History Main / PositiveFriendInfluence

** [[spoiler:In [[{{Foil}} direct contrast to Anne]], who had friendships that were initially toxic but eventually improved, [[Characters/AmphibiaKingAndrias 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]].

** Throughout the first season, it was becoming increasingly clear that the Plantars, Sprig in particular, were having a good effect 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.

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** PlayedWith when it comes to Chloe and Marinette's relationship. Specifically, Chloe sees Marinette as somebody who can help her stay on the straight and narrow path as she seeks to [[MustMakeAmends make amends]] for how much of a SpoiledBrat she used to be. Notably, one of her first takeaways is that she shouldn't [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency expect to be rewarded for basic decency]], resulting in her doing good things ''without'' Marinette's knowledge... something that deeply impresses Marinette when she finds out through other means.

* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'': Hiccup was this to Astrid. Hiccup got her to be more open and empathic and cause her to become a more cheerful and happier person. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld''. Astrid tells Hiccup that she credits him with making her the person she is today.

* Fry in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' to both Bender and Leela, as he makes the former slightly less evil (though Bender would probably still describe him as a MoralityPet) and helps the latter to overcome her DarkAndTroubledPast. He's arguably a positive influence on the rest of the [[DysfunctionJunction Planet Express crew]] as well.

** Starfire served as this for the team. Her ever-present kind cheeriness would help the other Titans through dark days. The episode "[[Recap/TeenTitansS2E1HowLongIsForever How Long is Forever?]]" reveals a BadFuture where Starfire's absence [[BreakingTheFellowship caused the team to break apart]], but her return managed to bring them back together again.
** In another sense, all the Titans played a part in helping Raven become less brooding and more attentive and open to others, being more selfless instead of just seeking {{revenge}} against her father or running away from her fate.

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->''"She'd tell me I'm perfect the way I am and I would believe her, because, that sweet dummy, if she loves us, there must be something good about us.[...] You gotta admit, she makes us better people. I mean look at you, two months without her, you poison a [[UsefulNotes/GrammyAward Grammy]] winner."''

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

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

* In ''Fanfic/{{Icarus}}'', this goes both ways with Lelouch & Lloyd, Cécile, and ASEEC. Suzaku ended up walking into a tighter group that loves and supports Lelouch to the point they disliked Schneizel for nearly killing Lelouch and Suzaku. Lelouch, having a 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.

** PlayedWith when it comes to Chloe and Marinette's relationship. Specifically, Chloe sees Marinette as somebody who who can help her stay on the straight and narrow path as she seeks to [[MustMakeAmends make amends]] for how much of a SpoiledBrat she used to be. Notably, one of her first takeaways is that she shouldn't [[WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency expect to be rewarded for basic decency]], resulting in her doing good things ''without'' Marinette's knowledge... something that deeply impresses Marinette when she finds out through other means.

* ''Fanfic/UnfairRule'': Bloo is this to Mac. Bloo is not only a supporting friend that protects Mac from his bullying older brother Terrence, but Bloo encourages Mac to stand up for himself and not obey the rule that Terrence is left in charge that allows him to abuse Mac.

* ''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 into the realization she has to grow up and mature.

* ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'' has the protagonist play this at large to their fellow classmates, who are a bundle of [[DysfunctionJunction emotional and psychological messes with issues from low self-esteem to downright mental disorders]]. Often, they help a classmate through their fears, past traumas, and insecurities in the Free Time Events, and they end up with renewed strength and self-esteem, promising to better themselves once they get off the school[=/=]island. Examples include Makoto giving Leon strength to try to pursue a musical career and Hinata making Sonia calm down and feel more comfortable in her role as future queen.

* ''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 toward admitting his feelings to the girl he liked, and brings out his more passionate side.

* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': The titular princess does this throughout the show, her kind and determined nature and high morals, inherited from her mother, and propensity for seeing the good in everyone helping her to reform numerous characters throughout the entire run and even prompt numerous villains into making full-fledged HeelFaceTurn. Most notable amongst these are:

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemptionII'': While he is a criminal as well, Hosea Matthews' position as Dutch van der Linde's best friend and co-leader of the Van der Linde Gang, is the key factor in keeping Dutch's already fragile sanity intact. [[spoiler:Hosea's murder at the hands of Agent Milton]], as well as Dutch's head wound, causes Dutch to completely unravel, to the point Dutch believes Micah Bell ([[spoiler:the actual rat]]) when he claims that John Marston (a man Dutch and Hosea [[HasTwoDaddies raised together]] since he was 12 years old) is ratting them out to the Pinkertons.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemptionII'': While he is a criminal as well, Hosea Matthews' position as Dutch van der Linde's best friend and co-leader of the Van der Linde Gang, is the key factor in keeping Dutch's already fragile sanity intact. [[spoiler:Hosea's murder at the hands of Agent Milton]], as well as Dutch's head wound, causes Dutch to completely unravel, to the point Dutch believes Micah Bell ([[spoiler:the actual rat]]) when he claims that John Marston (a man Dutch and Hosea raised together since he was 12 years old) is ratting them out to the Pinkertons.

* In* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsAFairlyOddFriendship'': Gradually, the Rainbooms help Timmy become a kinder and more empathetic person. [[spoiler: Despite being angry enough at their duplicity to push them away, he still finds their influence and the lessons they sought to instill into him to be helpful on his personal journey to save Cosmo and Wanda]]. ''Fanfic/{{Icarus}}'', this goes both ways with Lelouch & Lloyd, Cécile, and ASEEC. Suzaku ended up walking into a tighter group that loves and supports Lelouch to the point they disliked Schneizel for nearly killing Lelouch and Suzaku. Lelouch, having a 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.

* [[PluckyComicRelief Puck]] from ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' is this trope in spades to TheProtagonist [[MeaningfulName Guts]]. Someone like [[ThePollyanna 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]].

** Contrast this with [[ToxicFriendInfluence Megatron's influence on Suzaku.]]

* In Fanfic/{{Icarus}}, this goes both ways with Lelouch & Lloyd, Cécile, and ASEEC. Suzaku ended up walking into a tighter group that loves and supports Lelouch to the point they disliked Schneizel for nearly killing Lelouch and Suzaku. Lelouch, having a 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 convince 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.]]
* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsAFairlyOddFriendship'': Gradually, the Rainbooms help Timmy become a kinder and more empathetic person. [[spoiler: Despite being angry enough at their duplicity to push them away, he still finds their influence and the lessons they sought to instill into him to be helpful on his personal journey to save Cosmo and Wanda]].
* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': Twilight Sparkle winds up being this to the unified Sirens and Dark Hunters, despite being taken as a hostage due to a misunderstanding. It helps the sirens had already gone through a minor HeelFaceTurn on their own into a neutral party and the Hunters were a group of PunchClockVillains and were receptive to her once the misunderstanding was quickly cleared up. By the end of the arc, the group all basically got a case of LimaSyndrome from her and changed for the better.

* ''Webcomic/DrFrost:'' Song says that since Frost came to the counseling center, he's become visibly more human and expressive, and she feels much of that progress is due to Yoon's influence.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003''

** The plot is kicked off by [[PlayerCharacter Max]] returning to her hometown 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).

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': The titular AllLovingHero [[Characters/StevenUniverseStevenQuartzUniverse Steven Quartz Universe]] 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]].

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemptionII'': While he is a criminal as well, Hosea Matthews' position as Dutch van der Linde's best friend and co-leader of the Van der Linde Gang, is the key factor in keeping Dutch's already fragile sanity intact. [[spoiler:Hosea's murder at the hands of Agent Milton]], as well as Dutch's head wound, causes Dutch to completely unravel, to the point Dutch believes Micah Bell's ([[spoiler:the actual rat]]) claims that John Marston (a man Dutch and Hosea raised together since he was 12 years old) is ratting them out to the Pinkerton.

* ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'' has the protagonist play this at large to their fellow classmates, who are a bundle of [[DysfunctionJunction emotional and psychological messes with issues from low self-esteem to downright mental disorders]]. Often, they help a classmate through their fears, past traumas, and insecurities in the Free Time Events, and they end up with renewed strength and self-esteem, promising to better themselves once they get off the school[=/=]island. Examples include Makoto giving Leon strength to try to pursue a musical career and Hinata making [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask Sonia]] calm down and feel more comfortable in her role as future queen.

** Tanjiro is the primary reason why Nezuko remained a good person even after turning into a demon, even with Urokodaki's hypnosis precautionary method it is Nezuko's bond with her brother that instigated her to develop into a demon that does not need human blood to live by, and preserved as much of her conscience as she could, turning into a simple minded demon who can't do too much thinking out of Tanjiro's good guidance.
** Zenitsu only starts growing out of his self-deprecating hell after finding Tanjiro, the second person after his master Jigoro, who saw anything of worth in him; Tanjiro honestly believed Zenitsu was a strong demon slayer from the start, to the point he finding out Zenitsu has a trance mode at all to truly become an efficient slayer actually comes off as surprise to Tanjiro later on; Zenitsu himself recognizes how much of a great friend Tanjiro is, admitting he truly is one of a kind after tragically being informed [[spoiler:his master died, via seppuku]].
** Inosuke is the poster wild warrior early in the series, completely insensitive to any conventional social empathy towards others, he actually prided himself in nothing caring about anything other than fighting strong individuals, Inosuke didn't even care about demons, he just wanted to fight the strongest beings, demons just happened to be what matched his target goal; still, slowly watching Tanjiro, seeing how stronger Tanjiro gets by being such an empathetic person, and in turn how hasty and short sighted Inosuke was when he encounters a true challenge he cannot overcome, pushes him to actually grow nicer and more cooperative towards others.

** Seems like a case of LikeFatherLikeSon, as Gohan also displays this tendency. He was able to help Piccolo turn over a new leaf, where he goes from the world enslaving Demon King to an HonoraryUncle who thinks of Gohan [[LikeASonToMe like a son]].

* ''Manga/HidokuShinaide'': Because he wants to be around the very studious and future-minded Nemugasa as much as possible, Maya dyes his hair back to black, removes his piercings, stops hanging out late with his friends and underage drinking, starts taking his studies seriously, and goes to college. This is acknowledged in universe by both Maya, who thanks Nemugasa directly for setting him on the right path, and Akira (Maya's cousin), who informs Nemugasa's mother as much when she assumes Maya is a ToxicFriendInfluence to Nemugasa.

* Nodoka Miyazaki in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' is this for her BestFriend Yue Ayase. A brief flashback shows what Yue was like before she became friends with Nodoka: Coming off the death off her beloved grandfather, Yue was a bitter young woman uninterested in making friends or anything else in her life. Yue admits to herself that thanks to Nodoka, she rediscovered that life is worth living and as the series progresses Yue becomes a hard-working, mature character.

** 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]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'': The protagonist, Zagreus, is a genuinely nice and kind young man, whose charisma and selflessness inspires others, as well as his active role in helping them through their issues, like reuniting Achilles with his long lost lover Patroclus, mending the issues between Orpheus and Eurydice, and especially, [[spoiler:challenging his family into dealing with their issues.]]

** 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 introduced Chloe to a lot of the bad habits and company she has in the original game.]]

* ''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 increasingly clear that the Plantars, Sprig in particular, were having a good effect 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.

** Starfire served as this for the team. Her ever-present kind, cheeriness would help the other Titans through dark days. The episode "[[Recap/TeenTitansS2E1HowLongIsForever How Long is Forever?]]" reveals a BadFuture where Starfire's absence [[BreakingTheFellowship caused the team to break apart]], but her return managed to bring them back together again.

* The cast of the game '' Fortune Lover'' in ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' were originally a DysfunctionJunction, but most of them are significantly better people in the story proper due to Katarina having befriended them when her PastLifeMemories lead her to throw the story OffTheRails (Mary's manipulative streak notwithstanding).

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

* ''Anime/SwordArtOnline'':

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys'': Governor Diane Foxington has this influence on gang leader Mr. Wolf, as she sympathizes with him and motivates him to change his and his friends' lives for the better by turning good [[spoiler:like she did before him]], and the new relationship between the two is one of the main reasons Wolf finally [[spoiler:turns good for real. Once he reforms, he has this influence on the rest of the gang, who he convinces to turn good with a BatmanGambit]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/InsideJob2021'', 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.]]

** [[spoiler:In direct contrast to Anne, who had friendships that were initially toxic but eventually improved, [[Characters/AmphibiaKingAndrias 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]].