Pietà Plagiarism/Anime and Manga

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Examples of Pietà Plagiarism in Anime and Manga include:

  • The first opening sequence of Death Note features Naomi Misora cradling (apparently recently killed) fiancee Raye Penber about halfway through as just one of countless biblical references.
    • Also, Light Yagami holds L's dead body in this position, while grinning evilly after L dies in his arms.
  • Final Fantasy VII Advent Children used this in promotional artworks, most notably for the front cover of the OST. It shows Cloud and Kadaj.
  • CC in the first Code Geass OP. It's self-conscious, given that she seems to be in a church.
    • Suzaku pulls this off absolutely straight with Euphemia...
    • CLAMP have drawn an illustration of Suzaku holding Lelouch.
  • Mazinger Z: Several times in the manga and in the anime series Kouji held Sayaka -or vice versa- in that position, usually when one of them lay unconscious on the ground. Actually the cover of one of the volumes features a grim-looking Kouji holding a fainted Sayaka.
    • UFO Robo Grendizer: It happened near from the end, when Rubina got murdered and Duke held her as she died.
  • Sailor Moon R does this near the end, when Prince Dirmando carries his brother Safiiru's lifeless body away of the battlefield, after he's killed by Wiseman. This is repeated in the S season, after Super Sailor Moon rescues Sailor Saturn from her last fight with Pharaoh 90 and takes her back to Earth, now as a newborn baby, in her arms.
  • The DVD cover for Anime Legends: Wolf's Rain Complete Collection II depicts (among other things) Kiba holding Cheza in his arms. Which should be impossible, because (in case there's anyone who isn't aware of the show's basic concept) Kiba is actually a wolf and is only projecting the illusion of being human - he doesn't really have arms, and couldn't possibly hold this pose in wolf form - it would look pretty silly too.
    • Turns out this is an actual scene from the show. Presumably he's actually carrying her on his back.
    • In addition, it isn't as though weight would be an issue, seeing as how Cheza is literally a flower. Within the context of the show, it seems significant that she's the only one able to be carried like that by the wolves.
  • Quite unsurprisingly given the title, the Girls Love manga Pietà uses this pose at a climactic moment, with one of the protagonists holding the other after the latter's suicide attempt.
  • Used on the spoileriffic Vol. 6 cover of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS' Japanese DVD, which has Subaru cradling the seemingly dead body of her sister Ginga.
  • Daram holds his girlfriend Harulu like this After the End of Space Runaway Ideon. It is especially poignant since both characters are dead at that time and appear as spirits. Don't ask.
  • Ranma ½ several times, but at least twice in a definite parallel: first, a chapter-cover illustration with Ryoga thus cradling an unconscious Akane during an ice-skating battle; second, at the end of the series when Ranma thinks Akane has died.
  • One chapter of Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro ends with X holding Yako like this. An image of the scupture is behind them, except Mary and Jesus are wearing bondage masks.
  • The cover art for the latest release of the remastered Platinum Collection of Neon Genesis Evangelion features Shinji holding Rei in this fashion. Of course, given everything else in the series...
    • IIRC, there's art of the original series with Misato holding Shinji similarly.
  • In One Piece, Usopp holds Sanji like this when he thinks he's dead. Turned out he was just checking the wrong side of his chest for a heartbeat.
  • In the Fullmetal Alchemist manga, Armstrong holds a dead child like this as seen here.
    • Also seen in the Brotherhood anime, when Riza Hawkeye is dying from having her throat slit. Roy Mustang cradles her Pieta-style, urging her to stay with him, until May Cheng performs the alkahestry ritual that saves her life. Once he realizes she's going to live, Mustang scoops her up again the same way, this time pressing his face into her hair.
  • The cover art for Volume 13 of Berserk has a bloody Guts, minus a hand and an eye, holding a naked and unconscious Casca like this, in what is presumably the aftermath of Casca being raped by Femto.
  • In Gundam Seed Destiny, after Meer Campbell dies in the arms of Lacus Clyne, her friend and unrequited crush Athrun briefly carried around her dead body as well.
    • And some time before that, Shinn Asuka carried Stellar Louissier's body after she perished in his arms.
  • In Yu Yu Hakusho, after Toguro kills Genkai, Yusuku holds her in his arms, telling her not to die.
    • And Itsuki holds his lover and leader Sensui's body after he dies.
  • In the Inuyasha manga and Final Act anime, Kikyo dies in Inuyasha's arms in this manner.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!!. Yami pulls this with Yugi after defeating the latter in a duel, the price of which was at least one of their souls, in the episode Self Destruction (Showdown! The Two Yugis).
  • In Pokémon Special, Red holds an unconscious Yellow in this fashion, and to drive the point home, they're both frozen in stone in this position for presumably some time.
    • Wallace also briefly holds Steven's dead body in this manner.
  • At the near-end of the series of Tokyo Mew Mew, used twice with Tart and Pudding and Kish and Ichigo. The former being the dead one in both cases.
  • Hei does this at the end of the second season with Yin's body.
  • Saint Seiya: When Seiya saves Saori from crows and then catches her before landing
    • In the anime, this is also pulled by Hyoga, who carries Shun in his arms after the other almost sacrifices himself for him, holding Hyoga in his own arms and then burning his Cosmo to its limits to literally de-freeze him.
  • There is official art of Heero from Gundam Wing holding Relena this way.
    • Link please? And anyway, she returns the favor in Endless Waltz, when Heero collapses out of exhaustation when it's all said and done and Relena catches him mid-fall, then cradles him gently to her.
  • The second opening of Soul Eater shows Soul holding Maka in this fashion, like this. Never happens in the series, though.
  • Tetsuya emerges from a burning building carrying Luna this way in Casshern Sins. Cue music, then the single-handed Curb Stomping of an entire robot army.
  • Happens in the Bleach anime, with Hitsugaya holding a seriously injured Hinamori this way... after he wounded her, under Aizen's hypnotism.
  • A slightly more frightening example appears in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle in the arc that delves into Kurogane's past. During this part, the character, in a bloody, senseless rage, ends up being shown, his entire face, except for his eyes, totally shadowed, holding his mother's bloody corpse. This goes on for quite some time, with the only other feature being shown being the occasional appearance of his mouth, usually open in a shout or growl. Then finally, the character Tsukiyomi stops him and, in an attempt to calm him, closes his dead mother's eyes, telling him that she should rest. During this whole time, he never once dropped his mother's body. here it is
  • In Eureka Seven episode 13, Renton carried the unconscious Eureka this way when Nirvash started to move on its own.
  • The last we see of Hei in the final episode of Darker than Black Ryuusei no Gemini was him carrying Yin this way. Yin's fate is left unknown.
  • In G Gundam, this is done with Gundams twice. The first is when the old Shuffle Alliance heal their successors through a Heroic Sacrifice. The second is after the Shining Gundam is destroyed, seen here.
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