Indeed. We won't forget.
Something good happened.
Maybe the bad guys are defeated or sent packing. The city is saved. The main characters and their friends are perhaps celebrating something important like the end of school or an important life event of a family member or friend.
Regardless of what happened, the characters group up for a photoshoot to commemorate the event in later years.
Sometimes, the characters do a Victory Pose in the photo. This can also include doing a V-Sign, Bicep-Polishing Gesture, Stab the Sky or even a Happy Dance.
This is sometimes used to symbolize the end of a series/movie, including a character/story arc or even a TV season. In some cases, it’ll be used to start a Flashback sequence. Sometimes, it's used to give a character or characters some expositions in case of a sequel (or another season).
Overlaps with Group Picture Ending. The resulting picture can later become a Former Friends Photo if things go very bad for the cast.
The trope is used for in-universe events and not for behind the scene events such as the cast/crew posing for a photo to celebrate the end of production, etc.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- In chapter 30 (animated in episode 9) of Asteroid in Love, the Earth Sciences Club takes a picture
outside of their clubroom, on Mikage and Mari's last day of school. This is a case of it not being a Group Picture Ending, as the chapter ends with a conversation between Mikage and Mari after that.
- In Digimon Adventure, the Digi-Destined commemorates their victory over the Big Bad with a photo including their digimon allies. The photo has been shown occasionally throughout the sequels.
- In High Score Girl, Akira insists on taking a picture with Haruo at a photo booth, much to his annoyance. He tries to undermine her by making a weird face at the camera, which prompts her to uppercut him right when the picture is taken.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable has a scene where Jotaro reminisces on his past adventures while looking at a photo of himself and the rest of the Stardust Crusaders team, taken shortly after they arrived in Egypt for their final battle. The anime adaptation of Stardust Crusaders adds a scene of this picture being taken, and expands the ending to include a shot of Jotaro looking at the picture in remembrance of the friends lost during the adventure.
- In Loveless, Ritsuka makes a habit bordering on obsession of taking photos of everything saying he's "making memories" with people. Since he has amnesia, this is justified.
- At the end of Scarlet Nexus, Yuito sends a photo of himself and his teammates (which includes his mother Wakana) to his brother Kaito, who was locked up for crimes against humanity via brain comms. The photo was taken in a safehouse prior to closing the Kunad Gate when the team first celebrated extracting Wakana from the past to protect her from Togetsu forces.
Comic Books
- After the events of the Black Island arc in Tintin, some photographers took photos of Scottish Police escorting the apprehended counterfeit ring members in Kiltoch. One photographer took a photo of Tintin posing with Ranko, the gorilla used by the gang to scare any bystander from venturing to the Black Island. The others were too scared to do so and fled when the gorilla showed up.
Films — Animation
- Penny from Bolt routinely takes a photo of herself and Bolt after filming an episode of the Show Within a Show, declaring the Polaroid that emerges: "That's a keeper!" The wall of her trailer is plastered with these photos. The last time Penny is seen doing this is after she and her mother have retired from show business and moved to the countryside. On the couch, she snaps one of herself, Bolt, Mittens and Rhino, as a Group Picture Ending as well as a memento.
- Encanto: After her grandson Antonio receives his gift, Abuela Alma calls for the entire Madrigal clan to commemorate the occasion. Notably Mirabel, the only one of her descendants to not have powers, hangs back, highlighting her insecurity about her part in the family. In the end, after the family has rebuilt their home thanks to Mirabel, resolved to cultivate a healthier emotional environment, and welcomed her outcast uncle Bruno back, they take a complete and less poised family photo.
- Turning Red: Mei takes a selfie in her panda form, along with her family, friends and 4*TOWN after the climax.
Films — Live-Action
- In First Blood, after the town posse "kills" fugitive John Rambo in the woods with a rocket launcher (in the nick of time, he escaped into a cave below), they take a few victory pictures of themselves in front of the wreckage of Rambo's makeshift shelter. Of course, the town would be in for an unpleasant surprise later. Rambo has his own similar group photo of he and his company from Vietnam; the story opens with him learning he's the last one from the picture still alive.
- In Wonder Woman (2017), after they successfully liberate the town of Veld in World War I, Diana, Steve, Charlie, and Chief pose for a photograph - which, given the time period, was relatively unusual. Years later, Bruce Wayne manages to acquire the photograph and sends it to Diana as a gift.
Live-Action TV
- The Brittas Empire:
- After a dramatic climax where Brittas saves several people from the burning ruins of the leisure centre (leading to him getting a George Medal and his job back) in "High Noon", the episode ends with the cast getting a photo taken of themselves sometime later in front of said centre.
- In "Shall We Dance?", Laura gives Brittas some photographs from the time he spent building an arbor for her, with the intention that he keeps these photos as a memento of the hard work he did.
- In the middle of the episode "Monkey Dory" in Peacemaker (2022), the team (Minus Murn) get in a photo taken by Emilia after they successfully raided the Glen Tai factory used by the Butterflies as a food distribution hub. The photo gets called the 11th Street Kids. James Gunn revealed that the photo was taken and later used by the cast in group chats.
- In the episode "Purple Rain" in Titans (2018), the Titans pose with Dr. Artie Kind after they were able to disperse the poison clouds over Gotham City via selfie. Rachel does a V-Sign in the photo.
- One mission in Whiskey Cavalier has the team pose for a photo to celebrate their upcoming op where they infiltrate a local university in Europe in order to flush hostile North Koreans.
Video Games
- Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number: During the Hawaiian conflict, Evan Wright takes a photo of Beard and Jacket, which Beard later gives to Jacket to keep as a memento after rescuing him from a power plant explosion at the end of the war, so Jacket could remember "who saved his life". A year later, Beard calls Jacket to tell him to make a copy of the photo for him, shortly before a nuke drops in San Francisco, where Beard was at the time. This photo was the object that Jacket threw into the wind at the end of his storyline in the first game, presumably when he believed that he managed to repay the favor to Beard and thus completed his Redemption Quest.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: A memory at the end of The Champions' Ballad DLC has Link and the other Champions formally sworn in, followed by Purah taking a group photo with the Sheikah Slate. Kass passes a copy of the photo he found on to Link, who can display it in his house.
- Mary Skeler Finale has the Blood Team take a group photo in the True Ending after they save the world and restore it to its natural beauty by wishing away the Jails and turning them into normal people. Notably all members of the Blood Team, including the new membersnote take part in the photo.
- The surviving cast of the original Mass Effect trilogy takes a commemorative group picture after getting together for one last party in the Mass Effect 3 DLC "Citadel". As this is also the final story beat of the DLC (though not of the entire game), it partially overlaps with a Group Picture Ending.
- Persona 4: Golden: The true ending has an additional cutscene where the player character returns to Inaba and reunites with his friends, Nanako, and Dojima. The Investigation Team, along with their Honorary True Companion Marie, all take part in a group photo to celebrate this reunion.
- In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, when you successfully complete your Galaxy Team entry trial, Professor Laventon takes a photo of you to commemorate the occasion.
- Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon: Early on in the game, the player character, Hau, and Lillie get a photo taken by the Rotom-Dex to commemorate the start of the journey. In the post-game, if the player goes into any of the participant's rooms, they'll find that same photo in each one.
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet ends with one, the player character doing so with their Rotom Phone while Arven, Nemona, Penny, and the cover legendary (Koraidon in Scarlet and Miraidon in Violet) gather around them. The photo will be on the player character's desk in the post-game.
- In Resident Evil 2, the STARS office inside Raccoon City Police Department has a photo of the entire team posing for a shot, commemorating the establishment of the unit. The photo was taken prior to Rebecca joining.
- The Sakura Wars series has the assault teams end their mission by doing victory poses in their photos. Some hijinks do ensue.
- In Serious Sam II, the end of the level M'Keke Village has Sam and the locals celebrating the defeat of the invaders. The cinematic is mostly composed of photos taken during the celebration where we see Sam going through the conga line, getting drunk and the like.
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2: In the Torna DLC the whole party takes a picture together as a momento of their time together. The credits have Jin as a Flesh Eater burn it, his journal, and a similar picture taken with his last Driver to ash in the ruins of his Driver's old house to represent him cutting ties with his past.
Web Animation
- The ending of the first season in gen:LOCK has the team pose for a photo done by Cammie after they defended Chicago from a Union-led invasion. Things don't last long though...
- In RWBY, when teams RWBY and JNPR earn their huntsman licenses, Yang takes a grinning selfie with Blake during the celebration.
Western Animation
- The Simpsons: In "No Loan Again, Naturally", the Simpsons' house is put up for auction and Ned Flanders buys it back. To celebrate, the Simpsons and Flanders families take a picture together in the newly-recovered house, as the Simpsons sing a song praising Ned. Towards the end, when the Simpsons abuse Ned's kindness, they are kicked out and made to live in a homeless shelter. As Ned is about to sell the house off to some perfect tenants, he sees the photo again and feels guilty (complete with the Simpsons in the photo singing the song again), and finally gives it back to its rightful owners.
- Young Justice: In Home Front, when Artemis Crock has her first day in Gotham Academy, a random short freshman comes up and takes a picture of them. This short dude is Robin in his civilian identity of Dick Grayson. The picture shows up in the second season episode Depths when Nightwing reviews their shared past before a particularly dangerous mission.
