Undying Loyalty: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|''"Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go where you go and live where you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."''|'''Ruth''', ''[[The Bible]]''}}

 

See also: [[My Country, Right or Wrong]], [[My Master, Right or Wrong]], [[Thicker Than Water]], [[I Will Wait for You]], [[I Am Spartacus]].

 

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* [[Super Robot]] anime RUNS on this trope. [[The Power of Friendship]] is pretty much one of the main themes in this kind of anime, and there's quite a lot of episodes where people turn their backs on the protagonist, but there will ALWAYS be at least one character who will never abandon him.

** Guilford is the same towards Cornelia. He's just ''much'' quieter about it.

* Patrick Colousaur embodies this for his superior officer, Kati Mannequin in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|Gundam 00]]''. The reason is love. The undying loyalty is his cockroach like tendency to survive any dangerous [[No One Could Survive That]] situation, especially on her orders. Eventually, it pays off big time {{spoiler|with him [[The Power of Love|winning her hand in marriage.]]}}

* Kabuto Yakushi from ''[[Naruto]]''.

** Also Zetsu and Kisame to {{spoiler|Madara}}

* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' has Setsuna [[Bodyguard Crush|acting]] [[Romantic Two-Girl Friendship|like this]] [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|toward]] Konoka.

** Fate's female minions act like this toward him as well. {{spoiler|He took them all in as children after their parents were killed in the war.}}

** Fate Testarossa as well, initially toward Precia, then Nanoha.

** On the villain side, we have Vanilla Ice (Don't ask). How loyal is he? He CUTS OFF HIS OWN HEAD WHEN DIO SAYS HE NEEDS BLOOD. Dio actually turns Ice into a Vampire in thanks for this. When he fights Iggy and Polneraff, he delivers a [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]] to Iggy just for making him destroy an ''effigy'' of Dio.

* Bjorn to Askeladd in ''[[Vinland Saga]]''.

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', each of the Straw Hats are fiercely loyal to their [[The Captain|captain Luffy]], ready to risk their lives for him as soon as he gives the word. At one point, when Kuma wanted to kill Luffy, both Zoro and Sanji, without a moment of hesitation, [[Heroic Sacrifice|offered their lives]] instead.

* [[Madlax|Elenore Baker]] to Margaret.

* Brutally deconstructed in the anime [[Gungrave]]. {{spoiler|Brandon's personal code which is this trope puts him under much torment when he has to choose between the best friend Harry and the father figure Big Daddy. Brandon's inability to choose ends up being one of the main causes of Brandon's downfall, which in turn leads to suffering of the people closest to Brandon. In the finale, Brandon admits that even though he is supposed to enforce the iron law of the syndicate to never betray, he just cannot shoot his best friend Harry.}}

* This is the defining trait of most [[Mons]].

** [[Submissive Badass|Berias']] attitude towards [[Magnificent Bastard|King Saralegui]] seems to qualify as well.

* In ''[[Claymore]]'', Jean would go to literally suicidal lengths for Clare, as a result of [[I Owe You My Life]] sentiment. Also, [[The Captain|Miria]] tends to inspire this in most people she meets, especially fellow Claymores.

* Loyalty is a big deal in the ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' anime and games, given the subject matter, but Kojuuro and the rest of the Date clan really stand out in their loyalty to Date Masamune. In the anime's second season, Masamune's followers pile onto him bodily to protect him from Toyotomi Hideyoshi; a flashback in the following episode shows Kojuuro preparing to commit [[Seppuku]] because he blamed himself for Masamune's arm being wounded in battle.

** Yukimura's loyalty to his master Shingen is completely unfathomable. He can't even imagine a world where the latter doesn't exist for him to serve.

* Several instances in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'':

** The Mustang unit, particularly [[Ship Tease|Hawkeye]], to their commanding officer and also to one another. It goes both ways; Mustang will do anything to protect his subordinates (again, particularly Hawkeye).

* Many Specters from ''[[Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas]]'', notably [[My Master, Right or Wrong|Wyvern Rhadamanthys]] and [[Noble Demon|Bennu Kagaho]].

* After Kotetsu wins his trust in the first half of ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'', Barnaby develops a fierce loyalty towards him to the point that staying by his side becomes his only reason for remaining a hero.

* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'''s [[Sissy Villain|M'Quve]] is loyal unto death to his [[Lady and Knight|lady]], [[Lady of War|Kycilia Zabi]]. He carries out every order she gives him to the letter, lives to serve her, and uses his [[Famous Last Words]] to will her his prized possession. Many suspect that [[Subordinate Excuse]] is in full effect here.

* [[Lupin III|Inspector Zenigata]], former trope namer of [[Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist]], has the ability to inspire this into cops from all over the world. His subordinates in the Japanese police have ignored orders from the Interpol to follow Zenigata, and in the special ''Voyage To Danger'' the Italian police, after trapping Lupin in an unescapable trap (Lupin himself was desperate), packed and let him go when they learned that Zenigata had been pulled from the case because ''if they got him in that occasion it would have meant that Zenigata hadn't been the one who arrested him''.

 

== Comic Books ==

'''Alfred''': Never. }}

** Well, usually. Sometimes Batman's jerkiness is too much for him and he'll leave for a time. "Venom" and "Officer Down" are two such stories where this happened.

** Red Robin/Tim Drake is this. Batman notes that loyalty is his prime motivation, and his loyalty to his father caused his [[Ten-Minute Retirement]]. So when Batman apparently dies, he goes [[Darker and Edgier]], and tries to prove he is alive. Undying loyalty doesn't change regardless of who dies.

* [[Superman|Krypto, the super dog]]. Not even being cloned makes him less loyal to the kryptonians

* Wong, [[Doctor Strange]]'s manservant and friend, is his one constant companion. He even sticks around after Strange relinquishes the title of Sorcerer Supreme and joins the New Avengers.

* [http://9gag.com/gag/2478950 This] one panel strip.

 

== Film ==

** A prime example of Anguirus's loyalty towards Godzilla can be seen in the 1974 film ''Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla''. In it, after {{spoiler|losing to the Mechagodzilla (disguised as the real Godzilla)}} he goes to warn Godzilla about the impending danger even after {{spoiler|Mechagodzilla had broken Anguirus's jaw and pretty much beat the living daylights out of him.}}

** In ''Godzilla: Final Wars'', Anguirus is released by the Xilians alongside Rodan and King Caesar (Godzilla's other two allies in the Showa series) to stop Godzilla at Mount Fuji. Anguirus and Godzilla have a short conversation before Godzilla gives a sharp backward jerk of his head after Anguirus roars something and charges into battle, as if he's shocked that Anguirus would actually fight against him. Fortunately, Godzilla leaves his three former allies in a comical heap, sparing them from death.

 

 

== Literature ==

** {{spoiler|Sirius Black}} has put himself through a ''lot'' out of loyalty to Harry and his father.

** Possibly the best example in the series of this trope is {{spoiler|Severus Snape}}; we don't learn the circumstances until the end of the last book, though it has defined him the whole time.

 

== Live Action TV ==

** Effectively he [[Heroic Spirit|takes on]] the traditional jobs of [[Big Brother Instinct|Brother]], [[Daddy's Girl|Father]], [[Doting Parent|Mother]], [[The Medic|Doctor]], [[The Caretaker|Therapist]], and [[Papa Wolf|Bodyguard]], [[Determinator|all at once, probably for the rest of his life]], all the while [[Noble Fugitive|fleeing from the law]]. All [[Heroic Sacrifice|for Mei-Mei]].

{{quote|"Mei Mei, all I have is right here."}}

{{quote|''"No. You take care of me Simon. You've always taken care of me. [[You Shall Not Pass|My turn.]]"''}}

* [[The A-Team]]. So very much. Their loyalty to one another is so strong that in the beginning of Season 5, {{spoiler|Hannibal, Face, and B.A. are willing to face the firing squad so Murdock won't have to. Don't worry. They all make it out just fine.}} And in the second season episode, ''Curtain Call'', Face makes it quite clear that he is willing to risk capture/being sent to prison in order to get the proper medical supplies to save Murdock's life.

** And those are just two examples. The whole show is filled with moments like those.

** Michael, when he was [[The Dragon]], also qualified, remaining loyal to Percy despite his misgivings about the latter's methods. That is, until he discovered {{spoiler|that Percy was behind the murder of his family}}, which is what prompted his [[Heel Face Turn]].

* JD towards Dr. Cox in ''[[Scrubs]]'', one of the most prominent hallmarks of their relationship, especially whenever Cox is pitted against an outsider (or Kelso).

* John Watson from ''[[Sherlock]]''. He refused to believe that his best friend was a fraud, even when ''Sherlock himself'' was telling him so before jumping off a rooftop to his [[Faking the Dead|'death']].

 

== Music ==

== Poetry ==

* ''[[The Battle of Maldon]]'':

But will lie by his side in the dust with my [[My Master, Right or Wrong|Master]] }}

 

* In [[GURPS]] this is called "Sense of Duty".

* [[Legend of the Five Rings]] gives us the story of the [[Magnificent Bastard|Scorpion Clan Champion]] Bayushi Ujiro and his bodyguard Shunsen. Ujiro issued a challenge to the other Clan champions to determine which clan best understood the concept of loyalty. The challenge involved all the champions and their bodyguards performing an action to be set by Ujiro. If the bodyguards do not follow through with the command, that clan is disqualified. So, Ujiro gives Shunsen the command, [[What the Hell, Hero?|"Kill me."]] [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|He did, then commited suicide.]] The gathered Clan champions and bodyguards, shocked, conceded defeat. And then the Crane go and adapt the event for [[The Movie|Winter,]] because that's just how the Crane are!

 

== Toys ==

* In ''[[Transformers]]'', Megatron usually has at least one Decepticon like this. Soundwave gets a gold star for consistency; '''GLORIOUS'''[[Transformers Animated|Lugnut]] for effort.

 

 

** Also from the second ''KotOR'' {{spoiler|every single member of your party except Kreia due to the Jedi Exile's unique force bonds with them}}, and even {{spoiler|Kreia likes the exile for being The Force's [[Ubermensch]].}}

** HK-47 is himself an example, as he is loyal to Revan almost to the degree of hero-worship.

** The two returning squadmates from ''ME1'', Tali and Garrus, are already devoted to Shepard even before their loyalty missions in the second game. In particular, if you bring Garrus to the entrance of a quarantine zone for an epidemic that ''kills his species but not humans,'' he'll offer to follow you in even though you have human teammates available: "It's your call, Shepard. If you need me, I'm not going to let a damn cough keep me back."

*** Tali makes her hatred for Cerberus, the terrorist organization that Shepard is forced to work with in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', clear from the very beginning and tells Shepard that she's only joining the mission for his/her sake.

*** Can also fit into [[Violently Protective Girlfriend]] to Shepard if s/he romanced Liara in ''[[Mass Effect 1]]''.

** In [[Super Soldier|Grunt]]'s case, even before his loyalty's solidified he pretty much already has nothing but total respect for Shepard and is quick to defend him/her to those who dare spit on his/her name. All thanks to their very first exchange, when Shepard stood up to him (when Grunt had him/her pinned against a wall) and had a gun on him without him noticing it. Being a total [[Badass]] will have that effect on [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|krogan]].

** [[Papa Wolf|And of course Shepard him]]/[[Mama Bear|herself to his/her crew]]. [[Berserk Button|Threatening the people under his/her command]] is ''not'' advised. [[Badass|EVER!]]

** Shepard can even inspire this in people (s)he's only worked with once or twice: in ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'', speaking to Kirrahe on the salarian homeworld will result in him promising to support you in retaking Earth, regardless of the salarian government's decision on the matter. {{spoiler|If the salarian government does decide not to support you, most likely because you cured the krogan genophage against their wishes, Kirrahe goes AWOL in order to join you... and takes the ''entire salarian Special Tasks Group with him!''}}

** Also, Oghren. He may get pissed at you, but he is the only character who will never leave you till the end(plus showing up in the [[Expansion Pack]]), regardless of circumstances. Dog won't leave you once recruited, but there is the chance that you'll accidentally miss out on his [[Lost Forever]] sidequest.

*** Of course, if he's taken to the Gauntlet, he states that he follows you because he's got nothing to lose and he's lost everything back home.

** ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' promotes it to a gameplay mechanic: once you've maxed out a companion's Friendship or Rivalry, it will remain permanently locked there, signifying his or her unyielding loyalty to Hawke. In the endgame, this means that with a single exception ({{spoiler|Sebastian, whose loyalty to the [[The Church|Chantry]] is greater than to Hawke}}) party members will stick with Hawke no matter what agenda s/he pursues.

** {{spoiler|Wolf to Hardin}} in [[Fire Emblem Akaneia|Mystery Of the Emblem]].

** Ishtar to Yurius in [[Fire Emblem Jugdral|Genealogy of the Holy War]]

** Brenya and Murdock to Zephiel in [[Fire Emblem Elibe|Sword of Seals]].

** Bryce to Ashnard in [[Fire Emblem Tellius|Path of Radiance]]

** [[Fire Emblem]] has a musical theme in several of the games called "[[Crowning Music of Awesome|A Knight's Oath]]." It plays when a character with a backstory in military service to the Hero's nation joins.

* Youmu from ''[[Touhou|Touhou Project]]'' is intensely loyal to her mistress, Yuyuko. In the fighting game, ''Immaterial and Missing Power'', Youmu briefly questions Yuyuko's actions but just as promptly castigates herself harshly for it.

** The same can also be said of Sakuya and her mistress Remilia. ''[[Koumajou Densetsu]] II'', one of the franchise's fangames, has her going on a [[Roaring Rampage of Rescue]] for her ''ojou-sama'''s sake.

** Her and the Sorrow's [[Generation Xerox|counterparts,]] Snake and Otacon. Even when the entire world is against them, [[Heterosexual Life Partners|they will]] [[Ho Yay|absolutely NEVER]] abandon each other. {{spoiler|Even at the very end of the series--the very end of Snake's life--[[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|Otacon outright refuses to leave Snake's side.]] Snake's ''last word'' in the series is Otacon's name.}}

*** Gray Fox is another great example in this series. Raised as a child soldier in Africa during the Mozambique Civil War during the 1960s where he was nicknamed Frank Jaegar by his enemies for his "frank" appearance as a boy which he tricked them with until he killed them as a fierce "hunter" (Jaegar is German for hunter). Big Boss defeated the young Frank when he attacked him on patrol one day and rescued him from the war and brought him back to a U.S friendly safe zone but unfortunately the Philosophers experiment on him and turn him into a mind-controlled super soldier and years later Big Boss rescues him from this fate as well. Frank joins Big Boss's FOXHOUND Unit and from the 1970s until the 1990s serves under Big Boss's command in conflicts all around the world and earns their highest title of Fox, but despite his prowess as a warrior Fox tells Snake of how once again Big Boss came to his rescue when he had been captured by the enemy and they tortured him. In Gray Fox's eyes Big Boss is a father figure and the man that he owes his life to, this undying loyalty to the man is so extreme that he betrays America and joins Big Boss's Outer Heaven cause even going so far as to fight his friend Solid Snake in a battle to the death. Fox's loyalty wasn't to a country or an ideal but to a man, Big Boss.

* Lyon from ''[[Suikoden V]]'' is very devoted to the Prince, to whom she also develops [[Bodyguard Crush]] to.

* ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' demonstrates both the good and bad sides of this trope:

** Alfred Ashford displays similar tendencies with regards to his sister, Alexia whom he is obsessively loyal to, even going so far as to create a split personality version of her during her absence.

* [[Team Fortress 2|The Heavy]] is intensely loyal to his teammates, [[Heterosexual Life Partners|especially]] [[Ho Yay|towards]] [[Fan-Preferred Couple|the Medic.]]

* This is showcased rather tragically in ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]: [[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask|Majora's Mask]]''. The Ikana warriors encountered in the game guard the long abandoned and ruined Ikana Kingdom even in death, their ghoulish spirits still roam the area out of a devotion to their commander. Link encounters the Captain of the Guards in this area and helps him find peace so he can pass onto the afterlife at long last, his last order as the Captain he issues to Link to be the messenger, he tells Link to let his soldiers know that the war is over. When told this the soldiers in question finally let go of their obligation to the Kingdom and move on. The King of Ikana also still haunts his Kingdom and even in death he protects his throne when he sees Link thinking him to be an enemy. When Link defeats the King in battle he laments to Link his sadness over the fall of his Kingdom and how foolish he was to let it happen but he acknowledges that it is finally time to let go and rest in peace and as a parting gift he gives Link the tools he needs to defeat the final dungeon of the game.

* ''[[Kid Icarus]]'': Palutena, goddess of wisdom, gets this from her angel ([[One-Man Army|and pretty much her entire army]]), Pit. He is very quick to get into a shouting match with all sorts of divinities that insult her, {{spoiler|even when she was possessed and sent his lifeless body to slaughter untold amounts of innocent people, he gave everything to bring her back to herself again.}}

* Caught Pokemon will follow a trainer's every command (provided they like the Trainer enough).

* A defining trait of the character [[Soul Series|Voldo]] is his great devotion to his long deceased master, Vercci.

 

== Visual Novels ==

* In ''[[Girl Genius]]'' All of the [[Super Soldier|Jägers]] and the [[The Igor|people]] of Mechanicsburg are loyal to the Heterodynes, to the point of twenty years later they are still waiting for them to come back.

** General Goomblast explicitly states that the Jägers are ''voluntarily'' loyal to the Heterodynes, having made a solemn decision to serve the house for the rest of their unending lives before drinking the [[Super Serum]] that transformed them. The sole exception to this is Vole, who abandoned his oath, and is no longer considered a Jäger by the rest.

** Natural minions will remain loyal to their Sparks, even against their better judgment. Mechanicsburg, ancestral home of Heterodynes, happens to be completely populated with natural minions loyal to House Heterodyne.

* ''[[Homestuck]]'': Becquerel, Jade's [[Physical God|First Guardian]] dog, is so completely devoted to her that {{spoiler|when he is prototyped, [[Omnicidal Maniac|Jack Noir]] inherits his loyalty to her and not only can't bring himself to kill Jade, but actually ''[[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain|puts into motion the process of]] [[Came Back Strong|reviving her after she is killed]]''.}}

 

** Glorious Lugnut from glorious ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' Gloriously showed gloriously fanatical loyalty to glorious Megatron.

** Inferno and Scorponok from ''[[Beast Wars]]''.

** [[Silent Antagonist|Sound]][[Evil Genius|wave]] in ''[[Transformers Prime]]'' is undyingly loyal to Megatron, to the point where his presence is probably the only thing that stops Starscream from pulling the plug on the [[Big Bad]]. This is pretty typical for Soundwave across multiple continuities, actually. [[Villain of the Week]] Skyquake displayed similar loyalty (and in fact took it to [[Lawful Stupid]] levels), refusing to work for Starscream because only Megatron could give him orders, and following the last set of orders Megatron gave him to the letter.

** ''[[Beware the Quiet Ones|Never]]'' [[Beware the Quiet Ones|attempt to kill or leave behind Megatron. Soundwave]] ''[[Beware the Quiet Ones|will not]]'' [[Curb Stomp Battle|tolerate it.]]

* Fry's dog Seymour in the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "Jurassic Bark."

** Brutally deconstructed by Discord in the second season premiere through a [[Sadistic Choice]] and [[Conflicting Loyalty]] {{spoiler|what's more important -- your friends, or your hometown?}}, with brainwashing thrown in for good measure.

* Khan to ''[[Mulan]]''. Seriously, he was prepared to go into the middle of a raging avalanche to go save her.

* Kenny in ''[[South Park]]'' appears to be capable of this. In the movie he goes to hell so his friends can go back to the world as it was before the war. Also in a more recent episode he acted as a guardian angel for his sister Karen and protected her from bullies at school and their abusive agnostic foster parents.

 

== Real Life ==

** They answer

{{quote|''I will.''}}

* During the filming of ''[[Suburban Knights]]'', things looked so hopeless during filming do to inclement weather and other issues that Doug, Rob, and Mike Michaud were all fully prepared to scrap the whole thing and simply film everyone hanging out in Chicago as the special. Holly told them everyone wanted to get the film done, so they tried to have a vote. [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Linkara]] stood up to say the voting was pointless, because they already knew everyone would say yes. He then went into a speech saying that Doug is the reason that every one of them has a job on the site, and they're going to finish this thing for him no matter what. Doug thanked them profusely and left, newly energized to figure out the best way to finish the film.

* Many people are this way toward [[Thicker Than Water|their family]].

* Some species of animal will remain faithful to their breeding partner for all its life. For example, the [[wikipedia:Tiliqua rugosa|Shingleback]] has been known to even stay by the side of their partner if they die for days on end.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Motivation Index]]

[[Category:Loyalty Tropes]]