History Main / PositiveFriendInfluence

* ''WesternAnimation/OkKoLetsBeHeroes'' has K.O. playing this to his coworkers, but most prominently Enid, who becomes increasingly protective of him.

** Uraraka also plays this role to Midoriya early on in the Battle Trial Arc, where being pitted up against [[TheBully Bak]][[TheRival ugo]] causes Izuku's self-doubt to start breaking his spirits. But Uraraka just being
a nice and friendly person to him and reframing Katsuki's childhood insult of 'Deku' into something positive for him leads to him to take the once-insult as his hero name and take on Bakugo in the trial, ultimately winning.

** Asuna has also displayed this during the "Mother's Rosario" arc, helping [[IllGirl Yuuki]] to feel happier and want to get the most out of life.

A Positive Friend Influence is a character that helps others within their social circle, be it their friends, family or RagtagBunchOfMisfits, to start making their way on overcoming their issues and become better people. They often play TheHeart to the group, or even the MoralityPet. More often than not, the character that is being helped genuinely never experienced being on the receiving end of such kindness or is simply amazed at how this positive friend's actions bear results or simply by the friend being a genuine nice person who shows heroic attributes.

TruthInTelevision, there really is such a thing as positive influence when it comes to people, and hanging out with good people can help you become better as well.

A character with this trope often has traits of AllLovingHero, IdealHero, TheHeart and often EndearinglyDorky.

* [[AllLovingHero Goku]] from ''Manga/DragonBall'' tends to have this effect on others. In fact nearly all of his friends started off as enemies or rivals, before a DefeatMeansFriendship occurs and Goku wins them over. It took an especially long time for [[AntiHero Vegeta]] to come round, but the Saiyan prince later admits Goku's kindness had infected him and he had become a better person.

* ''Manga/FoodWars'' has the titular Yukihira Soma as the trigger to Megumi's development, as he teaches her to have confidence in herself, never give up, and face challenges head on. By the Autumn TournamentArc, she has learned to stand up for herself as she faces the very threatening Kurokiba without trembling.

** Midoriya has traits of TheParagon in training, since he intends to succeed the current one to Japan, he plays this to Class 1-A and to Shinso. In Class 1-A, his influence forces Iida to [[HeelRealization notice that being driven by revenge is no action for a hero]]; Todoroki confront his [[AbusiveParents father's controlling ways]] as well as the unhealthy way he had been dealing with the trauma; Mineta work harder towards being a hero after watching Midoriya try his best in USJ; and his battle with Shinso ends with the latter deciding to work towards being a hero even if he can't get in the hero course, with implications he started training under Aizawa. His relationship with Uraraka starts as this, up until she starts falling for him.

** Ash even plays the role of positive influences towards many people that are closest to him, his traveling companions, and some of his rivals.

** Kirito was this for his would be friends and party members, such as Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, and Sinon. Prior to meeting Kirito they tended to keep to themselves, lacked confidence, or both. But hanging around Kirito would inspire them to open up and feel safer.

*** In canon after dealing with the [[spoiler: Refrain, Lelouch didn't intervene with the circumstances involving Kallen's mother. Here, he uses his Geass to not only make sure she doesn't serve jail time but to arrange for her and Kallen to live in an apartment, away from Kallen's cruel stepmother.]]

* In Fanfic/{{Icarus}}, this goes both ways with Lelouch & Lloyd, Cécile, and ASEEC. Suzaku ended up walking into a tighter group who loves and support Lelouch to the point they disliked Schneizel for nearly killing Lelouch and Suzaku. Lelouch, having an support system he can trust and rely on, started to lean on his friends and family more and made mentally healthier choices - including not killing Clovis as he realize Clovis and Cornelia still loves and misses the vi Britannias and accepting his identity as a prince, returning to the royal family - as they gently admonished him they are here to help as his trust issues are tackled as a result.

* ''FanFic/ARabbitAmongWolves'': After accidentally killing Adam Taurus, Jaune finds himself in charge of a group of White Fang members. While he seeks to reform them for mostly self-serving reasons, his kindness and optimism gradually convinces them to moderate. [[spoiler:He later does so to Adam's spirit haunting him as well, after the ghost of Taurus is forced to see Jaune's peaceful methods and kind leadership are honestly better than his. Adam eventually repents and assists Jaune.]]

** In her first proper conversation with Willow, Buffy encourages her to seize the moment and ask out a boy. Hell, she directly and indirectly inspired her friends to come out of their shells (Willow and Tara), unlock their hidden potential (Xander) or become better people (Cordelia, Angel and Spike).
** Xander can sometimes be relied on to get people on the right track with some wise words, getting Buffy out of her crisis of confidence and helping her through her Spike's infatuation, giving Willow some male perspective on her relationship with Oz and telling Dawn that just because she has no superpowers that doesn't mean she's not special.
** Tara helps Buffy through her breakup with Riley, her mother's death and her relationship with Spike. Really, she's the glue of the group.

** June learns that she needs to grow out of her NaiveEverygirl status and become more assertive to get the things she want, and that she can't just trust everyone and be nice all the time if she wants to live in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. Furthermore, she decides to enjoy life more, especially when around Chloe, who knows [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl every bar and cool party in town]].

* On ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Jake Sisko is a positive influence for his friend Nog, helping him go from an illiterate troublemaker to a gung-ho Starfleet officer.

** The plot is kicked off by [[PlayerCharacter Max]] returning to her home town to attend a private school after moving away 5 years ago, shortly after the death of her best friend Chloe's father (implied to be the reason they slowly fell out of contact). In the present, Max has become withdrawn and lacking in confidence (despite her talent as a photographer) and Chloe has become a rebel without a cause; both to the point of an AmbiguousDisorder. Chloe's mother, Joyce, hopes that Max will be able to invoke this trope, although it ends up being mutual (Chloe helps Max be more outgoing; Max helps rein Chloe in and gives her emotional support).

** Rachel Amber befriended Chloe after Max left, and (if Chloe's anything to go by) helped support her as she and Max drifted apart in the aftermath of William's death. Unfortunately she disappeared some time before Max returned; Chloe has not taken it well. The prequel game ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm'' explores this in more detail, [[spoiler:but implies that she might have been something of a Toxic Friend Influence, having introduce Chloe to a lot of the bad habits and company she has in the original game.]]

* ''VideoGame/NightInTheWoods'': In Bea's route, she will play this to the WomanChild Mae. Because Bea is bitter over Mae getting the chances she could never have and not even caring due to her own immaturity, she will call Mae out on her behavior, how she can't just waltz through life not caring, as well as being a burden for everyone else, her parents and friends especially, to support. In face of that, and of all Bea suffered between [[spoiler:her father's dismissive attitude, her mother's death, and working with a possible sexual abuser]], Mae is forced in the realization she has to grow up and mature.

* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'': The chilled out, but shy, Dale and cranky and abrasive robot May bring out the best in each other. Dale brings out May's kinder instincts, introduces her to new people and showed her compassion when she really needed it. May gave Dale a solid push towards admitting his feelings to the girl he liked, and brings out his more passionate side.

** Throughout the first season, it was becoming increasing clear that the Plantars, Sprig in particular, were having a good affect on [[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy Anne Boonchuy]], who had started off as a TroubledTeen due to the [[ToxicFriendInfluence toxic influence]] of her friendship with [[Characters/AmphibiaSashaWaybright Sasha Waybright]] and [[Characters/AmphibiaMarcyWu Marcy Wu]]. The results of her CharacterDevelopment were shown in the first season finale, when her eyes were finally opened to how much of a controlling jerk Sasha really was.

* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'': Most prominently, Hollyhock in season 4, [=BoJack=]'s possible illegitimate daughter, [[spoiler:actually his half-sister through the same father.]] While they live together, [=BoJack=] starts noticing more about himself and the way he ''should'' be behaving around her now that he is potentially a father. By the end of the season, [=BoJack=] made large strives in his CharacterDevelopment, becoming more mindful of others, especially Princess Carolyn, Beatrice, Todd, and Diane. This is also partially because of the trauma he suffered the previous season and the events of "The Old Sugarman Place". [[spoiler: Her cutting ties with him, when she later discovers the details of some of his worst treatment of other young women, is a key factor in his final downward spiral in the show]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Throughout the show, it becomes increasingly clear that [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]] has become a good influence on nearly everyone she meets. This is especially prominent with [[Characters/TheOwlHouseAmityBlight Amity Blight]], who mentions in "Escaping Expulsion" that part of the reason why she hangs out with Luz, Willow, and Gus is because they encourage her to be a better person.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': {{Invoked|Trope}} by [[Characters/RickAndMortyRickSanchez Rick Sanchez]] and [[Characters/RickAndMortyBethSmith Beth Smith]] in the "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS1E1Pilot first episode]]", them stating that by being around Rick, [[Characters/RickAndMortyMortySmith Morty Smith]], who had a FriendlessBackground, can improve in academics, because he has the same genius potential his grandfather; Rick proves it by showing that Morty has gained a large knowledge of advanced physics. This turns out to be a ruse, as Morty acquired a short-lived super intelligence due to an alien seed that dissolved inside him and isn't really more than average intelligence. Long term, [[{{Subverted|Trope}} this isn't true]], as Morty grows to become cynical, ruthless, and more like Rick in a bad sense as the show goes on.

** Prince Hugo, who went from being an arrogant, misogynistic bully desperately seeking his father's approval to a kind,selfless team player willing to do what he loved openly without hiding it.

** Princesses Hildegard, Clio, and Vivian: a SpoiledBrat, YesMan, and ShrinkingViolet, respectively, under Sofia's tuition they became less selfish, more confident and less shy.
** Her mentor Chrysta, who learned to be more accepting of humans and willing to open herself up to others rather than be cold, aloof, and haughty.

* In ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut2021'', a flashback showed that as a child, Reagan had a friend who was considered to be a positive influence on her upbringing to the point that her principal advised against letting her skip fourth grade for the sake of her emotional development. Unfortunately [[spoiler:her father Rand saw the friend as a moron who was potentially infecting his daughter with his mediocrity and not only ignored the principal but erased all memory of the friend from Reagan's mind. The result was that Reagan grew up to be incredibly intelligent but emotionally stunted, which her father considers a positive.]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'': Ren takes it pretty bad whe he finds out that Kido is rubbing off on him and he just can't keep the same jerkass facade as before. Having a heart somewhere people can stab it is definitely not desirable in a ThereCanBeOnlyOne conflict. Kido can survive that, but he is too annoying to die. That doesn't count.
* ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'': Emu rarely succeeds at directly convincing people to stop being jerks despite his best tries and much to his disappointment. Without him, Taiga and Hiiro wouldn't have any reason to work together. If they didn't have any reason to work together, they wouldn't have any time to figure out that trying to murder each other is actually pretty stupid.
** Oddly enough, Taiga is a good influence on Nico as hanging out with him teaches her responsibility. Nico brings out the better him that he buried to get by on his self destructive mission. They didn't mean to care about each other, so the distress does stir up their relationship a lot. Nico did a lot to make Taiga less of jerk too.
* ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'': Sento goes from here into ContagiousHeroism as he inspires people to be their best selves and fight alongside him for the sake of love and peace. Kazumi sourly notes that Sento's optimism and ideals are infectious. They rubbed off on everyone in nascita gang (including Kazumi).
* ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'': Tsukuyomi tries to be a good influence on Sougo, so he wouldn't become [[TheCaligula Ohma]] [[HeroKiller Zi-O]], the overlord of time. It's ambigious how much it works or how much it can influence the fated events.
** Oddly enough, Sougo is a good influence on Geiz, smoothing out his agressive, straightforward attitude to be more reasonable and strategical. Considering how this might help Geiz kill Sougo, it's a good influence, but probably not a good thing.

** Throughout the first season, it was becoming increasing clear that the Plantars, Sprig in particular, were having a good affect on Anne, who had started off as a TroubledTeen due to the [[ToxicFriendInfluence toxic influence]] of her friendship with Sasha and Marcy. The results of her CharacterDevelopment were shown in the first season finale, when her eyes were finally opened to how much of a controlling jerk Sasha really was.
** [[spoiler:In direct contrast to Anne, who had friendships that were initially toxic but eventually improved, King Andrias in his youth once had friends that were a good influence on him only to have a falling out with them. When he was the prince of Amphibia, he was under pressure from his father, then King Aldrich, to live up to his family's legacy of being {{Planet Loot|ers}}ing, multiverse-scale [[MultiversalConqueror conquerors]], but his friends, a frog named Leif and a toad called Barrel, started bringing out his better side by showing him how to actually have fun. It got to the point that Aldrich had to do a little {{Gaslighting}} by sewing seeds of doubt into Andrias in order to prevent him from turning against him, which was compounded by Leif's betrayal and theft of the Calamity Box, resulting in Andrias cutting ties with her and Barrel (who suffered from NeutralityBacklash), believing they were actually {{False Friend}}s. It gives Andrias's character a bit of TragicVillain as it shows how he really could've been TheGoodKing rather than a BitchInSheepsClothing had his friendship with Leif and Barrel not soured]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Throughout the show, it becomes increasingly clear that Luz has become a good influence on nearly everyone she meets. This is especially prominent with Amity, who mentions in "Escaping Expulsion" that part of the reason why she hangs out with Luz, Willow, and Gus is because they encourage her to be a better person.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Invoked by Rick and Beth in the first episode, them stating that by being around Rick, Morty, who had a FriendlessBackground, can improve in academics, because he has the same genius potential his grandfather; Rick proves it by showing that Morty has gained a large knowledge of advanced physics. This turns out to be a ruse, as Morty acquired a short-lived super intelligence due to an alien seed that dissolved inside him and isn't really more than average intelligence. Long term, [[{{Subverted|Trope}} this isn't true]], as Morty grows to become cynical, ruthless, and more like Rick in a bad sense as the show goes on.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': The titular AllLovingHero Steven plays this to several characters in the city, but especially to the Crystal Gems, who have a boatload of issues showing up as time goes, ranging from self-loathing to outright [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed PTSD]].

** [[spoiler:In direct contrast to Anne, who had friendships that were initially toxic but eventually improved, King Andrias in his youth once had friends that were a good influence on him only to have a falling out with them. When he was the prince of Amphibia, he was under pressure from his father, then King Aldrich, to live up to his family's legacy of being {{Planet Loot|ers}}ing MultiversalConquerors, but his friends, a frog named Leif and a toad called Barrel, started bringing out a better side to him by showing him how to actually have fun. It got to the point that Aldrich had to do a little {{Gaslighting}} by sewing seeds of doubt into Andrias, which was compounded by Leif's betrayal and theft of the Calamity Box, resulting in Andrias cutting ties with her and Barrel (who suffered from NeutralityBacklash), believing they were actually FalseFriends. It gives Andrias's character a bit of TragicVillain as it shows how he really could've been TheGoodKing rather than a BitchInSheepsClothing had his friendship with Leif and Barrel not soured]].

** [[spoiler:In direct contrast to Anne, King Andrias in his youth was friends with a frog and toad named Leif and Barrel. While he was under pressure from his father Aldrich to live up to his family's legacy of being PlanetLooters, Leif and Barrel were bringing out a better side to him by showing him how to actually have fun. It got to the point that Aldrich had to do a little {{Gaslighting}} by sewing seeds of doubt into Andrias, which was compounded by Leif's betrayal and theft of the Calamity Box. It gives Andrias's character a bit of TragicVillain as it shows how he really could've been TheGoodKing rather than a BitchInSheepsClothing had his friendship with Leif and Barrel not soured]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}'':
** Throughout the first season, it was becoming increasing clear that the Plantars, Sprig in particular, were having a good affect on Anne, who had started off as a TroubledTeen due to the toxic influence of her friendship with Sasha and Marcy. The results of her CharacterDevelopment were shown in the first season finale, when her eyes were finally opened to how much of a controlling jerk Sasha really was.

* ''FanFic/ARabbitAmongWolves'': After accidentally killing Adam Taurus, Jaune finds himself in charge of a group of White Fang members. While he seeks to reform them for mostly self-serving reasons, his kindness and optimism gradually convinces them to moderate.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':

* [[PluckyComicRelief Puck]] from ''Manga/Berserk'' is this trope in spades to TheProtagonist [[MeaningfulName Guts]]. Someone like [[ThePollyana Puck]] who is always cheerful and happy no matter what truly pulls Guts away from the [[SociopathicHero worst]] [[{{Sadist}} aspects]] [[TheBerserker of his]] [[VillainProtagonist personality]].

* In the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' trilogy, Commander Shepherd can be this depending on [[VideoGameCaringPotential the player’s choices and certain how certain missions play out across the trilogy.]]

* ''Manga/FoodWars'' has the titular Yukihira Soma as the trigger to Megumi's development, as he teaches her to have confidence in herself, never give up, and face challenges head on. By the Autumn TournamentArc, she has learned to stand up to herself as she faces the very threatening Kurokiba without trembling.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' has, most prominently, the Miles' HeelFaceTurn after the first game, largely resulting from rebuilding his friendship with Phoenix.

** Lelouch having people he can completely trust has made him far nicer than he was in canon, while also allowing him to grow as a leader. Additionally, he's sorted through a fair amount of his family issues that, in canon, costed him dearly. He's also lost many of his negative character traits (his tendency to deceive his allies and act impulsively when Nunnally is in danger being the most obvious) and made efforts to open up more to his companions and actually ''be'' a person.