Knight In Shining Armor / Anime & Manga

• Berserk:
  • The Skull Knight doesn't do a lot of lady-charming (he did rescue a damsel in distress once), preferring to act as a Mysterious Protector to Guts and Casca, but he's perhaps the closest thing so far to a Knight in Shining Armor in the Berserk universe, particularly when he saves Guts and Casca from being finished off by Femto (Griffith's Godhand self) and the Godhand at the end of the Eclipse. Fan rumor is rampant that the guy is Emperor Gaiseric, the guy who unified Midland, who may have gone through a similar ordeal when Void was incarnated as a Godhand, explaining his stone-cold hate for the Godhand in general. And the guy is a complete badass to boot.
  • Griffith may be the leader of a mercenary company, and of common birth, but he very convincingly plays the role of the perfect knight. Most people say that the first time they saw him was like looking at a storybook hero come to life. He's A Father to His Men, wins battles for The Good Kingdom of Midland, saves Princess Charlotte when she loses control of her horse, and shows impeccable manners at social functions. It also helps that he's a Pretty Boy who wears shining armor and rides a white-caparisoned horse. Beneath the Mask he is a more morally ambiguous and sometimes ruthless character. At the end of the Golden Age he pulls a Face–Heel Turn, and in the Millennium Falcon Arc he becomes a Villain with Good Publicity by returning to save Midland while cranking his Knight in Shining Armor act up.
  • Azan the Bridge Knight has a heroic disposition and combat competence despite being of middle age.
• Uryū Ishida in Bleach is an Archer in Shining Armor. Very chivalrous and generally well mannered, has a weak spot for women, especially Orihime, also tried to protect Rukia when she was powerless and even spared the life of his female opponent, mercy he doesn't show to others of her kind. Contrary to his popular image he is also one of the most capable leading characters in the series, having fought tough opponents and held his own against enemies far stronger than himself. The Quincy, people of whom he is supposedly Last of His Kind. also had a medieval Christian knight theme given to them by the author.
• Code Geass:
  • Kururugi Suzaku subverts it; he initially seems like the perfect knight, but his attitude is formed partly by his own inherent idealism towards helping people and not letting the ends justify the means — a problem, to say the least, in an alternate Japan occupied by Britannia that is also a site for several violent armed rebellions — and partly by the repressed knowledge that he himself is guilty of the very thing he loathes by killing his own father at the age of 10 to make Japan surrender and keep it from becoming a permanent war zone. His lack of punishment for having done it drove him into becoming a Death Seeker that wants to die serving his ideals. Having acknowledged the memories fully halfway through the season, he freely admits to being selfish, hypocritical, and, in his own words, "despicable".
  • Xing-ke plays the trope straight; an honorable and badass swordsman devoted body and soul to his empress. On the Britannian side, Gilbert G.P. Guilford is this for his own princess.
• Ame from Denpa Teki na Kanojo claims to have been this to Juu in a past life, and wants to continue this role in the present. Her taser works just as well as a sword would.
• Digimon: There is a large group of Digimon called the "Royal Knights". As the name would suggest, they are a group of thirteen Mega-level Digimon who all resemble a cross between a classic Knight and a mecha. They are supposedly a group of "good guys" who work for the God of the Digital World, but every one of their appearances so far has introduced them as antagonists of the Knight Templar or brainwashed variety. They're not all-exclusive to the group, though. A few of them have been partners to human characters in the series: Tai and Matt's Omnimon, and Takato/Guilmon as Gallantmon are two good examples. These ones weren't actual members of the Royal Knights, though— they were just the same "species".
• Tamahome from Fushigi Yuugi. Hotohori wants to be this to the Priestess, but Miaka is more interested in Tamahome.
• Alucard is this to young Integra in Hellsing when he saved her and is still her loyal bodyguard after she grew up.
• Henkyou no Roukishi Bard Loen: Bard Loen picked The People's Knight as his title and manages to live up to it. He rescues anyone in need, has a smart horse named Stablos, is loved by his people and is a champion of Lady Aidra.
• Honoo no Alpen Rose: Lundi is this to Jeudi, as he'll go through any length to rescue her and keep her safe. In the OP, he's even portrayed as a literal knight in shining armour riding a White Stallion, while Jeudi wears a Fairytale Wedding Dress with a flowing veil and train.
• Mist from Knights does his best at this despite being a Hero with Bad Publicity, as well as being just a squire. He fits the trope better than all the other knights thus far.
• Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has a female example in Signum.
• Monster has the female heroine, Nina Fortner, fantasize that her secret admirer must be her "prince on a white horse." When she is rescued by Tenma, she assumes the latter must be him. In reality, the anonymous "romantic" emails that have been sent to her were from her twin brother Johan.
• In My Monster Secret the main characters' teacher Akari Koumoto has been holding onto the "prince on a white horse" fantasy for years, well into her Old Maid phase; though it's Played for Laughs like everything in the series, it's also seriously examined, since it's strongly implied that the entire reason Akari has never been in a relationship is because she's convinced herself that True Love will just fall into her lap one day so she doesn't actually need to do anything. On the other hand, the reason she has this particular fantasy in the first place is because as a child she'd always been either made fun of or treated like One of the Boys due to her unnatural strength and height, and she just wants a man will treat her like a feminine woman rather than being scared of her.
• Mytho from Princess Tutu, in his true form as the Prince from the fairytale the story revolves around, fits this trope almost perfectly (except he has no armor and rescues maidens while dancing on a magically formed pillar of flower petals). Also subverted with Fakir, who is the reincarnation of the Knight from the story but doesn't behave like the stereotypical knight.
• Sayaka from Puella Magi Madoka Magica aspires to be this - her love interest in this case is Kyousuke, who used to play the violin until his hand was badly injured in an accident. When she contracts to become a Magical Girl, her outfit (of the magical girls we see in the series, hers is the only one with a cape) and weapon of choice (swords) reflect this goal. In a series written by Gen Urobuchi, this quickly leads to tragedy. In a horrific twist, her Witch form, Oktavia von Seckendorff also reflects this by donning a knight armor, a three-eyed helmet, and a heart-shaped cape, symbolizing how her madness thoroughly corrupted her ideals.
• Annelotte Kreutz from Queen's Blade Rebellion is a noble knight with a strong sense of justice.
• Reborn! (2004) mentions this trope verbatim; with the way that Tsuna is constantly afflicted with the Dulcinea Effect, the current Arc's Big Bad Byakuran even lampshades this by mocking Tsuna, asking him if he's trying to be Uni's knight in shining armor.
• The eponymous Revolutionary Girl Utena aspires to be this, initially entering the plot to avenge the honor of a friend and staying to Rescue The Princess. But was that really such a good idea? The idea is gender-flipped, subverted, deconstructed, and reconstructed throughout the series.
• Mika of Seraph of the End is affectionately dubbed as being this for Yuu given his constant Declaration of Protection about him, desire to save him above all else, and occasionally getting to carry him in a Bridal Carry. Ferid even refers to Yuu as the precious princess that Mika wants to save and likens it to "love".
• Slayers parodies this, and the Prince Charming idea. Both Lina and Sylphiel have an image of a prince, noble, heroic, handsome, blond, clad in white, riding on a white charger. Then they meet Amelia's father, Phil, who technically fits almost all the requirements (except the blond hair and he is not handsome), but shatters Sylphiel's fantasy of a prince into tiny little pieces. Literally shatters. A piece of Lina's actually bonks her on the head.
• Snow White with the Red Hair:
  • Mitsuhide Lowen is a knight, kind man and excellent swordsman who is completely loyal to prince Zen who he is a retainer for. He also attracts a number of female admirers due to his personality and looks but avoids romance both through obliviousness and his dedication to his job as Zen's protector. Zen's other initial retainer Kiki Serian reflects this trope as well, though her stoic unreadable nature and the fact that she will have to give up living as a just a knight to take over as head of her family makes her an interesting take.
  • As a prince, Zen's expected to be proficient in swordsmanship, horseback riding, and chivalry. He demonstrates all of these skills in the first episode, when he saves Shirayuki from Prince Raj without unsheathing his sword.
• Strawberry Panic! has another female example with Amane Ohtori, the "Prince of Spica", who rides a white horse named "Star Bride", and even pulls off a knightly horseback rescue at one point.
• 'Tis Time for "Torture," Princess: A semi-recurring character is the knight Louch Brittan, who's doing his best to rescue the Princess. He... doesn't really live up to the image, being rather below-average in terms of looks. He does indeed mean well, though, and he only really fails because each "rescue" is performed in a way that makes the Princess not want to be saved by him. For example, she rejects his attempt to use a teleportation spell because you Can't Take Anything with You and she would be left nude on the other side.
• Allen Schezar of The Vision of Escaflowne is this from start to finish. He always does the right thing, even when it hurts. Plus, his armor is a Humongous Mecha.
• In Yu-Gi-Oh!: Capsule Monsters, Yami is this in Episode 10, using Black Luster Soldier as armor and wielding the Sword of Divinity.