Red String of Fate: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

A common concept, especially in series dealing with romances, is the Red String of Fate (''akai ito'' or ''unmei no akai ito''). The concept is that two people who are destined to be together are attached by an invisible red string bound from a male's thumb to a female's pinky finger (generally, though not always, at the first knuckle from the fingernail; also, nowadays it's become more common to show ''both'' parties attached at the pinky).

The [[Fridge Logic|real question]] is: If it's invisible, how do we know it's red? {{spoiler|[[Fridge Brilliance|What color is the heart?]] [[Completely Missing the Point|Sort of purplish, actually.]]}}

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* In one episode of ''[[Ranma One Half]]'', Shampoo attempts to use an actual magical red string to bind Ranma to her romantically.

** A possible variation occurs in a late manga story revolving around the [[Tanabata]], where Ranma and Akane will supposedly be destined to marry if two leaves with their names on them remain intact and bound together, but they will never be if either one is destroyed. Cue Ranma having to go through hell, including [[Lord Error-Prone|Tatewaki Kuno]] suddenly coming out of nowhere with a steel-bladed katana, to ensure that the leaves aren't destroyed or tied to the leaves of other people.

{{quote| '''Ranma:''' With the red thread, loose as it is, we are walking.}}

* Toward the end of the ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'' movie "Remember My Love", notorious lech Ataru is shown to have multiple red strings attached to every one of his fingers. It's implied that he might ''like'' to be faithful to Lum, but...

** In the same episode, Watanabe finds that Hyatt, his love interest, is at the same place selling refreshments. She gives him a drink for free, and as she walks away, Watanabe muses, "...the red string!" Sumiyoshi looks at the drink and remarks, "It's green."

** [[Spiritual Successor]] OVA ''[[Puni Puni Poemi]]'' parodies this with Poemi, who's attached to her friend Futaba. At that moment, Futaba and her sisters are being taken hostage by [[Mars Needs Women|incredibly horny aliens]], and as they get dragged away in a net, Poemi is forcibly dragged to them herself.

* Appears in a flashback of Juri's recollections of her time spent with Shiori and an unnamed male character in ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]''.

* Poemi follows the red string tied to her finger to find her friend Futaba after she is captured in ''[[Puni Puni Poemi]]''.

** Also, when Mayu first sees Kaoru again, she talks about them being bound by the red string of fate (she's been nursing a crush since their first meeting years earlier). Alas, [[The Masquerade]] prevents Kaoru from telling her his string is already tied.

* In ''[[Nana]]'', Reira writes a song about her seedy relationship with Shin by describing it as taking the red string off someone's finger.

{{quote| "The thread that binds you and I is the color black, of this I am sure. [[Serial Escalation|Blacker than pitch...blacker than night...blacker than the darkness itself.]]"}}

* ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'': Kuwabara claimed that the way he found his love interest, Yukina, was simply by following the red string tied to their fingers. The anime provides a visual; in reality, he probably just sensed her spirit energy.

* ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]'''s opening features the two heroines tied by a red string. It appears in the show itself in the form of Himeko's bloodied bandage which twirl around the arms of both females {{spoiler|as the gods take Chikane away in the last episode}}.

* The opening of ''[[Potemayo]]'' has Mikan wearing a literal red string that supposedly attaches to Sunao, and she makes it clear during the series that she believes she and Sunao are "tied" to each other.

* In the first ending theme of the anime adaptation of ''[[Kekkaishi]]'' there is a line which roughly translates to "there is a red string which connects two people", in apparent reference to Yoshimori's feelings for Tokine.

* ''[[Mononoke]]'' contains a variation involving a red cloth between an unborn child and their parents. A much more traditional example appears in the OP, with a red string tied to the pinky finger.

{{quote| ''I could see the red stings connecting everyone to you... I was a blue thread''.}}

* In the manga ''[[Wish]]'', when the main character Shuichiro confesses to his adoptive mother that he loves her, she tells him that she is not the one meant for him and that he needs to find the person on the other end of the string on his finger.

* Essentially the basis of ''Bound Beauty'', only that the characters can see the ''other'' strings of fate (White, Blue, Yellow, and Black, in addition to Red). Leads to some very surreal battle scenes.

* In ''[[The Mikos Words and The Witches Incantations]]'', Letty ties an invisible, magical thread to both her pinky and Tsumugi's so they won't get separated. Naturally, it's red, and Tsumugi [[Girls Love|cheerfully mentions its Japanese significance to Letty and how it probably makes them lovers]].

* This becomes a plot-point in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'''s summer OVA when Yue (an [[Inept Mage]] at the time) uses this on Nodoka and Negi, creating a physical red string tying the two together by their pinkies for a day.

** The final shot in the first ED sequence for ''[[Inuyasha]]: The Final Act'' shows a literal red string tied to Inuyasha and Kagome's fingers.

* While not actually shown in the anime, one of the DVD covers for ''[[Happy Lesson]]'' has each one of the male lead's fingers tied with a red string and all the strings being connected to all his mothers' pinkies. He is not amused.

* The end theme of ''Tsuyokiss'' shows each of the girls naked (it's a [[Fan Service]] show) with a red string tied to one finger.

* Parodied in ''[[Yuria 100 Shiki]]''. The titular [[Sex Bot]] fantasizes about one of these on her finger . . . connecting to Shunsuke's crotch. (The narration remarks that all of her fantasies end up there eventually.)

* In the ''[[Full Metal Panic]]'' manga, Gauron implies that this is what [[Ho Yay|fatefully keeps bringing him and Sousuke together]]. Sousuke does not react well to the suggestion.

* The opening of ''[[Sasameki Koto]]'' shows some white strands blowing in the wind, and at one point there's a red one among them.

* In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', it happened to Red and Yellow twice. Of course, said string (a Caterpie's String Shot and Yellow's fishing line) wasn't actually ''red''...but yes, pinkies and shipping symbolism were still there.

* In ''[[Nabari no Ou]]'', Miharu is shown with a red string on his finger after {{spoiler|erasing Yoite}}.

* Used literally in ''[[Koi Cupid]]''; red strings are seen connecting people together. If necessary, the strings can be cut with magic scissors.

* ''Shibariya Komachi'' is pretty much based on this trope, although it uses 5 different colours of thread that connect a variety of things. Protagonist Chiyako can initially see other people's red strings and takes advantage of this to make money, but ends up with the white string that binds body and soul.

* In ''[[Brigadoon Marin and Melan]]'', Marin ties one of her red hair ribbons onto Melan's sword as a symbol of their promise to return to each other. {{spoiler|It shows up again in with increased symbolic importance at the end.}}

* In ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'', Index speculates that the reason why nearly any girl who meets Touma falls in love with him is that his [[Anti-Magic]] right hand, Imagine Breaker, negates the Red String of Fate for other people.

* [[Twincest|Risa and Riku]] of ''[[D.N.Angel]]'' are shown this way in one illustration.

* In ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]],'' Madoka giving her red hair ribbons to {{spoiler|Homura}} before {{spoiler|being [[Ret-Gone|Ret Gonned]]}} can be considered a reference to this trope. After {{spoiler|Madoka's disappearance,}} her hair ribbons are {{spoiler|[[Tragic Keepsake|the only thing Homura has left of her]] and the only trace that she ever existed.}}

* Quite a few ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' fanarts of [[Moe Anthropomorphism|America and Canada]] show a red string attached around their hands. Could be to represent their relationship which in real life is one of the closest and most productive international relationships in the world. Or it's to play up the [[Ho Yay]].

** The red string of fate has also been referenced in quite a few fanworks that pair Japan with someone. It's most common in Japan/China fanworks, probably because of the concept's origins in China and the tendency for the pairing to be portrayed as a [[Star-Crossed Lovers|tragic one]], but appears in some Japan/Taiwan and Japan/Greece fanworks too.

== [[Literature]] ==

* In Paulo Coelho's ''Brida'', the titular girl is informed that Witches can recognize who their destined soulmate is because they can see a special twinkle in the eyes, while Mages do so by seeing a star over the shoulder of their destined. Brida, who becomes an aspiring Witch, recognizes the twinkle in her actual boyfriend's eyes and is pleased; but the Mage she initially consulted has seen the star over Brida's shoulder, and is conflicted. {{spoiler|This is carried to a long scene where the Mage finally decides to confess his visions and feelings and use the star to try to find Brida in a crowd... and then he finds Brida's boyfriend, who also has the damn star over ''his'' shoulder. This being a [[No Bisexuals]] setting, the Mage [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|steps out]] and lets the happy couple be.}}

* In L.J. Smith's ''[[Night World]]'' series, soulmates who are destined to be together often describe a silver thread connecting the two of them together.

* Also in L.J. Smith's ''[[Vampire Diaries]]'', Elena remembers stories of "the souls of true lovers" being connected by "a silver string from heart to heart or a red cord from pinky to pinky", but it's the first one that she's able to find (and follow).

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

== [[Video Games]] ==

* The recent ''[[Pokémon]]'' games have a red ball of string as an item (called "Destiny Knot" in the English version). Appropriately, if the monster holding this item becomes infatuated, the foe that it "loves" will be infatuated as well.

* In the Anime based fighting game ''[[Naruto]], Narutimate Hero Accel 2'', the character of Chiyo has an Ougi where her attack puppets (Mother and Father, which are actually modified exhumed corpses) are joined by a literal red string, which is then used to viciously lacerate the opponent.

* ''[[Tears to Tiara]]'''s [[CMOT Dibbler]] Epona has a mysterious red string worth 99999 gold for sale at her shop. It turns out that {{spoiler|she was using it as [[Schmuck Bait]] to get the [[Player Character]] to buy it, as it has a [[Love Potion]] effect on the people it attaches. Yes, it's [[Eroge|that]] kind of game.}}

* Hakuoro in [[Utawarerumono]] does something like this with [[Ill Girl|Yuzuha]], though he doesn't recognize the significance. Eruruw does a facepalm, [[Oblivious to Love|of course]].

* The [[Infinity+1 Sword]] of Gepetto in ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: Covenant'' is the Crimson Thread. At the end of his [[Sidequest]], it appears between him and his puppet, Cordelia. {{spoiler|The puppet in question was modeled and named after his late daughter, and her soul appears to be inhabiting it, thus their connection.}}