History Main / SamaritanRelationshipStarter

* In Episode 13 of the second season of ''WebVideo/DeathNoteTheAbridgedSeriesKpts4tv'', when Near reveals that Kira saved him from being molested, the FoeYay subtext becomes text-[[DatingCatwoman Near's still trying to catch Kira but their dialogue gets]] ''[[DatingCatwoman very]]'' [[DatingCatwoman flirty.]]

[[AC:FanWorks]]

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', Ochako's crush in Izuku begins after he saves her from the [[HumongousMecha Zero Pointer]] during U.A.'s Entrance Exam.

So AliceAndBob don't know each other yet, or Alice regards Bob with either indifference or dislike. But then, she witnesses him committing -- or becomes the recipient of -- some [[PetTheDog single act of kindness]] (rescuing someone from bullies, stopping to help someone with errands, etc.) that makes her think "maybe he's not so bad after all." This causes her to develop a blossoming crush on him, or otherwise shoehorns the two towards a romantic relationship.

Essentially, a form of RelationshipUpgrade that tends to happen very early on in the RomanceArc, if not start it entirely. RescueRomance, RescueIntroduction and ReturningTheHandkerchief are particularly common types of Samaritan Relationship Starter. A related trope is SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan, where one character is attracted to another because (s)he's usually like this.

* Prior to the start of ''Manga/{{Horimiya}}'', Hori only saw Miyamura as that gloomy looking long-haired guy in her class who kept to himself, always wore long sleeves, and was probably an otaku. Then he ended up helping her little brother when the latter was injured. Downplayed in that this simply led to the two of them becoming friends. The actual romance didn't come until later.

* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'': From what little detail Catarina has on it (since she never played the route before she died), courting Nicol in ''[[ShowWithinAShow Fortune Lover]]'' required showing kindness to [[BigBrotherInstinct his bullied little sister Sophia]]. Catarina ends up doing this by complete accident when she befriends Sophia due to their shared interest in romance novels [[spoiler:(plus the whole ReincarnationFriendship thing, but neither of them are aware of that).]]

** It's also happen with Haruka, who begin to appreciate [[{{Gonk}} Taishi/ Fatman]] after seeing him calming down a child using his TransformationSequence and free pizza on his own account. Taishi didn't know of this... and arranges a RescueRomance situation to impress her. HilarityEnsues. Then heartwarming ensues.
* In ''Manga/MidoriDays'', it's ''this trope'', not RescueRomance, that kickstarts Takako Ayase's crush towards Seiji Sawamura. Seiji does catch her attention after he rescues her from [[{{Delinquents}} school delinquents]], but she's still wary of him because she still believes he's a blood-thirsty fight seeker. It's only after witnessing Sawamura deliberately taking a beating without retaliating in order to save a friend and to defuse the hate the {{Delinquents}} have for him, that she falls in love with him.

* ''FanFic/ChildOfTheStorm'': Upon meeting Carol, one of the first things that Harry does is to defend her against a sexist jerk (not that [[GroinAttack she isn't quite capable of fending for herself]], but it's the thought that counts). He is then introduced to two more of her friends, one of whom is proudly CampGay and the other of whom is bald, but Harry barely bats an eye at either of their "noncomformities." Over the course of their RomanceArc, it's made ''very'' clear that SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan is in play, in part because he keeps his eyes on her face, unlike most teenage boys.

* This is what kickstarts the WillTheyOrWontThey for Barney and Robin in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', when Barney comforts Robin after she is dumped by a jerk boyfriend. They end up sleeping together, which leads to Barney realising he is in love with Robin.

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[NaiveEverygirl Shirley]] thinks [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]] is a cold, spoiled brat until she witnesses him helping out some strangers when no one else would, apparently a habit of his. And it wasn't just that he helped - it was that afterwards, he didn't boast or anything, he just went back to what he'd been doing as if nothing had happened. And he didn't seem to take any satisfaction in helping, as his face kept the same bored expression as usual. It made her start paying closer attention to him, to try to figure him out. Thus begins her infamous and [[BreakTheCutie tragic]] crush on him.
** [[AllThereInTheManual When they were children]], Lelouch and Suzaku had this mutually. They had been fighting since they met, but one day, Nunnally went missing. Both of them wanted to find her, but they refused to work together - until Suzaku found her first, and Lelouch sees her laugh for the first time since their mother was killed, because of Suzaku. After that, they become friends ([[ShipTease or more]]).

* Matsuri of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' met Suzu when she scolded an ayakashi to get it to stop scaring him. Grateful and impressed, Matsuri soon became ChildhoodFriends with her, and he remains fiercely dedicated to Suzu into their teens--by which point he had [[SelfServingMemory forgotten ever being afraid of ayakashi, or that this was how they met]].

* In Episode 13 of the second season of ''WebVideo/DeathNoteTheAbridgedSeriesKpts4tv'', when Near reveals that Kira saved him from being molested the FoeYay subtext becomes text-[[DatingCatwoman Near's still trying to catch Kira but their dialogue gets]] ''[[DatingCatwoman very]]'' [[DatingCatwoman flirty.]]

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', [[NaiveEverygirl Shirley]] thinks [[MagnificentBastard Lelouch]] is a cold, spoiled brat until she witnesses him helping out some strangers when no one else would, apparently a habit of his. And it wasn't just that he helped - it was that afterwards, he didn't boast or anything, he just went back to what he'd been doing as if nothing had happened. Thus begins her infamous and tragic crush on him.

-->-- '''Belle''', ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''

* ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'': When the Beast fights off wolves to save Belle, she takes a second look at him. The musical number "Something There," quoted at the top of the page, is a FallingInLoveMontage in which Belle realizes this.

* ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': Phoebus is attracted to Esmerelda from the get-go (as is basically every main character), but once he sees her stand up to Frollo and his guards to protect Quasimodo, it's definite. Esmerelda initially sees ''him'' as just another one of Frollo's mooks, but that changes for similar reasons.

* ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'': Nick and Judy are an intertwined example of this. Judy rescues Nick from a savage jaguar and then saves his life when they are both knocked off the Skytram platform which leads to Nick standing up to the DaChief for her sake and then opens up to her about his childhood trauma. This leads to a deep friendship forming between them.

** It's also happen with Haruka, who begin to appreciate [[{{Gonk}} Taishi/ Fatman]] after seeing him calming down a child using his TransformationSequence and free pizza on his own account. Taishi didn't know of this... and arranges a RescueRomance situation to impress her. HilarityEnsues. Then [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments heartwarming ensues]].

* It's established in a flashback that Shirogane from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' fell in love with Kaguya after seeing her rescue the Mass Media club president from drowning.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'', Courtney finds out that Duncan is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold when she sees him tricking DJ with a replacement Bunny so DJ wouldn't be sad.

Essentially, a form of RelationshipUpgrade that tends to happen very early on in the RomanceArc, if not start it entirely. RescueRomance, RescueIntroduction and ReturningTheHandkerchief are particularly common types of Samaritan Relationship Starter.

Essentially, a form of RelationshipUpgrade that tends to happen very early on in the RomanceArc, if not start it entirely. RescueRomance and ReturningTheHandkerchief are particularly common types of Samaritan Relationship Starter.

* Prior to the start of ''Manga/{{Horimiya}}'', Hori only saw Miyamura as that gloomy looking long-haired guy in her class who kept to himself, always wore long sleeves, and was probably an otaku. Then he ended up helping her little brother when the latter was injured. Downplayed in that this simply led to the two of them becoming friends. The actual romance didn't come until later.

* In the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' mod ''The Aielund Saga'', Criosa really starts to consider the male player character in this manner if you take the heroic dialogue options when helping out the dwarves at the start of chapter 3.

* In ''FanFic/TheVow'', Lord [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Shen]] and Lady [[DefrostingIceQueen Lianne]] start off on poor terms and for improvement to begin, it requires for her to openly defend him against slander said about his appearance and genetic health. This — along with the realization of how lonely she feels — makes him apologize for his behavior with an ApologyGift she can accept.

So AliceAndBob don't know each other yet, or Alice regards Bob with either indifference or dislike. But then, she witnesses him committing -- or becomes the recipient of -- some [[PetTheDog single act of kindness]] (rescuing someone from bullies, stopping to help someone with errands, etc.) that makes her think "maybe he's not so bad after all", causes her to develop a blossoming crush on him, or otherwise shoehorns the two towards a romantic relationship.

* ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' - When the Beast fights off wolves to save Belle, she takes a second look at him. The musical number ''Something There'', quoted at the top of the page, is a FallingInLoveMontage in which Belle realizes this.
* ''Film/GoodDick'' - The main character's relationship starts this way.
* ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' - Phoebus is attracted to Esmerelda from the get-go (as is basically every main character), but once he sees her stand up to Frollo and his guards to protect Quasimodo, it's definite. Esmerelda initially sees ''him'' as just another one of Frollo's mooks, but that changes for similar reasons.

* Deliciously played with in ''Film/RedEye'', which sort-of resembles a romantic comedy in the very beginning, before turning all creepy.
* ''Film/SilverLiningsPlaybook'' - Tiffany is touched when she overhears Pat standing up for her in a conversation with one of her former coworkers.

* This is what kickstarts the WillTheyOrWontThey for Barney and Robin in Series/HowIMetYourMother, when Barney comforts Robin after she is dumped by a jerk boyfriend. They end up sleeping together, which leads to Barney realising he is in love with Robin.

* In the VideoGame/NeverwinterNights mod The Aielund Saga, Criosa really starts to consider the male player character in this manner if you take the heroic dialogue options when helping out the dwarves at the start of chapter 3.