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->''"Hard ''not'' to feel sorry for the guy. He was a victim."''
-->-- '''Spider-Man''' on [[PsychoElectro Electro]], ''VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan2''

This occurs when the hero realizes that a villain they are fighting is either [[AntiVillain not so bad]], after all, has relatable (if still wrong) reasons for doing what they have done, or at least they just sees a vulnerable side in them which makes them empathise to an extent. This sentiment generally is easier to justify in stories with morally ambiguous characters like WhiteAndGreyMorality, GreyAndGrayMorality, and even BlackAndGrayMorality. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Used well]], it can make for greater emotional value and added depth to the villain. If neither of those are the case, it can still show the kindness of the hero who feels bad for their foes, because they know that [[BeingEvilSucks the villain will always be unhappy and unsatisfied in their cruel lives]]. When used badly, however, it will make the sympathy feel unwarranted and add needless {{Wangst}}. Often the story will [[SympatheticVillainDespicableVillain have a worse villain to contrast with the sympathetic one]] and act as a HateSink for the audience.

Commonly enough, the two characters involved treat each other as {{Worthy Opponent}}s and they may be the target of FoeRomanceSubtext. Sometimes, the villain in whom the hero found a glimmer of humanity will die or suffer a FateWorseThanDeath to provide angst for the hero or just because the WordOfGod must "confirm" that they don't support crime and that RedemptionEqualsDeath. If they get killed by another villain, it's almost always a KickTheDog moment for that villain. If they do survive, they are a prime candidate for a HeelFaceTurn.

When it's the ''audience'' who feel sympathy for the villain regardless of whether or not the heroes or even the creator do, it's CryForTheDevil or DracoInLeatherPants. Compare with AntagonistInMourning, LastSecondChance, RivalTurnedEvil, CantKillYouStillNeedYou. Contrast SympathyForTheHero where it's the villain having a similar realization about the hero.

The name comes from a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathy_for_the_Devil 1968 song]] by Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} which, incidentally, is ''not'' an example of this trope at all; in the song, Satan is sarcastically confessing that he's responsible for all the evil throughout history, when it's really mankind [[NeverMyFault denying their own sins]].

A common trait of an AllLovingHero. May overlap with GoKartingWithBowser, AlasPoorVillain, EnemyMine, and MirrorCharacter moments. May induce CradlingYourKill.

%% Although this trope contains some degree of TruthInTelevision, '''[[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease please refrain from adding real life examples]].''' Calling RealLife people devils is a way to say that they are evil. There would be lots of endless debate on which bad people can be sympathized with and which cannot. Cases where a fandom assign sympathetic attributes to a character that isn't meant to have any are cases of DracoInLeatherPants.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* AllLovingHero Astro has this for several villains in the 2003 ''Anime/AstroBoy'' series, most notably Guff, Atlas, and Pluto. Astro's kindness is a big factor in several characters having a HeelRealization.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is filled with sympathetic villains, and the heroes are often conflicted over realizing they really aren't that different.
** Eren and Armin express sympathy towards [[spoiler: Annie Leonhart]], wondering what would drive a person to do such terrible things.
** Jean and Connie both express sympathy towards [[spoiler: Bertolt]], and his TearsOfRemorse are enough to shake Mikasa out of her murderous UnstoppableRage. Ymir later expresses her sympathy towards [[spoiler: Reiner and Bertolt]], stating she's the only person that understand their situation.
** Hange ends up feeling sympathy towards Pastor Nick, and later Djel Sanes after realizing both genuinely thought of their actions are NecessarilyEvil.
** Eren brings up this trope when he [[spoiler:talks to Reiner for the first time in four years. Having spent time in enemy territory, Eren has realised that people inside the walls and across the ocean are all the same. He says that he understands what Reiner went through when he and his friends attacked the walls]], and has essentially forgiven [[spoiler:Reiner]] as an individual, but still resents [[spoiler:his enemies, namely the nation of Marley, who he'd come to destroy]].
* ''[[Anime/BeybladeMetalFusion Beyblade: Metal Masters]]:'' Despite knowing how he’s responsible for [[spoiler: hospitalizing Yu and Tsubasa, as well as sadistically tormenting Julian Konzern,]] Gingka extends this to [[spoiler: Damian from Team Star Breaker, acknowledging how, in the end, Damian was used as a tool by Dr. Ziggurat, just like Masamune’s childhood friend Zeo.]]
-->'''Gingka:''' [[spoiler: Damian…you’re lost…]](…) I see. You really are just a victim in all of this. You did as you were told and took up Beyblade. Did as you were told and became some kind of lab rat test subject!
* ''Manga/BlackClover'':
** Asta feels a measure of sympathy for the [[CoDragons Third Eye]], seeing how they are willing to [[TakingYouWithMe commit suicide]] in the name of revenge, and constantly tries to understand what it is that drives them so that they can understand each other even though he's aware that they are enemies. Rhya, [[LivingLieDetector who can tell when people are lying]], is shocked to see that Asta is being completely honest.
** He later offers a ZigZagged version to [[spoiler:Patri]] after [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind entering his mind]] and seeing for himself the crimes he has committed and how much hatred he feels [[KillAllHumans towards humans]] and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone himself]]. While Asta admits that [[ThisIsUnforgivable he can never forgive him]] for [[spoiler:killing [[BigGood Julius]]]], [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan he insists that he should get ahold of himself]] and stop [[spoiler:Zagred]], who [[ManipulativeBastard manipulated all of his actions for his own ends]], rather than wallow in self-pity, lock himself up in his HappyPlace and [[NeverMyFault pretend he is not to blame for the things he did]]. Seeing that Asta is being dead serious, [[spoiler:Patri]] snaps out of his VillainousBreakdown and [[HeelFaceTurn agrees]] to [[EnemyMine help everyone fight their common enemy]].
* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' is full of sympathetic devils. The only exceptions that come to mind are the Neo-Nazis (who are misguided and comical) and [[StupidEvil Chaka]].
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** During [[TheStoic Ulquiorra's]] intense, emotional death scene, his (now former) captive [[MessianicArchetype Orihime]] [[spoiler: reassures him that she's not afraid of him and tries to hold his hand as he disintegrates]]. This is reinforced a few chapters later when Ichigo notes that she's been rather upset about the Espada's death, especially when compared to fellow Espada [[{{Jerkass}} Yammy]] (whose reaction can be summed up as "oh, he's dead?").
** When [[spoiler:Aizen]] is finally defeated, Ichigo is only able to feel pity for him [[spoiler:after sensing the [[LonelyAtTheTop soul-crushing loneliness]] that ultimately drove Aizen's [[AGodAmI delusions of godhood]]]].
* ''Anime/BloodPlus'''s Saya Otonashi shows pity/sympathy for [[EvilTwin Diva]] for her tragic FreudianExcuse several times in the series, although it doesn't stop her from carrying out her duty when Diva threatens her [[HappilyAdopted family]] and [[KillAllHumans the world]]. [[spoiler: When she finally succeeds at killing Diva, Saya holds her and cries for her as she dies.]]
* This appears to be the ultimate {{Aesop}} for the anime version of ''Manga/BlueExorcist''; have sympathy for demons, and try to understand them before you try to destroy them. [[spoiler: Rin and Yukio's mother, Yuri, literally had sympathy for {{Satan}} himself.]]
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': [[spoiler: Lelouch extends a bit of this to Schneizel. While he doesn’t excuse his actions, namely wanting to bomb the entire world to frighten humanity into “peace”, Lelouch acknowledges how Schneizel is the way he is thanks to growing up as a [[TheEmpire Britannian]] [[RoyalBrat royal]] [[FantasticRascism all his life,]] and thus, being raised to look down on ordinary people. This is what made Schneizel Lelouch’s ShadowArchetype; Schneizel is what Lelouch most likely would be if his father hadn’t exiled him and Nunnally, after which, Lelouch actually ended up learning about the world and getting to know its people, which led him to become an AntiHero.]]
* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', after [[spoiler:shooting and almost killing [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]]]], Matsuda is shown to feel a degree of pity for him, as does Aizawa in the anime (ironically, he tells Matsuda he ''shouldn't'' feel pity for [[spoiler:Light]] in the manga). In the spin-off manga chapter starring Near, Matsuda does freely admit though that [[spoiler:Light]] was "an evil person".
* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', [[TheHero Tanjiro Kamado]] [[GoodIsNotSoft doesn't hesitate to cut down any demons who threaten the lives of humans]], but also feels pity for them, since they used to be humans and some of them come to regret their actions in the end. This is averted for some of the crueler demons, especially [[BigBad Muzan Kibutsuji]], who created the rest of demonkind, turned Tanjiro's sister Nezuko into a demon and killed the rest of the Kamado family.
* This causes Emi a great deal of grief in ''Literature/TheDevilIsAPartTimer''. She's spent most of her life training to slay the demon lord, only to find out that he's genuinely a nice guy and has become a productive member of society upon ending up in Japan. Over the course of the light novels, she comes to view him as a friend [[spoiler: and eventually falls in love with him]].
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
** During the Frieza Saga, Goku ends up feeling this way towards Vegeta after the latter dies tearfully begging him to defeat Frieza and avenge the Saiyan race; he even takes the time to [[DueToTheDead give Vegeta a proper burial]].
** After Majin Buu goes on a rampage after killing Babidi, Goku states sadly that [[ObliviouslyEvil this may be the only thing Buu knows how to do]]. Piccolo [[NoSympathy quickly rebukes it]], stating that [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse Buu's background does]] ''[[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse not]]'' [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse excuse his actions]]. [[spoiler: Piccolo is then proven wrong when Mr. Satan is able to reach out to Majin Buu and ''successfully'' befriend him and talk him into a HeelFaceTurn.]]
** Goku also expresses this towards Kid Buu. He considers Buu a WorthyOpponent who's only [[OmnicidalManiac so destructive]] because he doesn't understand loss, and says that while he has to kill Buu now for the universe's sake, he'd like for Buu to eventually come back as a good guy so they can have a [[BloodKnight proper fight]].
* ''Manga/TheElectricTaleOfPikachu'': After [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Black Fog]] chooses to [[DrivenToSuicide self-destruct]] rather than let Ash capture it, Sabrina sheds tears for it, remarking that even though she's hated the Black Fog for years for killing all of her Pokemon, she just can't help but feel sorry for it.
* ''Manga/ElfenLied'': Even though Lucy killed his father and little sister in a jealous rage, Kouta, despite openly admitting that he can't forgive her actions, can't actually bring himself to hate Lucy herself no matter what and would rather get her to stop killing than seek revenge.
* ''Manga/FairyTail'': [[spoiler:The conversation in Chapter 340 between [[BigGood Mavis Vermillion]] and Zeref implies that at one point, the two were close enough to know rather uncommon knowledge about one another; for example, Mavis knowing that Zeref is a DeathSeeker, and Zeref referring to humans as if Mavis isn't one of them. She also apparently willingly let him stay on Sirius Island with her, indicating that despite Zeref's [[TheDreaded very well earned reputation]], she seemed to genuinely feel bad for the guy... up until his rather unnerving threat about [[OmnicidalManiac wiping out humanity]], anyway]].
** ''Manga/FairyTailZero'' and Chapters 449-450 elaborate a bit more on their relationship. [[spoiler:Mavis was the only one to ever show Zeref kindness and recognize him for what he was: a kind but troubled man under a truly horrific curse. When Mavis became similarly cursed, she realized she was the only one who could ever truly relate to him, and as a result they fell in love. But the curse would never allow Zeref to be happy, and killed her in spite of her immortality, causing Zeref's true StartOfDarkness. Mavis did not just sympathize with the devil -- she ''loved'' the man who became the devil, and at the same time recognizes it was her death that made him the devil in the first place]].
* Kenshiro from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' is famous for this trope. Even a deranged emperor that used children slaves to create a giant pyramid gets a little bit of the love.
* ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'': Upon learning Kurei's tragic backstory from Neon, Recca slightly sympathizes Kurei until Tokiya reminds him about Kurei ever attempted to harm Yanagi. This is also followed by Recca saving Neon from her attempt to [[TakingYouWithMe kill everyone around]] as a way to show her UndyingLoyalty to Kurei.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** After Envy's defeat, Ed expresses pity for it after realizing that Envy is, well, envious of humanity's capacity to form friendships and support one another. [[DontYouDarePityMe Envy is utterly humiliated that Ed pities it]] [[VillainousBreakdown before more-or-less admitting that Ed was right]], [[BrokenTears breaking the homunculus before it]] [[DrivenToSuicide kills itself by shattering its stone]].
** [[BigBad Father's]] [[DraggedOffToHell final fate]] in the anime is portrayed as more of an AlasPoorVillain than it is in the manga, where it comes across as karmic justice. This is further established by the addition of a new scene shown after his death, where Hohenheim expresses some pity for his old nemesis.
* With a few exceptions, this trope is all over the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise.
** One good example in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED Gundam SEED]]'' is when Mu La Flaga, resident AcePilot and BigBrotherMentor actually expresses some sympathy for OmnicidalManiac [[BigBad Rau Le Creuset]]. It's worth noting that La Flaga is the only person in the whole series who seems to understand Le Creuset's motivations, let alone sympathise with him, while still of course, agreeing that he needs to be stopped. Sharing the same AbusiveDad may have helped.
** In ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Gundam SEED Destiny]]'' {{Antivillain}}ous BigBad [[PresidentEvil Chairmain]] [[DarkMessiah Gilbert Durandal]] also expresses some sympathy for Le Creuset, and seems to be quite upset over the fact that [[ILetGwenStacyDie he couldn't save him]]. Similarly, his henchmen, [[JerkassWoobie Shinn Asuka]] and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Rey Za Burrel]] are two of the only characters in-show to feel sorry for the [[{{Tykebomb}} Extended]], a trio of {{Sociopathic Soldier}}s who work for [[EvilerThanThou rival]] BigBad [[DiabolicalMastermind Lord Djibril]].
* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' [[PerspectiveFlip alternates between question and answer arcs]], showing each villain from a SympatheticPOV. Even the BigBad is not an exception, [[spoiler:having a DarkAndTroubledPast and succumbing to the HatePlague in the end.]]
* Yuu from ''Manga/{{Holyland}}'' comes to realise that some of the gangsters he comes into conflict with just want a place they can call their own, just like him. The main difference is that he's content to defend what he can get, while they are aggressive and expansionist in doing so.
* Completely subverted in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' when Gon and Killua are captured by members of the Phantom Troupe. When he realizes that one of them is grieving for the recent death of his friend, he become ''enraged'' at them, because by his own [[BlueAndOrangeMorality bizarre morality]], their horrific actions throughout the arc would've at least been understandable if they were your standard self-centered villains with a complete LackOfEmpathy, but the fact that they would grieve for the loss of one of their own right after coldly killing dozens of people made them ''less'' sympathetic in his eyes.
* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': After [[EmotionlessGirl Kanna]] dies as part of her [[SuicideMission final mission]] from Naraku, Kagome cries for her, having realized that Kanna truly had emotions and didn't want to die.
* Jonathan Joestar in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'' has every reason to hate Dio Brando. Despite everything, he still sheds tears when he apparently defeats Dio. Even after Dio mortally wounds him, Jonathan's last act is to embrace Dio's head, acknowledging that he still considers Dio his brother.
* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'': Yuji [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone feels truly sorry for killing Eso and Kechizu]] after seeing that their sibling bond was genuine. [[spoiler:He later feels equally sorry for their older brother Choso, [[KnightTemplarBigBrother who has vowed to avenge his brothers by killing Yuji]]. Even as the two try to kill each other, Yuji can't bring himself to hate Choso.]]
* Nearly does in Robin Mask when he faces Kinnikuman Mariposa in ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'s'' Scramble for the Throne arc. Mariposa tells Robin about his past, in which he was forced into thievery due to poverty and Robin, who had never faced a foe with a Tragic Past before, couldn't bring himself to pile more defeat onto Mariposa. It took a reminder that Kinnikuman himself was a bigger ButtMonkey than Mariposa ever was ''and'' overcame it without falling to evil before Robin could get back into the fight guilt-free.
* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Played with in the Creator/GosakuOta manga version. The main characters go over Dr. Kabuto's notes to try to ascertain what the ''[[Anime/GreatMazinger Mykene Warrior Monsters]]'' are and where they come from. After learning [[BeneathTheEarth they were a civilization forced to live underground for millennia]], Misato feels genuinely sorry for them. Kouji will hear nothing of it, though, and he remarks that their suffering doesn't give them the right to kill innocent people.
* By the end of ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', [[spoiler:Nina finally brings herself to forgive her [[HalfIdenticalTwins twin brother]] and the titular "monster" of the series, Johan Liebert, for all of the things he had done to her and others, while [[AllLovingHero Dr. Kenzo Tenma]] is persuaded by Nina and Inspector Lunge to save Johan's life for ''a second time'' (after attempting to correct the "mistake" of saving [[OmnicidalManiac Johan's]] life for much of the series by trying to kill him), and [[ConverseWithTheUnconscious later visits him while he is (supposedly) unconscious in the hospital]], reassuring him that his long-lost mother loves him very much.]]
* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': Thanks to their OddFriendship and FriendlyRivalry, Sherlock Holmes wants to stop Professor William James Moriarty from murdering people to save William from the weight of his own sins.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Naruto despises [[spoiler: Obito]] for his StrawNihilist views, but as he works to finally separate him from the tailed beasts, all of his emotions and memories come flooding in with them. Naruto experiences visions of the man's past, his dreams of becoming Hokage, his [[spoiler:mourning Rin's death]], and is [[TearJerker genuinely moved to tears]] over [[spoiler:Obito's]] loss.
** Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, actually sympathizes with his EvilFormerFriend Madara Uchiha, believing that everything Madara has done is simply his way of lashing out over his brother's death. As a result, Hashirama is one of the few people in the entire series who doesn't find Madara [[HatedByAll too much of a bastard to tolerate]].
* ''Manga/RaveMaster'': Haru Glory has been sympathetic towards several of his foes upon learning [[StartOfDarkness the events that brought them where they are]]. However, his first experience with this through King taught Haru that despite his sympathy "We have to fight anyone who inflicts pain upon the innocent. That's the path we've chosen."
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'': This turns out to be why [[spoiler: Kahlua had UndyingLoyalty to a monstrous bitch like Gyokuro; Kahlua knew that if it weren't for her, Gyokuro would be all alone in the world, without the love and attention of her husband or children]].
* In the anime version of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' (its last season, ''Stars'', to be exact) ''All'' the Sailor Senshi (yes, even Uranus and Neptune) shed tears after learning about Nehellenia's StartOfDarkness. It was hard for them to imagine living with the sadness and loneliness she endured. This prompted Sailor Moon to [[spoiler: return Nehellenia to her childhood, giving her a second chance at life]].
* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', King sympathizes with Helbram despite the latter doing all sorts of atrocious things. This is because Helbram [[spoiler: is actually King's old friend who had gone mad with hatred for humans due to King being too late to save him.]]
* Johan Faust VIII from ''Manga/ShamanKing'' is first presented as a ruthless, cruel, and slightly insane antagonist. He gets a fair bit of sympathy when it's revealed that his fairy tale romance with his wife Eliza was cut short like an ironic Greek tragedy, leaving him a broken man. Anna actually recruits him as the team medic in exchange for Anna summoning Eliza's spirit. Having his beloved wife back mellows him out to the point that he's a valued teammate, if still crazy.
* Simon and Viral in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', particularly in the final arcs. Not to mention both pre-timeskip Lord Genome and the Anti-Spiral, who, despite being mortal enemies, are both using the same basic strategy of tyranny to protect what they love (humanity from the Anti-Spiral for Lord Genome, the universe from humanity for the Anti-Spiral).
* In the last episodes of ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', the Mew Mews begin to sympathize with the alien villains who are desperately trying to take Earth from humans and save their own species from suffering in a wasteland of a planet. Retasu and Bu-Ling in particular would like to solve the conflict peacefully as they discover the aliens aren't really evil at heart.
* ''Manga/{{Unico}}'': The titular unicorn is an AllLovingHero who strongly prefers being non-violent and encouraging kindness, love, and happiness with others. This even extends to antagonists and villains where the protagonist would openly pity them (especially after learning their backstory or their purpose) and tries being friends with them. Even apologizing after [[MartialPacifist reluctantly forced to use violence as a last resort]] usually when Unico's close to death. As seen in the 2000 short ''Anime/SavingOurFragileEarthUnicoSpecialChapter'', he expresses sympathy for a demon monster made out of humanity's carelessness with the environment and successfully befriends him. When he's almost crushed to death, he's forced to burn the demon's hand to free himself to have a peaceful conversation with him. Fortunately, Unico manages to convince the demon "That not all humans are careless with the enviroment" and gives humanity a second chance, but wishes him that they shall never meet again.
-->'''Unico:''' Poor thing. (starts burning his arm)
* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'':
** Yuya is pretty empathetic of other people, given his role as an entertainer. Many of the villains are ChildSoldiers, or victims that live their lives by the whims of the villains, so Yuya tries to bring them joy and entertainment. This is most notable during the Battle Beast arc, where he encourages the titular Beast to turn against his oppressors and live a peaceful life, without suffering.
** And invoked by Yuri: he tells Asuka about his FriendlessBackground, and how he became [[TheSociopath the way he is]] through the [[BigBad Professor]]'s guidance. Asuka, realizing how much pain he is in, spends a portion of their duel offering an olive branch to him. It's subverted when Yuri reveals that he's genuinely an unrepentant monster, and laughs at Asuka for falling for his trick. He specifically tried to make her feel sympathy for him, just so he can break her down and show how bad he is.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Koenma expresses sympathy for Younger Toguro after the latter chooses a hellish afterlife followed by CessationOfExistence due to lingering SurvivorGuilt. He wonders if beneath the BloodKnight exterior, Younger Toguro was just a sad man with a broken dream.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* In ''Animation/BoBoiBoy'', a tragic event in Season 2 episode 12 affecting Adu Du, namely [[spoiler:the death of his robot buddy Probe]], has even [=BoBoiBoy=] and his allies crying, even though Adu Du is a threat to [=BoBoiBoy=] and his gang.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/AnyasGhost'': Comes at the climax. Unpopular high-school girl Anya has discovered that the teen ghost girl Emily she met in the bottom of a well, who claims that she was chased into the well by her family's murderer and fell to her death, actually was chased into the forest by an angry mob after [[IfICantHaveYou locking the man who rejected her and his lover in their cabin and setting it ablaze,]] and fell to her death in the well. Emily claims that [[NotSoDifferentRemark the two of them are the same in that they both are selfish when it comes to getting what they want, whether it be love or good grades or popularity,]] but Anya [[ShutUpHannibal pulls her back down into the well by dropping one of Emily's bones into the hole.]] When Emily takes over her own skeleton and drags herself out, Anya pauses, stops running away, and admits to Emily that they actually ''are'' similar, but only because they assume the people they're envious of have perfect lives, despite not being able to know what's actually going on inside someone else's mind. She tenderly tells Emily that what she wants, the chance to live again vicariously through Anya, doesn't even exist. [[TearsOfRemorse Emily sheds silent tears]] and dissipates herself into the night sky.
* ''ComicBook/BlazeOfGlory'': Caleb Hammer spent a long time chasing after Kid Colt because he murdered a sheriff. During the series, Colt also murders some of Hammer's comrades in anger, and they are not on good terms come Issue #4. But even so, that doesn't mean Caleb [[spoiler: wanted him to go the way he did]]. This borders on inversion, since Caleb is an InspectorJavert HeroAntagonist, while Colt is just a man who lets his anger get him in trouble with the law and actually might be the least rough-around-the-edges out of the seven protagonists aside from [[ComicBook/TwoGunKid Two-Gun]].
* In the ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'' comic series ''Tales of the Vampires'', a group of young Watchers-in-training are brought before a captured vampire who tells them all about vampires both as monsters and people. [[spoiler:At the end, after foiling an attempt by this vampire's sire to free him, (and killing the sire) the main character acknowledges that she did learn from the vampire and apologizes for his loss as he weeps disconsolately.]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'': A one-shot story has the titular hero and ComicBook/BlackWidow go up against a serial killer named Rose who has murdered at ''least'' 40 telepaths. When Rose captures Natasha, it is revealed that Rose is a telepath herself and that as a child she was sexually abused by her father while her mother refused to believe her. Eventually, Rose's mother was killed by her father which caused Rose to snap and use her powers to make him commit suicide. When she discovered other telepaths existed she began a killing spree because she "wanted to be special". Despite the depravity of Rose's crimes, the fact that one of her victims was an old friend of Natasha's and that Natasha herself kills Rose, the Russian spy cannot help but shed tears over how a little girl was twisted and broken into becoming such a monster. That Rose was sharing her memories with Natasha telepathically might have contributed to Natasha's reaction.
* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'':
** Loki often tries to make people feel sorry for him to get away with a lot.
** Thor cries for his ArchEnemy and adopted little brother when Loki sacrifices himself at the end of ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'' to save Asgard from his own backfiring scheme.
** This goes even further when Loki gets a HeelFaceTurn that involves dying, resurrecting as a child, stealing said child's body, and more. During this chapter, Loki's antagonised by an older version of themselves who, they find out, is Loki in the future after having given up on their HeelFaceTurn due to a perceived ReformedButRejected status. Despite the fact they literally torture Loki, publicly humiliates them and outs their worst crime, inducing the aforementioned rejection early, and generally ruins Loki's life, Loki ends the series comforting their older self, who will now no longer exist because Loki has avoided turning into them. They decide that all Old "King" Loki wanted was to be loved, and Loki spares them from non-existence by merging part of them into themselves.
* In ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'', [[spoiler:this is materialized as the Power of Understanding]].
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'':
** Sonic is shown to feel visible guilt when a series of defeats reduces Dr. Eggman to an insane babbling wreck. Granted this comes to an end when he regains his stability, and all his ruthlessness and more, shortly afterwards.
** Likewise, when Fiona starts crying and denying that she trusts and depends on Scourge, Sonic just walks away with a pitying look on his face, muttering, "Keep telling yourself that."
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** An ambiguous case appears in ''ComicBook/LexLuthorManOfSteel''. After the events of the series, Lex Luthor confronts Superman, who looks as if he's barely restraining himself from attacking Luthor, and delivers TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how everyone in Metropolis wanted to see [[spoiler: Toyman]] be killed for his (suspected) actions, and how the fact that Superman in fact rescued him will be enough to turn people against him. He doesn't say anything, but for just one panel Superman's angry expression disappears and he looks at Luthor with sadness.
** In ''ComicBook/TheCondemnedLegionnaires'', Satan Girl infects the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes' female members with a mysterious plague, and she gleefully attempts to murder them and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} several times. At the end, though, Satan Girl fails, and she reveals her true nature as she is dying: she was a Supergirl's duplicate created when Kara got exposed to Red Kryptonite. Since she was doomed to disappear when the Red-K effect vanished after forty-eight hours, she tried to keep herself alive by transfering the Kryptonite radiation to the Legion girls. As Satan Girl's fades forever, Supergirl feels sorry for her evil doppelganger, stating she was only fighting hard to survive.
** ''ComicBook/TheLifeStoryOfSuperman'': Subverted. When Lex Luthor's ego inevitably foils his latest scheme, Superman states he could ''almost'' pity his nemesis...but Luthor is too dangerous and mad to waste compassion on him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonHumans Alan Jonah]] attempts to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] and [[ExploitedTrope exploit]] this trope by telling Vivienne Graham about the tragic murder of his daughter Lindy which set him on the MisanthropeSupreme path he's on today. Vivienne doesn't fall for it, noting that as tragic as his daughter's death was, [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse it doesn't justify him forcing the same fate on millions of other innocents with families]].
* ''[[Fanfic/TwiceUponAnAge All This Sh*t is Twice as Weird]]'': Victoria pities [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Calpernia]] during their one and only meeting when she realizes that the other woman is actually quite well-meaning and thoroughly devastated by the betrayal that Victoria reveals to her. They part company, each leaving the other unharmed.
* ''Fanfic/BelatedBattleships'': New Jersey has no love for communists whatsoever, but even she admits to admiring the way the People's Liberation Army Navy suffered massive losses holding the line while the Chinese evacuated inland.
* ''Fanfic/DannyPhantomStranded'': Despite Richard being disgusted with his wife's actions during "Visited" and seeing how much Beatrice acted like an AbusiveParent to both their daughter and granddaughter. This includes Beatrice trying to forcefully set their granddaughter Star with Donovan Loadman, a Jerkass who was willing to hit her and take Donovan's side over they are granddaughters' side Star. As well as Beatrice mistreats Danny, Star's ACTUAL boyfriend, due to him being middle class, going so far as to take Donovan's side when he hits Star and Danny tries to defend Star. And how Beatrice also previously abused their former son-in-law, Johnathan, and refuses to believe that she did anything wrong, Richard still refuses to divorce his wife.
** Richard admits that he feels some responsibility for Beatrice because he believes that his being a HenpeckedHusband is what led her to run wild as she did. He refuses to divorce her because he believes he holds partial responsibility for her actions and has old-fashioned views on marriage. However, he does admit that he pities his wife, noting that for all her talk and obsession over wealth, class, and status, Beatrice never seemed to be truly happy or satisfied with what she had. Even with the many luxuries she had and his giving her anything she asked for, she was rarely happy, and even to this day, she is still not content or happy.
* In ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestriaProjectHorizons'', Blackjack, saint of the Wasteland, often spares people against her better judgement based on their sob stories. She gets it thrown in her face a lot, especially by her friends, who note that she gets backstabbed a ''lot'' more than the average pony. When it finally comes to an absolute, unredeemable ''bastard'', she finally snaps and melts him.
* ''Fanfic/GrowYoungWithMe'': Harry agrees that Abby's father failed terribly in how he raised her and her brother, but at the same time, Harry does understand what it's like to lose the love of your life, how it tears your world apart and destroys you.
--> '''Harry:''' I was ''lucky'', to have friends, family, who refused to let me slip away. Maybe... maybe your dad wasn't so lucky.
* Invoked in the ''Film/{{Descendants}}'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13333410/1/The-Heart-of-Auradon-A-Descendants-One-Shot The Heart of Auradon]]'', looking at the death of Carlos de Vil; once the initial grief has passed, Ben immediately asks to make arrangements for Cruella to be allowed off the island at least long enough to attend his funeral, and his mother agrees that it would be too cruel to deny a mother the chance to say goodbye to her son no matter what she's done in the past.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' fanfic ''Heptagonal Ring'', during a battle the protagonists attempt to empathize with Keira, a Gardevoir who is incapable of feeling empathy. Due to her inability to feel it, she openly reprimands them for even trying and convinces them attacking her is the only way for them to get what they want.
-->'''Keira''': Shed no tears for the devil, for she shall shed no tears for you. You want your happy ending? Then show me you deserve it.
* ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'' is about [[PurityPersonified Avalina's]] growing [[MoralityPet compassion]] towards the [[VillainProtagonist the Horned King]] as much as it's about the [[ImpossibleTask chance]] for [[RedemptionQuest redemption]] the [[ResurrectedForAJob resurrected]] BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' has been given unexpectedly.
* Downplayed in ''Fanfic/{{Infinity}}''. Lindy hates Precia for all the horrible things she did to Fate, but she gives her a single glance of sympathy when she learns that [[spoiler:[[BigBad Enlil]] is possessing the corpse of Precia's daughter Alicia ([[IHaveYourWife essentially holding her hostage]])]].
* ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfSpyroANewDawn'': Despite everything she's done, Spyro and Cynder remain sympathetic to [[BigBad Deadlock]], stating that the circumstances that drove her insane could have easily broken ''anyone''.
* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'':
** Despite all the cruelties he puts everyone through, the heroes, especially the three alicorn princesses, are saddened in the epilogue that they were unable to redeem [[spoiler:Princess Cadance's [[EvilAllAlong all along rotten]] cousin Prince Jewelius]] before he received his [[KarmicDeath well-earned end]] [[JustDesserts in the teeth of]] the vengeful [[spoiler:Changelings]].
** When [[KnightTemplar Commander Hildread]] is defeated, Shining Armor feels sorry for the mare who hates him, for despite being sadistic and delusional, she does believe in keeping Equestria safe through extreme methods.
--->'''Shining Armor''': [[YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood You really could've been a good protector of Equestria.]] Maybe someday, you'll learn the error of your ways and I'll be waiting.
* ''Fanfic/{{Luminosity}}'''s Chelsea is unquestionably evil. [[BadPowersBadPeople Her power]] is to MindControl people into [[MindRape loving people of her choosing or feeling nothing for people they once loved]], and she uses it regularly. [[StepfordSmiler Then the story goes on.]] [[spoiler:[[MadnessMantra "Everyone must love me."]]]]
* ''Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton'': Tucker and Jazz have some degree of sympathy for [[spoiler:[[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Katie Kaboom]]]], even though they feel Danny was correct to call them out.
* In ''Fanfic/MyMother'', regardless of what she learns about Anakin's actions as Darth Vader, Padme refuses to stop loving the good man her husband was before his fall to the Dark Side.
* In ''Fanfic/TheNewManAnAdamSmasherSI'', the tile character's music career manages to make Kerry Eurodyne somewhat sympathetic towards him despite having killed his old friend Johnny Silverhand out of a misguided belief that the full-borg is a soulful individual whose sudden music career is his way of expressing decades of emotional pain. The same goes for Red Menace of the Us Cracks, who happens to think that [[SilverFox his new look is pretty hot]].
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10086097/1/Only-human Only Human]]'': In this ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' fanfic, while Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff acknowledge that Hans has done horrible things to them, the fact that his family would casually condemn him to slave merchants [[EveryoneHasStandards is downright sickening]], [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone and they begin to question if sending him back to such an abusive household was really a good idea]]. As a result, they feel pity for him.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, Jane Davenport, an [[Characters/MassEffect3MultiplayerCharacters N7 Shadow]], finds two ex-Cerberus camped out aboard Omega. She quickly learns the [[DemonicSpiders engineer turret]] she took out as per the usual was actually there to defend against [[spoiler:the Flood]], not as a trap for unwitting Alliance. After receiving a [[WhatTheHellHero tongue lashing]] for destroying "our only defense", Davenport finds that these Cerberus troops were [[WellIntentionedExtremist just trying to defend humanity]] when it seemed [[FantasticRacism no one else]] would. Thus, the lone Alliance soldier joins up with her former foes.
* After Aizen's defeat in ''Fanfic/AProtectorsPride'', Ichigo discuses the villain's motivations with Urahara. He even admits that as two immortal beings incapable of touching anyone but each other, they might have become friends eventually, which he suggests is why Aizen tried not to cross the MoralEventHorizon with him. Ichigo also ponders the depths of Aizen's despair given that his final form had ''three'' Hollow holes.[[note]]The hole in a Hollow's chest is represents the despair they feel over their situation[[/note]]
* ''Fanfic/ARabbitAmongWolves'': Blake mourns Adam's death at the hands of Jaune, believing he still could've changed his ways, and curses the latter for doing the deed.
* ''Fanfic/ShadowsOverMeridian'':
** [[AntiVillain Jade]] shows sympathy for both Miranda and Cedric due to a shared history of having faced persecution, bargains them out of Phobos' service and plans to give them a new start after they've completed her mission for them.
** Despite [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Vera's actions]], Jade and Metalbeak both end up feeling sorry for the girl who has ruined her own life in her obsession to [[YouKilledMyFather avenge her grandfather]]. Metalbeak in particular [[ItsAllMyFault admits that by killing Vera's grandfather in front of her eyes, he set her on this path]].
* The Horde-aligned protagonist of ''Fanfic/TravelsThroughAzerothAndOutland'' has this attitude towards the Alliance.
* ''Fanfic/TruePotential'': Inverted. Deidara, who's a member of [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad the Akatsuki]], is a little sad upon learning about [[spoiler:Onoki]]'s death.
* ''Fanfic/TheTwilightChild'': Even after all she's done to them, the Cutie Mark Crusaders try to reach out to Diamond Tiara after she's been on the receiving end of a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. Diamond Tiara's response is to scream and swear at them until they go away.
* ''Fanfic/TheUltimateEvil'': Valerie Payne cannot help but feel sad for Shendu who's trapped as a lifeless spirit in the [[PrisonDimension Netherworld]] at the end, for she acknowledges that while he has done horrible things, [[VillainousCrush he loves her]] and [[MoralityPet committed some of his acts for her]].
* ''Fanfic/UsAndThem'': Jessie from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' starts to get this after spending time with [[spoiler: Rufus]], finding out they share some of the same interests, [[spoiler:and getting hints about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father]].
* ''Fanfic/WeightOffYourShoulder'': Future!Alix has become a TimeTravelingJerkass who has been twisting the timeline to her own self-serving ends, not caring about the horrors Hawk Moth and other villains inflict so long as she gets what she wants. Yet in their final confrontation, Marinette admits that she feels sorry for her, acknowledging that both of them were forced to shoulder '''massive''' responsibilities ''long'' before they were ready simply due to the respective Miraculouses they received. Future!Alix [[GoMadFromTheIsolation went mad]] from being forced to give up life as a normal teenager and hide out in the Burrow, and [[LackOfEmpathy lost her empathy]] for others as she rationalized ''everyone's'' suffering away as "just what has to happen."
* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic MLP: FIM]]'' fanfic ''Fanfic/WhatHaveYouDone'' and the sequel ''Even As...'', Twilight sees ''Discord'' as just like her, another abandoned creature after she crosses the DespairEventHorizon when she is alienated from her friends and family due to the Canterlot Wedding. [[spoiler:She decides that Discord does not deserve being sealed in stone, and uses a reversal spell to set him free.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/20672084/chapters/49094528 Who We Are, And What We Are Meant To Be]]'', when the time comes to besiege Shambhala, Claude can't help but feel pity for the Agarthans who spent over a millennium being raised on nothing but hatred and vengeance. He hopes to try to reintegrate them into Fódlan society after the war.
* In ''Fanfic/YourAlicornIsInAnotherCastle'', a ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' and ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' crossover fic by Creator/{{Estee}}, when Bowser begins to explain how his "Princess Kidnapping Business" works to Twilight Sparkle, he starts by showing her his "Cutie Mark": a crown wrapped in chains and ready to be dragged away. The implications utterly horrify Twilight.
-->She wanted to cry. [[RageAgainstTheHeavens She wanted to find whatever had been responsible for inflicting that kind of future upon him and kick it into the lava]], with her tears adding steam to the plumes of ash. "...I'm ''sorry''... I'm so '''sorry'''..."
* Fittingly, this trope kicks off "FanFic/SympathyForTheDevil" as XCOM Commander Eliza O'Leary realizes from her time as the ADVENT Psychic Network Hub that the Chosen are basically badly abused kids and decides to make a go at saving them from the Elders.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Bad Guys|2022}}''. When the gang is arrested for attempting to steal the Good Samaritan Award, Mr. Wolf claims nobody had ever given him and his friends a chance to be anything other than criminals. Professor Marmalade, the award's recipient, takes pity on them and comes up with the idea to have the gang rehabilitated at his compound instead of going to jail. Mr. Wolf is playing him, hoping to use the pretense to get another chance at stealing the trophy.
* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'', Master Shifu faces Tai Lung when the latter makes his way to the Jade Palace. During their battle, Tai Lung angrily calls out Shifu for pushing him to train so hard his bones cracked, filling his head with dreams of becoming the Dragon Warrior, and turning his back on him when Oogway denied him the Dragon Scroll. Exhausted and beaten physically and emotionally, Shifu acknowledges the part he played in Tai Lung's descent and apologizes for failing him. Unfortunately, [[IgnoredEpiphany Tai Lung just wants the Scroll]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'', Po pities Shen and tries to help him see redemption. This is pretty damn impressive considering that this act of mercy happens ''after'' Po learned that Shen [[spoiler: slaughtered almost his entire race, including his mother.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheMouseholeCat'', Mowzer comes to pity the Great Storm Cat after realising how lonely he must be.
* It's brief; but in ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians'', the Guardians all wore an expression of pity when [[spoiler: Jamie runs right through Pitch, indicating that the Boogey Man is no longer feared. Jamie prefaces this by straight-up telling Pitch that "I do believe in you. I'm just not afraid of you."]]
* Taken literally in ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'', Kenny [=McCormick=] comforts Satan after he has an argument with his boyfriend, Saddam Hussein.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': [[Characters/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse The Peter Parker of Miles' universe]] is audibly sympathetic when telling the Kingpin that his plan to use the Super Collider won't work out the way he wants it to and that [[spoiler:his wife and son are gone]], likely knowing full well what happened to [[spoiler:the Kingpin's family]] that has set him in this objective.
* In ''Anime/UnicoInTheIslandOfMagic'' (based on Creator/OsamuTezuka's ''Manga/{{Unico}}'' manga) by [[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Sanrio Animation]], after Unico learns about Lord Kuruku's past life by being abused by his puppet owners causing him to hate humanity. He tries his hardest not to fight him, but is [[HornAttack forced to stab him in the chest]] during the climax of the film. Despite stabbing Kuruku, [[ApologeticAttacker Unico actually apologizes]] to him for severely hurting him and ends up defeating him by [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath expressing how strongly he pitied Kuruku]] and genuinely wants to be his OnlyFriend. Sadly, Kuruku tells Unico that his hatred is the only thing keeping him alive. As he's dying and yelling in agony, Unico is visibly concerned for him and can only sadly watch on.
--->'''Unico:''' I'm sorry that you're full of... [[ThePowerOfHate so much hate]].
* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': The story does a good job establishing this for Ralph at the start. (The backstory of the game is that Ralph's home tree was cut down to build the building that is the setting for ''Fix-It Felix Jr.'' The stump is at the dump Ralph lives in.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* Cpt. Benjamin L. Willard and Col. Walter E. Kurtz in ''Film/ApocalypseNow''.
* ''Film/BlueBeetle2023'': Early in the film, Jaime has to stop Khaji-Da from killing the villainous Carapax. In the climax it [[spoiler:learns of Carapax' tragic past as a child soldier in Guatemala, as well as Victoria's ruthless exploitation of him, and then has to stop ''Jaime'' from killing ''him'' out of sympathy.]]
* In ''Film/{{Brick}}'', the Pin, a club-footed drug dealer barely out of high school, briefly opens up to the hard-boiled hero on the beach. Talking about his love for [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Tolkien]], he reveals himself as something of a sad, lonely geek.
* Sister Helen Prejean to Matthew Poncelet from ''Film/DeadManWalking''.
* Happens in ''Film/{{Devil}}'' when Detective Bowden realizes that [[spoiler: Tony Janekowski was the one who killed his wife and kids, but it was technically an accident because he was drunk.]]
* {{Kaiju}} movies frequently use this trope to create more investment in the monsters as more than just disasters. ''Film/KingKong1933'' frames the titular monster in a sympathetic light, as a creature lost and confused driven to protect someone who feels nothing for him (taken to an occasionally more hilarious extreme in later remakes in which the relationship between Kong and the female lead is emphasized). Creator/{{Toho}} movies often pull this, with both ''Film/{{Mothra}}'' and ''Film/{{Rodan}}'' adding tragedy to the monsters, particularly Rodan seemingly dying after its mate does. The ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' franchise generally frames Godzilla in a more sympathetic light if he's not being framed as a pure villain or hero. The original film portrayed his death as a tragic, painful moment. In ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', he has absorbed too much radiation from an explosion in ''Film/GodzillaVsSpaceGodzilla'', and his body is now melting down. After going through a TraumaCongaLine with his son dying, his body being frozen, and a couple rounds with the monster Destoroyah, he finally reaches the breaking point and [[SuperpowerMeltdown melts down]]. Despite all of the destruction Godzilla has caused over the years, the human protagonists can't help but feel remorse for his passing. In ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', his theme song is all about how Godzilla is living in constant agony and is in a world they do not belong in.
-->'''Ishiro Honda:''' Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy.
* Inspector "Tequila" Yuen and Alan in ''Film/HardBoiled''.
* Lt. Vincent Hanna to Neil [=McCauley=] in ''Film/{{Heat}}''.
* ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas2000'': Cindy Lou pities the Grinch throughout the film, especially after discovering that he [[FreudianExcuse became the cruel, selfish, Christmas-hating person he became]] after being bullied and ridiculed relentlessly by his peers.
* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': [[spoiler:When Katniss Everdeen ultimately kills Cato in the 74th Games, it's not out of anger towards him or a desire to win, but as [[MercyKill an act of compassion]] and pity for his condition.]]
* Another Creator/JohnWoo example: [[HitmanWithAHeart Ah Jong]] and [[CowboyCop Inspector Li Ying]] from ''Film/TheKiller1989'', who end up teaming up against Jong's boss in order to get the money needed for Jenny's eye operation.
* Examined in ''Film/{{Manhunter}}''.
-->'''Jack Crawford''': You feel sorry for him.\\
'''Will Graham''': This started from an abused kid, a battered infant... My heart bleeds for him, as a child. Someone took a kid and manufactured a monster. At the same time, as an adult, he's irredeemable. He butchers whole families to pursue trivial fantasies. As an adult, someone should blow the sick fuck out of his socks. Does that sound like a contradiction to you, Jack? Does this kind of thinking make you uncomfortable?
** The same goes for its remake ''Film/RedDragon''.
* Johnny Utah and Bodhi in ''Film/PointBreak1991''.
* Jason attempts this with [[spoiler: Robert]] in ''Film/MysteryTeam''. It doesn't work.
* When TheBully Kenny dies in ''Film/MrHarrigansPhone'', Craig and his friends drive by the kid's place and see his parents broken up with grief over the death of their son. Craig has an epiphany over this, feeling sad for Kenny and his folks, noting how "even assholes have families and loved ones."
* Raoul Silva in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''. During his confrontation with M where he reveals his TragicVillain backstory, when he says "You betrayed me," Bond looks away from Silva and gazes intently at M. After Silva has a mini-meltdown where he reveals his cyanide-induced deformity (for which he also blames M), M leaves and Bond turns to follow, but slowly and hesitantly, suggesting he doesn't entirely want to leave Silva alone. After he rejoins M, he stares silently at her until she explains why she "betrayed" Silva. According to Daniel Craig on the DVD special features, under better circumstances Bond would have rather let Silva live and get therapy. M, for her part, is visibly shaken after Silva's big reveal and her explanation is tinged with melancholy. Later in the film, as they are lying in wait for Silva's final attack, she says, "I fucked this up, didn't I?" While Bond assures her she was just doing her job, he doesn't go so far as to tell her she did the right thing.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Luke Skywalker to Darth Vader in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', which is made stronger because of his relationship to him.
** Rey develops a bond through the Force with Kylo Ren in ''Film/TheLastJedi''... until Kylo reveals his true intentions to her.
** [[ZigZaggedTrope Zigzagged]] in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', when Rey makes it clear that she sympathizes with Ben Solo, ''not'' Kylo Ren (his evil persona.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Cassie in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' for Aftran. Initially, Cassie viewed Yeerks as complete monsters, but Aftran forced her to see how the natural Yeerk state was like a prison.
* ''Literature/AtTheMountainsOfMadness'' cranks this up a few notches, with the protagonist identifying similarities in the actions of an alien race to how humans would react under the same circumstances.
* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', the evil god Torak is a warmongering, human-sacrificing, narcissistic menace to the world -- and a literal cosmic mistake who ''knows'' that he was never meant to exist and that he will be replaced by the god he was supposed to be. In their duel, Garion throws him off guard [[spoiler:for the fatal blow]] by reminding him that nobody in the universe has ever loved him, and feels badly for Torak even years later.
* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': Greg may not like his siblings very much, but he does feel sorry for them when they get the short end of the stick. He thinks Rodrick is grumpy because he's TheUnfavourite in the family and he feels bad for Manny for being too afraid of other kids to make friends.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': [[InvokedTrope Part of the job description]] for [[ThePaladin Knights of the Cross]]. The knights' main enemy are humans who have partnered with [[SealedEvilInACan sealed demons]], and bargained for power. The knights make every effort they can to convince these humans to give up the power and the coin it's sealed in. The sympathy is [[JustifiedTrope far from unjustified]], either, as one of the knights used to be one of those enemies.
** Also includes Marcone, the crime lord of Chicago, once Harry learns what drove him to create his criminal empire. Harry may not like the man, what he does, or how he does it, but he does appear to respect him and understand 'why' he does it.
* Aziraphale and Crowley in ''Literature/GoodOmens'', quite cordial for an angel and a demon (specifically, the angel with the flaming sword who guarded the gate of Eden and the demon who took the form of a snake and tempted Eve).
** Possibly best summed up in this exchange:
--->'''Aziraphale''': I'd just like to say, if we don't get out of this, that ... I'll have known, deep down inside, that there was a spark of goodness in you.\\
'''Crowley''': That's right, make my day.\\
'''Aziraphale''': Nice knowing you.\\
'''Crowley''': Here's to next time. And ... Aziraphale?\\
'''Aziraphale''': Yes.\\
'''Crowley''': Just remember I'll have known that, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking.
* A quite literal sympathy in the case of ''Literature/HandOfMercy'' -- the Fallen are are depicted as a small band of martyrs just trying to end their people's slavery.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** While learning about Voldemort's BackStory, Harry is so merciful that he expresses a twinge of sympathy when Dumbledore reveals [[spoiler: that his mother chose to die in childbirth, rather than save her life with magic and raise him alone]]. Dumbledore doesn't share the same feeling and shows the belief that Voldemort didn't suffer at all emotionally and it was just his own inhumane nature that made him what he is. Seeing as Harry is himself an orphan who was bullied worse than anything we see happen to Voldemort as a child (nothing much really considering that he was the one shown to bully and intimidate everyone around him and enjoying it), Harry should by that logic have just as easily become as bad rendering by his mere existence, on the other end of the spectrum, the whole point moot.
** Harry's hatred for Draco is replaced with pity after the events of [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Book 6]] and seeing how badly he has been caught up in his father's schemes and became a pawn of his father's master. He even saves Draco's life in the last book [[spoiler:and Narcissa repays the favor]].
** The unnamed Muggle Prime Minister views his magical equivalent, Cornelius Fudge, to be a patronizing blowhard but he admits sympathy for Fudge when he finds out he’s been kicked out of office, is facing a war and an inquiry into a death on Ministry property.
** In Harry's final confrontation with Voldemort in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Harry expresses pity towards Voldemort, knowing he awaits a FateWorseThanDeath should he lose the fight. He warns Voldemort about this and that there is no way Voldemort could win the fight. Harry even goes as far as to offer Voldemort a chance to repent.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': When Katniss ultimately kills [[spoiler:Cato]] in the 74th Games, it's not out of anger towards him or a desire to win, but as [[MercyKill an act of compassion]] and pity for his condition.
* ''Literature/ILucifer'' literally has Lucifer attempting to create sympathy, or rather simply telling his side of events. He largely succeeds in both regards. He also mentions the trope naming track, "Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones.
* The ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' novel ''Literature/ForLoveOfEvil'' tells the events of the previous six books, all from Satan's point of view. It definitely plays this trope well, showing both how [[spoiler:Parry]] became Satan through evil he performed, how effectively he evokes evil (it is his job) yet how, secretly, is actually a very good man.
* In ''Literature/{{It}}'', this is one of the reasons why Mike can't quite bring himself to kill [[{{Jerkass}} Henry Bowers]] even in self-defense. Mike pities him for having grown up under [[AbusiveParents someone like Butch Bowers]], who naturally heavily influenced Henry's way of thinking and was partially responsible for his son's racism and jerkassery.
* Literature/ErastFandorin and Momos in ''The Jack of Spades'' (''Special Assignments'') by Boris Akunin.
* Several characters for [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]]. In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Bilbo takes pity on him and doesn't kill him when he has a chance, despite Gollum trying to kill and eat Bilbo. Frodo and Sam, who initially feel no pity, both develop compassion for Gollum after they've experienced the burden of bearing the Ring and are able to imagine what five hundred years of that would do to a person. Especially poignant with Sam, who's spent most of the book (understandably) regarding Gollum as a vile, treacherous little creature who deserves no sympathy.
* Just after the climax of Geoph Essex's ''Lovely Assistant'', Jenny points out that the [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu monster]] bent on [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt world destruction]] isn't the real bad guy -- the creature was provoked by [[spoiler: Carrie Raymond]], who essentially lured, captured, and cosmically [[MindRape raped]] it when all it wanted was to be left alone. [[spoiler: Jenny's able to [[StarfishLanguage apologize]] on behalf of humanity and convince the thing to leave.]] In the [[DistantFinale final chapter]], it seems Jenny even manages to muster up a less than hostile attitude toward [[spoiler: [[BigBad Carrie and Vincent Raymond]]]] themselves, though calling that "sympathy" might be stretching it.
* Woland [[spoiler: who actually '''is''' the Devil]] in ''Literature/TheMasterAndMargarita''.
** He's also the inspiration for Rolling Stones song mentioned in the Trope description
* In ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'', the [[BigBad Storm King]] used to be the [[TheFairFolk Sitha prince]] Ineluki, dedicating his entire life to protecting his people. His flame burned so brightly that he might have led them out of their exile, but instead the humans came and waged an unstoppable war. Rejecting his father's fatalism, he delved deeply into ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow, destroying his own sanity in the process. His final attempt to destroy the invaders cast him into the realm beyond death, where his hate burned in darkness for five centuries. This tragic backstory proves key to defeating his plan to return to (and destroy) the mortal world, by showing him {{Forgiveness}} at a crucial moment.
-->''That was the truth behind this terrible, burning thing. No creature in all the cosmos deserved what had happened to the Storm King.''
* In ''Literature/TheMentalState'', Officer Reed is subjected to a great deal of humiliation by the resident sociopath. He is deprived of any chance of promotion and forced into a life of drug addiction while stuck in prison. However, once Zack explains to him that he wants to stop the prison drug trade too, and even devises a plan to do so, he starts to realise that they are not so different after all. Once cured of his drug addiction, he actually starts to bond with the sociopath, who opens up to him about his own problems.
* In ''Literature/TheMoteInGodsEye'', Horace Bury develops a pathological aversion to the Moties after nearly smuggling breeding stock of Watchmakers off the doomed Mac'Arthur, realizing just in time that they breed in ridiculous numbers and would pose an unbeatable threat to humanity if they ever escaped from their home system. Yet he acknowledges in the sequel, ''The Moat around Murcheson's Eye'' (US Title: ''The Gripping Hand''), that he pities them nonetheless as they are cruelly trapped by their own biology: "They die in agony if they can't become pregnant".
* In Creator/StephenKing's short story "Umney's Last Case" from ''Literature/NightmaresAndDreamscapes'', private detective Clyde Umney finds all the constants in his life changing and discovers he's a character in a series of Chandler-esque novels when the author Landry visits him and tells him he's going to take over his life. Umney vehemently objects and quickly comes to hate Landry over the course of their conversation, but he can't help but feel sorry for Landry for the loss of his wife and son. He's particularly disturbed by Landry's description of AIDS, which killed Landry's son via a blood transfusion and which doesn't exist in Umney's world.
* In ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', Christine cries with Erik/The Phantom after learning that, because of his deformity, even his own mother couldn't bear to touch him without a mask on. Likewise Gaston Leroux, [[CharacterNarrator through his in story reporter character]] ends the story defending Erik, stating that while the man may have been a "monster" it wasn't ''all'' of his own volition, but due to how society had treated him for his ugliness, and he very well could have been a good person had someone shown him compassion earlier in his life. He also states his belief that had the world accepted him, [[BrokenAce Erik]] could easily have been one of the great celebrated minds of the century.
* A version of this occurs in Raymond E. Feist's ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle''. The dark elves of the setting, also known as moredhel or the Brotherhood of the Dark Path, are generally portrayed as evil and sadistic, with no morals and a love of torturing their victims before killing them. A huge invasion by the moredhel and their allies is the main plot of one book, ''A Darkness At Sethanon''. In spite of that, the BigBad of that book, the charismatic moredhel leader Murmandamus, is revealed to be [[spoiler:a Pantathian (snake-person) priest in disguise who doesn't care about the moredhel and only wants the Lifestone below the city of Sethanon, an artifact that supposedly has the power to revive the Pantathians' Valheru mistress and revered goddess. On top of it all, the power to use said Lifestone comes from the life forces of all the people who died near the priest, the bulk of which is moredhel soldiers who died in a careless siege against a ''very'' well-defended fortress, thus making the moredhel the ones who were most cruelly used and manipulated,]] resulting in literal Sympathy For The Devil, or for the Dark Elf at least.
** On top of that, two other books -- ''Krondor: The Betrayal'', which deals with events ten years after the invasion, and ''Honored Enemy'', which is set before the invasion -- feature moredhel protagonists and switches to moredhel perspective for a change, also making them a bit more complex and multi-faceted rather than the standard 'evil and sadistic' image. Additionally, in Feist's universe dark elves are really the same as light elves, just with a different culture, as opposed to being a different race, as in many other settings.
* In the Creator/DaleBrown novel ''Rogue Forces'', Patrick [=McLanahan=] sympathises with the antagonistic Turks, recognising that they have a nation-level DudeWheresMyRespect that drove them to act. A marked difference from TheUsualAdversaries Russia and China that get no such sympathy.
** In ''A Time for Patriots'', Patrick and Jeremiah Paulson eventually manage to agree that they have common ground, including being wrongfully hounded by the FBI.
* In ''[[Literature/TheScumVillainsSelfSavingSystemRenZhaFanpaiZijiuXitong The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System]]'', Shen Yuan believes at first that Shen Qingqiu, the fictional character he got transmigrated into the body of, was nothing more than a one-dimensional StarterVillain who abused and betrayed his young disciple Luo Binghe for no real reason. Then he learns much later on that Shen Qingqiu had an [[DarkAndTroubledPast absolutely terrible childhood]] of being sold into slavery, seemingly abandoned by the one person he trusted to save him, and mercilessly abused by his household master until he finally [[TheDogBitesBack snapped one day and killed everyone in his town]] (but spared the women and children), that caused him to become a cold, bitter, and untrusting man who took out his issues on Luo Binghe because he bitterly envied Luo Binghe having a loving mother and being better at cultivation than him due to Shen Qingqiu's abusive masters having permanently stunted his ability to reach his full cultivation potential. Shen Yuan can't help but feel pity for him after learning all this and he regrets that Shen Qingqiu never learned that his childhood friend hadn't truly abandoned him like he believed.
* After Daylen kills [[SkyPirates Blackheart]] in ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing most people respond]] with some variation of "Take ''that,'' you bastard!" except for [[spoiler: Daylen himself, who regrets killing him once he finds out that Blackheart [[OffingTheOffspring was one of his bastard sons]], wishing that he could have helped Blackheart begin his own RedemptionQuest.]]
* Both in-story and out-of-story with Mayella Ewell, "the loneliest person in the world," in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird''. This is particularly true if you happen to catch one easy-to-miss remark, spoilered here because it has the most impact in context: "She said she never kissed a man before, and she might as well kiss a nigger. [[spoiler:She said what her pa do to her don't count.]]" Also, she pretty much has to raise her family by herself, and she has no idea what a friend is. She raises a few plants which are pretty much the only thing she can truly call hers. It's really pretty sad.
* In ''Literature/UndeadOnArrival'', Novak spends the entire book hating and hunting down his killer, only to discover [[spoiler: it's a poor kid who regrets what he did.]]
* ''Literature/UniversalMonsters'': In the epilogue of book 4, Captain Bob admits that in the end, he felt sorry for Imhotep -- the man was just lonely and wanted his lover back.
* In Creator/AnneRice's ''[[Literature/TheVampireChronicles Memnoch the Devil]]'', the titular character, who claims to be TheDevil, tells and shows his life's story to Lestat as an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation meant to invoke this trope. At the end, though, it's left unclear if this was all true, or if Memnoch was just messing with Lestat.
* (Former) Reverend Travis Jordan is not exactly malicious toward [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Brandon Nichols]] in ''Literature/TheVisitation'', though he is [[DeadpanSnarker fairly]] [[JadeColoredGlasses sarcastic]] with him, and doesn't appreciate Nichols bringing up the more painful parts of Travis' past as a NotSoDifferentRemark. Then Travis finds out exactly what made Nichols who he is.
-->But I had never been in such a place as Nechville -- and I know I'd never been in such a place as [Brandon's] backyard. I only thought I had, and I was acting like it ... Now I was sorry. Desperately sorry.
* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', when the villain Tigerstar is killed, Firestar reflects on the fact that normally he'd be relieved or happy that this dangerous cat is gone, but all he feels staring down at Tigerstar's body is grief. Tigerstar had been gifted with strength, intelligence, and charisma, and he could have become a legend as one of the greatest warriors in history had he not chosen to follow a dark path.
* In ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', Leopold is very sympathetic to Aeduen's circumstances even as the latter is trying to kill him, and even tries to help him. Aeduen declines, though.
* In ''Literature/TheWolfChronicles'', there's a moment where Kaala notices how [=DavRian=] looks sad and lonely when seeing [=TaLi=] and [=BreLan=] happy together, and she sympathizes with him since she knows what it's like to be totally alone. With the look that crosses his face next, however, she reminds herself that he's alone ''because'' he's a hateful person, not the other way around.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TwentyFour'': In Season 7, Jack and Renee corner [[spoiler: Tony Almeida]] just as he is about to kill Alan Wilson [[spoiler: one of the major figures responsible for killing David Palmer, Michelle Dessler, and her and Tony's unborn son.]] They are both forced to shoot him to save Wilson. However, both of them clearly heard [[spoiler: Tony crying about his unborn son]] beforehand. As the FBI agents take [[spoiler: Tony]] away, he yells at Jack in anger and berates him for letting the bad guys get to this point. While Jack's reaction to the whole thing is hard to tell [[spoiler: (at least partially because he is severely suffering from the pathogen weapon infection and is close to death at this time)]], Renee is clearly saddened and utterly horrified. She further demonstrates these feelings when she bitterly tells Wilson that [[spoiler: she blames him for Larry Moss' death, even though Tony was the one who actually killed Larry as part of his cover to gain Wilson's trust.]]
* Starting around Season 3 of ''Series/BabylonFive'', [[MagnificentBastard Alfred Bester]] begins to head this way, bordering on AntiVillain, due to us learning about more of his motivation and goals [[spoiler:and discovering that his lover was taken by [[BigBad The Shadows]] and [[BodyHorror turned into a control unit]] for their ships]]. The only thing keeping him from going straight into AntiVillain territory is the fact that he ''very'' obviously enjoys torquing with the good guys, [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Lyta Alexander]] in particular, along with his [[FantasticRacism casual disregard]] for [[WhatMeasureIsANonSuper the Mundanes]].
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In Season 4, Willow ends up feeling this way for Spike after he's [[RestrainingBolt chipped]] by [[CreatureHunterOrganization the Initiative]], rendering him unable to harm humans or hunt for blood, to the extent that in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E11Doomed Doomed]]", she refuses to let him [[DrivenToSuicide stake himself]]. A stark contrast to Buffy and Xander, who have absolutely NoSympathy for Spike and actively enjoy taunting him; Buffy even asks Willow ''why'' Spike staking himself would be a bad thing.
* The WoobieOfTheWeek in one episode of ''Series/BurnNotice'' is a decent, law-abiding man whose daughter was murdered. He becomes the VillainOfTheWeek in the next episode as his RoaringRampageOfRevenge starts to spiral out of control.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride "The Runaway Bride"]]: Donna feels bad for the Racnoss Empress, who would have destroyed humanity without a second thought, when she screams for her children after the Doctor kills them to save the Earth.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E14TheNextDoctor "The Next Doctor"]]: The Doctor to Miss Hartigan after she realizes [[WhatHaveIBecome what she's become]] upon being freed of her Cyber-programming.
%%** The Master.
* Scorpius of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' fits this trope very well. He pursues Crichton throughout the second season for his knowledge of how to use wormholes. By the end of the third season however, Crichton genuinely considers giving it to him when he comes to understand Scorpius' motivations, [[spoiler: though in the end he chooses not to]].
* ''Series/{{Forever|2014}}'': Henry gives a heartfelt, "I'm sorry," after TheOlderImmortal Adam describes being torturously experimented on by Nazi scientists. As Abe points out when he hears about it, it shows that "he was a victim, too."
* In the second series of ''Series/HoratioHornblower'', Horatio has to contend with the paranoid and insane Captain Sawyer, who fosters indiscipline, has a midshipman repeatedly beaten unconscious, and puts Horatio into a position where he's certain to fall asleep on watch (a hanging offense). Although Horatio helps remove him from command, he also expresses sympathy because Sawyer's long years of genuine courage through grueling warfare have [[ShellShockedVeteran caught up with him in a terrible way]].
-->'''Horatio''': I believe he has paid the price for that bravery... and is paying for it right now.
* While ''Series/{{House}}'' is the main character and gets the SympatheticPOV, he's an asshole to nearly every doctor in the hospital. In "Holding On", when he explodes at Taub (who has been trying to get him to let Wilson die with dignity like he wants) that he wakes up in pain every day and has wanted to die, other staff in the hallway still look at him with pity.
* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'':
** [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] and [[ExploitedTrope exploited]] by [[spoiler:Kilgrave]] in Season 1 when he reveals to Jessica that [[spoiler:he got his powers through unethical experimentation]], but [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] by the end of the season, when it turns out [[spoiler:his powers were actually an unexpected side effect of a life-saving experimental treatment]].
** Played straight in Season 2 with [[spoiler:Alisa]], who also [[spoiler:got her powers (and impulsivity) through life-saving experiments]].
* In the ''Series/Millennium1996'' episode "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me", a group of demons discuss how they go about their business to spread evil and their run-ins with Frank Black, who can see their true forms. When one of the demons begins a relationship with a human woman but finds himself compelled to drive her to suicide anyway, Frank sees the demon crying and remarks "You must be so lonely."
* ''Series/ThePretender'': Mr. Raines pursues Jared, the titular Pretender, to regain use of his incredible intellect and problem solving capabilities. He will use any means to capture or coerce Jared into returning to the Center. Despite this, Jared does show sympathy and kindness to Raines in the season 3 episode, "Once in a Blue Moon" when Jared confronts [[spoiler:a serial killer he profiled as a boy while working at the Center and aided the police in capturing the killer but the man's last victim's body was never recovered. At the end of the episode, Jared finds the girl's remains and her necklace. He then returns it by mail to Mr. Raines, and the episode ends with him clutching his daughter's necklace and softly crying. Even Sydney, a man who a few years prior tried to kill Mr. Raines when he had the chance, tells Ms. Parker to not make light of Mr. Raines' crying]].
--> '''Sydney:''' Sometimes, even the Devil deserves a little privacy.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E22SkinOfEvil Skin of Evil]]", both Picard and Troi express their sympathy for Armus for spending untold eons on a dead planet in pain and rage after his creators abandoned him, while nevertheless acknowledging that he is a [[MadeOfEvil malevolent liquid of pure evil]].
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Sisko feels sympathy for [[Characters/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineGulDukat Dukat]] after he loses his grip on reality when [[spoiler:his daughter Ziyal is killed]].
* In Season 5 of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] tries this multiple times: with Sam at the beginning of the season [[spoiler:after appearing as Jess, Sam's dead girlfriend]], with Dean when Zachariah [[Recap/SupernaturalS05E04TheEnd sends him]] into the [[BadFuture future]], and with Castiel in "[[Recap/SupernaturalS05E10AbandonAllHope Abandon All Hope...]]" while he has Cas trapped in a ring of holy fire. Subverted in that none of these attempts work. Dean even name-drops the trope when calling Lucifer out on his "sympathy for the Devil crap". He does succeed when he pulls this on Nick to get him to say yes, since he couldn't get Sam -- the episode itself is aptly titled "[[Recap/SupernaturalS05E01SympathyForTheDevil Sympathy for the Devil]]".
* After Mrs. Etuk's death in ''Series/{{Tinsel}}'', Amaka Okoh finally realizes that [[StrawmanHasAPoint a lot of the old woman's anger against her was justified]].
* A glorious example being shown at the final episode of ''Series/UltramanGeed'', as featured in the photo of the main article. [[spoiler:Confronting his ArchnemesisDad, [[TheHero Riku]] discovers that for all of Belial's heinous acts, [[HiddenDepths deep down]], his grudges, eternal cycle of resurrection, and sorrow over having been banished from the Land of Light had consumed him. He gives a CooldownHug to his father and tells him to just let go of his grudges. Unfortunately, Belial just [[RedemptionRejection can't]] [[DontYouDarePityMe accept]] being comforted by his son and chose to be killed, seemingly once and for all, in a BeamOWar. The last words Riku speaks to his father are heartbreaking]]:
-->'''Riku:''' [[spoiler:Goodbye, father.]]
* ''Series/VanHelsing2016'': Despite fully (and justifiably) hating [[ArchEnemy Sam]], Vanessa still sheds a tear for him in Season 4 when [[spoiler: the Oracle [[UnwittingPawn tricks him]] into sacrificing himself to free Dracula]].
* ''Series/Warehouse13'': in "Fracture", Myka explains to Pete how Alice Liddell became a psychopath and expresses sympathy for her.
* In ''Series/TheWire'', when [=McNulty=] learns about the death of [[spoiler:[[AntiVillain D'Angelo]]]] and quickly sees that it was [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident a murder made to look like a suicide]], he expresses a lot of sympathy for [[spoiler:D'Angelo]].
-->''"I kinda liked your son, you know. [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether All things considered]], he was [[WhiteSheep a pretty decent kid]]. And it grinds me that no one ever spoke up for him. Seems to me that now nobody ever will."''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/BlackSabbath provide examples, as might be expected: in ''[=NIB=]'', the virtues of the Devil are described at length, the implication being that he has a warped stalker-type love for humanity, and is only doing the job God assigned him to do.
-->''Follow me now, and you will not regret\\
Leaving the life you did before we met\\
you're not the first to have this love of mine --\\
Forever with me till the end of time!''
* Sabbath's ''Master of Reality'' album riffs a lot on this theme of Satan being misappreciated.
* Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}' ''Sympathy For The Devil'', the TropeNamer, is told from the Devil's first person about the atrocities he's witnessed since the days of Christ, sums it up with these lines:
-->''Just as every cop is a criminal''\\
''And all the sinners saints''\\
''As heads is tails just call me Lucifer''\\
''Cause I'm in need of some restraint''\\\
''So if you meet me have some courtesy''\\
''Have some sympathy, and some taste'' \\
''Use all your well-learned politesse''\\
''Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah''
** On the other hand, he also makes it clear that he either participated in or even was partially responsible for many of those atrocities[[note]]''I rode a tank, held a general's rank when the blitzkrieg raged, and the bodies stank''[[/note]], and enjoyed doing so[[note]]''I watched with glee while your kings and queens fought for ten decades for the gods they made''[[/note]]. In the end, the request for courtesy and sympathy is meant to be ironic, as he also notes that he isn't the only person responsible[[note]]''I shouted out "Who killed the Kennedys?", when after all it was you and me.''[[/note]].
* "I'm So Sorry" by Nico Collins, where the singer is in an [[DomesticAbuse physically abusive relationship,]] but empathizes and feels pity for his abuser, because he can only imagine the kind of pain they're in that they feel the need to take it out on him.
-->''You must live a fucking nightmare''\\
''Awake and in your dreams''\\
''Looking for someone to hold your misery''\\
''I'm so sorry for how you feel inside''\\
''I'll pray for you tonight''
* Music/TheMountainGoats recorded a ConceptAlbum ''The Sunset Tree'', which is about John Darnielle's [[AbusiveParents abusive stepfather]] and does not skimp on the details about the physical and emotional abuse he suffered. "Pale Green Leaves" closes the album with the somber note of John hearing of his passing, and the mixed emotions that comes with it, the most prevalent being pity.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinball]]
* ''Pinball/FooFighters2023'': The Foo Fighters end up taking pity on [[spoiler:the Overlord after decisively beating him in "The Final Battle,"]] leading Dave Grohl to give the villain another chance [[spoiler:by using his likeness to promote their performances (making him an actual part of the band).]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* The girls from ''Podcast/{{Sequinox}}'' are left feeling bad for Pollux after [[spoiler: killing Castor]]. The star is left utterly broken, openly weeping, refusing to fight and [[spoiler: telling Winter to stop monologuing and just killer her]].
* In episode 31 of ''Podcast/{{Malevolent}}'' it's revealed that Arthur [[spoiler:feels deep guilt over having to kill Kellin, to the point of wondering if he was actually a bad person, or if he was a good person who fell on hard times]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* April 14th 2006, ''Wrestling/{{CMLL}} Super Viernes'', [[Wrestling/SarahStock Dark Angel]] became the first luchadora to [[HumiliatingWager win a mask]] in Arena Mexico when she defeated her [[TheResenter resentful]] ex partner La Amapola. However, Stock knew what it felt like to have to permanently unmask and that it must be even worse being the first woman to lose her mask in the storied arena and cried for her. Amapola didn't care to hear this though and stormed off.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* Opinions about Creator/MarquisDeSade aside, Weiss paints a rather sympathetic idea of the man in the play ''Theatre/MaratSade''.
* ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'': Veronica, despite everything J.D. did, laments his horrible past, and put aside his anger toward the world. [[spoiler: He doesn't listen]].
--> ''Veronica''': "I wish your mom had been a little stronger. I wish she'd stayed around a little longer. I wish your dad were good! I wish grownups understood! I wish we'd met before they convinced you life is war! I wish you'd come with me..."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* [[ActionSurvivor Axel]], [[CardCarryingJerkass of all people]], in ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'' feels this way toward the other survivors of Sevastapol. Despite their willingness to kill him, their repeated attempts on his life, and of course [[IDidWhatIHadToDo his willingness to kill them]], he makes it clear to Ripley that he doesn't blame them for it. He understands that they're just scared victims driven to feral, violent desperation to survive at any cost.
* ''VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'': After defeating [[PsychoElectro Electro]], Spidey explicitly remarks that it's hard ''not'' to feel sorry for him.
* Most of [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed Altair's]] targets get this treatment. So do a surprisingly large number of Ezio's.
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', the Templars are given several sympathetic motivations for their plans and have justification unlike the previous games were they simple said they had the moral high ground, but simply used the order to gain more power. In almost all of their death scenes they come across more as {{Anti Villain}}s than anything else.[[spoiler: [[BittersweetEnding Considering the ending]] and [[DoomedByCanon what we know happen in the history books]] it may give you the feeling that it would've been better for them to succeed.]] It's even sadder when you find out that the Templars, just like the Assassins, were more or less {{Unwitting Pawn}}s of [[spoiler:Juno, the true villain of the series]], manipulated into fighting a meaningless war.
* In ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZero2'', as soon as Jason pieces together [[TheLostLenore what happened]] to [[RecurringBoss Leibniz]], he has a moment of introspection and realizes that if the same thing happened to him, he could easily have ended up the same way. This makes Jason and Eve cut him a lot of slack, and in ''VideoGame/BlasterMasterZero3'', Jason continues to put himself in Leibniz' shoes and quietly puts up with his attitude instead of getting confrontational. At the very end of the trilogy, [[spoiler:Jason and Eve ask Leibniz to care for their children, trusting in a HiddenHeartOfGold. Deeply affected by this show of faith, Leibniz graduates to JerkWithAHeartOfGold and justifies their hopes.]]
* ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' has Cliff Hudson, a ShellShockedVeteran of the Vietnam War who snapped after watching his granddaughter get murdered by zombies and was lashing out at survivors under the delusion they were Vietcong guerrillas. Unlike every other psychopath in the game, Frank takes pity on Cliff after being given his family photo and hearing his TearJerker LastWords:
--> "My granddaughter... She was done in by those damn zombies. When I heard her scream... I just lost it. Everything went white suddenly. The war... It wasn't over... Not for me... It... it never... ended..."
* When talking to the BigBad in the final route of ''VideoGame/DuelSaviorDestiny'' before he unveils himself, Taiga finds himself sympathizing strongly with the man. He realizes that he himself could have easily become quite twisted if he had undergone the same situation.
* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', Arkham manages to use his status as Lady's [[spoiler:father]] to manipulate her into moving into the place he needs her. He tries it again before the final battle when [[spoiler:he's kicked out of the demon world by not being able to handle Sparda's power.]] He's near death at this point, so he loses and lets it slip that [[spoiler:he saw absolutely nothing wrong with killing his wife to become part-demon.]] Lady finally has enough. At the same time as the latter scene, Dante obviously feels similar about Vergil since the two are brothers. He doesn't feel good about having to fight him, but has to due to Vergil's ambitions being dangerous towards humanity. [[spoiler:He even cries for a moment thinking about Vergil's fate when he meets back up with Lady in the epilogue.]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''; When Angel Trainee [[LoveFreak Flonne]] learns that Demon Prince Laharl's father died two years prior, she starts shedding tears of sympathy. This weirds Laharl out, because Flonne was originally sent to ''assassinate'' the King.
* ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce EXTRAPOWER Attack of Darkforce]]'': After tormenting the universe in all of this game [[VideoGame/ExtrapowerStarResistance and its prequel]], finally defeating [[BigBad Dark Force]] projects a [[ExpositionBeam shared memory]] to everyone in the room, presenting Dark Force's backstory [[spoiler: as an honourable defender of his home planet, who knew the dangers of dark energy but eventually becoming its host after a major defeat. It is this dark energy that used him to wreck cosmic destruction, now expelled after his boss fight]]. After, with his fleet crumbling around him, the player characters treat him like an injured old man to remove from the battlefield, rather than as a vanquished enemy.
* In ''VideoGame/FatalFrameMaidenOfBlackWater'', Yuuri's sympathy towards Ouse Kurosawa and the suffering she had to endure is ultimately enough to lift the curse off of Mt Hikami.
* The original elemental generals in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyDimensions'' barely display any sympathetic quality before or after their defeat (aside from Vata). But when [[spoiler:the world is disastrously recombined, the Emperor resurrects Asmodai, Baugavuen, and Styx as undead monstrosities, which the party finds abhorrent. Dusk in particular is horrified, and the boss battles play as a MercyKill.]]
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''
** Some of the heroes of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' sympathize with Kefka for his StrawNihilist attitude and how he doesn't seem to really ''care'' about anything. That said, by the time the heroes talk about this, Kefka is so far gone that the heroes decide [[BeyondRedemption he's not worth convincing, and that Kefka has to be stopped]].
** Queen Brahne in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' was once a kind ruler of Alexandria until the BigBad corrupted her into becoming a greedy tyrant. After she is killed, the people of Alexandria mourned for her knowing that while she did become an evil queen, they still remembered her for what she used to be.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' sees Tidus feeling sympathy towards his abusive father Jecht for the AndIMustScream scenario that Jecht went through where [[spoiler:Jecht became the EldritchAbomination Sin, and cause untold destruction and pain to all of Spira for years, through no fault of his own]]. Even as Tidus reiterates "I hate you, Dad" when Jecht is finally broken loose, Tidus is crying BrokenTears, showing that he has too much sympathy for Jecht to mean it.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'':
*** ''Stormblood'': After Zenos is defeated at the end of the expansion, Lyse states that he was once an innocent baby and it was the upbringing by his father and the society he grew up in that shaped him into the sociopath and killer that he became.
*** ''Shadowbringers'': BigBad Emet-Selch gets some measure of sympathy from Alphinaud (and potentially the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]]) for his WellIntentionedExtremist desire to restore his people back to the glory of their old civilization. It's just that Emet is going so far that he'll kill everyone else on the First to do it, and that [[BlueAndOrangeMorality he doesn't really consider this to be murder]] because he believes that Ascians are a SuperiorSpecies.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'':
*** [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Cid in regards to Benedikta. While now bitter enemies with her, Cid still pities Benedikta, knowing her DarkAndTroubledPast has forever weighed her down, to the point of wondering if she really wanted destruction all along. [[spoiler:Despite this, he still realizes that she was too far gone after losing control of her Eikon and needed to be put down.]]
*** [[DefiedTrope Defied]] by Clive Rosfield in regards to Hugo Kupka, who is attacking him out of rage for [[spoiler:killing his lover, Benedikta]], and shattering their hopes and dreams, only for Clive to rebuke Kupka entirely.
---> '''Clive:''' "And what of you? How many people have you killed? How many dreams have you crushed? You’re not the only one who has seen their world fall apart around them. [''draws his sword''] You’ll get no pity from me, Kupka. No pity...and no mercy!"
*** [[DownplayedTrope Also downplayed]] by Clive [[spoiler:and Joshua in regards to their [[AbusiveParents mother]], [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Anabella]]. While fully despising the horrid actions she's taken as the consort to Sanbreque's Emperor and her betrayal of their [[TheGoodKing father]], they never once develop any outright hatred towards her specifically, despite Anabella [[HateSink more than deserving it]].]]
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''
*** Upon defeating [[OmnicidalManiac Kefka]] for the final time, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Terra]] feels that his urge to destroy was because he was incapable of finding anything to live for save for destruction and that he was trying to find something to fill his "broken heart".
*** Many of the chosen of Cosmos appear to feel this way towards their designated foes. The Warrior of Light openly admitted feeling pity towards Garland. Zidane never stopped reaching out to Kuja. And despite his claims of hating his fathers guts, Tidus once gave Jecht a potion so they could fight on equal terms. In fact, it might be easier to list off the number of heroes who ''don't'' feel some form of sympathy for the villains.
* Elvis in ''VideoGame/GodHand''. He's implied to eat people, yet what we see is an overall nice guy who punishes his men for disrespecting the dead and has a lot of similarities to Gene. [[spoiler:Gene even says they could have been friends if he were human. When Shannon insults him later after his death, Gene makes her '''pay.''']]
* ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'': The Master Chief cradles Escharum's head as he dies, allowing the Brute to pass on with some dignity. Another character present demands to know why Chief would show any kind of respect toward a genocidal alien, but the Chief responds that Escharum "[was a monster], but he was also just a soldier. Hoping he'd done the right thing. Questioning his choices."
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheSeasons'': In Cameo mode, [[spoiler:Crampax and Yvaine break free of Gobi's mind control, but fight alongside him in Nightmare mode because they want to help him move on from his hatred of Christmas]].
* In ''VideoGame/IcewindDale 2'', the spirit of Mother Egenia and Iselore are the only characters who express sympathy for the {{Big Bad}}s Isair and Madae. Egenia was the one who raised the twin cambions after their birth mother was DrivenToSuicide. Her spirit mourns her children's turn to darkness but recognizes that they have to be stopped. Iselore was the one who ''named'' the twins when they were born. He recalls with shame his warning to Egenia that "they are forged in evil and nothing but evil can come from them!" and wonders if this was a SelfFulfillingProphecy.
* Surprisingly [[AvertedTrope averted]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' with Sora. Despite being a notorious [[LoveFreak Friendship Freak]] diagnosed with ChronicHeroSyndrome, Sora frequently called out Organization XIII whenever they'd pretend they had emotions or that they were completely justified for their actions. It's this very reason why Sora had RonTheDeathEater status for a while with the more hardcore Organization XIII fans.
** Well, he ''tries'' to do this with Xemnas when he seems to die the first time but then Xemnas comes back to screw him and Riku over again. In this light, his previous attitude was probably more justified.
** Master Xehanort, the BigBad from ''Birth By Sleep'', is quite skilled at [[ExploitedTrope exploiting]] this trope, even if he doesn't deserve it. He tricks Terra into listening to him not by pretending to be a good person, but by admitting to doing horrific things to Ven and then feigning guilt to earn Terra's pity. Unfortunately for Terra, it works all too well -- it's all too clear that he really ''does'' feel sympathy for Xehanort, and trusts him more than he should because of it.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel II'', Rean Schwarzer starts to sympathize with the Imperial Liberation Front terrorist group that terrorized TheEmpire in the previous game because of the chancellor of Erebonia pushing for drastic reforms that a: thoroughly displace their homes, b: gaining riches through underhanded means, or in c in one guy's case: revenge for having his unit wiped out while he was trying to rough the chancellor up because he and his unit were hired to do so by the nobles.
* Ganondorf in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', definitely, in keeping with the "wind" theme of the game:
-->'''Ganondorf''': My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing... Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I... coveted that wind, I suppose.
** Link and Zelda show pity for the alternate timeline version of Ganondorf, in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess,'' after his death; this is somewhat strange, given how this Ganondorf is portrayed. While we know from ''Wind Waker'' that both final versions of Ganondorf were originally out to save his people, this version never regains his sanity and remains a BigBad, despite similar circumstances of imprisonment. Needless to say, he's not intended to be sympathetic.
** After Link apparently kills Ganondorf in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', Zelda says he was a pitiful man who could not control the power of the gods and met an ignoble end as a result.
* Appears as a conversation option in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1''. Shepard, after discovering that [[BigBad Saren]] [[spoiler: has become a victim of Sovereign's [[MindControl Indoctrination]], can remark to Liara that s/he feels sorry for Saren.]]
** For similar reasons, The Illusive Man can prove to be a deeply tragic character in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', further bolstered by the temporary alliance Shepard and he had in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', trying to do what he believes to be the best things for what happen to be all of the worst reasons.
* Max Payne and Vladimir Lem in ''VideoGame/MaxPayne''. [[spoiler:Max kills Vladimir in the sequel.]]
** ''"Max, dearest of my friends... I was supposed to be the hero..."''
* It's a staple for [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]] to relate to his opponent during his or her post-BossBattle dying speech.
** However, this is averted in the final game, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', where Old Snake is too tired to give a crap. Drebin instead fills him in on the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Beauty and the Beast Unit's]] backstories if he defeats them non-lethally, relating the emotionally-scarring situations that made them the way they were. Snake actually tells Drebin once that he doesn't care about such ridiculous sob stories, but Drebin keeps talking anyway.
*** Played straight with Rose, however, who finds said backstories absolutely heartbreaking; she even states that Liquid is truly a [[BadBoss heartless monster]] for forcing such broken people to fight, remarking that they'll eventually break down and be completely useless. Snake agrees with her on all points, but also points out that, since they're nuts and thus not fighting at their full effectiveness, [[SanityHasAdvantages he has an advantage]].
* At the end of ''VideoGame/Mother3'', where [[spoiler:Dr. Andonuts traps Porky inside the Absolutely Safe Chamber, he notes that for all the horrible things he's done Porky was deep down an insecure and lonely little boy driven by the fact that [[LonersAreFreaks everybody hated him]].]]
** That last one wasn't helped by him being a {{Jerkass}} since early childhood. While it explains the reason behind his actions, it hardly ''justifies'' them to any extent.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Nier}}'', [[spoiler:Popola and Devola reveal themselves to be soulless artificial humans and the closest thing the game has to a BigBad and fight you.]] Things take a tragic turn when [[spoiler:Devola is slain. Popola is distraught because she can't bear to be alone.]] Nier pauses and begs her to stop fighting. [[spoiler:Popola]] [[VillainousBreakdown snaps]], claiming there's no way she can stop after [[spoiler:her own sister]] was cut down in front of her. The boss fight then continues, the action-packed boss theme of the first round of the fight replaced with a [[SadBattleMusic tragic reprise]].
* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'':
** Ophilia pities the ArcVillain of her storyline after said ArcVillain [[NoBodyLeftBehind disintegrates]].
--->'''Ophilia''': What a sad man you were...
** Cyrus likewise offers such a statement towards the ArcVillain in his own storyline right before said ArcVillain [[NoBodyLeftBehind disintegrates]].
--->'''Cyrus''': If nothing else, your devotion to the pursuit of knowledge is admirable. Unfortunately for you, you will not live to pass that on.
* Priestess Meden and General Gong Hawkeye of ''VideoGame/{{Patapon}}''. Gong's your enemy, yes, but -- all things considered -- he's also a likeable fellow who certainly strikes a chord with Meden. He tries reasoning with you before he goes to battle, he mourns his fallen comrades, he tries to prevent Queen Karma from selling her soul to the demons and in the end he faces your army alone in a heroic last stand. It's very cruel that you have to kill him to progress in the game.
** In ''Patapon 2'', [[spoiler: Gong becomes your ally.]]
* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRemake'', when playing as Jill, you can find Barry in the Researcher's Private Room, greatly troubled, reading the Researcher's Will. Despite learning this guy was implicit in creating the damned virus that caused so much death, Barry's never-the-less greatly saddened by the man's depressed farewell letter to his wife. [[spoiler:Later subverted, as you learn on subsequent playthroughs the ''real'' reason Barry is sad is he's ripped half the letter off to hide [[BigBad Wesker's]] involvement with Umbrella, and he's guilt-ridden from being blackmailed into betraying his friends.]]
* Even after ''all'' the shit [[BigBadWannabe Irving]] pulls in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', from infecting an entire village of innocent tribesmen with [[PuppeteerParasite Las Plagas]] to ''repeatedly'' trying to kill the two main characters, and even after ''mocking them as he lay dying'', Chris ''still'' can't help but feel a bit bad for him after watching what's left of his slowly dying ClippedWingAngel dissolve and perish as he writhes in agony.
-->'''Chris''': Poor bastard...
* Similarily, even though [[BigBad Jack Norman]] of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' lacked any ''real'' redeeming qualities, being a thoroughly insane fanatically devout TerroristWithoutACause, Jill after hearing his rather depressing LastWords comments that she hopes he's finally found peace.
* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'', [[spoiler: Carla]] was subjected to Simmons's experiments that physically mutated her into looking like Ada Wong just so that he could have a woman that resembled her. Upon learning the truth, she doesn't take it well and vows to destroy the world in revenge, but she gets shot and killed by one of Simmons's men. Ada learns about what happened and upon finding [[spoiler: Carla's]] body, she sympathizes with them and says she would have helped them get revenge on Simmons if she had gone to her first. [[spoiler: The C-Virus revives Carla and she immediately rejects Ada's sympathy while she mutates into a monster and attacks her.]]
* Played with in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' as Jack Baker expresses sympathy for [[spoiler: Eveline, essentially a living bio-weapon with the appearance of a little girl and later an elderly woman, despite Eveline having infected his entire family and used mind-control to force them to torture and kill]]. He tells Ethan that's all she wants is a family. Ethan, on the other hand, has little sympathy for her and places all blame on her, instead expressing his sympathy for Jack and his ill-fated family.
-->'''Ethan''': Mia and I weren't the only victims here. So were the Bakers. It was that...thing, Eveline, who made them that way.
* In the original ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts1'', as Yuri and the party find out more about Roger Bacon[[spoiler:'s impostor, Albert Simon]], they start to feel this way towards him. The final battle with him is as rivals deciding the course the world should take, rather than a showdown between Good and Evil... and when he loses, he uses the last of his power before dying to help Yuri and his friends to [[spoiler:destroy the Meta God]], keeping his word that, win or lose, both sides would accept the consequences and there would be no hard feelings.
** ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'' takes it even further, with most of the antagonists being at least somewhat sympathetic. The Final Boss, in fact, could probably have finished his plans without interference if he hadn't told Yuri and company when and where to meet him.
* In ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves'', Sly expresses some pity for Jean Bison in the opening narration for ''He Who Tames The Iron Horse'', pointing out that by 1850's standards Jean's a normal guy, but [[FishOutOfTemporalWater after being frozen for a hundred years and change]] those same standards make him a villain:
--> '''Sly:''' A product of his time, he dreams of taming the "Wild North," damming every river and chopping down all the trees with progress delivered at the sharp end of an ax. Shipping spice for the Klaww Gang proved a lucrative way to bankroll his one-man war against nature. And yet, I have to feel a little sorry for him. He's just a normal guy from the 1850s. Back in his day, he'd be a hero, but today, he's a villain
* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions'', ComicBook/SpiderMan2099 is sympathetic to Scorpion, who, unlike every other villain who gets a hold of the tablet, just wants to [[WasOnceAMan change back into his human form]]. When Madame Web congratulates him on defeating Scorpion and reclaiming his tablet fragment, Spidey 2099 mutters, "Then how come I feel so bad about it?"
* PlayedForLaughs in the ending of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey''. [[spoiler: After already having beaten Bowser and rescuing Peach, Mario pulls out a bouquet of flowers and seemingly proposes to her. Bowser suddenly shoves Mario aside and proposes to Peach himself. The two start shoving each other while getting right in Peach's face, who then soundly rejects ''both'' of them as she walks away. Bowser then sits down and cries while Mario, who is also crying, shows his sympathy by patting his nemesis' back to comfort him. StatusQuoIsGod since Peach gets over it and calls for Mario to come aboard the ship so they can go home.]]
* [[spoiler: Josh]] from ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'' is tormenting everyone who came to the cabin because [[spoiler: their cruel prank caused his sisters to run out of the cabin in shame, leading to their deaths.]] You sympathize with him because of how unlikable some of the characters are for that... but also because [[spoiler: Josh has gone mad, both because of his sisters' deaths and also because he's been struggling long-term as it is with severe mental illness, implied to be depression and/or possibly schizophrenia, only exacerbated by the grief and stress of their disappearances, to the point that by the time the game begins, he's sort of "given up" on trying to take care of and not isolate himself. Also, no one was actually in danger from his scheme, but he didn't even know of the Wendigoes...]]
* This comes up occasionally in ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadTelltale,'' which is understandable, considering that most "villains" are just people trying to survive.
** The man who kidnaps Clementine in the fourth episode of the ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne,'' [[NoNameGiven only referred to as The Stranger]], is revealed to be soft-spoken and calm, and his only reason for taking Clementine away from Lee is because she would tell him over her walkie talkie about the morally questionable things that her group has done, and he, a recent widower and grieving father, [[EvenEvilHasStandards thought he could take care of her better.]] Not to mention that the station wagon your group steals from earlier in the season was ''his,'' and when his wife, who already blamed him for the accidental death of their son, found out that all their food was gone, she took their daughter and left, only for The Stranger to find them dead in the road a day later. When he lists off the more unsavory things that Lee has done to others over the course of the season, [[VillainHasAPoint he may have some valid concerns about the things you're exposing the young Clementine to.]]
** Marlon from ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonFour'' counts as this at least somewhat. After he admits everything he's done and is subsequently shot by AJ, everyone at Ericson unanimously condemns his having given away Sophie and Minnie to The Delta, impulsively killing Brodie, and trying to frame Clementine for it after locking her away with Brodie's walker. But then you actually ''get to the Delta and see what they're like,'' you would be forgiven for empathizing with Marlon, a young man tasked making all the major decisions, by himself, for a group of kids abandoned and left alone by their caretakers, being faced with an armed militia of adults demanding that he [[ColdEquation give two up two of his friends to save all of the other kids.]] He owns up to what he did, admits that what he did was wrong, and tries to give up peacefully before he's killed. When confronted with how evil the Delta is, AJ, who shot Marlon in the head without a second thought, admits that he wasn't at all a monster.
** James invokes this in regards to the Walkers in general. A former Whisperer living in the woods near the school, he insists that the Walkers are more than just mindless monsters and considers them innocent in a way, since they don't fight amongst themselves like humans. Before agreeing to help Clementine rescue her friends from the raiders, he has her enter a walker-infested barn while wearing his mask and ring a wind chime. The scene takes on an almost religous feeling when Clem rings the chime and the walkers all stop and stare at it together. Even Clementine seems touched by the moment and may agree that James could be right about their still being something human inside them.
* After completing the story in ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi 3 Ultimate'', some extra stages open by speaking to soldiers in the camp, the one who unlocks Kyūbi’s stages expresses such feelings regarding her fate of being [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away in the Mirror Realm]].
-->'''Major''': The Nine-tailed Fox was sealed away… I wonder what she did while she was inside the Divine Mirror? Was she truly inside the mirror that entire time? If so, I must say that I feel a little sorry for her.
* Comes up in ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' games all the time, par for the course of the setting's GreyAndGrayMorality. Sentient monsters usually aren't depicted as AlwaysChaoticEvil but more as non-malicious and occasionally conflicted individuals driven by the same needs and instincts as people. Some human characters also fit this: a very well-done example is the Bloody Baron from the ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'', an alcoholic brute who oppresses the peasants under him [[spoiler:(and used to beat his pregnant wife, which caused her to miscarry)]], but is also a human wreck too terrified to face the world sober and consciously tries to PetTheDog with little acts of kindness whenever he can... because deep down, he ''knows'' he's a bad man and wants to be better, and would be if he wasn't also a very weak man as well.
* Viola in ''VideoGame/{{Zone of the Enders}}''. Even Dingo seems to have a lot of respect for her in the sequel [[spoiler:although he's fighting a CPU copy of her. She died at Leo's hands.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'', Kay feels some pity for [[spoiler:Shih-na/Calisto Yew]], who killed her father, because she believes that she was able to look into her heart while speaking to her, and she wonders what it would be like to do all the terrible things she did without feeling anything.
* After meeting Dennis’s father, the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' starts to feel pity for Dennis himself. He surmises that Dennis’s most egregious behaviors seemed to be modeled on his father’s, and that Dennis’s father considered his son weak and disappointing.
* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'':
** [[PlayedforHorror Played for Horror]] when Monokuma kills Monophanie and Monotaro during Gonta's execution in a very [[ChestBurster disturbing]] fashion. Keebo was horrified as to why Monokuma would be [[WouldHurtaChild willing to kill his remaining children]] out of child-blood.
** Keebo and Shuichi express this a bit in Chapter 6 when Monokuma implants all five of his revived Monokubs with bombs to blow them up in case they don't give valuable arguments. Monokuma does kill them all later on.
* By the end of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'''s Heaven's Feel route, Shirou realizes that he no longer hates Kotomine. He actually kind of likes him. In fact, he's more similar to Kotomine than to his own hero figure, Kiritsugu. In the end, there's only a fight to the death because [[spoiler:Kotomine is following his 'ideal' way of living to the end, and Shirou just wants to save his girlfriend Sakura. Saving the world is a perk.]] Kind of sucks that he was born so broken.
* In ''VisualNovel/IkemenSengoku'', several routes have the characters feel this way about TragicVillain Kennyo. Shingen feels this because he used to be best friends with Kennyo; Masamune and Mitsunari because they (along with the main character) recognize that there's still some humanity left in Kennyo; and Kenshin because his own traumatic past and internal struggle between his nobler and darker sides make him not that different from Kennyo.
* Near the end of ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}'', [[spoiler:Steve explains to the title character that his father is dying of cancer. Since Melody already lost her mother to cancer, she sympathizes with Steve, and observes that his acting out actually mirrored her own in many ways.]]
* ''VisualNovel/MinotaurHotel'': [[spoiler:Even though he tried to trick you into getting Asterion into the valley, ultimately you just can't hate him for the fact that any wrongings he could have done pale in comparison to Clement and the other masters that abused Asterion. You're given the option to hug him when he tears up.]]
* Many of the spirits from ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterDeathMark'' and ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'' are [[VengefulGhost vengeful]] and murderous because they were horrifically abused in life; when the protagonists learn of the circumstances behind the ghosts, they take pity on them.
* Through most of case 4, Tyrion from ''VisualNovel/TyrionCuthbertAttorneyOfTheArcane'' has been trying to prove that [[spoiler:Beatrice Frega murdered her father. But when he does so and Beatrice confesses her motivations, he can't help but feel sorry for her. Her father was an asshole who made her life miserable, and the main reason she did the deed was to fulfill the terms of her DealWithTheDevil. Now that she failed, her soul will be dragged to the Abyssal Hells for all eternity. Tyrion offers to dispute the contract to set her free, but the document is airtight and failure to render it null would drag him down alongside her, so Beatrice rejects his help. When the trial is over, he feels like he's lost against the demons. Later in the game he meets Beatrice again and restates his condolences and wish to help her out of the contract]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In Season 10 of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', the Reds and Blues spend the entire season trying to take down [[BigBad the Director]] and even [[spoiler: fight an army of Tex robots to get to him.]] When [[spoiler: Carolina and Church]] finally reach him, however, [[spoiler: Carolina finds him so broken and miserable that she can't bring herself to kill him.]] This may have more to do with [[spoiler: him being a terrible father and her allowing herself to let go of her own demons than actually granting him mercy,]] but it is certainly an example of this when [[spoiler: he asks her to leave [[DrivenToSuicide him her pistol]] and she does so with barely a word.]]
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In "[[Recap/RWBYV6E3TheLostFable The Lost Fable]]", Ruby's face and posture is visibly empathetic after she watches the Brother Gods curse [[Characters/RWBYSalem Salem]] to [[CompleteImmortality never reunite with her beloved Ozma in the afterlife]], purely because Salem tried to dupe them into resurrecting him in her raw grief.
* ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'':
** Even when Molly has decided to fight to keep her Epithet, she still feels sympathy for Mera, acknowledging that it's not fair that she has to endure the debilitating side effects of her powers, but encouraging her to find a solution that doesn't involve treating people badly. Once Mera is defeated, Molly uses her powers to numb Mera's pain for a short period, and offers to provide more relief when Mera gets out of jail.
** Despite having been, at least in theory, her prisoner for most of ''Literature/EpithetErasedPrisonOfPlastic'', Naven seems to empathise with the grief and pain that Lorelai keeps [[BeneathTheMask wrapped up in layers of toxicity, entitlement, and selfishness]], comforting her when she cries.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/DICETheCubeThatChangesEverything'': Dongtae figures out that [[spoiler:X's real motive is [[HatesBeingAlone loneliness]], giving him a clue how to stop him without a fight]] and makes a NotSoDifferentRemark regarding how he felt at the start. In the end [[spoiler:X is considered to be just a child who doesn't know how to make friends.]]
* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Happens repeatedly with Allison whenever she encounters a Demiurge.
** Mottom is a world-conquering empress who strips worlds to the bone to satisfy her decadent court... And is, in her own words, MotivatedByFear because she's never been able to outgrow being the abused young girl who was forcibly wed to Hastet Om. Even as Allison condems her and all her actions, she's able to empatise with her and [[spoiler:frames destroying Hastet Om's body]] as a way of 'helping' Mottom.
** Mammon is a mighty dragon who controls more wealth than anyone else in the Multiverse... [[spoiler:And is a broken old man suffering from dementia and blindness. He spends all his time counting the money in his vault, trying to remember why he cared about it and wallowing in guilt over destroying his family to get it, to the point [[PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou that he willingly offers his throat to Allison]].]] All of his followers are adventurers who came to his vault to slay or rob him, only to find him so sad and pathetic that they couldn’t go through with it, to Mammon’s confusion.
-->'''AltText:''' It was then that Allison realized a normal girl from Los Angeles really, REALLY couldn't slay a dragon.
** Solomon David is the archetypical KnightTemplar GodEmperor who conquers and subdues countless words [[WhiteMansBurden to 'enlighten' them]] into his Empire, and is also the embodiment of Pride... But that pride also makes him incapable of seeing anyone as his equal or to allow anyone to close to him, meaning he piles all the responsibility and duties of his empire onto his own shoulders rather than open up and share his burdens with his people. Allison comments at one point that Solomon must be incredibly LonelyAtTheTop.
** Jadis is a ranting StrawNihilist and a MadOracle whose attempts at winning Allison over are incredibly misguided at best and outright condescending at worst, but because she is TheOmniscient in a predestined universe, she can't ''not'' do what she is supposed to do at any time. Allison also points out that being TheOmniscient means Jadis can't undergo CharacterDevelopment: She can't move on from her past traumas because she always recollects them, perfectly, and she can't learn new information or be given novel input that changes her perspective because she already knows it all.
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** Despite all that Nale has put his twin through over the course of the series, Elan is still sad when [[spoiler: Tarquin kills Nale]], wondering whether the circumstances of their childhoods led to such different outcomes for the two brothers.
** Haley also feels sorry for Crystal by the [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0981.html end of their battle]] in Tinkertown, given how Bozzok has controlled her. That doesn't stop her from [[spoiler: dropping Crystal into a volcano]].
** After Redcloak [[spoiler: reveals that he's killed Tsukiko]], the Monster In The Darkness remarks that what Tsukiko wanted, to be loved, wasn't so bad, but what's really sad for him is that the rest of Team Evil doesn't seem to care.
* In ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'', Emil gets strangely attached to an infected dog, even ''after'' it has tried to kill him, due to realizing that it is FightingFromTheInside. The whole things ends with the dog getting just enough of a grip on itself to let Emil give it a MercyKill.
* In ''Webcomic/WeakHero'', Phillip Kim is a BoisterousWeakling who relies on posturing and manipulation to keep his position as top dog at Eunjang High. After Gray kicks his ass and reveals that he's all bark and no bite, Phillip is dethroned and spends the rest of his days utterly despondent, moping around in class with his fringe (previously spiked up) drooping over his face. Rowan, one of the nicer characters, feels genuinely bad for how far he's fallen. He then gets called out by his friend Teddy, who advises him against showing sympathy towards people who don't deserve it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Roleplay/{{AJCO}}'':
** At the end of the Silo mini-arc, Egg had plenty of chances to kill A_J -- who had given her plenty of reasons to want to kill her. When A_J first gave her the bullet for the pistol, [[DrivenToSuicide making the implications very clear]], Egg could have shot her and saved herself from having to be expelled into the irradiated terrain above, but she didn't. And then when A_J [[spoiler: ran out after her following a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment]] she ''still'' didn't shoot her, instead guarding her while she slept.
** It should be noted that Egg feels sympathy for pretty much ''everyone'', and has acknowledged in her diary that this will [[FatalFlaw probably wind up getting her killed one day]].
* In ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG'', after [[spoiler:the Darkitect's DivineIntervention granted Dr. Rex a FateWorseThanDeath]], many Dino Attack agents felt pity towards Dr. Rex. Even Rex, who moments prior proclaimed that Dr. Rex deserved to die a slow and painful death, realized that no one, not even Dr. Rex, deserved the terrible fate he met.
-->'''Tropers/BrikmanMcStudz''': "As I was reading that post, I felt just a very small shred of sympathy for Dr. Rex. Sympathy best described using a quote from a review by Creator/RogerEbert for the movie ''[[Film/{{Downfall}} Der Untergang]]'' (''Film/{{Downfall}}'') to describe sympathy toward Hitler in the film: "Sympathy I felt in the sense that I would feel it for a rabid dog, while accepting that it must be destroyed."
* Downplayed at the end of WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's review of ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries 2'', as he does feel sorry for Hyper having a meltdown; but when she blasts herself off, is still glad to be free of her stalking and kidnapping him.
* ''WebVideo/PlayStationAccess'': "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWpDT-4bNeU Bosses That Didn't Deserve To Die Like That]]" is about the cast talking about how they felt in those situations.
* Wayne in ''Literature/VoidDomain'' mentions this trope almost by name after deciding to spare a vampire that had just attacked him because she told him her life story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' in the ChristmasEpisode, the main characters [[TheHero Finn]] and [[CanineCompanion Jake]] create their own Christmas (they live in a PostApocalyptic world) after they feel sorry for the Ice King who was just revealed to be a victim of [[spoiler:SanitySlippage via his ice crown]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': In "Crossing Over", Archer and [[spoiler:Nikolai Jakov]] are shown bonding over shots in the ISIS safe house. Archer is clearly deeply distraught when [[spoiler:Jakov dies]] at the end of the episode
-->'''Archer:''' The man who... might have [[spoiler:been my father... just died.]]
* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Zuko and Katara's silent but all too visible reaction to [[spoiler: [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderPrincessAzula Azula's]]]] VillainousBreakdown in the last episode of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' invokes this trope.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', after hearing [[spoiler:[[CorruptPolitician Tarrlok]] and [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAmon Amon]] / [[KnightTemplar Noatak's]] backstory]] Korra says that it's one of the saddest stories she has ever heard. In Season 2, Korra is the only one who feels bad about [[spoiler:not being able to stop Unalaq without killing him. Unalaq was such a terrible person that even his own children don't regret his death.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Batman is certainly capable of empathizing with adversaries with more tragic backstories, though he doesn't let it stop him from preventing their schemes if they are endangering the lives of others. This is most notable when he sees a recording of what happened to [[AnIcePerson Victor Fries]] and his wife.
** It's telling that, especially compared to his more campy or DarkerAndEdgier incarnations, this Batman actually does seem to want to ''reform'' his RoguesGallery rather than simply beat them down over and over, displaying a heavy amount of this trope. That's why Joker tweaks him so bad; rather than having a tragic backstory (Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy) or being legitimately, untreatably insane (Firefly, Riddler and his obsessiveness), the Joker seems to be in complete control of his faculties and just [[BlueAndOrangeMorality sees the world as a big playground]] and every other person is simply a cheap toy to be played with and discarded. For him, the only one who is really a devil who didn't ''deserve'' any sympathy, and yet he ''still'' gives it whenever possible.
** Notably too when villains make an earnest effort to actually try and reform, Batman will actually stick his neck out for them. He's pessimistic about The Penguin's attempt at reformation, as he's pretty certain the man's just playing the system to keep out of trouble until he can strike again, but he goes out of his way to protect and help criminals like Harley Quinn and Arnold Wesker who are making an earnest effort to turn their lives around and were driven to villainy by insanity. He also has nothing but complete and utter contempt for people who take advantage of such folks, like Veronica Vreeland who is dating Penguin for the thrill of it and to mock the man, and Scarface's old gang who are trying to push Wesker back into crime because of his talents at planning heists.
** In "Trial", it was outright stated that Batman and most of his RoguesGallery were most likely not that different: Deeply troubled individuals who reacted to great hardship by putting on a mask and lashing out. The big difference being that Batman put on his mask and lashed out against crime, while the villains put on a mask and lashed out at society.
* Rampage from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', gets this in the episode "Transmutate". The episode features a titular mutated "transformer" who Rampage, a PsychoPrototype NighInvulnerable GoneHorriblyRight killing machine of an experiment, sees as a kindred spirit and sympathizes with. The episode ends with Transmutate destroyed, Rampage cradling her "dead" body, and Silverbolt urging his fellow Maximals to leave them in peace.
-->'''Silverbolt:''' No. Let him be. For the moment, we are brothers.
* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'': In the episode "The Enemy of My Frenemy," Charmcaster sacrifices 600,000 people, including Ben, Gwen, and Kevin, to bring her DisappearedDad back to life. However, her father can't bear to be the cause of so many deaths and thus dies to bring all those Charmcaster sacrificed back to life. Charmcaster is so heartbroken over this that Ben and co. agree not to arrest her for her actions out of pity, felt particularly by Charmcaster's chief nemesis Gwen, who keeps this attitude up in the following series, [[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]], hoping to help her redeem herself through ThePowerOfFriendship someday.
* Mostly subverted by the main heroes in ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'', there is very little to sympathise about [[BigBad Zordrak]], and his minions the Urpneys, though far more sympathetic, [[WhatMeasureIsAMook are dealt with indiscriminately]]. [[CheerfulChild Spildit]] however, naively converses and even attempts to help Sgt Blob's team at times. At one point they even sympathise with each other after [[MiddleManagementMook Urpgor]] once again chews the squad out and steals Spildit's leaf.
-->'''Spildit''': It was very mean of him to take my leaf!\\
'''Nug''': He's like that sometimes.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': Throughout the series, [[Characters/DuckTales2017MagicaDeSpell Magica De Spell]] was a vile evil sorceress and a abusive parent, then in the episode "[[Recap/DuckTales2017S3E21TheLifeAndCrimesOfScroogeMcDuck The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!]]"when Scrooge was put on trial by the mystic court, it is revealed at her first meeting with Scrooge [=McDuck=] he accidentally turns her twin brother Poe De Spell into a non-sapient crow and doing nothing to help him as Poe flays away. The flashback was surprisingly heartbreaking, with Magica begging for Scrooge's help offering anything to save her brother and Scrooge ignoring her to get some gold. The judge was sympathetic to her, and notably, the Magica case was the only case presented where Scrooge showed remorse for his actions, with his face showing guilt and shame.
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
** In the Valentine's Day special, when [[NiceGuy Edd]] finds May Kanker weeping in the janitor's closet, [[Heartwarming/EdEddNEddy he tries to comfort her and gives her a valentine to help her recover from Ed's rejection]].
** Throughout the show Eddy is a greedy arrogant {{Jerkass}} and hated by everyone but Ed and Double D. However in the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddysBigPictureShow'' movie [[spoiler:all the kids feel sorry for him for the abuse he received at the hands of his brother and after Eddy cries and admits his mistakes, they forgive him.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', the episode "Dream Goat!" double subverts this. Initially, Timmy thinks it's cool that Vicky got the blame for something he did; any second thoughts get drowned out by all the perks and popularity he gets for his "heroism." However, his subconscious is wracked with guilt over the whole thing, which leads to the dream wishing, so on some level, he does feel bad for her. Played straight with Wanda, who is the only one to point out how unfair the situation is to Vicky.
* ''WesternAnimation/JadeArmor'': Jade feels this way towards the Crimson Lord sometimes and Xinyan a lot more often, even having a [[DaydreamSurprise dream implying she wishes]] they weren't enemies and could just hang out as casually as she does with her Beasticons and friends.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': The show's main antagonist, [[CatsAreMean Mr. Cat]], spends his time bullying Quack Quack, an innocent friend of his who has never done anything to wrong him. Being aware that Mr. Cat's [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior behavior]] [[FreudianExcuse stems from]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast Mr. Cat having had a very difficult life]], Quack Quack continues to be his friend and be nice to him because he believes that deep down, Mr. Cat is just confused and hurting because of his trauma.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** In the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom -- Part 2]]", the Mane Five are clearly horrified when Tirek betrays [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]] and violently sucks his magic dry. Note that this is ''after'' Discord betrayed ''them''; there's not even an ounce of biting sarcasm in Applejack's voice when she returns an IronicEcho over his backstab.
** A similar (though not quite as drastic) situation occurs in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark". After Diamond Tiara loses the election for class president, she seems genuinely upset, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders decide to make sure she's OK even though Diamond's never given them anything but nastiness and trouble. The feeling becomes even stronger when they discover that Diamond Tiara's mother Spoiled Rich is a [[RichBitch cruel, nasty social climber]] who only cares about her position in Ponyville's elite circles. The CMC are shocked and admit that they feel bad for Diamond Tiara.
** Even after all the evil (and unforgivable [[BrokenBase if you ask some of the fanbase]]) stunts she pulled, Twilight Sparkle ''still'' pitied [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicStarlightGlimmer Starlight Glimmer]] after learning her entire motivation was being left a BrokenBird after her close childhood friend moved away. Twilight's forgiveness and offer to help her rediscover the meaning and value of friendship is what triggers Starlight's HeelFaceTurn.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'':
** In "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS1E17WingItLikeWitches Wing It Like Witches]]", Eda wins her grudgby bet with Lilith Clawthorne, then when the latter responds to her victory with terror at the thought of the consequences of returning to the Emperor empty-handed yet again, Eda feels bad enough to give Lilith her ring. Willow also shows signs of this when [[AlphaBitch Boscha]]'s team ask Willow if she wants to join them due to her skill, and Willow glances and notices Boscha's expression of terror before politely turning down the offer.
** In "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E9EclipseLake Eclipse Lake]]", Eda briefly expresses pity when observing Kikimora's SanitySlippage of paranoia. Amity empathizes with [[Characters/TheOwlHouseTheGoldenGuard Hunter]] when she realizes how similar their situations with AbusiveParents are, and even King feels bad for Hunter when watching him dig his own grave in manic despair.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' are sometimes shown to take pity on some of their villains. Semi justified at times since they are naive little girls, and many of said villains are [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain rather pitiful at times]]. This is especially prominent with the Amoeba Boys, who are [[HarmlessVillain so hopeless at being evil]] they actually try to ''teach'' them how to commit crimes.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish," Homer is visibly concerned for [[Characters/TheSimpsonsCharlesMontgomeryBurns Mr. Burns]] when he sees the old man pitifully [[https://frinkiac.com/img/S02E04/435129.jpg crying]] in his car. He even stops to ask him if he's alright.
* On ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', [[Characters/SouthParkEricCartman Eric Cartman]] is TheFriendNoOneLikes and probably the closest thing to a recurring villain the show has. Kenny outright admits in his will that he downright ''pities'' Cartman because nobody in that town actually likes him:
--> Eric, I never really liked you. But then, nobody does. You have no ability to feel, and you are going to die alone and miserable. It is only because I feel so sorry for you that I leave you my [[Platform/{{PSP}} Sony PSP]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower''
** Despite [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerHordak Hordak]] being responsible by the "deaths" of Glimmer's parents (Angella's was accidental [[spoiler: and Micah has survived, though Glimmer doesn't know]]) and having tried to kill her personally, she is horrifed when she sees Horde Prime pick him by his neck and erase his memories.
*** In spite of their story of mutual abuse and toxic partnership, Catra feels sympathy for Hordak when she sees him brainwashed and reduced to an average clone. When he panicks for having remembered her name, Catra promises she won't tell anybody, forgetting that Horde Prime can see and hear everything through the clones' minds. She watches horrified as Hordak is tortured with electric shocks in a ceremony of reconditioning, aware this is the SECOND time he is going through this, and for her fault!
*** [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerCatra Catra]] herself was hated by the Rebellion, and with good reasons. Glimmer and Bow, personally, had a long story with her, from all those moments when she kidnapped/tried to kill them for being friends with Adora. Not to mention that it was Catra whom opened the portal, causing reality to be destroyed and forcing Angella to commit a HeroicSacrifice. Yet, after Adora saves Catra from Horde Prime and has to bring her back from the dead, both Glimmer and Bow cry. Even Entrapta, whom had her life ruined by Catra (she manipulated her to enter the Horde, used her knowledge in techs, then sent her to die in Beast Island and after being rescued Entrapta was ocstracized by the princesses) agrees into "forgiving" Catra with a friendly pat on the latter's head, though they're not friends anymore.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': Despite suffering more at [[Characters/StarWarsDarthMaul Darth Maul's]] hands than anyone else, Obi-Wan is still able to feel compassion and sympathy for him, knowing they've both lost everything and they're not that different. In the end, he kills Maul only for the pain he could cause if allowed near Luke, not the pain he has already caused, and even performs CradlingYourKill.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''. In the episode "Earthlings", long-time villain [[Characters/StevenUniverseJasper Jasper]] becomes corrupted and [[SanitySlippage slowly loses her sanity]]. During this, she reveals how lonely and insecure she actually is, as she states that "Nobody I fuse with ever wants to stay" (referring to Lapis and the Corrupted Gem she fused with earlier). Steven tries to heal her, but she furiously refuses his help, eventually [[FateWorseThanDeath fully corrupting]] and being poofed by Peridot. The part where this trope applies is where Amethyst walks forward with a sorrowful look and falls to her knees next to Jasper's gem, before delivering one of the most [[TearJerker tear-jerky]] lines in the show so far.
-->'''Amethyst:''' ''[sighs and picks up Jasper's gem]'' C'mere, sis.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}'': In "[[Recap/TeenTitansS1E2Sisters Sisters]]", Starfire looks saddened when the Centuari police arrest [[CainAndAbel her sister Blackfire]], even if it's no less than the latter deserves after her actions.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}}'', the [[LizardFolk Lizards]] are actually given an understandable motive for siding with [[BigBad Mumm-Ra]]. Under the reign of the Cats' kingdom Thundera, most of the arable and prosperous lands are controlled by the Cats while the other species are left to starve and are often captured and [[MadeASlave enslaved]] if they try to steal food for their people. This is explicitly stated by a Lizard who was captured and tormented by the Cats to [[ShelteredAristocrat Lion-O]], which caused him to later defend the Lizards from an angry lynch mob.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', Yugo cannot bring himself to finish off Nox after he sees Nox shedding tears [[spoiler:after his plan to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong ends in utter failure]] and allows the defeated villain to leave peacefully. Averted in Season 2; Yugo feels no sympathy for [[spoiler:Qilby the Traitor]] after hearing his twisted reasons for destroying worlds to fuel his own selfish desires and imprisons him in an empty void. Played straight again in the manga, when Yugo admits that he feels guilty that he left [[spoiler:Qilby]] to that horrible (though justified) fate but is told because of him feeling SympathyForTheDevil is what makes him a good king.
[[/folder]]

%% While this trope contains some degree of TruthInTelevision, '''[[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease please refrain from adding real life examples]].''' Calling RealLife people devils is a way to say that they are evil. Not to mention that there would be lots of endless debate on which bad people can be sympathized with and which is not.
----