History Main / TheHeartless

** Nephrite eschews using typical EnergyAbsorption tactics, preferring to concentrate dark power into a single highly motivated (and increasingly obsessive) person to get the best energy. His predecessor Jadeite worked in a similar way by amplifying negative traits in people, except he worked with large groups of people--Education Mamas, obsessive dieters, etc.--instead of just one person at a time. Zoisite and Kunzite just possess people.

* In the first [[TabletopGame/{{Bakugan}} Bakugan]] video game (known simply as “Bakugan Battle Brawlers”, just like the anime), it’s revealed later on that [[spoiler: Leonidas]] is this. [[spoiler: He was born from the anger, hatred and despair of the Bakugan trapped in the Doom Dimension. However, despite that (and some rather [[BloodKnight violent]] [[UnscrupulousHero tendencies]]), he’s actually not an enemy and is actually on the PlayerCharacter’s side as their partner Bakugan. Thanks to [[MoralityPet the Player]]’s influence, he [[CharacterDevelopment starts to change]], becomes [[TookALevelInKindness a bit less aggressive]] and [[DefrostingIceKing defrosts as the story progresses]].]]

** In the Anime/{{Pokemon}} anime, this seems to be a good thing. When a shuppet feeds off someone's dark emotions, they feel a lot better. The Shuppet also means no harm.

* The Ixupi from VideoGame/{{Shivers}} are ancient {{Mayincatec}} demons that suck away the life essence of any nearby human beings.

* ''Anime/SailorMoon''

%%* The Mazoku "Monster" Race from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}''

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''

* The Dark Signers from ''[[Anime/YuGiOh5Ds Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's]]'' are a third this, a third TheCorruption and a third TheVirus.

* The Gaichuu in ''Manga/LetterBee''. They are large armored insects that lost their heart and are drawn to "heart," such as that contained within letters, which is why being a postman is such a dangerous job in Amberground. The only way to kill them is to use a Shindanjuu to shoot Shindan bullets powered by the user's heart, [[AttackItsWeakPoint at the gaps in the Gaichuu's armor]].

* ''Franchise/PrettyCure''

* In Part 2 ''FanFic/ClashOfTheElements'', [[spoiler: the trope namers themselves have appeared as of Chapter 21]]
* ''FanFic/CrownsOfTheKingdom'' has the Dispirations, although it's not so much that they eat negative emotions as that they crave ''any'' thought pattern that might bring them closer to reality.

* ''FanFic/HerInnerDemons'': The fic argues that Midnight Sparkle was the result of Human Twilight's feelings of alienation and bitterness.

The Heartless are monsters born out of people's negative emotions, like a poltergeist. They can be a special case of BodyHorror, but can also be a part of the victim's [[AnatomyOfTheSoul Soul Anatomy]] that has been [[EnemyWithout separated from them]], and like a [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]] they [[LivingMemory may not]] [[IntangibleMan have a physical body at all]]. This part of the soul may be all the animalistic desires without any of the compunctions ala Jekyll and Hyde or all the feelings of suffering, sadness and anger concentrated in one. They can be a convenient MonsterOfTheWeek for the right villain, since they are an unlimited resource; there always seem to be plenty of [[VictimOfTheWeek victims]] loaded with problems and angst for The Heartless to feed on. They also can have a [[ViralTransformation self-propagating]] "[[TheVirus zombie]]" effect.

The trouble for the heroes is that these are difficult to get rid of, especially if The Heartless still display an awareness of the world (usually, as a ruse of the EnigmaticMinion). If an established character becomes one of The Heartless, they may act as if they have undergone a FaceHeelTurn.

The AllLovingHero's power is usually to combat The Heartless, or even to heal them. The AntiHero or WellIntentionedExtremist usually insists the victims are [[MercyKill too far gone]] and [[IDidWhatIHadToDo should be offed]] before more people get hurt. Occasionally, a victim who is FightingFromTheInside can resist The Heartless' control.

Depending on the context, this trope is a subtrope of AbstractApotheosis. This is because nearly every series that this trope is used in presents these critters as AnAesop about them [[NotSoDifferent being in]] [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil everyone's hearts.]] Contrast/See also MadeOfEvil.

* ''Anime/MaiHime''. Yatagarasu, [[spoiler:Shiho's Child,]] is described as residing in the darkness of the human heart.

* Miss Michiko from ''Anime/DennouCoil'', though not technically a monster, [[spoiler:is born from Isako's rage and hatred]].

** The Jikuchuus from ''Anime/DokiDokiPeCure'' are created with the selfish and petty thoughts of a person's heart without the need of possessing anything, making them a more straight example.

** In the manga, they are manifestations of [[spoiler: Father's]] cruelty and sins - what he is and whether he could be The Heartless himself is up for debate, though.

* The armor bugs in ''Manga/LetterBee''. They are insects that lost their heart. In fact, you kill them by [[ReviveKillsZombie giving them heart]], i.e. shooting them with your EmpathicWeapon.

* The Malice-class enemies from ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|A Promise Unforgotten}}'' are a rare occurrence where instead of being fueled by rage, sadness, anger or any other usual negative emotion as per usual, the Malice-class enemies are only fueled by one emotion: Malice(or spite, if that's what you want to call it). Also, unlike most other examples, they are only fueled by one guy instead of humanity itself. Plus, they only appear at the end of the game, wich is again unusual because TheHeartless usually appear as the main enemies of the franchise instead of simply appearing at the end.

* The ending of the ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' anime strongly implies that Aion was born from humans' negative emotions and as such, can resurrect himself at will [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil as long as people suffer or hate.]]

-->-- '''[[Characters/KingdomHeartsXehanortsIncarnations/Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]]''', ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI''

-->-- '''Ansem, Seeker of Darkness''', ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI''

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* The Voices from ''Literature/OfFearAndFaith'' are powerful demonic monsters created by humankind�s negative emotions that instill these emotions on anyone who gets near them.

* Somewhat inverted in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/Angel'', with regard to Angel/Angelus being basically two variations on the same character, with/without a soul.

* The Shadow, the Source and the Hollow from ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}''. Cole became host to each power once.

* In ''Videogame/UltimaIX'', the Guardian, dimension conquering threat from the previous several games, is [[RetCon retconned]] into the Avatar's EnemyWithout: specifically, the embodiment of all the evil and darkness he cast off when he became the Avatar.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', the Peacock Miraculous can manifest powerful creatures from people's emotions. In theory, this would be used to make allies of good out of ''positive'' emotions, but much like how [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] abuses the [[SuperEmpowering Butterfly Miraculous]] to create supervillains, [[TheDragon Mayura]] uses the Peacock to birth monsters from negativity.

* ''Disney/RalphBreaksTheInternet'': A computer virus that copies and replicates insecurities in systems ends up scanning Ralph and picks up his ''emotional'' insecurities. It responds by creating a ton of Ralph copies that embody all his negative traits, like his possessiveness and fear of abandonment, which have no other desire but being friends with Vanellope... [[StalkerWithoutACrush whether she likes it or not]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', the Peacock Miraculous can manifest powerful creatures from people's emotions. In theory, this would be used to make allies of good out of ''positive'' emotions, but much like how [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] abuses the [[SuperEmpowering Butterfly Miraculous]] to create supervillains, [[TheDragon Mayura]] uses the Peacock to craft monsters from negativity.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', the Peacock Miraculous can manifest powerful creatures from people's emotions. In theory, this would be used to make allies of good out of ''positive'' emotions, but much like how [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] abuses the Butterfly Miraculous to create supervillains, [[TheDragon Mayura]] uses the Peacock to craft monsters from negativity.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', the Peacock Miraculous has the power to manifest powerful creatures from people's emotions. In theory, this would be used to make allies of good out of ''positive'' emotions, but much like how [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] abuses the Butterfly Miraculous to create supervillains, [[TheDragon Mayura]] uses the Peacock to craft monsters from negativity.

* Unicron's portrayal in ''Anime/TransformersArmada'' claims that he feeds on hatred, violence, et cetera. He's a PlanetEater, but the energy from hatred and violence is what gives him the strength to metaphorically get out of bed in the morning. The planet eating is mostly because ''[[OmnicidalManiac all life offends him]]'' and he wants it gone. This is part of his upgrade from GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere in G1 (eventually revealed to have been whipped up by some MadScientist on a whim) to GodOfEvil in the modern TF franchises. He'll exist AsLongAsThereIsEvil (well, so long as there's hate), and his goal is the complete eradication of all universes in TheMultiverse, resulting in a Void so empty that even ''space itself as we think of it'' no longer exists. He's done this to entire universes before.

* The Malice-class enemies from ''''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|A Promise Unforgotten}}'''' are a rare occurence where instead of being fueled by rage, sadness, anger or any other usual negative emotion as per usual, the Malice-class enemies are only fueled by one emotion: Malice(or spite, if that's what you want to call it). Also, unlike most other examples, they are only fueled by one guy instead of humanity itself. Plus, they only appear at the end of the game, wich is again unusual because TheHeartless usually appear as the main enemies of the franchise instead of simply appearing at the end.

* Ahsoka becomes this in the middle of the Mortis arc of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''; complete with MindControlEyes and TaintedVeins. It could also be a supernatural case of MoreThanMindControl. Things get particularly heart breaking when the Son decides YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and kills her with a DeathTouch. Thankfully [[spoiler: she is resurrected]].