History Main / PillarsOfMoralCharacter

* While in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', everything Ed and Al do is out of brotherly love, in the subtitled track for [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime]], Edward comes off as unusually cold and Alphonse whiny and inept; this is because the primary motivating factors for Edward to restore his brother (and incidentally himself as well) are ''Giri'' (obligation due to duty to his family) and ''On'' (obligation due to the results of his screw-up). Making Edward seem distant emphasizes the weight of honor-debt he carries, while making Alphonse sound less sympathetic makes Edward's character all the more tragic. The dub goes above and beyond the call of {{Woolseyism}} to subtly change not just lines but also emotional tone to transform Edward's motivations from Duty into Brotherly Love.

Understanding the Pillars can often help clarify the motivations and drives of {{anime}} characters, and can sometimes explain significant differences in audience reaction in Japan vs. in 'The West'. In particular, Western audiences may find the emphasis on carefully tracking debts and obligations and putting societal obligations above personal fulfilment a jarring contrast to the Western love of spontaneity and cult of the individual. Dissonance can also come from the other direction: some Japanese authors, including Creator/RumikoTakahashi, are surprised by their [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff series' international popularity]] as they assumed the underlying values to be uniquely Japanese with no parallel in other societies.

* In the anime-inspired game ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', characters regain Essence by acting on any or all of four cardinal virtues: temperance, compassion, conviction, and valor. The first two are clearly connected to ''Giri'' and ''Ninjo'', and encourage similar acts of heroism (doing one's duty despite fear or temptation, protecting the weak, acting in accordance with noblesse oblige, uplifting mortals spiritually, etc).

* Gimu is directly referenced in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' as the debt an AI feels to humanity due to it's creation.

* In the 1990s, the top stars of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, Toshiaki Kawada, Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa, Wrestling/KentaKobashi and Akira Taue were [[FanNickname nicknamed]] "The Four Pillars" due to them all being hardworking, self sacrificing, honorable baby {{face}}s standing against an ever constant tide of {{Foreign Wrestling Heel}}s.[[/folder]]

-->-- '''Proverb from [[NewerThanTheyThink the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors (1882)]] [[ArcWords quoted to death]] by [[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Rand al'Thor]]'''

* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', the Draconis Combine emphasizes the ''Five Pillars''[[labelnote:note]]these do not explicitly overlap with the four pillars here, being named after precious materials (Gold, Steel, Jade, Ivory and Teak) and representing the 'supports' of the Draconis Combine (Gold is House Kurita and the rulers, Steel is the military, Jade is the economy and the merchants, Teak art and culture, and Ivory the state religion and guiding philosophy). The Ivory Pillar promotes the Pillars of Moral Character[[/labelnote]]especially ''giri'' and ''ninjo''. Fitting with the entire FeudalFuture and the Dracs pretending to be FeudalJapan [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]. Their CulturePolice are even called the Order of the Five Pillars.

* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', the Draconis Combine emphasizes the ''Five Pillars'', especially ''giri'' and ''ninjo''. Fitting with the entire FeudalFuture and the Dracs pretending to be FeudalJapan [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE]]. Their CulturePolice are even called the Order of the Five Pillars.

* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', Mest, one of the candidates for Fairy Tail's annual S-Class Exam, [[ManipulativeBastard takes advantage of]] ''On'' when he asks Wendy to be his partner, saying that he was a disciple of Mystogan, the person who took Wendy in when she was young and brought her to Cait Shelter. Wendy accepts, in spite of the fact that there's no benefit for her (only the candidate can be promoted) and her best friend Carla's opposition to it (since Carla's suspicious of Mest and thinks the exam is dangerous for Wendy). Carla argues that because Wendy helped Mystogan in Edolas, she should consider the debt repaid, but Wendy doesn't agree, though, and [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness becomes stubborn enough that she doesn't talk to Carla for a week]]. Unfortunately for Wendy, it turns out that Mest is lying(Mystogan only showed up to take jobs and put everyone else to sleep while he did) manipulate her into getting him on the island so that he can investigate it for the Council.

* In ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' Gimu is the reason Hatsu wanted to help Rachel continue to climb the tower.

* ''Giri'' is one of the core conflicts of [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Knuckles the Echidna]]'s character. Embodied by his struggle to balance his duty as guardian of the Master Emerald with his desire to lead his own life like [[WalkingTheEarth Sonic]] does. [[InformedAttribute Not that you'd know it]], given that he's been the series' poster-boy for {{Flanderization}}, MotiveDecay, TookALevelInDumbass, and all around CharacterDerailment since the mid-2000's. It's still [[AllThereInTheManual mentioned in all his character bios]] though.

* In the 1990s, the top stars of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, Toshiaki Kawada, Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa, Wrestling/KentaKobashi and Akira Taue were [[FanNickname nicknamed]] "The Four Pillars" due to them all being hardworking, self sacrificing, honorable baby {{face}}s standing against an ever constant tide of {{evil foreigner}}s.[[/folder]]

* Kurosawa's film ''Film/HighAndLow'', based on the 87th Precinct novel ''King's Ransom'' revolves around theses concepts, and what a wealthy man owes to his employees/retainers in return for their service and loyalty.

** ''Giri'' is a driving force behind Byakuya Kuchiki's character. As a ''very'' high class nobleman, he's required to follow a very strict duty code, which he has broken twice by marrying a commoner woman for love and by adopting his dead wife's little sister, as he promised to his dying wife. So, by breaking the code yet again in the Soul Society arc by stopping Rukia's execution, Byakuya would disgrace himself and the Kuchiki clan horribly... but if he ''didn't'' break the rules, his sister-in-law and pretty much the only living person he truly cares for would be executed...in which case he'd break the promise made to his late wife and be left completely alone. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. There's a theory that he threw his fight against Ichigo [[TakeAThirdOption to resolve the situation]] by allowing someone to rescue Rukia without personally breaking the law. It's also worth remembering that, when he got married and later adopted Rukia into the family, he was ''not'' yet the head of the family, so he wasn't in a position to say ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem.

--> '''Kilmer''': ''Giri''? What is that, like, ''honor''?
--> '''Ken''': ''Burden''. The burden that's hardest to bear.

* An episode of TheTransformers touched on this. The 3rd season episode "The Burden Hardest to Bear" sees Rodimus Prime grow increasingly sick of the mantle of leading the Autobots and all the responsibilities that come with it. This leads him to basically abandon his post and ditch the Matrix of Leadership so he can revert back to his youthful and carefree Hot Rod persona. Kup explained Rodimus' grief to one of the group's human allies using the concept of ''Giri'' (his translation of which becomes the episode's title) and discusses that Optimus and other prior leaders learned how to integrate the duty into their lives and their leadership. By the episode's end, Hot Rod learns a similar lesson while taking refuge at a Kendo dojo (the episode taking place in Japan) and respects the responsibility he has to the other Autobots while re-assuming his leadership position. Somewhat ironically, this episode about the perpetually anxious and self-doubting Rodimus finally embracing his position as the Autobot leader was the last episode to air before the writers resurrected Optimus Prime and thrust him back into the spotlight and Autobot Commander role, making the entire moral/character growth pretty much unnecessary.

* ''Giri'' drives the story of The47Ronin.

* In ''TheYakuza'' (1975), the character of Tanaka Ken owes a debt of honor to Harry Kilmer for saving the lives of his family after the war:

* For a long time the central conflict in many Japanese movies was ''giri'', what a character was expected to do vs. what he wanted to do. Film makers and old people lament that modern Japanese audiences don't care as much about this as they become more modernized. ''TwilightSamurai'' and ''TheHiddenBlade'' by Creator/YojiYamada both aim to bring ''giri'' to the contemporary audience in a way that humanizes the struggles of one's obligation/duty. And on the subject of ''giri'', the aforementioned scene in ''TheYakuza'' (''giri'' as ''burden'') is the closest thing in English to the spirit of the meaning of the word.

* ''Manga/{{Vagabond}}'' has MiyamotoMusashi effectively owing his life to Yoshioka Denshichirou who told him to stay alive and train until they can duel again the next year, since their first fight is interrupted by a fire in the dojo. Musashi does just this and ends up cutting him down. Nevertheless, even when the remaining heir to the Yoshioka plots his death by having all of their seventy remaining members attack him, before the fight he thanks them silently for his being "raised in the bosom of the Yoshioka" (as in that year given to him by Denshichirou he greatly improved), then [[spoiler:he kills them all]].

While the Pillars do have roots in earlier Japanese culture, the specific codification and formulation explained here was created during the 19th-century Meiji Restoration in reaction to a perceived moral decay and loss of national identity in the wake of the [[GunboatDiplomacy opening of Japan to western influences]]. It is similar to the late medieval concept of chivalry, in that the system of feudal obligations it references had already been superseded in many areas...and in that it ignores many aspects of historical feudalism that contradict its vision of what YeGoodeOldeDays were really about. Despite some re-thinking of [[ImperialJapan what]] [[KatanasOfTheRisingSun a military-centric]] 'honor' code had [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar contributed]] [[WorldWarTwo to]] in her post-war years, Japan still prizes obligation-based virtues more highly than Western [[note]]Here used in the post-World War II connotation of "Europe east of the Caucasus, the Anglosphere, and the Americas".[[/note]] cultures do.

->''Duty is heavier than a mountain; death is lighter than a feather.\\
-- '''Proverb from [[NewerThanTheyThink the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors (1882)]] [[ArcWords quoted to death]] by [[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Rand al'Thor]]'''

Understanding the Pillars can often help clarify the motivations and drives of {{anime}} characters, and can sometimes explain significant differences in audience reaction in Japan vs. in 'The West'. In particular, Western audiences may find the emphasis on carefully tracking debts and obligations and putting societal obligations above personal fulfilment a jarring contrast to the Western love of spontaneity and cult of the individual. Dissonance can also come from the other direction: some Japanese authors, including RumikoTakahashi, are surprised by their [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff series' international popularity]] as they assumed the underlying values to be uniquely Japanese with no parallel in other societies.

* In the 1990s, the top stars of Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, Genichiro Tenryu, Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi and Akira Taue were [[FanNickname nicknamed]] "The Four Pillars" due to them all being hardworking, self sacrificing, honorable baby {{face}}s standing against an ever constant tide of {{evil foreigner}}s.[[/folder]]