of these "tricks", wanting to keep things between Man and the jungle separated to the point of near dogmatism, puts a bit of strain on their relationship. Fortunately, Bagheera does learn to appreciate these "tricks" after Mowgli saves an elephant calf with these tools and even encourages him to use these tools during the final battle with Shere Khan.
* ''Film/ItRunsInTheFamily'': Set in the summer months circa 1940 and taken from Creator/JeanShepherd's "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" (the same source material as ''Film/AChristmasStory''). During the movie, Ralphie and the Old Man (Charles Grodin) go fishing every weekend but fail to catch anything. Until one day when Ralphie is hauling in one huge fish after another, while his father, who didn't get a nibble, looks on in genuine surprise. After a while, other boats on the lake start to crowd Ralphie and his dad. Jean Shepherd narrates at this point: "My old man never said in so many words, 'I'm proud of you, Ralphie,' but somehow he always let me know that he was proud of me." The Old Man then stands up and shouts to the other boats, "Hey, get lost, we've got a fisherman at work here, give him some room!"
* ''Film/RioGrande'': Jeff Yorke flunks out of West Point and enlists in the army as a private to earn the respect of and to get to know his estranged father. They'd been separated since Jeff was a baby, as Colonel Yorke's duties during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar led to his being ordered to burn down his wife's family plantation. It's somewhat different in that Colonel Yorke clearly cares for his son, but can only show/do so much due to his position as commanding officer and both his and Jeff's desire that the young private succeed on his own merit. After proving himself by undertaking a dangerous mission to rescue kidnapped children, Jeff earned his father's praise in three ways. His father trusts him to pull an arrow out of his shoulder, asks his son to help him to his horse, and finally stating to his now reconciled wife that "Our boy did well."
* In ''Film/WhiteFrog'', Nick's therapist remembers that her mother wanted her to become a doctor, didn't think therapists were "real" doctors, and spent so much time hounding her about it that she still hears her mother's voice criticizing her.
-->'''Dr. King''': Dead people, they come and go like they own you.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
%%* Anastasia is rewritten into this in ''Disney/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime.''
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' it first seems like this when it's revealed that Mandrake is Dadga's father, but it's averted in the next second.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FantasticMrFox'', Ash may be a sullen brat in the beginning, but he also tries to live up to his father's fame, only to then be hopelessly overshadowed by [[TheAce his unbearably perfect cousin, Kristofferson]], whom his own father can't stop praising. However, at the climax of the story, Ash has grown to like the goodhearted Kris after all and accepts his own limits; only then does he stun his father with an act that deeply impresses him.
* Both Fred and E.B. (the Easter Bunny's son) in ''Film/{{Hop}}''.
* The direct-to-DVD movie ''[[Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove Kronk's New Groove]]'' is focused around Kronk desperately attempting to impress his father -- who expects Kronk to have a big house on the hill and a beautiful wife. Kronk isn't even looking for verbal praise, but simply wants one of his father's elusive thumbs-up.
* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', part of Tai Lung's motivation is feeling betrayed by his de facto father, Shifu, for not standing up to Master Oogway when the turtle refused to dub him Dragon Warrior after working so hard to impress him. Conversely, Shifu feels profoundly guilty for having raised such a bully and only finds peace in training Po, who effectively becomes a new son for him. For his part, Po grows to see Shifu as a second father and strives to live up to his hopes, although Po loves his (obviously) official adoptive father no less.
** And true to form, while the pride Po's father has for him is mostly implied by his acceptance of the panda as a Kung Fu warrior instead of a noodle-maker, Shifu actually comes right out and tells Tai Lung that he was always proud of him, that he'd had his respect all along ([[SelfFulfillingProphecy then he had to go and ruin it by turning evil]]).
** Also, it is implied that Tigress has been training her entire life to earn Shifu's approval, but he has been too guilty over his failure with Tai Lung to give it to her.
*** This is explained in the short film ''Secrets of the Furious Five'' -- Shifu actually adopted Tigress from her orphanage. She ''is'' his daughter for all intents and purposes.
*** There is more than that. Tigress clearly sees herself as an unloved, unpraised, second-rate ReplacementGoldfish for Tai Lung and blames Tai Lung for breaking Shifu's heart and making him the {{jerkass}} he is in the beginning. Funny that Tai Lung accuses Shifu of exactly the same lack of love and approval (except that being the EvilCounterpart he actually snaps as a result). While they are wrong about Shifu, the latter's parenting techniques clearly suck.
** This is Master Thundering Rhino's old motivation for street-fighting, and later for taking Master Oogway's offer of a bandit-capturing job, in the Short ''Secrets of the Masters''; all he wants is his father's - Master Flying Rhino's - words of pride.
* In an interesting variation, happens twice to Simba of ''Disney/TheLionKing'' (though [[{{Sequelitis}} with decidedly less subtlety the second time around]]). Although anything but an emotionally distant father, Mufasa is often preoccupied with the duties of the throne, and little Simba certainly sees him as a hero, worshiping the ground his paws tread upon. But there is no indication Simba ever doubts he has his father's love or respect...until Scar convinces him he is to blame for his father's death. Then, overcome with remorse and believing no one could ever forgive him, he voluntarily goes into exile. It is Mufasa's ghost, reminding him of his place in the Circle of Life and telling him, "You are my son and the one true king," that sets him back on the right path again. And with a simple, single word, "Remember..." he lets his son know he is very proud of him, indeed. However...
* ''Disney/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'':
** ''Simba's Pride'' has Simba forgetting this moving testimonial and [[SingleIssuePsychology unable to get over his past]], refusing to trust Kovu or see him as anything but a reincarnation of Scar, all in the mistaken belief that this is what his father would do (and therefore, would make Mufasa proud of him). Luckily, Nala, as usual, is the voice of reason while Kiara, [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped with typical bluntness]], makes it quite clear to her father that he is not and never will be Mufasa. And just to hammer the point home that Simba does not have to emulate his father's reign (or his perception of it) in order to receive his love and pride, Mufasa's ghost actually says the words, "Well done, my son," after the prides are united and peace is declared.
** Nuka constantly seeks his mother's approval and receives it only when he [[spoiler:''dies'' trying to impress her by killing Simba.]] Zira's pained expression is probably the most "human" moment she has. The trope is more explicit [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXEFNaiFIWk here]].
* Implied with Melody in ''Disney/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea'' towards Ariel in a few scenes. This exchange at the end also helps:
-->'''Melody''': I just wanted to be a better mermaid than a girl.\\
'''Ariel''': Oh, no, sweetie, it doesn't matter if you have fins or feet. We love you for who you are on the inside, our very brave little girl.
* Most of Sulley's arrogance in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' is revealed to be [[spoiler:insecurity on his part due to the Sullivan family placing a huge amount of pressure on him to have a scare major like his father]].
* ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'': Although they don't actively ''dislike'' her, it's obvious that Mulan's parents don't exactly...''understand'' her. The last words she speaks to her father before running off to join the army are... ''strained''. At the end of the movie, though, he changes his tune. Beautifully.
-->'''Fa Zhou''': The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'': Even after the death of his father, Rameses is still struggling with the man's immense shadow and wants to be the kind of Pharaoh his father was. This leads to tragedy for the Egyptians. TruthInTelevision for this one, at least for the first half of that statement. The Pharaoh in question in ''Literature/TheBible'' is unnamed, but Rameses II was by all accounts one of Egypt's greatest Pharaohs, and many speculate that his achievements were motivated by a desire to live up to his distant father's legacy.
-->'''Moses''': All he cares about is your approval. I know he will live up to your expectations. He only needs the opportunity.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': Remy tries his best to show his father that he can be a chef and get along with humans, despite both these things seeming impossible due to them being rats.
* Gru from ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' has struggled for a long time to earn his mother's approval. Even in his youth, he did things like build a model rocket (a functional one that he launched), but he was left with an "eh" from her. It's after he saves the girls from Vector and hosts a private recital for them that she tells him that she's [[SoProudOfYou proud of him]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH2TimmyToTheRescue'': Done poorly. "So, Timmy, your dad was practically a living god. We just can't stop praising him and, since some random prophecy said you were going to be the hero of this movie, we WILL make you be just like him. No complaints. Questions?"
* ''Disney/{{Tarzan}}'': Tarzan is constantly seeking the approval of Kerchak, who refuses to accept Tarzan as a member of the gorilla pack, much less as his adopted son. That all changes when Tarzan [[BigDamnHeroes comes back to save them]]. Sadly, it doesn't last that long, as [[spoiler:Kerchak receives a fatal bullet wound from Clayton. After Clayton's death, Tarzan kneels over Kerchak, who passes on leadership of the pack to Tarzan and acknowledges Tarzan as his son [[FamousLastWords with his last words]].]]
* In Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'', this trope is revealed to be a central motivation for Russell and his obsession with earning all his Explorer patches: his estranged father has been ignoring him and Russell is clinging to a thin hope that if he earns all his patches and makes Senior Explorer, maybe his father will come for the promotion ceremony. As it is, when the boy finally makes it home and gets that promotion, his father fails to show and the boy is heartbroken. However, Carl, who now sees Russell as the son he never had with his wife Ellie, comes to play the father's role in the ceremony and gives Russell his most prized possession, the bottle cap badge Ellie gave him when they first met as children.\\
Some of Russell's interactions with Carl also follow this trope. Carl, himself, is trying to make his dead wife proud, feeling that he failed her in her dreams to have an adventure until he discovers that nothing meant more to her than having a life with him.
* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'':
** PlayedForDrama for [[TragicVillain Prince Hans of the Southern Isles]], as it serves as his FreudianExcuse behind his actions in Arendelle, as seen in the TieInNovel ''Literature/AFrozenHeart''. [[spoiler:He fears being a disappointment to his [[JerkAss neglectful father and abusive 12 older brothers]], who frequently ignore or bully him for being a weakling. This suggests his more villainous actions are actually [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex a massive veneer of self-loathing and depression]]. Despite this, the primary motivator for all the great lengths that Hans goes to, and the terrible decisions he makes, is to get the approval of the family that frequently looks down on him, even if it meant attempting to usurp another kingdom's throne.]] To say that he has daddy issues is a big {{understatement}}.
*** [[spoiler:This is also the prime motivation behind Hans' brothers as well, as they want their father to be appreciative of them. Even their abuse of Hans seems to be out of a desire to make their father favor them for showing no tolerance for "weakness."]]
** This trope also applies to Queen Elsa of Arendelle as well: During "For the First Time In Forever", the way she looks up at the painting of her father while she is mentally preparing herself for her coronation suggests that she fears being a disappointment to her deceased parents. Not to mention her coping mantra involves the phrase "Be the good girl you've always had to be".
* The Interquel to ''Disney/{{Bambi}}'' converts the title character to one in something of a RealityEnsues of his offscreen upbringing by the Great Prince in the first movie. Both characters are still traumatised by the death of Bambi's mother and the Great Prince's mate, while the Great Prince himself is not only TheAce but a fairly aloof guy who is wary to fathering Bambi (as he lampshades, stags do not naturally raise young). Just as the Great Prince submits to bonding with Bambi, he attempts to send him off with a SurrogateParent, leading an upset Bambi to [[CallingTheOldManOut Call The Old Man Out]]. He ultimately changes his mind after a series of heroic events from Bambi.
* The Once-ler from ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax.'' His family, especially his mother, [[{{Jerkass}} enjoys making fun of how much of a failure he is.]] Oncie proves them wrong...at least until the last Truffula Tree is cut down.
* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel:'' Hugo is hardly the nicest father, and has high expectations for Penelope to grow into a mighty dragon. He disapproves of her friendship with Rapunzel and her CuteClumsyGirl tendencies. He gets better after she demonstrates her UndyingLoyalty and overcomes her fears, admitting he was wrong.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/OurMissBrooks'': Gary Nolan resents his father's inattention.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''WebVideo/DeathNoteTheAbridgedSeriesKpts4tv'', Light with his father. [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Souichiro]] sees Light as nothing but a disappointment because not only is he [[{{Gayngst}} gay]] but [[spoiler: he's a WhiteSheep and [[MuggleBornOfMages he didn't inherit any of the cool]] [[HalfHumanHybrid Shinigami powers]].]]
* In ''WebVideo/AbridgedOnTitan'', when Carla blurted out before she died that her adopted child [[TheAce Mikasa]] was her favorite, [[TheUnfavorite Eren]] ends up with such a raging inferiority complex because of it that he actually hallucinates his mother belittling him and taunting him about how Mikasa is better than him. His motivation for killing the Titans is less about avenging her death and more about proving to Carla and Mikasa once and for all that he is the best.
* ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria'': Colonel Thunderbolt, [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Commander Hurricane's]] daughter ([[ReallyGetsAround one of many]]). It's implied that she just wanted Daddy to acknowledge her and she felt the best way to do it was to have Equestria [[PuttingOnTheReich become]] a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratocracy Stratocracy.]] Fortunately, Hurricane is able to convince her that she doesn't need to do anything so rash to get his approval.
* ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfHistories'' has [[Manga/SailorMoon Usagi]] desperate to earn her father's love, convinced that the reason he's so distant is that she's simply not 'good enough' to be his daughter.
* ''FanFic/AdviceAndTrust'': Subverted. For a long while, Shinji strove to earn his father's approval. Throughout the story, he stops caring thanks to his stronger bonds with Asuka and Rei (and realizing how his father treats the latter). However, Gendo still thinks his son is desperate for his approval and attention and that he can use that desire to manipulate him.
* ''FanFic/AndTheStoryContinues'': L is this for [[ByronicHero Mello]] and her mother is this for [[IceQueen Kiyomi]]; {{deconstructed|Trope}} in both cases. Mello pulls a FaceHeelTurn when he figures out the truth behind [[spoiler:L's death]] and believes that L abandoned him and all the kids at Wammy's House. Meanwhile, after a particularly nasty phone conversation with her mother Kiyomi decides she can do without her approval after all since [[AGodAmI she is now a goddess]] and [[spoiler:[[SelfMadeOrphan kills both her and her father]] [[PsychicAssistedSuicide with the Death Note.]]]]
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4547552/10/Arms-of-A-Dark-Angel Arms of a Dark Angel]]'':
-->'''[=McGonagall=]:''' Actually, your description sounds a lot like my father, Severus. He too was a strict perfectionist bastard. He set certain rules when my brothers and I were growing up, and heaven help you if you didn't live up to them. But he was always fair, though I didn't see that until I was older. As a child I thought I could never please the old battleaxe, though I never quit trying. When I got my Transfiguration Mastery at twenty-five, I was sure he'd find something to criticize about that too, since I hadn't gotten the highest score on the test that I could have, and he'd wanted me to marry and not go into teaching. I was waiting for him to make some kind of comment when he came up to me after the ceremony, for Ian [=McGonagall=] never missed an opportunity to tell you what he thought.\\
'''Snape:''' And did he?\\
'''[=McGonagall=]:''' He did, but not the way I was expecting. He looked me up and down and then he smiled and said, 'Ye've done me proud, Minnie my lass.' That was all, but God, it meant more to me than all the hugs and congratulations and all from everyone else there. I still remember it to this day. And that was over forty-something years ago. I loved him very much, the damn stubborn old man.
* ''FanFic/BoysUndSenshado'': Although Miho arguably does not qualify in canon (see the ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' entry above), she is referred to as such by Maho, when Maho is [[CallingTheOldManOut calling Shiho out]] on [[spoiler:disowning Miho]].
-->'''Maho''': But what about [Miho's] happiness, mother? She loves you and you [[spoiler:cast her out]]... don't you see how much that has hurt her. She wants to make you proud... why do you think she persisted in sensha-do as a freshman? You have hurt her, mother.
* ''FanFic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': Shinji agreed to pilot Unit 01, among other reasons, because he did not want his father thinking he was a coward.
* ''FanFic/TheCrimsonGarment'': Satsuki is changed into this and believes that [[BrokenAce becoming "perfect"]] will put a stop to her mother, Ragyo's, abuse.
* ''FanFic/DearOldDad'' has both Ryuji and Akechi of the [[VideoGame/Persona5 Phantom Thieves]] were this to their father. Yes, father, not fathers: both of them have Masayoshi Shido as their father. As the one who had him in his life the most before he left, Ryuji tells Akechi that trying to get his acknowledgement and respect will not happen. [[ReallyGetsAround The rest of Shido's children]] do not have this trope apply to them at any point in time however, '''at all'''.
* ''FanFic/DoingItRightThisTime'':
** Subverted. Shinji sought his father's acknowledgment and approval. After going through the Angel War and end of the world, returning to the past and finding out about what kind of life Rei has led he is sick of it:
--->'''Shinji''': "Well, he can keep his fucking approval,"
** Shinji really thought a SoProudOfYou moment was the only thing he was getting out of piloting Eva:
--->''"We get paid?"''\\
''Asuka facepalmed externally for good measure. "Yes, Shinji, we get paid. Quite well, in fact. Did you think the only thing you were getting out of this gig was empty promises of basic parental affection?"''\\
''"Actually... yeah."''\\
''Asuka pondered this information for a long moment. "Well, that explains a lot," she concluded. "C'mon, Shinji, let's go spend your dad's money!"''
* ''FanFic/{{Empire}}'': After getting out of Azkaban, Sirius reconciles with his [[EvilMatriarch mother]].
* ''FanFic/FateZeroSanity'': In the sequel, ''Fate:Stay Nightmare'', Mordred is summoned as Avenger and seeks the approval of her father (Saber) even while she wants to kill her.[[note]]In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', King Arthur was actually a girl. The fanfic asserts that Merlin used magic to give her temporary man-parts in order to sire a son.[[/note]]
* ''FanFic/{{Heroes}}'': Kirk deduces that Spock's reason for wanting the (illusionary) Surak's approval was that he could never get it from his father (See LiveActionTV)
* ''Fanfic/GhostsOfEvangelion'':
** Asuka is a demanding mother. Ryuko remembers that Asuka congratulated her when she played in middle school regionals, but she looked bored; however, when she received a prize for her musical accomplishments, her mother practically glowed. Kyoko explains that is the difference between congratulating your children obligatorily when they have done something well and praising their true achievements.
--->'''Kyoko''':"That's it. That's the difference between obligatory praise and true accomplishment. The first was obligation; when a child does something properly we're expected to encourage them, even though they haven't really accomplished a damn thing. But this... this was true pride. I've never seen her happier than she was on that day. Not once.
** Asuka is also proud when her daughter stands up to her after an argument:
--->'''Asuka''': You little brat. Not even your father talks to me that way.\\
'''Ryuko''': Tch. He calls you out on your bullshit all the time. Misato does, too. I'm not an idiot, mom; I see what's going on around me. How the hell would I have the nerve to speak up otherwise?\\
'''Asuka''': (laughing and hugging her) You stupid little brat! I'm glad to see you take after your father in ways other than musical talent!\\
'''Ryuko''': Cut it out, mom! Jeez, you're embarrassing me!\\
'''Asuka''': I'm proud of you, little girl. I truly am.
* ''FanFic/HigherLearning'': Shinji had sought his father’s approval when he was a kid but he stopped caring about it throughout the story. However, [[spoiler:in the final scene]] he is told that his father is proud of him.
* ''FanFic/{{Jericho}}'': [[FirstPersonSmartass Jeri]][[SociopathicHero cho]] himself has this is shades. How much of it is actually true is unknown, seeing as he occasionally remarks that his father was cruel because he never forgave Jericho for [[DeathByChildbirth killing his own mother in childbirth]], and sometimes he'll randomly say things like, "Oh God, this is worse than that time I got laid at my high school prom. And I was homeschooled. [[BreadEggsMilkSquick By my]] ''[[BreadEggsMilkSquick father]]''."
** This is lampshaded by the level-up perk Jericho receives in chapter 12:
---> ''New Perk: Daddy Issues;—Daddy never hugged you enough. This gives you a [[FreudianExcuse Freudian excuse]] to misbehave. Oh, and you now do +5% bonus damage to mothers, fathers, and expecting fathers. But you also do +10% bonus damage to expecting mothers, [[spoiler:because you’re a giant cunt and you sicken me]].''
** [[TheWoobie Cards]] has so much of this that it gets sad and then funny and then sad but ultimately funny again. [[spoiler:It culminates with Cards being forced to bludgeon her own mother to death.]] Because ''Jericho'' is all for BlackComedy, this, too, gets made fun of:
---> ''Companion Quest Perk Added: Born of Barren Womb -- What, you didn’t know that [[spoiler: murdering your own mother]] gave you special quasi-supernatural powers? Well, it’s true! (If your name is Cards and you were forced to [[spoiler:beat your mother to death]], that is.) With this perk, Cards does 15% more damage with blunt weapons. She will never be able to hit someone in the head without ever thinking of [[spoiler:her mother]] now, haha!''
** Even [[{{Tsundere}} Lightning Dust]] has this, having always worked hard trying to earn the respect of her abusive, alcoholic father.
---> ''“I... I loved my mother, but not my father. For him, I have a begrudging, hateful respect. He told me he didn’t want me to be stuck in a dead-end life like he was in, with nothing of value in the world. He told me that the only way to get anywhere in life was to be better than everybody else: better, faster, stronger. Leave others in the dust... the lightning dust... In a way, I should thank him. His constant... efforts to be a father got me to the top, I had my dream so close I could smell it. And in the end, because I listened to my father, I lost everything I ever had--” she looked at me, shaking her head “--and ever wanted. And sometimes we don’t ever get a second chance.”''
** Basically, everyone in the story. Because the author is a [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who enjoys making characters suffer.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10923228/4/Know-Your-Rights Know Your Rights]]'': Hermione's father fills this role, due chiefly to his disappointment at not having a son instead. Sadly, she never gets to earn his approval as he dies shortly after his first and only appearance in the story.
-->''Her father was a hard man to impress. Hermione focused on studying and being the very best in her class. The very best was not good enough, as her father told her that she could always do better. Hermione was determined to gain the satisfaction of her father, gain a word of praise, gain anything.''
* ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'': Drill Man just wants to make Wily proud of him. This backfires horribly in Episode 8.
* ''FanFic/MegaManRecut'': Snake Man is this.
* ''FanFic/MutatisMutandis'': Heavily implied for Rogue toward Mystique. The latter appears to be the one person the former respects and the reason she bothers to try at her new high school. Unfortunately, though she does care, Mystique sees Rogue as ultimately an agent of the Brotherhood of Mutants for her to brainwash and use against the government.
* ''FanFic/NecessaryToWin'': {{Discussed|Trope}} when [[Anime/GirlsUndPanzer Maho]] realizes that in spite of her efforts to live up to Shiho's expectations so that Miho will not have to inherit the family school, [[spoiler:Miho will be disowned if she loses the semifinals]]. She talks with [[{{Manga/Saki}} Teru]], who had to deal with her mother's high expectations for her in tankery, and her father's desire that she not do tankery at all, causing Teru to remark that it's almost impossible to live your life trying to please others.
* ''FanFic/NobodyDies'': Asuka is the gender-inverted version of this trope turned UpToEleven, to the point where Kyoko is an outright AbusiveParent, but it also remains a facet of Shinji's relationship with his father; Gendo might be a lot less messed up with Yui still at his side, but he isn't prone to overt displays of emotion and it's not always obvious that yes, he ''does'' love his son. They spend a fair chunk of the story working through this.
* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': Subverted. Shinji used to crave for his father's attention and praise. Now he thinks that he was an idiot for desiring Gendo's approval.
* ''FanFic/ThePrivateDiaryOfElizabethQuatermain'': Elizabeth has issues of this nature toward her famous father, Allan. [[spoiler:Because the series takes place after his death, this never gets fully resolved, although she does make a sort of peace with it in time.]]
* ''Blog/ReadingRainbowverse'': Lightning Dust towards Spitfire. She just wants to show her mom she's Wonderbolt material! [[spoiler:Interestingly enough, it's implied that Spitfire disapproves of her action because she thinks that she's not a good enough mother for Lightning, and disowned her after Lightning was seriously injured primarily to break the obsession and keep her safe.]]
* ''FanFic/{{Shatterheart}}'': Syaoran is constantly seeking Kurogane's approval because Kurogane is the first person that actually acknowledged him [[spoiler:as a separate person from his clone]] and the first in the group to ''stop'' shunning him. Syaoran overcomes his {{Hikikomori}}-ness and actually tries to talk to Fai and Sakura because he wanted Kurogane to be proud of him. Syaoran even lampshades it when he forces himself to stay through a hostile dinner with the rest of the group.
* ''FanFic/TheStalkingZukoSeries'': Zuko has [[CharacterDevelopment grown out of this]] by the time the series starts, but it has influenced his actions in the past, such as his desire to learn how to play the tsungi horn, a relatively difficult instrument, to show he can master something difficult outside of bending.
* ''FanFic/TalesFromTheFleet'': Spur is the daughter of the ''Pint of Bitter's'' captain. Not only does this put serious pressure on her from everyone else, but she barely sees him and he's not even allowed to praise her for a job well done.
-->'''Spur''': Captain can't play favorites.\\
'''Syaoran''': This can't be healthy. There's no way I'm this desperate for approval.
* ''FanFic/Team8'': Like in [[{{Manga/Naruto}} canon]], Hinata is this to Hiashi, but his [[AdaptationalJerkass stricter standards and harsher demeanor]] caused by a [[ForWantOfANail vague event]] make this seem like a futile endeavor. [[spoiler:Eventually {{Deconstructed}}; Hinata is so desperate to meet the harsh standards set by her father and family that she sees little to no value in anything else she accomplishes. It's only after her teacher points out how self-destructive this mentality is that Hinata starts to consider the possibility that her father could, in fact, be wrong about her.]]
* ''FanFic/ToHellAndBackArrowverse'': Tommy to his father, Malcolm Merlyn; and contrary to what you'd expect, their reconciliation has only made this trait ''worse''. This is a factor in his growing jealousy of his recently-returned best friend Oliver Queen, who Malcolm seems to be fonder of.
* ''Fanfic/WhereTalentGoesToDie''
** Free Time Events reveal that Shiro Kurogane, the Ultimate Shogi Player, comes from a family that competes against each other in shogi and that he outdid his siblings and other relatives in his quest for his parents' approval. Part of the reason why he has such an intense grudge against the protagonist for defeating him was that she inadvertently humiliated him in front of his family, and they haven't forgiven him for that failure.
** Reiko Mitamura, the strict and dutiful girl who volunteers to be TheLeader to the students, is revealed to be motivated in part by a desire for her parents' approval. Unfortunately for her, because her parents raise their expectations as she excels to greater heights, she ends up becoming ThePerfectionist, simply because she can't bear to let them down.
* ''FanFic/YuGiOhForever'': Several characters suffer because of this. The most blatant is Natasha, Zane Truesdale's daughter who is introduced in the final arc; her father has been very stoic toward her despite her desire to win his approval, and this combined with her older brother's blatant hatred for her [[spoiler:because he blames her for their mother's DeathByChildbirth]] has turned her into an extreme case of ShrinkingViolet, leading to a full-blown HeroicBSOD after said brother defeats her in the arc's tournament. [[CallingTheOldManOut Alexis calls Zane out on it]], and fortunately he makes an effort to do better.
* ''FanFic/TheFlashSentryChronicles'': Trixie's father is a Manehatten Institute for Magical Learning teacher, which has a very high standard for students. Trixie attended for awhile but dropped out when she couldn't keep up with the standards due to her average magic, disappointing her father. So she travels Equestria with her show and boasts about herself to get praise from others to make up for her father never giving her any.
* Downplayed in ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy.'' Peter is not Izuku's father, is openly supportive of him and repeatedly tells him that he doesn't need to meet anyone's approval. Despite this, Izuku constantly looks up to Peter and tries to follow his example to be the best Spider-Man he can be.
[[/folder]]

* Anastasia is rewritten into this in ''Disney/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime.''

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'', being the emotionally reclusive obsessive vigilante that he is, is generally shown as not showing gratitude, approval, or any emotion towards his adoptive sons (i.e., the Robins), at least for anything short of saving his life. However, they've known him so long that they've can tell when a small nod and an urge to get back to work really means "I'm proud of you." And it often does (how touching).
** It also helps that he does ''tell'' them when they've done good work. He won't gush, but he'll say it. When they have been exceptionally resourceful, he isn't above saying so either:
--->'''Batman''': ''(to ComicBook/{{Huntress}})'' This is good work... No. This is ''outstanding'' work.
** And:
--->'''Batman''': Good work, Huntress.\\
'''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}''': Rest ''easy'', Huntress. That's his ''highest'' praise.
** One of the reasons Jason Todd is ''so messed up'' (among many) is that he wants Batman to approve of him, while at the same time believing that Batman never did and wanted to replace him.
** Soon after the introduction of Damian Wayne, [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] had been feeling somewhat overshadowed, leading him to go out solo in search of information on a recent case -- after getting into trouble, Batman bails him out, and immediately tells him "You have ''nothing'' to prove to me."
** There were a lot of times Batman refused to accept [[BlackSheep Spoiler]], but there were a few instances that he did. [[http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/ScottyQuick/GothamKnights7.jpg "Don't apologize and don't turn it off. I ... don't mind the company."]]
** Batman is sometimes portrayed as torn between wanting people to carry on the fight after he croaks or retires, and wanting something better for his "kids". One of the reasons he's slow with the praise and quick with the criticism is that part of him ''wants'' his adoptive children to reject his lifestyle and go on to live normal happy ''sane'' lives. That and he's a (self-admitted) bundle of issues. They wisely refused to take the hint.
** Dick Grayson, in particular, is adept at seeing through Bruce's rather irrational attempts at bullshitting a stern, authoritarian persona. For example, when Bruce gives Dick papers that would make Dick Bruce's legal son, he spews a long stream of flimsy qualifications, explanations that it was just a courtesy, and reassurances that Dick doesn't have to do it if it insults the memory of the Graysons. Dick interrupts him mid-sentence with "I get it— and I love you too."
*** History repeats itself when Bruce offers to formally adopt Tim Drake sometime after Jack Drake's death in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis''. He gives Tim the exact same speech he gave to Dick and reassures Tim that he isn't trying to dishonor Jack Drake's memory or replace him as a father. Tim responds with a tearful hug.
** In a way, Batman also has this with his own father. On several occasions, one can catch him wondering if his parents are proud of him and would approve of his decision, and DependingOnTheWriter he may or may not hold himself responsible for the circumstances of their death. His dad, in particular, plays a large role in his psyche, as he was by all accounts a smart, brave, noble RenaissanceMan who divided his time between being a successful businessman, generous philanthropist, world-class surgeon, and devoted husband and dad. Bruce is sometimes depicted as somewhat ashamed that, though he is a heroic crimefighter on the one hand, on the other he is also a violent vigilante who dresses like a giant bat. When he compares himself to his dead father, he generally puts himself down.
*** He sometimes asks Alfred if his father would be proud or ashamed of him... and sometimes he asks Alfred if ''he'' is proud or ashamed of him. Alfred almost always responds that both of them are proud of him, sometimes even if he never asked. Alfred, after all, has always seen Bruce as a son, just as Bruce has always seen Alfred as a second father.
*** FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you realize Bruce was raised by Alfred for a substantial chunk of his life, and between not ''technically'' being Bruce's father and [[StiffUpperLip the way his personality is wired]], Alfred was often reserved and restrained with Bruce as well. That might contribute to why Bruce acts the same way to his own adoptive kids.
** This is how Damian views Bruce, and the core of their relationship in the New 52. It's not that Bruce doesn't appreciate Damian, but he has no idea how to be an actual father to Damian and has difficulty trying to express his feelings to him, both as Robin's mentor and as Damian's dad. Alfred is trying to help him figure it out.
** Among his other insecurities, Oswald Cobblepot "The Penguin" really wanted his mother to be proud of him.
* Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}} is basically Batman's EvilCounterpart in this regard. He comes across as distant and verbally abusive towards his three children, but in reality, he loves them a great deal and secretly harbors immense guilt over his inability to be the dad they needed. His buddy Wintergreen suggested that this is because while Slade is capable of ''feeling'' emotions like love, he's so screwed up in the head that he can't actually ''express'' them like a rational human being.
* ''Franchise/TheFlash'':
** Wally West has a severe case of this especially after TakingUpTheMantle from his late uncle and mentor Barry Allen. It gets to a point where he is in constant HeroicSelfDeprecation and it is being used against him. With character development over the years and a direct "SoProudOfYou" from Barry's own mouth, he finally moves past this.
** In return Bart Allen picks up from where Wally left off and this time it's towards Wally himself. To get his "well done", he goes lengths of taking up Kid Flash mantle and reading the entire San Francisco library. It takes for him getting kneecapped by Deathstroke to make Wally notice it.
** Later Wally's own children join this. While Wally makes sure to give their well done every time, Jai starts to develop a darker side after losing his powers.
* In [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel Marvel's]] (and now [[ComicBook/GIJoeDevilsDue Devil's Due's]]) Franchise/GIJoe continuity, Storm Shadow felt unwanted and underappreciated after his uncles praised Snake-Eyes's abilities above even his own. However, in a subversion, an assassin uses this resentment, which is by that point out in the open, to frame Storm Shadow for killing his uncle -- Storm Shadow himself would never have ''considered'' such a thing.
* Ajak from ''ComicBook/TheEternals'' used to be the only Eternal who could directly communicate with the Golden Celestial. Ajak took this as a sign of favoritism and did all he could to learn about the Celestials. After the series had a reboot, it was revealed that Makkari was the Celestial's favorite. Ajak did not take the news well.
** Ajak was made to talk to the Celestials whenever they show up, it's just ''this'' one isn't like the others and likes Makkari (and ComicBook/IronMan) better.
* In Franchise/{{Superman}} comics, ComicBook/LoisLane has something like this going on with her father, Major Sam Lane. Her sister Lucy appears to have it even worse in recent appearances.
** Michael Fleischer mentions in ''The Great Superman Book'' that Kal-El might very well have had a similar thing with ''his'' father, one of the universe's greatest scientists, if Krypton had not been destroyed (especially since in one flashback his mother Lara is shown expressing concern that Kal is a year old and hasn't yet fully mastered calculus, to which Jor-El agrees that he is "a little backward"). In fact, he might have been shy and unassuming, like Clark.
* Subverted in the [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furry comic]], ''Comicbook/AssociatedStudentBodies'', where one of the main characters told the story of his childhood being physically abused by his drunken father so badly that he was driven to drink himself, stealing his father's booze. Eventually, the wolf cub grew up tall and strong enough to fight back effectively enough give his father a furious beating. However, even while he was lying in a pool of blood, his father's only comment was an admiring one, "'Bout time you were a man." For his part, the cub was completely disgusted by this perverse admiration of bloody violence and left his father to enlist in the military as soon he could.
* Harry Osborn of ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' looks to his father this way, even more so in the ''Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan'' line, where Norman considers Peter Parker 'my boy' rather than Harry. Yet, he stops his rampage when the Ultimates bring Harry to confront him.
* A more lighthearted Spider-Man example is Eugene Patilio, aka the Frog-Man. The reason for his costumed identity is not only because he wants his dad to be proud of him, but because his dad used to be a small-time costumed criminal called the Leap-Frog, and he wants to do good deeds with the old equipment to redeem his father. Problem is, [[SuperZeroes he's not very good at it.]]
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': Most incarnations of ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} are this with Magneto, but Ultimate Quicksilver has this in spades - Magneto repeatedly condescends towards him, and requests that Cyclops [[spoiler: call him 'Father' in Quicksilver's presence]] - until finally [[spoiler: Quicksilver betrays his dad]] after being 'treated like dirt under your shoe his whole life', then puts on that iconic helmet in private after thinking [[spoiler: that Magneto really died]]. He does the helmet thing all over again at [[spoiler:the end of the Ultimates series]]. And when [[spoiler:Magneto]] returns, he shoots [[spoiler:out both of Quicksilver's knees (not for betraying him, but for sissyfying his organization)]], but later seems to show concern over [[spoiler:his son]]'s condition.
** In ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'', Victor Van Damme's driving obsession has always been to win the respect and love of his coolly aloof father.
* Kalibak ''lives'' for the approval of his father {{ComicBook/Darkseid}}. Darkseid repays Kalibak's devotion by constantly snubbing him in favor of Orion and giving Kalibak the Omega treatment whenever he fails to meet Darkseid's impossible standards -- or just for the sheer hell of it. Darkseid's affection is limited to reviving Kalibak in order to give him another chance to prove himself [[spoiler:and that's likely only because Kalibak's late mother Suli was the only person Darkseid ever truly loved.]]
** Darkseid's other sons don't share Kalibak's desire for approval. Orion ''loathes'' his father and is a sworn enemy of Darkseid and Apokolips. [[TheUnfavorite Grayven]] constantly tries to escape his father's shadow one way or another -- no easy task considering Grayven is a pale imitation of Darkseid in every possible way (a weaker variant of Darkseid's EyeBeams, same skin tone, similar physique...).
* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'', Gen. Armand D'Coolette's pride in his son, Antoine, wasn't quite obvious to the latter until the former was [[TearJerker on his deathbed]] in issue #168.
* ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'' has IQ Squared and his father, IQ. [[spoiler: He gets his dad's respect in the end, but for something he didn't actually do.]]
* ComicBook/SpiderGirl wants her [[ComicBook/SpiderMan father]] to be proud of her. That said, after some initial (very justified) reluctance to seeing his daughter taking on the role of superhero, he IS very proud of her.
* Pops up on occasion in both ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules'' and ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', with the eponymous heroes having similar troubles in pleasing their fathers, Zeus and Odin. Neither are particularly driven to distraction by it but it can be pretty irksome when you're one of the greatest warriors to have ever lived (a distinction that gets a lot more mileage in Marvel than it does in real life) and the best they can get out the old man is, "Is that the best you can do?"
** Ironically, this is the same for their arch-enemies ([[CainAndAbel and brothers]]) Ares and Loki respectfully. One of the key issues each villain has with the heroes is being TheUnfavorite and seeking to earn their father's approval. Attempts to destroy their fathers are often a result of this as well: "Love me or die?"
* ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} to some extent with Xavier. In most versions and for a large part of his publication, Scott was motivated by a desire to impress his surrogate father. In fact, a large part of the reason he shifted so much in personality following Jean's (second) death was from him realizing how terrible a father Xavier truly was to him, and then experiencing first hand ''why'' he was like that.
* A ''stunningly'' dark subversion in Garth Ennis' ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'' series. Jesse Custer breaks the back of the man who shot his father in front of his eyes, then later killed his mother [[spoiler: (or so he thought)]] and generally acted like a world-class sociopath... all the while teaching Jesse to ride, shoot, fight and fix engines. What are Jody's last words to him? "Prouda' you, boy..." Custer reacts by snarling out "DIE!" and strangling whatever life is left in him.
* A variation occurs in the ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story "Her Dark Plastic Roots". When the robot Beautie tries to figure out why she periodically suffers bouts of amnesia, she eventually discovers that she was invented by [[spoiler:the prodigy daughter of the GadgeteerGenius Dr. Gearbox. However, he denounces Beautie because he thinks engineering and mathematics are not proper fields for girls; this causes the daughter to angrily renounce Beautie, ordering her to go away and [[ExactWords "FORGET FOREVER!"]] ]]
* In ''ComicBook/WhiteSand'', for all of Kenton's RebelliousSpirit, he admits that his determination to become a Sand Master is mostly caused by his desire to live up to his father's expectations, to the point that after Praxton's death, [[spoiler:Kenton loses his ability to Master for a while.]]
* ''ComicBook/StarTrekEarlyVoyages'': In "The Fallen, Part One", it is readily apparent that Captain Pike and his hard-nosed father Admiral Josh Pike have a distant relationship. When Pike returns home to Mojave to visit his father during the ''Enterprise'''s layover at Earth, Admiral Pike is curt and unwelcoming. He says that there can only be two reasons why his son is visiting: either there is something that his doctors are not telling him or he wants something. He then asks him which one it is. Captain Pike is hurt at his father's attitude, especially since the visit was motivated by Commander Kaaj luring him into a trap with a ForgedMessage saying that the admiral was on his deathbed (as seen in "The Flat, Gold Forever"). In "The Fallen, Part Two", Captain Pike admits to Number One that he is afraid that his father will die alone while the ''Enterprise'' is on a mission.
* {{ComicBook/Maus}} is a harsh and unsentimental look at the trope, made even more tragic by being a work of non-fiction. Art states outright that he feels he has spent his entire life trying to win his father Vladek's approval from his father's idealized memories and fantasies of his brother Richieu, who died in the Holocaust. [[spoiler: With his dying breath, Vladek refers to Art as "Richieu", indicating that all his fears about his father's affection may very well have been spot on.]]
[[/folder]]

!Examples:

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/ArataTheLegend'' has a rare mother-son example, with Yorunami and his deceased mother.
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler: Reiner Braun]] originally enlisted out of a desire to earn recognition, out of the belief that doing so would allow them to reunite with their DisappearedDad and make him proud. It backfires spectacularly: [[spoiler: when he finally meets his biological father, the man screams IHaveNoSon and throws him out. By then, it's too late to back out of his mission... leading to him becoming a traumatized mass murderer that has lost everything because of his mother's lies]].
** [[spoiler:Zeke Yeager]] also has shades of this. He wanted his father to love him and be proud of him, but [[spoiler:Grisha]] was too busy [[spoiler:being part of LaResistance and only brainwashed his son into being a pawn]]. [[spoiler:Zeke]] ends up [[spoiler:betraying his parents and turning them into the authorities in order to save himself and his grandparents, who actually ''did'' love him]]. It turns out that [[spoiler:Grisha felt extreme remorse over how he treated Zeke and regrets not acknowledging him as an actual person]]. Much, much later, [[spoiler:Zeke is taken on a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind by Eren and sees Grisha's memories, allowing him to witness Grisha's grief. Through the magic of the Eldian [[TheLifestream paths]], Grisha is able to see the adult Zeke, and finally tells Zeke that he loves him... and begs Zeke to put a stop to Eren's plan of destroying the world]].
* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'''s [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Chane Laforet]] is prone to bending over backwards to please her father [[MadScientist Huey]], up to and including [[TheSpeechless giving up her voice]] just to better keep a secret for him. This is not helped by the fact that Huey, while surprised by her behavior, actively ''[[ManipulativeBastard encourages]]'' [[{{Jerkass}} this sort of thing for fun and profit]].
* In ''Manga/BakiTheGrappler'', the mother/son version of this trope is in full effect, as the protagonist Baki devotes his formative years to martial arts, in order to defeat his father in combat, in the hope that victory would gain him his mother's love and respect.
* In ''Anime/BattleSpiritsShonenToppaBashin'', J is one. [[spoiler: it would have saved him a lot of angst and his FaceHeelTurn had his father just spent more time with the family.]]
* As a kid, Guts of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' wanted more than anything to please his adoptive father Gambino, the leader of a mercenary band that took him in. Unfortunately, as this is the ''[[CrapsackWorld Berserk]]'' [[CrapsackWorld universe]], things turn out badly for him. ''Very'' badly. [[spoiler:Turns out that Gambino was a complete asshole who blamed Guts for the death of his lover Shisu from the plague, and who went as far as to ''have him raped by one of his men'' because he considered Guts "disgusting" and he did not feel that he could be "raised to be loyal like a dog." It all comes to a head when Gambino, having lost a leg in battle (the same battle that saw Guts taking violent revenge upon his rapist), gets drunk and heads into Guts' tent in order to murder him, and Guts has to kill him in self-defense.]]
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** They're estranged because Ryuuken [[RefusalOfTheCall rejects]] his family's Quincy heritage, but [[AloofAlly Uryuu]] still desires his [[HeroicNeutral father's]] approval. As a child, Uryuu once promised his grandfather that he would become very strong to prove the worth of the Quincies to Ryuuken. It's heavily implied that Uryuu has misunderstood his father's behaviour and that Ryuuken's encouraging this misunderstanding to [[MysteriousPast hide the truth]].
** Rukia always seeks approval from her adopted brother, [[AloofBigBrother Byakuya]]. He spent decades brushing her off by saying not to bother him with 'trivial' matters, resulting in her thinking he hated her. It turns out he was [[PillarsOfMoralCharacter conflicted by two clashing vows]] that prevented him from getting too close to her. Once Ichigo kicks some sense into his head, he becomes [[KnightTemplarBigBrother much less obscure]] about his feelings for Rukia. In the final arc, he finally [[SoProudOfYou acknowledges her strength]], almost reducing her to tears.
* In ''LightNovel/ChivalryOfAFailedKnight'', Ikki Kurogane was shunned by his family for being born weak and lacking natural talent. Ikki then dedicated his life to becoming the greatest swordsman he could be so that he could be a man his father would be proud of. While he succeeded in becoming a MasterSwordsman, his father [[KickTheDog bluntly tells him]] he will ''never'' support or acknowledge him, because Ikki's story of self-improvement completely contradicts his father's philosophy that everyone is born to be "cogs in a machine", which means everyone's talent and rank is predetermined. His father even attempts to sabotage Ikki's progress to prevent him from inspiring others to improve. After getting past the HeroicBSOD, Ikki accepted that his father is an asshole and decided to live only for himself and his friends and girlfriend.
* ''Manga/ConfidentialConfessions'' has this in Volume 3. Kyoko's father graduated from Tokyo University, so naturally, she's expected to match up not just by him, but everyone. This, combined with her own [[HollywoodPudgy weight issues]] are what drive her to drugs. [[spoiler:In an unusual variation, it's not Kyoko, but her ''father'' who realizes (after some soul searching) that he screwed up and drove her to the drugs in the first place.]]
* In ''Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx'', all of the parasites are raised with Papa, the head of APE, as a distant surrogate father figure that they are trying to impress. Zorome fully buys into this, and while the others are less enthusiastic, they all nod their heads in agreement when he starts boasting on how they are impressing Papa by defeating klaxosaurs.
* A fairly bizarre example occurs in ''Manga/TheDayOfRevolution'' when an intersexed schoolboy opts for gender reassignment surgery largely because he hopes becoming a girl will mend his broken relationship with his cold and distant father (fortunately it's not his only reason.)
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
** Future Trunks kind of got to have it both ways. Despite being repulsed by his father Vegeta's evil behavior, he still wanted his approval and often [[ShrinkingViolet behaved deferentially]]. Vegeta, being [[{{Jerkass}} Vegeta]], considered this a weakness and mocked him for it. He was surprised (and more than a little pissed off) when Trunks actually followed through on his threat to attack him if necessary to prevent Cell's transformation, even though that meant giving up all hope of winning his approval. When Trunks later ''died'' at Cell's hands, Vegeta found himself experiencing guilt for probably the first time ever, and [[PapaWolf went APESHIT on the murderer]]. Realizing that, after Trunks was revived and returned to his own timeline, Vegeta gave a small but powerful farewell salute.
** Present Trunks also has this towards his father, but Vegeta seems to have learned a small lesson and shows pride in his son from time to time. This generally takes the form of '[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy land a punch on my face]] and we'll go to the park for an hour'.
** Canon [[Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly Broly]] just wants to please his father Paragus, despite the latter literally putting a ShockCollar on him. Even when Cheelai and Lemo point out what a scumbag Paragus is, Broly just tells them not to badmouth his father like that. When Paragus dies in the FinalBattle, Broly activates his OneWingedAngel in despair.
* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': Inverted. Shinra can't help but be utterly mortified by his father's incredible stupidity. He doesn't go out of his way to stop his father's less... moral acts, but would rather his father keep it to himself. Shinra really isn't a fan of his father staying at his home and after Celty ties Shingen up for not paying her, Shinra immediately pickpockets him and throws his wallet to Celty.
* Reporter Takashi Jo from the manga ''Manga/EagleTheMakingOfAnAsianAmericanPresident'' also frequently tries to meet the challenges that his long-lost father, Democratic presidential candidate (and ZenSurvivor of the Vietnam War) Kenneth Yamaoka, poses to teach his illegitimate son the way of the MagnificentBastard. Takashi's attempts to understand Yamaoka conflict with his resentment over Yamaoka's abandoning his mother -- [[spoiler:and the suspicion that her recent, suspicious death was no accident...]]
* A female example is found in ''Manga/ElfenLied'' with Nana who sees Professor Kurama as her father, whom she calls "Papa," because she needed something to keep her from going insane during the torturous experimentation, believing that she is making him proud. Kurama, in turn, sees her as his own daughter and cares very much for her.
* Gender-flipped in ''Manga/FushigiYuugi''. In the manga (the anime only hints at it), [[TheFool Miaka Yuuki]] was portrayed as seeking her EducationMama's approval constantly before she was spirited to the Four God's Universe. [[spoiler:The manga explained such conduct as a side effect of her parents' divorce: child Miaka saw her mother crying often after Mr. Yuuki left and vowed to not make her cry.]]
* Toshiki in ''Manga/GetBackers'' brainwashes Kazuki, steals his soul and nearly [[MurderTheHypotenuse murders the kinda-hypotenuse]] because he feels Kazuki never paid attention to him when they were younger. In actuality, Kazuki watched him for years and knows both him and his "beautiful dance of a fighting style" very well. Subsequently, Toshiki joins Juubei as Kazuki's right-hand man and protector for the rest of the series.
* ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'':
** Maho's motivation for following the Nishizumi style of tankery seems to be to please her and Miho's mother. [[spoiler:It's [[SubvertedTrope actually]] so that her sister won't feel pressured to serve as an heiress, and so that Miho can live her life her own way]]. Miho, on the other hand, shows no desire to live up to her mother's standards, and even states in a WorldOfCardboardSpeech near the end of the ''Little Army'' manga that her reasons for doing tankery are not "for the sake of (her) home)".
** Mako Reizei is implied to not only be afraid of angering her grandmother but also genuinely wanting her approval, possibly motivated by her guilt over [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye her mom dying after their last conversation was an argument]]. Her character song makes reference to this ("I don't want to disappoint that person I love").
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Hakuouki}}'', Okita wants to be helpful to Kondou and earn his approval. But due to some help from Serizawa's manipulation, he becomes quickly convinced that the only thing he could do for Kondou is kill his enemies but Kondou would rather not have Okita get his hands dirty. This leads to resentment and jealousy against Hijikata, the person who Kondou relies on the most.
* Arslan in ''Anime/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'' works hard to try to please his parents who both act rather coldly towards him.
* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Inuyasha never knew his father but he desires [[AloofBigBrother Sesshoumaru's]] approval. However, Sesshoumaru feels like TheUnfavourite so [[SiblingRivalry bullies]] Inuyasha. Fortunately, their father left a [[SecretTestOfCharacter legacy]] that taught his sons to make peace with his memory and so make peace with each other.
* A female example is found in [[BrokenBird Layla Hamilton]] from ''Anime/KaleidoStar'', who after [[MissingMom losing her mother]], swore to not ever disappoint and make her father sad. [[spoiler: She couldn't keep her promise when she chose the Stage over a filming career but did reconcile with Dad later.]]
* The main character from ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' has this relationship towards his father who was killed before he was born.
* What [[spoiler: Sophie Montgomery]] from ''Manga/{{Lady}}'' actually wants from her mother Jeanne; as she is ''very'' desperate for her mom's love and approval, but unfortunately, [[spoiler: Jeanne is using her as a pawn as a way of getting inheritance to the Montgomery family fortune and she threatens to send Sophie back to France if she fails to do so.]]
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''
** Fate desperately seeks her AbusiveMom's approval in [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha the first season]]. [[TragicDream She never does get it]], but she overcomes her insecurities after being [[DefeatMeansFriendship befriended]] by Nanoha and HappilyAdopted by Lindy.
** Subaru in ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' is all about recognition and approval from Nanoha, who saved her life as a child and whom she has idolized ever since. Her ultimate wish is granted at the end of the season, when [[spoiler:she evacuates Nanoha from the Saint's Cradle--granted, the Ace of Aces would have probably found her way out on her own, but Nanoha was happy to be rescued by Subaru, nonetheless, because she knew how much closure this would bring to her faithful student and fangirl]]. Subaru's attitude towards Nanoha contrasts in an interesting manner that of her partner Teana's, who starts off with an outright RageAgainstTheMentor but mellows down eventually to a sort of FriendlyRivalry with her. Tea doesn't seek Nanoha's approval, she seeks to beat her at her own game (the shooting magic) -- and, ironically, earns a lot of respect from her this way without even realizing.
** Chantez from ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'' entered the Inter-Middle Championship to make her mentor Sister Schach proud of her (and inspire more girls to join the Saint Church). Although their relationship is a lot healthier than Fate and Precia's since Schach is a SternTeacher rather than an AbusiveParent.
* Unusual example in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': Negi really wants his father's approval and in volume one even uses the exact words "well done" when talking about what he wants to hear from his father. On the other hand, his father is a DisappearedDad rather than emotionally absent.
* The [[Anime/MazingerZ Mazinger]] trilogy treated this trope in a pretty tragic fashion:
** One of the reasons Sayaka from ''Anime/MazingerZ'' could be so prideful, impulsive, hard-headed and obsessed with showing off was to get some measure of praise and acknowledgment from her MarriedToTheJob, caring-but-emotionally-distant father. Unfortunately, it did not work very well. In spite of all times she risked her life, Gennosuke Yumi rarely gave praise.
** The case of Tetsuya Tsurugi from ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' was much worse. He was an orphan with a ton of abandonment and [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex self-confidence issues]]. He constantly and ''[[BloodKnight gleefully]]'' risked his life on a daily basis by riding a HumongousMecha to fight [[AbusivePrecursors ancient]], [[{{Robeast}} giant monsters]] from BeneathTheEarth so his adoptive father approved of him. Kenzo ''actually'' was proud of him, but he hardly thought of ''telling'' Tetsuya that, being more concerned with disciplining him when Tetsuya did or said something stupid (and since Tetsuya was a JerkassWoobie and an IdiotHero, it happened frequently). Because of this, Tetsuya was always frightened to ''death'' of losing his father if he was not good enough, and he suffered a breakdown at the end of the series when he thought it might happen.
** Subverted in ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer''. Minister Zuril, one of the CoDragons, had a son obsessed with proving his worth to his father, even jeopardizing his life. However, Zuril was proud of him and tried to make him aware of that fact and he did not want him risking his life. Unfortunately, his son did not listen. He kept being obsessed with earning his father's approval, and finally, he [[spoiler:committed a HeroicSacrifice to save his father's life.]] Zuril became very cold and fatalistic because of it.
* Subverted in ''Manga/MensLove''. Everyone who knows just who [[HeroicBastard Daigo's]] father is assumes this is why Daigo works so hard. Actually, he just wants to take care of his mom and doesn't even view his dad as a parent, just a difficult employer.
* In the ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' original series, [[ShelteredAristocrat Prince Garma Zabi]] is handsome, well-intentioned and charming. However, he's also extremely inexperienced and ''knows'' he got his spot in the Zabi hierarchy only because he's Sovereign Degwin's favorite son, so this soon leads to an obsession with proving his own worth to his older and more competent siblings (especially LadyOfWar Kycillia) and his best friend Char Aznable. [[spoiler:Which brings him to his downfall.]]
** Another very dramatic example in the Gundam series, more exactly ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''. [[spoiler:After ''her whole family'' is brutally killed, Louise Halevy joins the A-Laws to avenge them. When she ''does'' get her revenge by killing their murderer, she has an HeroicBSOD where she pleads for their souls to acknowledge her worth, then cries.]]
** In ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'', Olba Frost is a cocky and arrogant young man and Gundam Pilot whose only family is his older brother and partner, Shagia. He's the only person Olba respects and cares for, so he deeply strives to be seen as a worthy person by him.
** Athrun, from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED''[=/=]''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', seems to acquire this in some form during Destiny (in regards to both his late father and his father's successor, Gilbert Dillandal). And more than anything, his almost blind faith in ZAFT, which his father founded. It's the basis of most of his actions in the early part of Destiny.
*** [[AscendedFanboy Meer Campbell]], also from Destiny, wants to have the approval of the woman [[BodyDouble she's impersonating]] per orders of Chairman Dullindal, Lacus Clyne.
** In ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'', Quatre Raberba Winner grew up believing that his distant father had him [[DesignerBabies created in a lab like his twenty-nine older sisters]] and that he was just a disposable commodity. When he is brought home by after a period of floating injured and unconscious in space, his father lives long enough to reject him once more before rebelling against the colony government and [[SenselessSacrifice dying]]. Quatre's [[SanitySlippage mental breakdown]] triggers the next major arc of the series.
** Asemu Asuno, the protagonist of the second generation of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE Gundam AGE]]'', deeply loves and admires his father Flit and spends a lot of time and angst trying to win his praise and be as good of a Gundam pilot. [[spoiler:Unfortunately his lack of X-Rounder aptitude and Flit holding him at an ever-increasing distance once Asemu joins the military, and Asemu begins looking towards Woolf as a mentor instead.]]
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' is rife with this. A few examples:
** As a child, Sasuke constantly pushed himself to be the best in his class and get his father Fugaku's attention until, you know, his brother killed his entire family. His relationship with said brother is also like this -- even after Itachi was believed to have slaughtered the entire clan.
** Hinata Hyuuga, resident ShrinkingViolet and {{Unfavorite}} of her clan, also desperately seeks approval from her father. She gets her "Well Done, Daughter!" at the end of Part I and seems to be held highly by the Hyuuga Clan in Part II.
** And for the last few: Naruto constantly seeks Sasuke's approval. Rock Lee seeks the approval of Might Guy, who seeks the approval of Kakashi, who seeks the approval of [[spoiler:his dead friend Obito]]. Young Gaara started out seeking the approval of anyone who would give it to him, [[spoiler:but nobody did]]. During the Chunin Exam arc, it seems like at least half of the characters are trying to get some teacher or rival to acknowledge their worth, and the rest are trying to get their ''crushes'' to acknowledge their worth.
** Naruto gets his "Well Done, Son!" moment from echoes of his parents in the chakra they left behind. To their credit, they both had [[PosthumousCharacter a perfectly legitimate reason]] for not giving their approval sooner...
** It turns out to be a case of ItRunsInTheFamily: Naruto and [[spoiler:Hinata]]'s son Manga/{{Boruto}} is probably '''the epitome of this trope''' InUniverse. Having a great childhood with his family -- ''especially'' in comparison to [[DarkAndTroubledPast the hell that both of his parents went through when they were his age]] -- Boruto's life turns upside down when Naruto is appointed as Hokage. Losing his hero's attention and feeling distant to him, Boruto does everything to spend time with his father, even acting out just so he could be lectured by him. On the other hand, his accomplishments are overlooked due to being the son of Naruto and this makes him feel inadequate and insecure, even though he's a prodigy. He doesn't want to enter Chuunin Exams until it's pointed out to him that his father would be watching him. During the exams, [[spoiler: when he receives a "Well Done" from his father for passing the test, ''he is moved to tears''. This desperation to keep his father's acknowledgment drives him to cheat. And it goes without saying, [[GoneHorriblyWrong everything ends in a fiasco]].]]
* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', Shinji Ikari is desperate for any kind of approval from his father Gendō who seems not noticing or not caring. Finally, in the movie ''End of Evangelion'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:Gendō actually cared about Shinji -- but he was ''as afraid of his own son as Shinji was of him''. His last words before his head gets chomped are "sorry [for all that crap I put you through], Shinji."]])
** Gendo does praise Shinji once -- ''just once'' -- over the phone. "Good work, Shinji." That one tidbit of approval is still ringing in Shinji's ears episodes later.
** Asuka is a GenderFlip of the trope. As a young child, she desperately sought her mother's approval of her being selected as an Eva pilot. [[spoiler:The problem is that by that time, her mother was too insane to even recognize Asuka as her daughter, much less give her praise. This is because much of her personality was transferred to EVA-02, where her will only really gets to manifest itself through HumongousMecha action; Asuka catches on, but only near the bitter, bitter end, where otherwise [[MindRape nothing]] [[DudeShesLikeInAComa good]] [[ChunkySalsaRule is happening]] to her...]]
** This trope is still obviously present in ''[[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Rebuild]]'', although Gendo and Shinji are shown to actually try to reconnect. They've made only a bit of progress (with Shinji being stunned by the first bit of praise he's ever received from his father), but it's Eva, so even this much is significant.
* In ''Manga/{{Noragami}}'', Yato, being a god, ''survives'' on praise, and so eagerly committed mass murder at his father's behest because it was the only way he knew how to get praise, earning him the title of "God of Calamity". After Sakura taught him that he could earn thanks from people by helping them rather than having to rely solely on his father's praise, he made it his mission to become a God of Fortune instead and help anyone who needed it.
* Most of Haru's problems in ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'' can be traced back to her need to make her father proud of her (despite the fact that he ''is'' proud of her). This is best shown in his first appearance when she nearly agreed to an ArrangedMarriage despite him explicitly telling her that she didn't have to go through with it.
* ''Franchise/OnePiece'':
** A younger Luffy wanted to be friends with Ace, the older kid living with him, [[spoiler: and Ace's friend Sabo,]] who found him to be a weak, annoying crybaby, and lead him into tons of deadly situations to escape him, but he kept coming back. Eventually, Luffy shows how tough he really is, and they become brothers.
** Sanji went through this twice, first with his actual father Judge who put him through TrainingFromHell and [[AbusiveParents genreally treated him like crap]] for being a sweet little boy, Sanji upon getting locked up and getting a iron mask put on him by his father cried apologising for "being born weak". Years later Sanji doesn't acknowdge Judge as his father only as an insane old bastard. Sanji also wanted [[ParentalSubstitute Zeff's]] aproval and suppport having been [[TookALevelInBadass trained to be a good cook and fighter]] by him, and became upset whenever Zeff claimed he was just nuisance. However when Zeff tells Sanji to look after himself as he leaves the Baratie, Sanji [[ManlyTears bursts into tears]] and so does Zeff showing he truly loved Sanji all along.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Verity from ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou'' lives in the shadow of her successful Pokémon trainer mother [[spoiler:Cynthia]] and feels that nothing she does is enough for her mom. She left Sinnoh for Kanto and hasn't talked to her since.
* Norman to Ruby in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures''. Ruby is more interested in sewing and contests than battling, however, his father is a gym leader.
* Chibi-Usa and Usagi's relationship in ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' does not ''seem'' to be like this, as they treat each other [[VitriolicBestBuds like squabbling siblings]] most of the time. However, [[KidFromThefuture Chibi-Usa]] and Usagi's ''[[SheisAllGrownUp future self]]'' Neo Queen Serenity fit in to a T: Chibi-Usa's relationship with her dad King Endymion (future!Mamoru) is very much DaddysGirl-like, but she half-loves Serenity like the good mom she is and half-idolizes her to the point of [[HeroicSelfDeprecation inferiority complex]]. It doesn't help that Serenity is quite OlderAndWiser compared to the Usagi we know as Sailor Moon (though sometimes NotSoAboveItAll).
* In ''LightNovel/SaiunkokuMonogatari'', Li Kouyuu, who is actually very accomplished for a young man, desperately wants to be helpful to his foster father Kou Reishin. Unfortunately, Reishin, though an OverprotectiveDad in his own right, is something of a JerkAss {{Tsundere}}.
* ''{{Manga/Saki}}'':
** Nodoka's father [[FantasyForbiddingFather seems to disapprove of her playing mahjong]], saying that it's nothing more than a game of luck and that the friends she makes are of no use in a "hick town" like the one she lives in. She seems to want him to approve of her playing mahjong, at least to the extent that he will allow her to continue attending school at Kiyosumi.
** Nodoka herself has Maho Yumeno, a kouhai who is striving to get Nodoka's approval, and while she tries to emulate Nodoka, Saki and Yuuki's play styles, she often makes many basic mistakes. As such, Nodoka does end up having to scold Maho, upsetting her, although she acknowledges Maho's efforts.
* ''Manga/ShokugekiNoSoma'': Jouichiro is this to Erina. He was the one who taught her to love food and cooking and was the chef she strove to impress. Funnily enough, Jouichiro's relationship with his son Soma is somewhat vitriolic (mainly due to Jouichiro's immaturity and Soma's extreme competitiveness) but loving, supportive and significantly less dysfunctional than most shonen manga father-son relationships.
* Flashbacks in ''Manga/SkipBeat'' show the heroine Kyoko as a child doing everything she can to make her cold mother proud of her, such as by working herself into the ground to get perfect scores on her tests (a habit that continued even though they were apart for years when she tried to finish high school).
* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Kid appears to have his father Shinigami as this. It's mentioned several times that he's Death's heir and as such a lot is expected of him. If he's worrying about something that isn't symmetry, it's being good enough as a death god himself, and his father's where he gets his ideals and expectations from. Would certainly explain his reckless determination to chase after Mosquito, one occasion where his idiocy could not be blamed on his [[SuperOCD OCPD-like]] [[AnthropomorphicPersonification thing]]. Unlike some other examples, Shinigami has a casual and positive attitude towards his son, the main problem here is that the two rarely talk. Medusa is also this to Crona, being the one person the child 'relies' on and wants to please. Unlike Kid and Shinigami, it's never [[AbusiveParents going]] to work.
** [[spoiler:DECONSTRUCTED: It worked and backfired spectacularly much to Medusa's delight apparently.]]
* Inversion: In ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', the only person who [[HumbleHero Kotetsu]] really cares about winning the respect and approval of is his daughter, Kaede. Later on, Barnaby starts feeling this way in respects to Kotetsu.
-->'''Barnaby''': I just aspire to be someone worthy of his trust.
* In ''Manga/{{Tsukigasa}}'', Kuroe starts crying when his dad unexpectedly forgives him for running away.
* In ''Manga/UmiNoMisaki'', Shizuku puts her all into being a proper cape maiden to try to get her ''mom'' - a previous cape maiden - to approve of her.
* After spending 70+ chapters of trying to find a goal that wasn't already done or easily obtainable, Touta Konoe of ''Manga/UQHolder'' finally settled on making his adoptive mother acknowledge him. There's also a hint of an OedipusComplex.
* This is a major plot point in the one-shot manga ''Vitamin''. Sawako wants her mother's praise, so she tries to finish school and get into a good career... However, she becomes bullied by her ex-friends and refuses to go to school, causing problems.
* Few example from ''Manga/YourLieInApril'':
** Even despite the abuse he got from her, Kousei's motivation for doing well at piano competitions as a child was to please his mother and make her feel better. [[spoiler: Then he snaps after being publicly beaten and says that after doing so much to try and make her happy despite not playing with his friends, practicing, and getting beaten up by her, he just wishes that she'd die already.]]
** In a way, Takeshi and Emi to Kousei. Takeshi and Emi have been in the same competitions with Kousei since they were children, and Emi even became a pianist after being emotionally moved by Kousei's performance, but they could never beat him and he never paid them any mind (justified, however, because he was busy being abused by his StageMom). After Kousei left, they spent two years perfecting and becoming amazing pianists with Takeshi getting ready to go overseas and when they find out that Kousei is returning, they're excited and sign up for the same competition that they've gone through year after year, just to show Kousei how much better they've gotten and how they believe they can stand side-by-side with him. And when Kousei praises Takeshi on his performance, he is incredibly happy.
* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'': [[MoralityPet Mokuba]] Kaiba was this initially. It's why he tried to murder Jonouchi and Yugi. (He also had issues with solving all his problems with money and/or cheating at this stage.)
** The second (main) anime condenses Kaiba's early character arc down to almost nothing, but in the manga, Mokuba first appears when he forces Yugi to play a rigged game of Capsule Monsters to avenge his brother's honor, Seto having been mindcrushed earlier. He loses, naturally, and reappears in the lead-up to Death-T to challenge them to a rigged game of poison-food roulette. [[FanNickname Yami]] makes him eat the poison since he had the antidote on him. It was all still in support of his brother, but it's not played too sympathetically.
** In the climax of the Death-T arc his character finally reaches its familiar plateau, when he plays Yugi again in the second-to-last stage, and loses, and ''Seto [[KickTheDog subjects him to]] the MindRape penalty box of torture''. To reiterate more simply: [[PapaWolf Seto.]] ''[[MoralEventHorizon Tortures.]]'' '''[[MoralityPet Mokuba]]'''.
--->'''Seto Kaiba''': [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Those pathetic, clinging eyes on my back, I've felt them for years. In the world of games, there's no room for something like brotherly affection. Until you understand that, you'll never be anything but a loser]]!\\
'''Mokuba Kaiba''': Please, Seto-sama, I only wanted your approval--!\\
'''Seto Kaiba''': [[YouHaveFailedMe The loser suffers a penalty game. That's the rule of Death-T]]! ''[presses the button]''
** It's also explicitly that he's pissed Mokuba tried to avenge him since if he lost, that was just dragging the name further in the dust, but if he ''won'' Seto would never have recovered from the humiliation. Still, a serious dick move no matter what.
** After Yugi saves Mokuba, the kid explains their backstory with the orphan thing, and after Seto's second, more thorough Mind Crush he gets back his BigBrotherInstinct and then they're a regular devoted pair of [[MoralityChain Morality Chains]] for the [[LighterAndFluffier rest of the series]], but until Seto turns up to rescue Mokuba at Duelist Kingdom, Mokuba still didn't ''know'' if he was ever going to get anything more than that "You'll never be anything but a loser".
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** There were a lot of times Batman refused to accept [[BlackSheep Spoiler]], but there were a few instances that he did. [[http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp296/ScottyQuick/GothamKnights7.jpg " Don't apologize and don't turn it off. I ... don't mind the company."]]

** It turns out to be a case of ItRunsInTheFamily: Naruto and [[spoiler:Hinata]]'s son Boruto is probably '''the epitome of this trope''' InUniverse. Having a great childhood with his family -- ''especially'' in comparison to [[DarkAndTroubledPast the hell that both of his parents went through when they were his age]] -- Boruto's life turns upside down when Naruto is appointed as Hokage. Losing his hero's attention and feeling distant to him, Boruto does everything to spend time with his father, even acting out just so he could be lectured by him. On the other hand, his accomplishments are overlooked due to being the son of Naruto and this makes him feel inadequate and insecure, even though he's a prodigy. He doesn't want to enter Chuunin Exams until it's pointed out to him that his father would be watching him. During the exams, [[spoiler: when he receives a "Well Done" from his father for passing the test, ''he is moved to tears''. This desperation to keep his father's acknowledgment drives him to cheat. And it goes without saying, [[GoneHorriblyWrong everything ends in a fiasco]].]]

Contrast SoProudOfYou. Also see WellDoneDadGuy, which is the inversion of this trope. This may be caused by AntiNepotism.