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Anonymous Benefactor (view source)

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Of course, the Anonymous Benefactor might have less altruistic motives and send a Trojan Horse with the intent to harm her, or as a means to ensure the hero gets the [[MacGuffin]] [[MacGuffin Delivery Service|so they can steal it]]. Other possibilities include the Anonymous Benefactor helping a minor villain or non-evil [[The Rival|rival]] to the heroine. In which case this is usually a ploy by the [[Big Bad]] to give the hero someone else to chew on while their own [[Evil Plan]] advances.
 
Usually their identity is discoverd or revealed at the end of the story, at least by the viewer. More often than not, it's a parent, sibling, or [[Laser -Guided Karma|someone the heroine helped long ago]]. A good many characters may decide [[Apathy Killed the Cat|not to look this gift horse in the mouth]] ''despite'' having known enemies.
 
See also [[Help Your Self in The Future]] and [[Unexpected Inheritance]]. Related to the [[Mysterious Employer]], where the benefactor offers the character in question steady work, at the cost of not asking too many questions.
{{examples|Examples:}}
 
 
== Anime and Manga ==
* Hayate in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] A's'' has the mysterious uncle who provides for her every need ever since her parents died. He's later revealed to be {{spoiler|[[Well -Intentioned Extremist|Admiral Gil Graham]], [[Apocalypse Maiden|who knew that she possessed]] [[Artifact of Doom|the Book of Darkness]] and [[Sealed Evil in A Can|was planning to permanently seal the book with her when the time is right]]}}.
** It seems to mainly be a case of Hayate not referring to him by name when she mentions him to Signum in Episode 6, as she specifically asks Shamal to send her package to {{spoiler|"Graham-oji-san"}} in the last episode of [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha As|A's]], and mentions him being responsible for raising her in Episode 13 of [[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Strikers|StrikerS]], which would suggest she knows her benefactor's name.
* In ''[[Mai Otome]]'', Sergay Wang supports Arika while she is at school without her knowing who he truly is. {{spoiler|When she and Nina find out he was her benefactor all along in the middle of Nagi's attack, this sets the stage for Nina's [[Face Heel Turn]]}}.
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== Live Action TV ==
* A [[Christmas Episode]] of ''[[MashM*A*S*H (TV)|M*A*S*H]]'' has [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold|Charles Winchester]] as the Anonymous Benefactor, carrying on a Family Tradition from back in Boston. They'd leave a Christmas feast for some poor family at their doorstep. In Korea Charles left candy at the orphanage, which the head of the orphanage subsequently sold on the black market. Charles discovered this and confronted him; he said he traded it for blankets, etc., which the orphans ''really'' needed, much moreso than candy. Charles realized that was the point of his tradition, to help ease the suffering. However, the rest of the unit didn't know about the tradition, and treated Charles like a greedy Scrooge since they were unaware he was the Anonymous Benefactor, or even that there was one.
** All except Klinger, who overhears Charles talking with the orphanage head. The scene where he reveals his knowledge to Charles is one of the show's true [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|Crowning Moments Of Heartwarming]].
* A Christmas episode of ''[[The Jeffersons]]'' had George doing this for the family that lived in the same crummy apartment he grew up in.
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