The Anti-Nihilist: Difference between revisions

* 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}}.

* [[Crazy Awesome|Jack Rakan]] from ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''.

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

* In ''[[Madlax]]'', the eponymous heroine is a gun-for-hire in a civil war-torn country, yet this only makes her more appreciative of life and its small everyday joys; e.g. she visits her client and target ([[Suicide by Cop|same person]]) on the night before his assassination to comfort him. In the end, it is she (or {{spoiler|the part of Margaret corresponding to her}}) who defeats the [[Nietzsche Wannabe]] of a [[Big Bad]].

* {{spoiler|[[Shell-Shocked Veteran|Filicia Heideman]]}} from ''[[Sora no Woto]]''. [[War Is Hell|The things she went through]] constantly haunt her. She concluded that, perhaps, life doesn't have any particular purpose, and made herself one in taking care of her new unit, even if it takes [[To Be Lawful or Good|commiting treason to stop a war.]] [[Les Yay|And, she has Rio.]]

* 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.

* Main point of [[Kino's Journey]]: "The world is not beautiful, therefore it is".

 

* [[Batman]], [[Depending on the Writer]]. The victim of a random and meaningless crime, young Bruce Wayne could have decided that life was pointless, and succumbed to depression and nihilism. But instead he chose to create his own purpose, re-inventing himself as a force for order and justice.

** There's actually a surprisingly deep quote in ''[[Batman and Robin (film)|Batman and Robin]]'' which captures the existential nature of Batman's character.

* 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.

 

== Fan Fic ==

* The books of ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' end up coming around to this theme, more or less, with a bit of a [[Fantastic Aesop]] courtesy of Dust. But it's former nun Mary Malone who first reaches the conclusion: that though once she felt that no God meant no purpose to the world, the need to keep Dust alive, that is, wisdom, curiosity, education, and kindness, gives the worlds purpose. In other words, "There is now!"

* [[First-Person Smartass|Christine]], the narrator of the novel ''[[Faction Paradox|Dead Romance]]'' thinks like this when she's dismissing one of her friend's uber-depressing, [[Wangst|Wangsty]] poetry:

* Professor Pangloss in [[Voltaire]]'s [[Candide]], who goes through Hell and back and comments on the weather.

* The narrator of [[Ted Chiang]]'s short story "Exhalation" is watching his universe wind down to equilibrium. Rather than despair, he implores future explorers to "contemplate the marvel that is existence and rejoice that you are able to do so. I feel I have the right to tell you this because, as I am inscribing these words, I am doing the same."

*** River recognizes that all meaning is "imbued" and thus there really is no "meaning" to begin with, River has a surprisingly positive outlook on life, and sees things in a very innocent way (i.e. the loaded gun everyone was freaking out about took the form of a harmless stick in her mind). Objects In Space is actually an exploration of these two character types, juxtaposing River against Jubal Early, who's definitely a [[Nietzsche Wannabe]]. Faced with the same realization as River, Jubal's response was to become a complete psychopath who tortured his puppy.

** [[Angel]] from [[Buffy]] once had the revelation that life has no purpose or meaning, thus making even the tiniest act of kindness an end in itself. Angel's [[Koan]]:

*** Wesley outright states the existential nature of the character Angel (as well as the series itself) when he says:

*** 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]].

* Dean Winchester of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' to some extent, at least up until episode 2 of season 4.

* Implied by Oma Desala in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''

 

 

* This is the life philosophy of the [[Mind Hive|Geth]] in [[Mass Effect]]. {{spoiler|The usual philosophical conundrums of organics are easily answered by the Geth: Why do we exist? What happens after death? For the Geth, they were created to be menial labor for the Quarians, and their memories are archived after "death". Since they are no longer performing their original task and have been "disowned" by their "gods", they have created their own purpose: total unity of ther [[Mind Hive]] in a single giant "Dyson Sphere" platform (though a more accurate analogy would be a Jupiter Brain). The True Geth (which Legion is from) want to do so on their own terms along technology paths they find themselves, while the Heretic sect took an easier, more controlled path under the command of the Reapers.}}

* The [[Assassin's Creed]]; "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." There is no God. There is no Devil. There are only [[Humans Are Flawed|Flawed Humans]], the children of flawed [[Precursors]]. So if we wish to live in peace, prosperity and freedom, ''we'' must build a civilization that permits those things.

'''Ezio Auditore da Firenze''': ''...merely an observation of the nature of reality: To say that nothing is true is to realize that the foundations of society are fragile, and that we must be the shepherds of our own civilization. To say that everything is permitted is to understand that we are the architects of our actions, and that we must live with their consequences, whether glorious or tragic.'' }}

 

 

* [[Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure|According to Rufus]], the entire future will be based on this:

 

== Real Life ==