History YMMV / TheKindlyLion

* TearJerker:
** In the original book, the first page showing the story's name features [[https://i.imgur.com/81xxPn8.jpeg Buru-buru as a cub crying while his deceased parents are seen watching over their son in heaven as angels.]]
** The story begins with Buru-buru crying after the death of his parents. He's extremely skinny, blind, and cold. A female rabbit notices his sad state and quickly takes him to Muku-muku.
** Muku-muku is first seen completely heartbroken over the death of her puppies after their birth. She's seen crying until a rabbit tells her that she should adopt a lion cub since his parents are deceased. In general, both character suffered loss (Buru-buru's parents no longer alive, and Muku-muku's loss of her children).
** Buru-buru being frighting by his own reflection in a lake as a grown lion. For most of his life, he expected to look like his mother. As his body turns blue and [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yasashiilion3.PNG he starts crying]], he calls himself "hideous and horrifying". His adopted mother notices his reaction and gives him comforting words.
** Buru-buru and his adopted mother genuinely love one another, but humans don't understand this and decide to move Buru-buru to a different zoo. When the narrator tells this to a child, the sun reacts by frowning sadly.
** While Buru-buru is locked inside a car that's taking him to a different zoo, Muku-muku is running as fast as possible to catch up. Due to her age, she gets tired and can only watch as a single tear goes down her cheek. This would be the last time she would see her son for a long time.
** As Buru-buru is staying at a circus and performing many tricks and acts, he starts forgetting the life he's spent with his mother. One night, as he and the other circus animals are sleeping, he hears his mother's lullaby, which is the first time he's remembered anything about her in ages. He gets motivated to see her again by constantly hitting his head on a large cage as hard as he can. He hits the cage so hard that his head begins bleeding until he's able to escape.
** The ending [[spoiler: when Buru-buru finally reunites with Muku-muku. She's extremely weak and close to dying. Happily, he decides to hug his mother, who returns the favor in pure happiness and love. Sadly, the policeman decide to open fire on Buru-buru and Muku-muku, who are unaware that the policeman were chasing the lion. After both are killed,]] [[DarkReprise Muku-muku's Lullaby begins playing]] as we see [[spoiler: Buru-buru and Muku-muku's dead bodies.]]
** The child narrator's reaction [[spoiler: to the policeman chasing Buru-Buru]] and later [[spoiler: shooting Buru-buru alongside his mother.]] The child is yelling at the [[spoiler: policeman to not shoot them.]] After [[spoiler: Buru-buru and his mother are killed]], the child is heard crying hysterically and is saying that [[GentleGiant Buru-buru didn't hurt anybody and just wanted to see his mother again.]]
-->'''Child narrator:''' Ah! You can't shoot them! Buru-buru is a really kind lion! [[spoiler: Don't shoot them! Stop iiiit!]]\\
'''The Policeman:''' [[spoiler: (proceeds shooting them)]]\\
'''Child narrator:''' Huh? (begins crying hysterically)
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Similar to ''[[Anime/RingingBell Chirin no Suzu]]'', the original book and animated film were aimed at children and family audiences. While [[spoiler: both characters end up killed at the end]], both stories are very beloved by families and the older generation in Japan.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: While the book and movie do enter tearjerker territory, "The Kindly Lion" does contain a fair share of sweet and heartwarming moments between Buru-buru and his mother Muku-muku. These include:
** The film begins with an orphaned Buru-buru crying, blind, and malnourished. Happily, a female rabbit spots the lonely lion cub and immediately takes him to Muku-muku, who is mourning the loss of her puppies. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yasashiilion1.PNG The rabbit cheers the saddened dog by convincing her]] to become [[InterspeciesAdoption Buru-buru's new mother and parent]]. Muku-muku quickly agrees to becoming his new mother and [[https://cdn.anisearch.com/images/anime/screen/2/2875/full/284815.jpg her first action is giving him a hug.]]
** As Buru-buru is trying to drink milk from his mother's teats, he loses his grip and falls flat on his back, reducing him to tears. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yasashiilion2.PNG She walks back and decides to carry him on her back to calm him down]] (complete with both of their tails intertwining with each other). The scene later cuts to [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thekindlylion.PNG Muku-muku rocking him back and forth on her back as she's singing a lullaby to him]]. During her lullaby, we see Buru-buru drinking from his mother before both characters fall asleep peacefully.
** The song about how much Buru-buru loves his mother's milk. The setting takes place on a hill which is formed by a white water drop representing milk. Muku-muku is shown happily feeding the lion cub alongside hugging him. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yasashiilion4.PNG As Buku-buku is drinking his mother's milk, his tail begins wagging as a sign of relaxation and happiness.]]
** Buru-buru, now an adolescent lion cub, learning how to become a dog. Instead of roaring, he barks, whimpers, and is seen eating biscuits. While he's learning how to eat from a dog bowl, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yasashiilion5.PNG his mother simply smiles and giggles to herself as he starts enjoying the dog biscuits.]] Special mention goes to the scene where Muku-muku is teaching him how to pee like a dog by lifting his hind leg near a tree, how to pant, and rolling over.
** Later in the story, a grown Buru-buru and an elderly Muku-muku are admiring a small lake at the zoo. Buru-buru quickly gets frightened by his appearance, hoping [[TomatoInTheMirror he would look like an actual dog]]. However, his mother tells him "You and I appear different indeed, but in our hearts, we are the same." since she strongly believes "The heart is the most important thing" between a mother and son. The scene then transitions to both characters happily dancing with each other, with a song expressing how much they love each other.
** In a bittersweet way, [[spoiler: when Buru-buru manages to reunite with his mother who is very weak and on the verge of death. The final time Buru-buru and Muku-muku are shown interacting is with both characters giving a long hug after years of separation. After both characters are gunned down by a group of policemen, the lifeless bodies of Buru-buru and Muku-muku are lying down. [[TogetherInDeath However, Buru-buru is still embracing his mother.]]]]

** {{Moe}}: Both Muku-muku and Buru-buru are extremely friendly and adorable, especially during touching moments between the two as they grow older in the story.

** The child narrator's reaction [[spoiler: to the policeman chasing Buru-Buru]] and later [[spoiler: shooting Buru-buru alongside his mother.]] The child is yelling at the [[spoiler: policeman to not shoot them.]] After [[spoiler: Buru-buru and his mother are killed]], the child is heard crying hysterically and is saying that Buru-buru didn't hurt anybody and just wanted to see his mother again.

** In a bittersweet way, [[spoiler: when Buru-buru manages to reunite with his mother who is very weak and on the verge of death. The final time Buru-buru and Muku-muku are shown interacting is with both characters giving a long hug after years of separation. After both characters are gunned down by a group of policeman, the lifeless bodies of Buru-buru and Muku-muku are lying down. [[TogetherInDeath However, Buru-buru is still embracing his mother.]]]]

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: While the short and movie do enter tearjerker territory, "The Kindly Lion" does contain a fair share of sweet and heartwarming moments between Buru-buru and his mother Muku-muku. These include:

'''Child narrator:''' Huh? (begins crying hysterically)\\

** The film begins with an orphaned Buru-buru crying, blind, and malnourished. Happily, a female rabbit spots the lonely lion cub and immediately takes him to Muku-muku, who is mourning the loss of her puppies. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yasashiilion1.PNG The rabbit cheers the saddened dog by convincing her]] to become [[InterspeciesAdoption Buru-buru's new mother and parent]]. Muku-muku quickly agrees to becoming his new mother and her first action is giving him a hug.

** In a bittersweet way, [[spoiler: when Buru-buru manages to reunite with his mother who is very weak and on the verge of death. The final time Buru-buru and Muku-muku are shown interacting is with both characters giving a long hug after years of separation. After both characters are gunned down by a group of policeman, the lifeless bodies of Buru-buru and Muku-muku are lying down. However, Buru-buru is still embracing his mother.]]