History Main / TheAntiNihilist

* Geralt of Rivia, from ''Franchise/TheWitcher'', does not believe in the gods (although he once came face to face with a PhysicalGod), does not believe in fate (although fate has intervened several times in his life) and is convinced that finally will die in a violent and lonely way. Yet he continues to kill dangerous creatures -- for money-, he remains faithful to his friends and remains true to his principles and his own code, which prevents him from killing harmless or intelligent creatures.

* Lelouch from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' ultimately believes in people's desire for the future and for peace. [[spoiler: So much so that [[HeroicSacrifice he willingly gives up his own life to finally bring peace to the world.]]]]

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics': Related to the example from ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'', in issue 172, Scourge (formerly "Evil Sonic") tries to steal the Joker's line: "All it takes is one bad day and you'd be just like me". However, Sonic turns it around on Scourge then and there: "All it would take is a bit of selflessness... a little bit of decency... and you'd be just like me." Scourge, not expecting Sonic to actually have a response to that, is left speechless in the moment and is still brooding over it twelve issues later.

* Related to the example from ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'', in issue 172 of [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Sonic the Hedgehog Archie comics]] Scourge (formerly "Evil Sonic") tries to steal the Joker's line: "All it takes is one bad day and you'd be just like me". Sonic turns it around on Scourge then and there, however, "All it would take is a bit of selflessness... a little bit of decency... and you'd be just like me." Scourge, not expecting Sonic to actually have a response to that, was left speechless in the moment and was still brooding over it twelve issues later.

* ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': Minor character Ore was killed in the first issue, the annual (coming out between issue 8 and 9) has him temporarily revived, and his dialogue reveals him to be one. At one point Swerve asks if he's a believer of any scientific or religious answer to life.

** Rock appears to be becoming this at first, namely when he finally stands up to Revy. Revy, herself a StrawNihilist, sees Rock’s attempts at sticking to any morals while living in [[WretchedHive Roanapur]] as stupid and foolish, saying there’s no “Robin Hood”. Rock turns this around on her; if there’s no Robin Hood, why doesn’t she ''become'' Robin Hood, instead of wallowing in self-pity? That said, Rock’s attempts at living up to his words over the course of the series keep blowing up in his face. [[spoiler: Just ask Hansel, Gretel, Yukio, or Ginji.]] These failures slowly start ''purging'' Rock of his morals and hopes to the point where, by the end of the Yakuza arc, Rock’s become a StrawNihilist. Rock admits as such to Balalaika at the end of that arc, saying that for him, being good isn’t about any kind of morals or principles or even necessarily out of the goodness of his own heart; for him, it’s just a hobby. The “El Baile De La Muerte Arc” explores the implications of this; part of his reason for trying to save Roberta is to win a bet with Mr. Chang, he outright refers to the whole affair as a “game”, and he’s willing to use Garcia, a child, as a pawn to fulfill his goal. Tellingly enough, when he’s confronted by Fabiola, an Anti-Nihilist, Rock dismisses her the same way Revy did.

* Fabiola from ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', as a counterpoint to Revy's [[StrawNihilist nihilism]]; she acknowledges that the world does suck, but it is not a justification to act on pointless violence, and believes that there are things that can be solved without said violence. [[ShutUpKirk Both Revy, and Rock tell her to shut up]] (though the former ironically doesn't respond well to the latter's current attitude).

* In ''Manhwa/TheTarotCafe'', immortals tend to find themselves jaded and disgusted with life. Pamela proves herself to be this trope when she talks to Belus [[spoiler:(actually the ''very'' crazed and angry demon Bellial)]] at the end of the series.
-->'''Pamela:''' It took me a long time to accept this abnormal life of mine... but going through so much made me realize that it's not how long one lives that's important... it's ''how'' one lives. I choose to live happily.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'': Similar to Planescape's Bleak Cabal, this is also canonically the attitude of the faithful of the Sovereign Host. People of Khorvaire know for a fact that the afterlife is a dreary, gray wasteland known as Dolurrh where the best they can hope for is for their soul to slowly fade away into nothingness. The gods are unresponsive, and angels and fiends can't say whether they even ''exist''. Despite that, the Sovereign Host teaches that life is for living and people should find meaning in creating the world they'll leave behind. Nearly every other religion's teachings have a hard time with this truth and include some idea about how ''their'' [[{{Cult}} faith will]] [[TheUndead let them]] [[PathOfInspiration escape Dolurrh.]]

* Tyalie from ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' puts a neat meta spin on this. Near the end, [[spoiler:she explains to the player that she knows she's a fictional character. She's known all along that her entire world is just a "trashy freeware game". But has she ever let that break her spirit? No. Instead, she chose to throw herself into her role with all her heart, hoping to make the experience as fun as it could possibly be for you, so that maybe -- just maybe -- you'll remember her when it's over. It's pretty clear that she was written this way as a direct response to the "angsty" meta-aware characters that have been popping up so often in games lately, like [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Sans]] and [[VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub Monika]].]]

It's important to note that, despite the trope's name, the Anti-Nihilist is ''still a nihilist.'' A character who is optimistic and life affirming and ''isn't'' a nihilist would likely be listed under SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers

May overlap with KnightInSourArmor, who is a character who, besides their cynical views, decided to be a good guy not because of the beliefs that it can change the world for better, but just because is the right thing to do. It could even apply to a KnightInShiningArmor who [[GoodIsNotDumb isn't naive about the world and is self-aware about it]] but insists on following a code of nobility in direct defiance to despair and hopelessness.

Benevolent examples of TheHedonist are also likely to fall under this trope.

IAmWhatIAm is the process of embracing the Anti-Nihilist worldview.

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'': Jin Kisaragi [[CharacterDevelopment grows]] into this character eventually. He was a rather extreme example of a BrokenAce, talented, handsome, and admired by many for his efforts, but due to his extremely troubled upbringing, Jin himself [[StrawNihilist found no meaning or pride in any of his accomplishments and grew up to believe nothing in the world mattered except death itself]]. He soon realizes that the problems of the world are a lot bigger than he originally thought. He never lets go of his nihilistic views, but decides its better to fight against the corruption that plagues the setting than do nothing. The speech he gives sums it up.