History Main / PillarsOfMoralCharacter

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%%* Other than the DependingOnTheWriter bouts of madness with the Phoenix Force, ComicBook/JeanGrey can be a pretty decent person for the most part. She is usually presented as one of the more compassionate members of the X-Men as seen when she helped raise ComicBook/{{Cable}} to be more of a good man than [[BadFuture he would have been]], and comforting Jubilee after Illyana dies.
%%* ComicBook/KittyPryde gave The Beyonder a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, which was pretty much the Crowning Moment of Awesome for the entire Franchise/MarvelUniverse. This is what allowed her to use the N-word uncensored in ''ComicBook/GodLovesManKills''. It would have just been too offensive coming from anyone else.
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Understanding the Pillars can often help clarify the motivations and drives of {{anime}} characters, and can sometimes explain significant differences in audience reaction in Japan vs. in 'The West'. In particular, Western audiences may find the emphasis on carefully tracking debts and obligations and putting societal obligations above personal fulfilment a jarring contrast to the Western love of spontaneity and focus on individual worth. Dissonance can also come from the other direction: some Japanese authors, including Creator/RumikoTakahashi, are surprised by their [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff series' international popularity]] as they assumed the underlying values to be uniquely Japanese with no parallel in other societies.

** The Pillars can also make one early scene [[ValuesDissonance seem odd to western viewers]]. Rukia tries to convince Ichigo that receiving her Shinigami powers means he must also take up all her duties by showing him the ghost of a young boy being attacked by a [[TheHeartless Hollow]] and telling him he must either agree to protect ALL spirits or let this little boy be devoured. Ichigo rejects the choice presented and [[TakeAThirdOption rescues the ghost-boy anyway]]. To a Japanese audience Rukia demands Ichigo's cooperation on the basis of ''Gimu'' [[note]]Ichigo cannot return her powers so he must offer her his service to repay the debt[[/note]] but Ichigo claims that ''Ninjo'' is what compells him to act instead. To a Western audience, this may seem like a very poorly-timed argument about abstract vs. concrete moral obligations. To Japanese audience, it's clearly about which Pillar applies.

* For a long time the central conflict in many Japanese movies was ''giri'', what a character was expected to do vs. what he wanted to do. Film makers and old people lament that modern Japanese audiences don't care as much about this as they become more modernized. ''Film/TwilightSamurai'' and ''Film/TheHiddenBlade'' by Creator/YojiYamada both aim to bring ''giri'' to the contemporary audience in a way that humanizes the struggles of one's obligation/duty. And on the subject of ''giri'', the aforementioned scene in ''The Yakuza'' (''giri'' as ''burden'') is the closest thing in English to the spirit of the meaning of the word.

* In the first and second editions of the anime-inspired game ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', characters regain Essence by acting on any or all of four cardinal virtues: temperance, compassion, conviction, and valor. The first two are clearly connected to ''Giri'' and ''Ninjo'', and encourage similar acts of heroism (doing one's duty despite fear or temptation, protecting the weak, acting in accordance with noblesse oblige, uplifting mortals spiritually, etc).

* The pillars of moral character form the backbone of Soryu Oh's characterization in ''VisualNovel/KissedByTheBaddestBidder''. A member of {{The Triads|AndTheTongs}} from birth, Soryu has little use for the law, which he says is made by the wealthy and powerful to serve their own interests. However, he has an extremely strong sense of ''giri'' which has caused him to spend most of his life convinced that he has no right to pursue or expect any kind of personal happiness, as his duty to his organization completely supercedes his own desires. He also has an equally strong sense of ''ninjo'' which gives him firm opinions about things like not involving innocent bystanders in his group's activities, which puts him in conflict with less scrupulous gangsters. ''On'' and ''gimu'' are of course important elements in all of his interactions within the Ice Dragons and with other organizations, and he invokes both in his initial approach to the protagonist - unlike Eisuke, who considers the protagonist his property if he's the one who purchased her from the auction, Soryu considers the $20,000,000 he paid a debt which the protagonist now owes him, and which he expects her to repay either in currency or, failing that, in service.

* Pillars of moral character are a surprisingly relevant story element in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', especially showcased in the Yakuza arc where the Yakuza act on these pillars while Balalaika very clearly has none.
** Another running plot point is how much of Rock's Ninjo pillar will remain as he spends more time in Roanaopor, and how much will he rebuild Revy's Ninjo pillar.
** On the other hand, the Russians clearly have extreme loyalty towards Balalaika and in a flashback we see her as a young girl talking to an older man about redeeming her family name, presumably by becoming a Spetsnaz.

** This same phrasing would be used as the title of a ''{{Transformers}}'' (original series) episode built around the notion of leadership as an obligation ''to'' one's followers as well as one received from them, which Kup describes in terms of ''giri''.
* For a long time the central conflict in many Japanese movies was ''giri'', what a character was expected to do vs. what he wanted to do. Film makers and old people lament that modern Japanese audiences don't care as much about this as they become more modernized. ''TwilightSamurai'' and ''TheHiddenBlade'' by Creator/YojiYamada both aim to bring ''giri'' to the contemporary audience in a way that humanizes the struggles of one's obligation/duty. And on the subject of ''giri'', the aforementioned scene in ''The Yakuza'' (''giri'' as ''burden'') is the closest thing in English to the spirit of the meaning of the word.

*** While it's not directly mentioned during Byakuya's fight with Tsukishima, this is presumably why Tsukishima didn't bother with his usual psychological ploys of "inserting" himself into people's past to make them think he's their best friend, instead only using his power to learn Byakuya's fighting style inside and out by retconning himself into being Byakuya's mentor. The knowledge he gained via his power made him realize immediately that Byakuya ''would'' kill his best friend if honor demanded it.