Retired Badass in Anime & Manga.
- After War Gundam X has a semi-retired badass in The Captain, Jamil Neate. A former Ace Pilot and Newtype from the last war, his cockpit phobia prevents him from piloting mobile suits. Instead he uses his leadership and tactical ability to lead a scavenger ship across the landscape in a quest to protect other Newtypes from exploitation. He eventually starts getting treatment for his phobia so he can get back in the pilot's seat again.
- Black Lagoon:
- Ginji. Initially appearing as a big, imposing, but polite fellow selling masks at a festival, his identity as a retired assassin for the Yakuza was soon made apparent when Hotel Moscow tried muscling in on Yakuza territory.
- Roberta is even worse. She's a maid, complete with the obligatory uniform, but she's a former veteran of FARC nicknamed "The Bloodhound" (El Sabueso), and if you get on her bad side (like kidnapping her boss's son) you are likely to be dead in just a few days, tops.
- Bleach:
- Ryuuken Ishida is adamantly in the Heroic Neutral column. For all that he can curbstomp his powerful and talented son Uryuu, Ryuuken just wants the spiritual world to leave him alone. His retirement is implied to be connected to the tragic death of his wife.
- Isshin Kurosaki voluntarily gave up his powers a long time ago to save the life of the woman he eventually married but willingly comes back out of retirement once he regains his powers.
- Fujimaru "Falcon" Takagi appears to be this in Bloody Monday: Season 2, claiming to have not even touched a keyboard since the first season but this is just a facade to prevent his friends from getting involved again.
- Ilena from Claymore probably works for this (although she's spent more time actively hiding than living in peace, it IS in a cottage in the country).
- Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald becomes one of this after the Code Geass Grand Finale. (Prosperous orange farm and Anya as his partner and/or adoptive daughter included).
- Doraemon: Nobita's Dorabian Nights has Nobita and friends entering the land of Arabian Nights and meeting Sinbad, only to discover Sinbad is no longer an adventurer or sailor, but is an old recluse living in a magical palace in the middle of the desert. He's not lonely either, having his Flying Carpet taking him everywhere, with two genie servants, hordes and hordes of enchanted soldiers and robotic Bedlah Babes.
- By the time of Dragon Ball Super, many of the Z-Warriors have essentially stepped down from actually fighting. This is mostly because they know that Goku and Vegeta completely outclass them and, for a few of them, they actually have families who they prioritize. Gohan is hit the worst of this as, since he prioritized his wife and newborn child along with his studies over training, his fighting strength went down, being unable to sustain basic Super Saiyan form for long periods of time, at least up until Piccolo retrained him. Many of these guys are still in fighting prime, including Master Roshi, who last fought way back during the middle part of Dragon Ball.
- The Greatest Magicmaster's Retirement Plan: There's an unspoken rule that each country should only have one active single-digit Magicmaster at a time and that if a country gains two, one of them will have to retire in order to maintain the power balance between countries. Unfortunately for Alus, Alpha's brass won't allow him to retire because there's no new single-digit to replace him.
- The ending to Gunslinger Girl shows that Claes and Rico retired from being Tyke Bomb Child Soldiers to live their remaining days on a boat.
- Cure Flower of HeartCatch Pretty Cure! comes out of retirement once to kick some major ass. Her fairy partner Coupe also qualifies seeing as how he appears several times to save the Pretty Cures and does so my kicking serious ass.
- Battle Butler Walter of Hellsing is retired from his former career as a top Hellsing agent, mostly doing standard butler duties and occasion bodyguard work for his boss. But when an attack by a pair of low rent vampires and their small army of ghouls overruns Hellsing headquarters he has a chance to show he can still live up his "Angel of Death" nickname, complete with a "What can an old man do" moment first. He also advises Integra Hellsing, shows newcomers to the organisation the ropes, deals with other threats to the organisation and even designs some of the weapons the main characters use.
- Sweden of Hetalia: Axis Powers, as a personification of the country, was once a terror, controlling the Baltic region and Scandinavia (in fact, he was known as "The Lion of Northern Europe" and "The Supreme Ruler of Scandinavia"), and in one instance defeated an alliance of five countries/their personifications. note In the present, though, he's calmed down considerably, puts his efforts and strength toward welfare, and is fond of making furniture and decorative arts.
- Andrei Rublev, Team Satomi's Zen-style coach from IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix doesn't seem very Badass-y at first: portly, almost perpetually sullen, with an inflated ego way out of proportion to his apparent effect on the team. However, he's a prime example of this trope because of who he used to be: the legendary IGPX pilot known as Rocket G. In the second season, he dusts off his skills to act as a temporary replacement for Amy, who was injured in a race against newcomers Team White Snow, and steps onto the track twice more before fading back into his coach role.
- Takumi's dad Bunta from Initial D, currently the owner of a tofu-shop in the sticks, but is still driving star. Demonstrated when he drifts his car, then proceeds to light a cigarette and smoke it in the middle of the drift. Also the fact that the unnamed person who's calling on his cellphone for advice is hinted to be real life Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya
. - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Joseph Joestar in Stardust Crusaders. It's worth noting that he looks quite a bit like Sean Connery in his later years, and Connery tends to play Retired Badass character quite a bit. Loses the "badass" part in Diamond is Unbreakable when his age finally catches up to him, although anyone who is willing to open a vein when an invisible baby falls into a lake so the blood can make her show up can't completely relinquish it.
- Lycoris Recoil: Miku was once an assassin himself, an injury to his left leg ended his career, although he occasionally helps as a sniper. Though he's actually faking the injury.
- Lyrical Nanoha:
- Nanoha herself during Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid due to injuries she sustained in the StrikerS finale, though the existence of Force shows that she'll be back in action after two years. Einhart mistakes her for an ordinary housewife in Chapter 10, leading to lots of barely constrained snickering from Nove.
- Nanoha's father used to be a bodyguard before being badly injured. Now he runs a cafe.
- Megane Alpine permanently retired after waking up from her nine-year long coma.
- Jill Stola from ViVid Strike! used to be a competitive martial artist, but she had to retire after she received an unspecified injury.
- Lyra Caprice, also from ViVid Strike!, had retired from fighting so she could help out her family. She mentioned before her final fight that she wanted to give it her all so she could retire without any regrets. Unfortunately, her opponent was Rinne, who not only subjected her to a Curb-Stomp Battle but implied that she was weak and didn't try very hard. Poor Lyra was carried out of the arena on a stretcher in tears. During the finale it's revealed that said loss convinced her to continue fighting competitively, just at the local level.
- Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel: Yuu's mother is a former motorcycle gang leader.
- Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny:
- Kira Yamato starts off like this. Though it's not long before circumstances get so dire that he decides step out of retirement. It helps that the Big Bad tried to assassinate his girlfriend.
- The rest of the Three Ships Alliance is this seeing as they went into hiding following the end of the Bloody Valentine War except for the Kusanagi which is understandably protected by their lack of having to do a Heel–Face Turn and therefore become wanted criminals. Once back in action, they wipe the floor with everyone.
- Before Kira, there was Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, who had essentially left the fighting and the military (and placed under house arrest because the Federation feared his Newtype powers), but came back when the battle between the AEUG and the Titans came to his doorstep.
- Gran Torino from My Hero Academia is the retired pro hero that taught All Might. He enjoys Obfuscating Stupidity during Izuku's training, but that doesn't prevent Izuku from learning exactly why All Might was virtually quaking in his boots when he recommended that Izuku accept Gran Torino's internship offer. Even in his old age, Gran Torino's steam-jet quirk gives him enough speed and maneuverability to take on a Nomu virtually single-handedly.
- Maria from My-Otome is a retired Otome who works as an administrator and Stern Teacher at Garderobe Academy, temporarily un-retiring when it comes time to take back her school near the end of the main series. Natsuki, Shizuru, Mai and the other Meisters are amazed to see her in action, and also by the fact that she used to be a hottie.
- Granny Chiyo from Naruto. First portrayed as a doddering, almost-senile old woman who wants nothing more to do with her village and its politics, beyond berating the village elders of Sungakure for relying on Konoha instead of training to be more powerful themselves. Then she and a young Combat Medic with Super-Strength, Sakura Haruno, make a formidable team up and defeat Sasori, Chiyo's own grandson/pupil and member of the Akatsuki — using puppets that were built by Chiyo herself, as well as better made and with more tricks/better builts than Sasori's own. Notable in that the aforementioned Sasori is one of the most powerful members of the Akatsuki, an organization exclusively composed of unbelievably badass rogue ninja who generally require a combination of multiple high-level protagonists and convenient plot devices to take down. Put in context; Pain, who killed half the supporting cast of the series and destroyed the hero's hometown single-handedly, basically just has the ability to manipulate six nearly-indestructible corpses at once and utilize powerful jutsu through them. Sasori could do this with a hundred corpse "dolls" at a time. Although Pain had the good sense not to tell his opponents all about how his powers worked. Then she brings Gaara back from the dead, not only pulling an Heroic Sacrifice for him, but atoning for having sealed the Shukaku in Gaara as a newborn, which is the reason why she left Sunagakure in the first place.
- Half the members of Ala Rubra in Negima! Magister Negi Magi are retired badasses. The most prominent would probably be Eishun, Konoka's father. He's a master Shinmeiryu swordsman implied to be about on par with the likes of Jack Rakan or the Thousand Master, but the only arc he appeared in without being in a flashback he was petrified by a minor mook. Who turns out to be the Big Bad, and defeated Jack Rakan. So it doesn't make Eishun look that bad.
- In the final volume of Ojojojo, it's revealed that Tsurezure is actually a former assassin.
- One Piece:
- Chef "Red-Leg" Zeff was a great pirate in his prime who survived intact sailing on the Grand Line for over a year (outside the GL that's quite a feat). Even his "moment of retirement" had shades of badass. Depending on whether you read the manga or watched the anime respectively, he either ate his own leg so a young Sanji could survive off the actual food, or cut it off to rescue a drowning Sanji. Even as a peg-legged old man, he still has the Stuff, kicking so hard it blew away bullets fired towards him. Though he prefers to let the youngsters handle things.
- An even more badass example would be Silvers Rayleigh, Gold Roger's former first mate. These days he runs a small business in Sabaody Archipelago, coating ships with a special substance, which enables travel to Fish-Man Island.
- Dr. Kureha, too. She's demonstrated that she can probably take all of the Drum Island baddies herself despite being 139 years young, but is content to just watch. She even outright mentions it.Dr. Kureha: If you guys can't handle it, I'll come save you.
- Crocus is also pretty damn badass. In the past, he was a doctor on Gol D. Roger's crew. In the present, he's still strong enough to tank bazooka bullets to the chest.
- Bellemere, Nami and Nojiko's adoptive mother, provides a variation. She may be a Posthumous Character, and unlike most other examples on this page, a rather young woman, but she qualifies nonetheless as she was a powerful and reliable Marine; she did retire very early to take care of Nami and Nojiko.
- In Pokémon Adventures, Professor Oak enters the Pokemon League finals as "Dr. O", and defeats Green fairly easily. When Blue Oak, his grandson, tells him that he'll have to face either him or Red in the finals, Oak forfeits, saying he already won a championship and he doesn't need another.
- Though much younger than most, Nanjiroh Echizen from The Prince of Tennis fits quite well.
- Cologne from Ranma ½ is a quintessential example of the trope. She has been shown to be the most formidable martial artist in the series, with abilities far surpassing anything the main characters can do (and quite possibly above Happosai's level.) Yet, she's perfectly content running the Cat Cafe and letting the weirdness erupt around her, occasionally providing nuggets of information and only rarely being an active participant herself.
- The Rising of the Shield Hero:
- King Aultcray of Melromarc focuses solely on governing early in the story, but later on it is revealed that in his youth he was a very powerful adventurer who led a successful war against a demi-human nation. He's even revealed to be the Hero of the Cane, one of the Seven Star Weapons whose power is second only to the Four Legendary Weapons.
- Elrasla is a 95-year-old woman who had retired to a quiet life in a farming village until she was saved from a life-threatening illness by Naofumi. She decided to accompany Naofumi as thanks, revealing 95 was also her level and that she was the last master of the powerful Hengen Musou technique. Her strength is easily enough to rival most of Naofumi's party for quite some time.
- Rurouni Kenshin likes to play with this one. Notable examples include:
- Hiko Seijuro, Kenshin's former mentor that he has been estranged from for a dozen years by the time Kenshin comes to him for help in the series (It doesn't help that he left against Hiko's wishes). Although Hiko is probably the most powerful character in the series, he is content to live away from people and make a living by creating pottery. After much persuading he helps Kenshin take yet another level in badass, and protects some of Kenshin's friends from a giant member of a Quirky Miniboss Squad (as well as helping the guy work his issues). Despite knowing about the threat of Big Bad Shishio, however, he gives no hint he had any intention of doing anything about it.
- Nenji Kashiwazaki aka Okina, the former mentor of Kenshin's Worthy Opponent Aoshi, works along with other former Ninja as the owner and manager of an inn. He still has contacts among spies in Kyoto that he uses to aid Kenshin. Aside from a fight with Aoshi, however, when he sees that his former pupil has gone a little too dark and edgy for his taste, he mostly stays on the sidelines, acting more as The Strategist and advisor from now on. (Although considering the HUGE wounds Aoshi inflicted on him, it's well justified. no wonder poor Misao, who saw Aoshi almost kill Okina, was more than a bit disturbed).
- In a filler episode from the anime, it is revealed that a former first rate swordsman who fought Kenshin in the revolution now works as a children's teacher, having given up the sword. An old student who turned into an assassin tries to recruit him nonetheless.
- That plot was recycled for the Ishinshishi e no Requiem movie, where one of the main characters (Takimi Shigure) was an ex-samurai who became a school retainer and the caretaker of his best friend's sister whom Kenshin killed in the war.
- The title character himself is a Retired Badass, and would very much like to stay that way.
- Samurai Champloo: The Big Bad, Kariya Kagetoki. While he spends most of the series gardening and listening to reports of what's happening to the main characters, their exploits eventually coax him out of retirement...and that is is a very bad thing for Jin, Mugen, and Fuu.
- Miya, the woman who runs Izumo Inn in Sekirei is in fact Sekirei #1 (though not a "Sekirei" as such, presumably because she was already mature when the Sekirei were discovered), and apparently the most powerful of all (in a flashback, she takes out a battleship with a single swing of her sword!). For reasons that aren't clear, she's hellbent on preventing the protagonist from finding this out (his Sekirei, of course, all know. 2 of them fought alongside her, in fact.), to the point of subtly threatening people who try to reveal more than she wants them to. Apparently she gave up fighting due to the influence of her late husband, the partner of Minaka (the man running the whole Sekirei game) who presumably either murdered her husband or had him murdered. When asked what she would have done if she'd been told about another character's intentions to kill Minaka, this is her reply◊..
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann:
- "Miss Yomoko," actually post-timeskip Yoko, finds a calm job as an elementary school teacher, occasionally fighting against bandits in Ganmens who have the misfortune of attacking her school. That is, until the Anti-Spirals arrive to wreck massive havoc on Kamina City.
- And at the end of the series, we're shown Simon, of all possible people, Walking the Earth, poor and unrecognized but apparently content.
- Tentai Senshi Sunred is about a prematurely retired Sentai hero, Sunred, who retired from the hero business while still in his mid-twenties. Having retired he's found that he has no marketable skills in the civilian economy and spends most of his days lounging around, playing pachinko or doing odd jobs, and being challenged to fights to the death by his former Arch-Enemy the Evil Organization Florsheim, who don't seem to have understood the whole 'retired' part yet.
- In Tokyo Ghoul, there are quite a few of these among the Ghouls in the cast.
- Yoshimura is the kind and grandfatherly manager of Anteiku who has maintained peace in the 20th Ward through his mere presence, having broken up the gangs active in the area and kept things relatively stable since setting up shop. But when he actually steps out of retirement, it becomes very clear why everyone fears Yoshimura.
- Enji Koma and Kaya Irimi, the head waiter and waitress of the cafe, turn out to be ones as well. Koma constantly waxes nostalgic about his violent past, which the younger characters brush off as him being a blowhard. Instead, it turns out these two were the leaders of rival gangs that slaughtered Investigators for kicks until Yoshimura recruited them. When they come out of retirement, the Investigators facing them are immediately terrified of the legendary Devil Ape and Black Dog.
- Uta and Yomo were rivals that turned the 4th Ward into a war zone, in their teenaged years. Both have since settled into quiet lives, with Uta running a mask shop and Yomo acting as Yoshimura's second-in-command. Only......not so much for Uta, who remains active as part of The Clowns Gang.
- Yukinori Shinohara is mentioned to have become one, retiring from active duty to work as an Instructor at the Academy. He comes out of retirement during the series, to serve as Juuzou Suzuya's partner.
- Thors from Vinland Saga, following the birth of his daughter. Unfortunately he wasn't allowed to stay retired.
- The Way of the Househusband is about Tatsu, a former yakuza member who takes being a devoted House Husband just as seriously, often with hilarious consequences.
- Torajirou whose gang was put out of business because of Tatsu while he was in jail became a crepe maker.
- Hibari, the powerful matriach of the Torii gang, retired after her husband's death. She and the remaining members run a local grocery store like it's their gang territory.
- YuYu Hakusho:
- Genkai had been happily retired for years before she took Yusuke on as an apprentice and promptly got dragged right back into the crap she'd worked so hard to get out of.
- Also Kuroko Sanada, Yusuke's predecessor as (the first) spiritual detective, who now lives happily on an estate with a husband and two kids. Although from time to time she (or one of her kids) has to kill a demon who dared to trespass.
