Redemption Quests in Anime and Manga.
- Dragon Ball: Piccolo and Vegeta are both initially introduced as villains, before later joining forces with the heroes after each go through their own redemption arc.
- Fullmetal Alchemist:
- Edward Elric "I'm sorry, Al. This is all my fault. So I promise that no matter what, I'll get you your body back."
- Hohenheim, in a much longer timescale.
- Mustang, Hawkeye and Doctor Marcoh are doing it as well. Though from their point of view, they are past the point of redemption and can only make sure the next generation will not repeat their mistakes.
- In Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, Balsa works as a bodyguard to save eight lives to repay for the eight men her mentor had to kill to keep her alive. On top of that she has added the additional caveat not to kill anyone in the course of her quest, after her lifelong friend Tanda pointed out that killing people to save people is an oxymoron.
- My Hero Academia: This is the goal of the Flame Hero, Enji "Endeavor" Todoroki. After subjecting his family to horrific mental and physical abuse in his attempts at being the top hero, he has a Heel Realization and seeks to atone for his past mistakes. Its Played for Drama as said family are...mixed to the say the least; His wife acknowledges his efforts to move forward but she still can't quite tolerate being around him, his second youngest son wants nothing to do with him, his daughter is accepting, and his youngest son is somewhere in-between where while he can't quite bring himself to forgive his father, he is at least willing to see his actions as a hero and a father.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero's Journey has Lock, Shock, and Barrel offer to find Zero to make up for their betrayal to Jack in the original movie. Jack is naturally suspicious, but takes their offer so he can see to his duties as the Pumpkin King.Jack: You'll go straight to Zero and not get distracted by anything else?!
LSB: We promise!!!- They keep it. Sort of.
- Being a deconstruction of the Fighting Series Played for Laughs, Ramen Fighter Miki deconstructs this trope with Nishiyama Kankuro, who has come back from a local university to Hanami City to “stand up for himself” against Miki, his former bully who now is twenty and a Schoolyard Bully All Grown Up Manchild. Problem is, Kankuro is an Idiot Hero, and really wants to get Miki's respect, but Miki is incapable of respecting anyone weaker than her, and she is stronger than Kankuro: to beat her is truly an Impossible Task. Kankuro is trapped in a Cycle of Revenge. Here he explains why while we see a Photo Montage in a computer… complete with a delete trash can image:Being made a fool by a girl younger than me, and the tormenting memory of being treated as a slave… If I don’t erase those images I’ll never be to leave this town and put it behind me, Nya.
- Rurouni Kenshin: Kenshin's quest to protect people and fight for justice without killing is his redemption for all the lives he previously took as an assassin. Both in the anime and manga (but particularly in the anime, especially filler episodes or arcs whose stories were changed), he encourages other warriors to try to make amends and work towards making a better world rather than commit Seppuku when they fall into similar situations.
- In the eponymous VRMMO of Sword Art Online, players earn an orange color cursor due to assaulting (or worse still, killing) other players, which, in turn, prevents them from entering the safe zones in towns. They can restore their moral standing in the game by undertaking a specific quest, the difficulty of which depends on the severity and number of their crimes.
