History UsefulNotes / JapaneseSiblingTerminology

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', Flayn, an extremely polite young girl, uses "Onii-sama" on Seteth, [[spoiler:although it turns out that he's her father, not her brother.]]

* The late Billy Herrington, a gay porn actor who became a meme among ''[[BaraGenre gachimuchi]]'' enthusiasts on Website/NicoNicoDouga, was often referred to as "aniki" by his fans.

** Since there are so many siblings running around in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', there are also a whole bunch of different honorifics used in Japanese. The youngest sister of the Nohrian royals, [[GenkiGirl Elise]], calls her five older siblings "onii-chan/onee-chan" respectively, emphasizing her childishness. The youngest Hoshidan royal, [[ShrinkingViolet Sakura]], meanwhile goes for the very respectful and formal "nii-sama/nee-sama", because she admires them so much. Both royal elder sisters use "nii-sama" for their elder brothers, which fits with the overly affectionate [[TeamMom Camilla]], but feels a little odd for [[TomboyPrincess Hinoka]]. The younger brothers of both families, [[TeenGenius Leo]] and [[ArcherArchetype Takumi]] use the more standard "nii-san/nee-san", which in this case emphasizes how they are [[MiddleChildSyndrome the odd ones out]] in their families.

* Lots of characters in the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series call Kazuma "aniki" (for example, Rikiya of ''VideoGame/Yakuza3'').

It is also not uncommon for sibling terminology to be used for non-relatives. "''Oniisan''" and "''oneesan''" and their variants are often used by children for older non-relatives that are not too far apart in age from the speaker (expect the kid VictimOfTheWeek to address the hero this way throughout the episode, for example.) If the addressee is a generation older, "''ojisan''" or "''obasan''" (meaning "uncle" and "aunt", respectively) may be used instead and if they are two or more generations older, "''ojiisan''" or "''obaasan''" (meaning "grandfather" and "grandmother", respectively) may be used as well. This one's hard for translators -- you want to stay true to the original, but can't exactly have the kid call the hero "big brother" despite the fact that they've clearly never met before.

These four terms are normally used when the speaker is describing siblings. If the speaker is talking about his older and younger brothers, for example, he will say "[watashi no] ani"[[note]]The reason why "watashi no" is bracketed is because "ani"/"ane" is rarely used for anything other than referring to the speaker's own older brother/sister, so adding "My" is redundant.[[/note]] and "watashi no otōto", respectively. If he is describing someone else (say, Hanako)'s younger brother, he will say "Hanako no otōtosan", using the common [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseHonorifics honorific]] ''-san'' indicating respect. Logically, describing Hanako's older brother would be "Hanako no anisan", but this is grammatically incorrect. Rather, he will use "Hanako no oniisan".

Additionally, ''ani'' and ''ane'' can take the honorific prefix ''o-'' in place of the initial ''a'' (and simultaneously double the ''i'' / ''e'' sound), which indicates further respect. These are normally found in conjunction with an honorific -- ''-san'' and ''-chan'' being among the most common for all four, although ''-sama'' is sometimes used for respected older siblings, while "baby-talk" equivalents such as ''-tan, -tama'' and ''-chama'' are limited for very young children. These are used when the speaker is describing someone else's sibling (see above) as well as when he is addressing his own older sibling. So the speaker may call his older brother (say, Kenta) "oniisan", "oniichan", "Kenta-niisan", etc. depending on how he regards Kenta, with the most common way being a simple "oniisan". This is SeriousBusiness, by the way; while calling older siblings by "brother" or "sister" is considered old-timey in English, it's part of modern etiquette in Japanese. Conversely, whereas calling your older siblings by their name is normal in English, it's a serious breach of manners in Japanese when not attached with a familial term, on par with CallingParentsByTheirName, and definitely marks a distance between the two siblings if used at all. On the other hand, younger siblings are pretty much universally addressed by their given name.

It is also not uncommon for sibling terminology to be used for non-relatives. "Oniisan" and "oneesan" and their variants are often used by children for older non-relatives that are not too far apart in age from the speaker (expect the kid VictimOfTheWeek to address the hero this way throughout the episode, for example.) If the addressee is a generation older, "ojisan" or "obasan" (meaning "uncle" and "aunt", respectively) may be used instead and if they are two or more generations older, "ojiisan" or "obaasan" (meaning "grandfather" and "grandmother", respectively) may be used as well. This one's hard for translators -- you want to stay true to the original, but can't exactly have the kid call the hero "Big brother" despite the fact that they've clearly never met before.

* Being buddies rather than biological brothers, Simon naturally uses "''aniki''" to refer to Kamina on ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', though with the same amount of respect you'd expect from "''onii-sama''". The dub simply uses "bro."

* ''Manga/ZatchBell'': The BrainwashedAndCrazy [[TheGwenStacy Gwen Stacy]] Kolulu calls her bookkeeper, Shiori, "neesan", which is an important plot point. She goes on to call Gash's bookkeeper Kiyomaro "niisan" when he burns her book at her behest.

* ''Literature/{{Haganai}}'' uses this a lot, even though there are only two cases of actual sibling relations. [[ElegantGothicLolita Kobato]] refers to her older brother, [[MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold Kodaka]], as "an-chan" [[AccentSlipUp whenever she lapses into her native Kyushu accent]]. Kodaka is also addressed as "aniki" by [[DudeLooksLikeALady Yukimura]] (deliberately as a gang leader reference, because Yukimura believes Kodaka to be a [[RatedMForManly paragon of masculinity]]) and "onii-chan" by [[CheerfulChild Maria]] and [[NunTooHoly Kate]]. {{Averted|Trope}} with Kate and Maria, though -- Kate ''wants'' Maria to call her "onee-sama", but Maria won't have anything of it unless forced to.

:''otōto'' 弟: younger brother
:''imōto'' 妹: younger sister
:''ani'' 兄: elder brother
:''ane'' 姉: elder sister

* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', the AxCrazy mechanic Graham Specter refers to his hero, the equally AxCrazy Ladd Russo, as "Ladd-aniki". Luck and Berga Gandor call their older brother Keith "Kii-nii," and [[spoiler:Maiza's younger brother calls him "nii-san."]]

* ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'''s Louise has two elder sisters, neither one of which is referred to by name, they are called OneeSama and Chi-nee-sama (basically meaning second elder sister) respectively.

* ''LightNovel/{{Haganai}}'' uses this a lot, even though there are only two cases of actual sibling relations. [[ElegantGothicLolita Kobato]] refers to her older brother, [[MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold Kodaka]], as "an-chan" [[AccentSlipUp whenever she lapses into her native Kyushu accent]]. Kodaka is also addressed as "aniki" by [[DudeLooksLikeALady Yukimura]] (deliberately as a gang leader reference, because Yukimura believes Kodaka to be a [[RatedMForManly paragon of masculinity]]) and "onii-chan" by [[CheerfulChild Maria]] and [[NunTooHoly Kate]]. {{Averted|Trope}} with Kate and Maria, though -- Kate ''wants'' Maria to call her "onee-sama", but Maria won't have anything of it unless forced to.
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Kyon's little sister is [[NoNameGiven always]] referred to exclusively as "Imōto-chan", including in the credits and the title of her ImageSong album. Kyon's friends have even called her "Imōto-san" on-screen; apparently, NoNameGiven is some kind of tradition in that family. Kyon himself wishes his little sister would call him "onii-san" instead of only using [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname his nickname]].

* In ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'', Wolfram refers to his older (half) brother Gwendal not as 'Onii-san', but as the ultra-respectful 'Ani-ue'. He doesn't refer to their HalfHumanHybrid middle brother Conrad by either, or acknowledge their relationship in any way, at least at first, due to FantasticRacism, though he eventually gets over this.

* In ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess'', the main character Pacifica refers to her siblings as "Shannon-nii" and "Raquel-nee"
* In ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', [[ThoseTwoGuys Keisaku and Eita]] always use the respectful ''ane-san'' for Margery Daw. You'll find that funny if you [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl get to know her]].
* ''LightNovel/SisterPrincess'' -- thirteen sisters, thirteen different ways to say "big brother". The English dub goes through outrageous contortions to come up with equally individualized equivalents for the Japanese terms and mostly succeeds, even if it does have to dip into a couple other languages to do it.

* Ryuuki in ''LightNovel/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'' persists in calling Seiran "aniue" when they are alone together, in spite of Seiran's protests, [[spoiler:once he finds out that Seiran is actually his exiled older brother Seien]].
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'':

** Subaru Nakajima refers to her older sister Ginga as "Gin-nee," despite formerly using "onee-chan" on her. Meanwhile, [[spoiler: Cinque]], one of the new siblings they gained after the [=post-StikerS=] TimeSkip, refers to Ginga using the very formal "aneue".

* Evolves over the course of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': While Ranma normally addresses Kasumi using "Kasumi-san" in the later seasons he occasionally uses "Kasumi-onee-san" as a sign of his esteem even though they are not technically related (yet). In the episode where Ranma thinks he's a girl he addresses her as "Kasumi-onee-''chan''" and the dub actually translates this as "Big sister Kasumi" for an equivalent cutesy effect.

** Hinata calls her cousin Neji "Neji-nii-san", leading some onlookers to believe he is her older brother. Many fans interpret that as her considering him one. [[FridgeBrilliance Genetically he is her half-brother]], since their fathers were identical twins.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'', [[spoiler:Veyle]] uses "Onii-chan" or "Onee-chan" on [[PlayerCharacter Alear]], who is [[spoiler:Veyle's]] long-lost older sibling, fitting with [[spoiler:Veyle]]'s [[ParentalTitleCharacterization use of "Papa" and "Mama"]]. While most characters refer to their older siblings by name in the localization, [[spoiler:Veyle]] usually calls Alear "Brother" or "Sister."

** Averted with the twin Yoshizawa sisters, who refer to each other by name.

** Meanwhile, after meeting Keima (and being snogged on multiple occasions) in the First Memory Fragment of the ''Heart of Jupiter'' arc, [[spoiler:[[ChooserOfTheOne Dokurou]]]] addresses him with the affectionate ''onii-chan''.
* In ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'', Sorata calls Arashi "Neechan" in the more playful sense. The subs traduce her as "missy".

* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Kuwabara usually calls his big sister Shizuru "aneki," switching to "Neechan" when he's sucking up to or teasing her.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' and [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist its 2003 adaptation]]:

* ''LightNovel/SisterPrincess'' -- thirteen sisters, thirteen different ways to say "big brother". The English dub goes through outrageous contortions to come up with equally individualized equivalents for the Japanese terms and mostly succeeds, even if it does have to dip into a couple other languages to do it.
* Chamo in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' addresses Negi as "aniki"; given the ermine's personality and habits, it's almost certainly intended as the gang slang as much as the literal meaning.
** Chamo also uses a different version of "nee" depending on which girl he is addressing.
** Negi also refers to his older cousin as "oneechan".
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'':
** When they were both children, Seto Kaiba in [[PromotionToParent took on the task of raising his younger brother]], Mokuba. Mokuba has nothing but the utmost respect for his brother, and as a result uses ''nii-sama'' exclusively for him.
** Normal Marik calls Ishizu "Nee-san", and Yami Marik calls her the extremely respectful "Aneue-sama" in a manner dripping with irony (especially considering that he's threatening to ''kill'' her in the same instance).
** Shizuka uses "Onii-chan" on her older brother Katsuya Jounouchi.
* In ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'', when the rest of the club follows Sasahara to the train station to pick up his HighSchool-age sister, Madarame wonders aloud what she calls him- "I guess big brother ''(oniichama)'' is out, probably bro ''(aniki)''". She calls him ''monkey''. Despite the (necessarily) clumsy translation of the Japanese honorifics, that last part translates well.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Konohamaru refers to the title character as "Naruto-niichan", giving an example of using older-sibling terminology towards an unrelated older kid one respects and admires. He also calls Naruto "boss".
** Also Inari does the same thing.
** Hinata calls her cousin Neji "Neji-nii-san", leading some onlookers to believe he is her older brother. Many fans interpret that as her considering him one. [[FridgeBrilliance Genetically he is her half-brother]], since their fathers were identical twins.
** In flashbacks, Sasuke always called Itachi "Nii-san", which got translated to "brother" in the dub. [[spoiler:Once the truth about Itachi is revealed Sasuke pretty quickly goes back to calling him Nii-san.]]
** Naruto always adds nee-chan to Shizune and Ayame despite not being related to either.
** Tobirama constantly refers to his brother, Hashirama as "anija" which is an older form of 'aniki'.
** In the sequel series, [[SpinOffspring Boruto]] refers to Konohamaru as Konohamaru-niichan, which is fitting for a family friend who is older but still young himself.
* Being buddies rather than biological brothers, Simon naturally uses "''aniki''" to refer to Kamina on ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', though with the same amount of respect you'd expect from "''onii-sama''". The dub simply uses "bro."
* Kuroko Shirai from ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' calls Mikoto Misaka "''onee-sama''", a show of the great respect she has for her - as well as her [[LesYay blatant attraction for her]].

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Kyon's little sister is [[NoNameGiven always]] referred to exclusively as "Imōto-chan", including in the credits and the title of her ImageSong album. Kyon's friends have even called her "Imōto-san" on-screen; apparently, NoNameGiven is some kind of tradition in that family. Kyon himself wishes his little sister would call him "onii-san" instead of only using [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname his nickname]].
* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'': [[BadassAdorable Hinami]] refers to [[AntiHero Kaneki]] as [[CoolBigBro ''onii-chan'']] and [[DefrostingIceQueen Touka]] as [[CoolBigSis ''onee-chan'']].

* Skuld in ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' calls Belldandy ''oneesama'', but not Urd. It's translated to "big sis" in the dub.
** Belldandy refers to Urd as "Neesan".
* In ''Anime/DigimonDataSquad'', Agumon calls Marcus ''aniki'', dubbed to "boss." His actual younger sister calls him ''Masaru-niichan.'' Touma's younger sister, Relena, calls him ''oniisama.''
** Touma and Relena are an odd case -- they're half-siblings, Touma is half-Japanese and Relena is fully Austrian. Whether Relena ''actually'' calls Touma "oniisama" as an endearment signifying respect for his mother's native culture or if it's just the TranslationConvention in effect to help the original Japanese audience with the nuances of their relationship is never addressed. In the dub, Touma is usually called "Thomas," while Relena calls him "Tommy."
** The reason Agumon calls Marcus/Masaru ''aniki'' in the original but "boss" instead in the dub is because, in this case, "aniki" means "brother" literally but also means "boss" according to the {{Yakuza}}, therefore having the same connotations. The same reason is why Agumon considers himself Marcus' follower/employee.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Karin calls her older brother Ichigo "Ichi-nii" a homophone for "One-two", while Yuzu calls him "Onii-chan" (the same as what Orihime calls her brother). Interestingly enough, unlike some twins, the Kurosaki sisters don't care about which one was born first- Karin calls Yuzu by name, while Yuzu calls Karin "Karin-chan."
** Ha, think about if Karin called Ichigo "Ichi-nii-san" which would actually work, plus be a homophone for "One-two-three".
** Rukia usually refers to Byakuya as "Nii-sama" but, very occasionally (usually in the earlier days of the manga), she has used other forms.
** Kon likes to call Rukia "Nee-san", but this is due to the use of the term as meaning "hey lady!".
** Kiyone (third seat of the 13th division) calls her older sister Isane (lieutenant of the 4th division) "Nee-san".
** Ganju (youngest of the Shiba siblings) refers to Kaien, the eldest, as "Aniki" and older sister Kukaku as "Onee-chan", while middle child Kukaku uses "Onii-san".

* In ''Manga/OnePiece Movie 9'', Wapol calls his older brother Mushul (exclusive to the movie) "An-chan," despite Mushul's desire to be referred to with "Onii". In the manga, Hancock's younger sisters refer to her as "Ane-sama". Monkey D. Luffy calls his older brother, Portgas D. Ace, by name, but given their different surnames, it has been speculated that they are not biological brothers.
** [[spoiler:It turns out that they're not related at all; Ace's father isn't Dragon, but ''Roger'']].
* Subaru Nakajima of ''Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' refers to her older sister Ginga as "Gin-nee," despite formerly using "onee-chan" on her. Meanwhile, [[spoiler: Cinque]], one of the new siblings they gained after the [=post-StikerS=] TimeSkip, refers to Ginga using the very formal "aneue". [[spoiler: Yes, the same Cinque that once captured Ginga by beating her to a bloody pulp and [[AnArmAndALeg ripping off her hand]]. Must be some inverted variant of [[DefeatMeansFriendship befriending]]]].
** Well, she ''was'' the one that [[spoiler: Subaru befriended with Vibration Shatter during her UnstoppableRage]]. She also tends to use {{Keigo}} when speaking, and addresses [[spoiler:Genya]] as "chichiue".
** In ''[=StrikerS=]'', Fate, who has been adopted by the Harlaown family, refers to Chrono as "Onii-chan" in situations where she doesn't need to address him as a superior officer, prompting him to suggest that she should stop doing that now that she's an adult. In the third sound sage of the second season, she considers calling him "Nii-san" or "Aniue".

* In ''Manga/OutlawStar'', Jim refers to Gene as ''aniki'', but just "Gene" in the English dub.
* In ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'', Sanae Nakazawa is nicknamed "Anego" since she bosses the Nankatsu kids around like an older sister. Tsubasa did it until around the second half of the original TV series; since then, he stopped calling her "Anego" and refers to her as "Sanae-chan" instead.
* In ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess'', the main character Pacifica refers to her siblings as "Shannon-nii" and "Raquel-nee"
* In the TV series of ''Anime/ReadOrDie'', Anita calls her (adopted) sisters Maggie and Michelle "Ma-nee" and "Mi-nee." She ends up calling Nenene "Nene-nee" after rejecting "Nenene-neesama."
* The archaic formal term for "brother" listed above, ''aniue'', is familiar to any ''Anime/MyHime'' fan. Mikoto uses this term for her long-lost brother (she doesn't know his name).
** In a LotusEaterMachine sequence inflicted on Mai, Mai tells Mikoto, who is apparently her little sister in this version of reality and whom she views as like a little sister, to not call her older sister by name.

* In ''Anime/KnightHunters'', Aya Fujimiya calls her older brother "Ran-oniichan" or just "oniichan."
* Sota in ''Manga/InuYasha'' calls Kagome "nee-chan," while in the feudal era, Kohaku calls Sango by the more archaic "aneue" ([[LaserGuidedAmnesia when he remembers who she is, anyway]]). Manten, the younger of the {{youkai}} Thunder Brothers, calls his older brother Hiten "anchan," and most of the Band of Seven call their leader Bankotsu "aniki" or "o-aniki." Kaede refers to Kikyo as "onee-sama". (Inuyasha himself, being your standard JerkWithAHeartOfGold shounen protagonist, calls his AloofBigBrother Sesshomaru by his first name only, and both he and Sesshomaru himself seem horrified when Kagome calls Sesshomaru "''oniisan''".)
* Himiko in ''Manga/GetBackers'' addresses her older brother Yamato as "aniki." He's a casual BigBrotherMentor-type, so it fits. Juubei addresses his older sister as "aneja," which is written with the kanji for "older sister" and "person." Yukihiko Mirouku tends to use [Name]-niisan or -neesan for his siblings, while [[spoiler:Yohan, after revealing that he's Kazuki's younger brother, addresses him with the archaic "aniue." He calls his adopted older brother by name, while his adopted younger sister calls him by name.]]
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Kuwabara usually calls his big sister Shizuru "aneki," switching to "Neechan" when he's sucking up to or teasing her.
* ''Manga/ZatchBell'': The BrainwashedAndCrazy [[TheGwenStacy Gwen Stacy]] Kolulu calls her bookkeeper, Shiori, "neesan", which is an important plot point. She goes on to call Gash's bookkeeper Kiyomaro "niisan" when he burns her book at her behest.
* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'':
** Yuki calls his older brother Ayame "nii-san", and when [[spoiler:Mine]] calls Yuki "otouto-kun", it's one of the first hints that [[spoiler:she and Ayame are a couple]].
** In the not-actually-siblings department, Kisa calls [[GenderBlenderName Tohru]] "onee-chan", Haru calls Hatori "nii-san", and Rin calls Shigure "Gure-nii".

* In ''Manga/LoveHina'', Motoko Aoyama refers to her older sister Tsuruko as "aneue". Except in the Tokyopop manga translation, in which she uses "oneesan."
* ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'': One of the hints of Olba Frost's deep devotion to his older brother Shagia is that, for a ''very'' cocky and arrogant guy who can be AxCrazy in battle, he actually addresses Shagia with the respectful "Nii-san" instead of the more familiar "Aniki". In fact, he did it so often that Olba's seiyuu Creator/NozomuSasaki has said that he came to dislike the word itself.

* Yukino and Kanade from ''Anime/CandyBoy'' call each other "Yuki-nee" and "Kana-nee", often saying it twice when they want to get each other's attention. Their younger sister Shizuku calls them both "neechan", although for Kanade she also tends to use the variety "baka-neechan".
* In ''Manga/FatherAndSon'', Youichi is addressed as "nii-san" by his brother-in-law.
* In ''Manga/MariaHolic'', the priest Kanae thinks Kanako's issues stem from losing her beloved brother. (To Tchaikovsky syndrome in B minor. Yes, Mariya's behind this.) The term he uses for this nonexistent brother is ''ani-ue''.
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Nunnally often referred to her older brother Lelouch with the ultra-respectful ''Onii-Sama'' . His [[spoiler:fake younger brother, who he eventually accepts before his death]] Rolo refers to him as ''Nii-San''. (The dub uses "Big Brother" for both.) Lelouch uses the respectful ''aniue'' when he talks with his older half-brother Schneizel and the similarly respectful ''aneue'' with Cornelia.
** [[LadyOfWar Cornelia]] also uses ''aniue'' when speaking to Schneizel.
** Euphie uses "OneeSama" on Cornelia, but Cornelia insists on being referred to by her title of Viceroy on certain occasions.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' and [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 adaptation]], Alphonse refers to his brother solely as "Nii-san". He uses it so much, it's practically his CatchPhrase, and it even carries over into English translations and dubs as "brother".
** Alex refers to his older sister Olivier as "aneue".
* Suboshi in ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' calls his brother "aniki".
* In ''Manga/SorcererHunters'', Marron refers to his brother as "niisan" more often than he does his name, while Tira calls Chocolat "onee-sama". Eclair in the {{OAV}}s refers to her big brother Gateau as "aniki".
* In ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', [[ThoseTwoGuys Keisaku and Eita]] always use the respectful ''ane-san'' for Margery Daw. You'll find that funny if you [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl get to know her]].
* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', the AxCrazy mechanic Graham Specter refers to his hero, the equally AxCrazy Ladd Russo, as "Ladd-aniki". Luck and Berga Gandor call their older brother Keith "Kii-nii," and [[spoiler:Maiza's younger brother calls him "nii-san."]]
* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', Sayu always calls Light ''oniichan''; he just calls her Sayu, as you'd expect -- though in the manga, there's a point where an AlternateCharacterReading is employed, with the kanji for "Sayu" being read as ''imōto''.
--> Light (to Ryuk): ''"My sister would have a heart attack just from seeing your face."''
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'', the members of the street gangs refer to Yukine as Yuki-nee.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Amagami}}'' Miya with her famous "nii-nii" for her brother Junichi.
* Elfman from ''Manga/FairyTail'' refers to his sister Mirajane as "nee-chan".
** Their little sister Lisanna calls them "Elf-nii-chan" and "Mira-nee".
** Sho, Erza's childhood friend, calls her "nee-chan".
* ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'': Van Fanel when refering to his Mother or Brother will use; Hahaue and Aniue respectively.

* In ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'', Elsie, a low-ranking devil who concludes a contract with Keima, considers him a god and pretends to be his younger sister. So, she calls him "Kami-nii-sama", thus mixing together "god" and "older brother" (This gets translated to "divine brother" in the English dub).

* ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'''s Louise has two elder sisters, neither one of which is referred to by name, they are called OneeSama and Chi-nee-sama (basically meaning second elder sister) respectively.
* In ''Anime/QueensBlade'' [[CatGirl Elina]] calls her elder sister [[ActionGirl Leina]] "onee-chan," while both call their eldest half-sister [[LadyOfWar Claudette]] "onee-sama."
* In ''Manga/KashimashiGirlMeetsGirl,'' Hazumu has been gender-swapped, and the ship's AI has based [[SpaceshipGirl its hologram avatar]] on his new female form. Because of this, she call him/her "nii-nee-san."
* Evolves over the course of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': While Ranma normally addresses Kasumi using "Kasumi-san" in the later seasons he occasionally uses "Kasumi-onee-san" as a sign of his esteem even though they are not technically related (yet). In the episode where Ranma thinks he's a girl he addresses her as "Kasumi-onee-''chan''" and the dub actually translates this as "Big sister Kasumi" for an equivalent cutesy effect.
* In the TV series ''[[Literature/OneStormyNight Arashi No Yoru Ni]]: Himitsu no Tomodachi'', Boro always refers to Gabu as "Gabu-nii".
* In ''Manga/BlueExorcist'' [[BigLittleBrother Yukio]] calls [[AntiAntiChrist Rin]] "Nii-san"[[labelnote:Fun fact]] Yukio uses the word "Nii-san" in the Anime and [[TheMovie Movie]] alone almost ''200'' times, without taking into account various Extras and the Manga. Talk about a brother complex.[[/labelnote]], but refers to him as "Ani" when talking about him to others. Amaimon noticeably calls Mephisto the respectful "Aniue".
** In return, Mephisto calls ''his'' older brother [[spoiler: Lucifer]] "Aniue" himself. Considering their [[CainAndAbel relationship]] it's most definitely done in a sarcastic, mocking way.
* In ''Manga/InitialD,'' Keisuke almost invariably refers to his older brother Ryosuke as "aniki."
* ''LightNovel/{{Haganai}}'' uses this a lot, even though there are only two cases of actual sibling relations. [[ElegantGothicLolita Kobato]] refers to her older brother, [[MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold Kodaka]], as "an-chan" [[AccentSlipUp whenever she lapses into her native Kyushu accent]]. Kodaka is also addressed as "aniki" by [[DudeLooksLikeALady Yukimura]] (deliberately as a gang leader reference, because Yukimura believes Kodaka to be a [[RatedMForManly paragon of masculinity]]) and "onii-chan" by [[CheerfulChild Maria]] and [[NunTooHoly Kate]]. {{Averted|Trope}} with Kate and Maria, though -- Kate ''wants'' Maria to call her "onee-sama", but Maria won't have anything of it unless forced to.
* In ''Manga/{{Saki}}'' most of the older sisters in the series- Teru, Hiroe, Yuu, Nozomi and Kana are referred to as "Onee-chan" by their younger sisters- Saki, Kinue, Kuro, Ako and the three younger Ikeda sisters, respectively. Ako, a friend of Kuro's who knows Yuu, calls her "Yuu-nee", and Yuu sometimes refers to herself as "Onee-chan" when talking to or about Kuro.
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', Miho calls Maho "Onee-chan," and in the prequel manga, ''Little Army'', Emi refers to her older sister as "Nee-san".
* Killua from ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' calls both, Illumi and Milluki, ''aniki''. That confuses Gon a little bit, since he only knows Illumi and Kalluto, but he never met his other brothers, yet. Killua is called ''nii-san'' and ''onii-chan'' by Kalluto and Alluka, respectively.
* In ''Anime/KillLaKill'' after it is revealed that [[spoiler:Ryuuko and Satsuki are sisters by blood and actually on the same side in the story's conflict, Ryuuko attempts to stammer out "Nee-san" when addressing Satsuki, who responds that she doesn't expect Ryuuko to treat her as a sister. They settle for calling each other by first name alone, until the very end, where Ryuuko finally calls Satsuki "Nee-san".]]

* In ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', Sakura calls her older brother the default "onii-chan." However, her alternate universe counterpart in ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'', Princess Sakura, calls her brother King Touya by the more respectful "nii-sama."
* Mayotama from ''Manga/ICantUnderstandWhatMyHusbandIsSaying'' calls his big brother Hajime ([[BigBrotherAttraction who he has a massive crush on]]) "anija". During a flashback to before he developed his crush, he called him "nii-san".
* Honoka and Isana from ''Manga/UQHolder'' both call Touta nii-sama, presumably because they have the same last name (there hasn't been anything to suggest that they're actually related to him). Confusingly, Isana calls Honoka "Ojou-sama" (as a reference to [[Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi Konoka and Setsuna]]), despite the fact that they're twin sisters.
* ''Manga/{{Citrus}}'':
** [[FlirtyStepsiblings Yuzu and Mei]] always call each other by name, even though Yuzu is considered the elder sister. It becomes a minor plot point early on, when Yuzu, reading a manga with two sisters in an incestuous relationship, notices that the younger one is calling the older one "Onee-chan," and wonders whether that's why [[HeyYou Mei doesn't call her by name]].
** Himeko once calls Yuzu "Onee-sama," after briefly claiming[[note]]Not only are Yuzu and Mei the OfficialCouple, but it turns out that Mei rebuffed Himeko's advances[[/note]] that she went "a step further" with Mei than Yuzu did and that Mei only sees Yuzu as a sister, thereby implying that Yuzu will eventually be Himeko's sister-in-law.
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'':
** Suguha "Leafa" Kirigaya calls her cousin[=/=]adopted brother Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya "Onii-chan."
** Yuuki once calls Asuna "Nee-chan," which Asuna initially assumes is a term of endearment. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a FreudianSlip by Yuuki, who thought Asuna was so similar to Yuuki's deceased older twin sister Ran that Yuuki ended up calling her what she called Ran]].
* Oddly averted with Yuu in ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'', who calls her older sister "Rei-chan" rather than using sibling titles. By comparison, Touko uses "Onee-chan" on her late older sister Mio.
* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': Shirogane's little sister Kei simply refers to him as "Onii" without any additional honorifics, showing that she acknowledges him as her brother but doesn't show him any additional respect beyond that.
* ''Manga/FlyMeToTheMoon''
** Kaname calls her older sister Aya "Aya-nee."
** Chitose calls her adopted older sister Tsukasa "Nee-sama," since she comes from a rather wealthy family.
** Nasa's cousin Ginga uses "aniki" on him, one of many things that makes him come off as a {{Yakuza}} even though he's not.
* In ''Manga/CellsAtWork'', the Platelet leader refers to both [=AE3803=] (Red Blood Cell) and U-1146 (White Blood Cell) as "Oneechan" and "Oniisan", respectively. While in Japan these words are often used to refer to slightly older people who you know but aren't related to you, a doctor who watched and reviewed the series explains that this is ''entirely correct'', as platelets, white blood cells and red blood cells are all created in the bone marrow, and they all stem from the same base cells that can grow into anything, making this a case of AccidentallyCorrectWriting.
* In ''Be Careful, Onee-san'', Mai, [[YoungerThanTheyLook an elementary school girl who looks like a young adult]], calls Tae, [[OlderThanTheyLook a twenty-something office worker who looks like a child]], "Onee-san" after saving her from the pool.
* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'':
** Louis (the youngest Moriarty sibling) refers to older brother William as "Nii-san" and the eldest brother Albert as "Nii-sama"--that is, until [[SignificantNameShift until their relationship changes]] enough for him to call Albert "Nii-san" as well and distinguishes the two by first name if necessary.
** William also calls Albert "Nii-san."
** Sherlock, as informal as he is, still calls Mycroft "Aniki" instead of by name.
* In ''Manga/TheGuySheWasInterestedInWasntAGuyAtAll'', Aya Oosawa refers to the record store clerk she has a crush on, "Onii-san," since she believes he's a somewhat older young man but doesn't know his name. She's wrong about "his" age and gender, as "he" turns out to be her female classmate Mitsuki Koga.

* The protagonists from ''AudioPlay/YandereHeaven'' is called "nee-chan" and "nee-sama" by her younger brothers. Other characters, such as Ran and Nahiro, are addressed as "nii-san"/"nii-chan" by their younger siblings (Wakasa for Ran and the protagonist for Nahiro respectfully).

* At the end of ''Film/TheWolverine'', [[spoiler:Yukio refers to Mariko as "Onee-chan."]]

* ''Series/EngineSentaiGoOnger'' has Miu constantly referring to her brother (and fellow SixthRanger) Hiroto as ''ani''.

* Tonio in ''VideoGame/RodeaTheSkySoldier'' calls his older sister Sonia 'onee-san', while refering to Ion as Ion-neechan, and Rodea as Rodea-oniichan. Even though he was terrified of Rodea for being a robot earlier.
* Lots of characters in the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series call Kazuma "aniki" (for example, Rikiya of ''Yakuza 3''). Of course, that shouldn't surprise anyone...
* Rose Bernstein in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' calls her brother Adel ''onii-sama'' in his opening pose.
* The thing from ''Elevator: Source'' that runs at the elevator with an anime girl's face repeatedly says "Onii-chan" as the doors close in its face.

** Don't forget Aniki in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''... on second thought, [[NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat let's forget about him]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheLastBlade 2'', [[{{Bifauxnen}} Kojiroh]] invokes "aniue" in one of her violent deaths.

* In ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Dragon Sword'', which uses Japanese voices alongside English text in the English version, Momiji refers to Kureha as "[[OneeSama onee-sama]]" while visiting her grave in the ending.

* In ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'', a game that is fully voiced in Japanese, Yuka is frequently heard calling "onii-chan" after being separated from her older brother, Satoshi.
** Especially in the sixth episode of ''Book of Shadows'', "Mire". [[spoiler:While Kizami is torturing her, she almost exclusively calls out "onii-chan" when she's not whimpering or crying. Kizami also insists that she calls him "onii-chan" and gets violently angry when she refuses due to the fact that he is [[AxeCrazy not her older brother at all]].]]
* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'':
** Jin Kisaragi's infamous "NII-SAAAN!!" towards his brother Ragna. All while being obsessed to kill him in a rather... suggestive way.
** Similarly, Carl Clover calls her big sister "nee-san".
** Tsubaki, meanwhile, refers to her ChildhoodFriend Jin as "Jin-niisama", and she appropriately respects him. A lot. In the audio drama ''Wheel of Fortune'', Tsubaki gets a vision of Jin's past with his (nowadays missing) sister who also called him "nii-sama"; Tsubaki gets angry at it, saying that the only one who can call Jin that is her.
** The Imperator is apparently Ragna's sister who always calls him "nii-sama". Ragna gets rather irritated by it because she's a villain who wants him on her side. [[spoiler:After she got absorbed into Noel (her clone) and the latter gains the former's memories, Noel also calls Ragna with "nii-sama".]]
** Celica calls her sister Nine with "onee-chan".
* In ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls'', Komaru Naegi, the younger sister of Makoto Naegi, generally calls her older brother "Onii-chan." In the localized version, she simply calls him by name.
* ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'':
** Both Yuuta and Ritsu call their older brothers "aniki" (at least, when Ritsu deigns to acknowledge Rei as his brother at all).
** Several of the first-years refer to Anzu as like an older sister: formal Tsukasa uses "oneesama", childish Mitsuru uses "neechan", and boyish Tetora uses "anego".
** Hajime usually just uses "sempai" for his seniors, but in a couple of stories he expresses a 'selfish' desire to call Anzu "oneesan" and be treated as her younger brother, and in the Wonderland story, Eichi and Ritsu both encourage Hajime to call them "oniisan".
** Souma is the eldest sibling in his family, but in the Cinderella story, in which he was playing a stepsister but speaking in his usual manner out of difficulty with normal language, he refers to the other stepsister Keito as "anegimi".
* ''VideoGame/Persona5''

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'':
** Velvet Crowe addresses her brother-in-law Arthur as "nii-san", up until [[spoiler:he murders her younger brother in front of her]], at which point [[SignificantNameShift she starts calling him "Arthur"]], and later "Artorius", which is his real name.
** Laphicet Crowe addresses Velvet as "onee-chan", which [[spoiler:becomes TermsOfEndangerment when he incarnates into [[BigBad Innominat]]]].
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'', the very first dialogue choice of the game decides whether or not the protagonist, Ludger, addresses his older brother as "nii-san" or "Julius", with whichever choice sticking through the rest of the game. The English dub translates "nii-san" to "brother", but the choice doesn't change any of Ludger's dialogue and aside from that one scene, Ludger will simply call him by name.

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'':
** Satoko calls her brother Satoshi, and later, Keiichi, "nii-nii." Similarly, she refers to Shion as "nee-nee".
** Shion makes the unusual choice of simply calling her older twin sister Mion "onee", with no honorific after it.
* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'':
** Hisui always refers to her older (twin) sister Kohaku as "nee-san." Always. [[spoiler:If she ever uses another term (for example, "my sister," per the Mirror Moon translation), it's a giant clue that it's not actually Hisui...]]
** Akiha calls Shiki "Nii-san". Like the above example, [[spoiler:if she uses another term, she's referring to ''SHIKI'', her actual brother]].
** Supplementary materials have Arcueid referring to Akiha as 'Imouto', due to her firm belief that once [[OfficialCouple she and Shiki get hitched]] Akiha will be her sister-in-law anyway, so she might as well get started now.
* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''

* In ''VisualNovel/KindredSpiritsOnTheRoof'', while none of the characters' siblings are shown, Yuna's ChildhoodFriend Hina, who's a year younger than her, calls her "Yuna-nee," [[spoiler:and continues doing so after they [[ChildhoodFriendRomance enter a romantic relationship]].]]

* In ''Webcomic/RedString'' [[ButNotTooForeign half Japanese, half American]] Maaya Chiaki references the differences in terminology [[http://www.redstring.strawberrycomics.com/?p=528 when she recalls]] being chastised by Teachers for refering to her elder brother by name after a visit to her grandparents' home in the States.

* Haruka [[Manga/MinamiKe Minami]] is always "Haruka-oneesama" to her little sister Chiaki. This is partly because of her PromotionToParent and partly because, well, she's an OneeSama.
* In ''Anime/WeissKreuz'', Aya Fujimiya calls her older brother "Ran-oniichan" or just "oniichan."

* One of the hints of [[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Olba Frost]]'s deep devotion to his older brother Shagia is that, for a ''very'' cocky and arrogant guy who can be AxCrazy in battle, he actually addresses Shagia with the respectful "Nii-san" instead of the more familiar "Aniki". In fact, he did it so often that Olba's seiyuu Creator/NozomuSasaki has said that he came to dislike the word itself.

* ''LightNovel/{{Haganai}}'' uses this a lot, even though there are only two cases of actual sibling relations. [[ElegantGothicLolita Kobato]] refers to her older brother, [[MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold Kodaka]], as "an-chan" [[AccentSlipUp whenever she lapses into her native Kyushu accent]]. Kodaka is also addressed as "aniki" by [[DudeLooksLikeALady Yukimura]] (deliberately as a gang leader reference, because Yukimura believes Kodaka to be a [[RatedMForManly paragon of masculinity]]) and "onii-chan" by [[CheerfulChild Maria]] and [[NunTooHoly Kate]]. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] with Kate and Maria, though -- Kate ''wants'' Maria to call her "onee-sama", but Maria won't have anything of it unless forced to.

* In Manga/{{X 1999}}, Sorata calls Arashi "Neechan" in the more playful sense. The subs traduce her as "missy".

* Lots of characters in the ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' series call Kazuma "aniki" (for example, Rikiya of ''Yakuza 3''). Of course, that shouldn't surprise anyone...

** Especially in the sixth episode of Book of Shadows, ''Mire''. [[spoiler:While Kizami is torturing her, she almost exclusively calls out "onii-chan" when she's not whimpering or crying. Kizami also insists that she calls him "onii-chan" and gets violently angry when she refuses due to the fact that he is [[AxeCrazy not her older brother at all]].]]