History AFatherToHisMen / AnimeAndManga

** Master Makarov treats his guild like his family, even referring to them as "my children" (one of them is his biological grandson to boot), and has gone PapaWolf (along with one instance of attempted HeroicSacrifice) when they were attacked.

* [[Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind Princess Kushana]] is quite close to her Third Army and always has a little trouble coping with casualties.
* [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Misato Katsuragi]] tries to be this. Her success is more than slightly undermined by her own personal issues but at least she puts the effort in... which is rather more than can be said for Gendo...

** Subverted in ''[[Anime/MacrossFrontier Frontier]]'', though, in that it's the ''Quarter'''s helmsman, Lt. Bobby Margot who is the TeamDad, to the point that the BridgeBunnies team is commonly called "Bobby's daughters". [[CoolOldGuy Captain Wilder]], despite otherwise qualifying, prefers to distance himself from the crew somewhat (well, until [[LikesOlderWomen Monica Lange]] starts [[MayDecemberRomance actively courting him]]).

* Captain Bruno J. Global, of ''Anime/{{Macross}}'', and thus ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' especially to Misa Hayase. Not just to his immediate bridge crew, but also to various fighter pilots he happens to know despite the isolation of command. In the novelization of Robotech, when the BridgeBunnies start dating aliens, [[OverprotectiveDad he's frustrated that they're not actually his daughters so that he can set a curfew or anything]].

** Deconstructed in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'', Crank Zent isa Gjallarhorn officer who genuinely respects his subordinates and is [[WouldNotHurtAChild unwilling to attack children]], not only it [[ButForMeItWasTuesday fell into Mika's deaf ears]], his undignified death [[WrongGenreSavvy inadvertently]] [[StartOfDarkness started Ein's full-on grudge]] against Tekkadan.

** Deconstructed in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'', Crank Zent isa Gjallarhorn officer who genuinely respects his subordinates and is [[WouldNotHurtAChild unwilling to attack children]], not only it [[ButForMeItWasTuesday fell into Mika's deaf ears]], his undignified death [[WrongGenreSavvy inadvertently]] [[StartOfDarkness started Ein's full-on grudge]] against Tekkadan in his entire life.

* Ash Ketchum of the Pokémon Anime. He takes very good care of his Pokémon and will gladly work with them to overcome any problems they may be facing. More humorously, in some more recent episodes, he'll scold them if they're misbehaving, like a father dealing with his misbehaving kids.

* ''CaptainTsubasa'' has Hikaru Matsuyama, both during his time in the Furano Junior High team, and in the national team. It's thanks to him and this quality of his that the national team doesn't crumble after the humiliating CurbStompBattle at the hands of the Real Japan 7 team, the expulsion of the regulars, and the brutal TrainingFromHell from Coach Gamo in the World Youth Saga.

* ''{{Claymore}}'''s Miria is this (well, [[ImprobablyFemaleCast a mother to her women and girls]]), to the point of being able to draw in recruits to her cause with just a few sentences, and [[ChronicHeroSyndrome beating herself up to the point of tears]] when her followers get killed (which [[TheMenFirst she takes every personal risk possible to prevent]]).

* General Tiedoll in ''DGrayMan''. Kanda doesn't appreciate it ''at all''.

** "Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin's men calls her mama [[spoiler: but she '''averts''' the hell out of this trope by randomly eating one of her henchmen for no reason.]]
** Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and, pre-TimeSkip, the one about whom the least was known; one of his earliest appearances was giving a ruthless YouHaveFailedMe treatment to a subordinate who made the mistake of pressing Luffy's BerserkButton. But post-Time Skip, when more of his backstory is revealed (including the fact that he's TheDon of a worldwide [[TheMafia Mafia]]), he seems to fit this trope to a T, and it's shown that all of his closest subordinates care for him enough to die for him. [[spoiler: Too bad the feeling isn't mutual. While Doflamingo cares about his top Officers more than his mooks, that won't stop him from ordering them to die for him. And if an officer betrays him, than they'll get no mercy. (Baby-5, the unstable NinjaMaid, seems to be an exception, due to her [[ExtremeDoormat personality]]. As Law says, Doflamingo's care for someone only goes as far as how useful they are to his ambitions.]]

* [[MeaningfulName Doctor Franken Stein]] from ''Manga/SoulEater'' has [[MadScientist a few screws loose]], but his students love him, and he cares for them more than he lets on.

** Mwu La Flaga is a unique example of this. In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' he was the only experienced soldier and AcePilot above the Archangel; as such, he had a fatherly attitude toward her crew of teenagers to young adults. As Neo Roanoke in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', he again displayed a fatherly attitude to his subordinates (one of the few [[CharClone Char Clones]] to do so), namely the Extended team under his command.

* [[SoraNoWoto Lieutenant Filicia Heideman]] is [[GenderFlipped A Mother To Her Women]], and a [[MamaBear vicious one]] if pushed. She's not above committing minor (and major) treasonous acts for their well-being.

* The UrExample of this in anime is of course, the Franchise/{{Gundam}} saga's Captain Bright Noa. One of the Universal Century's [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam most]] [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam recurring]] [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ main]] [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack characters]], Bright is world-famous for both the fatherly atmosphere he projects towards those under his charge, as well as for [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan smacking the fail out of the more angsty ones]].
** However he [[{{Irony}} utterly fails]] to [[ParentalAbandonment raise his own son]], apparently, if we are to believe ''Hathaway's Flash''. Being a career military man left him separated from his actual family for most of his life. (Though being based on the substantially altered novelization of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack CCA]]'', ''Hathaway's Flash'' is semi-canonical at best.)
** An antagonistic example is Vice Admiral Dozle Zabi, who actually does a badass LastStand in order to get everyone in Solomon out to safety, from his wife and baby girl to the rookies. Quite the contrast to his ogre-like appearance.
** Also from the Zekes, [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam Rear Admiral Yuri Kellarny]], who honestly and earnestly cares for his men despite being loud, obnoxious, and pissing off Ginias because he thinks it's fun. Most exemplified in episode 9 ''The Front Line''.
** Also, AEUG leader Blex Forer. [[spoiler: He dies mid-story, though.]]
** Suberoa Zinnerman from ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Gundam Unicorn]]'' is this and particularly and especially to Marida, who he was willing to launch a near-suicidal assault on the Nahael Argama whilst it was in Earth orbit for after she was captured by the EFSF.
** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'' has its share:
*** Before his [[spoiler:departure from the military,]] Zechs Merquise treats most of his men well and get incredible respect and devotion in return, but saying "fatherly" might be a stretch (especially seeing as he's only [[ImprobableAge 19 years old]]). Lucrezia Noin probably counts a little more, seeing as she's a pilot instructor and often takes the role of the firm but caring mother figure - so much so that she becomes TeamMom (one of them, anyway) to the Gundam Pilots after a HeelFaceTurn.
*** Lady Une becomes one at the end of the series and in TheMovie, resolving her SplitPersonality conflict by [[SplitPersonalityMerge combining]] the [[IronLady competent military side]] with the [[ProperLady peaceful, loving side]].
*** Despite [[TheChessmaster pulling the strings]], OZ's commander Treize Khushrenada follows his subordinates rather closely and covers for them where possible (particularly Zechs and Noin), and knows the name of everyone to die under his command. When Wufei asks him how many people have died for him, Treize promptly responses that as of the previous day it was 99,822 and tells Une to give him a list of the 187 who have died in the current day's battle. He's also [[spoiler: old enough to be a father.]] It's hinted he learned this from his predecessor, [[spoiler: Chilias Catalonia]].
** Mwu La Flaga is a unique example of this. In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' he was the only experienced soldier and AcePilot above the Archangel; as such, he had a fatherly attitude toward her crew of teenagers to young adults. As Neo Roanoke in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', he again displayed a fatherly attitude to his subordinates (one of the few [[CharClone Char Clones]] to do so), namely the Extended team under his command.
** Woolf Enneacle in the second generation of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE''. He's far more concerned with keeping his squad of rookie pilots alive than he is with defeating Vagan, and he takes a particular interest in Asemu... to the extent that he becomes a ParentalSubstitute because Asemu's ''actual'' dad is so distant. [[spoiler:He even does a HeroicSacrifice for him.]]

* Subverted in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', The Fang Clan leader was seen as a fatherly figure by his men, however when the leader himself was in danger, he [[WeHaveReserves sees his sons as disposable cannon fodders, and claimed as long as he was alive he could always rebuild a new family.]]. Fortunately his ambition was halted by Kenshiro.
* Yang Wen-li of ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' embodies this trope in all but appearance (being in his early 30s and having a surprisingly delicate appearance is somewhat at odds with the classic visual perception of this archetype). Several of his own mentors, such as Alexander Bucock and Sidney Sitolet, also are examples of this trope in action (and have the wizened appearance that customarily goes with it).
* Captain Bruno J. Global, of ''Anime/{{Macross}}'', and thus ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' especially to Misa Hayase. Not just to his immediate bridge crew, but also to various fighter pilots he happens to know despite the isolation of command. In the novelization of Robotech, when the BridgeBunnies start dating aliens, [[OverprotectiveDad he's frustrated that they're not actually his daughters so that he can set a curfew or anything]].
** Subverted in ''[[Anime/MacrossFrontier Frontier]]'', though, in that it's the ''Quarter'''s helmsman, Lt. Bobby Margot who is the TeamDad, to the point that the BridgeBunnies team is commonly called "Bobby's daughters". [[CoolOldGuy Captain Wilder]], despite otherwise qualifying, prefers to distance himself from the crew somewhat (well, until [[LikesOlderWomen Monica Lange]] starts [[MayDecemberRomance actively courting him]]).
* Maj. Andrei Kalinin is this to Sousuke in ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', while Richard Mardukas seems to be the hardass version to everybody else, although in a twist he is particularly so toward Tessa, who is technically his superior but seems to respond to him more as a father figure.
** These cases are more justified, though; Mardukas was best friends with Tessa's father, and Kalinin legally adopted Sosuke.
* The pirate Whitebeard is like this to his men in ''Manga/OnePiece.'' He explicitly refers to his crewmen as his sons, and they in turn call him "Oyaji" (which can mean father). Whitebeard is well-known to go to ''any'' length to avenge the death of any of his crew. When one of Whitebeard's crewmen is tricked into turning on him, Whitebeard's response is to call the man a fool, provide a CooldownHug, and tell his "foolish son" he still loves him.
** While Whitebeard may be the most explicit example, Luffy's dedication to his crew and his friends is this trope in spades. He has done things for them that include but are not limited to climbing a mountain with bare hands and feet in the middle of a snowstorm, being frozen solid, and...oh, yes, declaring war on the entire world's law enforcement. And that's barely touching on how many times he's been beaten up, bitten, burned, poisoned, sliced, slashed, or otherwise put at death's door for the sake of his friends.
** A ''very'' warped version of this is none other than the villainous Arlong. His only good quality is that he's as [[BandOfBrothers attached to his men]] as Luffy is to his own; because of that, he takes at least four different levels of UnstoppableRage, each for his three defeated EliteMooks and one when Luffy uses a fallen Mook as a shield to his bite attack.
** On the Marines' side is Captain T-Bone, who is willing to tear apart his clothing to provide bandages for a train car full of injured soldiers. The extent to which he goes creeps some of the soldiers out, such as a bandage for a small bug bite. However, they are still loyal to him.
*** The Punk Hazard character [[spoiler:Vice-Admiral Vergo]] puts up a front of this, but doesn't really care for his subordinates at all.
*** Conversely, Vice-Admiral Smoker, even if he doesn't show it, cares for his subordinates deeply. [[spoiler:[[ItsPersonal Which is why he went after Vergo for harming said subordinates,]] and went so far as to perform an EnemyMine with Trafalgar Law to take him out.]]
** "Big Mom" Charlotte Linlin's men calls her mama [[spoiler: but she '''averts''' the hell out of this trope by randomly eating one of her henchmen for no reason.]]
** Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and, pre-TimeSkip, the one about whom the least was known; one of his earliest appearances was giving a ruthless YouHaveFailedMe treatment to a subordinate who made the mistake of pressing Luffy's BerserkButton. But post-Time Skip, when more of his backstory is revealed (including the fact that he's TheDon of a worldwide [[TheMafia Mafia]]), he seems to fit this trope to a T, and it's shown that all of his closest subordinates care for him enough to die for him. [[spoiler: Too bad the feeling isn't mutual. While Doflamingo cares about his top Officers more than his mooks, that won't stop him from ordering them to die for him. And if an officer betrays him, than they'll get no mercy. (Baby-5, the unstable NinjaMaid, seems to be an exception, due to her [[ExtremeDoormat personality]]. As Law says, Doflamingo's care for someone only goes as far as how useful they are to his ambitions.]]
* Ash Ketchum of the Pokémon Anime. He takes very good care of his Pokémon and will gladly work with them to overcome any problems they may be facing. More humorously, in some more recent episodes, he'll scold them if they're misbehaving, like a father dealing with his misbehaving kids.
* Alexander Anderson, of ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', has a sternly parental relationship with the younger members of Iscariot (at least some of whom he actually ''raised'' in the orphanage he works at) that becomes readily apparent in later volumes. [[spoiler:Before going into his final fight with Alucard, he orders the subordinate members of the Iscariot advance guard to go back home to the Vatican, but they disobey, staying behind to help him get to the front of Alucard's soul army at the cost of many of their own lives.]]
* In ''Anime/GalaxyAngel'', Colonel Volcott is Forte's father figure, having taken her into his care from an early age.
* Yuma Ansecto in ''Manga/RaveMaster'' took in war orphans who grew up to form LaResistance. They call him "Daddy."

* To become a Hokage in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', one must care deeply for everyone in the village. [[BadassGrandpa Hiruzen Sarutobi]] loved everyone in his village so much, he gladly died for them. This is what makes [[spoiler:the Uchiha Massacre even more devastating for him personally. He basically had to [[OffingTheOffSpring off]] the entire clan to save the village.]] When he saw what Orochimaru did to his men, sacrificing them to raise the previous Hokages, he [[ManlyTears cried]] and berated his old student, rightly claiming that Orochimaru didn't learn anything.
** From what's been shown of them, nearly every Kage that has ever existed has been [[TrueCompanions either]] [[PapaWolf a father]] ([[LadyOfWar or]] [[MamaBear mother]]) to their men, even the [[TheCaligula Fourth Mizukage]], who was implied to be so before [[spoiler:he became BrainwashedAndCrazy.]]
* [[LightNovel/{{Baccano}} Luck Gandor]] [[TheMafia may not be the most moral of men]], but ''damn'' if he doesn't care for his mooks. If you ever happen to work under him rest assured that, should you fall in the next [[MobWar mafia turf squabble]] (or even on your lunch break, really), he will honor your service to him and pay his respects to you -- [[PapaWolf then he will hunt down the men responsible for your death and he will]] ''[[ItsPersonal make them pay]]''. If they're lucky, [[AndThisIsFor he'll personally beat them to death with a chair]]. [[CementShoes If]] [[AFateWorseThanDeath they're]] ''[[AndIMustScream lucky]]''.
* [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Misato Katsuragi]] tries to be this. Her success is more than slightly undermined by her own personal issues but at least she puts the effort in... which is rather more than can be said for Gendo...
* Balalaika in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' is a rather warped version of this. She actually was the commanding officer of her men when they were part of the Soviet military, and now that they're...no longer in the military, Balalaika's concern for her subordinates are her PetTheDog moments. If you attack ''any'' of this [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bitch's]] men, [[MamaBear you will be DEAD]].
** Note this extends to her part-time employees as well, most notably the Lagoon Company. She might be utterly ruthless, but her recurring PetTheDog trait is her unswerving loyalty to her comrades, regardless of duration.
* [[Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind Princess Kushana]] is quite close to her Third Army and always has a little trouble coping with casualties.
* Although she can be harsh, Sister Kate of ''ChronoCrusade'' genuinely cares for all of the exorcists under her command and often treats them as her children. In fact, she's generally portrayed as being harsh towards [[HotBlooded Rosette]] because she ''does'' care for her and is concerned for her.
* General Tiedoll in ''DGrayMan''. Kanda doesn't appreciate it ''at all''.
* Villainous example: MadScientist Jail Scaglietti from MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha. Despite being the BigBad and showing quite the thing for destruction, he regards the Number Cyborgs as his masterpieces and shows quite the care or them. [[spoiler: Even to the HeelFaceTurn-ed ones.]]
* [[SoraNoWoto Lieutenant Filicia Heideman]] is [[GenderFlipped A Mother To Her Women]], and a [[MamaBear vicious one]] if pushed. She's not above commiting minor (and major) treasonous acts for their well-being.
* ''CaptainTsubasa'' has Hikaru Matsuyama, both during his time in the Furano Junior High team, and in the national team. It's thanks to him and this quality of his that the national team doesn't crumble after the humiliating CurbStompBattle at the hands of the Real Japan 7 team, the expulsion of the regulars, and the brutal TrainingFromHell from Coach Gamo in the World Youth Saga.
** Being the captain of Japan and the titular hero, Tsubasa also displays this quality, albeit not as proeminently as Matsuyama.
* Professor Zorndyke from ''Anime/BlueSubmarineNo6'' applies in every interpretation of this trope. The literal creator of an entire army and race of chimeras, whose appearances range from adorable to nightmarish, Zorndyke is looked upon more as a father than a military power by his children. This feeling is mutual in that he cares for all his children and teaches them how to speak, read, and often prays for their safety. This relationship is often shown through his interactions with his son Zerg. As the series goes on we see that Zerg does everything in an effort to please his father and make him proud (He also never refers to him as anything else but "Papa"). Probably the crowning moment of this trope was at the end of the series were all of Zorndyke's children carried their father's body into the sea for burial. The moment is truly saddening and tear jerking, even more so when Verg appears, exhausted and dying from his own wounds, who upon seeing his father's shrouded body cradles him and cries like an child, screaming for his Papa.
* [[BigBad Marciano]] of ''Anime/CoyoteRagtimeShow'' is a considered a mother to her QuirkyMinibossSquad, the 12 Sisters, who refer to her as such. [[spoiler: Since she and the Sisters are all RidiculouslyHumanRobots, they're as close to mother and daughters as they can be.]]
* Meta Knight in the VideoGame/{{Kirby}} anime is this to Sword and Blade. He saved their lives, they serve him out of gratitude, and they tell people how great of a person he is and how he always looks out for them.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has Andreas Darlton, a Britannian general and part of [[LadyOfWar Princess Cornelia's]] military staff. He's a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and the first Britannian to give Suzaku a fair chance despite his race, and even supports the young man's being knighted after he proves himself. The trope is also literal: Darlton adopted five orphaned soldiers, serving as both their commander and father figure, training them up to become the elite soldiers known as the Glaston Knights (who are, in turn, fiercely loyal to their "father").
** Cornelia herself is a CoolBigSister for her men, especially her bodyguard. He has a really hard time convincing her to run away and let him buy her time. Seriously if you watch this episode alone, it's impossible to figure Cornelia is the BigBad.
* [[MeaningfulName Doctor Franken Stein]] from ''Manga/SoulEater'' has [[MadScientist a few screws loose]], but his students love him, and he cares for them more than he lets on.
* The plot of ''Manga/{{Dorohedoro}}'' begins when the central character, Kaiman, kills a magic user. He does this every day, and in fairly large amounts, but this one was working for En, a major player in the Magic World, and he is ''very'' angry to find out someone's picking off his men. Later chapters show that En regularly treats his employees to various special events.
* Several of the Guild Masters display this trait in ''Manga/FairyTail'':
** Master Makarov treats his guild like his family, even referring to them as "my children" (one of them is his biological grandson to boot), and has gone PapaWolf (along with one instance of attempted HeroicSacrifice) when they were attacked.
** [[CampGay Master Bob]] of Blue Pegasus seems to have a similarly fatherly relationship with his guild, offering concerned advice to its members.
** Obaba of Lamia Scale acts like a grouchy old lady; but since very few people can compel mages as powerful as Jura and Lyon to do something, it's likely that they hold a lot of affection for her as well.
* ''{{Claymore}}'''s Miria is this (well, [[ImprobablyFemaleCast a mother to her women and girls]]), to the point of being able to draw in recruits to her cause with just a few sentences, and [[ChronicHeroSyndrome beating herself up to the point of tears]] when her followers get killed (which [[TheMenFirst she takes every personal risk possible to prevent]]).
* Dan Roana is a female example from ''Anime/BladeAndSoul''. She gets a lot of respect from her underlings because she looks out for them and usually has their best interests in mind. She tells Alka about it in episode 3, stating that they largely formed the group because they had no one else to rely on after they or their friends/relatives were attacked by Jin Varrel and Palam.
* Miho Nishizumi in ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' lives this trope. [[spoiler:She was kicked off her old school's Tankery team for abandoning her tank to save some drowning team mates.]] At her new school, when the Tankery elective is revived, she shows in a lot of ways that she cares about every one of her team mates...and they respond by being willing to dare and do the impossible for her sake.

* Captain Gi-gang in ''Manga/YonaOfTheDawn'' treats all of the crew on her ship like her kids, despite her grumpy exterior. As Yona has little memory of her own mother, the two became surprisingly close while the heroes served under her.

* At first played straight, then [[spoiler:horrifically and utterly subverted]] with [[MagnificentBastard Griffith]] and his [[BadassArmy Band of the Hawk]] of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}''. Yes, he ''did'' genuinely care for the people in his army, even going as far as to personally get to know them himself. However, after finding a dead child he'd grown attached to and suffering a HeroicBSOD (Which lead him to sell himself for one night to a [[DepravedHomosexual perverted]] [[AllGaysArePedophiles Baron]] for money), he realized he had to emotionally distance from his troops, essentially reaching the point where he saw them more as tools than people. [[HoYay Well, except for Guts, that

* At first played straight, then [[spoiler:horrifically and utterly subverted]] with [[MagnificentBastard Griffith]] and his [[BadassArmy Band of the Hawk]] of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}''. Yes, he ''did'' genuinely care for the people in his army, even going as far as to personally get to know them himself. However, after finding a dead child he'd grown attached to and suffering a HeroicBSOD (Which lead him to sell himself for one night to a [[DepravedHomosexual perverted]] [[AllGaysArePedophiles Baron]] for money), he realized he had to emotionally distance from his troops, essentially reaching the point where he saw them more as tools than people. [[HoYay Well, except for Guts, that is]].

** Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and, pre-TimeSkip, the one about whom the least was known; one of his earliest appearances was giving a ruthless YouHaveFailedMe treatment to a subordinate who made the mistake of pressing Luffy's BerserkButton. But post-Time Skip, when more of his backstory is revealed (including the fact that he's TheDon of a worldwide [[TheMafia Mafia]]), he fits this trope to a T, and it's shown that all of his closest subordinates care for him enough to die for him.

* Yuma Ansecto in ''RaveMaster'' took in war orphans who grew up to form LaResistance. They call him "Daddy."

* The plot of ''{{Dorohedoro}}'' begins when the central character, Kaiman, kills a magic user. He does this every day, and in fairly large amounts, but this one was working for En, a major player in the Magic World, and he is ''very'' angry to find out someone's picking off his men. Later chapters show that En regularly treats his employees to various special events.

* At first played straight, then [[spoiler:horrifically and utterly subverted]] with [[MagnificentBastard Griffith]] and his [[BadassArmy Band of the Hawk]] of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}''. Yes, he ''did'' genuinely cared for the people in his army, even going as far as to personally get to know them himself. However, after finding a dead child he'd grown attached to and suffering a HeroicBSOD (Which lead him to sell himself for one night to a [[DepravedHomosexual perverted]] [[AllGaysArePedophiles Baron]] for money), he realized he had to emotionally distance from his troops, essentially reaching the point where he saw them more as tools than people. [[HoYay Well, except for Guts, that is]].

** Mwu La Flaga is a unique example of this. In ''MobileSuitGundamSEED'' he was the only experienced soldier and AcePilot above the Archangel; as such, he had a fatherly attitude toward her crew of teenagers to young adults. As Neo Roanoke in ''MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', he again displayed a fatherly attitude to his subordinates (one of the few [[CharClone Char Clones]] to do so), namely the Extended team under his command.

** Also from the Zekes, [[The08thMSTeam Rear Admiral Yuri Kellarny]], who honestly and earnestly cares for his men despite being loud, obnoxious, and pissing off Ginias because he thinks it's fun. Most exemplified in episode 9 ''The Front Line''.

* The UrExample of this in anime is of course, the Franchise/{{Gundam}} saga's Captain Bright Noa. One of the Universal Century's [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam most]] [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam recurring]] [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ main]] [[CharsCounterAttack characters]], Bright is world-famous for both the fatherly atmosphere he projects towards those under his charge, as well as for [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan smacking the fail out of the more angsty ones]].
** However he [[{{Irony}} utterly fails]] to [[ParentalAbandonment raise his own son]], apparently, if we are to believe ''Hathaway's Flash''. Being a career military man left him separated from his actual family for most of his life. (Though being based on the substantially altered novelization of ''[[CharsCounterattack CCA]]'', ''Hathaway's Flash'' is semi-canonical at best.)

** In the sequel, Haise Sasaki's primary method of leadership seems to involve treating his subordinates like a surrogate family. He confesses that he isn't a particularly ''good'' leader when it comes to discipline and is criticized for being too lenient with them. The team even live together, with him cooking their meals and Saiko affectionately referring to him as "Maman". Nothing punches his BerserkButton like threats to his "children", and in return they are ([[TokenEvilTeammate mostly]]) fiercely loyal to him.

* Captain Bruno J. Global, of ''{{Macross}}'', and thus ''{{Robotech}}'' especially to Misa Hayase. Not just to his immediate bridge crew, but also to various fighter pilots he happens to know despite the isolation of command. In the novelization of Robotech, when the BridgeBunnies start dating aliens, [[OverprotectiveDad he's frustrated that they're not actually his daughters so that he can set a curfew or anything]].
** Subverted in [[MacrossFrontier Frontier]], though, in that it's the ''Quarter'''s helmsman, Lt. Bobby Margot who is the TeamDad, to the point that the BridgeBunnies team is commonly called "Bobby's daughters". [[CoolOldGuy Captain Wilder]], despite otherwise qualifying, prefers to distance himself from the crew somewhat (well, until [[LikesOlderWomen Monica Lange]] starts [[MayDecemberRomance actively courting him]]).

* Yang Wen-li of ''LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' embodies this trope in all but appearance (being in his early 30s and having a surprisingly delicate appearance is somewhat at odds with the classic visual perception of this archetype). Several of his own mentors, such as Alexander Bucock and Sidney Sitolet, also are examples of this trope in action (and have the wizened appearance that customarily goes with it).

* [[BigBad Marciano]] of CoyoteRagtimeShow is a considered a mother to her QuirkyMinibossSquad, the 12 Sisters, who refer to her as such. [[spoiler: Since she and the Sisters are all RidiculouslyHumanRobots, they're as close to mother and daughters as they can be.]]

* Professor Zorndyke from ''BlueSubmarineNo6'' applies in every interpretation of this trope. The literal creator of an entire army and race of chimeras, whose appearances range from adorable to nightmarish, Zorndyke is looked upon more as a father than a military power by his children. This feeling is mutual in that he cares for all his children and teaches them how to speak, read, and often prays for their safety. This relationship is often shown through his interactions with his son Zerg. As the series goes on we see that Zerg does everything in an effort to please his father and make him proud (He also never refers to him as anything else but "Papa"). Probably the crowning moment of this trope was at the end of the series were all of Zorndyke's children carried their father's body into the sea for burial. The moment is truly saddening and tear jerking, even more so when Verg appears, exhausted and dying from his own wounds, who upon seeing his father's shrouded body cradles him and cries like an child, screaming for his Papa.