History Main / ConvenientlyAnOrphan

*** In ''FinalFantasyIII'', all the main characters are orphans, although three had been adopted and one was working for the king by the time the game begins.
*** Most of the main characters are orphans in ''FinalFantasyVIII'' as well, with the exception of Rinoa who was a RebelliousPrincess. Most side characters were as well as [=SeeD=] specifically recruit from orphanages, because that is what Gardens started off as. TykeBomb gone into a full blown army.
*** ''FinalFantasyIV'': Cecil and Kain were orphaned and taken in by King Baron, and Rydia becomes an orphan in-game. Edge orphans himself, killing his parents after they become chimarea. Polom and Porom are raised by Mysidia's elder and may or may not be orphans.
*** ''FinalFantasyV'' has the IdiotHero being an orphan at the game's beginning, the [[RebelliousPrincess rebellious princesses]] losing their father halfway through the game and the SixthRanger being a replacement for her dead grandpa, who was also her last relative. To sum up, in the end of the game, nobody in your party has elder family members left.
*** ''FinalFantasyVI'' has Terra, Edgar, and Saban explicitly stated as orphans as part of the plot. Gau is essentially and orphan. Relm may or may not be an orphan, it may just be a DisappearedDad. The rest of the cast never mention their families.
*** Zidane in ''FinalFantasyIX''. Truth be told, [[spoiler:he's revealed never to have had parents at all.]]
*** ''FinalFantasyXI'' has [[spoiler: Lion]], Prishe, Aphmau, and Lilith. (Although the last one is trying to avert the trope through TimeTravel.) Can we get Square into a 12-step program to deal with their addiction to this trope?
*** Both Vaan and Penelo from ''FinalFantasyXII''
*** Rafa and Malak in ''FinalFantasyTactics''.

* ''{{Disgaea}}'': Larharl and Etna are orphans. [[spoiler: At least, Laharl ''thinks'' he's one.]]

** Wait, ''what'' was that last one?!

* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Let's do a count off: Misato's parents: dead (father), unknown (mother). Asuka's parents: dead [[spoiler:sort of. Actually Unit 02]] (mother), abandoned her (father). Ritsuko's parents: dead. Rei's...parents? mother was lilith and father was a...test tube? no idea. Shinji: dead [[spoiler:sort of. Actually Unit 01]] (mother), and father...well...

* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Let's do a count off: Misato's parents: dead (father), unknown (mother). Asuka's parents: dead [[spoiler:sort of. Actually Unit 02]] (mother), abandoned her (father). Ritsuko's parents: dead. Rei's...parents? mother was lilith and father was a...test tube? no idea. Shinji: dead [[spoiler:sort of. Actually Unit 01]] (mother), and father...well, personally, This Troper believes that Shinji would have been better of with a dead [[ManipulativeBastard Gendo]] and Fuyuzuki in command...

* Pretty much the entire cast of Teen Titans is Conveniently Orphaned. In fact, the only one that has any real mention of their parent/family is Starfire, whose evil sister Blackfire is a mildly recurring bag guy(or girl), appearing at least once in every season.

* Simon of TengenToppaGurrenLagann lost his parents in an earthquake before the start of the series, so when his [[BloodBrothers blood brother]] Kamina decides they're going to the surface, he doesn't have anything holding him back. In a twist, Gimmy and Darry are chosen to go to the surface explicitly because they don't have family who will mourn their departure.

* Inuyasha from {{Inuyasha}} is so Conveniently Orphaned that he even gets a fancy, transforming, fang-sword out of it, complete with fluffy stuff around the handle.
* Edward and Alphonse of {{Fullmetal Alchemist}} are Conveniently Orphaned.... well, it's probably closer to Redundantly Orphaned, since they have the equivelant of family with Pinako and Winry, so they've gotta keep returning to Resembool anyway. And they don't even [[spoiler: stay orphaned, since Hoenheim reappears into their lives at the same approximate point in the manga when Ed stops having his hair braided all the time.]] However, [[spoiler: Hoenheim dies at the end and is buried with Trisha, and so Ed and Alphonse are once again Redundantly Orphaned]].

* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion: Let's do a count off: Misato's parents: dead (father), unknown (mother). Asuka's parents: dead [[spoiler:sort of. Actually Unit 02]] (mother), abandoned her (father). Ritsuko's parents: dead. Rei's...parents? mother was lilith and father was a...test tube? no idea. Shinji: dead [[spoiler:sort of. Actually Unit 01]] (mother), and father...well, personally, This Troper believes that Shinji would have been better of with a dead [[ManipulativeBastard Gendo]] and Fuyuzuki in command...

* [[SorcererStabberOrphen Orphen]].

* Most of the Strawhat crew in OnePiece are victims of this trope, often more than once. Both Nami and Franky, for example, were orphaned at a young age, but taken in and raised by a kind foster parent...only for them to die as well. But they've still got it better than Robin, who didn't just lose her parents, but HER ENTIRE HOME ISLAND, of which she is the only survivor. Most of the others seem to have absentee parents of one form or another; the only member whose mother and father are both seen is Usopp, a victim of both this trope AND {{parental abandonment}} (his dad left to become a pirate, and his mom died shortly after. You think he'd hate his dad, but he actually idolizes him.)