Heartwarming / Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East

• The episode wherein Hamaji befriends Suzu at the girls' boarding school tops most of these moments showcased thus far in the show, thanks to Shino's wish bringing her to life.
  • Before that, let's not forget that Hamaji's attempt on befriending Ayane in several episodes earlier. It's also thanks to their friendship that Chikage defrosts.
• Dousetsu's confession to Yukihime, and his resolve to find his lost sister, could be seen as incredibly sweet as well...if he could figure out where she was. (Regardless, the scene with Yukihime is still heartwarming.)
  • The fact that Yukihime sacrificed her voice to save him because his resolve reminded her of Shino, who was her Only Friend until then.
• Sousuke and Shino's relationship in general, platonic or otherwise. Sousuke acts as if he were Shino's mother, or at least an extremely protective older brother. He is constantly advising Shino to be careful, to keep up his strength, and isn't adverse at all to sacrificing small things for him and carrying him around as if he were five years old. Shino adds to the act by being himself, and also displays frequent moments of affection.
• Kohaku and Shino's interactions. She sees him as a small angel and he sees her as someone he wants to live deep in his heart. This becomes a Tear Jerker in episode 12 when Kohaku has to be Mercy Killed by Shino to prevent her from losing her humanity even further.
• Princess Yana's guardians begging her not to leave them.
• Rio carries Shino on his back after wiping his memories of finding the life sized doll of Tamazusa. Barely conscious, Shino starts singing softly, and Rio has a flashback of their childhood together as a young Shino sings the same song while holding his hand. When Daikaku Inumura sees them upon their arrival, he is struck by the soft expression, and faint smile on Rio's face as he gazes at a now sleeping Shino.
• Shino's relationship with Kaho. Unlike most of the anime where he shows himself to be quite a selfish, irresponsible brat, he shows none of these traits when he's with her. In fact, when he's with Kaho, he shows a more mature side of himself as he takes on the role of mentor and protective surrogate older brother to her. Main examples of this being some of the following:
  • Despite the number of times he's read the story of The Blue Bird to her, he still indulges her by reading it to her, and even tells her the meaning of her name.
  • When one of the orphans tries to bully her by telling her that it's useless for her to learn how to read and write because she's blind, Shino defends her, and comforts her.
  • Also, when Kaho is abducted a few episodes later, he and Sosuke immediately go looking for her, and when he finds her, attacks her kidnapper before embracing her in relief.
• Ao meeting Kaho and being genuinely kind to her, showing that he is a nice guy deep down.

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