Lonely Rich Kid / Anime & Manga

Lonely Rich Kids in Anime & Manga.

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Examples:

• This is Mayu Miyuki's Freudian Excuse in Ai Yori Aoshi. Her parents are never around and she only gets to see them counted times, and she met Kaoru when she ran away from her own birthday party because her parents didn't come to visit her even then.
• Ashita no Nadja: Back when Hermann was a kid, his father made him spend so much time training to inherit the Preminger Dukedom he never had a chance to make friends back then.
• Aversion: Mihama Chiyo out of Azumanga Daioh is shown as by far the richest of the girls, and has other reasons that she'd be isolated ... and is, of course, one of the happiest and most well-liked of her class. Not insanely happy, but generally cheerful. Granted, the audience never sees her parents, but they're never implied to be gone, just offscreen. Her dad seems to enjoy his life as an extradimensional talking cat secret agent who may or may not be Santa Claus.◊
• Battle Spirits Shonen Toppa Bashin:
  • J is extremely wealthy and a borderline celebrity. Despite this he's on poor terms with both his parents at the start of the series and didn't seem to have a single friend before meeting Bashin.
  • Suiren as well is popular and wealthy and didn't have any friends to speak of. Nor are her parents mentioned ever.
• Himekawa from Beelzebub. This is due to the fact that his best friend since kindergarten had betrayed him, and thus he hasn't been able to trust anyone else ever since. He does, however, seem to be healing now that he has Fire-Forged Friends with the fellow members of the Tohoshinki, Oga, and their respective subordinates. However, he is also most likely more screwed up as well considering the fact that said best friend that betrayed him lied to him about her gender and is apparently in love with him. It also doesn't help that they have an agreement between their families for an Arranged Marriage.
• Farnese from Berserk. Her older siblings were generations apart, her father was always away on business, and her mother took no role in parenting since she was always out partying. Thus, Farnese developed some, problems (and urges) due to a sense of Parental Abandonment, and would terrorize her servants and kill pets that didn't reach her expectations. This wasn't made any better when she was given a military position whose purpose was to burn people at the stake... Princess Charlotte and Theresia count as well, though Princess Charlotte has fared a bit better since she had one friend in her maid Anna and Theresia was at least okay when Puck came around and cheered her up, until her whole childhood was destroyed. Basically, if you're an aristocratic female in Berserk, your life is going to be an emotional mess.
• Yukari Fujioka from Billionaire Girl is a self-made example. She's an 18-year-old day trader who has successfully amassed a 170 billion yen fortune, but feels ashamed of her Otaku passion for the business and pretends to be a normal university student, as well as having difficulty making friends because of her wealth.

• Yukio Hans Voralberna from Bleach. Doubling as a Cute and Psycho.
• Takami "Komo" Komoda from Bokurano, especially in the manga. Her father is a high-ranked military man, so in grade school, Komo either was ignored or ostracized by the other kids until Maki Anou came along. As a result, she grew very aloof and slightly emotionally detached from the world.
• The F4 boys from Boys over Flowers display this trope in very different ways.
  • Domyoji Tsukasa's parents live in New York where their Corporate Empire is headquartered and at the beginning of the plot, he states that he hasn't seen them in years. His older sister Tsubaki, who had been largely responsible for his upbringing, leaves Japan to get married sometime before we meet him, leaving him alone in his Big Fancy House, besides the legions of servants whom he regularly abuses. His Parental Abandonment is cited by other characters as his Freudian Excuse for bullying/complete lack of respect for anyone/borderline psychopathic fits of rage. And once we meet his Evil Matriarch mother, well...
  • Hanazawa Rui is referred to as having an extremely strict childhood that left him prone to fits of near-catatonia as a child. This was eventually "cured" by The Power of Friendship in the form of his old friend and later girlfriend, Cool Big Sis Shizuka Todou, but it left him emotionally dependent on her.
  • Nishikado Sohjirou seems at first to be immune from this, but as more of his home life is revealed, he is shown to have parents who are highly emotionally distant and an older brother who abandoned the family business, leaving him to be The Dutiful Son. This is assumed to be the cause of his inability to develop lasting relationships.
  • Mimasaka Akira seems to be the only member immune from this despite that, at least in the j-Drama, his father is a Yakuza boss. In all incarnations, having a childish mother seems to be why he Likes Older Women.
• Captain Tsubasa has some of these:
  • El Si Pierre is the son of a French nobleman and tycoon who used to be either bullied or sucked up to for his family's riches and prestige. He began practising soccer to avert this problem since, in his view, soccer rules are the same for everyone, and this let him forge real friendships with time.
  • Mark Owairan is a real Arabian prince who spent several years locked inside his father's palace and discovered soccer only when he went out of his Gilded Cage with his bodyguards and saw a bunch of children playing in the streets. He was so fascinated that he started training and playing, rising to the top thanks to his own merits and not to his family's influences.
  • The first anime strongly implies that Genzo Wakabayashi is one. He lives in a Big Fancy House but his family is nowhere in sight, the only adult he interacts regularly with is his coach and Big Brother Mentor Mikami, and a later episode states that his parents are in London (probably due to his father's work) so one of Wakabayashi's reasons to move to Germany is being closer to them.
• Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. While he's more or less well-regarded in his school class, he has very few close friends (barring Meiling from the anime). Tomoyo apparently had some shares of this until Sakura befriended her.
• Case Closed:
  • An episode of the first season brings up the kidnapping and murder of a high school girl named Naoko Takei, who happened to be Shinichi and Ran's classmate. She was the shy and quiet daughter of a Corrupt Corporate Executive, and in one of the dubs Shinichi/Conan literally refers to her as "that poor little rich girl". It turns out Naoko is alive; her captor was her dad's Sexy Secretary Akiko Hanai, who never intended to kill her... but wanted to punish Mr. Takei, who drove her dad to kill himself, her mother, and her little brother Masahito after causing the family's monetary ruin. Takei was actually such a Jerkass that he didn't really care for poor Naoko's safety, having given a ransom money that was all fake... which Akiko brutally calls him out on when she tries to kill him and herself as revenge. She even states that she probably would've abandoned the whole plan if he had cared enough to use real money. And in a glorious payback moment, as soon as she was released Naoko ignored her father calling out to her, ran to Akiko and forgave her for everything, leaving Takei with his hands empty.
  • Shinichi himself counts to a degree. His parents do love him, but they spend much more time in the USA than in Japan and, until he got shrunk and went to live with the Mouris, they left him alone in their Big Fancy House. Interestingly, this does not induce I Just Want to Have Friends but rather enforced his otaku image; his not-girlfriend Ran Mouri is pretty much Shinichi's Only Friend until he gets shrunk.
• The Case Files of Jeweler Richard: Richard's parents abandoned him after their divorce at an early age, leaving him to be raised by his aunt and uncle—wealthy English nobles, but ones that kept him homeschooled until he was shipped off to boarding school and discovered that his attempts at overtures of friendship were always taken romantically and barely had anyone he could call a friend.
• Tianzi from Code Geass. Being the figurehead Empress of China meant that she was like a bird in a Gilded Cage, except the cage was the Imperial Palace and she couldn't properly rule over her country, which was oppressed by her Evil Chancellors (who also wanted to either marry her off to a much older man or get her killed and replaced. Still, she had a devoted protector in The Ace of the series whom she once saved from execution, so...
• Akoya of Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! has been rich all his life but due to some unpleasant puns regarding his surname and his ability to act like an Upper-Class Twit (assumed to be self-protection against the aforementioned puns) he's been short on friends. He did get better after entering his high school's student council, though.
• Tomoko Saeki's Freudian Excuse in DNA² is how she's the richest girl at school, but is also desperately lonely. Not helped by how her mother died when she was a child, her dad works abroad, and her boyfriend Ryuuji is a Jerkass.
• Occurs in the backstory of Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail. After her mother Layla's death, she was raised by the staff of her family's manor, as her father Jude, being the workaholic executive he is, had no time for her. This eventually led to her becoming The Runaway after pulling a Screw This, I'm Outta Here and joining the eponymous guild after living on the road for a year.
• Takiko Okuda aka Genbu no Miko from Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden. Also Hotohori, as the son of the former Emperor of Konan and his mistress/the local Gold Digger. He later is orphaned and becomes The Emperor himself, which makes him even lonelier - so he latches on the legend of the Suzaku No Miko and falls for Miaka when she treats him as a person and not as the leader of the country.
• In Girls und Panzer, Miho had difficulty making friends as a child because no one else shared her interest in tankery.
• Ayumi Himekawa from Glass Mask is the rich daughter of two successful actors and is set on the path to follow in their footsteps. She has a lot of peers around telling her how great she is, but no real true friends. It's revealed later on that she was jealous of ordinary Maya Kitajima, not only because of her being naturally good at acting but because she had true friends by her side encouraging her, while Ayumi had nothing but pressure to live up to her family's legacy, which made her feel alone.
• Extra points for Great Teacher Onizuka:
  • Nanako's parents started out poor and nice and became less pleasant as they got rich. The protagonist solves the family problem without bankrupting them, however. With a sledgehammer.
  • A number of characters including Urumi and Miyabi fit the bill as well. While their parents aren't gone except Urumi, who doesn't know her father as anything more than a sperm donor, they're emotionally detached from them to the point they act out. Granted they have more issues than just this trope, but GTO prefers a cornucopia of issues for its characters.
  • Another one of the minor characters that Onizuka helps is the son of a Yakuza boss who has become a Hikkiko Mori because he didn't want to be ostracized by his peers because of his dad. (Later, he gets over it, and uses the fact that Daddy is in the Yakuza as a leverage point against bullies.)
• Gundam:
  • Relena Darlian from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is quite popular at her high-class school but doesn't seem to have any real friends at first, just admirers and would-be suitors. She seems to be aware of her condition, too, and while she's polite to the other kids she doesn't approach them either. Even her beloved father is (unwillingly) distant due to his extremely demanding job, and while Relena herself understands it she can't help being depressed. At first, her only friend seems to be her grandfatherly butler/chauffeur Pagan... until she meets The Stoic Hitman with a Heart protagonist and her life starts changing.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED's Ace Pilot and Big Brother Mentor Mu La Flaga was one of these as a child, courtesy of being rejected and disowned by his father, who had himself cloned in order to produce a more worthy heir. Also, Flay Alster starts as one of them, as her father George is an important politician whom she barely gets to see and her mother died when she was a little girl.
• Nagi Sanzennin from Hayate the Combat Butler pretty much gets hit full force by all aspects of this trope. Her parents are mentioned sometimes, but are practically nonexistent (both of them died when she was little). She's hesitant to even go outside her own house because every time she does, somebody tries to kidnap her for her wealth. Pretty much her only friends are fellow Lonely Rich Kids, the servants she keeps around (including Hayate), and her pet tiger Tama. Athena Tennos is another, especially in her backstory More exactly, when she kicks Hayate out after their fight but almost immediately falls into despair due to being magically locked in a Gilded Cage-like mansion.
• Princess Catherine of Romanek from Hello! Sandybell. Ricky was her first friend in a long time, and she was elated when he took her out and showed her around France. She especially loved seeing the water fountain. She eventually has to return to her country, and is sad to part ways with Ricky.
• Ai Shinozaki, the Ojou from Hell Teacher Nube. Lampshaded when she reveals her loneliness that led her to be possessed by a demon to Makoto and Nuubee and says it's one of the reasons is how she can't make true friends.
• Mayo Ojosa in Hitoribocchi no OO Seikatsu is lonely with her parents overseas. Then she befriends Bocchi and the others.

• Amy from IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix, although later her parents manage to make time for her.
• Usami from Junjou Romantica, until meeting Hiroki. His mother is shown as highly distant, his father is more or less not present, and his half-brother is constantly jealous of him. Misaki says to him "You've got the typical rich boy complex. Am I right? You grew up with a father who was never home and abandoned his parental responsibilities, while your mother indulged herself in her own hobbies. Thus, in your loneliness, you found companionship in my older brother who was in the same boat. You lived life without ever finding true understanding, and hence you strayed from the right path but found nothing but more loneliness. And on top of that, you own a red sports car and a longhaired dog named Alexander!" To which Usagi replies, "How did you know?"
• Kaguya from Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. She lives in a Big Fancy House separate from the rest of her family due to being an illegitimate child and is isolated from most of her peers with only two real friends to speak of at the beginning of the series. It also doesn't help that her family actively encourages her to become a cold-hearted manipulator.
• Serge Battour in Kaze to Ki no Uta, who is also a Heartwarming Orphan. His love interest Gilbert is also one of these, but that's the least of his problems.
• Kill la Kill exaggerates this into parody. The Mankanshoku family is happy despite their poverty, and their Horrible Housing means they share every meal and are crowded snugly together. Once-lonely Ryuko enjoys the closeness of her new family. However, Mako's success as a club president catapults her family up the social ladder. Within one episode they go from Rags to Riches and live in a vast mansion. They are also leading lives of luxury and hedonism, too busy to share meals. Ryuko sadly eats dinner by herself at a huge table, lonely again and missing poverty. She is even disappointed that the boys are not around to play Peeping Tom as she changes. Once Mako realizes how miserable they have become she renounces her high status, thereby hitting the Reset Button that sends her family back to their impoverished (but happy) life.
• Kotoura-san has Haruka, whose family apparently came from a landed gentry family. Although the reason for her loneliness was her own telepathic powers, which among others made her friendless and caused both of her parents to disown her.
• Lady!!: Sarah is the oldest child of the Russells, but is confined to her bed because of her sickness, and doesn't have any interest in making new friends because of her cynical worldview. When Lynn offers Sarah flowers in a feeble attempt to win her friendship, Sarah pushes them away and destroys them, leading Lynn to run off in tears.
• Prince Ludwig from Ludwig Revolution, if his friend and servant Wilhelm is to be believed. Wilhelm first met Ludwig in his room, surrounded by a ton of toys but nobody to play with him, which fits the image of this trope. But Ludwig himself is rather abrasive and behaves vitriolic to his servant.
• Lyrical Nanoha:
  • Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid: Victoria Dahlgrun, resident Ojou and the descendant of a different Ancient Belka royal family, is shown to only live with her butler like several rich characters. That said, she also has quite a few good friends in the tournament scene and frequently tries to reach out to the loner champion.
  • ViVid Strike!: If the scene of her being alone in her room and sadly calling out to Fuka in episode 1 is any indication, Rinne became this after her adoption to the Berlinetta family. It turns out that she's wasn't this in the beginning, since she was close to her adoptive grandfather before he passed away. What she did to her bullies who prevented her from being at her grandfather's deathbed also may have something to do with her current loner status in school; everyone is cordial to Rinne, but nobody actually is friends with her because they are afraid of her.

• Kougyoku in Magi: Labyrinth of Magic is a lonely princess most of the time, with her older brothers busy with affairs of the country, her older sisters married off to foreign countries and she is too timid to talk with the approachable Hakuryuu or Hakuei. Not to mention her status as a bastard child, making many people avoid her.
• Kaito Doumoto of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch is popular at school and has an Instant Fanclub, and hides his lonely brooding behind the mask of a carefree joker instead of a standoffish loner like most of these examples. His parents died in a storm at sea, leaving him with a vast amount of money, and he doesn't like to talk about it. It's only Lucia's perseverance and his growing suspicion that she might be the mermaid he's looking for that allows him to eventually open up to her.
  • Also Michal Amagi, a sickly girl whose older brother Rihito is pretty much the only person she talks to. Although he pours his riches into making her happy, she's so desperate and depressed that she thinks that he's wasting his energy on her. When Kaito shows her genuine kindness, she goes all-out Clingy Jealous Girl, throwing herself at him, practically chaining him to her mansion, and ready and willing to do anything to keep him from remembering Lucia because if he knows he has a real girlfriend, he won't want her anymore. Her Freak Out when he decides to move back home is both profoundly creepy and heartbreaking.
• The protagonist of Mouse was one for two reasons: one, his very old-fashioned family didn't have servants, it had slaves, and even when young Sorata was freaked out by that, and two; Sorata's...hobby...and meek personality (as, obviously, he never had to assert himself for any reason) made befriending 'normal' people difficult. Sorata's social skills improved after he became a teacher.

• The Alpha Bitch Miyuki from Nurse Angel Ririka SOS is rich and has a lot of friends but is shown to feel lonely because her father is distant due to work and rarely has time for her.
• Ojamajo Doremi:
  • Hazuki Fujiwara's father was a famous movie director and her mother is a popular fashion designer, but as much as they do genuinely care for her, they're so absorbed in their work that Hazuki's more usual companions are her landlady and the other Ojamajos.
  • The local Alpha Bitch, Reika Tamaki, also hits this trope to some degree. Her dad spoils her because he doesn't want to make her cry, but that shapes her into a spoiled Alpha Bitch who has a complete emotional meltdown when she starts doubting if her dad really loves her.
  • Averted with Onpu Segawa, who, when confronted with an empty house and a cold plate of plastic-wrapped food (on Christmas!) just went out to have fun with the other girls.
• Haru Jigokumeguri from Ojojojo was like this for most of her life due to her original friends shunning her for her social status. It played a major role in why she acts the way she does. The story starts off with her meeting Tsurezure, who goes on to be her first friend and eventual boyfriend.
• One Piece:
  • Kaya is stated by her butler Merry to be an awfully lonely girl, not helped by her Delicate and Sickly nature after her parents died. This is why Usopp became the biggest joy in her life when he knocked on her window to cheer her up with tall tales.
  • Sabo is a partial case. He grew up in a rich noble family and states to his orphan friends that even though he had parents, he felt more lonely than them. However, it was not as much that he was lonely as that he just didn't have someone who cared about him. This changed when he met Ace and Luffy.
  • Sanji’s only friends as a prince were mice and the only the family who gave a damn about him were his mother and sister (the former of whom died). Thankfully this changed when he found his way to East Blue and picked up some True Companions there.
  • Vivi similar to Kaya was inferred to be this with her sneaking out of the palace to join Kohza’s Street Urchin gang the Suna Suna Clan. Vivi’s father Cobra notes how good this is for her, not only as a future ruler but as a lonely little girl growing up with no children her age in a palace.
• Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club, who has few friends outside the Club. Double because he's a Heroic Bastard as well. Because of this, his Evil Matriarch of a grandmother makes him live in a smaller manor funded by but separate from her and his father, with an army of servants and a nanny, but no real family.
• PandoraHearts has a lot of these:
  • The most notable example is, of course, the protagonist Oz Vessalius, who starts out this way. His mother is dead, he has an emotionally abusive father who avoids visiting him because he hates him, and he's a Stepford Smiler. In the beginning, his only friend is his valet Gilbert. Things get a lot worse involving Oz's father, but anything more would include massive spoilers.
  • Gilbert himself also counts once he joins the Nightray dukedom. His entire family is abusive towards him aside from his blood brother Vincent and his younger adoptive brother Elliot. Duke Nightray (Gilbert's adoptive father) is barely ever around and lets his vicious and power-hungry oldest children run the household while Duchess Nightray (Gilbert's adoptive mother) goes from just barely ever being around like her husband to joining a cult and spending all her time with them.
  • Ada Vessalius, Oz's younger sister, counts as this as well. Her father actually loves her on the inside while he despises Oz, but he still hardly ever sees her and, of course, her mother is still dead. She didn't really have any friends and spent most of her time cooped up in the Vessalius manor until she went away to Lutwidge Academy.
• Isabella from Paradise Kiss was raised by her butler, and also had the issues you'd expect from a little Ojou trapped in a little rich boy's body.
• James in Pokémon: The Series has this as part of his Backstory — he grew up in the lap of luxury, but only had a Growlithe for a friend. He eventually ran away to escape an Arranged Marriage.

• Mawata Awayuki from the anime Prétear is a subversion of sorts, in that at first she seems to be lonely for no particular reason: her family is with her, but she distances herself from them; she is popular at school, but doesn't seem to have close friends. It's only later in the series that the real reasons for her loneliness are revealed — not only she was quite affected by her father's demise when she was a little girl, she just doesn't think people can understand her true feelings, and so is unwilling to open up to anyone. Of course, her issues remain unnoticed long enough to turn into a real problem, when the Big Bad seizes her and turns her into a Dark Magical Girl.
• Pretty Cure:
  • Karen of Yes! Pretty Cure 5. Her parents are always traveling abroad, and she doesn't even get to see them in the Christmas Episode, despite that being the only time they come home. She does have one friend, Komachi, but manages to isolate herself anyway by being resolutely determined not to open up to her or anyone else.
  • Karen's Futari wa Pretty Cure predecessor, Honoka, has a nearly identical backstory, but it takes long enough for the series to get into her head that it's hard to say whether she actually fits the trope.
  • While Hibiki from Suite Pretty Cure ♪ is not really rich, she is a lot wealthier than her teammates. Her father is a busy musician, while her mother is a world-travelling pianist. On top of having no siblings, she gets lonely very easily.
• Kuno from Ranma ½ could be considered a bizarre variation even though he's rarely sympathetic. He lives in a mansion occupied by no one but his sister Kodachi and only has one unpaid servant (and only in the anime). He's estranged from his dad, behaves in an outdated fashion, and appears to have no real friends.
• Sailor Moon had three Sailor Senshi in this situation:
  • Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury was not only the smartest girl in all of Japan but the daughter of a very rich doctor. However, she was believed to be haughty for her grades and riches, when in reality she was too shy to approach others.
  • Rei Hino/Sailor Mars was the Golden Girl of her all-girls school, plus (in the manga and the live-action) the daughter of one of the most important politicians in the country. However, despite her beauty and high social rank, she was also seen as a freak for her Psychic Powers.
  • Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn was the daughter of a famous and rich professor (and Mad Scientist), but her classmates rejected her for her healing powers and her quiet nature.
  • Queen Nehelenia in the '90s anime despite being a Queen with her subjects loving her beauty, the didn't love her as a real person and due to her childhood of having no real friends or loved ones, Nehelenia learned to love herself which led to her vanity and along with her Magic Mirror slowly corrupting her and showing what her not only her ugly future self but how everyone would abandon her when she lost her beauty she... doesn't take it well.Thankfully she gets better thanks to Sailor Moon.
• Sakura no Ichiban!: Before meeting Asami and Misao, Tsukiko was not allowed to go outside and was very sheltered. The "friends" she had then only wanted her wealth.
• Sakura Wars (2000):
  • Sumire Kanzaki's father and grandfather were so absorbed into work that she was left emotionally scarred and doubtful about their love for her. Reversed later, when her dad appears and is revealed to be a rather decent guy otherwise and even apologizes to Sumire for not being able to spend more time with her. She forgives him.
  • Vicomtesse Iris Chateaubriand's parents were so scared of her enormous Psychic Powers that they locked her away in her fancy bedroom, and her only company were her dolls and teddies until Ayame Fujieda recruited her; Iris became extremely withdrawn and scared of everyone as a consequence, holding on her teddybear Jean-Claude as a Security Blanket. There's a whole episode dedicated to her, where Iris' backstory is revealed and the troupe struggles to give her her first birthday party ever.
• Sanka Rea of Sankarea has a massive list of problems. It says a lot that dying and coming back as a zombie is an improvement.
• Eri Sawachika from School Rumble is an archetypical example (as well as an archetypical Tsundere, and Ojou.)
• The Secret Garden:
  • 9-year-old Mary Lennox was neglected by her parents and never received proper love and care from them, leading her to become a Spoiled Brat. She was raised by servants and the closest thing to a friend she had was her cat, Paddy. After she moved to England, she became a more open and friendly person.
  • Colin Craven is a Delicate and Sickly boy who's been confined to his bed since he was born. His only interactions are with his nurse and Mrs. Medlock, but he becomes inspired to become more outgoing thanks to Mary's influence.
• Mikogami Hayato from Sekirei was this before becoming an Ashikabi, combining Intelligence Equals Isolation with a huge dose of Parental Abandonment. That he's also a Jerkass doesn't help matters, so he collects a harem of Magical Girlfriends (and boyfriend) to make up for his lack of family or friends.
• Hiroko "Hiro-chan" Kaizuka from Shadow Star is particularly a tragic case. Her parents cared more for her grades in school than her emotional well-being (although her bullies wanted to lower her learning curve) and her father cut ties with her only friends when said grades didn't get better. So it's no wonder the girl snapped once they and her bullies broke her and she went on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge and kills both her parents and her bullies.
• Shaman King has Kana Bismarch, a membress of the Hanagumi Team, who used to be this in the past. The poor girl was isolated in her family's Big Fancy Castle until her parents died and her greedy relatives appeared and took everything away, leaving Kanna destitute. Hao arrived and killed them all and invited her to join his team.
• Christopher "Chris" Thorndyke in Sonic X - or at least, the show's writers try to play him like this, but it doesn't really hit home when he does actually have some genuine human friends and his grandfather is almost always at home even if his parents (who definitely love him) aren't. His parents are both horribly neglectful and smothering in the first two seasons; rarely seeing their son for more than a few hours at a time before having to disappear for some reason, but at the same time demanding to know where Chris is at all times and conducting a world search if he's missing for more than any period of time. They do apparently get better at the end of the second season.
• The entire main cast of the anime Special A qualifies thanks to various relationship traumas during their childhood.
• SPY×FAMILY:
  • Damian Desmond is the second son of a high-ranking politician, but he hardly ever sees his father, and desperately craves his approval. He doesn't seem to have many friends aside from Ewen and Emile, who serve as the Girl Posse to his male Lovable Alpha Bitch.
  • Becky Blackbell is a Spoiled Sweet Lovable Alpha Bitch, but she and Anya are each other's Only Friend at the school. She seems to have a better relationship with her parents than Damian.
• Minto Aizawa from Tokyo Mew Mew lives at a Big Fancy House where her pet dog and (only in the anime) nanny are her only constant company. Her parents are usually out in business trips and her older brother is too busy studying to spend time with her. After joining an animal Magical Girl team, she becomes friends with her teammates and they help her reconnect with her brother a little.
• Carol Olston from Tomo-chan Is a Girl! is this underneath her fluffy exterior. Growing up she was continually snubbed when she tried to socialize (at least in part, it is implied, due to her ethnicity) to the point where her favorite game was watching other kids play from a distance and pretending she was among them. Tomo and Misuzu are, aside from the cousin she is crushing on, the very first friends the high-school freshman has had in her life.
• In Tona-Gura!, Nina Isokawa is a sweet but annoying example, and as a result is very devoted to her friends, the Arisakas and Kaguras. Her extreme early-bloomer bustiness freaks Yuuji out, but at no time does he try and exploit her obvious crush on him. Her Genki Girl nature always freaks Marie out.
• Marika from Twin Spica is one of these, at least towards the start of the series; she is always cooped up in her mansion on orders from her father. The original Marika had it far worse, dying young after having made only one friend her own age.
• Voltes V: Heinel is this to the other nobles. All thanks to Sins of Our Fathers, he was driven from the palace and ostracized socially. The rest of the Horned Boazanians absolutely hated him and made it clear every chance they got. Said father also had no idea he existed, and spent years believing his first wife's child was missing.
• Eddie from Yo-kai Watch is a rich kid, whose parents work a little too much and often leave him alone on his birthday, along with the presents they give him and celebrates his birthday with his friends alone. He claims that he doesn't mind his parents missing, but deep down, he misses them and wishes they could spend more time with him.
• The lonely part is justified with the less than pleasant personality of Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh!. Granted, the guy doesn't act or appear friendly, but then again, who would when he had to endure the type of pain Gozaburo inflicted on him as a child? He doesn't have any friends, but he spends more time with his Yugi, his band of misfits, and his kid brother than anyone else.
• In Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Shizuka's father isolated her from her peers to force her to do nothing but follow his wishes. She wasn't allowed to hang out with her classmates, find love aside from those her father approved in advance, or even have any hobbies that he didn't like.

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