History Main / PinkySwear

* In ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'', Princess Clara swears two other characters to secrecy with a pinky swear. However, one of them breaks her silence almost instantly (as in, without even leaving the room).

* [[spoiler: The Collector]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' makes these rather often, overlapping with DealWithTheDevil, although it primarily highlights their GooGooGodlike behavior, and they very deeply believe that [[SeriousBusiness pinky swears are the most definite of promises]]. They throw an angry tantrum when [[spoiler:Belos intentionally fails to meet his end of their deal, angrily calling him a "Liar, liar, pants on fire" as he severs communication with them.]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Website/OverheardInNewYork'': "She pinky swore she was 18!"
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'': At the end of the film, Gru makes one of these to [[spoiler:Agnes, promising to come to the girls' ballet recital.]]

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** Kyon did this with the adult Mikuru in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', [[spoiler:when Kyon and the young Mikuru traveled 3 years back in time.]]

* [[spoiler: The Collector]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' makes these rather often, overlapping with DealWithTheDevil, although it primarily highlights their PsychopathicManchild behavior, and they very deeply believe that [[SeriousBusiness pinky swears are the most definite of promises]]. They throw an angry tantrum when [[spoiler:Belos intentionally fails to meet his end of their deal, angrily calling him a "Liar, liar, pants on fire" as he severs communication with them.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'': Gru makes one of these to [[spoiler:Agnes, promising to come to the girls' ballet recital.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'': A pinky-promise between Trolls has such power that it generates a PlanarShockwave when the pinkies connect.

** Chiyo and Naddy use this in Chapter 71 as a promise not to tell Rentarou or the other girls about what they talked about at [=McDonald=]'s.

* ''[[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc Danganronpa: The Animation]]'': Makoto and Kyoko link pinkies before she heads off into danger. He's making her promise to come back safely.

** Phoenica insists on making one with the Spelling Bee, making the latter promise to not change up the rules of the Hexicon game again. Since the Spelling Bee is a magical construct made by Lorelai, it also binds her by proxy. Because of the fairytale-magic nature of Lorelai's dream worlds, the promise becomes genuinely magically compelling.

%%* ''LightNovel/MariaWatchesOverUs''

* In a fairly lighthearted example, ''OnePiece'' has the Strawhats doing this with Shirahoshi at the end of the [[Recap/OnePieceFishmanIslandArc Fish-Man Island Arc]], promising to visit her again if she promises to mature. Since [[GiantWoman Shirahoshi's pinky]] is bigger than most of the Straw Hats' entire bodies, most of them just touch theirs to hers; [[RubberMan Luffy]], on the other hand, stretches and wraps his around the entire length.

* The PSA "Pinky Pledge" features two girls making a pinky swear to stay safe online.

* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
-->'''Master Roshi:''' Earth, Water, Sea, Air; I declare a pinky swear!
%%* ''Franchise/SailorMoon''
* ''Manga/HisAndHerCircumstances'', including in the opening song
** Not only that, the opening song is called "Tenshi no Yubikiri", meaning, "An Angel's Pinky-Promise".
%%* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''
%%* ''LightNovel/MariaWatchesOverUs''
%%* ''Manga/{{Kodocha}}''
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'' (young Jonouchi and Shizuka).
* ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}''; Yuuichi and Ayu's relationship is marked by several of these.

* The teenage girls on the crew in ''Anime/SuperDimensionCenturyOrguss'', who are from a parallel universe race with two tentacles in their hair, do this with the tentacles in the first episode, weirding out Kei.

* Used straight several times, and later somewhat subverted in ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays''; especially when the promise is actually about something ''very'' important. Of course, [[spoiler:part Makoto being [[{{Jerkass}} Makoto]] and part everyone being idiots, he ended up breaking ''every single one of them''.]]

* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', before she leaves for a one-day conference, Nanoha performs one of these with her adopted daughter, Vivio, saying that she will give her some [[TrademarkFavoriteFood caramel milk]] if she promises to wait for her return like a good girl. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, [[BigBad Jail]] [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs attacks their base]] on that night and takes away [[MysteriousWaif Vivio]].]]
** The two of them makes another pinky swear in ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaViVid ViVid]]'', where Nanoha makes Vivio promise not to use her [[OlderAlterEgo Adult Mode]] for mischief.
** At the end of ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs A's]]'', when Hayate goes out for a Christmas party, her doctor makes her promise to come back that day after having spent Christmas Eve out of the hospital for the final battle of the season (although her being teleported out wasn't her fault), and they seal it with a pinky swear.
* Shows up near the end of ''[[Anime/PrettySammy Magical Project S]]''.

* ''Manga/XxxHolic'':
** Anime only: one of Yuuko's customers lands herself into hot water by making promises she can't keep.
** There's also the Pinky Swear between Watanuki and Himawari.
* Manatsu practically forces Ichika into one of these near the end of the first episode of ''Anime/UtaKata''. It also features prominently in the EndingTheme.
* In ''Manga/{{Saki}}'' this is done between Nodoka and Saki to underline Saki's promise that she won't hold back at [[SeriousBusiness playing mahjong]] anymore.
* Takaaki and Miyako from ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'' did a pinky swear when they're little so that they will meet again some other time.

* In ''Manga/KOn'' a flashback told by Ritsu shows her and Mio doing this when they decided that they would one day form a band. Followed by Mio pointing out that it [[SelfServingMemory didn't happen quite like that]].

* ''Manga/BetrayalKnowsMyName'': Tsukumo and Toko do this in episode 10.

* In ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'', [[spoiler:Kazuya Hiramaru]] makes one with [[spoiler:Yuriko "Ko Aoki" Aoki]] that he will get serialized at the next meeting. [[spoiler:Takuro Nakai]] sees this and is quite horrified.
* ''[[Anime/TheIdolmaster THE iDOLM@STER]]'' - The Producer to Yukiho (ep 3) and Miki (ep 12).
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' anime episode 247. While Captain Ukitake is trying to recapture his zanpakuto's spirit Sogyo no Kotowari, he promises them that if they give him their weapons he'll play with them as long as they like. They ask him to pinky swear on his promise and he agrees.
%%* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}''
* The trailer for the 21th ''Manga/CaseClosed'' movie has a flashback where a young [[spoiler: Heiji]] makes one with a just as young [[spoiler: Momiji]].
* ''[[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc Danganronpa: The Animation]]'': Makoto and Kyoko link pinkies before she heads off into danger. He's making her promise to come back safely.
* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Gon makes a pinky swear to his mother figure Mito to come back to her safely after he becomes a hunter. He also makes a pinky swear to Palm that he will [[spoiler:take her to NGL after defeating Knuckle and Shoot,]] though [[IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn Palm takes this as something else.]]

* In ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'', Kyon's sister promises her brother not to tell Haruhi [[spoiler:Tsuruya kissed Kyon]]. While Kyon's sister didn't tell Haruhi, she acknowledged it's her fault Haruhi learned that because she slipped when talking with a cousin.

* In a ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' short by Creator/AAPessimal, Amy and Bernadette realise they've made a bad situation a lot worse. [[note]]it involves lab monkeys provided by Amy which have been infected with something nasty in Bernadette's lab - then re-exported to Africa[[/note]]. A pinky-swear sorts out this little concern.
* In ''Fanfic/MortalMan'', [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Patrick]] tries to make one with Spongebob. He changes it to a "stumpy promise" when Spongebob reminds him that he doesn't ''have'' pinkies.
* In ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'', Parker did one with his sister Chloe to promise her that he wouldn't reveal to their parents about her entering a horror writing competition. Unfortunately, he had already done so at the time under the belief this would help find a clue to her whereabouts.

* Koda from ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'' insists that [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kenai]] do this so he could take him to the Salmon Run. In the sequel, this became a regular for them whenever they make a promise.

* A pinky-swear was the only thing that could show the strength of Chris' vow that he didn't know that a gun he gave Gordy to play with in ''Film/StandByMe'' was loaded in the first place.
* In ''Film/RadioFlyer'', the seriousness of promises in a childhood view is underlined with the final pinky promise between adult Mike and his son.

* In the Korean drama ''Series/{{Mawang}}'', a particular pinky-swear becomes a rather sinister plot twist.
* In the first episode of ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale'', Moira and June pinky-swear that they'll escape and save June's daughter. [[spoiler: June throws it in Moira's face when she encounters a defeated Moira at Jezebel's.]]
* On an episode of ''Series/FullHouse'', a pinky swear was made between D.J. and Stephanie [[spoiler: as a way of making D.J. promise to eat when it was revealed that D.J. has spent three days crash-dieting]].
* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}''
** ''Series/{{Arrow}}''
*** In "The Candidate", Anarky taunts a DamselInDistress by making her pinky swear that she won't reveal who kidnapped her if he lets her go. Then he breaks her finger and declares he will torture her instead.
*** Although Thea is estranged from Malcolm Merlyn, they do this trope in "Dark Waters" when [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Thea promises her supervillain father that she will be careful.]]
** ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow''. In "Wet Hot American Bummer", Sara Lance coaxes Ava Sharpe into doing this before they go to a summer camp to catch the MonsterOfTheWeek. They do it again when they have to take a potion to turn themselves into children for plot-related reasons. And in later episodes as a sign of [[TimeTravellingLesbians mutual affection]].

* A major motif between Jin and Tsubaki from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', to the point that their "love theme", so to say, is called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj99ZyXuNGU "pinky promise"]].
* One piece of promotional art in ''VisualNovel/Ever17'' depicts two of the characters, Coco and Sara, floating in the sea with pinkies clasped. Interesting in that [[spoiler:the two of them apparently never interact or even meet in-story until the very end, but have a mysterious connection nonetheless]].

* A song featured in the ''VideoGame/HatsuneMikuProjectDiva'' series is called Pinky Swear (Yubikiri), about a girl who cuts her pinky off as a promise that her love is real and won't change.

* Mew and Donut do a pinky swear in ''Lily Love'' when Donut helps Mew sneak a hamster into their dorm.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'', near the end of the season 1 episode "The Mudslugs", Cornelia and Will reconsile their friendship with a pinky swear.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', when Dr. Girlfriend demands that the Monarch stop being Rusty's nemesis if he wants to marry her, the Monarch pinky-swears on it. When that promise is violated by his henchmen he yells "I made a pinky swear! A SACRED pinky swear!!"
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode ''{{Tearjerker}}'', Stan makes a pinky promise with Creator/JohnnyDepp that the latter would tell the former if he became a robot.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FishHooks'', in the Halloween special, Oscar would only save Jocktopuss' life if he promises to never steal candy again... but a normal promise wasn't enough.
-->'''Jocktopuss:''' Ugh, Jocktopuss hates you.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': When Malory can't find her infant grandaughter her first thought is that [[ChildHater Cheryl]] took her. Pam gets Cheryl to confirm she didn't take baby A.J. by holding up her pinky and asking "swearsy realsies?" with Cheryl repeating the gesture and phrase. Pam insists that this means she really didn't take the baby as swearsy-realsies is "pretty sacred to us".