Trope Talk: Power Of Friendship!

[@OverlySarcasticProductions]

Quick comment since I think this was a little more unclear than I intended: while "nyeheheh, I shall torture your loved ones" is definitely done, the specific subtrope I've *never* seen done is "as expected, your friends have broken in to save you, which is very convenient as now I can grab one and torture them in front of you without having to go and find them myself." Sorry for the confusion!

[@kiddo6393]

But Red.......are we friends?

[@tesnacloud]

In the novel Mistborn, some major bad guys threatened it, but the heroes escaped before they could do it. Close, but not quite to your specific requirements.

[@RandonPersom542]

Alright now I have to incorporate that brilliance into my writing

[@000Idiote]

Didnt that last part happen in teen titans? (the good series) You know when slade got robin to beca villian by using the imminent torture of friends as robins breaking motivation. I mean i know it failed but it was the closet slade came to breaking robin completely

[@limerence8365]

Overly Sarcastic Productions Tanks

[@francenkovcan5211]

"i will defeat you with the power of friendship and this gun i found"

[@lucasriddle3431]

"Maybe the real treasure was this gun I found along the way"

[@SergioBocanegra]

@Vice- Virgo like Skippy

[@youwouldntremembermeanyway7410]

Phantom Thieves vs Yaldabaoth in a nutshell

[@zainmudassir2964]

Indiana Jones in Raiders of the lost arc

[@Attaxalotl]

Any D&D party with an artificer.

[@imienazwisko6527]

How to get power of friendship 1. Get a friend to run a generator. 2. Profit

[@InquisitorThomas]

Space Dust just don’t use the Power of Hopes and Dream, It’s not particularly efficient and it turned my neighbor’s cat into an 8 foot tall mutant goatman with 7 heads, 28 sets of arms, and an unquenchable thirst for the blood of the innocent.

[@agihammerthief8953]

Thomas, you are an inquisitor. You know how to deal whith this sort of stuff. Now, when is the Exterminatus scheduled?

[@samwallaceart288]

Begs the question, how would you use a friend as a battery *while still maintaining friendship status?*

[@sineado.mcdevitt4353]

Bring them food?

[@gabrielwright-dunn9355]

Samuel Wallace, ask them nicely? Or make friends with a Shounen Hero.

[@petermarsella6537]

"sorry for turning evil and stabbing you" "No worries, wanna get pizza?" Man I wish I had a friend like that

[@Pukeprincess]

Peter Marsella I think all are dead.

[@bluelfsuma]

Man, I wish I had a friend.

[@ImaginativeCorndog]

Sounds like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode...

[@adrianodrika]

I'm not pretty sure if I want my future friends stabbing me. Maybe some punches. Kkkkk

[@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776]

@@adrianodrika I believe that the commented meant that he or she wanted a friend that would ignore or forget or forgive everything he or she did wrong

[@dawsonglawe3203]

Hero: "We'll defeat you with the power of friendship." Villain: "Ha, you really-" Hero: "Which is what we have to use to fuel this death ray." Villain: "What?"

[@coltonwilliams4153]

Hero: And I said that corny line because that’s the code to arm the death ray! Villain: Wai-! What?! WHY?! Hero: Because someone is a smartass! Smart Guy: Yep! That’s me!

[@AnimeboyIanpower]

@@coltonwilliams4153 Hero: And next you're gonna say "Did you plan this too, Hero?! *TELL ME!* " Villain: *Did you plan this too, Hero?! **_TELL ME!_* Hero: Why do you even need to ask?! We set a trap and you walked into it! *IT ALL WENT DOWN LIKE CLOCKWORK!*

[@JoJoCap_231]

@@AnimeboyIanpower ah yes it was Joseph joestar all along very niceu Caesar chan

[@BugsyBugYT]

makes you wonder who the real villain is

[@diakounknown1225]

Oh now I really want to name a super weapon "The Power of friendship"

[@internetfriend6701]

I could hear the "I've got some children to turn into *C O R P S E S"* Bill Cipher was an amazing villain

[@totallycrazystudios1801]

Aw yes. Dark Disney at it's best.

[@coolcat3404]

Thats probably the scariest way to avoid saying kill in a kids show

[@totallycrazystudios1801]

@@coolcat3404 No the scariest way is, "Red is s smart color for you, it'll hide the stains." But yeah Bill is super creepy

[@coolcat3404]

Totally Crazy Studios spoooky i like it

[@totallycrazystudios1801]

@@coolcat3404 Thanks. It's from the New Carmen Sandiego. Really good show.

[@joshthehollow5254]

Power of friendship in most Shonen anime: "My friends believe in me, so I will defeat you!" Power of friendship in jujutsu kaisen: "Let's jump this fool."

[@nathanjereb9944]

1 is wishful thinking, the other is a battle tactic

[@seraphimseptimus6984]

That is one of my favourite aspects of Jujutsu Kaisen.

[@newt2120]

jjk does it right. i really started to hate POF in fairy tale where every time he fought an opponent he had no business of beating, he'd just get more power, cuz of friendship. what a stinky fart of a writing

[@_Zephster]

@@seraphimseptimus6984 and todou and itadori ganging and hanami is beautiful

[@LuisSierra42]

JJK is mid

[@OtseisRagnarok]

power of friendship: gang up on the main villain. two friends hold him down, you start the punching.

[@maadtee6281]

Then the villains best friends come to save their friends

[@Val17282]

And then pull down their pan-

[@Jennifer_Devote]

@@Val17282 ......what?!?

[@mckaylamarille8630]

@@Jennifer_Devote ;)

[@jakecollins5438]

This is how it should be handled. Power of Friendship is just another way to say Strength in Numbers.

[@EyeWasBored]

I like how the power of friendship ranges from literally just teamwork to GIANT BEAM OF DEATH USED TO SLAY THE DARK GOD VOID TERMINA

[@dragonic4239]

Also sudden and irrevocable alignment changes

[@FedoraKirb]

Kirby Star Allies actually does a really great job of having the Power of Friendship be a running theme throughout the game. The mechanics of Friend Hearts turning classic Kirby baddies into friends while also being able to directly damage the final boss, Dream Friends being major friends and enemies from across the series (and the stronger connection Kirby has to them ties into how they’re generally stronger characters than regular baddies), the combo moves and abilities being way stronger than regular attacks (especially in multiplayer), friendship and love being *a literal form of energy in-universe* that can let the aforementioned big bad Void be reborn in a new form, and the Friend Hearts redeeming the Three Mage-Sisters and Hyness, saving them from dark negative energy and a very abusive relationship by just giving them a huge burst of said love energy. Even if it’s pretty on-the-nose, it’s really sweet and touching because these are real tangible things that love and friendship can do (motivate you, give you access to powerful tactics through teamwork, save people who are hurting, allow people to redeem themselves), just greatly exaggerated for the purpose of Rule of Cool.

[@EyeWasBored]

@@FedoraKirb Thank you meta knight from kirby's adventure

[@segadoeswhatnintendont]

​@@EyeWasBoredthat is clearly Kirby with a fedora

[@maskedwriter4088]

How a villain can win against the power of friendship: major in Psycology and actually use the information

[@eliyahmcneill9302]

Well I guess after I finish my major in college I"ll go pick a fight with Batman. I always wondered what the suicide squad was like.

[@adriellightvale8140]

Child psychology with a minor in pain.

[@stevewondering6311]

Ah you forget that humans are stupid and unpredictable, therefore psychology doesn’t work as well. Because friendship.....

[@nyotamwuaji6484]

Make evil friends

[@ocaraloho4652]

You forgot that Power of friendship just warps reality itself soo.........

[@saccharinesilk]

"the power to fuse into a bigger, scarier friend" is such hilarious phrasing that i have no idea what happened in the couple of sentences following it

[@shaikfazalerahaman3450]

@ AdelaideAbashov that’s scene was from Steven universe where gems(awesome aliens) are able to fuse with other gems to become more powerful as they are pure energy

[@1tzm3hh11]

Theres these power of friendship bs tropes and then theres what I'm doing which is the characters powers run on *cannibalism*

[@arandomcomment1092]

1TZ M3HH WOW so *_edgy_*

[@whafflete6721]

@@1tzm3hh11 You must've been fun at parties especially designed for those orphanage

[@CptPhilippnes]

Man reminds me of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

[@rockwoodzapper]

Man, I wish me and MY friends could fuse into a *bigger, scarier friend.*

[@siyacer]

You can, if there's a 50/50 split in men and women

[@Zilegil]

I was going to say. That’s called an orgy

[@Zilegil]

@@siyacer hell. You don’t even need that

[@devilsadvocacypress3151]

The trick is to befriend a Warforged Friend or Hoard of Friends

[@monkiplatts9224]

human centipede

[@adamnagar7386]

Concept: A world where the power of friendship grants actual power and the main villain has like, 100 friends so he's the world's most powerful wizard.

[@mares164]

a vilain tried this in mlp, it almost worked but she made the mistake of angering the tree-god-sociopath of friendship

[@MouldMadeMind]

The villian is social media star and has a billion friends.

[@homemadefilms5718]

@@MouldMadeMind plot twist they are fake friends and the villain looses all their powers

[@MouldMadeMind]

@@homemadefilms5718 that's the worst kind of plot twist.

[@majesticlunatic4985]

And then the hero is the jerk loner that has developed powers they shouldn't have because they don't have freinds and is continously represed by people for being a loner.

[@MultiNaruto900]

Fairy Tail immediately popped into my head. Most of the seasons of the anime is "sure I'm bleeding out, but the *POWER OF FRIENDSHIP* transcends physical needs!"

[@Priceluked]

Fairy Tail is trash.

[@imsentinelprime9279]

@@Priceluked yea

[@judeskater93]

Souma Spiritus fairy tail is honestly the worst interpretation of friendship, yes the whole guild is a big block of friendship, yes former villains become friends, yes the characters work together in battle through a heavy bond of friendship, even when at their weakest state friendship will always help them prevail in battle. That said friendship is used in fairy tail so freaking often or used for everything that the value behind using friendship is incredibly diluted even more so than other series that use friendship a lot such as yugioh and kingdom hearts. Also Nalu is stupidly overrated and their moments are just painful to sit through, especially with the 2014 anime.....ugh.

[@uria3679]

Luke Price don’t force your opinions on people 😒

[@judeskater93]

Gwenpool uhhhhhhh......when did they do that, at least in this comment chat.

[@ceth6585]

Except poor Zuko, he tried to access the Power of Friendship, lost pretty much all his powers, and then had to go some dragon to go get them back So much for friendship, right in the honor

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

He lost his powers because he had lol "lost his spirit" when he joined Aang, which was a terrible excuse to give us an exposition to the true nature of Fire Bending, but he got them back in the same episode.

[@RedSalamander]

"He tried to access the Power of Friendship" Wait, which part are you talking about when Zuko did this? Because, although he talked with Katara and (I think) Aang on some separate occasions before trying to join the Gaang (or Team Avatar), Zuko definitely wasn't friends with them until the following episodes. Or do you mean the part where Zuko said to Aang "You once said you thought we could be friends"?

[@MegaChickenfish]

But then he channeled *better* firebending, empowered rather than weakened by the Power of Friendship, which let him stand off against Azula. _It still counts!_

[@KingOpenReview]

It's because he wasn't used to it. He was used to bending with his teen angst. If you suddenly get your weapon taken from you and given a new one, even if the new one is technically better, it's gonna be weird at first.

[@GoodVibeCounterfeit]

What does any of this have to do with Grease?

[@noguy0829]

"I'm evil because friendship isn't real" "Then what do you call this noble act of self-sacrifice?!" "Fascinating"

[@christopherfleetwood5252]

‘Convenient’

[@funnyVadim]

@@christopherfleetwood5252 Oh my god

[@christopherfleetwood5252]

@@funnyVadim 😂

[@aguywithalotofopinions412]

“I’m just saying it feels like at this point you’re only capturing me so you have someone to talk to” Can I steal that line? I’m gonna steal that line

[@Nuclearburrit0]

Don't forget the "No, now as I was monologuing" part.

[@Ailorn]

I just remembered that this kinda happens with Ella in the book The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

[@hydralily1646]

Ill be taking it as well.. thank you :))

[@twotoohonest2907]

So Megamind

[@abridge2]

i feel like that's basically what Doofenshmirtz's plan is. get Perry to show up, monologue to him like he's a therapist, get beaten up, rinse, repeat.

[@anticarrrot]

Hmm. As a mature sophisticated adult... I can see all sorts of way the perfect friend could be a great asset for a villain. "I want to kick some puppies. Best Friend, go and find some for me." "Sure thing pal! Because I'll always support you no matter what!" "Excellent. I do so value the power of unthinking loyalty and obedience."

[@thanatoast]

@@dumbasscentral1166 Y'know, i was a bit skeptical of how much mileage you could get out of a toy line as basic as She-Ra, but i was quite surprised to see how they transformed this lame toy from the 80's into a unique show with actually interesting themes.

[@zoro115-s6b]

This sounds like a good way to get your ass beat in an "I know you're in there somewhere" fight.

[@pendragon0905]

That actually sounds like the relationship between Orochimaru and Kabuto. Kabuto is so unwilling to accept Orochimaru's death, that he even injected some of the Snake Ninja's cells into his own body.

[@saundramonette4137]

This really reminds me of Gon, our main protag ball of sunshine, in Hunter X Hunter where it's pretty clear by the end that had he joined up with a terrorist gang (the Phantom Troupe) and made them his found family in the beginning rather than the generally good people he found he would've turned into a mass murdering villain and found the terrorist gang to be that POF fuel.

[@Levsa399]

Savage Opress from Star Wars: the Clone Wars

[@kevinsupreme_ph36yearsago59]

The Power of Friendship in a Realistic Way: *T E A M W O R K*

[@aaronsucayan433]

Yeah Even the villain completely overpowers them to the point even teamwork doesn't really help at all.

[@thomasfplm]

And mental support.

[@fattytan1377]

*What do you mean friendship does not mean power.* *There are 5 of us and one of you*

[@theoneandmanyanonymous]

@@fattytan1377 *insert "I like those odds" meme here*

[@zetafish7347]

BECAUSE WE'RE SONIC HEROES

[@icecreamcat2476]

I loved it when Bill Cipher was like: Wow, those kids really care about you. And you care about them. DON'T YOU?

[@makisekurisu4674]

Well, light does that all the time!

[@nathanjereb9944]

"No not the kids! You can-" *turns into statue* "Lets get this over with" *moves over, raises comicly big fist, fixes bowtie, and smashes down*

[@smartaleckduck4135]

Bill Cipher was an unapologetic psychopath and it was terrifying to watch

[@mariustan9275]

@@nathanjereb9944

[@theartistswings9810]

This whole "Ill be your friend no matter how bad you become" strangely never tackled the dangers of abusive friendships. People who are like that unconditional friend do exsist but its really easy for them to be taken advantage of and then jaded against secure friendships entirely. I honestly think I was like this once- naively taking after the characters and stories of unyeilding friendship from the stories i grew up on. But some people really are toxic for you. Holding hope for them or giving them every chance or believing they'll do the right thing in the end doesnt always fix your friendship. It has to be a two way street. Sometimes you have to make sure you arent dying in the flames you help fan.

[@phastinemoon]

Apparently, the new She-Ra does this nicely with Scorpia and Catra. Some other KZbinrs have dissected this to pieces

[@abnormallyawesome2062]

unfortunately real life doesn't allow for anyone to be unconditional friend, but yes people like that do exist. it's just usually hammered out of them by other people who take advantage of their kind and forgiving nature. then they become assholes and the world wonders what is wrong with them.. making them even more jaded and unwilling to trust anyone or dare another friendship. and yes, i do know this from personal experience. lol. i was the unconditional friend once upon a time. what makes turning cold worse is when people think your the one with the problem. so yeah. address that in your story if your going for a more realistic tone. lol

[@DeetheFirst]

This actually shows up in a lot of villain/minion relationships. The first to come to mind was Joker and Harly Quinn (though I know that's a romantic relationship, but that just adds an extra layer of abuse)

[@nikki607]

*cough cough* She-ra *cough cough*

[@pendragon0905]

Not really so sure about this, but I think this IS actually where Naruto actually shines. He cherishes friendships, but at the same time, he cherishes his home village, and Naruto has no problem putting a major smackdown on friends who betray his village. In fact, this is always his modus operandi: If the bad guy is an unwilling bad guy, then Naruto would want to try to work out a solution to get them out of their duties to evil, and if the guy is a bina fide villain, then either Naruto will beat some sense into them, or beat them to death.

[@AngryNerdBird]

I got a chuckle out of "Friendship giving you the power to fuse into a bigger, SCARIER friend." xD

[@nilo4197]

Goatmon A body horror spin on Voltron. Nice.

[@MrMack3006]

I thought when this happened in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was really done well, though in Buffy friendship has an odd and variable position.

[@planetarycube5988]

Steven Universe?

[@ArteArt39]

@@planetarycube5988 Yeah, there was Smokey Quartz on screen

[@andrewsmith211]

My favourite is where the anime protagonist is like "you will be my friend even if I have to beat it into you."

[@HenshinFanatic]

So the Takamachi Nanoha school of making friends.

[@andrewsmith211]

@@HenshinFanatic Exactly who I was thinking of.

[@eyoelassefa2158]

Naruto to Saskue be like

[@Sephiroth144]

Goku: What? How else do you make friends?

[@nikki607]

Talk no Jutsu?

[@pokemaniacalex8031]

Bill Cypher really is a whole other beast of a villain. I think he's the only one on a kid-teen show that could say a line like "I'LL BE RIGHT BACK. I'VE GOT SOME CHILDREN I NEED TO TURN INTO CORPSES".

[@JohnBrown-tw2qi]

The original line was just “SOME CHILDREN I NEED TO KILL” but it got censored by Disney

[@PinkDappleleaf]

​@@JohnBrown-tw2qiwhen the censor is somehow worse than the original 😂

[@McFurinaa]

@@JohnBrown-tw2qiaren’t censores supposed to be better…

[@hvbg]

​@@McFurinaa They used malicious compliance apparently lol

[@eruyommo]

I remembered "Lord of the Rings". What I found funny was that Sam wasn't originally the best friend of Frodo, but his curious employee. But even with that, he was the best embodiment of the Power of Friendship.

[@Lightice1]

Sam is a subtrope of this: a hyper-devoted servant whose care for his employer supersedes all other concerns. You almost never see them in modern fiction, after the master-servant relationships became less of a thing in our society, but they used to be everywhere in the 19th century and earlier.

[@GriffinPilgrim]

+Lightice1 Indeed, see the Fool from King Lear or, less seriously, Jeeves from Jeeves And Wooster.

[@SCP.343]

Lightice1 I wouldn't say never, look at Black Butler… what? Sebastian's a demon!? … Surely everybody else counts, right?

[@firetarrasque4667]

Wait a second... They were friends but yeah, he was friends with (Merry if I remember?), not Sam. So... So why... Now I'm confused. If he's going to let Sam come to Mordor, why not the others? Anyhow, yeah.

[@leonmercury3732]

Are we forgetting about Alfred, boys and girls? I mean, occasionally things go deeper and DC will mention that he has an intimate familial relationship with Bruce. BUT 9 times out of 10 he is just simply the badass butler who will not move an inch if it would harm Bruce.

[@amethystmaries2567]

You should do a love triangle "Trope Talk".

[@a.morphous66]

Terrible Writing Advice cameo, anyone?

[@LibertyLocalizer]

Bookhead714 HECK YES

[@aaronyandell2929]

The Count of Monte Cristo would be an executive point of reference for that topic.

[@Max-el7zd]

Matthew Mazzetti HeCk

[@madisonowlgirl2002]

Noooo

[@plaidpvcpipe3792]

Having villains as friends is great in stories attempting to be realistic. You can put the character in distress when he kills an enemy and another bad guy is crying over his dead body for him to come back. It can seriously change up the dynamic and provide some interesting plot points.

[@russelltan161]

Hero: shoots bad guy #1 Bad guy #1: *dies* Bad guy #2: NOOOO, LARRYYY Hero: feels bad

[@jamillatorres7226]

Mine have a dynamic where one main character is friends with a dude on the villain's side, they were forced to be and want to leave to join their friend but one particularly aggressive main character mistakes them for a threat and oofs them, enraging the other protag and inititating a fallen hero arc Cheesy but its not like this story will evolve into something more soooo

[@BJGvideos]

Cited but never really USED in Valkyria Chronicles, when sometimes when you kill an enemy, the overheard radio feed will be all "no! He was such a good guy!" Sadly this only happens with nameless mooks and never anyone relevant to the story

[@sofiamansour-tehrani4727]

I really like how My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic balances the raw sugar with some self-awareness. Right in the first episode, we have the main character Twilight Sparkle being a logical, results-oriented introvert who scoffs at the idea of friendship being helpful in the defeat of an actual physical threat, and has to learn that she lives in a ‘friendship literally gives you unstoppable laser powers’-type show. The series explores what makes friendship so powerful and how that power can be used and lost in a wide variety of contexts. The final episode has the next generation’s equivalent of pre-character development Twilight telling post-character development Twilight that she thinks friendships are more trouble than they’re worth: painful, complicated and, as you discussed here, very difficult to maintain over time and through change. And our hero, who is now POF personified… agrees! Friendship is HARD and she of all people knows it. That’s how a series that runs on the POF got nine seasons of conflict at least mostly out of the relationships (some conflicts are purely supernatural, but most have a relationship-focused element in some form, even if only metaphorical like Queen Chrysalis being the embodiment of ‘all take and no give’ dynamics). Twilight goes on to explain that she and her friend group, who are again, the embodiment of the ideal friendship, had to put emotional closure on their last day living in the same area aside for practical duties related to a big event, and after they did get their big emotional hug and heart-to-heart, they had to face the consequences that they’d neglected their duties so the event was a disaster. The final lesson they had to learn was how to make regular (if less) time for friendship upkeep in their changing independent lives. I particularly like the character of Cozy Glow, a villainous deconstruction of the power of friendship. She’s an adorable, charming, eager-to-please little girl born and raised in pony society, which has friendship and its component qualities as core values. Except in reality, she’s one of the most effective and pure evil villains in the entire series. Because she understands friendship and the power it grants: both the tangible magic of this fantasy world and mundane POF as in social manipulation and influence. She understands it in a way no antagonist ever has before. She knows that she appears to be the perfect friend in the perfect environment for that person to thrive. Her plot for world domination almost succeeds through her gradually weaving a network of false friendships and earning everyone’s trust until she has enough clout to pull that net tight into a snare. The only thing she’s missing is that true friendship isn’t FOR power, the power is a side effect from the strength of love she seems unable to feel. This contrasts her with several other villains like Discord and Starlight Glimmer whose evil is motivated by a lack of experience with or understanding of friendship and thus are able to be redeemed through discovering it, while Cozy is never redeemed due to her fundamental nature being to very deliberately take advantage of any kindness and mercy she receives. She’s a brilliant example of a villain weaponizing and perverting this trope.

[@emanuelrojas2]

Makes you wonder how a filly like her get so power hungry, manipulative and knife twisty.

[@VioletNKisHere]

Agreed.

[@not.quite.an.enigma9949]

This is a beautiful deconstruction!

[@mariustan9275]

Of all places I expected a deconstructionist lesson on the dangers of false friendships I did not expect one from a kids show about magic ponies.

[@CodexOfXol]

"Now I shall away to the internet, whereupon I shall inform preteen cartoon fans that joy is fleeting, friendship is communist propaganda, and death comes for us all." This is now one of my favourite quotes.

[@griffinauroria4592]

The only time I have seen the whole "I have your friend you have what I want gimme gimme" Trope subverted is in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood where in *SPOILERS* Roy Mustang is asked to perform human transmutation, so he can become one of Fathers sacrifices, in exchange for the life of Riza Hawkeye. He REFUSES to do so, citing the fact that Riza would have shot him if he did as reason, but is then forced to do human transmutation anyway. For all the good it did, it was an awesome subversion of expectations and made the aforementioned transmutation all the more jarring and effective. God I love that show.

[@crimsondespair_9505]

Huh, I thought you were gonna talk about the time where Spoilers Winry was taken as hostage. I truly loved this part as Winry had no idea what was going on until she was told by Edward himself and so Edward was forced to do something in which Winry had no say since she didn't know this was happening. Subverting the hostage trope in this way was great as it shows how clever villains can be: if Winry found out, she would do everything in her power to escape (which she does) but she doesn't know so she is basically a damsel in distress but done right.

[@dillpickles5012]

Or that time when Spoilers Greed had captured Alphonse and was trying to start a negotiation with Ed, then Ed just, like, kicks him in the face.

[@matteste]

Or how about in 2003 where Lust puts her fingers on Al's blood seal and threatens to destroy it if Ed doesn't create the Philosophers Stone.

[@grantcooper5799]

Or that time when a significantly weakened Envy grabbed that mustache guy and said "let me go free or I'll kill him" and they were just like "bye, Mr. Mustache! We'll miss you!" Man, Fullmetal Alchemist has a lot of these. Such a great show.

[@cia3801]

In conclusion: Fullmetal alchemist done the tropes right

[@Austin-mg8pv]

My favorite version of the i know you’re in there fight is a scene a friend of mine wrote. And it wasn’t “oh we are such good friends and I must fight you to free you” but instead “you were getting on my nerves and now I have a reason to throw you into a wall” and it was just very amusing.

[@coltonwilliams4153]

Ah, the “sibling-style best friends” relationship. You love them. You’ll do anything for them. But, gods damn it, you just need half an excuse to put them through a wall.

[@high-functioningnerd]

Brainwasher: Ha ha! I've found your one weakness! You may hurt me, but you'll never hurt- Hero: The dude with glowing eyes who's been refusing to do his own laundry for two months? Oh, please. I've done worse. Brainwashee: Told you, he's crazy. Hero: I don't spend $50 on fabric softener just so you can stockpile dirty clothes in the bathroom cabinet!

[@VJ-Vice]

The interesting part with the My Hero Academia example is that Deku doesn't try to help Todoroki overcome his emotional issues about his family and quirk because Todoroki is his friend, but because that is what a true hero would do. In fact, Deku and Todoroki's relationship is very competitive before the fight, and they don't really start becoming friends until the battle with Stain. Instead, Deku helps Todoroki because he sees that Todoroki is suffering from his own mentality of rejecting his father's quirk, which in essence is rejecting a part of himself. This, in turn allows Todoroki to awaken his full potential as a hero and even pass on the advice of not letting personal angst go against the duties of a hero to Iida. This moment of saving Todoroki highlights Deku's true heroism, not so much a powerful friendship with Todoroki which doesn't develop until later on.

[@VJ-Vice]

P.S. Another cool thing that My Hero Academia does is that Todoroki's realization takes time to fully ingrain itself into his characters. With a lot of stories Todoroki would have immediately accepted the fire side of his quirk because the protagonist yelled at him really passionately, but it actually takes a while for Todoroki to accept himself. He has to first sort out his internal demons and confront his past by visiting his mother before he can develop as a character. This internal struggle manifests when he loses to Bakugo because he was still struggling to accept his fire side. This makes sense because Todoroki spent his entire life loathing the fire quirk that his selfish father passed onto him, and it is believable that a single moment of Deku's heroism is not enough to overturn years of conflict and resolve. Instead, Deku's heroism is the spark that triggers a longer chain of events that eventually leads to Todoroki's reformation.

[@BFedie518]

@@nucleargoofball8043 i don't follow you. Todoroki was *more* powerful when using both ice and fire. Deku would have beaten him if Todoroki hadn't used the fire. That was the whole point of the scene.

[@willieoelkers5568]

@@BFedie518 I think what he meant was that while the pep talk laid the groundwork and helped him overcome his issues in the moment, it wasn't the single-use-miracle-cure these scenes are frequently portrayed as. Yes, Deku made him get over it long enough to win their fight, but it wasn't actually enough to overcome Todoroki's ingrained patterns, which reasserted themselves in the later fight.

[@greatwavefan397]

Okay, I'm thankful this discussion exists because that scene has rubbed me the wrong way for so long. Thanks, guys.

[@Leivve]

I can handle this trope in small scale feats, such a as guy using willpower to overcome immense pain to save his friend. Or someone's adrenaline kicking in when they see their friend get crushed, letting them lift the car they're under, ect. Things where friendship is the spark that causes the fire, rather then just being the fire.

[@leonishikino6873]

Toy Story in a nutshell

[@Leivve]

But I'm cute and fluffy!

[@mandickthetittysmithy5117]

AND EVIL !!!!!!

[@glockcrusader8008]

Leivve any you are also a creature of Grimm slightly resembling Zwei Ok I will just walk away and hope you don’t kill me.

[@Leivve]

Did you just assume more form! I will have you know I am a proud fuzzy wuzzy beowolf.

[@gatereaper]

Would love to see a villain respond to the power of friendship directly with "oh god, I'm screwed because I just killed the sidekick on accident"

[@Sephiroth144]

And then, they headshot the main hero. What- the problem was they missed- you think they emptied the clip?

[@lmaobox4068]

>Broly movie Frieza

[@Blwbelle]

"oh shit oh fuck I killed them-"

[@coolname-x7f]

"Friendship as a power source is both sustainable and renewable." What a great quote.

[@binifarmer4045]

Here's an interesting idea: what about a loner hero who's the way he is because the the villain is his friend, and the "power of friendship" indirectly caused his fall into darkness? That way, the loner hero sees the concept of friendship as a cruel joke and serves as a counterbalance to the story's squad of close friends.

[@nilo4197]

Bini Farmer Wait, so are you telling me that befriending the hero makes a character do a face-heel turn. So does that mean, the MC has some kind of curse that turns people who get close to him to turn evil? But here's the twist the hero thinks him getting close to people is what makes people lose their heroism but it's not that... it's actually the other way around, so the more a person likes the MC the more likely they are to turn into horrible persons.

[@binifarmer4045]

That wasn't really what I was going for. I was thinking more like "The 'Power of Friendship' prevented me from seeing that I was helping my friend do these awful things. Therefore, 'friendship' does not make you a good person by default."

[@nilo4197]

Bini Farmer Oh, so you were talking about the 'Blind Obedience' or 'Undying Loyalty' trope brought about by the hero's tight-knit friendship with his villainous friend that made him believe everything he did was for 'the greater good' until his conscience spoke to him or someone opened his eyes and the hero finally decided to abandon their friendship. That also makes for a compelling character development arc as you see the hero grow from a gullible friend to a cynical loner.

[@binifarmer4045]

Yep, and to really throw him for a loop, it's his adventures with the band of friends who help him realize that friendship, for good or ill, is still perhaps the most powerful force in the world.

[@OrinjFlames]

So... basically the plot of Berserk?

[@theinfinitypizza4431]

F IS FOR FRIENDS THAT DO STUFF TOGETHER

[@liaminator4950]

U IS FOR U AND ME

[@97Multiphantom]

N IS FOR NYWHERE AND NYTIME AT ALL

[@markmayonnaise1163]

Down here in the deep blue sea! Edit: Fuck you're fast

[@l.tc.5032]

N is for anywhere and anytime at all, DOWN HERE IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA!

[@Samm815]

F is for Fire that burns down the whole town! U is for Uranium... bombs! N is for No survivors when you kill everyone in sight!

[@Firestar4041]

You could also take the "Power of Friendship" in a more literal sense: *Bad Dude:* WHAT MAKES YOU SO STRONG!?!? Good Guy: The power of friendship! *Bad Dude:* Ah i see now, its due to your common interests, compassion for others, and your feeling of doing good, that makes you ni-indestructible!!! Other good guy: . . . wha- no, its cause theres 7 of us and one of you Good guy: Yeah! Now lets curve stomp this jerk face! Gang of "Heroes": YEAH!!! *Bad Dude:* Wait, hold on now, your the good guys arent you!?! AH OH JESUS AAAHHH!!!!!

[@GeneralAblon]

Not really heroic, but soooo funny. 🤣

[@adamfreed2291]

The one thing Black Clover does right.

[@freman007]

I named my sword "Kindness" so now I can kill people with kindness.

[@rghunter4439]

Good guys: whole lotta gang shit

Yu Yu Hakusho uses the POWER of friendship quite literally and verbally states it TWICE.

[@CadanL]

i want a villian to be the "ill never give up on you" friend for the main protag, i think it could be really interesting to see the way they'd interact

[@reshirambrotherzekrom]

You mean a reverse Naruto ?

[@thechh8297]

You mean naruto?

[@nikki607]

Catra and Adora, to a certain extend

[@olafgurke4699]

Has someone asked for Syndrome?

[@abigailgriffin-wc3fm]

Sophie and Agatha A school for good and evil

[@maxthepaladin2147]

I think this "no villain ever threatens friend of a hero to break him" part is a bit of overkill I mean, you watched Teen Titans - what about that part, where Slade blackmailed Robin into joining him? He EXPLICITLY threatend his teammates Also, this "work for us or we kill your wife/child/dog/whatever" motivation is used quite commonly in action movies

[@malaineenerd146]

Max the Paladin those are threats, I think she was talking about out right torture, which I have seen twice.

[@dragon12234]

There's also the first Knights of the Old Republic where a villain tortures your potential love interests in order to try make you reveal where the hidden Jedi temples are

[@arvmeister9302]

*THEY GOT T!*

[@timy9197]

Also, empire strikes back "you must not go" "but Han and Leia will die if I don't".

[@timy9197]

+The One With The Carrot It was supposed to be an easy grab

[@floriannarratio8062]

HunterXHunter showed me how brilliant it is if villains not only have friends, but care immensely about them without any cynicism. See the Phantom Troupe and to an extend the Royal Guard.

[@otoherrera3740]

The saddest part of the ark it’s when the main villain dies! I’ve never seen that done anywhere else

[@CursedCatTruffa]

Honestly, the fact that HxH show how not only the protagonists have important relationships as friendship but also the antagonist have them make the writing more rich and easy to relate and even care about the characters, even the bad guys

[@kevink2146]

And nowadays, La Squadra.

[@Reality-Distortion]

@@otoherrera3740 First arc of Naruto has done exactly that.

[@crocuslament9680]

The Phantom Troupe is so friendship powered that they try to recruit two of the protagonists because one guy was just "You guys look like you're strong, loyal, liable to explode into a fit of murderous rage if someone kills one of your loved ones becoming determined to kill them at the cost of your own life, and also like you'd be fun to hang around, and those are the only qualifications for joining our group."

[@glittersenpai8821]

Bill Cipher is CLEARLY the overall best villain. Terrifying, all-powerful, great sense of humor (with all his "I'm going to disassemble your molecules"), AND A TOP HAT AND BOW TIE TO TOP IT OFF. Job well done. *golf claps*

[@yoggysothy2512]

Agreed

[@altirianfairyalchemyst]

Reality is an illusion! The universe is a hologram!

[@ikebirchum6591]

I HAVE SOME CHILDREN I NEED TO TURN INTO CORPSES - quote from a character in a children's tv show

[@yoggysothy2512]

I SEE EVERYTHING! -bill

[@duykhangtran4406]

I would suggest Lord Dominator if you like that kinds of villan.

[@JazzEKeez]

I love how in Hunter X Hunter, they subvert the Power of Friendship troupe by giving the antagonists (e.g. the phantom troop) just as much access to the power of friendship as the protagonists.

[@coltonwilliams4153]

This is especially true for Nobu and Uvo. They go into detail about how Uvo having to protect Nobu in fights holds him back, but increases Nobu’s power, so neither minds and are pretty close partners even though their personalities are totally different.

[@acetrigger1337]

So... if a villain makes friends with his nameless grunts, he can also get the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP. found a loophole, yay!

[@grizzlyowlbear3538]

YOU FOOL! YOU HAVE DOOMED US ALL!

[@akuraproductions3550]

BATTLE OF THE FRIENDS! I'm so writing this down.

[@RevantheBlack]

Evil Overlord: “NOOO, not Mook Wilhelm!”

[@maxentirunos]

I like the scenario of 'villain have a soft side for a grunt'. It usually make the grunt or little group of grunts the famous useless incompetent, to the point you don't get why the villain would ever put up with them. You can even have them snap at the grunt when things get dire for the villain, only to have the grunt heroically sacrificing himself to save the villain (power of friendship), cue flashback of their moments, cue how dare you hurt my friend powerup for villain (power of friendship *2), cue real final boss fight

[@Konh-Minh]

Legit, I've actually seen this happen a few times. Off the top of my head I can name: Torna from Xenoblade 2 Mage Sisters from Kirby Star Allies And some of the grunts in Castlevania where they team up to do combination attacks

[@astrobookwormsinger]

I know thick friendships can be shipping material, but that's a sign of true friendship - If other people start questioning their relationship, while both the friends involved clearly know exactly what kind of relationship they actually have, which is purely platonic. But again, this coming from a hardcore Stucky shipper isn't really a valid opinion. So, never mind.

[@duykhangtran4406]

I know that the line between friendship and romantic love can be REALLY small if not non-existent to most fan. It's use to be a problem with characters with different gender but now... Yeah

[@blueteller]

It's a matter of perspective, I think. Some people just immediately connect "tension" with "attraction", and "fondness" with "infatuation" - which is why they ship any two characters with any strong emotion between them. But personally, I believe *all* good relationships to have the same platonic foundations, hence the confusion.

[@mystii8134]

“The power of friendship is like sugar” Yes. It gives out heart attacks, diabetes and obesity. The villains are the smart ones.

[@drhaxx7425]

That's why villains are often so lean, pale and have violent coughing fits. They simply suffer from severe sugar deficiency

[@joryjones6808]

Friends who needs them am I right! That;s why I stay locked in my room and emotional isolate even when there isn't a pandemic. Yes I'm sickly, mean, unenthusiastic about life and starting to hear voices but isn't that just part of the benefit, right?

[@Jennifer_Devote]

....am I villain???

[@oluwanifemiadeyemi4270]

@@joryjones6808 you okay?

[@AnimeboyIanpower]

@@drhaxx7425 So, the bad guys are hypoglycemic? Good to know. Note: I almost mistyped "hypoglycemic" as "hypnoglycemic".

[@invisibleghost3820]

13:58 is my favorite drawing of the video. Villain: And now you shall tell me everything you know. Hero: It’s a _short_ list

[@thomasfplm]

I made an RPG character once that my party intentionality didn't give him any information, because I chose for him to be very bad at discovering lies, and even worse at lieing. But he was a monster in combat. (He was not dumb, just had poor social skills)

[@nathanjereb9944]

Villain: well good because I got reservations at Outback Teahouse Hero: ooooo can I come Villain: no but I can get some left over bread or chicken, see you in 2 hours! *locks hero in a room*

[@TooLateForIeago]

"He will come to me?" "His compassion for you will be his undoing." -Vader and the Emperor.

[@cellochicita]

*kicks door down* I CAME AS SOON AS I HEARD

[@JohnSears]

Cellochicita, fancy seeing you here

[@cellochicita]

Heyyy man! And yeah I love this channel XD

[@pitmaster226]

I came... I came... I came as fast as I could

[@FaeMagic]

ANGELICA?!

[@bokkun9808]

Cellochicita All the way from London? Damn..

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

Anakin and I used to be friends. Those were good times. :'-)

[@freetoplayking7362]

I enjoyed seeing you burn him, too bad he wasn't prepared for the burn worst from you

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

HIGH GROUND!

[@alexpindell4307]

I though you two ware friends agian

[@xuanathan]

After seeing Hayden Christensen replace Sebastian shaw, a friendship was destroyed.

[@gerryportuguezjr.652]

Obi-Wan Kenobi Yeah #2HIGH4U

[@bimbitashaikh8331]

"This kind of unwavering loyalty is interpreted as shipping fodder- but again what isnt these days?" you have angered Aphrodite. beware her wrath.

[@extremelycrash]

My favorite book uses the power of friendship which I kinda got pissed until I realized that they also use the power of walnuts and that the book isn’t supposed to be taken seriously at all.

[@samwallaceart288]

The Power of Walnuts? What book is this? I must read it.

[@fangirlcupcake4199]

Lily Python what book

[@Codiliabra]

Tell us 🅱

[@extremelycrash]

It’s third Magnus chase book :)

[@Ilikebats123]

I must read this book

[@tanuki01]

“But picking on people for liking cartoons is way easier than contemplating why other people’s happiness makes me so angry” I’m feeling very attacked right now

[@cozetteweng2706]

Dear Red, Please make a Trope Talk about villain backstories. I, like most everyone else, always prefer the antagonist, and, like everyone who has ever watched your videos, would like you to analyze them further. Thanks! P.S. One about character outfits or costumes and/or appearances would be awesome too!

[@loadeddice7831]

All the yes!!!

[@_Uptilt]

The talk about villain backstories ties together with the point about unbreakable friendships. Especially in anime it is common for one of the lackeys of the arc villain to be impossibly devoted to his/her master, to the point of happily giving their lives for the villain, while being otherwise good-natured people. When this is well explained through character traits or plot points it can work to great effect (Haku in Naruto comes to mind, and also the terrifying and unnatural loyalty seen in almost every underling of Dio in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure), but when this relationship is built on a single good action alluded to in a flashback (with this action often being purely motivated by self-interest) followed by the underling basically living the rest of their life as the villain's mistreated lapdog, things can feel really forced.

[@annonimooseq1246]

Analyze all of Dr. Doofensmertz’s tragic back stories coward

[@weesalikesmilktea4829]

@@annonimooseq1246 BALLOONY NOOOOOOOOO

[@OmolonFluidDynamicsEnjoyer]

The villain who has trained for 100,000,000,000,000 years, harnessed the power of the sun, killed and absorbed 7 star systems and is capable of summoning black holes at will: I AM UNSTOPPABLE The hero and his friends he met 3 days ago with the power of friendship: *Are you sure about that?*

[@Sephiroth144]

One black hole later: Yes.

[@nathanjereb9944]

If you want a more lazy plot, replace friendship with love

[@QWERTY-gp8fd]

@@nathanjereb9944 love is more realistic than friendship. men who love their country and family fight harder than those who dont. u can see such examples in vietnam war , afghanistan war. outgunned, outnumbered but won against great power.

[@caramelcat189]

This is just Kirby Star Allies

[@vapx0075]

Ah. The Legend of the Three Caballeros. Awesome show. Because they waiting so many years to put it up on Disney+, they'll never know how popular it actually was. smh.

[@rowanheart8122]

"I've got a couple children that i need to make into *corpses* " - Bill Cipher

[@sar2794]

NARUTTOOOOOOOOOOOOO SASSSSUKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@Jinx-iw6zb]

Hashiramaaaaaaaaaaaa Madaraaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@cybersamuraijayswal9733]

Shotoooooooooooooooooooooooo

[@syabilaazri7834]

Boboiboy and Fang

[@rowanheart8122]

Fuck i dotn even watch naruto but i heard this through osmosis

[@SergioBocanegra]

Naruto and Sasuke had the most toxic relationship i have ever seen and i had abusive parents

[@teejaykaye]

One of my favorite tropes is sort of the natural evolution of this trope: the Found Family. I'm a sucker for a group of characters who end up together for a job or due to circumstances or a combined goal and then slowly, often emotionally, forge a deeper lasting bond. It's harder to pinpoint in more popular media, but I've seen this trope a lot in D&D, like The Adventure Zone and Critical Role.

[@Takejiro24]

Would the Guardians of the Galaxy movies count?

[@teejaykaye]

@@Takejiro24 Oh, definitely. They've even got the great sub-trope of the Found Family actually having to RAISE a character!

[@bluebellrose2293]

It’s done in Tangled: The Series when *surprise villain* kidnaps one of the friends Varian and tortures them in order to get information about *plot stuff*. They then keep him in a cage to lure Raps and Eugene to the sky castle and uses Eugene to force Rapunzel into fighting. It’s also done in both of The Last of Us’s which is interesting because it’s done to the “antagonists”. Oh and in A Curse so Dark and Lonely - a Beauty and the Beast retelling - the protagonist is forced into staying so the antagonist won’t torture the guy.

[@KittyOfChess]

Cass is Bill Cipher now Also, I love A Curse so Dark and Lonely. We can all agree the Rhen is the new Tamlin, right? He tortured Grey and a literal child for basically no reason, and is just a grade A jerk.

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

It's almost as if Friendships is some kind of Magic...

[@vex3414]

No.

[@kittycatt1348]

Obi-Wan Kenobi help me Obi-wan Kenobi!

[@otakuwithapen2109]

*blast the MLP theme song at full volume.*

[@nightbridge1027]

Obi-Wan... Why do I have the feeling that you are going to be the death of me?

[@b-ratedideas8560]

I did not know obi wan was a fan of mlp no wonder you could not kill Anakin. It was you weakness.

[@IceAokiji303]

My favorite use of the power of friendship is when the villains can use it too. Antagonists don't necessarily have to be bad people, just opposed to the protagonists. And so if they also can have real friends, why *wouldn't* they be able to do that. And then there's the thing of some characters here and there having literal friendship powers. I'm not talking the bland "we are inexplicably stronger because we are friends, now eat this unexplained friendship laser" -type. I'm talking actual practical stuff, like maybe some character may be able to copy the powers of others, but only if they share a strong bond or something. This stuff usually works best in series with well-defined power systems, where what each character can do is something that can be clearly defined, see: Hunter x Hunter, Jojo, My Hero Academia...

[@nabringalamkin167]

Where is it in my hero?

[@blueteller]

@@nabringalamkin167 My Hero Academia has two good examples of villains being all about friendship: first Twice, who does everything for the sake of his friends - because he knows he's insane and they accept him for who he is. Second is Gentle Criminal and La Brava, comedic "villains" who literally rely on the "Power of Love" to save them when they're in trouble. HeroAca loves tropes subversions.

[@nabringalamkin167]

@@blueteller you right. I completely forgot about them because my mind was too stuck up in the clouds of heroes 🙃. My hero really does turn everything up on its head. No wonder its so great.

[@Dnires23]

@@gaelurquiz5755 I'm pretty sure that even with Twice death we will see that again. Both Spinner and Compress explicitly care about the league ans Shigaraki, Toga probably do too and same for Shigaraki as a certain extent

[@defectivesickle5643]

I have a love/hate relationship with the power of friendship. On the protagonist side it's almost always obnoxious and pandering. On the ANTAGONIST side, it becomes a lot more interesting.

[@mcbeans3196]

Same

[@isadoramachado5240]

I know it's a cliche but I actually like this trope (when well-done). Is so heartwarming

[@aharondardik]

Red: The Villain never exploits the power of friendship Thanos: Hold my beer

[@stevenchoza6391]

But he doesn’t... he exploits family ties and romantic ones.

[@alaskaball188]

@@stevenchoza6391 wait Thanos is from Alabama? I thought he was from Titan

[@stevenchoza6391]

Echo Look what happened with Gamora and Starlord.

[@planetarycube5988]

*Cozy Glow would like to know your location*

[@GoranXII]

Shows up in the ST:TNG double episode _Chain of Command_ , where Picard has been captured by the Romulans, and is being tortured. At one point, the Romulan torturer mentions hoping Dr. Crusher will be more cooperative, to try to break Picard. Subverted in that they don't actually *have* Dr. Crusher, but Picard doesn't know this, and she was on the mission with him, so it would seem plausible to him.

[@shadowjerok]

I'm surprised red didn't mention Naruto as the example of a friend that will never give up on. Cause seriously, all the stuff he just ignores regarding Sasuke is ridiculous

[@momowoods2859]

Ture. :D and I'm a Naruto fan,so I get it.

[@TheKeybladeofdarknes]

That actually started pissing me off after a while

[@shadowjerok]

It pissed me off also. Especially after the five kage summit.

[@Al-nt9st]

Shadow Jerok true

[@Al-nt9st]

Momo Woods yeah same

[@nocturnecz3965]

I think Black Clover has my favourite version of the Power of Friendship trope, shown best in Asta, Finral and Vanessa's fight against Vetto. They don't win by magically getting a power up, they win by using a strategy that works only because they trust the others so completely they don't even hesitate to use it, which is exactly what they can't afford due to the danger of literally dying if any one of them hesitated, even for a second. And they win. For about 5 minutes, then the opponent picks himself up again, which is a wonderful subversion all by itself. I loved that fight, it's exactly what Fairy Tail could have been if only it used it's power of friendship better.

[@matthewmuir8884]

Yes; the Vetto fight in Black Clover was a fantastic example. Another example from the same show that I really liked was Asta & Mars vs Elf-Fana. Mars recognizes her as human-Fana (an elf's spirit is possessing a human with the same name) and has no idea that his childhood friend that he long thought dead is being possessed by an elf. With Asta's help, he's able to get to her and calm her down, and everything he says to her manages to expel elf-Fana and restores human-Fana.

[@NolanMc88_]

@@gaelurquiz5755 eh, yes the plot depends on power ups, but power ups are tied to character development. this is the literal meaning behind Yami's catchphrase "surpass your limits" it goes further than the idea of just magically becoming stronger, it recognizes the pre established rule of the magic system that magic is improved or worsened by the user's mental and emotional state and is essentially saying "let go of what's holding you back." and they drove this home in the fight between nacht and the twin devils that came out of the tree of Qliphoth. we are explained nacht's backstory, about how he become a devil tamer and as a result of him getting overzealous, he killed his own brother and took his place as a magic knight, and because of this he resolved himself to simply die in an attempt to take out the devils, and he said that this was him "surpassing his limit" but this is quickly taken out and never for a second did the manga pretend it was working, because it was obvious that nacht had misunderstood "surpass your limits" and that's why he couldn't win. if nacht had instead resolved himself to live for himself, and not to atone for his mistakes even at the cost of his live, he would have gained the strength to defeat the devils.

[@bruhnation800]

Bruh yea. Personally I’m enjoying fairy tail so far but I’m getting sick of the bullshit it pulls out of its ass cause of the “power of friendship”

[@cecefernandes5657]

I like the power of friendship simply because I really love the found found family trope and it always seems to go hand in hand. Does it get annoying sometimes? Hm yeah maybe but honestly it's a guilty pleasure at times

[@izzy1221]

6:02 RED WHY YOU EXPOSE. **runs away and hides in pile of fanfiction**

[@bionizard5480]

*grabs truth stick * come out buddy

[@Seetor]

Isagail please try to improve your art

[@LadyMeiun]

alex valice Didn't they throw that thing into the lake at the end of that South Park game?

[@samh3396]

they’re blue and red. *LANCE KEITH IS THAT YOU???*

[@sukiyen715]

Samantha Huynh Meeeeeee

[@ceoofceos5219]

LETS BEAT THIS CREEP WITH THE REAL SUPER POWER OF TEAM WORK! -Sonic The Hedgehog

[@Abananapie]

Do I see you everywhere or does everyone have God as their profile picture

[@duykhangtran4406]

Oh please, it's nothing like cooking you friend alive and tossing them around like rag doll.

[@griffinkimball2454]

I think Heroes did it better than Forces. Yes, the writing was corny, but the whole team gimmick made it feel earned, especially during the ending of Team Sonic's story. In Forces it didn't feel like the friendship lines were earned, and the power of friendship beating Infinite felt stupid because it never felt like the two of them combined could beat him when separately they were floor wiped.

[@bubblegumbitch8665]

The snapping out of it thing made me think about how to train your dragon 2, what a great movie that was.

[@westtech001]

What have we learned today? That Red would be a terrifying villain!

[@StarshadowMelody]

We only learned that today?

[@KittyOfChess]

I think we've known that for a while.

[@kerwinbrown4180]

Most people are villians but they are cunning enough to keep it hidden. Awesome villians don't hide it.

[@uncroppedsoop]

@@kerwinbrown4180 when the wind is slow, and the fire's hot

[@screm5514]

@@uncroppedsoop the vulture waits to see what rots

[@timogul]

Yeah, basically the "torture a friend" angle doesn't get used because it's TOO effective. It forces the hero into either failing, OR betraying their friendship, which even if that's the "right" call to make, makes him look bad. It's realistic, but hard to make it work as a net-positive story element.

[@Alias_Anybody]

The choice would actually be incredibly interesting. "The world" (or at least a huge number of people) or a friend? We humans tend to act purely subjektive, one person you know is a higher toll FOR YOU than a million you don't care about. Is our hero above it? Is our hero even supposed to be above it?

[@nilo4197]

Alias Anybody I did see that story element being used in "The Cabin in the Woods". Too bad, the friends were nihilistic existentialists.

[@Sorain1]

It's ironic that I can think of a single game that presents that dilemma to the player, and the majority of players picked the friend. (Life is Strange) Your friend, or your home town? Personally I know why I picked the town, but I also know I'm in the minority there. Especially because to me it wasn't a choice, it was a calculation. The life of one friend I've spent the entire game saving from both bad luck and her own stupidity, or the lives and lively-hood of the entire town I've spent this time coming to care about. 1 life for a 1000+ lives. However much it sucked to have to make the call, it wasn't hard for me to make it. Sure, I was upset by that as the ending, but I appreciated that it wasn't made for me. Especially I appreciated that I wasn't scolded for it, as I had been for such decisions in other games (Fallout 3 comes to mind.)

[@timogul]

Also Fable 2's dog. Your dog or the world? Dog, definitely dog.

[@entropyzero5588]

+Sorain1 The majority picked Chloe? How do you figure? I have yet to meet a single person who didn't ultimately pick the town 0o As far as I can tell, everybody shares your reasoning here.

[@sinvector8020]

Guardians of the Galaxy, anyone? The Power of Friendship literally overpowers an Infinity Stone!

[@timy9197]

There's a good one

[@twinkacast]

Well, that and a God.

[@matthewmuir8884]

Elias "small g".

[@acendiatstudios6517]

they're not friends they are family.

[@nilo4197]

Um, Star-Lord was essentially a Demigod. And it was explained towards the end of GOTG (and fully explored in GOTG 2). So yes, it did seem like Gunn was exploiting the power of friendship trope, but it can be justified as Quill was probably the one bearing the brunt of the destructive power of the MacGuffin Stone (with the others merely channelling a negligible fraction of power through their bodies, because they did not want Quill to die alone and that scene was probably there just to show how closer they have gotten as friends, and for its sheer awesomeness). Yeah, but it did feel like a bit of a handwave in the first film...so...

[@toa_tahu9582]

3:03 "You became friends with Yosuke!" >Yosuke will now DIE FOR YOU But seriously I'm surprised by the lack of Persona in this.

[@thirteenfury]

SSBr0z I know, right? Even before you max out the social links, you can do team attacks to finish off an enemy. And with friends you just met yesterday, nonetheless.

[@renrenthemadscientist]

"Calm down!" "No." "Calm the hell down!" "Fine."

[@Aluminum.K]

SSBr0z Persona is the power of friendship with guns and music. Also sometimes cars.

[@Soli167]

Advent Of Sloth And cool waifus.

[@Pilchowski01]

@@Soli167 and sometimes literally the devil

[@SatoruNatara123]

"Now, I shall away to the internet, whereupon I shall inform preteen cartoon fans that joy is fleeting, friendship is communist propaganda, and death comes for us all!" Me: I'm pretty sure she just channeled the antagonist of my series for a moment there.

[@caninelupus8369]

Call me curious.

[@SatoruNatara123]

@@caninelupus8369 Still working on it, but I am sure I'll get it circulating sometime before my life is over.

[@vigilantsycamore8750]

Code Lyoko had an interesting example of this. In the Season 1 episode Ghost Channel, XANA (evil reality-warping AI, *the* villain of the show) traps the three combatants of the team in a simulation of the real world. To get them out, Jeremy - the tech guy - needs to go into the virtual world himself, which is something he's been scared to do for a while. When XANA impersonates Jeremy and tries to convince the others that the real Jeremy is actually the imposter, it points this out - "He *has* to be the fake, he would never have virtualised himself because he's too scared!" which is what gives XANA away. Jeremy might be scared of virtualising himself, but he's willing to take that chance to save his friends. XANA flips out and starts screaming "NOT LOGICAL"... but from the Season 1 finale onwards we see XANA exploiting the heroes' friendship on a semi-regular basis. The villain learned about the power of friendship and started taking advantage of this afterwards, which playes a big part in the show getting more intense

[@Valery0p5]

Those meddling kids... Always there to shut down my towers...

[@NWednesdayQuansah]

Oh man, I remember that show!

[@k.5425]

Code Lyoko! I think even the theme song has a theme of the power of friendship

[@user-qr8co6hp4r]

I LOVED THAT SHOW SM

[@Starcat5]

Torture hero A to get hero B to snap: I've seen it a few times, but the only one I remember off hand is an edge case. Specifically, in The Last Crusade when Indy refused to retrieve the Magical Maguffin to so save his own life, so the Bad Guys shoot his father, forcing him to retrieve it anyway to save *HIS*. I am sure there are closer examples, but I'm drawing a blank.

[@Areanyusernamesleft]

Starcat5 technically isn't that more the "power of family"?

[@Thesaurus_Rex]

I mean, really, "kinship" is a much more easy to use umbrella that includes both friendship and family, since "the power of friendship" sort of situations can also occur with family. But..."friendship" is the name of the trope, so oh well.

[@AuroraLalune]

Starcat5 Part of the problem is that it's tip toed so much it tends not to really register or have much impact. The truth is that "do or tell me this or I'll torture or kill this loved one"- is often tip toed and glossed over so heavily there's simply no impact when reading it.

[@Ajehy]

It happened in Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

[@markloeffler85]

It is is also used in knights of the old republic. Whether it works or not depend on the player.

[@Thaumatheurgy]

"The power of friendship is such a simple topic to explain, that it might be hard to make a full video for it." *Video is over 15 minutes long* Kay breh.

[@kristianstrm2375]

Raeglis It might've hard to make the vid 15 minutes, basically :D

[@obviousninja9437]

Bill Cipher: *gets mentioned and is used as a brilliant example* Me: YES EXACTLY THANK YOU

[@violettulippetal3245]

Somehow Kingdom Hearts was not referenced once...

[@altirianfairyalchemyst]

I also thought about kingdom hearts

[@JoshArgentine]

KH is the literal embodiment of this trope, aye

[@burritowyrm6530]

friendship lets you turn their keepsakes into swords

[@SatoruNatara123]

"My friends are my power" cliche.

[@crazycatladyintraining3537]

That was my thought, too!

[@SURAYANNECHAN]

The mention of Yu-Gi-Oh! was interesting to me because while it's true that DM uses it again and again, the two spin offs that are often viewed as 'kiddy stuff' actually subvert the power of friendship a lot more than DM does and get in much darker places in these aspects. In GX, none of Judai's friends are that close to him, but he clings to them because of his friendless background and then when shit happens and he turns out to not be the perfect hero his friends thought he was, well let's just say it doesn't go well. In a demonstration of 'friendship', Judai chases obsessively after Johan when he disappears and everyone follows him, but his 'would do anything for Johan' attitude ends up distancing him from his other friends and putting them in danger, and there is actually a variation of that last thing you suggested: Judai is locked in battle, the bad guys capture the friends who were trying to find him, and then basically force Judai to kill his friends one after the other, which breaks him and makes him lose the one person who had always called himself his best friend. Not that long after we have an equivalent of the 'I know you're in here somewhere" fight where Jim tries to wake up Judai, who has created a murderlous warlord persona due to trauma. It fails and Judai kills Jim. So yeah, power of friendship is not as strong in GX as it's in DM and I love it because while I love being reminded of the good in people's soul, I also like when it's not that easy. Then there's Zexal II where Vector weaponizes the power of friendship by becoming friends with Yuma and using the trust Yuma has in him to make him betray Astral, his partner, and trap him into a battle with a disadvantage. I don't know, I always found funny that the two spin offs that so many scoff at for being too 'kids friendly' (I swear these people did not watch GX's s3 and s4) are actually the ones that don't entirely run on power of friendship tropes ^^

[@frankspick7544]

funny inuff 5ds that many say was dark has use this trope to the fullest

[@inkmaster5480]

Not to mention in the final season of Zexal where Shark becomes Nash, leader of the Barians, completely of his own volition because of the power of friendship tying him to his friends from his past life and then Yuma ends up having to destroy him in a duel. I mean, yeah he brings him back, but it's still really intense.

[@dragonslayerornstein2834]

I remember a game where I used the power of friendship to make an emo japanese kid summon Jesus by commiting suicide to kill a god of death.

[@baronsaturday8173]

Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough ah Yes. Persona.

[@portkapul1283]

he would go on to become a door

[@Harshworld100]

Persona 3, 4 and 5 all seem to have the “kill a god with power of friendship” story somewhere.

[@themaster0496]

I prefer when a sass master uses the power of belief and friendship to summon satan and shot god in the face to save christmas

[@W0lfMan26]

Minsc! Where isBoo?

[@chrisschoenthaler5184]

8:19 “How to Punch Your Friend Back to Sanity” Imagine living in the sort of world where such a book was published.

[@abigailgriffin-wc3fm]

That sounds like the kind of world where 10 ways to fix up an abandoned keep would be published and also possibly doing pretty well in the sales department

[@atigerclaw]

*Power of 'Friendship' * "Let me tell you something about that whole messed up 'Survival of the Fittest' mindset you have going. Humans, are PACK ANIMALS. Alone, we may be weaker than all the big name predators in the jungle. We may not have teeth that rend, claws that tear, or coils that crush... But honey, you have to remember that when you mess with one of us, you will discover that one becomes one-hundred. And we are vindictive, raining vengeance upon those that wrong us with fist, and fire, and metal in ways that no beast could ever hope to fathom. So go ahead, call me weak all you want. Just remember that where my strength ends, another's begins. And when you reach their limit, another follows, and on, and on. So where does that leave you? A hill of strength, staring at a volcano waiting to erupt."

[@beesgold1487]

Samesies

[@brettdibble2763]

is that a quote from something?

[@elenafriese891]

Seems like it, but I have no idea where from.

[@simplykathrynrebeca]

Beautiful

[@AtlasDeValle]

I may just use this while playing dungeons and dragons in the future XD

[@andrear4445]

“friendship giving you the ability to fuse into a bigger scarier friend” sksk idk why but that sentence is so funny to me

[@Rpartin93]

I’m surprised there weren’t any kingdom hearts referenced. That series basically vomits the power of friendship. One of Soras go-to lines when confronting a villain is “my friends are my power”.

[@punkyskunky3131]

Deku: IT'S YOUR POWER TODOROKI!!! Icy-hot: holy s**t you're right! Icy-hot: * proceeds to kick Deku's ass *

[@666melodeath666]

I heard The Power of Friendship is great for Children’s Card Game

[@yourethatmantis5178]

666melodeath666 Kaiba: What! Why are the attack points on my Blue Eyes White Dragon dropping?! Yugi: because screw the rules I have friendship

[@misterminish239]

Villains with power of friendship: The Phantom Troupe.

[@dominickiaconetti1477]

The Phantom Troupe is my favorite "evil organization" for the exact reason

[@lionart5230]

@@dominickiaconetti1477 Ugo PepeHands

[@Kevin-qh1ve]

The rare time when both sides of the conflict are fueled by friendship. Really clever ending to that arc too.

[@Attaxalotl]

Meta Knight's crew.

[@falquicao8331]

And their friendship was even less toxic than the one between the mcs

[@user-unos111]

This reminded me of Griffith from Berserk. One of the very few cases when the power of friendship is on the side of the VILLAIN. I mean, can you imagine what massive "oh shit" the main characters would have when they see the villain is genuinely liked by a lot of people?

[@WeirdoChocolateLover]

I love seeing the Aurora characters in these videos because my brain is always like "!!! Erin! Kendal! Haha I understand this reference!"

[@psymcdad8151]

Sooo... “The art of using troops is this: ……When ten to the enemy’s one, surround him; ……When five times his strength, attack him; ……If double his strength, divide him; ……If equally matched you may engage him; ……If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing; ……And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him, ……….for a small force is but booty for one more powerful.” ~~ Sun Tzu, the Art of War quotes

[@joshthehollow5254]

Sun Tzu said that, and he knows a little more about fighting than you do pal. Because he invented it!

[@frankspick7544]

@@joshthehollow5254 sun tzu the god of war

[@AnimeboyIanpower]

@@joshthehollow5254 And then he perfected it so that no living man could best him in the ring of honor!

[@kaboomgaming4255]

wait is that last part real?

[@jackodonail1980]

Yes. A smaller force is booty for a force more powerful because with no chance of victory they are but prisoners waiting to be captured.

[@faolair3320]

So about that torturing a friend of the hero to archieve something: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Harry has the prophecy, the Deatheaters are afraid to directly attack him, since the prophecy might get destroyed in the process. Bellatrix actually picks out one of Harry's friend (Ginny, if I remember correctly) and threatens to torture her with the cruciatus curse. Of course Harry being the good guy almost handed over the prophecy but members of the order burst in. So yeah: It exists and it would have worked, if there hadn't been that conviniently placed interruption

[@lelauracolette]

I think it's Neville - at that point in the fight, Ginny had a broken ankle and she was in another part of the DoM; Ron was attacked by brains and Hermione and Luna were unconscious. Neville tries standing up to her while he and Harry are surrounded and gets the torture. Which is all the more heartbreaking because Bellatrix was the one who tortured his parents.

[@jaishmohammed5383]

Whenever I watch an OSP video, I press like before even watching it.

[@emperorampora8771]

totally worth it imo

[@grasshopper801]

same here

[@jonstephenson9660]

The torture “friends to make em talk” thing is in a bunch of stuff, mostly it’s never followed through on because either the threat is enough or the would be tortured friend is in on it. And when it is carried out it rarely goes far. Its mostly found in spy movies and the like. See the newer “Casino Royale”, “Live Free or Die Hard” or “Chuck” it’s also in a fantasy book I read a while back but I’m blanking on the name..

[@_notlexluthor]

Most People: F is for friends who do stuff together Me: F is for FIRE THAT BURNS DOWN THE WHOLE TOWN

[@engiecat705]

_raidersofthelostpancake _ you're not unique. I mean, alone.. :3

[@joshuahadams]

_raidersofthelostpancake _ you wanna come back to the Chum Bucket, Sheldon?

[@watercolourAlto]

U IS FOR URANIUM... *BOMBS*

[@juliamaria3807]

Obviously P.o.F. is the the Power of Fire.

[@demi-femme4821]

N is for No Survivors!

[@kuroikitsune5327]

*clears throat* Naruto series as a whole. *Leaves room*

[@badvideosto]

Bitch please no one could ever beat Fairy Tail in this! (I havent watched NAruto please dont hit me...)

[@fightingmedialounge519]

Kingdomhearts laughs at both of you.

[@connorschultz380]

Kye Dysarthria eaaa No one's really trying to "disprove it" in any way it's just...there

[@Slysheen]

Pretty much all Shonen really.

[@shapeless6755]

Yu gi oh?

[@matthewgilpincom]

IT'S FINALLY HERE

[@skyhideaway]

Like a few other people pointed out, the toxic side of the whole "blind and selfless friendship" was shown in She-Ra, with both Adora and Scorpia towards Catra. Scorpia was generally a kind and wholesome character, even when she was with the bad guys. But her biggest flaw was turning a blind eye to the people she cared about, especially Catra, who she was almost in love with. It's also interesting to notice that Catra wasn't this toxic to Scorpia at first. While she was generally grumpy and drew a line with physical affection, there were a lot of moments where she thanked Scorpia or appreciated her work/help. But as the seasons progress, Catra fell into the deep hole of "they're hurting me and it's not my fault" and that's where the toxicity begins. Scorpia constantly making excuses for Catra's behaviour and swearing to never leave her side was toxic too, not only to herself but to other people who also got hurt by Catra (like Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio). And the show not only showed Scorpia finally realizing how abusive Catra was, and leaving her, but also Double Trouble literally saying it to Catra's face that she was the problem and no one else. I'm still a little pissed at how quickly everyone forgave Catra, _especially Adora_ but She-Ra was still a story that mostly surrounded the power of friendship.

[@arceusinsanity301]

Honestly it's a good example of how mindless support is toxic, it's like someone making a mistake in math and it never gets corrected, the longer it goes on the worse it gets. Catra needed to be called out on her abandonment issues, Adora didn't leave her she left the horde, and tried to bring her with her multiple times. Instead it was allowed to fester, unfortunately both of them were in an abusive system that specialized in making it's members think "yeah, things are bad, but once ____ happens things will be better, so I just need to stick it out/ do more for it"

[@skyhideaway]

@@arceusinsanity301 agreed. though the ending still wasn't satisfactory since Catra continued to believe that Adora left her (hence the "for once, stay" when she was confessing to Adora) and her whole "redemption" was kinda iffy, putting it lightly. if it was better written, i think her arc would have been a good example of how people could take unconditionally loving friends for granted.

[@arceusinsanity301]

@@skyhideaway yeah, most of the forgiveness needed more time but the rest of the plot was wrapping up and extending it just for that probably would have created a worse ending

[@skyhideaway]

@@arceusinsanity301 i have to disagree. a redemption arc needs to be a little more detailed in order to be believable and not toxic. catra's poorly written redemption resulted in her relationship with Adora being toxic and abusive. if they didn't have enough screentime (which i refuse to believe, because the show had _5_ seasons, that's more than a lot of shows get even close to) they could have chosen to just.. not redeem catra. let her stay as a villain, she was more bearable that way anyway, and people like villains. she didn't need a redemption.

[@tanandalynch9441]

When the embodiment of the chaotic neutral alignment tells you that you're the problem.. you're definitely the problem

[@TheIDU]

And then they friendshiped really hard...

[@happycorn298]

I ship it...

[@Firestar4041]

And made many friendship babehs