History WhatYouAreInTheDark / AnimeAndManga

** A villainous example is the Count Apostle. When he's about to die, he manages to activate a Beherit and summon the God Hand for help; the price they ask is the life of the Count's daughter. He finds himself unable to sacrifice her, and as a result he's DraggedOffToHell.

* ''Manga/DragonBall'': Goku’s goal, at one point, is to steal a jug of water from the sage training him, Korin. At one point, while Korin is asleep, Goku wakes up early and strongly considers swiping the jug then and there, but opts against it, rationalizing that he’d feel better if he earned it the right way. The fake-sleeping Korin is impressed by his purity, and Goku’s virtuousness is paid off when he successfully grabs the water on his own, [[WaxOnWaxOff gaining a lot of speed and strength in the process]].

* In the [[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa manga adaptation]] of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', When Agahnim is about to kill a poisoned and delirious Link in the desert, Ghanti throws a sword at him to send him away [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou to give herself a chance to do the job herself]]. Despite having a good chance to finish off Link, she is unable to go through with it.

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', after Zenitsu Agatsuma's proper character introduction in the Drum House arc puts most of his negative traits on the forefront, the arc's closure actually shines some light on the goodness inside Zenitsu as he protects Tanjiro's box without ever being asked to do so, nor Tanjiro seeing it at first, throwing his body as a shield to protect it against Inosuke trying to kill the demon inside, neither knowing at the time that Nezuko is Tanjiro's sister, an unique good-natured demon whom Tanjiro has sworn to protect and cure one day; Zenitsu defends the box with his life out of the simple fact he sees the box as something Tanjiro values more than anything, and Zenitsu can actually sense there's a demon inside all along.

** He frequently helps his crush Anna Yamada with anything she needs without her noticing or expecting her to notice. At one point by cutting his study group's poster during their presentation to divert the class's attention away from Yamada's direction (They were looking for an Osprey outside) to keep them from seeing her crying for screwing up her group's first poster (Only to immediately get over it when ''she'' notices the Osprey. She's weird like that.)

** After finding Yamada crying to herself from a nose injury she suffered and runs out of tissues, he leaves a bunch of his own tissue packs in the library room for her to use and hides behind a bookcase to watch her. (She uses them as napkins for her chips instead, but the gesture clearly cheered her up anyway.)
* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', after Zenitsu Agatsuma's proper character introduction in the Drum House arc put most of his negative traits on the forefront, the arc's closure actually shines some light on the goodness inside Zenitsu as he protects Tanjiro's box without ever being asked to do so, nor Tanjiro seeing it at first, throwing his body as a shield to protect it against Inosuke trying to kill the demon inside, neither knew at the time Nezuko was Tanjiro's sister, an unique good-natured demon whom Tanjiro swore to protect and cure one day; Zenitsu defended the box with his life out of the simple fact he saw the box as something Tanjiro valued more than anything, and Zenitsu could actually sense there was a demon inside all along.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Mr. Satan is initially a GloryHound and FakeUltimateHero, but he certainly has the ''heart'' of a hero if nothing else. This is exhibited mid-way through the Buu arc when he's left to his own devices with the titular villain; after promising to the public to kill him and failing via various means, he sees Buu's friendly nature and befriends him instead. The full extent of his moral character is shown at the end, where he tries to fight Kid Buu despite knowing he doesn't stand a chance, and helps contribute to the Spirit Bomb that ultimately finishes him off.

* In ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', Batou corners a serial killer he had been chasing in order to exact revenge on him for slaughtering a village full of innocent people. He has the opportunity to kill him without anybody asking questions (in fact, the CIA agents working with him [[BatmanGambit were banking on this to happen]]). However, Batou reminds the killer (and himself) that he's a law enforcement officer now, not a soldier, and promptly arrests him.
* In ''Manga/GlassMask'', [[TheRival Ayumi]] heads to a secluded valley in secret for one last acting exercise before going home, convinced she cannot defeat the protagonist, Maya, for the coveted role of the Crimson Goddess. A passing farmer warns her that the bridge to the valley is rotting out, and shortly afterwards, Ayumi spots Maya coming down the same path. Realizing that she'd get the role if Maya fell, Ayumi pretends not to have seen her...but ultimately runs back to pull her up when she hears Maya scream. This also inspires her to go back and face Maya with her own skills, rather than relying on underhanded means like the other celebrities she'd always despised.

* During the Sick Visit arc of ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Hayasaka leaves Shirogane alone with a feverish Kaguya making it very clear that no one will interrupt them no matter what he does and that Kaguya won't remember any of this tomorrow. He could molest her and get away with it, but of course never really considers it. He could ''also'' take advantage of her impaired mental state to 'cheat' in their game of wits by asking her highly personal questions that she would never answer if she was coherent. The only thing he asks is if it's his fault that she's sick[[note]]Technically yes, but only because of her own actions, though she isn't capable of explaining this[[/note]] and touching her lips with one finger even after she drags him into bed herself and falls asleep.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': The UA Practical Exam is designed with this in mind. The applicants are told to eliminate robots worth a variety of points; there is also a 0-point robot that is only an obstacle. What they are not told is that saving someone is worth "rescue points." Midoriya passes because he broke both legs and an arm destroying the 0-point robot to save a classmate. Iida notes that he himself failed that part, since he abandoned a classmate who was seemingly helpless. He says he would have done better in a real emergency, but he's clearly just trying to convince himself. [[spoiler:During the very real fight with Stain, he ignores a fallen friend to fight Stain for vengeance, something Stain takes note of]].

* The defining moment of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion: The End of Evangelion'': [[spoiler:Shinji Ikari has the choice of returning to life (and allowing others to do the same) or dooming humanity to an eternity as a single non-sentient organism. Nobody would EVER know if he chose to die. Nobody would judge him for it. The decision was his and his alone. He proved, for possibly the only time in the series, that he truly was the hero by deciding to return to life, even though it would be painful and lonely.]]

** Everyone knows that Zoro is one of the main good guys and despite him [[TheStoic not showing it as often]], he does look after the crew. The end of Thriller Bark [[spoiler: shows ''exactly'' what kind of lengths he would go for them, as he fully intended to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself]] as part of the deal to Kuma to spare the others.]] After this happens, Sanji catches Zoro standing still some time later, surrounded by a pool of his own blood. When Sanji asks what happened in a panic, all Zoro has to say is "[[BlatantLies nothing happened]]".

* In ''Literature/RollOverAndDie'', Milkit is loyal to Flum and cares for her ‘Master’, but [[spoiler:she proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt at the end of Volume 3/Episode 4. When Flum is captured by Satils, it would be understandable that Milkit would want to take shelter when she was advised to. However, she refuses to, and she insists on doing anything she can to save Flum.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', the entirety of [[spoiler:Griffith sacrificing the Band of the Hawk during the Eclipse is framed as this. To the outside world, especially after returning as the Hawk of Light, Griffith is revered as a [[MessianicArchetype messiah]] and savior of mankind, and the last bastion of hope against the dark horrors of the setting's CrapsackWorld. [[DramaticIrony What nobody else knows]] is that Griffith was given a choice by the four other God Hand; he will get to have a second chance if he sacrifices everyone he ever led and cared for to become a God Hand, and absolutely nobody will know of what he did except the God Hand themselves. Needless to say, [[ForegoneConclusion you can]] probably [[FaceHeelTurn guess how]] ''that'' [[BloodbathVillainOrigin turned out]]. And indeed, nobody ''would'' have been able to remember what Griffith did [[SpannerInTheWorks if it wasn't for the Skull Knight's timely intervention]]; without it, Guts and Casca wouldn't have survived, and Rickert would've never learned the [[MoralEventHorizon utter atrocities]] Griffith committed in the Eclipse]].

** Touma has defeated Fiamma of the Right, a extremely powerful magician that has become an enemy of the entire world, and the two of them are stuck in Fiamma's flying fortress, which is falling towards the ground. Fiamma accepts his loss and prepares himself for his death, but he's surprised when Touma helps him up and starts carrying him to the last escape pod. Fiamma questions his actions and points out out that the pod is only capable of saving one of them, and Touma replies without pause that then Fiamma needs to escape. Fiamma is left dumbfounded when he realizes Touma is completely serious, even when he could return home as the hero who defeated the [[BigBad mastermind]] that instigated [[WorldWarIII World War III]] and nobody would criticize him for leaving him behind, instead very likely being praised for finishing him off. This and Touma's actions during their previous fight [[HeelFaceTurn completely change Fiamma's outlook]], motivating him to fight to protect the world he had tried to forcibly purify before and granting him a newfound respect towards Touma's way of saving people he had previously mocked.

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', after Zenitsu Agatsuma's proper character introduction in the Drum House arc put most of his negative traits on the forefront, the arc's closure actually shines some light on the goodness inside Zenitsu as he protects Tanjiro's box without ever being asked to do so, nor Tanjiro seeing it at first, throwing his body as a shield to protect it against Inosuke trying to kill the demon inside, neither knew at the time Nezuko was Tanjiro's sister, an unique good natured demon whom Tanjiro swore to protect and cure one day; Zenitsu defended the box with his life out of the simple fact he saw the box as something Tanjiro valued more than anything, and Zenitsu could actually sense there was a demon inside all along.

* ''Manga/TimeStopBrave'': Kuzuno Sekai can stop time. He often uses this to indulge in hedonistic desires like stripping women naked. However, he also uses this power to protect and save lives. Fury, one of the only people who knows what he can do, says he is admirable because he could easily use this power to run away from the various threats and no one could ever catch him, but he instead does his best to make sure everyone is safe. He also does his best to pay back people he stole money from while time was frozen.

** Everyone knows that Zoro is one of the main good guys and despite him [[TheStoic not showing it as often]], he does look after the crew. The end of Thriller Bark [[spoiler: shows ''exactly'' what kind of lengths he would go for them, as he fully intended to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself]] as part of the deal to Kuma to spare the others.]] After this happens, Sanji catches Zoro standing still some time later, surrounded by a pool of his own blood. When Sanji asks what happened in a panic, all Zoro has to say is "nothing happened."

* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'': Kyōtarō Ichikawa is a pessimistic loner with a bad habit of resorting to negative dismissal [[HopeIsScary to cope with his low self-esteem.]] He's frequently placed into situations where he's no more than a witness who no one even notices, much less him expect or prompt into doing anything. He goes for it anyway against his own comfort zone.
** He frequently helps his crush Anna Yamada with anything she needs without her noticing or expecting her to notice. At one point by cutting his study group's poster during their presentation to divert the class's attention away from Yamada's direction (They were looking for an Osprey outside) to keep them from seeing her crying for screwing up her group's first poster (Only to immediately get over it once ''she'' notices the Osprey. She's weird like that.)

** After finding Yamada crying to herself from a nose injury she suffered, he leaves a bunch of tissue packs in the library room for her to use and hides behind a bookcase to watch her. (She uses them as napkins for her chips instead, but the gesture clearly cheered her up anyway.)

** During Usopp's introductory arc, he was willing to take on the entirety of Captain Kuro's men without his village even being aware of the danger. This nobility gained him the respect and aid of Luffy and the others.
** Usopp's fights also tend to be examples of this. Especially his first real battle of the series. His opponent [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Choo]] is his physical superior in every conceivable way, and Usopp survives his first encounter by playing dead. As he starts covering himself in dirt to make his excuse for letting Choo leave more believable, he realizes he doesn't ''want'' to be a coward and a liar, stands up to Choo while scared to death, and actually comes out on top and wins. To Usopp's credit, he was certainly FASTER than Choo.
** During the Alabasta arc, despite taking a massive amount of punishment from Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4, [[IronButtMonkey Usopp keeps standing right back up]]. Initially, he ''had'' planned on running after one too many failed gambits, but when Miss Merry Christmas claimed that Crocodile had killed Luffy, all thoughts of retreat fled from Usopp's mind. For all his cowardice, he has absolute faith that his captain will become the King of the Pirates, and [[BerserkButton if anyone suggests that Luffy could die before that happens?]] Usopp may be the weakest of the Straw Hats, but ''[[LetsGetDangerous he's still a Straw Hat]].''

* In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', when Jaco takes Bulma to see Master Zuno, he sees that Burp Man is the one ahead of him in line. He could arrest the guy then and there, but he posits that it'll lead to Burp Man telling the Galactic Patrol that Jaco used him as TheScapegoat when Jaco himself destroyed a valuable monument. He's about to leave the guy to his devices when Bulma mentions that Beerus threatened to destroy Universe 7, and that they'll all have to hope he was joking. With the universe on the line, despite the fact that he'd be in the clear if he just ignored Burp Man, Jaco then risks getting caught, subdues Burp Man when he takes a hostage, and gains Bulma audience with Zuno.