Meaningful Echo / Anime & Manga

Meaningful Echoes in anime and manga.

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• Accel World: Seiji Noumi, aka Dusk Taker, greets Haruyuki Arita, aka Silver Crow, with "That's game over, Arita- I mean, Silver Crow," to signify that he knows Haru's identity as a Burst Linker and has blackmail material that he can use to get Haru expelled if Haru doesn't do his bidding. Later on in that arc, Haru learns that Noumi is using an illegal brain implant chip, and says "That's game over, Seiji Noumi- I mean, Dusk Taker." While Haru has known Noumi's identity since the time Noumi delivered the original line, he's able to use his knowledge of Noumi's illegal activity to force him into one last duel to settle the score.
• Assassination Classroom:
  • After Koro-sensei gets himself into a tangle after failing to solve a wire puzzle in less than a second, Asano Sr. taunts him that not every problem can be solved with speed. Later, Koro-sensei repeats this line to his students after revealing the mountainside pool he built by damming a stream and letting it pool up overnight.
  • Karasuma's first words to the students, in regards to Koro-sensei: "I'll cut right to the point. I want you to kill this monster!". Later repeated to Class E (in a metaphorical sense) by Asano Jr., who is fed up with the Chairman's educational methods and wants them to take him down during the second semester final exams.
• Black Lagoon: Rock says "Have you forgotten? I'm already dead." at two different points. The first time, he says it to his old boss, who tried to have him killed as part of a cover-up, and it marks the point where he joins the Lagoon Company for good. The second time, he says it to Revy after she tells him to return to his old life, committing himself to remaining at Lagoon Company and casting aside whatever longing he had for his old life.
• Bleach:
  • During Ichigo's fight with Grand Fisher, the latter gets him to lower his guard by turning his lure into Ichigo's mother, then stabbing him with his claw. His victory seemingly assured, Grand Fisher says that out of all the Soul Reapers he faced, Ichigo was "the youngest, the most reckless, the weakest Soul Reaper ever." After Ichigo manages to stab Grand Fisher in the shoulder despite his injuries, he makes a similar insult by saying that, "Of all the Hollows I faced, you were the oldest... the slimiest... and... the most annoying Hollow ever!"
  • The Memories of the Rain arc towards the beginning of the manga has Rukia briefly flashback to someone telling her there are two types of fight (for life and for pride). Towards the end of the Soul Society arc we're given both the context of that comment and the identity of the person who said them.
  • Chapter 352 has a rather meaningful, though quite sinister, echo of Orihime's scream of 'Help me' to Ichigo. Ichigo comes back as a hollow, obsessed with protecting Orihime from everything, who is only capable of saying 'You. I'll...help....you.' Needless to say, it shakes Orihime up pretty bad.
• Bloom Into You
  • Near the beginning of the series, Touko's best friend Sayaka is disappointed that Touko chose Yuu, whom Touko just met, as her campaign manager, since Sayaka assumed she'd be Touko's first pick. Nevertheless, she gives Yuu a copy of her draft for a campaign speech, and asks her to "Take good care of (Touko)." Near the end of the series, after Touko rejects Sayaka's Love Confession and gets together with Yuu, Sayaka again says, "Take good care of her for me, all right?" to Yuu.
  • At the start of the series, Yuu turns down a Love Confession from her former classmate with a simple, "I'm sorry." In Chapter 34, Touko says "I'm sorry," after hearing Yuu's Anguished Declaration of Love, having realized how she'd forced Yuu to hide her feelings. Unfortunately, Yuu mistakes this for a rejection.
  • A subtle example happens in two key moments in Yuu's relationship with Touko, with Yuu noticing Touko's emotional state by observing Touko's hands. After turning down her male classmate's Love Confession while Holding Hands with Touko, she mentally notes that, "But it wasn't my hand that was sweating slightly, still holding on." Much later, when Touko makes her Love Confession to Yuu, Yuu notes, "It wasn't my hand that was shaking. It was hers."
  • In the third and final volume of Regarding Sayaka Saeki, Sayaka insists on addressing Haru as "Edamoto-san," prompting her to repeatedly say "You can call me Haru." Some time after they start dating and Sayaka starts calling Haru by her first name, Sayaka insists that Haru drop the "sempai" from her name by saying, "You can call me Sayaka."
• Chrono Crusade:
  • Chrono reacts with shock when Rosette overlooks the lights of a city and remarks "[It's] like each light is its own life." A later flashback reveals why: Mary said something very similar to Chrono right before Aion ordered him to kill her.
  • In another scene, a demon screeches to Chrono that he has nowhere to run to, and Rosette retorts "The place where Chrono can go back to was already decided four years ago!" In the very last chapter of the manga, the line is echoed before Chrono and Rosette part ways, when Chrono tells Rosette "Wasn't it you who said "The place where Chrono can go back to was already decided four years ago"? And that place is...wherever you are. So I'll definitely be back."
• Code Geass: Lelouch Lamperouge has the philosophy that "The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed". He says it several times throughout the series, beginning with the climax of the first episode, directed at The Empire's soldiers who were about to execute him. Then in the final episode, he says it to his friend Suzaku to show that he's prepared to give up his own life for what he believes in as well as to atone for the countless lives he's destroyed on the path to that goal.
• In the 2001 anime of Cyborg 009, when Jet first picks up Joe, he jokingly asks him "Where do you want to fall?" Much later, he repeats the question as they're about to reenter the earth's atmosphere and burn up.
• Early in Detective Conan Film 05: Countdown To Heaven, the 5th Non-Serial Movie of Case Closed, Genta chides Mitsuhiko when the later leaves some rice uneaten with "My mom says it's bad luck to leave even one grain of rice." When asked why he saves Ai at the end of the movie, during her attempt at a Heroic Sacrifice, Genta responds with the same line.
• Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai: For a villainous version: "The Demon Lord's wishes are the only priority". Myst-Vearn says this earlier in the series during a meeting among the Demon Army generals there when Flazzard complains about being held back while Hyunckel is sent out to face Avan's disciples, which succeeds in getting Flazzard, a Glory Seeker that wants Vearn's approval, to consent. Late in the series, when Zaboera tries to get Myst-Vearn to protect him when the chips are down, Myst-Vearn gets him to remember this line, making it clear that any Undying Loyalty Myst-Vearn harbors is for Vearn, and Vearn alone.
• Death Note:
  • If you've seen the anime once, a couple of the shots in Episode Nine (the pencil and the closing smirk, to be specific) are going to stand out a whole lot more.
  • Throughout the first half of the series, Matsuda finds just about everything he says and does met with the response, "Matsuda, you idiot!" — mostly by L. This is always a throwaway line Played for Laughs. However, in the second half of the series, the story becomes bleaker and the joke fades away. Then Light revives it in the last episode in a context that is much less funny, even though Matsuda is actually doing the right thing this time:
    Light: Matsuda, you idiot! Who the hell do you think you're shooting at?!
• An example where the echo comes from the original speaker: Early on in the manga Dengeki Daisy, Kurosaki insults Teru by telling her "I'm not interested in puny, A-cup girls." Later, he tells the school council president, in response to her flirting, that "I'm only interested in puny, A-cup girls."
• Digimon
  • The exact lines may have been different in the Japanese version, but there's a moment in the movie, the segment known as "Our War Game," in which the Mons are fighting Diaboromon and the kids are back home acting as Mission Control. When they're cut off, Izzy looks at Tai with his best Oh, Crap! face, saying "connection... terminated." Later, once they get everything sorted out and figure out how to beat Diaboromon, it becomes an awesome Pre-Mortem One-Liner when Omnimon ends the fight by introducing the enemy's skull to his BFS, and says triumphantly, "Connection... *kachunk!*...terminated."
  • In Digimon Adventure, when Yamato was convinced he was better off alone.
    Gabumon: I've waited in this world forever just so I could meet you, and only you!
  • In Digimon Adventure tri., when Gabumon, after losing his memories from the Reboot, asks why Yamato risked his life to save him.
    Yamato: I came to this world to see you, no one but you!

• Fullmetal Alchemist:
  • The protagonist Edward Elric's fatal flaw is his pride; he spends much of the story wielding godlike powers of creation and destruction and trying to find a way to surpass the law of Equivalent Exchange. He only admits to being only human twice in the story; once after his greatest failure, when he wasn't able to save Nina from her Mad Scientist father, and he is lamenting his own powerlessness. The other time is when he gave up his alchemy to save his brother's life, when he is choosing powerlessness over the loss of his sibling; his finest hour. In the echo, he calls back to the first incident with a similar statement to what he said then. The two speeches wrap up his Character Development nicely; the first time, he views his humanity as a weakness, and the second time, as the source of his strength.
    Edward: That's all I've ever been: just a tiny, insignificant human, who couldn't even save a little girl.
  • When Father kills the original Greed, he tells him "Return to whence you were born. Return to my depths and rejoin my soul. Return, Greed." This was him taunting Greed over the fact that Greed's greatest desire was to be independent of Father and live out his own ambitions. When Father is dying at the end of the series, Ed gives him a similar send off: "Go back to where you were born. Go back to nothing, Homunculus." Bonus points for the fact that this was right after Greed's Heroic Sacrifice negated Father's defenses for Ed to finish him off.
  • The series starts with Ed and Al battling Father Cornello, and ends with them battling another Father. Ed even repeats the final line of the first chapter after knocking Father to the ground: "Get up, you novice; I'm about to show you just how outclassed you really are!"
  • When Ed is first face to face with Truth at the start of the series, he asks him what he is, Truth replies "I am what you call the world, or perhaps the universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps truth, or perhaps all, or perhaps one, and I am also you." At the end of the series, Homunculus/Father is standing before the Gate of Truth, and demands to know who he thinks he is. In his monotone voice, Truth gives him the same answer he gave Ed, right before he gives a more Ironic Echo of Father's line about Truth delivering despair lest people become boastful and casting him into the darkness beyond the gate.
• In the fifth volume of Full Metal Panic!, Kaname resolves to make up for her Belated Love Epiphany by tracking down Sousuke and giving him a direct Love Confession. But when she finally finds him, she can't actually make the words come out and quickly gives up, muttering, "I guess a day really does sap your determination." At the end of the subsequent volume, Sousuke whispers the same line to himself while fumbling his own confession to Kaname, though he does muster enough courage to tell her I "Uh" You, Too.
• Gurren Lagann's second OVA adaptation uses this in typically-awesome fashion when Simon repeats Kamina's "COMBINE!" gag that ended up resulting in the creation of the very first Gurren Lagann, right before the formation of the Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. As such, the final and strongest Gurren Lagann is born in a scene mimicking the one that created the first, as well as symbolizing that Simon has well and truly filled in Kamina's shoes by this point.
• The title character of Irresponsible Captain Tylor has this: his first and last order to the crew in the series is "Do what you want to do." The first time, it leads to utter anarchy and mutiny. The second time, after Tylor has greatly defused the war, it takes on a whole new meaning, and the crew of the Soyokaze takes it to a broader level. Most of them quit the military; the marines become fishermen, while their dropship pilot and comm officer become models. And then, they continue following it by joining up together again with Yamamoto and Tylor to recrew the Soyokaze after Yamamoto's been reassigned as captain of a new ship.
• I Want to Eat Your Pancreas: The words "I want to eat your pancreas" are said several times in the story. They originally come up after Sakura explaining that eating a healthy person's organs was believed to cure one's own diseased organ and therefore joking she should eat the protagonist's to cure her own illness. They come up again as the last words of Sakura and the protagonist to each other, the protagonist's final text to Sakura and the last words of Sakura's will, expressing the depth of their relationship by that point.
• In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, when Polnareff tells the others about his vendetta against J. Geil for killing his sister Sherry, he says that when he finds the killer, he plans to say "My name is Jean-Pierre Polnareff. On the honor of my dear sister's soul, and so that my good friend may rest in peace... I'm going to hurl you into the depths of despair! Prepare yourself!" Later, when he and Kakyoin are in a tight spot and Polnareff has lost his composure, Kakyoin reminds him of what he planned to say.
  Kakyoin: Polnareff, that's not what you say here. When taking revenge, you shouldn't say, "Why you..." You say this. My name is Noriaki Kakyoin. To avenge my friend, Avdol, and so that the soul of my friend Polnareff's sister may rest in peace, I will have you pay with your life.
• Kaguya-sama: Love Is War:
  • When Shirogane is talking to Ishigami about girl trouble that "a friend" is having in chapter 38, Ishigami eventually yells "Shut up, stupid!" after getting frustrated with how annoying the girl sounds. Jump forward to chapter 89 in the Sports Festival arc, when it's revealed that Shirogane had originally told him to write this when he had to make an apology letter for Ogino. And then he uses it again against Ootomo when she continues to hold a grudge against him due to being oblivious to everything he did to protect her.
  • When Shirogane pulls off a Grand Romantic Gesture for Kaguya in chapter 135, it ends with him telling her "this is how I feel". When Kaguya gives him a kiss in chapter 136 after agreeing to come with him to Stanford, it ends with her telling him "this is how I feel".
  • In chapter 10, Kaguya tries to whisper to a (pretending to be) sleeping Shirogane that she loves him as part of a ploy to influence his dreams. She does this again in chapter 144, except Shirogane is actually asleep and she actually means it.
  • The first time they interacted as children, Maki asks Kaguya about a book she was reading and Kaguya asks if she wants to read it together. Since Maki's father had told her that all Shinomiyas were evil, she angrily turns down Kaguya's offer and sparks up a rivalry that is still going by the time the story starts over a decade later. When the two of them finally put aside their differences in chapter 168, they repeat this exchange regarding a DVD that Kashiwagi had given Kaguya, only with Maki accepting Kaguya's offer this time around.
  • In chapter 33, Hayasaka tells Kaguya that she shouldn't take her for granted or she may end up facing divine punishment. She thinks that line to herself in chapter 177 as it's revealed that she'll be stepping down as Kaguya's valet with this addendum:
    But even if that happens, I'm sure you'll be able to overcome it. You aren't alone anymore Kaguya-sama. You'll be fine even when I'm gone.
  • Chapter 85 and Chapter 192 are narrated from Osaragi's POV and start the same way, with her introducing herself. Except in Chapter 192, her introduction is a flashback back when she was still a cheerful, social and cute-dressed Child Popstar. In the present, she dresses plainly, her beautiful face is hidden by her Scary Shiny Glasses, and her voice actress, Rina Hidaka, voices this line in Episode 22 more in a matter-of-factly manner. This contrast shows how Osaragi Used to Be More Social and Took a Level in Cynic after constantly being harassed and mocked by her fellow students in school.
    Osaragi: I'm Kobachi Osaragi. It's written as "Daibutsu", but you read it as "Osaragi". Please remember.
• A Tear Jerker on in Karin where her older brother Ren always gives her nudgies, much to her annoyance. In the end, for the first and only time, he affectionately pats her on the head, remarking how she always hated it when he was rough on her. Then, he wipes her memory of him and her vampire family. Karin's family was planning this from the very beginning, since they know that Karin isn't a normal vampire and was more human than vampire.
• The finale of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS has several:
  • Shortly before splitting up to sabotage the Saint Cradle's engine, Vita tells Nanoha not to worry about her since she and Graf Eisen specializes in smashing stuff and "There's nothing in this world we can't destroy". During the penultimate episode of the season, while Hayate cradles a heavily wounded Vita who thought she failed to break the engine, Hayate tells her that against such valiance that she and Graf Eisen had shown, "There is nothing in the world that they can't destroy", just as a portion of Graf Eisen that had lodged itself into the engine causes an explosive chain reaction.
  • During an early episode, the six-year old Vivio trips while running to Nanoha-mama, and instead of helping her up, Nanoha encourages her to try her best "to stand on your own", until a worried Fate-mama protests and helps Vivio up. Come the penultimate episode, a worried Nanoha runs to the crater where Vivio was after Nanoha blasted her with five Starlight Breakers to free her from the control of the relic, and as she reaches the edge of the crater, a very bruised Vivio tells her not to come, "I can stand on my own", after all, she promised Nanoha-mama that she'd be strong.
  • The very first scene of the season is Subaru crying out for help, and Nanoha saving her and telling her that she tried her best and that everything is going to be okay. Subaru's part in the epilogue has the exact same dialogue, only she's playing the part of the rescuer rather than the child. Doubles as Bookends.
  • When talking about memories of her original owner in the third sound stage, Agito says "Strangely, my heart feels warm." Signum says the same thing to her the first time they unison.
• Mekakucity Actors: Both Episodes 1 and 11 begin with Shintaro and his power, the Retaining Eyes Snake, using Ayano's voice and form, having vague conversations about memory. About halfway through both sequences, there is a close-up of one of their eyes as it glows red, and the latter will ask Shintaro if he finally remembers what happened. By the second scene, he does.
• Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid:
  • When Kobayashi tries to help Ilulu overcome her Tragic Bigotry towards humans in chapter 38, Ilulu says "You're trying to trick me." When all is said and done at the end of the chapter, Ilulu tearfully hugs Kobayashi and asks "Can you trick me?"
  • "A two-year sentence is a mere blink of an eye". Tohru says this to Elma when rescuing her from her Arranged Marriage in a direct reference to their previous discussion about Japan's laws against polygamy, making the whole thing an oblique Love Confession.
• Done with an action rather than a word in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: In the first episode, Heero tears up Relena's birthday invitation in order to distance himself from her (saying afterwards, "I'll Kill You!"). In the last episode, Relena tears up the birthday letter Heero left for her in order to bring them closer (saying afterwards, "Next time, tell me in person").
• Moriarty the Patriot:
  • In The Two Detectives, Sherlock claims William is "The Lord of Crime" mastermind he's been looking for while bluffing, and William responds with a teasing "Catch me if you can, Mr. Holmes." This is echoed at the end of The Two Criminals, when Sherlock, who finally has confirmation of William's identity as The Lord of Crime, swears to catch him, and William responds with "Catch me if you can, Sherlock."
  • In The Adventure of the One Student, William tells the brilliant math prodigy who is able to solve the impossible Final Problem on his mathematics exam, a problem that is focused on his own personal research, that he "stands on the same horizon" as William himself, which Sherlock repeats also says about himself after uncovering the mystery of the Lord of Crime completely in The Final Problem arc.
• My Hero Academia
  • In the first chapter, Midoriya says to Bakugo, "You looked like you needed saving," after charging in to save him from the Sludge Villain. In Chapter 295, he repeats the phrase in reference to Shigaraki, who's been taken over by All For One and has just escaped.
  • Also from the first chapter, Midoriya claims his legs moved on their own when he saved Bakugo from the Sludge Villain. Much later, when Bakugo saves Midoriya from Shigaraki, by Taking the Bullet, Bakugo thinks, "My body... just moved on its own."
  • At the beginning of the series, Midoriya declares that this is the story of how he became the world's greatest hero. In Chapter 324, after Uraraka makes an emotional speech convincing a crowd of civilians to allow Midoriya to return to U.A. to rest and recuperate, thereby convincing everyone that they've been relying on heroes too much rather than trying to do things for themselves, the final lines of the chapter are Midoriya narrating, "This is the story, of how we ALL became the world's greatest heroes."
  • At the start of the series, All Might says to Midoriya, "You can become a hero," when everyone else had dismissed Midoirya's dream as hopeless. In Chapter 337, Midoriya says to Aoyama, the traitor inside U.A.^{Explanation(SPOILERS)} It turns out that Aoyama, like Midoriya, was Quirkless. Aoyama's parents went to All For One and got him to give Aoyama his Navel Laser Quirk, but not only was Aoyama's body incompatible with the Quirk, but All For One used this to blackmail the Aoyamas into serving as his spies. All this makes Aoyama a foil to Midoriya, "You can still be a hero."
• Naruto:
  • "Hey... you're not hurt are ya? Scaredy cat." The first time, Sasuke asks this of Naruto after he freezes up during Team 7's battle with the Demon Brothers, the team's first battle against an opponent who's trying to kill them. In the Forest of Death, Naruto asks the same question of Sasuke after saving him from Orochimaru's summoned snake, the first time they're facing an opponent they can't hope to defeat.
  • A massive Tear Jerker of one: Naruto tells Neji the reason he fights so hard is, "Because I was called a failure," then adds that Neji, being a "genius" should be able to do so as well. Over 400 chapters later, Neji tells Naruto the reason he gave his life for Naruto and Hinata is, "Because I was called a genius."
  • Near the beginning, Kakashi tells Sasuke, who's terrified upon facing Zabuza, the first opponent completely out of his league, that he will not let any of his comrades die. Much later, when Naruto and Kakashi are fighting Tobi, Naruto repeats this promise. This time, he's unable to keep it because of Neji's aforementioned Heroic Sacrifice.
  • When Sasuke was young and asked his older brother to train with him, Itachi would poke his forehead and say "Sorry Sasuke, next time." The last thing he does before dying is poke Sasuke's forehead and say "Sorry Sasuke, there won't be a next time." A complete and utter Tear Jerker. This is then echoed again later on by Itachi (revived by the Edo Tensei), who, after just releasing said Edo Tensei, uses his last moments to reach out to Sasuke and give him a Headbutt of Love, telling his brother that he doesn't have to forgive him and that, no matter what Sasuke does from here on out, Itachi will always love him.
  • In the very first chapter of the manga, Mizuki asks Iruka why he was trying to hard to save the demon fox. Iruka's response? "He's not just a demon fox...he is a member of Konoha. He is Uzumaki Naruto!" Nearly six hundred chapters later, Naruto releases the seal on the Kyuubi's chakra. "You're not just a demon fox... you are a member of Konoha. Let's go, Kurama!" One of the best uses of this trope ever, as Iruka's words were the first step to making Naruto into the person he is today.
  • When confronting Gaara, Naruto thought that the loneliness he had endured prior to finding friends was a "pitch black hell" which could have led him to becoming like Gaara. Years later Obito, who was often compared to Naruto, stated that the world became a "pitch black hell" after Rin died and he began his descent into villainy.
  • When asked why Zetsu fights for Akatsuki, his reason is stated to be "land". During the Fourth Shinobi War Zetsu reveals he is actually the will of Princess Kaguya, who intends to use the Elemental Nations as a nursery to grow an army of Zetsu clones.
• From Neon Genesis Evangelion:
  • In Episode 16, Shinji, having a near death experience, relives a half-forgotten memory from his early childhood of being with his mother at a lakeside on a sunny day, where she tells him "Well, that's good for you." He later wakes up in the infirmary, to find Rei sitting on a chair by his bedside. Seeing that Shinji is awake once more, she starts to leave the room, telling Shinji that he can just stay in bed and relax for the rest of the day. Shinji protests that he is feeling just fine, to which Rei replies with "Well, that's good for you," in the exact same manner his mother said the line in his memory. Shinji instantly makes the connection and does an Eye Take in response.
  • In Episode 21, Gendo and Naoko Akagi have a conversation. He says he has no regrets about his work, and she calls him a liar, thereby offering the viewer a possible clue about Gendo's silent line in End of Evangelion, which was followed Ritsuko calling him a liar as well. It's further supported by the fact that Ritsuko was there and overheard them talking. She has a lot of issues regarding her similarities to her mother, making the repetition especially meaningful.
  • ...the "I'm home"/"Welcome home" exchange between Shinji and Misato. The first time, it takes place when Misato becomes Shinji's guardian and brings him home with her, more as a form of formulaic politeness: Shinji obviously still feels uncomfortable and out of place in Tokyo-3. The second iteration of the dialogue takes place after he ran away and was about to leave the city for good, but couldn't bring himself to get on the train. When he realizes that Misato came for him, these words show that he has accepted Tokyo-3 as his home. The third instance then takes place in The End of Evangelion, as Rei has decided to break free of Gendo's control, and come to Shinji's aid by reuniting with Lilith. She then calmly whispers "I'm home." as she looks upon the crucified white giant, before Lilith greets her with "Welcome Home" (via a capitation) and absorbs her.
  • A flashback shows Asuka desperately trying to get the attention of a man twice her age by exposing her chest to him, exclaiming "Look at me!". Soon after that, she is subjected to what was to become the Trope Namer for Mind Rape, and the deep rooted issues that caused her Attention Whore-like behaviour are unearthed. The chest she was showing were meant to prove that she's an adult, but she was actually acting like a kid that wants attention — therefore, the Mind Rape shows her repeating the "Look at me!" line at her mother, this time showing her as a small child, with her face full of tears and snot.
  • In Rebuild, the Children and their friends visit an aquarium. Upon seeing small fish in a tank, Rei, who is an Artificial Human barely kept alive with tons of pills, notes that the fish can only live in an enclosed space, exactly like her. Later, she repeats that "I can only live in here" line, after she was absorbed by an Angel, telling Shinji that he shouldn't risk his life to save her, as she can be replaced. Shinji disagrees, tells her that no one can replace her, and proceeds to rip her directly out of the bastard.
• One Piece:
  • In one chapter, Vice-Admiral Tsuru tells Garp that "The sin rests not with you" in regards to Ace being found to be the son of Gold Roger. At the end of the chapter, Garp has a flashback to where Roger himself is telling Garp that "My child who is yet to be born bears no sin."
  • At Gold Roger's death, he told the whole world that his treasure is out there. When Whitebeard is about to die, he proclaimed that One Piece really does exist.
  • Queen Otohime always pinky swears with her children as a promise to make their future better. When she was dying, her oldest son Fukaboshi promises her that they will collect all the signatures she had long fought for and they will protect Shirahoshi, to reassure her that the future will be better. They seal the promise with a pinky swear.
  • In Mihawk's first appearance, he casually slices a ship in half. In Zoro's reappearance after the time-skip and having been trained by Mihawk, he slices a ship in half.
• Pokémon Adventures:
  • At the climax of the final chapter with Red vs. Green for the title of champion, they both repeat lines which they used right back in the first chapter.
  • In the GSC arc, Professor Oak asks Gold what Pokémon are to him before he gives him a Pokédex. In the Indigo Plateau, Gold asks the Mask of Ice what Pokémon are to him, hoping to see some redeeming qualities in him. He answers that they're weapons, infuriating Gold.
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9. "You can't carry her and fight because you'll get us both killed." First during a Big Damn Heroes moment, the second time right before a Tear Jerker Heroic Sacrifice.
• In the early episodes of R.O.D the TV the Paper Sisters occasionally hold "Three Sisters Votes". This is merely a bit of comic relief, since Michelle and Maggie always agree and Anita never gets her way. Then halfway into the series Nenene gets kidnapped, and Anita delivers a passionate plea to her sisters that they had to rescue her. When she's done, Michelle announces a Three Sisters Vote. This time the vote is unanimous.
• In The Royal Tutor, when prince Leonhard first warms up to the idea of Heine tutoring him, he only holds one of the fingers from Heine's offered hand, saying he would try that much. Later on, when Leonhard formally accepts Heine as his teacher, Heine only holds one of the fingers from Leonhard's offered hand. Heine even Lampshaded it, saying he was simply returning Leonhard's earlier handshake.
• School-Live! begins with Yuki lamenting about how much she loves her school. The lines are repeated in her head as she runs away panicking after killing her first zombie. Her happy delusions of school are shattering before her.
• She Becomes a Tree: In Chapter 2, Chishiro tells Kisaki that "For me, the one thing I value most is the 'feeling,'" which is why she'll stick with Kisaki even if she's in danger or people hate her for it. In Chapter 10, Kisaki says that not being able to marry Chishiro doesn't bother her too much, since "The most important thing is our 'feeling' for each other," and the manga flashes back to Chishiro's line eight chapters and three years in-universe ago.
• Shelter: Rin tells the audience at the beginning that she doesn't feel lonely, but we learn fairly quickly that that isn't true. However, after she learns about the circumstances behind her virtual life- that her loving father saved her from death by creating a spaceship just for her-, her repeated assertion at the end of the short that she doesn't feel alone holds more weight.

• Summer Time Rendering: During a pause in their scuffle, Shadow Mio demands to know why Shadow Ushio is protecting Shinpei, a human who had a hand in killing one of their own a few hours earlier. Shadow Ushio yells, "I love Shinpei. What's wrong with siding with the person ya love?!" In the final loop, Shadow Ushio begs Shinpei not to follow her into Tokoyo, a dimension where humans can never return from. He refuses, stating "I love ya, Ushio. And I want to be with ya. Got a problem with that?"
• In The Summer You Were There
  • Shizuku and Kaori go to a library early on in the series, while pretending to go out with each other. When Kaori gets excited, Shizuku, who's less enthusiastic, says, "We're in a library! Shhh!" Shortly thereafter, Shizuku is so surprised that Kaori likes the same author she does that she raises her voice, whereupon Kaori giggles and says, "Shhh! We're in a library! Right?" with a smile.
  • After Shizuku runs away from the aquarium date with Kaori, she gets a letter from Kaori, but is afraid of what it might say, thinking, "Knowing is just as scary as not knowing." She then repeats this phrase to herself after making up her mind to read Kaori's letter.
• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann:
  • In the first episode, Kamina says to Simon, "Your drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens!" Then, much later in the series, Simon says to the Big Bad, "My drill is the drill that creates the heavens!" Which gets bonus points in the original Japanese for essentially acquiring this change of meaning by adding one syllable. There's also "Let's see you grit those teeth!"
  • Don't believe in me who believes in you... Don't believe in you who believes in me... Believe in yourself, Simon.
  • Kamina's last words of "Later, buddy." are heart-wrenching... But Simon joyfully shouting "Let's go, buddy!" back to him right before the series finale lets everyone know that yes, things are gonna be all right.
• In Tiger & Bunny, Karina/Blue Rose's not sure she wants to continue being a superhero anymore and asks why Kotetsu/Wild Tiger sticks to it so passionately when he gets even less appreciation or acknowledgement for it than any of the other heroes. He replies, "I just want to help people. What other reason could a guy need?" When Kotetsu asks if she's made her decision after she saves him at the end of the episode, she simply repeats the same his answer.
• In Trigun when the reason for the heaviness of Wolfwood's bundled cross is that it's "because it's so full of mercy!" The cross is actually a gun, the Cross Punisher, in disguise and Wolfwood's an assassin in disguise, and when he says it (in a slightly self-satisfied way) Wolfwood is basically enjoying a nice bit of sarcasm that no one else, at the moment, gets. Near the end of the series, shortly after a redeemed Wolfwood has changed his ways and died defending the cause of trying to save everybody that Vash desperately believes in, Millie gives the Cross Punisher to Vash. He comments on its heaviness and Millie (Wolfwood's love interest) tells him that's because it's so full of mercy. And this time it is.
• The protagonist of Wandering Son is transgender and whenever she talks about the issue she says "I want to be a girl" or "I wish I were a girl". The final line of the manga has her saying "I am a girl", which is the title of her book which is basically an in-universe version of the manga.
• On the boat in When Marnie Was There, Sayaka's wants the diary to be her and Anna's secret which echoes the scene earlier at the same spot where Marnie asked to keep her relationship with Anna a secret. The connection is that Marnie's diary brought Anna and Sayaka together as friends.
• World Trigger:
  • In the first chapter, when rescuing Osamu from Neighbors, Yūma's stance as he asks "Hey, you OK, four-eyes?" reminds Osamu of the Border agent who saved his life before saying those exact same words. Later to be revealed as Yūichi Jin of Border's Tamakoma Branch.
  • Yūma warns Osamu that he doesn't stand a chance against the Marmods attacking the school. Knowing that his trapped classmates' lives are in danger, Osamu responds with "Even if I don't have much of a chance, I can't turn my back on them". Fast forward to the Large Scale Invasion arc where a veteran Black Trigger user with decades of experience under his belt is stalling Yūma to prevent him from rescuing his friends. He remembers his father advising him to run away if he's outmatched with no hope of reinforcements, then remembers Osamu's actions on that day. Yūma decides that "Even if the odds are against me, I can't run away from this".

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