Anime & Manga / Because You Were Nice To Me

Because You Were Nice to Me in Anime & Manga.

7 Seeds has Natsu quickly falling in love with Arashi, because of this. He was the first guy, especially one around her own age, who was kind and gentle to her. Semimaru later points this out, wondering if Natsu would love him, had he been nice first.
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You:
- A lot of Rentaro's girlfriends were struggling with their lives due to their various extreme quirks, ranging from being a tsundere to the core or having a a love for violence knowing it's socially unacceptable, and fall in love with him because he's the first person in their lives to actually support them and help them overcome the most crippling aspects of their mindsets.
- Mei Meido views her mistress Hahari Hanazono as greater than Buddha because Hahari gave her a purpose in life after she was disowned by her Abusive Parents. When called upon to call Buddha the greatest, the most she'll concede is "Great Buddha is infinitesimally close to the greatest." Mei's loyalty is extreme to a self-destructive degree, such that Hahari has to be mindful of just what she orders Mei to do lest she hurt herself without hesitation.
- Suu Hifumi's Number Obsession is so extreme she sees numbers more like people than she does other human beings. This hinders her integration into Rentaro's Family but, because Rentaro was the first person to take her love of numbers seriously, she feels she should try to get to know the girlfriends Rentaro loves just as much as she loves her numbers. Ahko recognizes Suu's self-loathing at her difficulties and helps her tie everyone's name to Goroawase Numbers to memorize everyone more easily. This ends with Ahko being the only person other than Rentaro she doesn't need such a mnemonic device with.
Absolute Duo: Miyabi fell for Tor because he was the first guy she ever met (once she entered puberty) who treats her Gag Boobs as merely part of the package known as Miyabi Hotaka and actually cares for her thoughts and feelings as a person. When she collapses on the track and field, he stands by her and helps her recover. When she sprains her ankle, he carries her to the infirmary. When she's feeling down, he offers words of encouragement. All without ulterior motives. For someone with Miyabi's life experiences, this means a lot.
Ai Yori Aoshi: Mayu ended up falling in love with Kaoru because he cheered her up when her own parents couldn't make it to her birthday party.
This is why Jun develops a crush on Takumi in The Anthem of the Heart. Having been friendless because of her elective muteness, he's the first person to stand up for her and befriend her, no matter how unwilling he was at first.
Attack on Titan:
- Ymir cites this as the reason for her devotion to Krista, claiming that Krista could smile at her even while knowing what a horrible person she really is. This devotion leads her to make a Face–Heel Turn and side with the villains since they need Krista alive and are the ones best suited to ensure her survival in the long-run. That they will probably end up killing Ymir either way is fine with her, as long as Krista survives.
- This is why the Female Titan/Annie decided to spare Armin during their ambush on the Survey Corps. Annie is not a very approachable person, but Armin is the only person who makes an effort. Because of this, Armin is the only person she's actually relatively close to, and this is presumably why when she has him unhorsed and caught as the Female Titan, she lets him go rather than squishing him. This ends up biting Annie in the ass later: Armin uses this encounter as a clue to connect her to the Female Titan.
- Mikasa's unwavering loyalty and devotion towards Eren stems from the day that he rescued her by ruthlessly murdering a group of human traffickers who killed her parents at great risk to himself.
- After learning of Ymir Fritz's tragic past, Eren pulls the little girl in a comforting hug, and tells her that she is free. It is the first time anyone had shown kindness to her instead of ordering her as a slave. This is a crucial point of the story because it enables Eren to access the Founding Titan, and activate the Rumbling to destroy the world, as punishment for abusing Ymir's powers and legacy.
Ennis of Baccano!, an Artificial Human whose creator treats her like garbage, tries to sacrifice her own life to protect the first people who were ever nice to her. A third party jumps in and saves her.
Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts:
- Minami likes Akihisa because he asked her to be his friend when she couldn't make any because of the language barrier; of course, this being Aki, he asked her in French instead of German. Likewise, her little sister Hazuki likes him because he saved up 25,000 yen just to buy her a doll.
- A large part of the reason Shouko loves Yuuji is that he was the first person to ever treat her like a normal person while everyone else was fearful of her status as a rich girl.
In Bakemonogatari, one of the reasons why Hitagi Senjougahara asks Koyomi Araragi out. Koyomi was the only one who genuinely wanted to help her with her problem (though it doesn't help that Hitagi threatened everyone else who tried).
A villainous example in Berserk: the torturers under Bishop Mozgus reveal to Farnese that they are all deformed, ugly outcasts of society until Mozgus took them under his wing and made them his torturers. While they admit that they personally have no great liking for the job, it's the one time in their lives that they've been treated with respect of any kind, and Mozgus was the only person who ever reached out to them without looking upon them in disgust and horror.
Snake in Black Butler. He was close to the circus crew because they befriended them despite his appearance, to the point he would attempt to kill Ciel when all his friends disappeared, thinking that Ciel was the cause of their disappearance. He wasn't entirely wrong as Ciel's staff killed the circus crew for ambushing Ciel's mansion. He would eventually become loyal to Ciel after Ciel takes him in and like the circus crew, didn't care about his snake-like appearance.
- Finnian admits his admiration and Undying Loyalty towards Ciel came from the latter welcoming him in his home and giving him a job as a gardener when he previously led a wretched life where he was a test subject in human experimentation.
In Black Clover, most of the Black Bulls' loyalty to the squad comes from their comrades' unconditional acceptance and love for each other in spite of being social outcasts. This is especially true for Noelle, Gordon, Grey, Henry, and Nero.
Possibly the case with Creepy Child Gretel of Black Lagoon. Since, by the end of her arc, it seemed that the only other human beings she actually liked were her brother and Rock. This is because Rock, the only truly decent human being in the Crapsack World of Roanapur, listens with sadness and horror rather than disgust at the coldly delivered Breaking Speech of Gretel, a little girl so traumatized by rape and torture with her twin brother Hansel back in Romania that murder has become the sole source of joy for them. He holds her in a tight embrace and weeps, begging her to accept the possibility that there is hope, and still a possibility of a new and happy life for a little girl like her. This act of sincere kindness, so alien to Gretel, was enough to move even a mass murderer like her to blush like a real little girl for the briefest of moments... leading to one of the saddest moments of Evil Cannot Comprehend Good ever. Her version of thanks was to offer herself sexually to Rock, thinking that is the only way an adult will appreciate her in return. Before she left Rock she stated happily "I hope we can meet against someday mister! We can have a picnic!" Sadly, she was shot in the back of the head by a guy with a revolver immediately afterward, as karma catches up with her for having pissed off Balalaika for torturing two of her men to death alongside Hansel.
Bleach: This is the reason why Nel follows Ichigo, protects him from Dordonii, shows concern over his injuries, and, ultimately, transforms back into her super badass adult form to fight Nnoitra. It is also part of the simple yet complex reason Sado/Chad and Ichigo fight for each other.
Blue Submarine No. 6: Hayami saves a wounded Mutio during the battle in Tokyo, even though they were fighting each other just moments before. When Hayami is later separated from Blue Fleet during an attack by Zorndyke's navy, Mutio recognizes him and saves him from drowning.
In Case Closed, this is why Sharon Vineyard/Vermouth goes out her way to protect Shinichi/Conan and Ran, as they once saved her life while in New York during the Golden Apple case, even when after she was going to kill them. And on several occasions, she risks her life when defying orders from the Black Organization to protect them and Kogoro.
One of the reasons why Sato of Castle Town Dandelion falls for Shu is because he was one of her few Childhood Friends that remembered her after she moved back.
Meiko of Cat God was lonely and friendless as a child until Mayu reached out to her. This makes Meiko care deeply for Mayu and even consider herself a rival for Mayu's hand in marriage with her fiancee (even though all parties involved are female).
A Certain Magical Index:
- Shiage Hamazura was forced to become a lackey to the esper team ITEM despite his hatred of espers. While most of ITEM treated him poorly, Rikou Takitsubo showed him compassion. This leads him to save her life and they eventually fall in love.
- Accelerator was once rescued from a horrible experiment by Dr. Kikyou Yoshikawa, and she's one of the few scientists who treats Accelerator like a person rather than a test subject or a Person of Mass Destruction. As a result, even before his Heel–Face Turn, Accelerator respected her and she is one of the only people he would actually seek advice from and listen to.
Code Geass has a big one late in the second season. Rollo continues to be loyal to Lelouch even after the latter has a nervous breakdown and tells Rollo in no uncertain terms that the affections he showed to Rollo were fake and all part of his machinations. Lelouch is naturally astonished when Rollo comes out of nowhere to save him from execution by the Black Knights. Lelouch, resigned to his death, begs Rollo to stop, insisting that Lelouch's life is not worth Rollo killing himself through overexerting his Geass. Rollo explains in spasms while freezing time that even if Lelouch's affections were fake, they were still meaningful to him — and that being with Lelouch was the only time in his whole life where he genuinely felt happy.
A Darkstalkers manga had Felicia push Jon Talbain to help the police catch a murderer simply because the victim was kind enough to pet Felicia in her final moments.
In Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, accordingly with Zenitsu's desperate need for feeling wanted by someone willing to be his friend, or loved by a girl willing to be his mate, Zenitsu will devote himself to those who sincerely acquainted themselves with him; first Jigoro, his eventual demon slaying master, saved Zenitsu when he was a debt slave tied to a opportunistic woman he tried to elope with, by taking Zenitsu under his wing the youth entered the world of demon slaying, something his easily scared self would never want to willingly take part in but Jigoro made a huge impression on Zenitsu out of the elder's trust and honest care for him, something Zenitsu never had before; with that Zenitsu drags his reluctant body onwards as a demon slayer even though his fear screams for Zenitsu to run away. When Zenitsu then befriends Tanjiro who was so kind to him, Zenitsu quickly devotes his life as a brother-in-arms to Tanjiro as it opens the gates for Zenitsu to truly embrace his path as a demon slayer, with some complaining still, and make more friends along the way, and even meet someone he believes will answer his affection.
Doraemon: In the 2005-era episode "Shizuka-chan Disappeared!?", Shizuka is turned into a cat and is rescued from drowning by a stray cat. They become friends, but when the stray learns Shizuka is a human, he gets bitter and tells her not to follow him since he has a grudge against humans. Later, Shizuka rescues him after he finds his way into a construction and is nearly stuck in some girders.
Dragon Ball Z:
- Piccolo said this to Gohan when he took the hit for him.
  Piccolo: You were the first person to not be afraid of me.
- Later, in the Buu Saga, Hercule befriends Majin Buu. When the latter is absorbed into Evil Buu to become Super Buu, memories of the kindness Hercule showed him ultimately spare him from the monster's wrath, even when Super Buu launched an attack that practically rendered humanity extinct.
In Durarara!!, this turns out to be the reason for why Tom is one of the only people that can keep Shizuo's temper in check: Tom was one of the first and only people outside of his immediate family to treat him like a normal person instead of a freak.
- Interestingly, this also turns out to be the reason that Izaya cares so much about Shinra, who took a knife for him in middle school, which is probably the only nice thing anyone's ever done for him.
Elfen Lied: Lucy fell in love with Kouta because he was the first person to ever treat her kindly and not like a freak; she even explicitly states that the time they spent together is her only happy memories. Because of this, he's the only human she refuses to harm or try to harm.
In Endride, both Felix and Mischa have Undying Loyalty toward Demetrio because he was the only one to offer them kindness or hope for the future.
Fairy Tail:
- In the Oración Seis arc, Gemini came to help a severely weakened Lucy destroy Nirvana after seeing the compassion that she treated her Celestial Spirits with, unlike Gemini's master Angel who treated them as slaves and later joins Lucy's team when Angel is imprisoned.
- Fairy Tail ZERØ: This is the main reason why Zeref agreed to teach Mavis and her friends (the other founders of Fairy Tail) magic — Mavis, with her illusions, allowed Zeref to interact with the living by conjuring up forest animals for him to pet. Even to this day, he considers it his most precious memory. In turn, Mavis grew fond of him because of his kind eyes and willingness to teach her and her friends magic, making her his Only Friend. Years later, after they meet again and Mavis learns she bears the same curse as him, this friendship evolved into love. Unfortunately, outside forces made sure that their relationship was doomed to end tragically.
In Volume 10 of The Familiar of Zero, there is a particular exchange between a dragon and the protagonist of the epic tale "The Hero of Ivaldi", in which the protagonist is preparing to rescue a girl who had betrayed him from the dragon:
Dragon: What a small being. Get lost. This is not a place you should come.
Ivaldi: Return Roux!
Dragon: That girl is your wife?
Ivaldi: No.
Dragon: What kind of relationship do you have with her?
Ivaldi: Nothing. I had only stopped by at the village to have some bread.
Dragon: You are throwing your life away just for that?
Ivaldi: For that, I have gambled my life!
- Josette's unwavering loyalty to Julio contains elements of this trope as well.
In the manga version of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, this is the reason why Sylvia is in love with Prince Levin. She explains to Fury that everyone treated her horribly just because she was a Dancer, and Levin was the first one to offer her kindness and partnership.
Food Wars!: Former Academic Alpha Bitch Erina willingly gives up her seat on the Elite Ten and stands up to the father that abused and controlled her throughout most of her childhood to fight and save the Polaris Dorm students and their Honorary True Companions (which include her cousin Alice and best friend Hisako). Why? To repay the kindness they showed her when taking her in after she ran away from home.
A romantic example in Fruits Basket. The reason Rin struggles to find a cure to the Zodiac curse is that her boyfriend Haru was the first person to ever want her. As a result, she's determined to thank him by breaking the curse and giving him a chance to escape the confinement the Zodiac are all under.
Hotohori's crush on Miaka in Fushigi Yuugi is a mix of this and Loving a Shadow. She is one of the few people (and the first in the series) to treat him as a normal human being rather than as an emperor, something he had hoped for even before meeting her.
Future Diary: Yuno's devotion to Yukiteru stems from him jokingly making a marriage proposal to her right after her Darkest Hour in which she killed her Abusive Parents, spurring her into devoting her future to him.
In Gantz, as The End of the World as We Know It approaches, Nishi goes on a rampage and kills his entire class after they pushed him out of a window. The only classmate he spares is the girl who gave him a love letter earlier in the day.
Girls Bravo:
- It's pretty obvious that Yukinari was going to fall for Miharu considering that she's the only girl who treats him with genuine kindness and doesn't bully him or beat him up. Needless to say, he doesn't really hold feelings of love for Kirie who has a crush on him but brutally beats him up constantly or for Lisa who's insane and constantly tries to abduct him.
  - Made ridiculously Anvilicious by the fact that Yukinari has an allergy to women: every woman in both worlds the show takes place in, except for Miharu, causes him to break out in hives.
- Yukina the Big Bad falls for Yukinari for similar reasons. She is also in a similar situation: Yukinari is the only guy that does not trigger her allergy to men. By the end of the series, she takes every opportunity to cling to him to make up for a lifetime of being starved of physical intimacy.
Nothing would've happened in Haou Airen, had Kurumi not decided to treat Hakuron's wounds.
Possibly the reason Yuki Nagato acts like Kyon befriended her in Haruhi Suzumiya; because he got a library card. (Ironic in that Kyon seems to have done this just to avoid an argument with Haruhi, giving him little clue as to Yuki's true feelings. Also, she's an Emotionless Girl.) As we found out in Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody, she's only three years old, and basically spent the first three years of her life being bored out of her skull, so Kyon getting her a card was probably literally the nicest thing anyone had done for her up to that point. One of her few memories of earlier time when she rewrote the world was Kyon getting her a library card. It was partially false, but still enough to give her a crush on him. Given the nature of the series though, any number of other explanations could apply.
- This may be the case for Haruhi, too. Her bizarre and antisocial behavior prevented her from talking to people much or making any real friends until Kyon simply tried to have a conversation with her without treating her like a freak; Taniguchi and Asakura's comments imply that no one had ever done this before. She fixates on him pretty quickly, but the niceness part doesn't last long.
Hayate × Blade: This is why Isuzu Inugami became Momoka Kibi's sword-fighting partner; all the other students avoided Isuzu because she looked like a Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl.
Hekikai No Aion:
- Sheila, one of the evil mermaids, fell for Tatsuya because he was the only one aside from Ariel to show her kindness. Also, because she was afraid to lose him, she stopped thinking about avenging herself against Seine, the one who left her without voice and "killed" her.
- Our protagonist Seine as well. She decided to go with Shimon, a man she knew absolutely nothing about, just because he was nicer to her than her abusive foster father.
Himouto! Umaru-chan: Ebina has feelings for Taihei largely because he was the first person when she arrived in Tokyo to look her in the eyes, rather than focus on her large breasts. His politeness and friendliness also helped.
Hunter × Hunter: Killua's friendship began with Gon because the latter treated his family's assassin profession in an accepting manner, whereas others would express shock and fear.
I Can't Believe I Slept with You: This swings both ways for the Landlady and Chiyo. The Landlady seems to be marking down the debt simply because she felt that Chiyo had done something nice, if not actually helpful, at the time. Chiyo, meanwhile, seems to be growing closer to the Landlady when she does such things as provide her a place to sleep, cooks for her, and does most of the chores (and redoes the ones that Chiyo attempts).
In I Got My Wish and Reincarnated as the Villainess (Last Boss)!, Karen is one of the few people who wants to be Elizabeth's friend so she becomes attached to her rather quickly.
Imaizumin-chi wa Douyara Gal no Tamariba ni Natteru Rashii: ~DEEP~:
- The reason Imaizumin lets the girls hang out in his apartment because they recognize his depression coming from loneliness and insecurities.
- Reina likes Imaizumi because he called out her classmates spreading Malicious Slander about her.
Innocents Shounen Juujigun:
- Guy decided to give up his bandit life and follow Etienne after the latter saved him from execution and offered what was most likely the first unselfish kindness Guy had ever experienced.
- Isabelle's feelings towards Etienne are some degree of this, considering that the whole reason she fell in love was because of his kindness and purity.
Robert E.O. Speedwagon of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was just a common street thug with a nice hat before he attacked Jonathan Joestar. Rather than just beat him down, Jonathan showed him sympathy and kindness despite the situation. This had a big impact on Speedwagon, making him Jonathan's loyal friend. When he goes on to hit it rich in the U.S., the Speedwagon Foundation he creates is a constant source of support to the Joestar bloodline until the Continuity Reboot.
Ishigami from Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is hated by most of his peers, so those who do show him genuine kindness easily earn his loyalty. It forms the basis for his friendship with Shirogane, his Senpai-Kohai relationship with Kaguya, and his crush on Tsubame.
There's a recursive example in Kanojo Ni Naru Hi Another: Everybody wonders shy cool, kind, unflappable Class Representative Aya Kurokawa looks out for class delinquent Rinichi Sagara, unaware that she's repaying him for the inadvertent kindness he showed her by protecting her from bullies back in grade school. He wasn't trying to be kind, he did it primarily because fighting was his way of addressing his own feelings of inadequacy, but she's determined to stick up for him in the present because he stuck up for her in the past.
Kaze no Stigma: Kazuma goes to extreme lengths to protect and help one of the women of the Kannagi household, even while she's desperately (and fruitlessly, considering their respective Power Levels), trying to kill him. Both she and others are downright shocked by this since it's heavily out of character for the otherwise-cold Kazuma — heck, he even charged the family head an outrageous fee for rescuing his own kid brother. Ayano is halfway to eating her own liver out of jealousy, convinced that Kazuma must have fallen in love with the girl, but in the end, the truth is revealed... When Kazuma was a kid in the Kannagi household, he was constantly bullied by the other kids, since they're all Playing with Fire to a greater or lesser degree, while he was powerless. She was the only one who ever stood up for him, stopping the other kids from hurting him, more out of pity than anything else, but he still remembered it — and sought to repay her for it, no matter what.
In the first episode of Kill la Kill, the loner Ryuko Matoi isn't sure what to make of Mako Makanshoku calling herself her best friend despite not knowing each other for even a minute. Once Mako's family lets Ryuko live with them in the next episode, however, Ryuko stays by Mako's side to repay the favor.
Kimi ni Todoke: Sawako towards Kazehaya simply because he's the first classmate to return her morning greeting.
Koharu no Hibi: The reason Koharu gears her deep affection towards Akira, and the reason he decides to reciprocate. (It's Deconstructed later on).
Komi Can't Communicate:
- While Komi does want to make a 100 friends, when it comes to sharing moments with others, Tadano will always and unequivocally have her undivided attention. Simply because Tadano was the first person who dared to talk to her like a normal person unlike the others and due to this, he is always her first and most important friend.
Kotoura-san: Let's say, young people with superpowers or having a member of her family having it especially needs this.
- In Episode 7, Yuriko reveals part of her past to Haruka. Shortly after her mother was Driven to Suicide due to accusations of faking her powers, some kids mock her. But then Dai'chi shows up and tells her that he still believed her mother was a real psychic. She starts to cry after hearing it, and Haruka later turns on the waterworks as well.
- This is also true for Haruka herself as well, and that's why she's close with Manabe — he's the first person of her age that understands her problems, i.e. enduring more than a decade of social stigma and emotional trauma for being a telepath.
Laughing Under the Clouds:
- Shirasu's very protective of the Kumo brothers due to having been saved by Tenka from bleeding to death and being taken in by the brothers in the past when everyone else wished him dead because he's a ninja of the Fuma clan. He goes as far as threatening Botan with a knife just to make his point about not harming any of the brothers. Subverted when it's revealed that it was all an act on Shirasu's part. Perhaps.
- Hirari fell for Botan as a child because she treated him nicely and like a human being, unlike others did at the time. It does become stalkerish, and Hirari refuses to accept Botan's "no" on the matter and follows her so loyally that he is even reborn again and again until they meet once more and Botan finally admits she's also got feelings for him.
In Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Third Prince Kouha believes that he would never amount to anything due to his low ranking and his eccentric, violent personality. But his older brothers Kouen and Koumei treated him with respect and believed in him, causing him to be fanatically loyal to them.
- It goes the other way, too — Kouha's entourage are all made up of outcasts who are fiercely loyal to him for taking them in.
Played with in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. The Wolkenritter would have been loyal to Hayate regardless of how she treated them due to her being the Master of the Book of Darkness, but since Hayate showed them kindness (and viewed them as her family), they were willing to go against her wishes in order to save her life rather than follow her request to leave the Book of Darkness alone and leave her to die.
In Mamotte Shugogetten, Kaori Aihara towards Tasuke after he saves her from tripping and offers his umbrella to her.
In Mayoi Neko Overrun!, Chise, the local rich girl, tries really hard to make friends with Takumi and his group of friends. In a flashback, it turns out that the reason why was because she felt isolated since no one wanted to associate with her due to her status, and when she tripped and fell, Takumi was the only person who offered to help her back up. Eventually, she does become a part of their group.
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid:
- Tohru used to be a Chaotic Evil dragon with an intense hatred of humans (and largely still is), until one fateful night, when she was mortally wounded in a battle with the gods, Kobayashi (while too drunk to realize how serious things were) saved her life, offered her a drink, and a place to live after finding out she had nowhere else to go, causing Tohru to break down crying and to fall in love with her.
- When they first are properly introduced to one another, Kanna disliked Kobayashi because she thought Kobayashi "stole" Tohru away. After Kobayashi was able to see that Kanna couldn't go home because she was exiled and needed Tohru, Kobayashi offers Kanna a place in her home to stay. This gesture of kindness caused Kanna to view Kobayashi as a mother figure.
In Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Banagher's main motivation when it concerns Audrey is that she made him feel like he belonged for the first time.
- This also seems to be the reason why Marida Cruz is loyal to Captain Zinnerman: he's the first person who's ever treated her like a person rather than a possession.
In Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, the flashback of the anime version of their first meeting shows that Sakura fell for Nozaki because he helped her over the gate and cheered her up when she was late for her first day of school and stressed over it. The manga version is less straightforward; Sakura was still grateful for Nozaki trying to help her out, but the events that unfolded were more bizarre (at one point Nozaki carried Sakura over his back as he wandered around thinking about Mamiko's design).
Why are the girls of Monster Musume and Deadline Summoner so loyal and affectionate to their "masters"? They were genuinely concerned for their well-being in a world where their kind is not looked too highly upon.
Monster Rancher: Tiger of the Wind steals from the Searchers when they first meet, only to be ambushed by Captain Dino shortly thereafter and lose his pack. Genki and the others then come across the injured Tiger and tend to his injuries, helping him out despite how he robbed them earlier. This spurs Tiger to help them out against Captain Dino and join the team thereafter.
In Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, Jin is shown to have a very deep loyalty to the young prince Chagum. A flashback shows that the reason is Chagum was kind to him after he had been badly beaten for an unexplained transgression.
My Hero Academia:
- Izuku Midoriya has been a huge fan of the Hero All Might since childhood and was inspired to become a Hero like his idol despite being Quirkless. The cynical All Might initially rejects Izuku's aspirations for his safety, but when he witnesses the boy's attempts to save his childhood bully from a villain, it inspires All Might to save them both and reassures Izuku's dream to be a Hero. As a result, Izuku is fiercely loyal to his mentor and does everything he can to be a worthy successor for All Might's Quirk, One For All.
- Izuku is close to Ochako Uraraka because she was the first person other than his mother and All Might to be genuinely nice to him. Much later, her kindness leaves a deep impact on him when he returns to UA High after a long and exhausting search for All For One. Ochako almost single-handedly convinced the refugees at UA to allow him to rest at his Hero Academia.
  - Ochako's empathy would extend to Himiko Toga. She develops sympathy for Himiko and desires to save her. During the Final War Arc, Ochako succeeds in getting through to Himiko but is gravely injured doing so. As such, Himiko uses her Quirk to sacrifice her life for her first and only best friend.
- Izuku himself has inspired many of his classmates with his genuine kindness toward them. It's what motivated them to bring him back to UA after he goes off on his own to fight All For One.
- La Brava is absolutely devoted to Gentle Criminal because of this. After a love confession gone wrong, she was shunned by her peers and considered suicide when she stumbled on Gentle's videos. When she went to meet him in person, Gentle accepted her without another word, allowing her to use her computer skills to improve his videos and even drew dark circles around his eyes in an effort to match her own and cheer her up. Gentle's own narration shows the feeling is mutual, as he was also a depressed shut-in until La Brava introduced herself and befriended him.
Naruto:
- Haku was fiercely loyal to Zabuza because the older man said he had use of Haku's abilities.
- Kimimaro was perhaps even more fanatic in his loyalty to Orochimaru, willing to sacrifice his soul and body as the man's next vessel or, failing that, dying to secure the one who would become his vessel. And all because Orochimaru was the first person to ever show him kindness.
- Karin spends about a quarter of the series following Sasuke's every order and lusting after him, even after he tried to kill her and called her useless. Later on, we found out that sometime during the Chunin Exams, Sasuke saved Karin from a bear. The anime expans by noting that she was just used for her healing abilities (like her mother before her) by her village and Sasuke saving her was one of the first acts of kindness she got (also a surprising example of just how far Sasuke fell.)
- A variation also appears with Neji Hyuga, who, during the Fourth Shinobi World War Arc, sacrifices himself to protect Naruto and Hinata. When Naruto tearfully asks why, he claims it's because Naruto called him a genius when Naruto beat him in the Chunin Exams finals. In reality, it's because Naruto was too important to the world, and Hinata was too important to both Neji and Naruto to lose on a personal level — Neji because she is his cousin, and Naruto because she is one of the most important people in his circle of friends.
- Speaking of Naruto and Hinata, this is a key part of their strong friendship and eventual romance, as they always treat each other with respect and kindness, since they each were treated harshly by the people around them in their childhood — for Naruto, it was nearly the entire village; for Hinata, it was her own family, until Naruto beat Neji for her at the Chunin Exams finals.
It's basically how some of Negi's students end up falling for him in Negima! Magister Negi Magi. For instance, Chachamaru is a mix of that and the fact Negi cares about her as a person, not a robot and, most probably, gave her a soul.
This is the basis of the relationship between the two characters in Okane ga Nai — the Uke feels like the Seme is being nicer to him than anyone ever has been. This, despite the repeated rape.
- And likewise the driving motivation of Kanou's obsession with Ayase is because of one occasion where Ayase showed him kindness when he was feeling down.
In No. 6, because Sion saved and took care of Nezumi when he was injured one night, Nezumi became devoted to him. Nezumi's devotion is actually even simpler than Shion taking care of him when injured. Nezumi is attached to Shion because when he was cold, injured, and lost all hope, Shion opened a window. According to Nezumi, at the time that simple action was like "a miracle" to him.
One Piece:
- During the Baratie arc, Gin of Don Krieg's crew fights with Sanji, the only person who gave him food when he was starving and begging for food. When having the opportunity to finish off Sanji, he is unable to because Sanji offering him food was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him, and instead he tries to plead with Don Krieg to get Sanji spared.
- One of the main reasons why Robin turned herself in to The Government she had been running away from her entire life was to protect the Straw Hats (which would kickstart the Enies Lobby arc). Her time with them was happiest she had been in her entire life — and she outright admits she cares about them more than the entire world. Yet she still convinced herself that in spite of their kindness, they would still eventually abandon her simply for the fact that the entire world itself was her enemy. When they proved her wrong by declaring war on the entire world just for her sake, it was only then that Robin realized that, after twenty long years, she had finally found her place.
- Sanji manages to do this again later, with Clarlotte Pudding. As Big Mom's favorite child, she was supposed to be a Honey Trap and trick him into falling for her, then kill him as part of Big Mom's plan... but when Sanji told her that her Third Eye was beautiful, she fell to her knees crying. It turns out that Third Eye was the source of much bullying and heartbreak for Pud ding, who is now in the process of pulling a Heel–Face Turn and actually fall for him.
- This is part of the Straw Hat Pirates general philosophy, as they don't have to go around helping people, but when someone simply does something nice for them (no matter how small the act) in a world where pirates are generally feared, scorned, or hunted, they will stop at nothing to help them no matter the risk.
Following her first battle in the manga Online, Mai wins the service of the creature she defeated, the Slit-Mouthed Woman, as a familiar. Despite being warned, by the Slit-Mouthed Woman herself no less, that familiars could easily turn on their masters, the Woman (named Amelie by Mai) appears to be extremely loyal to her master for no other reason than the fact that Mai worries about her and treats her like a living person and not just a pile of data.
In Oumagadoki Doubutsuen, Hana ultimately decides to stay at the zoo because Shiina is the first person to ever tell her she's done a good job and that he needs her there.
Overlord (2012):
- Most spellcasters regard their summons as disposable cannon fodder and nothing else. So when Ainz treats an army of goblins, downtrodden but intelligent beings, with dignity and genuinely values their skills, it makes quite an impact. When he summons them again later he finds that they Took a Level in Badass and are more than willing to help him again.
- After Prince Philip attacks a supply caravan, triggering a war with Nazarick, Hilma is dragged in front of Ainz to explain why she didn't keep him on a shorter leash. Albedo is ready to kill her for her failure, but Ainz says he'd have to punish her for not keeping Hilma on a shorter leash. Ainz accepts Hilma's explanation that Philip was acting on his own stupidity, and grants her another chance; she leaves appeciating Ainz's benevolence and becomes much more loyal to him.
In PandoraHearts, Jack's obsession with Lacie stems from this.
In Pet Shop of Horrors, one story centers around a girl named Maggie, who abuses her dog, Daisy. Count D takes the dog and lets Maggie pick a "little sister" (human girl) from his shop in exchange. Maggie chooses the girl who is the most scared and weak and names her Daisy as well, only for the girl to quickly become far more loved than Maggie is. At the end of the story, D tries to take Maggie to keep in his shop as a pet, however Daisy stops him. It's revealed that Daisy the dog and Daisy the girl were one and the same, and had loved Maggie after she found and adopted the puppy. After Maggie chose her again, in the pet shop, Daisy was determined to return the favor.
In Pokémon: The Series the villainous Meowth displays his noble side when anyone shows him kindness. For example, the first time he gets a fever, he falls in love with a human pharmacist who gives him medicine. This prompts him to help train her cowardly Paras so it will evolve. Throughout the series all 3 members of the Rocket trio display kindness at various points and eventually become True Companions bonded by their shared experiences.
In Puella Magi Madoka Magica, this is part of the reason Homura wants to protect Madoka.
Ranma ½:
- The "genius kunoichi" Konatsu becomes slavishly devoted to Ukyo because she treats him better than the abusive family that raised him.
- And Tsubasa does this when Akane and Female Ranma express kindness to him.
- This is the entire reason that Maomolin tries to "help" Ryoga win Akane's heart in the anime-only story "Ryoga's Proposal".
In Reborn! (2004) it's shown that the main reason Tsuna likes Kyoko is because she was the only girl in 12 months who bothered talking to him.
In Rebuild World, Akira starts the story as a ruthlessly opportunistic youth trying to get ahead and escape the slums, anyone else be damned. But after one of his acts of self-preservation gets mistaken for an act of heroism, he finds himself being doted on by Shizuka, Sara, and Elena, who look out for him and treat him with kindness when he spent his childhood unable to trust anyone but himself. This gives him the beginnings of a guilty conscience because of how bad he feels about exploiting their good will. He starts performing reckless acts of heroism for real in an attempt to assuage it and make up for his horrible luck (but the handsome pay for answering an emergency request certainly helps).
- After Akira kills the slum lord that was her patron in self-defense and decimates said gang, Sheryl gets turned away by everyone out of fear that helping her would earn them Akira’s retribution. And so she turns to him. Rather than taking advantage of her offering the only thing she has left (her body), Akira helps her without expecting anything in return instead. After one of the times she breaks down in a Heroic BSoD from fear, Akira holds her for a whole day and reassures her that he’ll protect her, causing her to fall in love with Akira (and him serving as her Living Emotional Crutch since).
A consistent running theme in Sailor Moon. Usagi cares. This is shown in two flashbacks concerning her and the Inner Senshi: as the All Loving Heroine, she approached each of the girls (who were lonely for different reasons in their lives) without any fear or second thoughts, rescuing them from their withdrawn behavior patterns:
- Fiore in the R movie tried to kill Usagi both because she was Sailor Moon and out of jealousy over Mamoru, whom he was in love with apparently because of how kind he was to him when they were kids. Turns out that both Usagi and Mamoru were kind to Fiore. Young Mamoru gave him his friendship and a red rose — and it was young Usagi who gave the rose to Mamoru in the first place..
  Rei: [to Fiore] You don't get it, do you?! If not for Usagi, we... WE WOULD'VE BEEN ALL ALONE!
Seraph of the End: Yuu states his reason for being so attached to Mika in the manga and being determined to save him is because Mika extended a hand to Yuu in friendship when Yuu arrived at the orphanage and because he "needed" Yuu. These pictures of Yuu and Mika from fanbook 108 feature the following text:
Orange pentagon:
Verification!
The burdened one
The carrying one
Orange bolded lines:
Alternating over time!?
Yuu and Mika's relationship!!
Top lines: At 8 years old, Yuu was taken into the Hyakuya orphanage where Mika extended his hand. Yuu whose heart had been opened came to call Mika and the orphanage children "family".
Bottom lines: Mika once had the habit of hugging Yuu. But after a period of 4 years, the two's relationship changes!? Yuu was held in his (Mika's) arms when he aimed to run away.
Diane of The Seven Deadly Sins fell in love with Meliodas because he treated her like a regular girl and not like a Giant.
A variant in Shi ni Aruki. Before coming to deem her as the unnerving Black Sheep, the Kurosu family adopted Tokiko and doted on her heavily. Tokiko admits to Rina that this is the sole reason she took her family's growing animosity towards her in stride, even brushing off her older brother's recent attempt at murdering her. She explains this to make it clear that while this gives her older family members a pass on any cruel behavior, the same can't be said for her simiarly-aged niece Rina, warning her that she will happily retaliate in kind if the girl attempts anything similar.
In Spirited Away, No-Face follows Chihiro around and attempts to shower her with gifts, becoming practically obsessed with her, simply because she speaks kindly to him and leaves a door open so he can come out of the rain.
- In that case, it's a direct example. Because of his lack of face (identity), No-Face takes on the personality of whoever he's around. Chihiro's kind nature literally inspires him to be kind and repay her favors.
In Talentless Nana, the sweet and innocent Michiru Inukai is unfailingly loyal and kind to Nana Hiiragi as she was the first person to save her from her school bullies and continued being friendly and generous to her. It was initially a self-serving act of manipulation for Nana's benefit but eventually becomes a genuine friendship.
In Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note, this is why Aya ignored KZ and even her mother's warning against Sunahara; he shielded her from verbal abuses from the local Alpha Bitch at least once.
Tiger & Bunny:
- Barnaby Brooks Jr. has a rather absolutist perception of trust — he either trusts someone entirely or not at all. Thus, when Kotetsu takes one of Lunatic's flamebolts for him, his Ice King persona starts to melt — and it melts fast.
- Kriem first met villain Jake Martinez when he kidnapped her and tried to ransom her. However, when her parents (hating and fearing her status as a NEXT) didn't pay up, Jake let her go and told her there was nothing wrong with being a NEXT. She became his most loyal follower from then on.
Tokyo Ghoul:
- Saeki aka Torso reveals that he developed an attachment to a girl he met in his youth because she was the only one in a life where he lived alone with an abusive father who treated him with kindness and taught him things about life. When his father killed her he responded by killing his father.
- Kaneki's entire reason for his friendship with Hide is because Hide doesn't hate Kaneki for being a ghoul and happily accepts him. He thinks everything will be okay as long as Hide is around. When Hide supposedly dies Kaneki has a hallucination where Hide is talking to him. While crying Kaneki states "I've been so lonely without you."
- Kanae aka Karen desires affection from Tsukiyama and even sacrifices herself at the cost of her own life to save him after he acknowledges her feelings, for Tsukiyama's kind treatment.
- Mutsuki admits he loves Kaneki/Sasaki and gives Kaneki the benefit of the doubt that he doesn't give to others because Sasaki was genuinely kind and cared about him. This attachment to Sasaki turns out to be dangerously codependent and obsessive however.
Horribly, Legato Bluesummers, People Puppets maestro of Trigun. Perfectly well aware that his master, Knives, despises him for being human, bit of a poster child for Mad Love after Knives breaks his back for trying to kill Vash, and his loyalty doesn't waver even though he's crippled for life. (Or, in the anime, when Knives sends him to force Vash to shoot him dead and suffer forever.) It's all because of this trope (and some Boomerang Bigot misanthropy).
- In the manga we got his absurdly complicated backstory. Knives stepped in coincidentally while, as a kid, Legato was being raped to death in punishment for a plot to kill everyone he hated (which was a lot of people). His exact status at the time is not spelled out but is generally understood as a research specimen, sex slave, or some hellish combination of the two.^note Knives cut the building apart, killed everyone except Legato because Legato's psychic powers kicked in just in time to steer the feather-blades away from his body. Then he more or less swore his allegiance on the spot and gave Knives permission to kill him now if he wanted. And Knives asked him his name, which was the most anyone had ever treated him like a person because he didn't have one to give. And then Knives let him tag along after he killed everyone at the facility. And eventually gave him responsibilities and a budget and things.
In Episode 2 of Unlimited Fafnir, Iris says this to Yuu, stating he's nicer to her than the other girls have been so far, hence why she trusts him.
In the Vampire Knight light novel Vampire Knight: Ice Blue no Tsumi, Fuuka grows to believe in Aidou because he was her only ally — having rescued her so several times and was the only person who was honest with her. So, naturally, this is why Fuuka asks Aidou to be the one who kills her before she turns into a Level E vampire, rather wanting to die by Aidou's hand than hunted down when she loses control.
A strange variation happens in Wasteful Days of High School Girls in that Utako is very grateful for Tanaka for being a jerk, but to her own benefit. Meeting Tanaka changed her life by being rude and annoying not only to her but also to her father. Tanaka's biting criticism and insensitivity molded both Hime and her father into becoming the best versions of themselves they could be. The fact that Tanaka benefited her so much by being sincere and blunt made Hime be unbendingly grateful towards her.
In Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai, the reason New Transfer Student Chihiro still ends up talking to deliberate loner Yugami even after being advised by classmates to not associate with him is that he helped her find an open slot for her to park her bike the morning she transferred into the school.^note

Because You Were Nice To Me / Anime & Manga

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