Happily Adopted: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|'''Spyro:''' So... you mean I--I'm not your real son?

 

 

 

 

What happens in cases where the child in question is a [[Wonder Child]], and has celestial or other fantastic parentage? While in older works, the [[Muggle Foster Parents]] would [[Changeling Fantasy|frequently be forgotten about,]] in this trope, the child tends to accept both sets of "parents" as being real. If the child is a [[Heartwarming Orphan]] whose "original" parents [[Deceased Parents Are the Best|died]], the same thing may also apply. Thus, this has often become a component of the modern [[Happily Ever After]]: What will happen to the orphan child protagonist? He/she gets adopted by the [[Good Parents|adult good guys]]! Everybody is happy!

 

{{examples}}

* Ruu in ''[[Daa! Daa! Daa!]]'' accepts Miyu and Kanata as his "mama" and "papa," so they worry about what will happen when he sees his ''real'' mother and father through a hologram machine for the first time in a long time. {{spoiler|He ends up happily hugging ''all four of them,'' having cheerfully decided that he [[Has Two Mommies]] and Has Two Daddies as well.}}

* Sana of ''[[Kodomo no Omocha]]'' is very aware she's adopted, and loves her adopted mother. {{spoiler|She does get to meet her birth mother, but the story behind her is decidedly tragic.}}

** [[Has Two Mommies|Vivio]], too.

** {{spoiler|Cinque, Dieci and Wendi}} are quite willing to be adopted by Genya Nakajima and {{spoiler|Nove}} is, too, after some initial difficulty accepting Genya. {{spoiler|Subaru and Ginga technically count, too}}.

** It's faster to count the other way: Out of the main characters, I see three kids who live with at least one blood parent: Nanoha, Chrono and {{spoiler|Lutecia}}. Pretty much everybody else is happily adopted.

* Soichiro Arima in ''[[Kare Kano]]''. His real parents caused nothing but trouble for him, but he's very happily living with adoptive parents, who are really his uncle and aunt.

* Mamoru of ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' spends a short while being distraught over being an alien from space, but gets over it pretty fast.

* ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' Hinagiku Katsura loves her parents, even though they abandoned her and her sister over ten years ago, but also loves her adopted parents.

* {{spoiler|Nozomi}} in ''[[Chance Pop Session]]'' {{spoiler|is mad at her adoptive parents when she learns the truth NOT because she was adopted, but because they were afraid she'd stop thinking as them as her parents if she did learn the truth.}}

** Sawada Nana however successful in adopting three mafia children, Futa, Lambo and I-pin. Some fans however still think she is a horrible mother because she belittle her own son.

* Koushiro Izumi of ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' initially withdraws from his adoptive parents after overhearing them discussing his adopted status, and out of feelings of inadequacy began trying to prove his worth to them by burying himself in the computer sciences. After his adoptive parents open up about it, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|they reconcile]] and Koushiro very much puts himself in this category.

* Goku from ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' was happily adopted by an elderly master named Son Gohan as a child. Though unfortunately, [[Conveniently an Orphan|Gohan died in an accident some time before the first chapter]].

** {{spoiler|The accident was named Goku. He doesn't find this out until his late twenties, although his [[True Companions]] worked it out the first time they got caught outside with him on the full moon.}}

* Elsie of ''[[The World God Only Knows]]'' has no problem integrating herself into the household of Keima's mom, despite saying that she's the illegitimate daughter of her husband.

* Jean Saber is a fairly well-adjusted kid, despite the fact that he has been [[Transformers Victory|raised by giant alien transforming robots]].

* Marin's parentage is part of the mystery in ''[[Brigadoon Marin and Melan]]'', but Marin was still quite happy living with her adopted grandparents.

* Relena in ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' didn't find out until her father was murdered, but what we see showed that she very much loved her adoptive parents, and she prevents her mother from [[Tell Me About My Father|telling her about her birth parents]] by [[Tear Jerker|hugging her and sobbing "Never stop being my mother!"]]

** Less so in the anime, where there are other crew members awake and Knives' reasons for going [[Axe Crazy]] are less clear-cut and [[Creepy Child]] [[Magnificent Bastard]] type stuff.

*** Rem's last words to Vash in the anime are "Vash, Knives o--" and then she is seen mouthing something drowned out by the pneumatic door. Apparently this was meant to be understood as ''sewa o shimasu''; all translations have the sentence as, "Vash, take care of Knives!"

** On the other hand, manga Rem turns out to have been such a careful mother to them because she's [[The Atoner]]: the last time an independent plant was born in the SEEDS ships, she didn't save her from being experimented on until it killed her. Vash forgives her, after a rocky period. Knives...can't. He was going to save her, though, in both versions, when he killed all the other humans. Except she died that they might live.

* In ''[[Toriko]]'', Melk II was adopted by Melk I after he found her abandoned in a forest as a baby. The one thing that marred their otherwise happy father-daughter bond was a years-long misunderstanding due to Melk I's incredibly quiet voice.

* ''[[Baccano!]]'''s Firo Prochainezo is so attached to his family that [[Undying Loyalty|he'd slit his own throat simply because they asked]]. The fact that the family in question is [[The Mafia|the Camorra]] is insubstantial.

 

* [[Superman]] loves Ma and Pa Kent, and they him. Certain versions of his [[Retcon|occasional]] cousin [[Supergirl]] fit here as well. Also [[Superboy]] Connor Kent, who knows his biological parents are Superman [[Ho Yay|and]] [[Lex Luthor]], but ''also'' is quite happy with Ma and Pa Kent as his parental figures.

** This can also extend to the entire human race, which Superman/Clark Kent feels he belongs to and is completely content with, even though he's an alien.

* [[Red Tornado]]'s adopted daughter, Traya, a Middle Eastern war orphan, seems very happy with him, even knowing he's an [[Ridiculously Human Robot|android]].

* Sort-of present with Barbara Gordon, the original [[Batgirl]] and later [[Birds of Prey|Oracle]]. She and James Gordon always ('''''Always''''') have a deep and emotional father/daughter bond that has even been seen to help her [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|knock out Brainiac]], but over the years the different writers [[Depending on the Writer|can never seem to remember]] whether she is his biological daughter, his niece who he has raised since childhood, or an adopted daughter. Their relationship is largely the same no matter which way it is written, but sometimes it fits with the trope and sometimes it has nothing to do with the trope at all.

** More consistent is both Bruce's "sons" relationship with him, and Bruce's own relationship with Alfred (which results in some truly touching moments as Alfred hears Bruce call him dad in Bruce's farewell message when he's believed to be dead). Tim, Dick, and Jason may often have problems with Bruce, but they consider each other brothers and are proud to officially be his sons. Cassandra too, as the one ''daughter'' of the group, even though she doesn't hang out with her bros too much.

*** [[Batman and Son|Damian]], however, is Bruce's biological son and not half as well-functioning as the other Robins, largely due to being raised by crazy ninjas. It's quite clear where on the side of nature vs. nurture Batman falls.

* Huey, Lewie and Dewey seem rather content to live with their maternal uncle instead of their parents... despite the fact that he is very much a [[Jerkass]] with a horrible temper who cannot hold down a job. They also seem to develop into far more functional citizens than him, so it seems to work. Writers who care tend to emphasize that [[Donald Duck]] is a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]], though one [[Darker and Edgier]] interpretation is that their mother and father actually are that much worse than Donald - which actually is [[Truth in Television]] for some [[Fridge Brilliance|real adoptees]].

** [[Lampshaded]] in several comic stories, where Huey, Dewey and Louie lament their uncle's many shortcomings, only to realize that when it comes down to it, he actually ''is'' a pretty good legal guardian.

** It's later revealed that his father was never really sure whether Tim was really his (Tim's mother was pregnant when the two married), but never thought it mattered if he was or not.

* [[Wolverine]] and [[X-23]] are both quite aware that she's his biological clone(sort of), and he has no real obligation to do anything for her. He adopted her anyway. His Relationship with his son [[Daken]]...Isn't as healthy.

* [[DC Comics]] has the ''[[Fourth World]]'' title, which features Orion, the biological son of [[Darkseid]], who was traded to the Highfather of New Genesis as part of a peace treaty. Despite his parentage, Orion grew up a good warrior ferociously dedicated to defending the ideals of his adopted family.

 

* In ''[[Harry's New Home]]'', Snape takes in Harry as his ward and eventually adopts him.

* The ''[[Dangerverse]]'' has this happen to Harry and Hermione {{spoiler|and Draco}} (though in Hermione's case one of the adoptive parents is her older sister).

* {{spoiler|Will}} is this in 'Shadows Of The Past,' though his 'parents' are still alive; he states he just likes his adoptive ones better.

 

* Subverted in ''[[Tangled]]'' where Rapunzel ''thinks'' she's living happily with her mother and does genuinely love her mother, where the audience knows Gothel is not the real mother and only keeping Rapunzel in the tower for her own selfish gains. Then things go downhill on their relationship once Rapunzel meets Flynn and leaves the tower.

** [[The Series]] had an [[Aesop]] about this, with Herc's Muggle parents showing up at his school for a Parents' Day Thing rather than his godly ones.

* In ''[[Dinosaur]]'', Aladar is adopted by a family of lemurs when he was a hatchling and they become a very close family.

* The main character of ''[[Meet the Robinsons]]'' is an orphaned boy approaching teenagerhood who wants to be adopted before he becomes a teenager (because teenagers have ''much'' more difficulty getting adopted). This finally happens in the end.

* {{spoiler|Fernando}} at the end of ''[[Rio]]''.

* In ''[[Shara]]'', Yu's mother reveals to her that she's actually her aunt, and adopted her as a baby from her sister-in-law. Yu takes it in stride and keeps thinking of her aunt as her real mother.

* In ''[[Four Brothers]]'', the titular brothers were all adopted by their social worker as children because no one else would take them. The plot revolves around how fiercely loyal they are to her, even after she dies.

* In the 2010 film ''[[Prince of Persia]]: The Sands of Time'', the main character Dastan was adopted by the King of Persia, who was impressed by the young boy's skill and courage as he saved another boy from mutilation. Dastan grows up very aware of the circumstances of his birth, but is utterly devoted to his adopted father, brothers, and uncle.

* In ''[[Star Wars]]'', the Skywalker twins were both adopted, both were aware of it, and both were at least reasonably happy with their adoptive family.

* Olive's brother in ''[[Easy A]]''.

* In ''[[The Jerk]]'', Navin Johnson (played by [[Steve Martin]]) grew up part of a poor black family. While he does strike out on his own upon learning that he was adopted ("You mean I'm going to ''stay'' this color?") it's solely out of a desire to find his place in the world, and he stays in contact with his family and sends them money when he starts making it. When it all blows up in his face, they take him back in, and it ends with him and his wife dancing and playing music with the family.

* {{spoiler|Brianna}} by the end of ''[[Mystery Team]]''.

* Jesse in ''[[Free Willy]]'' eventually bonds with his foster parents, Glenn and Annie. In the sequel he refers to Glenn as "my dad."

* ''[[Then She Found Me]]'' is a less than idealistic portrayal of this trope, with Helen Hunt's adopted mother being a [[Jewish Mother]] with all accompanying difficulties, but she is nonetheless very much the heroine's mother, and mourned so accordingly when she dies early in the movie, and though Bette Midler as the biological parent then shows up, it's pointed out she wasn't the heroine's mother when being so required work(as Helen says in when she [[Calling the Old Man Out|calls her out]], she was sick a lot as a child). Meanwhile, the heroine's brother(their mother's biological son) is the only person she remains on speaking terms with through the whole movie. {{spoiler|And though she spends the whole movie trying to have a baby and ignoring all suggestions of adopting a Chinese orphan, the final shot is of her being a loving mother to a little Chinese girl.}}

 

* In the children's fantasy novel ''[[Septimus Heap|Magyk]],'' the character Jenna has a bit of a mild crisis when she learns that she's actually an [[Rags to Royalty|adopted princess]]. In a sad state, she remarks to her adopted brother Nickolas how nice it must be to have a mother and father. Her brother promptly tells her to stop being an idiot; she ''has'' a mother and father, and brothers, and her being a Princess won't ever change that.

* [[Oliver Twist]] was adopted by the good Mr. Brownlow, making this [[Older Than Radio]]. Something of a twist (no pun intended) on the trope, however, since Mr. Brownlow turns out to be an old friend of Oliver's family who would have been Oliver's uncle-by-marriage had fate, in the form of the unbelievably complicated backstory, not intervened. (The musical ''[[Oliver!]]'', as part of streamlining the unbelievably complicated backstory, makes him Oliver's biological grandfather.)

* ''[[Anne of Green Gables]]'' and ''[[Pollyanna]]'' may not have been 100% satisfied with their situation, but were definitely loved.

** ''[[Anne of Green Gables]]'' also subverts this, as Anne tells how she was put in the care of several foster families before the events of the books and they treated her horribly. She still remembers them as kindly as she can (she points out that it wasn't ''entirely'' their fault that they weren't nice, since all of the families were dirt poor) and it's because of this and the implication that she'd be adopted by another horrible family that Marilla decides to keep her.

* Or as happy as can be: Elrond and Elros from ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'') were fostered by guys who tried to kill their mother, and their grandparents before that.

** Tuor is also an example: he is raised by the Grey-Elves of Mithrim after his mother left shortly after his birth to find his father; she [[Death by Despair|dies of despair when she finds he is dead]].

** Also Aragorn was [[All There in the Manual|adopted by Elrond after the death of his father]] and seemed quite fond of him, although there was tension between them later due to Aragorn falling in love with Elrond's daughter, Arwen.

* [[Discworld|Carrot Ironfoundersson]] is a human who was raised by dwarf parents. He ''is'' a dwarf, in spite of being born a human and standing over six feet tall, and he always writes home to his parents to tell them about his day and ask how the latest mine shaft is going. Even dwarfs who have never heard of his clan recognise him as a dwarf, since being a dwarf is more of a matter of culture rather than of species. {{spoiler|It's also implied that his birth family sprang from the dethroned kings of Ankh-Morpork. Implied much in the same way that it's implied that the sun is warmish.}}

* In ''[[Les Misérables]]'', Cosette was perfectly happy to be raised by Jean Valjean (after escaping an admittedly less-than-ideal situation with the Thenardiers).

* ''[[Matilda (novel)|Matilda]]'': Matilda is adopted by Ms. Honey and lives happily ever after.

* ''[[Jacqueline Wilson|Tracy Beaker]]'', sort of. Life with Cam isn't ''perfect'', but in ''The Dare Game'', Cam is shown as a much better mother figure than Tracy's actual Mum.

* Played with in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Eighth Doctor Adventures]] novel ''Father Time''. The Doctor adopts an eleven-year-old girl, who, oddly, looks a lot like him and has the same [[Bizarre Alien Biology]]. As he's a [[Ditzy Genius]] who acts like he has [[No Social Skills]], it's not exactly a walk in the park, but they're happy enough. He even gets a job which pays well (he's a contractor who eliminates redundancies in corporate structures; it's implied that he is somehow able to do this without getting people fired). However, he makes things highly awkward when she's around the boy she fancies and [[Parental Obliviousness|has no idea what's going on in her love life]]. And {{spoiler|he lies to her about the fact she's not human, causing her to [[The Runaway|run away from home]] at the age of sixteen and spend three years traveling around on her own. When he finds her again, they get along just fine, though, but she then leaves to become queen of the universe or some crap like that. And it's apparently all water under the bridge by their tearful reunion in a later book, which is years later for both of them. [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|It's really terribly cute]]... It's also eventually revealed that she's in fact his granddaughter by blood, but [[Timey-Wimey Ball|from the future]]. That's right, this trope is [[Double Subverted]] regarding the "Happily" part and ''also'' subverted as far as "Adopted" goes.}}

* It's mentioned only briefly, but in the [[David Eddings]] ''[[Elenium]]'' trilogy, the sidekick character Kalten was raised by the hero Sparhawk's family after his own parents were killed when he was a boy. The result was that "in some ways, they were closer than brothers."

* While [[Harry Potter]] is never officially adopted by the Weasleys, they still consider him a part of the family and he loves them far more than this horrible aunt, uncle, and cousin. {{spoiler|And they end up as his in-laws anyway, so it all works.}}

* In [[Andre Norton]]'s ''The Jargoon Pard'', although Gillian and Herrel reclaim their son, they do not give up Aylinn, who was switched with him.

* ''[[The Secret Garden]]'' doesn't start out with a happy adoption, as miserable sour Mary is sent to her only living relative, who wants nothing to do with her outside of doing his duty to his dead wife's sister's memory. However, after everyone is healed by the events of the story, this is the assumed conclusion for them.

* Jaenelle of the ''[[Black Jewels]]'' series tells her biological grandmother, "This body can trace its bloodline to you. That makes us related. It doesn't make us family."

* Hepzibah "Eppie" in ''[[Silas Marner]]''.

 

* In ''[[Charmed]]'' Paige was adopted by a loving family. So the [[Powers That Be]] had to move them out of the way in a more brutal fashion...

* Claire Bennett in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' is definitely this; she occasionally has some troubles with her adoptive father, but that has nothing to do with the fact she's adopted and everything to do with the fact she is a danger magnet and he is... ''[[Papa Wolf|overprotective]]''.

* One ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' episode featured an adopted son as the patient - it may have been medically relevant, but otherwise it was no big deal.

** Kutner was adopted, and was seemingly happy to be so. It was firmly established that his adopted family {{spoiler|was not a factor in his suicide}}.

* Back in the early '90s this storyline was done by the soap opera ''[[El Dorado]]'' as part of its attempt to stave off cancellation. It is one of the few acknowledged touching moments.

* Colbert from ''[[Generation Kill]]'' was put up for adoption by his birth parents, and taken in by a Jewish couple. When one squad mate jokes about his birth parents already disowning him, he reminds that to him, his adopted parents' love was much more significant than what biological bond the squadmate had.

** By contrast, Bones' experiences in the foster care system were less than ideal.

* One episode of ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'' has a teenage boy "hire" Dr. Lightman to find out the truth behind his family. When he meets his real {{spoiler|wheelchair-bound}} parent and discovers they have nothing in common, he wishes he'd left well enough alone. Eventually {{spoiler|they get a custody-sharing agreement}}.

* Hardison from ''[[Leverage]]'' referred occasionally to his Nana, and the team always assumed he was raised by his grandparents, until in one episode, he reveals that she was actually his foster mother. Besides providing [[An Aesop]] and contrasting Parker's experiences in the foster care system, she's treated within the character's backstory as if she was his biological grandmother.

* ''[[Gossip Girl]]''s Chuck Bass, who was adopted by Lily van der Woodsen when he was seventeen. Lily actually seems to be a much better parent to him than to her two biological children.

* In ''[[Queer as Folk]]'', Michael and Ben are Hunter's foster parents, but in the last season they offer to adopt him, and he's very happy to accept.

* Luke Smith in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''. Really, the heart and soul of the show is the bond between Luke and Sarah Jane, and how it changed both of them for the better. Sarah Jane has called him "the most important thing in the universe" and Luke's worst nightmare is that Sarah Jane regrets adopting him and doesn't really want him. Honestly, they are the show's love story.

 

* [[Little Orphan Annie]], in the comic strip, musical and both movies. I guess it doesn't hurt that her adoptive father is rich as hell.

* Rusty, the perpetual boy who appears alongside ''[[Mark Trail]]'' in the comics, is adopted by Mark and his longtime girlfriend Cherry after they finally get married.

* In ''[[U.S. Acres]]'', Booker and Sheldon were found and hatched by Orson, who seems content to raise them. Booker even called Orson "Mom".

 

* Spyro in the ''[[Spyro the Dragon|Legend of Spyro]]'' franchise reboot was raised by dragonflies. When he finds out that he's not actually a dragonfly, he asks his mother the question in the page quote... and receives the above answer, reassuring him that they love him all the same.

* In ''[[Metroid]]'', Samus Aran loved her [[Raised by Natives|Chozo]] family deeply, and they cared for her deeply in kind. In the ''[[Metroid]]'' manga, she even goes on to accept a specific Chozo ({{spoiler|Gray Voice}}) as her "real father."

** There's a [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] in there for the curious: one game depicts a drawing she made as a child, showing young Samus waving happily alongside her Chozo family (it's even the page image for the video game page for CMOH).

* Cheryl from ''[[Silent Hill]]'' is this, as is Heather. The plots of the first and third games have a lot to do with father-daughter bonds, and there's never any question at all that an adopted father is a real father. {{spoiler|This may have to do with the biological family being horrible and crazy.}}

{{quote|'''Adell:''' ...Oh, that. That is the truth. I'm not related to Mom and Dad by blood. Or to Taro and Hanako, either. ...I was abandoned by my "real" parents when I was still young.

'''Rozalin:''' So, you have been risking your life all this time for people who aren't even your family! And, now you expect me to believe you?

** ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' has Luke deliver this trope as an aseop to the King of Kimlasca on behalf of Natalia, its the culmination of an entire arc of the plot.

*** It's played pretty straight with his parents, who embrace him as a second son.

** Actually this is a pretty straight up example. Cecil berates his men in the beginning of the game for having doubts about the King and only really questions the king about his orders in private, well as private as the two can get. The King was also a Dark Knight, like Cecil, and he comes back from the dead as Odin to help Cecil and group. Not the most normal of examples, but Cecil, the King, and Kain seem to be relatively happy.

* ''[[Golden Sun]]'' gives us Ivan, happily ''fostered'' by a merchant and his wife in Kalay. [[Berserk Button|Don't think they're not important to him.]] [[Beware the Nice Ones|Ever.]]

* [[Hello, Insert Name Here|Sieg]] from ''[[Suikoden Tierkreis]]'' was found by Elder Rajim when he was newborn {{spoiler|in the place where the castle is now located}}. He never learns the truth about his real parents, but he is completely happy with the family that raised him.

* In the Compilation of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', Cloud and Tifa adopt Denzel. They are also the primary caregivers of Marlene, Barret's adopted daughter.

* Ling Ling Johnson in ''[[Guilty Party]]'' was adopted at a scant few days old, and has cheerfully accquired all of her family's trademark [[It Runs in The Family|detective lunacy]] with nary another thought. Bonus points for being the Chinese adopted daughter of a seemingly [[Scary Black Man]] ([[Gentle Giant]], actually) and a [[Little Old Lady Investigates|much tinier, much older white woman]], making them a [[Five-Token Band|very diverse]] big happy family.

* ''[[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time|Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time]]'' has {{spoiler|the main character, who was raised by his whole village.}}

* In ''[[Threads of Fate]]'', Klaus' family welcomes Prima Doll with open arms. During the epilogue Mint or Rue sees him with Elena, who's overjoyed that she now has a little brother.

* Link in [[Ocarina of Time]] was happily adopted by the forest guardian, the Great Deku Tree (especially in the manga version). He was raised along with the Kokiri children and didn't discover his true origin until he got trapped in the Sacred Realm for seven years, emerging as an adult (Kokiris never grow up).

* ''[[Solatorobo]]'' has Red and Chocolat, a brother-sister duo who adopted each other when they were kids at an orphanage. They refer to each other as "my brother/sister" without ever mentioning the fact that they're [[Not Blood Siblings]], and considering Chocolat is still only thirteen, Red may actually have legal custody of her, despite the fact that [[Women Are Wiser|she deals with day-to-day issues like money much better than he does]].

* Misuzu in ''[[AIR]]'' is an interesting case. Her aunt acts as her adopted mother, but distances herself from her for fear Misuzu will be taken away; but as the series continues, they grow very close.

* Hayama Mizuki from ''[[Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.]]'' was adopted as a [[Replacement Goldfish]] for her parents' actual daughter, who drowned as a little girl. Mizuki herself underwent several traumatic experiences previously. Despite all this, she adores her parents, they adore her, and Mizuki says late into the story that [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|she wasn't born to her real parents--she only came to be with them later]].

* {{spoiler|Chizuru}} in ''[[Hakuouki]]'', somewhat. It's subverted in most routes, {{spoiler|where Kodo reveals that he only took her in and raised her because she was the heir to the Yukimura clan and would be useful for repopulating it}}, but played straight in Okita's good route, where {{spoiler|he sacrifices himself to save her}}.

 

* Ozy from ''[[Ozy and Millie]]'' is a fox raised by a dragon. He's quite happy with his dad, even if he is a bit... odd. {{spoiler|And, at the very end of the strip, his dad and Millie's mom get married, giving him an adoptive-but-loving ''mother'' as well.}} He's been told of his biological parents, but as he reminded Millie once, he knows who his real father is. Even if he occasionally sits on him, or sets him on fire, or makes him scrub the moat as a chore.

* In [[Kevin and Kell]], Lindesfarne was adopted by Kevin during his first marriage with Angelique (who wanted a prickly species as an excuse to keep her at arm's length) and while she has her own issues with Angelique neglecting her during her childhood, she loves her father and stepmother. Corrie was also briefly adopted by the Canids, but while she tired of their obsessive routines, her clone Dolly, who was used to living a structured life from being in the lab, appreciated what her adoptive family had to offer.

* Sharon of [[General Protection Fault]] was adopted by an interracial couple.

* Agatha Clay in ''[[Girl Genius]]'' often speaks of Adam and Lilith Clay as her mother and father, though she's always known herself to be adopted. They make it clear that they love her, and she won't let anyone insult them.

** And now, Aubrey and Jason have adopted Pamela Joycelyn ("Pamjee") and she already feels more kin to her adoptive parents than most could have hoped for.

* Cole is the happily adopted brother of Nate's in [http://doodlediaries.comicgenesis.com/ Doodle Diaries].

* Eva of ''[[Metal Phone Mouse]]''.

 

* [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Sandwich_Stoutaxe Sandwich Stoutaxe], a Drow raised among Dwarves. Despite rough beginnings (Dad wished she was a sandwich instead of a baby, she tried to stab him in his sleep as an infant) and the difficulties a Drow Elf would face living among Dwarves (such as doors that are built for people half her height), she does quite well. She considers herself a member of the Stoutaxe clan first and an Elf second. Given what [[Exclusively Evil|Drow]] [[Wretched Hive|society]] [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|is]] [[Religion of Evil|like]], she is ''definitely'' better off.

 

* Francine from ''[[American Dad]]'' was raised by a Chinese couple called the Lings and is so happy about it she does not even want to know who her biological parents are. Stan, however, didn't like his in-laws so he set off to find her biological parents. He found out they were a rich couple whom he got along with very well. Francine still refuses to meet them, so Stan finds her adoptive parent's will and shows her that they left everything to their biological daughter, Gwen. Francine takes this as evidence that they don't love her at much and decides to meet her biological parents. However, Mr. Ling rescues Stan from a burning house and explains he did it because he makes Francine happy. (it's also revealed that Francine's biological parents were jerks, as they abandoned her because they couldn't take babies on first class flights) Mr. Ling proceeds to explain that the will left everything to Gwen because she's a moron. Francine, meanwhile, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|is in good hands because she's married to Stan]]. Francine and Stan understand that they do love her just as much, and she continues to refer to the Lings as her real (and only) parents.

* Bamm Bamm the [[Door Step Baby]] from ''[[The Flintstones]]''. This was around the time when adoption was starting to be accepted and not taboo, so it was very groundbreaking (and heartwarming) at the time.

* Megan is adopted by Jack, the team owner in ''[[NASCAR Racers]]''. She's sad about her past, but Jack treats her very well.

* The PBS Kids series ''[[Dinosaur Train]]'' has Buddy, who managed to get into a Pteranodon nest as an egg, and he and his family initially don't know what kind of dinosaur he is. He's accepted immediately as part of the family in spite of this, and even when, in one episode, they learn that he is a T-rex and the other ones they met wonder if he wants to stay in their area, he says he'd much rather be with the parents and siblings that love him. Even the intro song establishes this, with Buddy's confusion at clearly not looking like his siblings, and Mrs. Pteranodon assuring him that she's his mom and that deep down he's still like the rest of his family.

* Dragon, Bounce and Shimmer in ''[[Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends]]'' and Grace the ladybug later on. Oh, and Miss Spider herself.

** And when she does finally find them, she seems to practically cast her adoptive parents out of her life.

* In ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]],'' Teela is Man-At-Arms's adopted daughter and well aware of the fact, though for the most part she doesn't care that she isn't biologically his; she doesn't even think about it much. In the episode ''Teela's Quest'' she goes in search for her real parents, leading to the revelation that {{spoiler|the Sorceress is her mother.}} While Teela for [[Status Quo Is God|unexplained reasons]] isn't allowed to remember her discovery, at the end of the episode she concludes that the man who's raised her from a tiny girl, been there for her all her life, and taught her everything she knows ''is'' her father, biological relation or not.

** In the 2002 reboot, it was hinted that Man-At-Arms actually ''is'' her biological father, but doesn't know it. However, it was ''also'' hinted that Man-At-Arms's brother Fisto might be Teela's real father. The show was cancelled before the viewers could find out which one of these were the truth.

* As of the end of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', you could say that Zuko has become this, after much [["Well Done, Son" Guy|angsting]] and finally deciding that he's going to [[Parental Substitute|consider Iroh his real father.]] Iroh had already started thinking of Zuko as a son since his own son's death.

* In [[CatDog]]'s big movie about finding their long lost parents, they find out in the end that the parents that raised them as kids had adopted them. And were also a talking frog and a sasquatch. They never find out who their ''biological'' parents are, but are content to reunite with the ones that cared for them.

* [[Wild Child|Donny]] from ''[[The Wild Thornberrys]]'' was taken in by the titular family before the series began, and officially adopted later.

* Block from ''[[Moral Orel]]'', though it's an odd form of adoption. After getting Shapey and Block mixed up, Bloberta goes to exchange them with her former neighbors. Said former neighbor gives Shapey back, but ''doesn't'' take Block back. He becomes a regular member of the family from then on, and becomes best buds with Shapey.

* All three of the orphan kids at the end of ''[[The Care Bears Movie]]''.

* ''[[Wheel Squad]]'': Sure, Emilie Rotter still has her mother but she and her stepfather get along so well her birth father was never mentioned in the whole series.

 

* Some people either have no change in their relationship with their family, or take consolation in the fact that they share no genes with their family. Speaking from personal experience, it can be nice to be able to joke about family shortcomings by including the fact that you're not blood relatives. It's also come in handy to be able to disown my little brother. [[Take That]], whoever has to deal with a biological little brother! But, seriously, it does also allow for one to be able to think things like "these people love me more than my own blood". And to reciprocate that. Blood may be thicker than water, but "kin" is thicker than blood.

** Only problem is that you have no idea of a family history of diseases.

[[Category:Truth in Television]]

[[Category:Adopt an Index]]