The Anti-Nihilist: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

This is the sort of character that goes by doctrines along the lines of "Don't cling to pain. Don't expect happiness. Don't fear loss. Accept reality as it is. Enjoy the good. Endure the bad. Don't make a big deal out of anything. Be selfless, and unconditionally kind and just, without ever expecting a reward. We're all going to end up as piles of dust, so why not be nice to each other and get those pleasant fuzzies?"

 

* The main conflicts in ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' have shades of this, with the [[Hot-Blooded]] protagonists representing this trope while their opponents appear to be [[Nietzsche Wannabe|Nietzsche Wannabes]] {{spoiler|[[Well-Intentioned Extremist|there's more to them than that]], but they're still ''very'' depressed people}}.

{{quote| [http://www.mangareader.net/mahou-sensei-negima/316/5 Truth? Meaning? That crap ain't got nothing to do with my life!]}}

** Fate Averruncus appears to be growing into this as of late.

* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'''s Shinji Ikari grows into this trope at the end of [[The Movie|End Of Evangelion]]. With all the hell he's put through, and with the [[Mind Rape|horrifying]] [[Endofthe World As We Know It]], it would make sense that he would jump into the [[Despair Event Horizon]] and become an [[Omnicidal Maniac|omni]][[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum|cidal]] [[Nietzsche Wannabe]], especially when {{spoiler|Rei gives him control over the fate of humanity}}. Nevertheless, he {{spoiler|lets the [[Assimilation Plot]] fail, and}} chooses to live life as an individual. Based on how you interpret it, ''Evangelion'' itself is loaded with Existentialist themes, like Jean-Paul Sartre's "[[Hell Is Other People]]" (in ''Eva'', the so-called Absolute Terror Field surrounding all souls), but at the same time affirms that being alive and suffering are parts of life and that happiness can be achieved.

** Kaji also has very strong traits of it. He knows more about what's going on than almost anyone else, yet he's the only character who appears genuinely happy. During one very close battle against an angel that appears to be the final moments before the end of the world, he is watering the melon patch he is growing, with the battle being visible in the distance. If the world does not end on that day, then the melons need to be watered. If it does, then it won't matter what he is doing in the final moments anyway. Either way, he can't do anything to change what's going to happen in the next ten minutes.

* The character Panaru in episode three of ''[[Boogiepop Phantom]]'' is respected for having this philosophy and teaching it to others.

* Makina from ''[[Shikabane Hime]]''. The final scene in the anime is of her repeatedly punching her archenemy Hokuto (a fellow fighting-zombie) in the face after all is lost: it's the first time she ascribes meaning to her existence.

{{quote| Makina: You're not an undead! You're alive! And so am I!}}

** Rorschach is arguably more of an [[Ubermensch]], considering his largely misanthropic view of life. It's shown that he does care about what few friends he has in the world, though.

** Dr. Manhattan also develops into this by the end.

{{quote| '''Alfred''': "Death and chance stole your parents. But rather than become a victim, you have done everything in your power to control the fates. For what is Batman if not an effort to master the chaos that sweeps our world, an attempt to control death itself."}}

* Despite hanging out with various Norse gods and calling [[The Mighty Thor|Thor]] "oathbrother", Beta Ray Bill does not believe in God in the theological sense. This doesn't stop him from being a true hero.

 

* Inherent to all of [[Joss Whedon]]'s work.

*** Mal fought for freedom and honor in [[The War of Earthly Aggression|The War Of Coreward Aggression]]. He lost, and has come to terms with that. But at the same time, he refuses to be a slave or a thug - even when the entire 'Verse insists that he has to obey a higher authority or act against his principles to survive, he remains Captain Malcolm Reynolds. And he aims to misbehave.

*** Simon also has something of a tendency toward this. He specifically states that acting morally means even more out in the black without an authority to impose it.

{{quote| "There is a design Angel, hidden in the chaos as it might be. But it's there. And you have your place in it."}}

*** Contrary to Angel, his son Connor also encounters an existential crisis, but he acts as a [[Foil|mirror image]] to his father by going the opposite route and becoming a [[Nietzsche Wannabe]].

{{quote| ''The Universe is so vast, and we are so small, there is only truly one thing we can control; whether we are good or evil.''}}

 

== Visual Novels ==

 

 

== Webcomics ==

 

* [http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=767 This] [[A Softer World]] strip sums it up pretty well. "Nothing matters at all. Might as well be nice to people."

 

== Web Original ==

 

 

== Western Animation ==