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Lonely Rich Kid: Difference between revisions
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So, I feel all alone''|''Etoile in ''[[Rhapsody a Musical Adventure]]''}}
A type of [[Sour Grapes Tropes|Sour Grapes Trope]] in which wealthy kids are not allowed to have happy lives without the assistance of the plot, instead being made miserable for no particular reason other than having been born to rich parents. The reason being, of course, to show that it sucks to be rich anyway, by demonstrating how rich kids suffer [[Broken Aesop|for various reasons that have nothing in particular to do with being rich]]. That being said, the easiest way for a writer to justify this one is simple: lots of rich parents got that way because they have [[Married to The Job|no life outside of their career]], and this means a rich parent [[When You Coming Home, Dad?|cuts back on time with the family]]. Plus, rich people are inhumanely cold anyway.
If you're under the age of about 20 or so and your parents [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|have a lot of money]], it's very likely that you have both of the following problems:
* A noticeable shortage of close friends. Reasons for this vary wildly: they either mistake you for a [[Rich Bitch]] or [[Jerk Jock]], are scared of you, or will try to take advantage of your wealth. Maybe you don't have time for them because you're too busy becoming [[Emotionless Girl|icily perfect]] in order to [["Well Done, Son" Guy|win your parents' approval]]. You may be tired of people trying to befriend you or [[Gold Digger|date you]] for your money, so you don't trust anyone. Then again, your parents [[Gilded Cage|may not let you leave home at all,]] especially if you're [[The
* Some form of [[Parental Abandonment]]. Mom and Dad will be either a) dead, b) never around, c) [[Parental Neglect|inattentive and uncaring]], d) inhumanly demanding to the exclusion of actual ''parenting'', or e) some combination of these. You will have no siblings to be [[Promotion to Parent|Promoted To Parent]], either. Your [[Big Fancy House]]'s population: you. (Well, you do probably have one or more servants; the [[Old Retainer]] may even act as a [[Parental Substitute]] of sorts, but it's -- not the same.)
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If you have entered this state during the course of the series, you are probably the victim of [[An Aesop]]. The writers probably had "appreciate what you have" or "[[Be Careful What You Wish For]]" in mind, but the end result is probably a [[Warped Aesop]] along the lines of "money makes people jerks" or something. Don't worry, [[Reset Button|it'll all be over by the end of the episode]].
If you've been this character from the moment you were introduced, however, you're probably stuck. But fear not! If this is you, then you exist for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to eventually become close friends with [[The Hero]]. At a minimum, the audience will be assured that you're buddies now and that this makes it all better. You're likely to become one of the [[True Companions]], you stand a reasonably good chance of [[Defrosting Ice Queen|becoming someone's love interest]], and if the [[Five
'''WARNING:''' This may require you to become a [[Fallen Princess]]. Even if you are [[Rich in Dollars, Poor In Sense]], you will probably be treated sympathetically.
In the event that you ''are'' [[The Hero]], that's even better -- not only will you get the girl ''and'' your very own band of [[True Companions]], but your parental problems will probably be solved as well.
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Contrast [[Spoiled Sweet]], whose parents are not distant, [[Heartwarming Orphan]].
{{examples
== Anime and Manga ==
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* Murasaki Kujoin from ''[[Kurenai (Light Novel)|Kure-nai]]'' is born into a very rich family, but at the cost of being locked away from the outside world for the rest of her life {{spoiler|to eventually bear her older brother's children}}.
* Kaito Doumoto of ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' is popular at school and has an [[Instant Fanclub]], and hides his lonely brooding behind the mask of a carefree joker instead of a standoffish loner like most of these examples. His parents died in a storm at sea, leaving him with a vast amount of money, and he doesn't like to talk about it. It's only Lucia's perseverance and [[Loves My Alter Ego|his growing suspicion that she might be the mermaid he's looking for]] that allows him to eventually open up to her.
** You think he's bad? Check out Michal Amagi, an [[Ill Girl]] whose [[Big Brother Instinct|older brother Rihito]] is pretty much the only person she talks to. Although he pours his riches into making her happy, she's so desperate and depressed that [[Heroic Self
* Mawata Awayuki from the anime ''[[Prétear]]'' is a subversion of sorts, in that at first she seems to be lonely for no particular reason: her family is with her, but she distances herself from them; she is popular at school, but doesn't seem to have close friends. It's only later in the series that the ''real'' reasons for her loneliness are revealed -- not only she was quite affected by her father's demise when she was a little girl, she just doesn't think people can understand her true feelings, and so is unwilling to open up to anyone. {{spoiler|Of course, her issues remain unnoticed long enough to turn into a real problem, when the [[Big Bad]] seizes her and turns her into a [[Dark Magical Girl]]}}.
* Tianzi from ''[[Code Geass]]''. Being the figurehead Empress of China meant that she was like a bird in a [[Gilded Cage]], except the cage was the Imperial Palace and she couldn't properly rule over her country, which was oppressed by her [[Evil Chancellor|Evil Chancellors]] (who also wanted to either [[Arranged Marriage|marry her off to a much older man]] or get her killed and replaced. Still, she had a devoted protector in [[The Ace]] of the series [[I Owe You My Life|whom she once saved from execution]], so...
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* The entire main cast of the anime ''[[Special A]]'' qualifies thanks to various relationship traumas during their childhood.
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam SEED]]'''s [[Ace Pilot]] and [[Big Brother Mentor]] Mu La Flaga was one of these as a child, courtesy of being rejected and disowned by his father, {{spoiler|who had himself cloned in order to produce a more worthy heir}}. Also, Flay Alster starts as one of them, as her father George is an important politician whom she barely gets to see and her mother died when she was a little girl.
* Ai Shinozaki, the [[Tall, Dark and Bishoujo]] Ojou from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]''. Lampshaded when she reveals her loneliness {{spoiler|that led her to be possessed by a demon}} to Makoto and Nuubee and says it's one of the reasons is how she can't make true friends.
* Relena Darlian from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam Wing]]'' is quite popular at her high-class school but doesn't seem to have any real friends at first, just admirers and would-be suitors. She seems to be aware of her Lonely Rich Kid condition, too, and while she's polite to the other kids she doesn't approach them either. Even her beloved father is (unwillingly) distant due to his ''extremely'' demanding job. At first, her only friend seems to be her grandfatherly butler/chauffeur Pagan... until she meets [[The Stoic]] [[Hitman With a Heart]] protagonist and her life starts changing.
* Hazuki Fujiwara from ''[[Ojamajo Doremi]]''. Her father is a famous movie director and her mother is a popular fashion designer, but as much as they ''do'' genuinely care for her, they're so absorbed in their work that Hazuki's more usual companions are her landlady and the other Ojamajo.
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* Himeko Shirogane/Princess from ''[[Demashita Power Puff Girls Z]]''.
* The F4 boys from ''[[Hana Yori Dango]]'' display this trope in ''very'' different ways.
** Domyoji Tsukasa's parents live in New York where their Corporate Empire is headquartered and at the beginning of the plot he states that he hasn't seen them in years. His [[Cool Big Sis|older sister]] Tsubaki, [[Promotion to Parent|who had been largely responsible for his upbringing]], leaves Japan to get married sometime before we meet him, leaving him alone in his [[Big Fancy House]], besides the legions of servants whom he regularly abuses. His [[Parental Abandonment]] is cited by other characters as his [[Freudian Excuse]] for bullying/[[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|complete lack of respect for anyone]]/borderline psychopathic fits of rage. And once we meet his [[Evil Matriarch]] mother, well...
** Hanazawa Rui is referred to as having an ''extremely'' strict childhood that left him prone to fits of [[Heroic BSOD|near-catatonia]] as a child. This was eventually "cured" by [[The Power of Friendship]] in the form of his old friend and later girlfriend, [[Cool Big Sis]] Shizuka Todou, but it left him emotionally dependent on her.
** Nishikado Sohjirou seems at first to be immune from this, but as more of his home life is revealed, he is shown to have parents who are highly emotionally distant and an older brother who abandoned the family business, leaving him to be [[The Dutiful Son]]. This is [[Freudian Excuse|assumed to be the cause of his inability]] [[Casanova|to develop lasting relationships]].
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== Fan Works ==
* Tsuruya's backstory in ''[[Kyon Big Damn Hero (Fanfic)|Kyon Big Damn Hero]]'' portray her like that. She's afraid to let [[I Just Want to Have Friends|people close to her]] because of [[Yakuza|her family business]].
* Blaine in ''[[Hunting the Unicorn (Fanfic)|Hunting the Unicorn]]'' is shown to be this--though he has [[True Companions|the Warblers]], [[Parental Substitute|Greg,]] and [[Official Couple|Kurt,]] his father is [[Parental Neglect|neglectful]], his mother is [[Values Dissonance|extremely old-fashioned,]] and his siblings are [[When You Coming Home, Dad?|traveling constantly or studying in California]]. It's a [[Cerebus Retcon]] of his [[Relationship Sue|canon portrayal]], which turns him into a [[Love Martyr]] [[Extreme Doormat|who goes along with everything Kurt says]] because he doesn't want yet another person to leave him. {{spoiler|Like the first guy he slept with.}}
* Alfred's backstory in [[Part Right Half Wrong a Third Crazy]]. His father was incredibly rich, and also emotionally distant/neglectful to the point of pretty much replying to any of Al's attempts to form a relationship between them with "I don't have time for that shit". He's also implied to not have had any real friends until college, and even then they were more people he got high with than people he actually talked to and/or liked.
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** Fortunately, one benefit of a {{spoiler|[[Heel Face Turn]]}} is acquiring lots of ''new'' friends.
** [[All There in the Manual|Supplementary information]] indicates that not only [[Cute Bruiser|Toph Beifong]] was kept hidden from the world and confined to her parent's estate, but her parents left the bulk of her actual care/interaction to servants. No wonder she sneaked out enough to become defending champion at the local pitfights.
** [["Well Done, Son" Guy|Zuko]]. [[Missing Mom|Zuko]]. [[The Unfavorite|Zuko]]. [[Cosmic Plaything|Zuko]]. [[The Woobie|Zuko]]. Enough said.
* From ''[[Adventure Time (Animation)|Adventure Time]]'', we have Princess Bubbegum's son, Lemongrab. He's royal, lives in a castle (presumably very wealthy), and completely socially isolated. Apparently, Princess Bubblegum stuck him in a place called "Castle Lemongrab" after she made him. He's the result of a science experiment gone wrong, and has more than a few mental and emotional "quirks," to put it nicely. He doesn't have any friends, he's almost always unhappy (unless he's eating a particularly good meal,) and doesn't get along with anybody. Presumably, this is an exceedingly lonely lifestyle that has a very negative effect on him.
* Alexis on ''[[Legion of Super Heroes (TV)|Legion of Super Heroes]]'' is an unapologetically spoiled [[Rich Bitch]] celebrity who seems to hate other kids as much as they hate her. Still, she confesses to Superman that she just wants to have friends and [[I Just Want to Be Normal|be normal]], not the richest girl in the galaxy. It turns out she ''really'' never learned to take 'no' for an answer, though: When Superman makes it clear he can't just drop everything and spend time with her whenever she wants, she figures the solution is donning a suit of [[Powered Armor]] to [[Murder the Hypotenuse|kill all of Superman's friends in the Legion to eliminate the competition]]. And then, in the end, she realizes that she ''doesn't'' want to be normal after all, and that being a supervillain is her true calling. Er, yay for a happy ending? {{spoiler|It's shown on her prison uniform the name Luthor}}.
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* In ''[[Sonic X]]'', Chris believes himself to be one, despite still having friends and his grandpa around. Such a self-deprecating attitude made him [[The Scrappy]] in the fandom.
* ''[[South Park (Animation)|South Park]]'' gives a variant with [[Token Minority|Token]], who went through one episode feeling lonely because he lacked any <s>black</s> rich friends he could relate to. He eventually realized that the other South Park kids still liked him anyway.
* Jordan Hill from ''[[Batman:
* Eric from ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Animation)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' is hinted to have been like this in the past. Might explain quite a bit of his behavior, if you look at it closely.
* Eddie from ''[[Class of 3000]]''. "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnYzUqG65VM A Richer Shade of Blue]" pretty much sums it up.
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