History JerkassWoobie / AnimeAndManga

** In the pilot, Naruto is even more of a brat than at his worst in canon, having no friends or [[NoSocialSkills social skills]]. He traps another youkai boy in a hole for bad-mouthing him, although it arguably edges on KickTheSonOfABitch when the boy goes from insincerely claiming to be Naruto's friend to trying to blackmail him in a matter of seconds. And yet, when he's framed for murdering Takeshi, his horror and grief over the death of the man he was starting to befriend is heartwrenching. You also have to wonder what he went through when he is almost completely unable to understand why Kuroda would be willing to trust him enough to go to prison in his place.

** Shun Kurosaki of ''[[Anime/YuGiOhArcV Arc-V]]''. The guy is a survivor of a war ravaged world, and just wants to find his little sister Ruri and save her. However, his quest to save her has led to him sealing five people in cards, threatening to seal five others in cards, and even attempting to beat one to death after learning said person green lit the attack. In his mind though, all of these actions were likely viewed as [[Main/KickTheSonofaBitch getting payback for what Academia did to his world]]. Even then though, he would not hesitate to attack his best friend Yuto if Yuto got in his way.

** Scar is introduced as a ruthless SerialKiller who targets State Alchemists for some reason and who fanatically fashions himself the {{wrath}} of God personified. He later turns out to be one when it's revealed that he targets State Alchemists because they have massacred his people.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is a CrapsackWorld with a strong focus on ChildSoldiers, so little surprise even the {{Jerkass}}es need hugs. This is driven brutally home with [[spoiler: Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Annie Leonhart, Gabi Braun and Eren Yeager himself by the end of the series]], who regardless of their [[KillAllHumans horrific]] [[TheMole crimes]] are all portrayed as [[TragicVillain morally complex]] and [[BeingEvilSucks emotionally damaged]] teenagers desperately in need of hugs.

** Ieshige, eldest child of Shogun Yoshimune, is seen (not without reason) as an ugly, mean-spirited, drunken, lecherous half-wit; and there is considerable pressure to have her removed from the line of succession. However, for all that Ieshige suffers from a severe speech impediment and chronic difficulties with fine motor control her intellectual shortcomings, as her mother recognizes, are non-existent. She ''hears'' the whispering campaigns to get her disowned and recognizes the barely concealed contempt of her family's attendants for what it is, which compounds both her shame over her inability to master her own body and her raging inferiority complex toward not just [[TheGoodKing her mother]] but her[[note]](comparably intelligent, more articulate, and yes distinctly prettier)[[/note]] younger sisters. She finds what solace she can in strong drink, compliant men, and lashing out.

* ''Manga/OokuTheInnerChambers'': Shogun Iemitsu the Younger (or [[SheIsTheKing Lady Chie]], depending on who you ask). We first see her when the former buddhist monk Arikoto is presented to her, given a 'maidenly' name, and ''beaten about the head and face'' '''by''' ''her until he bleeds, for not answering to it fast enough''. However, even without factoring in the [[DeusAngstMachina improbable extent]] of her DarkAndTroubledPast, it becomes clear that she is, in truth, a prisoner in the Shogun's castle who has been stripped of both her name and, to a large degree, her gender as well. The closest thing to love she gets [[spoiler: [[AMatchMadeInStockholm before Arikoto comes into the picture]]]] is from someone who she knows [[LovingAShadow only sees the reflection]] of [[ChildByRape a father she never knew]] in her.

* Sniff/Nipsu from the AnimatedAdaptation of ''Literature/TheMoomins'' is a borderline case. While he doesn't have the same mean streak that Little My and Stinky have, he can be very greedy, sarcastic and self-centered but is often the ButtMonkey and ChewToy of the show. His cute appearence alone makes you want to hug him despite his greediness and in the Secret Fireworks episode, he saved a girls life only to have his heart broken by her.

* ''Manga/{{Shiki}}'': The most prominent example is probably Masao. Although he's abominably uncaring and rude toward both the other teenagers and his family, he's also one of the least powerful and dangerous vampires, which results in his being the other vampires' punching bag on a fairly regular basis. Additionally, it often seems as though [[InnocentlyInsensitive he has honestly no clue just why he annoys the other characters]], to the point many fans have speculated that he has some sort of psychological disorder.

** Mewtwo. He goes on a rampage against all living things to prove [[TheSocialDarwinist clone superiority]], but after [[CloningBlues what happened to him]], [[BetaTestBaddie can you blame]] him?

** Kiyomi Takada. She's an ex-girlfriend who wishes to be with her beloved Light again, and at the same time, is a KnightTemplar who wishes to fulfill justice by herself, and loves to be in the center of attention. Her misery is specially [[spoiler:because of [[AlasPoorVillain her]] '''[[PsychicAssistedSuicide very]]''' [[KillItWithFire ugly]] [[ManOnFire death]], [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness orchestrated by Light himself right after]] she helps to kill Mello ''and'' she actually asked him for help and truly believes he'll give her a hand. [[UngratefulBastard But Light psychically forces her into setting herself in fire]].]]

* Reika of ''LightNovel/GoodLuckNinomiyaKun'' is an arrogant {{Tsundere}} who frequently hits Shungo, but she also harbors feelings for him and frequently angsts over whether or not he likes her back. She has so much insecurity over her love for Shungo that she develops an alternate personality that comes out and attempts to rape Shungo in an attempt to convey her feelings to him.

** Even though France is a [[AnythingThatMoves lech]], a liar and an all around [[ManipulativeBastard bastard]] at times, he has his moment to be pitied. At the end of the first volume, there is a sketch of a much younger France with a girl with short hair and wearing armor. And she tells him, "I'm fighting for you, you know!" Yeah, she's Joan of Arc. We know how that ended. To think of France, hedonistic and arrogant, startled and then drawn to this one girl, only to lose her- it makes you feel for him at least a little, right? That's not counting the French Revolution, the Terror...on second thought, those pretty much explain (along with Jeanne's death) why France became the way he is. But that still does NOT erase how he flips skirts, gropes people without their consent, comes on them way too strongly on them for their comfort...

%%* Akira from ''VisualNovel/TogainuNoChi''.

** While Shinji is initially set up as a straight [[TheWoobie woobie]], it becomes increasingly clear over time that he is actually this. While he's outwardly a NiceGuy that dislikes offending people and shows kindness and concern to many times, his internal mental state is as flooded with irrational self-loathing as it is with negative feelings towards others, and both his motivation and mental state [[ItsAllAboutMe is actually immensely selfish]], meaning he's unable to open up to people in the most basic fashion or emotionally comfort them. [[spoiler: This eventually reaches the breaking point when he undergoes a DespairEventHorizon in ''End Of Evangelion'' and engages in some truly disgusting behavior from [[ADateWithRosiePalms sexually assaulting Asuka]], initiating Instrumentality out of his sheer rage and loathing towards others give him no appreciation or affection, and strangles Asuka on the beach at the end before barely being driven back to his senses.]] Despite this, it's difficult not to feel immensely sorry for him as [[spoiler: his mother abandoned him at a young age and psychologically shattered him numerous times for his own protection]], his father abandoned and then emotionally manipulated and abused him while using him as a tool, and he seemed to lack any genuine emotional connection with people [[spoiler: and is forced to kill Kaworu, the singular person who had given him genuine, unconditional affection his entire life, and who wasn't even technically human. He seems to hold on in an EmptyShell fashion until Asuka's death completely drives him over the edge.]] Finally, [[spoiler: he's left to pick up the pieces in a post-apocalyptic world that will likely take years to reach any type of stability, regardless of it being the better option than the others that were laid out.]]

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is a CrapsackWorld with a strong focus on ChildSoldiers, so little surprise even the {{Jerkass}}es need hugs. This is driven brutally home with [[spoiler: Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Annie Leonhart, Ymir and Eren Yeager himself by the end of the series]], who regardless of their [[KillAllHumans horrific]] [[TheMole crimes]] are all portrayed as [[TragicVillain morally complex]] and [[BeingEvilSucks emotionally damaged]] teenagers desperately in need of hugs.

** Beyond Birthday from ''Manga/DeathNote:'' ''LightNovel/AnotherNote''. L's neglected [[BetaTestBaddie Backup]] turned SerialKiller. As much of a horrifying mass murderer he was, [[spoiler: he was born with the ability to see when everyone is going to die, he was raised at an orphanage, neglected by his role model, and saw his classmate commit suicide (and knew it would happen). He's crazy and psychotic but ouch, he attempted to burn himself alive!]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'': Hey, everyone, meet Czeslaw Meyer. A ReallySevenHundredYearsOld CrazySurvivalist who uses [[AdorablyPrecociousChild his appearance]] to manipulate people. Tried to get someone to kill dozens of people in the hope of finding one immortal. Is a CrazySurvivalist because [[spoiler:the guardian he'd trusted [[FateWorseThanDeath spent 200 years torturing him]] in every way he could think of, supposedly to "test the limits" of their immortality. Czes only escaped by ''eating him'', absorbing all his memories of gleefully tormenting the poor kid ForTheEvulz.]]
* ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'':

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'''s Shizuo Heiwajima. Underneath the HairTriggerTemper and violent, vending-machine-throwing rages is a guy with a severe impulse control disorder that knows fully well that his behavior and strength hurts other people, [[IAmAMonster hates himself for it]], and [[IJustWantToBeNormal wants nothing more than to be able to stop and control himself]], but has no idea how.

* Louise of ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''. Saito too. His pervertedness can be too much at times, and he sometimes pokes fun at Louise when she's just minding her own business but Louise frequently beats and berates him, sometimes to HeroicComedicSociopath levels, and Saito's stuck in an alternate world (though he decides to stay after falling in love with Louise). And he tends to go all out when trying to protect Louise or his friends from harm. His selfless heroic side tends to be immediately followed by him demonstrating his idiotic perverted side, though. It's also later shown that Louise is constantly being pressured by her family to get married and she's frequently bullied by one of her older sisters who has a bigger temper than Louise. Oh, and although Louise is in her second year at the Tristain Academy of Magic, her magic skills still need a lot of work. Because of this, she lacks self confidence, and her classmates look down on her, calling her "Louise the Zero", frequently teasing her for her zero success rate and [[ACupAngst flat chest]] (including Saito!). This gets worse because most of the female cast except her (and Tabitha) are busty. And Saito's total lack of proper human interaction is pretty clear - he knows nothing about sympathy (remember, Saito; when someone's crying, it means something's wrong), empathy (his total inability to figure out how to not piss someone off), and sincerity (telling Louise he loves her while fantasizing about her sister), but despite his flaws, he truly does care for Louise, as shown by his willingness to take her beatings and almost die for her. [[spoiler:Amazingly, Saito manages to pick up more Woobie points, and Louise more Jerkass points, when it turns out that the Familiar ritual she subjected Saito to comes with mandatory MindRape that ''forces'' him to love and obey her, even unnaturally dulling any resentments he may feel at her treatment or longing for his family. When this spell is broken, he freaks out.]]

* ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'':

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'': Vali Lucifer is the great-grandson of the original Lucifer and a human mother, as such he was born with talent and the Divine Dividing housing the White Dragon Emperor, making him one of the strongest beings in the world. Due to this, his father feared him, leading to Vali's bullied childhood. His father even kept his mother from making him anything but cooked noddles, resulting in Vali's obsession with them. Vali later ran away from home, knowing his mother's memories were erased. in childhood, exorcists chased him before Azazel found and taught him how to use his powers. Vali grew a desire to fight strong opponents to the point where he even said once that he didn't want to live in a world where the biblical god didn't exist since Vali never got to fight him. Ashamed by his weak rival, he threatened to kill his parents so that Issei would seriously grow stronger. All of it stemmed from his childhood and seeking to grow stronger to defeat his grandfather who was capable of challenging god-class beings. Caring a lot about his allies and the people he had worked with in Grigori. Vali was enraged by Cao Cao injuring one of his comrades. Vali later learned his mother lived with a human husband and that he has a half brother and a half-sister.

** Vita was used as a personal soldier for the owners of an ArtifactOfDoom for centuries, and seemed to take it harder than the other Wolkenritter. While doing so, she was also quite abrasive to her allies, especially Reinforce, pushing them away when they tried to get close to her, and showed cruelty to her enemies beyond what was necessary to collect their Linker Cores. She becomes a nicer person after meeting Hayate, but still is not above [[GagBoobs barbs about the size of Signum's breasts]] and the lethality of [[LethalChef Shamal's cooking]].

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is a CrapsackWorld with a strong focus on ChildSoldiers, so little surprise even the {{Jerkass}}es need hugs. This is driven brutally home with [[spoiler: Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Annie Leonhart and Eren Yeager himself by the end of the series]], who regardless of their [[KillAllHumans horrific]] [[TheMole crimes]] are all portrayed as [[TragicVillain morally complex]] and [[BeingEvilSucks emotionally damaged]] teenagers desperately in need of hugs.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': A world of [[CompleteMonster Monsters]] and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]] has quite a number of unlikeable characters that also draw out immense sympathy.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is a CrapsackWorld with a strong focus on ChildSoldiers, so little surprise even the {{Jerkass}}es need hugs. This is driven brutally home with [[spoiler: Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, and Annie Leonhart]], who regardless of their [[KillAllHumans horrific]] [[TheMole crimes]] are all portrayed as [[TragicVillain morally complex]] and [[BeingEvilSucks emotionally damaged]] teenagers desperately in need of hugs.