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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''[[Deadpan Snarker|Lin]]:''' What's going ''on''?
'''Kamajii:''' Something you wouldn't recognize. It's called "love".
|''[[Spirited Away]]''}}
What is love?
Robots are the ones most susceptible to this troubling dilemma, as an increasing number of different-minded creators will not rest until their creations can truly love like humans, which is easier said than done. You can program [[Ridiculously
Aliens, especially [[Human Aliens|relatively humanoid ones]] who coexist with humans, also express curiosity of this strange human custom: why would humans put so much emphasis on a single word that appears to serve no useful function? [[Green
It's not just non-human species that need to learn love by themselves: [[Jungle Princess
Usually, the question of love is asked out of curiosity, but occasionally it will be deliberately shunned. An [[Noble Demon|intristically malevolent spirit or human hardened to the point of unfeeling]] will have some idea on the meaning of love, but not enough to threaten their heartless exterior, and they have no intent of exploring that notion further. Of course, if they're good-looking enough, expect [[Morality Pet|an innocent girl]] to show up and make them uncomfortable with a tightening in their chests and burning up of faces. It's their duty to hate and destroy! How could they ever possibly love?
In all cases, the ultimate question is: Can a robot/alien/savage/demon love? And in all cases (excluding ''extremely'' [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|cynical shows]]), the answer is: Yes, [[The Power of Love]] is just ''that'' far-reaching. Oftentimes, the answer is used as an indicator of the humanity of the being that speaks more poetically than [[What Measure Is a Non
Often the reason why [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]]. However, [[Curiosity Causes Conversion]], and can sometimes cause a [[Sex Face Turn]]. The answer is often a cure for [[Creative Sterility]]. This is one of the reasons [[Humanity Is Infectious]].
Not to be confused with [[Lemon|What Is ''This'' Thing Called, Love?]]
{{examples}}
== Robot Examples ==
=== Anime and Manga ===▼
* ''[[
▲== Anime and Manga ==
▲* ''[[Chobits (Manga)|Chobits]]'' has "persocoms" who express affection and happiness much like humans do. However, the manga has a partial subversion: {{spoiler|Freya tells Hideki that despite rumors to the contrary, the Chobits (an affectionate name given to her and Elda, later Chi) cannot feel or love. Hideki accepts this with the reasoning that while Chi's love for him is not the same love that a human would feel, it is still a love that deserves to be treasured.}}
** She may be ''lying''. After all, {{spoiler|the backstory says that Freya shut herself down because she'd developed feelings at least equivalent to love for her father/builder}}.
* ''[[
* Akamatsu's earlier (pre-Love Hina) work ''[[A.I. Love You]]'', where the main character (the brother) creates an A.I. that he falls in love with, and vice versa. Of course, [[Hilarity Ensues]]:
{{quote|
* In ''[[SD Gundam Force]]'', the question is the subject of a Zako Zako Hour... two of them. And they still don't figure it out.
* The Angeloids of ''[[
* ''[[Tenshi
* In ''[[Parallel Trouble Adventure Dual]]'', the love the cyborgized D has for Kazuki enables her to regain her humanity (as well unlock the full potential of the ultimate weapon).
* Juria in ''[[Yuria 100 Shiki]]'' literally doesn't know what love
=== Audio Drama ===
* Subverted in the [[Big Finish Doctor Who]] audio drama ''The Cannibalists''. Lucie asks a robot why he writes poetry:
{{quote|
'''Lucie''': Emotions. They're called emotions. They're a human thing that...
'''Servo''': (laughs) I ''am'' aware of the term. I have a vocabulary bank of over 100 million words and phrases. Please don't patronise me.
'''Lucie''': Sorry, my fault. Been watching too much ''[[Star Trek]]''. }}
=== Film ===
* The central theme of ''[[
* In ''[[The Matrix]]'' movies, this is variously played straight and subverted by the machines:
** The Oracle is a computer program designed to intuitively understand emotional concepts such as love the way a human would.
Line 51 ⟶ 53:
** Agent Smith is likewise, but unlike his program and machine brethren he has an active loathing for these very concepts.
** Rama-Kandra and his wife actively love each other, culminating in "giving birth" to a new program, Sati.
* Partially in ''[[Terminator (
* ''[[Bicentennial Man]]'', about a robot's journey towards understanding what love means.
=== Literature ===
* Satirized in [[Harry Harrison]]'s short story
* Satirized even further in [[Robert Sheckley]]'s
* [[Tanith Lee]]'s ''The Silver Metal Lover'' is possibly the ultimate hack at this subtrope. It combines the above two stories with a Cinderella motif.
* Satirized (like everything else in that book) by ''[[The Red Tape War]]'', in which XB-223 asks for clarification on a specific passage of ''[[
* In Simon Morden's "Theories of Flight", the A.I. Michel declares his love for Petrovitch after finally comprehending the meaning of love. Too bad the man was already married. Still, rather cute how Michel always calls Petrovitch by his real name: Sasha.
=== Live
* Data on ''[[Star Trek]]'' exhibits some of this behavior. Kinda funny, given that he's surrounded by people [[Emotional Emotionless Person|who he would die for, and who would quite willingly die for him]] on a daily basis.
* The Doctor from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', while much more emotionally adroit than Data, has had this applied to him a couple of times, in "Lifesigns" (although there he seemed more confused by the concept of physical attraction than by that of love) and "Real Life", which was about his exploration of the nature of familial love, which he ends up understanding ''too well''.
* Both averted and played straight in ''[[Battlestar Galactica
** It may be more difficult for them to actually love but the do quiet often, when on long term assignments, develop feelings for humans.
* In ''[[
{{quote|
'''Lister''': Don't give me the ''[[Star Trek]]'' crap, it's too early in the morning. }}
* Inverted by Cameron in ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'', in love with John from the get-go. Her human companions are constantly telling her she can't feel, despite obvious displays of emotion on her part and her pointedly stating that she wouldn't be much use if she couldn't feel. Sometimes she plays this up, however, denying she can feel when clearly upset, annoyed, jealous or shocked.
Line 73 ⟶ 75:
* Used as a [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''. Whenever a character (usually a woman) had an underwhelmed reaction to a kiss, one of the guys would quip "What is 'kiss'?"
=== Video Games ===
* HK-47 in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic|Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]]'' understands what love is. "'Love' is making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope." What makes this awesome is that it is actually a subversion; when he elaborates on the meaning of his statement, you realize he does actually understand what love is, even if he must express it in his sociopathic terms.
* TEC in [[Paper Mario (
* Sora of ''[[Ever 17]]'' asks Takeshi this very question, which he interprets as mere curiosity. {{spoiler|During her route she suffers a sort of breakdown/split personality when seeing Tsugumi and Takeshi together}} on the gondola where her emotional, irrational self and coldly efficient side start arguing.]]
* In ''[[Persona 3|Persona 3: FES]],'' {{spoiler|the player has the chance to have a social link with the resident robot girl, Aigis. Throughout the social link, she begins to slowly understand what it means to be human. On the final day of the social link, she confesses her love to the main character, believing that she has found out exactly what it means to love. D'awwwwww.}}
** Takes a turn for the worse in the sequel
* In ''[[Mass Effect|Mass Effect 2]]'', when asked about why it specifically chose a piece of Shepard's armor to repair itself with, Legion reacts with what seems to be its version of a blush and says: "[[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|No data available]]".
** And he sucks at [[Dating Sim
** A more direct lampshade was hung in the original, where, while talking to Alenko and Williams while enjoying the view from the Citadel, Shepard asks what's not to like about humans - after all, we "have this thing called 'love'". Which is in itself a direct shout-out to an old Star Trek episode, where Kirk invokes (and pretty much epitomizes) this trope to the [[Green
** Played a different way with the salarian aliens who, thanks to their relatively short life expectancies, are not known for holding emotional stances for long periods of time (salarians have "reproduction contracts," not marriages, since they can't maintain feelings of courtship to serve as the icing on the commitment cake), not that they aren't completely incapable of it however. The most obvious example of this is perhaps the salarian talking to his asari step-daughter on Illium about buying a gift for his asari wife so she will have something to remember him by (as the asari have some of the longest lives of any species, up to around a thousand years).
** Realizing she is capable of this and coming to terms with it is a major part of {{spoiler|EDI's}} character arc in the third game.
* TEC, a supercomputer in ''[[Paper Mario:
=== Web Comics ===
* In ''[[
=== Western Animation ===
* Parodied in a Halloween episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' when Bart befriends a robot. It says something like "I can do a lot of things, but I cannot love". Bart replies:
{{quote|
** Parodied again in "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" when Homer is watching 'Cyborganizer' a sitcom about a filing robot,
{{quote|
* Played for laughs in a science fair on ''[[Fairly Oddparents]]'' where Timmy's (now genius) Dad tries to convey the emotion of love to the scientific community. Cue a robot going "WHAT IS LOVE!? DOES NOT COMPUTE!" and blow up. Only to also have all the scientists in the audience go "LOVE? Is that an emotion?" and blow up as well.
* In Pixar's ''[[
== Alien Examples ==
=== Anime and Manga ===▼
▲== Anime and Manga ==
* This is essentially the plot of ''[[Macross]]''/''[[Robotech]]''. The Zentraedi know nothing of love or sex; their genders are divided at all times. A woman singing is a valuable distraction, a kiss can bring down fleets, and a mere child can sufficiently creep them out. (Well, the kid was a half-Zentraedi with green hair, and that would freak anyone out.)
** It should be noted however that technically, the Humans and Zentraedi in Macross are the descendants/creations of the same [[Precursors|precursor]] race: the Protoculture. So the series falls under the human sort as well.
** [
* Oasis in ''[[Kyouran Kazoku Nikki]]'''s last arc came to Earth specifically to figure out what love is. She tries to ask Chika and Madara for advice, but this doesn't end well.
* The eponymous character of ''[[Eureka Seven]]'', being an [[Emotionless Girl]] representative of [[Starfish Aliens]], is extremely confused when someone suggests she's in love with Renton. However, she seems to have figured out familial love on her own, since she adopted children and is very affectionate towards them.
=== Audio Drama ===
* In the [[Big Finish Doctor Who]] audio drama ''The Zygon Who Fell To Earth'', a Zygon asks "What is this 'love'?" Another Zygon, who has been disguised as a 1980s record company boss, explains it's "a money-making scam of the humans".
=== Film ===
* Mocked mercilessly by ''[[The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra]]''.
=== Literature ===
* In ''[[
* [[Isaac Asimov]]'s short story ''What is This Thing Called Love?'' (or also ''Playboy and Slime Gods''). A [[Take That]] story against ''[[Playboy]]'' magazine's story "Girls for the Slime God". The story is about an asexual-reproducting alien trying to explain his boss about Earth's concepts such as mating and gender.
* The Atevi of the ''[[Foreigner (
* In Sergey Volnov's ''Army Of The Sun'', an alien is nostalgic for the days before humans taught the galaxy that there's more to mating than just the physical act. Now, a whole new set of rituals is added to the usual sex. Of course, this was more of a case of humans forcing their culture on other species due to a bad case of [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|Humans Are Bastards]].
* In [[Mikhail Akhmanov]]'s ''Invasion'', the [[Human Aliens]] Faata live in a caste-like society, where each caste is [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|genetically-engineered]] for a specific role. Everything in their society is rational, which means that there's no room for emotions like love. When Lieutenant Commander Pavel Litvin of the United Earth Forces is abducted by the Faata, he meets a lower-caste Faata female named Yo. When he later escapes, he finds Yo in a hibernation chamber that helps the Faata bypass a [[Star Trek|Pon Farr]]-like state. Since he takes her out of the chamber before it's done, she tries to jump him. Apparently, he decides that they have enough time to teach her about the human concept of sexuality. From that moment on, she forgets all about her Faata masters and follows the big, strong Earth-man. Later on, they get back to Earth and get married.
* One of the ''[[Doctor Who Expanded Universe]]'' novels spoofed this, with a rather adult [[Show Within a Show|Book Within A Book]] featuring aliens asking things like "What is this thing you call 'a nice spot of how's-your-father'?"
=== Live
* [[Ms. Fanservice|Seven of Nine]] states in ''[[
* In the ''[[Star Trek:
* Early episodes of ''[[Mork and Mindy]]''.
* In the premiere of ''[[
* As per the example given on the [[Green
{{quote|
* ''[[
** In "Four to Doomsday", the television serial, Monarch asks what love is after Nyssa mentions it.
{{quote|
** In "Enlightenment" Tegan is followed around constantly by Mr Mariner, who gives her longing looks and constantly tells her how amazing, unique and
* There's one episode of ''[[
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* Marvel's Shatterstar came to Earth as an alien gladiator, bred in a test tube for the sole reason of fighting in the pits on Mojoworld for the entertainment of the Spineless executives and only interested in fighting. As he lives on Earth for longer and longer, he's slowly learning about human culture, including human emotions and sexuality. This lead to a relationship with fellow ''[[X-Force]]'' and ''[[X-Factor (
===
* ''[[Mass Effect
* From [[The Onion]]: [http://www.theonion.com/audio/sexy-alien-does-not-understand-this-thing-humans-c,14010/ Sexy Alien Does Not Understand This Thing Humans Call "Love"].▼
===
▲* From [[The Onion]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130616125705/http://www.theonion.com/audio/sexy-alien-does-not-understand-this-thing-humans-c,14010/ Sexy Alien Does Not Understand This Thing Humans Call "Love"].
▲* ''[[Mass Effect|Mass Effect's]]'' Commander Shepard lampshades this trope and [[Mars Needs Women]] in a bit of optional dialogue, commenting that, according to old movies, humans have everything an alien species could want: "Oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love..."
=== Western Animation ===
* Parodied on ''[[Futurama]]'', when a shipment of candy hearts is delivered to belligerent aliens as a peace offering; it backfires when the aliens are confounded by their cutesy messages.
{{quote|
'''Lrr:''' "Surely it says 'love'."
'''Ndnd:''' "No, 'wuv'! With an Earth 'w'. Behold!"
'''Lrr:''' "This concept of 'wuv' ''confuses and infuriates us!''" }}
{{quote|
{{quote|
'''Zoidberg:''' I just want to talk; it has nothing to do with mating! ''[to Fry]'' Fry, that doesn't make any sense! }}
{{quote|
'''Fry:''' Nope. Must be some weird alien emotion. }}
** In the first episode of ''Futurama'', Fry actually lampshades this trope when Farnsworth offers him a job aboard his ship, and Fry asks if they're going to "teach alien babes how to love".
* Ben often baffles other aliens with his strange, compassionate human ways in the ''[[
** To be fair to Azmuth, his willing to sacrifice all their lives probably had more to do with trying to prevent the fall of the entire galaxy, i.e. the greater good, rather than him not understanding the concept of friendship. Ben just wasn't willing to make that kind of sacrifice for the sake of the galaxy.
== Human Examples ==
=== Anime and Manga ===▼
* ''[[Vinland Saga]]'': When a Christian priest is asked in passing about what he considers valuable in the world, he of answers that 'love is the thing that makes all other things valuable'. The Viking marauders and mercenaries he's travelling with not only are confused, but have
▲== Anime and Manga ==
▲* ''[[Vinland Saga]]'': When a Christian priest is asked in passing about what he considers valuable in the world, he of answers that 'love is the thing that makes all other things valuable'. The Viking marauders and mercenaries he's travelling with not only are confused, but have NO IDEA what he's talking about, and a few more curious ones ask for clarification on this "love" thing he mentions. He isn't really sure either and it is the question that makes him wander the world in search for an answer.
* Rei Ayanami from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' had the unusual combination of a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] and a [[Diabolus Ex Machina]] in the form of this trope, when while fighting the 16th angel, she asked herself what love is, realized that she loved Shinji enough to sacrifice her life for him, and promptly did, all within the space of about a minute. Girl is ''fast.''
** Kaworu also does this in the manga, after ironically having Rei's love for Shinji essentially Xerox'd onto him by the 16th. He asks if Shinji if what he's feeling is love and tries to romantically advance on him after ''kissing Shinji while he was hyperventilating.'' [[All Love Is Unrequited|It doesn't end well]].
** ''Rebuild 2.0'' handles the heavy Shinji/Rei subtext very well: at one point, Shinji makes lunch for Rei who reacts with a blush and thanks him; later on, she wonders why did she do that when she never thanks anyone. In another instance, Asuka questions Rei about her feelings towards Shinji and she responds that she feels "warm and content" around him but doesn't know why.
* In ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'', Sousuke for the majority of the story. He ''completely'' didn't understand what it meant for someone to be in love (as shown when Kaname was trying to explain to him what a love letter was, and what it means when a girl is in love with him, and again when a discussion between Sousuke and Kaname shows he doesn't know the difference between kissing and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation). That part pretty much moves him from just being a [[Chaste Hero]] into being a human robot that doesn't understand the concept of "love."
* ''[[
** Chane Laforet from is roughly aware of love entails but, [[Mad
{{quote|
** Szilard's [[Our Homunculi Are Different|homunculus]], Ennis did not understand love at all at first. Firo more hopes she'll catch on without needing to be taught. {{spoiler|After about 50 years she apparently understands.}}
* Subverted in ''[[Ayashi no Ceres]]'', seeing as it was an assumption rather than a question, between [[The Stoic|Tooya]] and Aya right after their official first kiss. He gives a pretty damn [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|heartwarming]] speech about it too.
{{quote|
* Count D, owner of the ''[[Pet Shop of Horrors]]'', admits that love is beyond him. {{spoiler|At least concerning people. Animals are something else entirely.}}
{{quote|
* ''[[Durarara!!]]'': Because of her inability to love,
** Near the end of the anime, {{spoiler|Izaya states that it's not so much she's incapable of it but using [[Selective Obliviousness]] to avoid any potentially painful situation like what happened with her parents. Then again, it's [[Consummate Liar|Izaya]] we're talking about here. Coin toss for whether he was bullshitting or whether it's true.}}
* In ''[[Simoun]]'', {{spoiler|Aaeru}} has to be specifically told by {{spoiler|Neviril}} what that painful feeling in her chest is. It makes their mutual declaration of love immediately afterward all the more touching.
* In ''[[Wild
* In ''[[
{{quote|
* In ''[[Soul Eater]]'', Stein tells Medusa that "people like [[Mad Scientist|you and me]]" aren't capable of love. Nygus says this, too, but it's somewhat contradicted a few pages later when [[Armed
=== Comic Books ===
* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' - [[X-23]] was brought up as an assassin, and only her mother and sensei showed her any compassion or kindness during her childhood. And nobody ever told her about boys. As a result, she has no clue what is going on when she finds herself attracted to her teammate [[Jerk
* Handled matter-of-factly in [[Mark Evanier]]'s miniseries ''Crossfire and Rainbow''; lab-born genetically-engineered Rainbow confesses her dark secret to her prospective boyfriend: she can't make him happy because she doesn't know what love is! "Well," he says thoughtfully, "looks like I'm just going to have to teach you." (Later on, he correctly divines that she's also afraid she'll be bad in bed. Her: "How did you know?" Him: "You're not as different as you think.")
=== Fan
* [http://www.fanfiction.net/~mrevil Mr. Evil]'s [[Original Character]] Alex Sovereign is unable to understand love or any other emotion, able to see his body reactions in a more scientific approach than a emotional one. Though this is all due to the fact that his mother had his emotions lobotomized when he was born so emotions would not effect his decisions.
** Averted with his other [[Original Character]] Fredi Heat, who is a [[Anti
=== Film ===
* Alta in the movie ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'', raised alone by her father, is unfamiliar in the way of kissing until crewmembers offer to explain to her.
{{quote|
'''Altaira Morbius:''' Hmm. But why should people want to kiss each other? }}
* ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' uses the catchphrase "What is 'Kiss'?" to mock this trope when a character reacts to a kiss with confusion, usually due to the actor's [[Narm|failure to emote properly]]. The quote "What is 'Kiss'" is often attributed to ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'' or ''[[Star Trek]]'', although the exact phrase was not used in either of these sources. The phase "what is 'kiss'?" is used verbatim in a skit of ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'', with the discovery of the garden store natives. Followed a few seconds later by "what is 'handjob'?"
* [[Zooey Deschanel|Summer]] [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl|Finn]] in ''[[
=== Literature ===
* The [[Defrosting Ice Queen|beautiful but icy]] Estella from ''[[Great Expectations]]'' claims to Pip, her suitor, that she has no heart, implicitly as a result of Miss Havisham's raising of her as a [[Femme Fatale|breaker of men's hearts]]. When Miss Havisham entreats for her love and affection in return for hers, she coolly replies that she cannot give her back what she has never been given. She is later [[Defrosting Ice Queen|defrosted]] by Pip, if you follow the revised ending or movie adaptations.
* Jonas of ''[[The Giver]]'' grows up in a false Utopian society where the word "love" has become obsolete. When he learns about it through memories received from the Giver and asks his parents if they love him, they admonish him for not using precise language and say that asking "Do you enjoy me?" or "Do you take pride in my accomplishments?" would have been better.
* The Bene Gesserit Question Book in ''[[Dune]]: House Harkonnen'':
{{quote|
* Used in ''[[
* In ''[[
* In [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Stranger in
=== Live
* Parodied by [[Benny Hill]]
{{quote|
'''The Director:''' Cut, cut, cut! No, no, no! It's "What is this thing, called 'love'?" }}
* Gob Bluth from ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' experiences love for the first time.
{{quote|
'''Michael:''' You know, the feeling that you're feeling is just what many of us call... a "feeling".
'''Gob:''' It's not like envy, or even hungry.
'''Michael:''' Could it be love?
'''Gob:''' I know what an erection feels like, Michael. No, it's the opposite - it's like my heart is getting hard. }}
* I'd say ''[[Dexter]]'' fits this one pretty perfectly, in the platonic way.
{{quote|
** And again about his adoptive father
{{quote|
* On ''[[The Odd Couple]]'', Felix breaks up Oscar's ex-wife's wedding (which would have ended Oscar's need to pay alimony) because he realized they weren't in love. Oscar calls him on it and demands to know what love is: (paraphrased a bit)
{{quote|
Oscar: "I feel that way about you, but I'm pretty sure it's hate." }}
* ''[[Wonder Woman (TV series)|Wonder Woman
{{quote|
=== Theatre ===
* The eponymous character in the [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operetta ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'' specifically does not, in the beginning, understand why all the other women love when it is clear that [[Love Hurts]]. When it is explained to her, she immediately sets out to fall in love:▼
* Happens all the time in [[Opera]], in which a character will sing "Could this be love?" (usually in another language, of course), generally followed by "Yes -- yes, it is!"
===
* [[Half
▲* The eponymous character in the [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operetta ''Patience'' specifically does not, in the beginning, understand why all the other women love when it is clear that [[Love Hurts]]. When it is explained to her, she immediately sets out to fall in love:
* In ''[[Wario Land
▲{{quote| '''Patience''': I had no idea that love was a duty!}}
* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' - Roxas has a diary entry titled, "What is love?" after witnessing a scene between Belle and Beast on one of his missions. Since he couldn't make sense of what Xaldin was saying about it, he tried asking Axel about
▲* Happens all the time in [[Opera]], in which a character will sing "Could this be love?" (usually in another language, of course), generally followed by "Yes -- yes, it is!"<br /><br />The eponymous [[Defrosting Ice Queen|Defrosting Ice Princess]] of Puccini's ''Turandot'' is more or less thawed by a kiss from Prince Calaf.
▲* [[Half Human Hybrid|Half-human, half-esper]] Terra from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' spends quite a part of the game trying to understand love (she only gets it after some time taking care of a group of orphaned children).
▲* In ''[[Wario Land (Video Game)|Wario Land: Shake It!]]'', Love literally is in one of the treasures chests in the game, and is actually represented by the word 'love' itself; but the treasure's listed name is merely "Something Important." It is assumed that this name comes from Wario's own view of the subject.
▲* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' - Roxas has a diary entry titled, "What is love?" after witnessing a scene between Belle and Beast on one of his missions. Since he couldn't make sense of what Xaldin was saying about it, he tried asking Axel about it -- but didn't get any real answer. He wrote that he felt like Axel kept dodging questions he didn't know the answer to just by saying that he could not understand it without a real heart. [[Shipper On Deck|Xig]][[Troll|bar]] tried to set Roxas and Xion up ([[Viewer Gender Confusion|they look]] [[Screw Yourself|the same]] to him), but while Roxas was fond of her, he could not understand what Xigbar was trying to do.
* If you sleep with [[Black Magician Girl|Morrigan]] in [[Dragon Age]] and subsequently [[Defrosting Ice Queen|get her to warm up to you]], she will pose this question.
* ''Everyone'' in ''[[Digital Devil Saga]]''. Why? {{spoiler|They are all [[A Is]], created solely for combat, with no emotional responses included, leading to a battlefield full of emotionless androids based on certain humans. The Demon Virus kick-started the [[Character Development|development of their personalities]], up to character strengths and flaws, along certain viewpoints on the original people. It is specially poignant to see [[The Spock]] finally thaw and grasp the concept of honor and love, and [[Tear Jerker|everyone]] having to lose it all through an increasingly brutal chain of [[Heroic Sacrifice
=== Web Original ===
* In ''[[Three Worlds Collide]]'', the humans find themselves asking the Super Happy version of this question. The answer is essentially the [[Inverted Trope|inversion]] of [[Mental Affair]].
* In the crossover review of ''Honor & Glory'', [[
=== Western Animation ===
* In [[The Fairly
=== Real Life ===
* This trope has a grain of truth in it, as it is [[Truth in Television|a common symptom of people who suffer from severe cases of "Schizoid Personality Disorder".]]
* It can also be a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder: Although the affected person will still understand what love ''is'', they may experience "emotional numbing", so that they are no longer be capable of feeling certain emotions, such as love or happiness.
** In some cases, the person can feel it, but is unable to recognize it.
== Demonic Examples ==
=== Anime and Manga ===▼
* Ulquiorra in ''[[Bleach]]'', although notably he isn't ''jealous'' of it...he's more annoyed by it. {{spoiler|"You damn humans speak so easily of the heart . . . what is this "heart?" If I tear open your chest, will I see it inside? If I shatter your skull, will I see it ''there''?}}
▲== Anime and Manga ==
* The youko ([[Obake|fox spirit]]) Tamamo from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]'' couldn't even begin to comprehend how or why Nube was so [[Determinator|determined]] to [[Papa Wolf|protect his students]], much less why such drive gave him power beyond (arguably) more powerful entities. Therefore, he stuck around to see exactly how [[The Power of Love]] worked, and also to annoy Nube as the school's physician. The interesting part is that he became just as attached to Doumori Elementary and its students without him ever realizing it, and gained the same kind of determination and selflessness as Nube.
▲* Ulquiorra in ''[[Bleach]]'', although notably he isn't ''jealous'' of it...he's more annoyed by it. {{spoiler|"You damn humans speak so easily of the heart . . . what is this "heart?" If I tear open your chest, will I see it inside? If I shatter your skull, will I see it ''there''?}}<br /><br /> {{spoiler|As he dies, he finally figures it out: "What is that? Would I see it if I cracked open your chest? If I broke open your skull, what would I see inside? You humans say the word so easily. Just like...Oh. I get it. This is it. This here in my hand. The heart."}}
▲* The youko ([[Obake|fox spirit]]) Tamamo from ''[[Hell Teacher Nube]]'' couldn't even begin to comprehend how or why Nube was so [[Determinator|determined]] to [[Papa Wolf|protect his students]], much less why such drive gave him power beyond (arguably) more powerful entities. Therefore, he stuck around to see exactly how [[The Power of Love]] worked, and also to annoy Nube as the school's physician. The interesting part is that he became just as attached to Doumori Elementary and its students without him ever realizing it, and gained the same kind of determination and selflessness as Nube.<br /><br />It came to a head when Tamamo exorcised an emotion-parasite [[Obake|yokai]] from a little girl, and, still wishing to explore emotions, attached it to himself. He was overcome with human feelings that overwhelmed even his demonic side.
* The conversation in ''[[Spirited Away]]'' between Lin and Kamaji (two spirits) as they watched Chihiro speak to the sleeping Haku both plays it straight and inverts it.
{{quote|
'''Kamaji''': Something you wouldn't recognize. It's called "love". }}
* [[Hanatsuki Hime]]: Siva, and arguably any of the other devils involved in making contracts with humans, ''want'' to experience this trope because the devils do not have emotions (or the emotions that humans have). It starts out as a game to relieve boredom and simply ends that way for
=== Film ===
* The Lord of Darkness in the movie ''[[Legend (
=== Literature ===
* Subverted in Jaqueline Carey's ''[[The Sundering|Banewreaker]]'' and ''Goldslayer: Satoris Banewreaker''.
* In [[
* At the other end of the spiritual spectrum, this trope causes trouble in Heaven in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s short story ''Murder Mysteries''.
* In [[Stephenie Meyer]]'s short story
=== Live
* The [[Our Demons Are Different|demon Anya]] in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', after she loses her power and is trapped in human form, falls in love with Xander. And apparently granting wishes to scorned women for thousands of years didn't do much to teach her about love.
* In ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'', Maya grows increasingly curious as to why so many Fangires fall in love with humans, even knowing it'll bring eventual death.
* ''[[Angel]]''. [[Eldritch Abomination|Illyria]], having revealed that she can adopt the form and memories of her dead host 'Fred' Burkle, offers to do so for [[Heartbroken Badass|Wesley]] (Fred's former [[Love Interest]]) in order to understand intimate relationships. Wes is outraged by this suggestion and refuses to speak to her for a while.
=== Video Games ===
* [[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
** The trope is also featured in ''Disgaea 2'' with Rozalin, with her [[Defrosting Ice Queen|defrosting]] treated in much the same way.
** It gets spoofed in ''[[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]]'', when [[Mad Scientist|Mao]] tries a more scientific approach to figuring out love.
{{quote|
* Sanctus from ''[[Devil May Cry]] 4'' {{spoiler|mocks Nero and Credo on their efforts of rescuing Kyrie with "Held back by love" and "Love..? For a sibling?" respectively. While Sanctus was originally human, he's all but demonic by that point}}.
== Undead Examples ==
=== Live
* [[Our Vampires Are Different|Spike]] in ''[[
* ''[[True Blood]]'' has an interesting variation on this when Eric (vampire) and Sookie (human) are discussing his [[I Love You, Vampire Son|relationship]] to Godric, who turned him into a vampire.
{{quote|
'''Eric:''': ''(angrily)'' Don't use words you don't understand!
'''Sookie:''' You have a lot of love for him.
'''Eric''': ''(wistfully)'' Don't use words I don't understand. }}
=== [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]]s ===
* The Forsaken display this in the ''[[
** Also, Sylvanas Windrunner, the [[Dark Action Girl]] leader of the Forsaken, still feels for her brethren and especially her still-living siblings. She's got a reputation to uphold, so she keeps the [[Defrosting Ice Queen]] moments to a minimum.
** The Forsaken are pretty much a crapshoot in that regard. For every four or five rotten sociopaths you get one or two who just want to live out their free unlives while they can or aren't all that bad. Leonid Bartholomew of the Argent Dawn jumps to mind. This also seems to be more or less reflected in the Forsaken slice of the roleplay community.
=== Tabletop Games ===
* The ''[[
** In ''[[
** In ''[[
=== Web Comics ===
* Richard from ''[[
** On the other hand, Richard does display an ounce of humanity on at least one occasion. His former minion, [[Sdrawkcab Name|Hctib Elttil]], was confident that the warlock would never break the curse that the imp placed on him and remain a weakened, miniature version of his former self forever, because the only way to break the curse was to perform a selfless act. Sure enough, Richard regained his former stature and power level by saving a small human child. It was indeed selfless, because at that point he didn't know how to break the curse.
** He's also fond of the rabbit the rest of the group jokingly got him as a mount. At least, he keeps it with him, and hasn't immolated the little guy yet. In fact, after Richard was sent to another plane, the little rabbit started crying; they later had a happy reunion, complete with running to each other on the beach. Lets not forget his battlecry:
{{quote|
== Villainous Examples ==
=== Comic Books ===
* Even [[The Joker]] himself has been confused about the nature of his [[Stockholm Syndrome|twisted relationship]] with [[Mad Love|Harley Quinn]].
=== Literature ===
* ''[[Harry Potter]]'' - Harry is initially protected from Voldemort by the magical protection his mother's love gave him because Voldemort, who was raised as an orphan and appeared to be heading towards ruthlessness as far back as childhood, could not comprehend love. In the fifth book, Harry learns from a prophecy that love is the one power he has that Voldemort does not.
** Furthermore, in a brilliant move, the only reason Voldemort never ever doubted
** In the sixth book, it's revealed that Voldemort basically had no love in his life when he grew up. His father was under the influence of a love potion when he was conceived and his mother died instead of using magic to save herself to care for him. As a result, it is explained that he has absolutely no understanding of love or friendship and loves absolutely no one. It's probably because of this that he fails to realize {{spoiler|that Harry's friends and loved ones will continue to fight in his name, even after Harry seemingly dies}}. A less extreme example is Bellatrix Lestrange who, [[Word of God|according to Rowling]] loved no one except for her twisted obsession with Voldemort. Actually, a major theme in the books is love. If someone doesn't love or care about anyone at all, chances are they're totally evil.
** [[Truth in Television|That last sentence is reasonably true of this world, too.]]
*** In the first book...
{{quote|
*** In the sixth book...
{{quote|
'''Dumbledore''': Yes - just love... }}
=== Literature ===
* Messed with by [[
=== Video Games ===
* In ''[[
* Gently spoofed in the [[
{{quote|
'''Ms. Pauling''': ''Um. Go skating... Look at gun catalogs... Sometimes we just talk...''
'''Administrator''': '' '''Talking?''' Friendship is even worse than I thought.'' }}
* In Captain Blue's story in ''[[Viewtiful Joe]]'', [[Level Boss]] Alastor demands this of Blue after Alastor finds and reads a love letter Blue wrote to his wife.
{{quote|
After the fight
'''Blue''': "Love is a potent force. It is what I fight for."
'''Alastor''': "[[The Power of Love|Love is power]]... I'll remember that." }}
=== Western Animation ===
* [[Magnificent Bastard|Azula]] of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' makes her first "miscalculation" because she never factored in [[The Power of Love]].
** Also, "The Beach" shows that she doesn't understand romance or flirting at all; her sales pitch is an outright [[We Can Rule Together]] because she doesn't have the slightest clue what else she can say to seem attractive.
* In ''[[
{{quote|
'''Fox''': "Are you serious?"
'''Xanatos''': "We're genetically compatible, highly intelligent and have the same goals. It makes perfect sense to get married."
'''Fox''': "True, but what about... [[Marry for Love|love]]?"
'''Xanatos''': "I think we love each other... as much as two people such as ourselves are capable of that emotion." }}
** And later on, he considers it a weakness, which Goliath calls him out on.
* ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'': Fauna points out that the few things Malificent doesn't understand are love, kindess, and the [[Good Feels Good|joys of helping others]]. Hence why Flora points out that if they shelter the princess themselves (selflessly helping someone at their own risk), Malificent wouldn't be able to expect it so easily.
== Other ==
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===
* [[Big Bad|Dead Master]] from ''[[
=== [[Literature]] ===
* In ''[[Memory, Sorrow
=== [[Live
* ''[[
* ''[[Fringe]]'': The episode ''August'' is about an Observer who saves a girl from dying in a plane crash, in violation of the Observers' rule against interference, and eventually sacrifices his own life to protect her. As he's dying he explains why to September:
{{quote|
'''August:''' I saw her many years ago. She was a child. Her parents had just been killed. She was crying. She... she was brave. She crossed my mind. Somehow, she never left it. I think... it is what they call feelings. I think... I love her. Will she be safe now?
'''September:''' Yes. You made her important. She is responsible for the death of one of us. }}
** Later, in the episode ''A Short Story About Love'', ''September'' seems to have started to understand the concept.
{{quote|
'''September:''' I believe you call it Love. }}
* The phrase is referenced on ''[[Would I Lie to You?]]'' by Lee Mack to mock David Mitchell after he phrases a sentence strangely ("What did the vending machine... vend?").
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* In ''[[
* At one point in ''[[Narbonic]]'', Mell says "Oh, Artie ... You understand everything except this thing called love." Actually, what Artie doesn't understand is the weird [[Foe Yay]] thing Helen and Professor Madblood have, and why Dave is attacted to a woman who uses him as a [[Tested
=== [[Web Original]] ===
* There's a [http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/general-10/linux-jokes-334249/#post1699455 series of old jokes] with *NIX commands giving "meaningful answers". One of them is
{{quote|
Make: Don't know how to make love. Stop. }}
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Otherness Tropes]]
[[Category:Love Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Heel Face Index]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
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