Surprise parents in anime and manga.
- In 20th Century Boys Friend tells Kenji that he is Kanna's father. Kanna learns this after the first major timeskip.
- In Aquarion Evol: Nice Guy and The Hero, Amata Sora, barely even knew his mother, believing her to have abandoned him at a young age due to his levitation powers. Then it turns out that she never abandoned him and is with the Altairians, but also that his father is in fact the leader of the Altarians.
- In the final arc of Bleach, the Big Bad Yhwach reveals that Ichigo is his descendent through his mother Masaki, calling him "my son born in the dark". The full explanation is not revealed for several chapters: Masaki was a Quincy, and Yhwach is the progenitor of all Quincies and source of their powers — hence he's also the ancestor of Ichigo's Aloof Ally and second cousin Uryu.
- The very last volume of the Chrono Crusade manga reveals that Chrono and Aion are twins, and their mother was a human woman turned into Pandaemonium when she was pregnant with them. Also, Satella discovers that her long-lost sister is Fiore.
- Daltanious:
- Harlin, the long-lost Prince of Helios, is Kento's father, meaning that Kento is half-alien and descended from the series' Greater Scope Villains.
- Since Kloppen is Harlin's clone, that means he was made from Harlin's DNA. Depending on how you read this, he's either his brother or his son. This was somewhat hinted at due to their similar appearances, but confirmed for good in episode 42. Kloppen has a mental breakdown upon finding this out.
- The third episode of Death Note: Light's father is the one leading the police effort to catch the mysterious murderer — actually Light.
- Digimon Frontier, with Koji learning he has a twin brother he was Separated at Birth from: Koichi, the Face Heel Turned Sixth Ranger with the Spirits of Darkness. Digimon Data Squad also has Keenan Crier finding out he is one of the "humons" he despises so much, but it's painfully obvious that he was human from the start.
- Also from Data Squad: Initially, it looks like Masaru's Disappeared Dad is Yggdrasil, the "world tree," central computer and god of the Digital World. But BanchouLeomon reveals that he is Masaru's father. Yggdrasil was about to kill Suguru, but BanchouLeomon absorbed his soul. Unfortunately, Yggdrasil (being a god and all...) realized it, and has been using Suguru's body for its own ends.
- Used at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z where invading space alien Raditz turns out to be Goku's brother.
- Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai has the reveal that Baran, one of the six evil generals, is actually Dai's father. And because that's what evil dads do, he wants Dai to help him rid the world of humanity.
- The Big Bad of Fantastic Detective Labyrinth is Seiju, also known as Masaki Hyuga, the father of Mayuki Hyuga.
- EDENS ZERO:
- In the Lenard Arc, Rebecca Bluegarden discovers that two known figures the mysterious Captain Connor and Rachel, better known as the Oración Seis Galáctica Saintfire Nox, are her long-lost parents.
- The Universe Zero saga reveals that Shiki Granbell's parents are Earth humans used as basis for Witch Regret and Wizard of the Four Dark Stars twenty-thousand years before the story. Ziggy intentionally had the Shining Stard and the Dark Stars constructed based on data from the deceased bodies of Regret, Leonard, and their six colleagues, as he deduced that at least one of the four women must be baby Shiki's mother.
- Fairy Tail:
- Double subverted when Gray meets his supposedly dead father Silver. Naturally, Gray does not believe it's actually him at first since he saw him die at the hands of his Arch-Enemy Deliora, but then Silver says he's actually Deliora possessing Silver's corpse, which really sets him off. Once Gray defeats him, he clues in that Silver really is his father brought Back from the Dead, and was only pretending to be Deliora so Gray would put him out of his misery.
- Later on, it's revealed that Natsu is Zeref's younger brother, reincarnated as Zeref's strongest demon, Etherious Natsu Dragneel (E.N.D.). Natsu doesn't remember any of this since he was only a baby when Igneel separated him from Zeref, while the rest of the world believed Zeref to have Only One Name (his full name being Zeref Dragneel).
- Also it's revealed in chapter 513 that Irene Belserion the former Queen of Dragons is actually Erza Scarlet's mother.
- In Flip Flappers it's revealed that Papika's previous partner, Mimi, whom also appears in dream visions at the start of the series, is really Cocona's mother. Added to that, Dr. Salt, the head of Flip Flappers is Cocona's father.
- Inverted In-Universe in Food Wars!. The audience is very much aware that Soma is the son of the legendary chef Joichiro Saiba, but since Joichiro took his wife's surname Yukihira when he got married, nobody makes the connection between the two at first. It comes as a major shock to Erina Nakiri, who has grown up admiring Joichiro as a chef, and all that time has been antagonizing Soma unaware that he's the son of her idol.
- Fullmetal Alchemist:
- In Fullmetal Alchemist, it is revealed that Father is a clone of Edward and Alphonse Elric's dad Van Hohenheim, and the homunculi are Ed and Al's siblings, as they are Father's "children."
- A similar thing happened in Fullmetal Alchemist (2003). Envy is revealed near the end to be the Elric siblings' half-brother, being that he was the son of their father and Dante.
- Gaiking: Legend of Daiku Maryu Double Subverted this trope. Captain Garis continuously exhibits the exact same mannerisms as Daiya's father. His voice sounds similar, he acts as A Father to His Men, and even the opening focuses on him during the line "you can hear your father's voice. Then it turns out that he's not even the same species'' as Daiya's father - he's just really damn caring. THEN it's revealed much later on that he's RURU's father, a memory that she'd suppressed up until that point.
- Altair and Vega in GEAR Fighter Dendoh are brother and sister, both of whom had presumed each other dead for years (wearing those damn masks all the time probably only added to the confusion). Then there's Vega's true identity as Hokuto's mom.
- Glass Fleet had a pair of sibling enemies learn at the same time that they were related. Vetti and Cleo were none-too-pleased to say the least.
- In Gravion Zwei, it's eventually revealed that Sandman is Leele's father, as well as the brother of the Zeravire's creator/leader, and that Raven is Eiji's missing sister Ayaka.
- Gundam:
- Mobile Suit Gundam Age gives us a unique variant. Big Bad Ezelcant is convinced that Kio Asuno is the reincarnation of his dead son.
- Played for Drama in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, where Cardeas Vist, wounded and on the verge of dying, reveals to protagonist Banagher Links that he was his real father, and entrusting him with the Unicorn Gundam.
- Idol Densetsu Erika: Rei mentioned that she was abandoned by her mom at birth and never knew her Disappeared Dad, growing up in poverty and becoming a musician in spite of the odds. That Disappeared Dad is none other than Yuusuke Tamura - meaning her and Eriko are cousins.
- In Inazuma Eleven Go, it's eventually revealed that "Helper X" is actually Asurei Rune, Fei's father. If that wasn't enough though, it's then revealed not long after that the bubbly middle school girl Nanobana Kinako is actually Fei's mother. Considering the respective ages of Fei and Kinako, this obviously confuses everyone until it's revealed that the Kinako we know was from the time when she was the same age as Fei, and was taken from her respective time period to help out with Asurei's plans (due to time traveling stuff).
- Jinzō Konchū Kabuto Borg VxV: Madam Jennifer reveals to Ryūsei that the latter has a long-lost older brother in Ginga, also known as Weiss Baron.
- In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency, it is revealed that Ripple master Lisa Lisa is actually Joseph Joestar's mother.
- In Jujutsu Kaisen, the Big Bad Suguru Geto (actually Kenjaku) is revealed to be Yuji's mother.
- Karakuri Circus:
- During the battle of Sahara, Almendra reveals to Lucille that Lucille and Angelina are the niece and grandniece of the original Francine.
- Shoji's interrogation of Masaru reveals that Éléonore is the biological daughter of Shoji and Angelina, making her Masaru's aunt. Neither of them knew it.
- In Kaze to Ki no Uta, Auguste reveals to Gilbert that he is his father (not his uncle) to bring him back under his control. It doesn't go as well as he expected...
- Misaki's relationship to Shuuko/Shuu/the Champion in Angelic Layer. The anime lets the viewer in on Shuuko's secret long before Misaki knows, but in the manga, we only learn when she does.
- In Kill la Kill, Ragyo Kiryuin reveals she is Ryuko Matoi's true mother, which also means her daughter Satsuki is Ryuko's older sister. And in the next episode, it's revealed that Ryuko's father, Isshin Matoi, is actually Satsuki's father, Soichiro Kiryuin, after he faked his death to escape Ragyo and save Ryuko from death by abandonment.
- La Seine No Hoshi: Simone is the younger half-sister of Marie Antoinette. When Simone learns this, she finds it difficult to accept the fact that the queen whom she hates and is an enemy of the people is her sister.
- Legend of Lemnear Manga has some examples well 2: Buan turns out to be lian's father and near the finale Lord Varol turns out to be the real father of Lemnear, who turns out to have wanted Lemnear to defeat him for the greater good after the evil has corrupted him; also near the finale Ragna turns out to be Varol's twin brother, which makes him Lemnear's uncle.
- A variation exists in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. After a successful raid on an illegal research facility, Quint adopts a pair of experimental Combat Cyborgs because they looked so much like her and raises them as her own daughters. It's later revealed during a medical examination that the reason why Subaru and Ginga looked like her was because their genetic structures were identical. Somehow, Quint's genetic data had been acquired by the researchers and was used to create the two children. It's also later revealed that Nove is Quint's genetic daughter, too, explaining her strong similarity to Subaru.
- Jail Scaglietti claims to be Fate Testarossa's father, though in a purely metaphorical sense since she was the end result of his research into cloning.
- Subverted in A's where it's hinted that the Wolkenritter's Mysterious Protector is Chrono's Disappeared Dad Clyde, only for it to turn out it was actually Fauxshadowing to hide their real identity... Graham's twin Cat Girl familiars.
- Parodied in a later episode of Magical Project S. Romio claims that she's the older sister of Sasami, citing the fact that they share blue hair and the lack of resemblance between Sasami and her parents as the logical reasoning. Just as Sammy was going to run up for a "family reunion", Misa stops her and makes her realize it was a lie, which Romio confirms.
- Romio's character design is base on Ayeka, who actually is Sasami's sister in the Tenchi Continuity.
- Played for Comedy in the crossdressing manga Maid in Japan
. The main character's master has hated maids since her father left her for one, and puts up with her current one begrudgingly. But things are not exactly as they seem. - In the Mazinger trilogy it was played straight, subverted and inverted:
- Mazinger Z: "Kouji, Shiro, I am your mother." Subverted because in reality she was a cyborg, pretending being their real—and very deceased—mother.
- Great Mazinger: Shiro learnt that Dr. Kenzo Kabuto is, in fact, his not-quite-dead father. Kouji learnt it later due to him not being in Japan during that time.
- UFO Robo Grendizer: It was inverted and played straight. Maria told Duke she was daughter of the King and Queen of Fleed, not knowing he was their son, and therefore, her brother. They played this trope straight with each other and hugged at each other.
- Reboot Shin Mazinger reveals local innkeeper Nishiori Tsubasa to be Shiro and Kouji's mother. Her hairstyle and Slasher Smile are especially similar to Kouji's, as emphasized in a few shots in the episode where the reveal happens.
- Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch reveals that Kaito and Gaito/Gakuto are twin brothers.
- Used in the Monster Rancher anime (Monster Farm in Japan), in which Holly learns that the main bad guy is her father (with the villain using the Darth Vader's dialogue from The Empire Strikes Back). It takes the trope further by having Holly screaming "NOOOOO!" afterwards * .
- The Mysterious Cities of Gold: Both Esteban and Zia get to meet their fathers later on in the series; both die soon after, and in Esteban's case he never learns that the Guardian of the City was his dad, as Mendoza chooses not to tell him to spare him the pain.
- Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water: Nadia learns that Captain Nemo is actually her long-lost father when he goes down with the damaged Nautilus at the beginning of the "castaway" arc of the series.
- Naruto:
- In Chapter 367, the most prevalent fan theory of the fandom is confirmed: Naruto is indeed the son of the Fourth Hokage. This is the third of three major clarified mysteries that were revealed within a span of less than five chapters. A while earlier this was a lesser one: Asuma Sarutobi is the Third Hokage's son but they had the same name and similar looks, so it was kinda obvious, just not said before then.
- Aaaaand another for Naruto: his mother Kushina was the previous host for the Kyuubi.
- A rather unlikely example in Negima! Magister Negi Magi, where one of 10-year-old Negi Springfield's 15-year-old students claims to be his descendant. She's from a hundred years in the future—and can prove it—so it's not as crazy as it sounds...
- The Lifemaker is Negi's and Asuna's ancestor. He also calls Evangeline "my daughter", although they might not be biologically related (He is her sire in the vampiric sense, not the paternal sense). Also in Negi's case, as the Lifemaker has possessed Nagi's body.
- Sequel series UQ Holder! has Negi's "grandson" Touta meet an astral projection of Asuna during a battle with the Lifemaker. She notes that as Touta's creation included some of her genetic material as well, she tells him "I guess that would make me your grandmother".
- Neon Genesis Evangelion does this three times. Eva 1 contains the soul of Shinji's mother. Eva 02 contains the soul (well half) of Asuka's mother. Rei is occasionally compared to Shinji's mother (it is implied that she might be a clone of her).
- And Lilith is the mother of all humanity.
- All in all, in Eva, "Your Mom" jokes are done at your own peril.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Abridged Series plays with this in an interesting way:01: Shinji, Gendo never told you what happened to your mother.
Shinji: He told me enough... He told me you killed her.
01: No Shinji. I AM YOUR MOTHER.
Shinji: Ehhh saw it coming. - Kaworu pulls this off in Rebuild 2.0(Gendo and Fuyutsuki spot Kaworu sitting shirtless in hard vacuum)
Fuyutsuki: A human? Impossible...
Kaworu: Pleased to meet you, father.
- Prior to the final battle in Not Lives, Astaroth reveals himself to be Yukiya Amamiya, Kyouka's father.
- One Piece:
- It's revealed relatively early on that Luffy's grandfather is Vice-Admiral Garp, a legendary Marine, and his father is Dragon, the mysterious revolutionary who saved Luffy at Loguetown. The first part is subverted in that, while it was news to the readers (and the rest of the Straw Hats), Luffy himself was already well aware of who his granddad was.
- Chapter 550 reveals that Ace's father is Gold Roger. He was aware of this before it was publicly announced to the world, although the audience wasn't, and he's pretty emphatic that he considers Whitebeard his true father.
- While it's no surprise to Sanji, audience say hello to Judge Vinsmoke◊, who's basically Darth Vader without the whole "actually loving his son part".
- Variant in the Enies Lobby arc, where Jabra of CP9 tries to pull this on Sanji by claiming that Robin is his long-lost little sister and that he wants Sanji to go rescue her for him. He's lying, intending to fool Sanji into dropping his guard so he can get a clean shot at him, but when he goes for the attack, Sanji counterattacks at once, having not been fooled for an instant.
- Sird reveals to Silver in the FireRed & LeafGreen arc of Pokémon Adventures that Silver is the son of Team Rocket boss Giovanni. Silver was kidnapped when he was a toddler and doesn't remember his father. Interestingly, this was revealed before it was confirmed in the games. It was based on a line in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen where a NPC mentions has a redheaded child.
- Pretty Cure:
- In HeartCatch Pretty Cure!, Yuri and Tsubomi both find out that Professor Sabaaku, the creator of the Dark Precure, is actually Yuri's long-lost and brainwashed father, Professor Tsukikage. What makes this a bit more heartbreaking is that Tsubomi's grandmother, Kaoruko, figured this out and tried to have Tsubomi keep Yuri away from him. Didn't work out too well.
- And then he reveals that he created Dark Precure from Yuri's DNA, making them biological sisters. The worst part about it: Professor Tsukikage tells Yuri about this after Yuri defeated Dark Precure who's dying at this moment.
- In Suite Pretty Cure ♪, the Masked Cure Muse reveals her identity in front of her Brainwashed and Crazy father Mephisto: she's Ako. The next episode also reveals that Ako is Aphrodite's daughter and Otokishi is Aphrodite's father. Hibiki and Kanade are surprised by these reveals and Ellen and Hummy didn't recognize Ako as their princess.
- In Smile Pretty Cure!, Candy turns out to be Royale Queen's daughter and successor. This surprises everyone, even Candy's brother Pop.
- In HeartCatch Pretty Cure!, Yuri and Tsubomi both find out that Professor Sabaaku, the creator of the Dark Precure, is actually Yuri's long-lost and brainwashed father, Professor Tsukikage. What makes this a bit more heartbreaking is that Tsubomi's grandmother, Kaoruko, figured this out and tried to have Tsubomi keep Yuri away from him. Didn't work out too well.
- In Princess Tutu, Rue's father is revealed to be the Raven in the second season. That's not so surprising considering she's the Dark Magical Girl...but it's later revealed that he actually kidnapped her as a child, and she's just a normal human girl after all. It's also later revealed that Drosselmeyer is Fakir's great-great-grandfather, and Fakir inherited his powers.
- In Doki Doki! PreCure, it turns out that Aguri, Regina and Ai-chan originated from Princess Mari-Ange's life, meaning that they are not only sisters in a weird sense, but also that Aguri and Ai-chan are daughters of King Jikochuu.
- In RahXephon... er, this is going to take a while: Ayato's real mother isn't Maya, but Itsuki's adopted sister Quon. Quon is also Maya's twin sister and Itsuki's mother, making Itsuki Ayato's brother. Shirow Watari is their father. Haruka Shitow's uncle, Shougo Rikudoh, was the adoptive father of Maya and Quon. And Haruka? Before her mother remarried, her family name was Mishima - making her the same long lost "object of desire"/childhood sweetheart that Ixtli/Ishtori took her appearance from. Or, for those that don't like to read: everyone is related to everyone ever.
- It's nice to see a good old-fashioned subversion, and Rave Master brings us one: there are two characters named Gale, one the antagonist (and head of the evil organization), one a good guy (who we've never seen before). Angst-tastic as it would be, the hero assumes his father is the former. Nope. It's the latter. They also play it straight with the two Musicas.
- In the manga version of Rurouni Kenshin, Enishi, who wants revenge on Kenshin, is his brother in law (obviously Kenshin knew when he first met him). The old guy who befriends Kenshin is Kenshin's father in law who accepted that Kenshin killed his daughter accidentally. Naturally, Enishi ends up with the old guy and both remark that they remember seeing each other.
- Subverted in Saint Seiya. Along the series, there had been a lot of hints that Marin was Seiya's long-lost sister Seika. She wasn't, his sister was actually a Waif Prophet, and Marin's brother Touma even appears as an enemy in the Tenkai-hen movie.
- And played quite straight in the manga where, it was revealed that Mitsumasa Kido was actually the birth father of all the orphans he sent around the world to be trained as Saints.
- Science Ninja Team Gatchaman has Ken and the leader of Red Impulse. Just seconds before the latter's Heroic Sacrifice, in fact.
- Halfway throughout Shaman King, Mikihisa, Yoh's father, reveals to Yoh himself and his friends that Hao, the Big Bad, is actually Yoh's twin brother, much to their huge surprise.
- In Sonic X, it is strongly suggested (said outright in the dub) that Dark Oak is Cosmo's father. However, while the characters do learn that the two are of the same species, Cosmo never directly learns of her heritage.
- Soul Eater gives us a real good one, with Asura's "such a stupid little brother" line to Death the Kid, who just happens to be his little brother. Kid does not take this very well, as can be imagined.
- Done twice in Supercar Gattiger: Emperor Black Demon is the grandfather of Joe Kabuki, while Queen Demon is Joe's mother.
- Tenchi Muyo!! is full of these. Piece by piece we learn that Katsuhito is Ayeka's and Sasami's half-brother, which means they're both Tenchi's great aunts; then that Washu is Ryoko's mother; and eventually that the woman we thought was Tenchi's mother is actually his sister and that Washu is also Mihoshi's great great grandmother. Then in the second movie, Daughter of Darkness, Mayuka turns up on the doorstep claiming that Tenchi is her father, which is awkward because they're both in their teens; but Washu does a DNA analysis, and yep, she's right. There's the moment in the first movie when Tenchi tells Achika and Nobuyuki that they're his parents, even though they're all about the same age, but that doesn't really count.
- Tiger & Bunny reveals that Yuri Petrov/Lunatic is Mr. Legend's son. This in of itself isn't too startling a revelation until it's combined with a previous revelation of Yuri's history: Yuri's first kill was his own abusive father.
- Witchblade: Rihoko "Riko" Amaha, with both parents. Her adoptive mother Masane is the current wielder of the Witchblade, who uses it to battle the X-Cons (a series of escaped semi-sentient weapons), but it's later revealed that her birth father is Masane's employer Reiji Takayama, and her birth mother is Reina Soho, a "Neogene" who works for a rival corporation to Takayama's.
- Voltes V: Prince Heinel is the firstborn son of Prince Gohl and his wife Lozaria, but Gohl never knew him due to being in prison at the time. After he's freed and makes it to the final battle, he sees the dagger in his hand and realizes it is the one he gave Lozaria. When Heinel learns he's been fighting against his own flesh and blood, he has a breakdown and can't believe what he's done.
- On Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, a Show Within a Show version occurs on The Sparrow, where the hero's mother is the villain Galaxy Queen. (Which is In-universe Meta Casting, as the actress who plays Galaxy Queen is the lead actor's actual mother.)
