Shokojo Sera uses this trope to such good effect that it can reduce grown men to tears. Here's a very incomplete list:
- The death of Sara's father, and her fall from princess status, symbolized by Miss Minchin cruelly tossing her tiara to the ground.
- Sara's first night in the attic.
- Miss Minchin handing Sara a bundle of letters with cold satisfaction - her last letters to her dead father, returned unread by the postal department.
- Lavinia reaching a new low in sheer villainy by inviting Sara to her birthday party, only to ask her for a present in return - her precious doll, Emily, the only possession given to her by her father that she still owns.
- The entire episode entitled "Redemption In The Middle Of The Storm". This isn't subversion, it's a revolution.
- Sara's near-fatal illness, and her friends' desperate attempts to save her life.
- Sara and Becky being discovered by Miss Minchin while sharing a banquet, actually gifted to them by a kind neighbour on the sly, and being forced to sleep in the stable.
- The fire in the stable. There are no words.
- Sara's leaving the Seminary after being physically and verbally abused by Miss Minchin. The entire sequence, right up to the point where she walks to the water and sees a family of ducks torn apart by the wave, only to come together again, is a lesson in how to write a Tear Jerker sequence.
- The scene where the strong-willed Seira in the live-action drama cries after recieving her father's necklace, finally accepting the fact that her father is dead particularly yanks at the heart.
