History Main / MartialPacifist

* Vash of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}''. Unlike most examples which are unrealistically idealistic, Vash has brilliant strategies to save people, and is willing to hurt them if it means more lives can be saved; unfortunately, he lives in a world much more cynical than he'd like.

** It's noted by Avatar Yangchen, a female Air Nomad who was the last airbender to be the Avatar before Aang came along, that while as an Air Nomads, people like herself and Aang should hold all life sacred, the duties and beliefs of that Avatar precede those of Air Nomads, and basically tells Aang that sometimes you have to sacrifice your own spiritual needs/beliefs and do whatever takes in order to protect the world. Yangchen's historically noted for her power, and her duties as an Avatar were carried out so well that peace extended from her lifetime all the way through to the majority of that of her successor, Avatar Kuruk (a male waterbender from the northern water tribe).

* Henry Wong from ''Anime/DigimonTamers''. When he was a young boy and just started learning martial arts, he used his newfound skills to injure another boy, something he wasn't supposed to do and regrets deeply. He learns to balance between good fights and bad ones, though he remains a very non-aggressive person. However, he gets to put his skills to good use as [=MegaGargomon=], so watch out.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' centers around the [[TheFederation United Federation Of Planets]] and their exploratory/defense force, Starfleet. Despite extolling the virtues of peace and cooperation, they are able to maintain a BalanceOfPower against the Romulan and Klingon Empires through much of the series history (even during a brief time when the Klingons and Romulans teamed up against the Federation). When push comes to shove, the Federation is quite capable of demonstrating ''why'' you must BewareTheNiceOnes.

** Dove. A pacifist martial artist, and probably the only serious pacifist superhero. He makes a point of ''actually'' never hurting anyone with his moves. Of course, since he associates with his brother, Hawk, who [[HotBlooded resorts to violence in most situations]]...
** Although the ComicBook/TeenTitans' ComicBook/{{Raven}} has accepted that violence is necessary, she doesn't like it one bit.
** ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': Traditionally this was part of being an Amazon. They are sworn to avoid violence and harming others whenever it is feasible, but play "games" like bullets and bracelets, have frequent archery and martial arts tournaments for fun, and will easily take down any opponent they feel they must fight but they will absolutely not kill. The Amazons' backstory and motivations were then thrown out and they were reinvented for [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Volume 2]], and they ''still'' avoid killing if at all possible even in situations where lives are at risk.

** Uncle Iroh was largely this way even before the loss of his son. For one thing, [[spoiler:he [[DeathFakedForYou only pretended to kill the last dragon]] so that the species could live in peace]].
** This is part of the philosophy of the Air Nomads. Aang lives up to this, except when in the [[SuperMode Avatar State]]; in fact, a minor plotline in the last season revolves around the question of whether he could set aside his pacifism and [[ThouShaltNotKill kill Ozai]]. [[spoiler: He [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]].]]

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' had an episode about Arnold learning to become one after overusing his martial arts skills and crossing the MoralEventHorizon.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' himself was taught this from an early age by many cultures, including the Shaolin monks. In fact, Jack is quick to draw the blade against opponents, who are [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman invariably robots]]. The few that are ''not'' robots, however, he hesitates. In one episode, his readiness to fight gets him in trouble when Aku uses his anger to create Mad Jack, a [[EvilTwin clone of Jack that knows only anger]]. As they fight, Jack begins to look more like Mad Jack, until it's almost impossible to tell them apart (and they set the whole forest on fire). Jack is only able to defeat Mad Jack by meditating to restore his inner calm, which results in Mad Jack vanishing. Jack is ''noticeably'' [[CharacterDevelopment slower to anger in subsequent episodes]] as a result. He also won't hesitate to kill in self-defense. In the famous episode "The Princess and the Bounty Hunters" he seemingly kills the titular Bounty Hunters in a spectacular CurbStompBattle taking only a few seconds (according to WordOfGod they all survived), and only spares the Princess when she drops her weapon. A big plot point early in the fifth and finale season, is Jack coming to terms with having to kill one member of an AmazonBrigade of Aku worshiping sisters, that were sent to kill him. [[spoiler:Jack manages to come to terms with it, by remembering a traumatic moment in his childhood, when his father had to kill a group of bandits that were threatening them and gave Jack a few words of wisdom on the subject while comforting him. Later, when it is time to confront the rest of the sisters, Jack has realized that sometimes one must put their own survival over their moral code and warns the sisters they can still turn around and leave peacefully, but if they choose to continue trying to kill him, he will defend himself, even if it means having to kill them. It's later revealed that he lost his sword as a result of the one time he ''didn't'' abide by this, after he killed a group of possessed goats in anger over Aku's latest sabotage [[OnlyThePureOfHeart and was deemed no longer pure of heart]].]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Steven's late mother, Rose Quartz, was an AllLovingHero, but that didn't stop her from effortlessly beating up a triple-Ruby fusion with her bare hands if she decides it's necessary. Her personal sword was designed to be able to easily slice through the bodies of Gems, but never destroy their actual gemstone itself.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Bosmer]] ([[ForestRanger Wood Elves]]) have a reputation for being pacifists, due to the fact that throughout all the wars throughout Tamriel's history, the Bosmer have been the aggressors in only a small number of conflicts. They have, however, been forced to repel invaders on countless occasions, so they're not averse to combat; their race has produced some of Tamriel's [[ArcherArchetype finest archers]], and if in [[GodzillaThreshold dire straits]], they have the power to unleash the nightmarish beasts of TheWildHunt against their foes.